Twenty years ago today, the deadliest tsunami in recorded history inundated Asian countries and killed about 230,000 people.  The  Sumatra-Andaman Earthquake, also called the Boxing Day Earthquake  ( Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, mostly in Europe and Commonwealth nations ): Was caused by a subsea earthquake possibly as high as  9.3 magnitude  ( this was #2 to the largest, which was the 1960 Chile earthquake at 9.5 ) off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Waves were as high as  167 feet  in Aceh province, and two hours later, Sri Lanka saw 20 feet ( with run-ups as high as 41 feet--there is a difference in these two terms ), and  Thailand had run-ups of up to 64 feet.   At Phuket, Thailand, the second wave was the largest at 20 feet.  Also two hours after the earthquake, India saw heights as much as 33 feet.   3100 miles away in Somalia, there was a run-up of 30 feet. The maximum height above sea lev...

  For some, there is Heaven.  Of course, Heaven means different things to people, as, for example, to Fred Astaire singing   Cheek to Cheek   in Top Hat, it's dancing with Ginger Rogers.  This version finished #15 on AFR's 100 Years of 100 Songs, and   Rotten Tomatoes  reviewers gave the movie a 100% rating.   Then there was that  promise of 72 virgins in heaven  for Muslim martyrs, but you had to be a male to take advantage of this reward.  Then again, maybe not.  However, more recently, it was determined that there was a mistranslation of the  Quran , and the truth was that it was raisins, not virgins.  Some have even pinpointed white raisins. To most, though, Heaven is an ultimate place where you live in harmony and comfort forever.  Yes, an  eternal afterlife .  Yet, maybe this is only for Christians and Muslims.  Although Buddhists can attain Nirvana and Hindus can become one with the Bra...