Oh dear! have we learnt nothing here on the hallowed threads of ATS? How many predictions have I read which have come and gone without anything amazing happening. 2012 will be exactly the same. Then it will be 2020 or something like that, and so it will go on.
"It's pathetic. . . "

A colleague of mine told me something years ago that has always stuck with me. I explained 2012's potential scenarios and his reaction was (and I'm paraphrasing):
"People have been predicting the end of the world for thousands of years. Every new generation just has a need to be special... so we sensationalize these 'end of the world' dates until they come and go. Once they're gone we look for the next one... and the next one."

Years later, a friend of mine had a completely different attitude. He excitedly explained that he is looking forward to being a witness to the end of the world if it happens in his lifetime. How many people in history can say they were there when it happened?!

Both are great thoughts, in my opinion.