Today is my 32nd birthday. If all goes according to plan, I'll be spending some time at the Mamiya Medical Heritage Center in Honolulu, because spending a birthday at a medical history museum is probably the best way to appreciate getting older and how far medical technology has come in such a short time. If there was a feminist history museum nearby, I'd go there too. I think birthdays and aging are easier for women today thanks to feminism.

Only in a Coke ad do you see a penguin at the North Pole among the polar bears. Penguins aren't associated with Christmas except in my beleaguered brain. They are cute, charming, and fascinating. Let's talk penguin. In addition to being cute, penguins are remarkable birds. They can stay underwater several minutes. Some can dive as deep as 900 feet. They've managed to survive in some of the most inhospitable places on the planet. Even so, some are under threat from global warming, habitat loss, and pollution.

If you’re naughty, not nice in the Netherlands, Santa’s helpers will stuff you in a sack and take you back to Spain. This is a threat? A free trip to Spain in December! But why Spain, I wonder? The real St. Nicholas was a bishop in Turkey and his bones are buried in Italy. A holdover from when Spain ruled Holland, during the Elizabethan era? But that’s another mystery to search out. --Intelligent Travel

Two more holidays to go. First Christmas, then the New Year. After that, you can dial back the chaos for a while, at least until Spring Break, right? Mod cons or no, travel is still something of an endurance test, and long haul travel at the height of the season? Ay yi yi. If there's no chance you're staying home, here's yet another round up of survival tips.

It started on Thanksgiving and it doesn't end until after the New Year, when we return to our pre-holiday seasons lives, probably with a few more pounds from the treats and a new sweater or two. It's the Holiday Travel Season. Maddening lines in airports, weather based delays, excess baggage fees, and weary fellow travelers. Take a deep breath, you can make it through with a little extra planning.