The one thing I can be certain of is that the end will eventually come for me. Hopefully it will be a long time before it comes though.
Personally, I've heard hints at dates and even dates before many times myself. The Y2K deal got hyped up big time but most of the people I know knew better than to try to suggest something biblical was going to happen.
I think people look at reality and don't like what they see. I know I don't. The thought that things will get better has appeal. Of course, we should all simply do what we can to make the world better now. However, for many people, they feel powerless to bring about any real and lasting change.
ProdigalSon: I've been following your posts and noticed that they sound very gnostic in nature. I watched the nostradamus 2012 movie and noted where a jew was predicting a shift in conciousness too. Sometimes I think that in order for our world to really change we need to change. In other words, our very nature needs to change. My understand of the Bible shows that this change will come about upon Christ's return.