I know some of us have been very concerned in the wake of the tsunami about one particular Sri Lanka resident. Well, rest assured -- Arthur C. Clarke says he's OK.

Like pretty much everything that ever happens nowadays, he'd already written about it 50 years ago:

"Curiously enough, in my first book on Sri Lanka, I had written about another tidal wave reaching the Galle harbour (see Chapter 8 in "The Reefs of Taprobane," 1957). That happened in August 1883, following the eruption of Krakatoa in roughly the same part of the Indian Ocean."

On his website, Sir Arthur recommends charitable donations be given to one of the large international foundations active in the area, or to Sri Lanka's own most-respected charity organization, Sarvodaya, who have a list of urgently needed items online.

So if you've ever dreamed about taking PanAm to the moon, you might consider checking out that link and seeing if you can help out.