Shaggy Dog Comments...

One of the starkest examples of the devastation wrought by the Boxing Day tsunami are these satellite images, provided by DigitalGlobe, of the northern shore of Banda Aceh, the Indonesian town that suffered the full fury of the earthquake's killer waters. The above photo was taken before the tsunami, while the one below was taken on December 28 and shows how the surging waters not only swept away bridges and homes, but also reshaped the fragile coastal landscape. More satellite photos, including some chilling ones of the swirling, receding floodwaters in Sri Lanka on Boxing Day, can be seen at www.digitalglobe.com

Disaster brings out the best in everyone, and while we normally compete against The Northern Star, we want to doff our cap to them for their efforts to help raise $1 million in the APN Tsunami Relief Appeal. They're asking people to donate $100, or groups to donate $500, and have kicked off with a $50,000 from the APN group, publishers of The Star. Already the community has donated $40,000. The money will go to CARE Australia to help in Sri Lanka. Donations are tax deductible. Phone 136 181.

The generosity of local people was quick to come to the fore at the Woodford Folk Festival, that annual migration across the border by so many northern rivers residents. When news of the disaster to the north spread across the festival site, collectors for World Vision, including The Echo's Marilyn Manning, were inundated with donations. The festival patrons raised $75,000 in just four days.

One local lad whose star continues to rise is Stephen Hauville, the former proprietor of Harvey Norman in Lismore and Chamber of Commerce president in the mid-90s. Stephen's now a director of the retail giant and was general manager of consumer electronics in Harvey Norman's 179 Australian stores. Just before Christmas, the trade magazine Digital Connect News reported that he's now been put in charge of running the company's 21 international stores in a bid to sharpen up its offshore operations.

Amidst all the current tragedy to our north, there's some good news back home: Men are living six years longer than 20 years ago and women four years longer according to new figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. A boy born between 2001-03 can expect to live an average of 78 years, while a girl will end up with 83 candles on her cake. Living in Canberra seems to be good for you - the ACT has the highest life expectancy - a year more than the national average, but indigenous people remain unlikely to reach retirement age - life expectancy for men is 59 years and 65 for women. Cardiovascular diseases account for more than a third of deaths (37%), while cancer claims just over a quarter (28%) of the population.

Looking back on the media for last year, monitoring company Rehame said sport, sex and politics dominated 2004. The federal election, the Olympics and sex scandals at the Bulldogs league team and St Kilda AFL team were the most covered issues. Rehame's prediction that "bubbling" issues will come to the fore this year - from Victoria's toll roads to the NSW public transport system, electricity problems in Queensland and the WA election. Of course the biggest story the world has seen will also dominate at least this month.

Shaggy enjoyed the chance to fish over the holiday break, leading Mrs Shaggy to tell friends that we're the world's most sustainable fisherman. Why? "Because he takes nothing from the ocean," she explains. Ouch!