4 surprisingly accurate predictions for the future from 1999

In 2001, when I was but 9 years old, I bought this rather handy volume by Peter Corey:

The book humorously details predictions for the rest of this century, and as soon as I started reading I decided that I would keep this book for the rest of my life and see if anything came true. Everything I read sounded absolutely ludicrous when I read it in 2001. Now I'm toying with the idea that Peter Corey is a time-traveller. Check this out:

What should I blog about?

Do you ever find that the old creativity spout dries up every once in a while? It may shock you to discover that even I sometimes struggle to think of things to write about (I know, you'd never guess, right?). But, I've devised a nifty solution to this little mental pickle (you may note that I I had to resort to using it last week). Dear readers, I am about to share my most valuable secret with you. May it serve you well.

4 shifty schemes that my cats might possibly be working on

Recently, I've noticed some particularly shifty behaviour going on on the part of the feline members of the household. I know that all cats are clever and manipulative, but Poppy and Rosie are behaving like secret cat agents. They only leave the house in shifts, never at the same time. When they're swapping shifts, they sniff each others noses, as if they're communicating in code. Poppy keeps voluntarily going outside in the rain, something cats NEVER do, and when I go and look for her, she's always in the rockery. As soon as she sees me, she miaows and runs back inside. Clearly, the cats are planning a covert operation, and our rockery is housing something instrumental to the task. I've been speculating about what they might be up to.

I leave this information in your charge, dear reader. If I suddenly go missing, you'll know why.

5 reasons why we make questionable shopping decisions

Do you ever just randomly spend a load of money without knowing why? I did that the other day. I was walking into town to catch the bus when suddenly I was in a shop buying clothes. I knew that I couldn't really afford what I was buying. I had even made a pact in my head to just go straight to the bus station. But for something had overridden this sensible notion, and even when I left the shop I wasn't entirely sure what had happened.

The Shulman Center for Compulsive Theft, Spending and Hoarding lists 8 possible causes of shopping addiction. Although I'm not addicted to shopping, I thought it would be useful to look at why I needlessly splurge out every so often. I've taken 5 of the causes and described them, suggested excuses you might make to justify your purchases and ways you could combat them. I've written this as much for myself as for you guys, obviously.