The worst disaster in recent history. There are pictures and informative graphics at this link at the NY Times site. Before this tragedy, I didn't even know the Andaman Islands were part of India. The scale of destruction is unbelievable, especially at the human level where a third of the victims are said to be children. A second "tsunami" of sorts comes as the parents, relatives and friends of all the victims come to find out about the demise of their loved ones. We all have much to be thankful for if we weren't directly affected.

As bad as things get, we have to remind ourselves that:

• things can always be worse
• this, too, shall pass

Thanks-Wagh-Giving came and went. Last year, we had a tofurkey and some other vegetarian stuff. For those of you visualizing a giant bird made of tofu, very firm tofu it would have to be, I'm sorry to disappoint you. It's actually more like a softball sized mound of tofu that looks like .... ummm a softball, and it's filled with stuffing. While my wife might claim she thought it tasted like a softball too and didn't partake of it much (despite the whole thing being her idea), I actually liked the thing and had leftovers for a few more days -- which is also a Thanks-Wagh-Giving tradition.

Schools are out throughout the land and Waghmas is fast approaching. I had a long rant to make about incompetent employees, especially those involved with customer service, but in the spirit of the holidays, I think I'll keep the comments to myself.

What's on your wish list? Are you preparing resolutions for the new year?