This week (May 22) marks the first anniversary of the Joplin tornado, the deadliest tornado since 1950, when modern record keeping began. The devastation (158 fatalities and over 1,000 injured) has strengthened the national commitment to build resilience to extreme weather events. This month’s issue of Scientific American has a great article from NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco and National Weather Service Director Dr. Jack Hayes about how new technologies will increase warning times of impending storms, thereby saving more lives. It is a great article. I was in the Joplin area in September 2005 when I spoke at an event with a local technology firm. When I reached out to my contacts there on the occasion of this difficult anniversary, I heard a consistent story of amazing progress made towards recovery, but there is still a long way to go. They report that visitors are taken aback by the scope of the disaster, even as locals are proud of how far they have come. Perspective is everything.