The old year is winding down and I'm way behind schedule on posting my blogs for the newly created Petaluma360 site with thoughts and reflections about this and that. I'm still in a holiday mood of wishing everybody a Merry Christmas - but, with something that goes beyond buy-buy-buy. Not because "giving" isn't the spirit of this holiday season, but giving what?

The Argus-Courier hosted a reception for all its bloggers to thank them for their creative contributions to BlogTown-USA. It was also an occasion to discuss the A-C's new community portal - Petaluma 360 - the new home for their bloggers. My final "old" blog will be a GLOB that gives a peek at a few of my volunteer projects for 2007, as well as a few final words about this journey through the blogosphere.

Our Cyberplace: This topic was the major reason I started blogging in 2003, using the title - Our Cyberspace. It will continue to receive our attention in 2007. For example: "When will Petaluma get a municipal Wi-Fi system up and running?"

Then & Now: As we get closing to 2008, the Sesquicentennial Year for the City of Petaluma, more and more attention will be given to our historical heritage. The "Dead Come Alive" cemetery walks by The "Petalumans of Yesteryear" will be revived. For a quick overview of Petaluma history, mark your calendars now for the Adult School's Super-Saturday classes on February 3, 2007. Another "Snapshot of Petaluma" class will be offered in the afternoon session. Call 778-4633 for additional information.

Our Petaluma: Our community spirit will continue to thrive and will be watched carefully by "Eagle-Eyes." Stay tuned for reports on those volunteer endeavors that are the real indicators of Petaluma's sense of community.

Emergency Preparedness: This was a new theme for 2006, and until the probability for a major disaster disappears, this theme will continue to appear on our radar screen. Check out the new Neighborhood Emergency Response Team web site for important training announcements and "Be Prepared" information. http://www.PetalumaNERT.org

Remembering Bill Soberanes: We'll never forget the world's foremost "Peopleologist." His memory and unique contributions to our "river town" will be kept alive through the ramblings of this blogger.

Hammerhead: "Hitting the nail on the head" with memorable quotes is a difficult task, but we will try to enlighten your day from time to time with pearls of wisdom offered by folks far wiser than this blogger.

Web of Life: How the human "animal" interacts with his natural environment and uses its resources will be a never-ending story. It looks like "green" will be a lively topic, again, in 2007. Will we be smart enough to make the best choices for the future of our home - Planet Earth? Stay tuned.

Saber-Tooth Curriculum: Although this topic originated in the days of the dinosaurs, it appears that this category received more search engine referrals than any of the other topics. Hmmm - that's food for thought by "New-Fist" and Professor Peddiwell; isn't it?

Information Highway: It's been built over the past decade and is now well traveled. This category and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) issues will be addressed in Our Cyberplace blog in 2007.

Bill's Blogs/Miscellaneous: The "old" Miscellaneous has been combined with the all-encompassing Bill's Blog. Whatever thoughts do not fit under one of the established themes, it will be posted using this nomenclature. (How's that for a fancy word?)

GLOBs: Sometimes my mind plays ping-pong with several thoughts at the same time, so a GLOB of information will appear. That way, this blogger will not get carried away and talk, and talk, and talk. OK?

BTW, the record shows that only 46 comments have been posted in response to the 174 blogs that have appeared so far. I guess I haven't had much to say, after all. But since my brain still kicks in when I wake up for the first time around 3:00 a.m., you'll have to put up with my ramblings. Stay tuned and look for us on the new "Petaluma 360." Happy Holidays!

Among the 20+ blogs I've posted about earthquakes and disaster preparations programs, I've mentioned that about 50 citizens have participated in CERT programs (Community Emergency Response Training) over the past several months, and that another dozen are now Amateur Radio Operators licensed by the FCC. In addition, over 20 Neighborhood Emergency Response Teams (NERT), at various stages of development, are scattered around the city.

One of them has met the standards for being Safe + Trained + Alert + Ready, or qualifies as a STAR neighborhood. It just so happens that "the street where I live" in the Westridge Knolls area is that STAR neighborhood - the first in Petaluma since PetalumaNet launched the CERT-NERT initiative earlier this year. What are the criteria for earning a STAR?

• At least three neighbors are CERT trained and certified.
• At least one neighbor monitors an eNeighborhood Network.
• At least one neighbor is a licensed Amateur Radio Operator.
• At least one neighbor serves as the Team Leader.
• Your neighborhood is a registered Neighborhood Watch area.
• Fifty percent (50%) of the homes have Disaster Supply Kits (Contains items recommended by the American Red Cross)

Any neighborhood group in the Petaluma area may join this all volunteer effort. Check out http://www.PetalumaNERT.org for additional information. Interested citizens should contact this blogger at whammer@petalumanet.org or 762-6593. Stay tuned and have a happy and safe holiday.

The regular readers of my various blogg topics should not have been surprised by the recent Press Democrat headline - "6.0 quake forecast within 12-18 months." Earlier USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) reports had predicted "a 62% probability for one or more magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquakes from 2003 to 2032" for the San Francisco Bay Region. What new information changed this forecast?

Reporter, Bob Norberg, wrote, "a UC Davis scientist says he has helped devise a way to predict major earthquakes within a three-year window." This new formula, however, is not without its critics who believe that it is only a computer model that is "unproven." Never the less, a physics journal - Physical Letters Review - has published this new method of researching earthquake faults. The PD article ends with a message quite familiar to Bay Area residents:

"The -. forecast is that within the next 30 years, a 6.0 quake has a one-in-five chance of occurring on the Hayward-Rogers Creek Fault in Sonoma County and the East Bay, and there is a one-in-four chance of a 6.0 quake on the San Andreas Fault."

It is probability statistics like these that motivated volunteers to initiate the Petaluma CERT/NERT programs last year. Over the last several months, 25 of my blogs have touched upon disaster scenarios and emergency preparedness procedures. One very simple step to take is to create a "disaster kit." A list of suggested items may be found online at http://www.PetalumaNERT.org and on p.23 of the USGS publication, "Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country." Also online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/2005/15/

With the holiday season coming up, what better gifts to give than those items necessary to survive - on your own - for 72 hours or longer. Get ready! Be prepared! Create a neighborhood that is Safe + Trained + Alert + Ready.