Expect to be lucky today; it sure beats the alternative

You've got to ask yourself one question: "Do I feel lucky?"

- Clint Eastwood

If you haven't checked your calendar yet, welcome to the first Friday the 13th of the new year. There will be another one in October, but that's all for 2006.

Luck is a funny thing. Most of us publicly dismiss it, and privately yearn for that random roll of the dice in our favor.

I remember an English psychologist named Richard Wiseman (a name easy to remember) who did a big study on luck and basically found that it favored those people who expect to be lucky.

It's a concept as old as Norman Vincent Peale, but positive thinking puts people on the alert for good things they expect to happen. They see potential where others see problems.

Try that today to ward off any of your Friday the 13th blues.

And you know what?

I bet it will work tomorrow, too.

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THOUGHT FOR TODAY: "If it weren't for lawyers, we wouldn't need them." - A.K. Griffin

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FUTURE SHOCK: The new year is moving quickly, but Billy Cooper thinks there are bigger changes down the road. He shared a long list of possible headlines from the year 2029. See what you think of these.

- Ozone created by electric cars now killing millions in the seventh-largest country in the world, Mexifornia, formerly known as California.

- Baby conceived naturally. Scientists stumped.

- France pleads for global help after being taken over by Jamaica.

- Castro finally dies at age 112; Cuban cigars can now be imported legally, but President Chelsea Clinton has banned all smoking.

- Postal Service raises price of first-class stamp to $17.89 and reduces mail delivery to Wednesdays only.

- 85-year, $75.8 billion study: Diet and Exercise is the key to weight loss.

- Supreme Court rules punishment of criminals violates their civil rights.

- Florida voters still having trouble with voting machines.

TODAY'S JOKE: Here's one from Bill Wood in Hephzibah.

Late one night, a mugger wearing a ski mask jumped into the path of a well-dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs.

"Give me your money," the mugger demanded.

Indignant, the affluent man replied, "You can't do this - I'm a United States congressman!"

"In that case," replied the mugger, "Give me MY money."