Not everyone has good reasons to be thankful as we approach this week's Thanksgiving holiday. Many of our friends—and co-workers at PropertyCasualty360—are still digging out from the mess caused by Sandy and even those who weren't flooded or burned out of their homes remain greatly inconvenienced as they try to get their lives back to something resembling normal.

But no matter what challenges face us, there is always something to be thankful for, even if it's just a random act of kindness from a stranger. Since this is a technology blog, though, it feels like an opportune time to give thanks for what technology does to make so many aspects of our lives easier.

Of course, when you are sitting in the middle of the forest, you don't always notice the trees. It's that way with information technology. It has become such an important factor in our lives—both in the office and away, and at work or play—that we tend to gripe and growl at minute problems and sometimes forget the important steps that have taken place in the past decade that we couldn't imagine living without.