Many of the people I work with have families in or near the affected areas. One of my gamer friends here in Chicago has family in India, and while I’m thinking about him and them (I met many of them at his wedding), I’m hoping they are safe and not on the eastern coast. So far, no one I know well is directly affected, but I think that’s a matter of that I haven’t talked to everyone more than that it’s not true. I will say that I’m really happy I play India Rails, because I know the geography of India better as a result. For example, I checked today and found that most of my company’s offices in India are in Mangalore. Not many maps of India that I’ve seen show Mangalore (they show Bangalore, but that’s a different place…nearby, though), but thanks to India Rails, I know it’s on the western coast and far enough north that most of the people I know there via work aren’t affected directly. I talked with one person in that area today on a conf. call already and confirmed. Still…whether directly affected or not…there’s going to be a huge effect to the country’s economy and overall health as a re
sult…this is a very big tragedy, and since I heard, a part of my thoughts have been on it. I also have a friend/colleague at work who just recently returned from visiting his family in Indonesia…fortunately, they weren’t hit either…but it was both amazing and upsetting how many people I knew, even all the way over here in the US, that could have been affected.
Tsunami is one of the words that I used while creating my nom de guerre. I chose it for reasons that did not exclude the destructive force. I’m not sure why I want to mention that, but there it is…I keep hearing tsunami on the news, and I almost feel like it’s partially my fault…like I endorse tsunamis. 
You know, the way you feel if you buy a brand and then find out that brand beats children in some sweatshop. That’s silly, but it’s still how I’m thinking for some reason.
