Thanksgiving

Top ten things I am thankful for:

1) Family and friends.
2) The food whose smells are wafting towards me even as I speak.

Now with the mandatory thanks out of the way...
3) Being born in a time and place where they actually pay people to do mathematics!
4) Along those same lines: The Enlightenment.
5) Literacy. Not only do I personally love to read, it has my vote for the most important aspect of civilization, the ability to reach across time and space to communicate.
6) Peace. The U.S. and others are at war, but compared to the last century, this is still a remarkably peaceful time. Only time will tell if it stays so.
7) The Sixth Amendment o the U.S. Constitution. The right to face ones accuser and know the evidence presented against them at trial represents a shift away from barbarism and fear. I only wish it were universally applied.
8) The Internet. I studied the building of the railroads in history class, but here was a brand new network growing and evolving before my eyes. The technology, the bubble, all of it was and is wonderfully exciting.
9) Science fiction. A library full of people who believed that new discoveries where always around the corner.
10) And right now, the sunny day that is giving me a beautiful view of the water. Sometimes the simplest things are the best.

Happy Thanksgiving!