Before you break out the ballots for the Oscar parties this weekend, there's another important matter that needs to be addressed. That's right, it is once again time for the Washington Technology Industry Association's annual Industry Achievement Awards. Over the years, I've tested my prognostication skills (with mixed results) by trying to guess the winners before they are announced.

The WTIA has reverted to a panel of judges this year who select the winners, moving away from the community voting system employed last year when I got half of my picks correct. That makes it a little tougher to predict -- as I proved in 2008 when a judging panel was last utilized. That year, I went zero for six with my picks. A monkey randomly tossing darts at a dartboard probably would do better. But, just remember, in 2007 I accurately picked four of the six categories and the year before I went three for seven. Not bad.

I am feeling good about this year's predictions. Thanks to the WTIA -- a TechFlash sponsor -- for putting up with my antics each year. So, without further ado, here are my predictions for tomorrow night's big technology bash at the Showbox SoDo. How do you think I'll do?

Commercial Product or Service of the Year: We've got three strong and very different nominees this year, which makes picking a winner that much harder. There's the startup -- Apptio -- whose founder Sunny Gupta has proven he's one Seattle entrepreneur you want to watch. There's the mid-sized company in Talyst, which solves the real world problem of automating hospital pharmacies. And then there's the large publicly-traded company in Concur, maker of travel and entertainment expense management software.

It's really anyone's ball game. Last year, I chose Concur, thinking that the Redmond company could simply encourage its nearly 1,000 workers to stuff the virtual ballot box. But it didn't work out that way. Concur -- despite a market value of $2 billion -- often gets overlooked in the Seattle tech community. But, I think, this is the year they get recognized. They'll win for their Concur Mobile product.

Consumer Product or Service of the Year: This category, in my mind, is the marquee matchup of the night. You've got two heavyweights going at it. In one corner, there's the wildly successful and downright odd network of comedy Web sites Cheezburger Network. In the other corner, fresh off its blockbuster sale to Google, you've got the online photo editing service Picnik.

Sposato

You'd think Picnik would be the easy choice for a knockout. But I am guessing that the judges submitted their ballots before Google's purchase of Picnik this week. Picnik and Cheezburger -- both of which are profitable -- competed in this category last year and neither of them won. This year, even though Cozi is noteworthy third nominee, one of the consumer tech titans will win. I think it is going to be Picnik CEO Jonathan Sposato who will be on stage tomorrow night, adding to what has to be an amazing week for the entrepreneur.

Breakthrough Startup of the Year: Once again, we've got three very different companies competing. Dreambox Learning makes educational software which helps young kids learn math skills through games. That should appeal to the WTIA judges, given the organization's continued focus on improving the state's education system. Rounding out the field are Gist -- which helps people manage information flowing through social networks, email programs and news sources -- and Vholdr -- maker of a helmet-mounted HD camera for extreme sports.

This is a tough one. I think Dreambox has a good shot here, but I wouldn't necessarily classify it as having a breakout year. Gist is the sexy choice, given that it raised capital last year and has been in the news regularly given its competition with Google and Microsoft. I may regret this, but I am going to pick Paul Allen-backed Gist.

Service Provider of the Year: I've frequently commented about how Amazon.com has a distant relationship with the Seattle technology community. That's what makes this category especially interesting. Will Amazon even show for the big awards ceremony? Or will it skip the festivities altogether?

Amazon is the clear favorite in this group, with its market leading Web Services platform. I think it will easily win, knocking out the two upstart competitors Hubspan and Azaleos.

Innovative Manufactured Product of the Year: A new category for the 15th annual Industry Achievement Awards, we see two nominees from the clean tech sector (Neah Power and PowerIt) and one from the medical device arena (Pathway Medical). The WTIA has historically been about software, which makes this category especially interesting. Clean tech is the hot sector of the moment, and I think the judges will lean that way. PowerIt -- nominated for Spara EMS -- is a hybrid hardware/software system which allows customers to reduce energy use within large industrial facilities. It is not as sexy as some of the consumer Internet startups noted above, but PowerIt has a real product and real customers. It will win.

Information Technology Department Innovation of the Year: This is a new category as well, and one that I don't particularly understand. We have three nominees which are all over the map. There's the Experience Music Project and Science Fiction Museum -- nominated for its executive dashboard business intelligence and data integration project. (Wow, that's a mouthful). WhitePages is up for the award for its Web site redesign. And the Washington State Employees Credit Union -- which is not really the first name that comes to mind at a tech awards gala -- is in the running with its Q-Cash short-term loan project.

Henry enjoys his morning, and makes his pick for the WTIA Awards.

I might as well bring the monkey out to toss a dart. I don't have a monkey. But I do have a dog who loves food. So, I placed treats on three scraps of paper this morning with the nominees names on them. I then allowed Henry the dog to choose the winner based on which treats he ate first. Who did my canine companion pick? He went right to WhitePages.

Best use of Technology in the Government, Non-profit or Educational Sector: eCityGovAlliance seems like they get a nod every year, and they are back again with a nomination for GovJobsToday.com. It is a nice looking site, and in this tough economy a practical one too. OneBusAway, which was started by University of Washington students and provides real time alerts on King County Metro routes, brings a fresh look to this category. The Pierce County Sheriff's Department also is in the running, with a futuristic biometrics software program called MorphoFace which helps officers check surveillance photos against mug shots.

This is tough. I am in a bind having to choose between jobs, crime and transportation. I feel like Mayor Mike McGinn or President Barack Obama. Where to put my priorities? I think in this region, especially with the tech crowd, transportation rules the day. I'll put my money on OneBusAway.

Thanks to everyone for reading. I'll be at the awards ceremony tomorrow night, so stop by and say hello if you are attending. Also, remember to check back here on Friday to see how I did with my picks.