Out with the old and in with the new...

I've been away from the computer and TV for a couple of days, so haven't been following the news too closely, but did I hear that former president Gerald Ford had been hung for crimes against humanity? Come on, inflation was out of control during his term, and he did pardon that crook, Nixon, but why hang him now? Oh, well.

Sorry, that's the last bad joke of the year. Now, I've got to brush up on my New Year's Superstitions over at the Urban Legends page (snopes.com).

For instance, did you know that "The new year must not be seen in with empty cupboards, lest that be the way of things for the year. Larders must be topped up..." I guess that means I've got to go to the market today, as our fridge is quite empty following a 30 hour (+) power outage from Wednesday evening to Friday morning. And, while we were inspired by cleaning out the rotted food from the fridge, we went ahead and cleaned out the cabinets too.

More New Year's Superstitions:

• Pay off your bills before the New Year.
• "The first person to enter your home after the stroke of midnight will influence the year you're about to have."
• Nothing leaves the house on the first day of the year, not even garbage!
• Do something work related to guarantee success, but don't do too big a project because serious work is unlucky.
• Wear new clothes on January 1.
• Make a lot of noise at midnight, New Year's Eve, to scare the evil spirits away.

Learn more about the "rationale" for these, and other, superstitions at snopes.com.