1.   At Enron, some former executives said, parts of the accounting were based on optimistic predictions of the unpredictable.

2.   Barring more heavy rain, their most optimistic prediction is that Big Sur will be accessible from the north by mid-April and from the south in late May.

3.   Believing in those optimistic predictions took huge leaps of faith when, growing up, we were confronted every day with distressingly contradictory realities.

4.   Defying optimistic Republican predictions, Democrats either gained strength or beat back GOP challenges at the state level in Kentucky, Maine, New Jersey and Virginia.

5.   Government budget writers are often lambasted for overly optimistic predictions about the amount of taxes the IRS will collect.

6.   In the end, pessimistic predictions about the future of humanity tend to be no more accurate than optimistic predictions.

7.   On Friday, in what proved to be unduly optimistic predictions, officials said that the mesh would be erected by early Saturday afternoon.

8.   People who work with patients here say they are wary of optimistic predictions.

9.   Still, there is substance behind the optimistic predictions.

10.   The government had toned down its optimistic predictions in recent weeks as evidence grew that growth had stalled.