Earlier, 
I lightly remarked on a couple of top ten lists (see here, opens in new window). Personal observations:
- Science: The most remarkable scientific breakthrough I thought happened a month ago, when astronomers made the first photo of an exoplanet. Most of the current discovered exoplanets are discovered using gravitational lensing, a technique that apparently marked a turnaround for Astronomy. It looks like Astronomy is going to be exciting for the coming years. Another item prominently in the news was the start-up of the Large Hadron Collider. I’ve not mentioned it too many times here, but it was definitely the centerpiece of my dry jokes.
- Tech.: I was truly impressed with the latest KDE 4.2 beta and I hope that the KDE team can pull this release through in the next year. Android, Google’s mobile platform is a good second.
- News: I’ve been trying to stay out of US elections, but yes, without a doubt Obama’s election as the 4xth US president was 2008’s main theme. There were more events happening around the world and even today (see Israeli attacks on Gaza) but none were as prominent as the US elections. As a skeptic, I hope Obama proves me wrong.
- Canadian news: I’ve not mentioned anything here, but the big surprise was that the 3 Canadian opposition parties managed to agree to form a coalition. I’m not sure why I never brought it up here: I may have been too busy.
This year marked a personal turning point with us leaving Nova Scotia and settling in New Brunswick. Pain heals slowly over time, I hear. I’m leaving the statistics for next year but my best post this year was the one called ‘From Thunder back to Sun’. A remarkable post was the ‘Evil Twin’ one, which featured a short visit from the twin, and us celebrating a birthday in a little livingroom in the city of Saint John. There was also his second visit to Canada this year, which brought us back to Truro, Nova Scotia, albeit for just a couple of days.