Bangalore, India. Far from the coast.

First, in case anyone had worried, we're all right. We were not in any of the affected areas; we are, as a matter of fact, safe in Bangalore, India's Silicon Valley. We had - just three days before - been in Kanyakumari, an area which is now reporting over 200 dead in the tsunamis created by the Indonesian earthquakes; I am feeling very lucky and blessed at the moment as we watch the reports of the devastation on CNN and the BBC. If there is anything this trip has driven home, it is just how charmed a life I lead.

A week previously, driving through Mumbai (Bombay) on our way from one railway station to the next, Himself and I both had the same thought; one strong earthquake could level the place. I don't think the destructive potential of earthquakes is clear, even to Californians, until you visit a country where building codes are not rigorously enforced. The slums of Bombay are just corrugated tin and tickytacky lumber scraps, and the highrises are none too stable either. An earthquake can cause significant damage in the U.S; here, it can devastate cities entirely.

On that cheerful note, happy holidays to all; Lord willin' and the crick don't rise (which seems a much more sinister expression given recent events) we'll be home for the New Year and I'll have stories and pictures to share then.