P.S.

Pretty ironic that my personal best year ever - professionally, I think, and definitely in terms of my great family and friends - was possibly the worst year, geo-politically and environmentally, in decades. Floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, wars, political scandals and a popular press too impotent and insecure to really cover any of them adequately, or at least with some modicum of reflection, restraint and responsibility. Never has it felt so frustrating to watch things fall apart before your eyes yet feel so absolutely powerless to do anything about it. Or so angry that the most powerful people in the world who can change things clearly feel it is not in their best interests to do so.

Has it always been this way? Probably. But usually you find out the world is fallng about retrospectively, when it really is too late to do anything but cut your losses. 2005 was disaster in real time.