If you want to get into a high paying field these days become a plumber. Actually own your own plumbing business or for that matter AC or roofing business. Make that a good roofing business. Those, I've discovered, are few and far between.

I agree with Wallace about the trades in general. I believe there will always be a need to hire someone else to do the stuff we can't do ourselves (or don't want to do ourselves, for those who have the ability and the luxury to choose). It's hard to imagine technology or Indians taking over those jobs. And not to further disparage roofers, but I have been told by a reliable source that of all the contractor trades, there are more incarcerated roofers than any other trade. :-/

I predict that by 2016, there will be no more family owned printing companies...brochures, business cards, wedding invitations, and grocery store ads will all be online or self-printed (or transmitted to your cell phone while walking the grocery store aisles, using gps technology...this will be worse than having a child with you when walking down the cereal aisle, as you field calls from the Leprechaun, Cap'n Crunch and Count Chocula).

I've been thinking lately about hiring someone to read your blogs and update me inbetween my meetings, sporting clay events, flights, etc. The ad would need to read: Now hiring: a personal assistant to the senior account rep slash personal assistant to everyone else in the patch. Duties would include, but are not exclusive to the following: update my pda to help keep me on time for all appts and meetings; write agendas for all meetings and events and track progress; keep up with Eric and Jimmy's blogs on a regular basis; launch QuikDrop auctions in the evening after regular hours; ensure I take the right chokes and equipment to sporting clay shoots (i.e., a cap to prevent ugly hair days after misting rain like today); be able to coach my shooting so I'll shoot better than 77/100; like german shorthair dogs and field trials....etc. Just teasing! Or...maybe not!
Anyway, I've missed reading your posts, glad to hear you are all doing well.

Hiring someone to read my favorite blogs for me! Now that's brilliant. That would free me up to listen to more podcasts!

:)

I am very lucky - one of my son-in-laws is a plumber!

I agree with Gwynne about the family printing companies, sad to admit.

In 2016, I predict there will be no more Rolling Stones Concerts - but that is not a moneymaking bet...when the all of earth's inhabitants have been reduced to dust, Keith Richards, Joyce (family inside joke) and cockroaches will rule.

Denise, great idea for us multitaskers - Podcasts in one ear, audio blogs in the other! Suuuweeeet! Now that is brilliant!!

In 2016, I predict that all of OnStar's (if OnStar even still exists!) helpful advisors will be also American-soil-based, therefore reducing the number of times you have to teach the OnStar advisor how to not say "Hillcrest" like "Hickory" before giving up and going to the gas station for the city map(don't ask...lost in Dallas will suffice.).

Or maybe by then we can all swallow a personal GPS system and instantly know where we are!