Why do my psychic powers work on everything but Lotto numbers and point spreads?

[captainsblog]

I began my first morning of 2008 with IMs to four very dear friends, old and newer.

Two of them spent their New Years Eve with crises surrounding their animal friends, one having to face the death of his dog several seconds before the ball dropped, the other facing a mondo emergency vet charge in order to revive her 16-year-old cat.

To one of these fine people, I replied, and I quote,:

it's a long tradition in this house to spend major holidays either in the ER, with a plumber in our cellar, or, on the best of occasions, both.

Right.

Not ten minutes later, I took a load of laundry downstairs, and discovered a pi-times-5-feet circle of black-oily goo surrounding the drain in front of the washer. This is the first sign of our primordial plumbing being in need of (if we're lucky) cleaning or (as we know will ultimately be needed) a complete replacement of the connection to the crumbling town mains.

Nice introduction, 2008. We're gonna get along just fine.