New Year's Gratitude List

Reading one blog often leads to a link to another, followed by another, and so on. Tonight's reading led me from Scoble's, "New Way of Thinking about Resolutions" to Charles Green's blog post, "A Better New Year's Resolution". This, in particular, caught my attention in Charles Green's post:

"The best way to improve oneself is paradoxical-start by being grateful for what you already have. That turns your aspirations from negative (fixing a bad situation) to positive (making a fine situation even better)."

How many people have you known who do not seem to be happy unless they are unhappy -- those folks who seem to be so self-centered that unless the current catastrophe in their life is the topic of conversation? Those people do not seem to be able to look outward and appreciate the efforts of others. Is it no wonder that they obsess everyday occurrences?

I am grateful to be healthy, with a loving family and friends, having a job I enjoy with plenty of room for growth, a fantastic boss and wonderful workmates. I am also grateful to be learning new things every day.

Looking beyond self, family and dear friends, yet in the spirit of gratitude, this is a perfect opportunity to say a heartfelt thank you, in no special order, to groups who are frequently forgotten. These people provide the tools, help and support that allow me to continue what I enjoy. Thus, although my gratitude list may not be quite what Charles Green had in mind in his post, I am proud to know and thank the . . .

• developers of the tools we use to help users clean their computers, devoting their own time and resources, asking for nothing in return.

• forum owners who provide the online communities for people to seek help and answers to their questions and computer problems.
  

• analysts who tear apart malware submissions, helping to determine the source and makeup of the malware.
  

• software vendors who provide protective software free for personal use.
  

• researchers who seek out the sources of malware and provide samples to the analysts.

• many volunteers to spend hours of personal time analyzing logs and providing advice to posters with recommended steps to remove the infection on their computer, following up with advice on how to avoid infection in the future.