Well, it's 2009, which means we'll write 2008 on our checks until roughly March. To which my son will someday say blankly, "What's a checkbook?"

If any interesting questions strike you today as you watch the Sponsor's Name Here Bowl, please submit them using the contact information at the bottom. Happy New Year, everyone!

What's the most popular New Year's resolution?

Not surprisingly in a recession, it's about money.

Getting out of debt or saving cash is the top resolution for 2009, according to survey by FranklinCovey Products. The Salt Lake City-based management consultant and book publisher polls its customers annually.

The top three remained unchanged from last year. Losing weight was second, followed by exercising or healthy eating.

I resolve to move on to the next question.

How many times has Brett Favre led the NFL in interceptions?

Not enough to cancel his reservation for the Hall of Fame.

He has topped the league in that ominous category three times, including twice with the Packers. In 1993, his first full season as a starter, he had 24 passes intercepted. In 2005, he had 29. Which brings us to the stat that must've prompted this question: Favre had 22 passes picked off this season with the New York Jets, again tops in the league.

The ol' gunslinger also finished second a couple of times, including 1998 when a rookie named Peyton Manning accumulated a league-worst 28 interceptions. That's the same Manning who might soon tie Favre's record with a third Most Valuable Player award.

If that's not a lesson for fans to be patient, I don't know what is.

When is the Chinese New Year coming up?

The Rat has less than a month to party. The celebration corresponds with Jan. 26 on our calendar.

This will be the Year of the Ox, which means klutzes are owed a little extra respect. We're oxy every year.

What happened to Chris Goodman on Fox 6 television? I haven't seen him the last couple of months.

The reporter and anchor moseyed on back to his home state, according to a biography of him posted on the Web site for a TV station in Lexington, Ky.

Goodman was a reporter and anchor in Milwaukee for a couple of years. At WLEX, he works on morning and noon news programs.

How did herring become considered a lucky food to eat for the New Year?

It started with northern European immigrants, according to a press release the Milwaukee herring producer Ma Baensch puts out around the holidays most years. Compared to those immigrants' almost unlimited supply of the fish back home, pickin's in the Midwest were slim.

"Herring then became more of a treat served only for special occasions," the release states. "The food brought back nostalgic memories of the past, and with time, these cultures began to believe that eating herring on Christmas Eve or at the stroke of midnight on New Year's would bring good luck in the year to come."

My German-and-Polish dad got me to gulp down pickled herring a few times, but that holiday tradition didn't stick. Now I have to rein in my Irish side, which is just as eager to get pickled.

Mike Moore compiles the Glad You Asked column, which seeks answers to questions of local interest. Call us at (262) 631-1758 or e-mail:

ask@journaltimes.com