Disaster strikes

Saturday's massive quake in Indonesia cast a real damper on Christmas festivities this year. But it's also another chance for the Internet to show off it's massive ability to keep people in contact during times of crisis. I've got friends travelling in the area, and I was able to find out in short order whether they were OK (They were!).

I'm finding that the BBC World News site is one of the best for keeping up with what's happening, and their cable news shows (often running on NewsWorld) have been the most informative coverage I've seen.

The blogosphere is humming with stuff. Go here and here to see a couple of examples.

I hope all is well with people you care about in that part of the world. Please send whatever help you can as soon as possible.

On a Lighter Note

I've added a Notify List to my blog. (The sign-up window is on the right, towards the bottom of the page.) I know that it can be annoying to visit a site like mine, only to find out that I haven't updated it for awhile. I do have an RSS feed and an Atom feed on this site (again, on the bottom right) but I know that some of my regular readers don't have a clue what a NewsReader is, or how RSS works. (Go here if you want to know more.)

So I've created a list you can sign up for to receive an e-mail every few days (more or less) telling you what's new on the site. I doubt I'll send it out ever day. I don't want to be annoying, assuming that I actually update that often. But I'll keep the updates fairly regular. This will be a handy alternative for people who don't want to use the RSS feeds.

There's no obligation whatsoever, and no one will ever use your e-mail address for any other purpose. Just add your e-mail address, and you'll get an e-mail confirming you want to sign up. Click on the URL on that e-mail and you're in. Simple as that.