Most of the globe has already welcomed 2005. We will in a few hours. As we do we'll say goodbye to 2004.

On a personal side it has been a year of transition. A year ago the coming of the new year passed in Colorado and the job with a Fortune 100 company was still going strong. A year later and I'm happy to be both back in academia and in the southwest desert.

The last sunset of 2004 was spectacular. Following days of storms and with large puffy clouds building the last rose colored rays of sun veiled the mountains. The wind of past days is gone and the soil is alive with the recent rains. On that last note Las Vegas will finish the year with almost twice the average rainfall.

This post winds up being mostly rambling. I have no idea how to adequately mark the events of the last week or even how to being to understand the degree of suffering of those effected.