Happy Holidays!

Santa Snaps rocks! :-) 

Being Thankful

This post is nontech, but in  the spirit of today's US Holiday, Thanksgiving. I want to give thanks to my wife for bringing into the world our first child last Saturday - a beautiful 'hapa' girl. If you've ever been with a woman giving birth, you'll appreciate the sacrifice they make during labor. I'm also thankful for the fantastic doctor and hospital where our baby was born - for their competence and excellent care given to both my wife and child. I also want to thank my wife's family for helping us with the little and big things for baby and everything else. I'm also grateful to my own family for their advice and support, and sharing of our joy. And my students and our many friends whose enthusiasm pumps us up. Thank you all!

I also want to thank Google for being a better internet company than all others, continually improving their services (even for Macs), and not selling people out for the dollar or to corrupt governments. Blogger is one of the many things they do right. I also thank any readers, though there may be few, for taking a look at my ramblings.

Thanksgiving is a holiday that in its inception isn't particularly religious, patriotic, or commercial. That's what I like about it. You get together with friends/relatives, think about what you have to be thankful for, then eat, drink and relax. Giving thanks for something helps us avoid taking things and people for granted. We should do it everyday, but the holiday helps remind us to do so - or at least reflect on our fortunes.

In closing, I leave you with a photo of my daughter, whose face reminds me of the many things I'm thankful for.