There have been a lot of documentaries on the History, Discovery, Animal Planet, and even the SyFy Channel about the year 2012. There have been half a dozen movies made (mostly bad) about the “end of times” as predicted by the ancient Mayans.

This weekend I saw a special about Nostradamus and they even brought Bible and other ancient writings into this story line.

We are totally fascinated with knowing the future and that’s why fortune tellers drive Cadillacs. We are even willing to pay to know the future.

Predicting the future has always been risky business for everybody but weather casters. They seem to skate free all the time. More often than not about the only thing they get right is day….not what happens during the day, just the day.

I was watching a show recently that featured all the usual characters, old Nostro, The Bible -specifically Revelations, Egyptian carvings, the Mayans, Free Masons and oh so much more.

I realized that the narrators and researchers, doctors and others with fancy names, titles and accents had to be pulling some of this stuff out of thin air.

There were numerologists predicting the exact day by tying some of the writings of Nostradamus and a lost book of the Bible. There were even old writings by the Freemasons that collaborated what the Mayans had forecasted.

Doom and gloom in 2012. Yikes!

After a half an hour of this, I was totally convinced that guys looking for Bigfoot were more likely to find one that any of this other stuff coming true.

Why do I disagree with TV and a virtual consensus from oddly bearded men with funny accents?

First of all if indeed some Divine action marks the end of the world I really don’t think I will get the message from some Doctor Whurstengruder from the University of Berlin.

Nor do I expect to be informed by an ancient Mayan carving of aliens translated for me by a gray haired lady with bushy eyebrows and dirty glasses. Of course, she is a doctor and researcher. Safe bet she’s not a soccer mom.

Sure the weather has been pretty crazy lately and so has Mother Nature in general. But don’t forget, in the past, this world has undergone massive changes with every type of weather pattern imaginable.

Even if we don’t believe the beloved Father of the Internet and the Grand Poobah of Global Warming, Dr. Albert Gore, things have changed many times over on this Earth, they are changing now and will continue in the future……and it ain’t over till it’s over.

In my life I have seen “prophets” of every type imaginable proclaim the end date of civilization. All of them have been discredited. All of them. If things hold true, these “prophets” will also be proven to be fulla bulla.

I know there are those of us that hope it’s really true because our 401K took such a beating this year…..and we are tired.

There are some of us that hope it’s not because we want to spend some time with our grand kids or maybe retire for just a few months.

There is no doubt that between the natural catastrophes and the crazy stuff going on all over the world, it may look like the end times. But if it’s not, don’t look too stupid.

Like the group that thought this summer was the end and gave away all their worldly goods and money and waited for God to carry them away. They are broke now and cannot collect unemployment because they quit their jobs. Ouch!

Don’t put off business decisions either. After all you cannot take it with you.

If you believe that the end time is nigh, and a good opportunity presents itself, you may as well jump on it. I mean if it is all going to end soon, you may as well take a risk now if you don’t believe there will be repercussions anyway.

Remember this. This is the year of the Dragon in China.

The Dragon symbolizes power and good luck. January 23rd starts the annual celebration of “Chinese New Year and it runs until February 6th. The same celebration is recognized by other Asians throughout the world including Thailand and Singapore.

This is a big deal, this is a good thing, and this bodes well for the future according to the Chinese and others. There are about 1.3 billion Chinese in the world today. That’s fully 20% of the entire worlds’ population. Can that many people be wrong?

Come on now, they have been around since the Mayan’s, Egyptians, Rastafarians and every other group too. They have to know something!

So the moral of all this is don’t stop doing what you’re doing. Don’t give up on that stubborn teenager of yours. Put that money away for retirement and don’t eat what Paula Dean cooks!

Think more positive about the future and don’t rely on politicians to take care of you. They won’t…..they are much too busy running for office to worry about your sorry old self. Really.

The toughest thing to do will be to start to exercise…..again. YUCK! You know, I have started to exercise about every five years since I was thirty five.

At one time it was fun and I could make time for it. Now, I barely have time to work, eat, sleep and sit in my easy chair. Sometimes I may even have to skip a meal so I have a little more time to rest.

Finally, if there is any sign of the end of days, it’s this current republican presidential race. When Newt Gingrich still wins the South Carolina primary running as a conservative and a swinger, it’s a sign.

When those Bible belt southerners vote for him after he dumps not one, but two wives after they became ill, that’s a sign.

When the party faithful back him after he attacks fellow nominee Romney for running a business and turning a profit, that’s a sign.

Yes, folks, when Old Newt is a leading contender for the Republican nomination after being chased out of congress and reviled as crook and a bully, it’s a sign.

When he wins in the conservative south after being Pelosi’s buddy, a friend of global warming and anti business, it’s a sign.

So don’t put your faith in History Channel specials on Nostradamus if you think the end is coming in 2012. Run your business and your life the best you can in the event they are either right or wrong.

But seriously, take a look at what happened in South Carolina. That does give me reason to think that 2012 may be the end.

When conservatives vote for liberal, flip flopping Gingrich just because he snapped at a moderator…..the end time may be closer than we think.