Damn, it got cold out. I don’t think it hit 20° yesterday, and they’re predicting a high of 4° on Friday, with a low temp of -10° on Saturday morning. That’s just too darn cold – Minnesota cold. Our deal here is supposed to be snow, not cold, damnit. Fortunately I don’t actually have to leave the house again until next Wednesday (though I’m certain to run out of beer long before that). I should be all set for the big festivities tonight, though. Especially since, as far as I know, we’re not actually doing anything (certainly not going out anywhere – I honestly can’t remember the last time I went to a bar or a party or something on New Year’s Eve, though even if I could remember I probably wouldn’t remember much). I do recall going over to visit my in-laws at the turn of the millennium (I think we were there to watch them see the new year in in Australia, which is like 2 PM or something here). It happens to be their anniversary as well. Married for like a hundred years now or something (OK, only 66).

In the past we’ve always sat around and watched the Twilight Zone Marathon (which starts at 8:00 EST this morning), but that’s finally gotten kind of played out. I mean, in an era when you can watch pretty much any show (especially the “classics”) any time you want, there isn’t much incentive to sit and watch three days worth of one show. Then we’d sit around drinking beer (or wine) while chowing down on unhealthy food like pizza rolls and chicken wings and fired mushrooms and other stuff that enhances the following day’s hangover until just about midnight, when we’d switch over to ABC to watch Dick Clark count down to the new year.

But Dick’s dead for, what, a couple of years now, and this may be the first year when I don’t even make an effort to stay up ’til midnight. I barely managed last year, and that required a nap at around eight o’clock just to get up, watch the ball drop, and then go back to bed. Must be I’m officially old now. But we’ll see how it goes – maybe I’ll find a second wind.

A lot of people died in 2013. But then a lot of people die every year, and I expect a lot of people will die next year, too. I’m not going to run through all of them, but there were some big names and some of my favorite people. Mandela, Lou Reed, Jonathan Winters, Ray Manzarek, James Gandolfini, Jean Stapleton, Paul Deen’s career…. And the list goes on. But at least I’m not on it (yet).

I guess all these dead people might explain why the US population growth is the lowest it’s been since the Great Depression. Some people blame the economy (Mexicans are running south, and people are deciding to put off breeding until they find a job). Me? I blame gay marriage.

The “experts” apparently see this slowdown in population growth (and, let’s be clear, the population is still increasing – just at a slower rate) as a bad thing. Really, ‘cuz I sure don’t. There are way too many people in this country if you ask me. We could do with less traffic on the streets and fewer people standing in the middle of the aisles at the grocery store gawking at cans of peas (I know I’ve said this before, but Jeezus frickin’ Christ, it’s peas – there’s no reason to study the label like you’re gonna be quizzed at checkout).

Oh well whatever you do tonight – go out, stay home and pass the puffer fish around, or see what you can do to increase population growth – stay safe, have a happy end to this year, and a great start to 2014.