Another year, another day older. But another chance to do right what went wrong last year. What do I want to see in 2005?

• The FCC decides that it no longer wants to be the Parents Television Council's lap-dog and tells them to go take a hike. It goes back to the way it used to be before Janet Jackson's boob was suggested during the Super Bowl.
• Spyware manufacturers decide that their business model isn't making them money and it's harming millions of computer users. They all jump off a bridge. Or get hit by a bus. The downside to that is that I'll be bored with no spyware to remove.
• George W. Bush either 1) resigns or 2) wises up, stops operating the country based on evangelical Christian beliefs, decides he doesn't want to be a neo-con anymore, and spontaneously gets about 30 more I.Q. points. We abandon our War on an Abstract Idea and decide to work together with the rest of the world instead of in opposition to it. How many Civilization 3 players actually like the Mongols or the Zulu?
• The MPAA and RIAA give up their persecution of file-sharing networks (their latest tactic is placing enticing spyware-infected files on peer-to-peer networks). They also decide that the consumer should decide what he wants to do with the content he has purchased. The Ghost of Jack Valenti is finally exorcised from the MPAA and content is produced that is DRM-free or has DRM installed that protects consumers' rights as well as the artists' (read: publishers').
• Finally, the terrorists conclude that blowing people up doesn't endear them to anyone. They talk to governments, and governments listen. ETA and Madrid respectfully agree to disagree, atavistic Muslim clerics get with the times, and the new leader of the Palestinian Authority condemns terrorism and works to stop it. Oh, and Ariel Sharon stops taking those crazy pills and actually works with the Palestinians instead of trying to kill them all.

And because I can, here's the inspiration for the title of this entry: Steve Martin's "Five Wishes for Christmas" monologue.