That was unplanned...

... that being a two week and more absence from this 'blog.

Anyway, I'm around again now.

This is your Sunday Open Push as well. Open thread.

The usual rules apply, foremost of which being: Play Nice.

As always, thank you All for coming here.

Sunday Morning Push

And then... and then I was busy. The wrong kind of busy. Not sure it is going to be better tomorrow, either. Stay tuned.

What got missed last week:

. Martin got the handshake. Elizabeth II was in Northern Ireland for part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. That's got to be an Only-Nixon-could-go-to-China moment for the Provos... Hope his own partisans don't hold it against him.

.. John Roberts engaged in one of the great judicial manuevers in the history of the SCOTUS. He was right about one thing, at least: It is not the court's job to save the electorate from bad laws passed by their representatives.

... Syria, Yemen, and Mali are all still hot zones in the Arab Spring (a year later and looking nothing like it did) and the GWOT. No coincidence, that.

.... Egypt elected Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood (yeah, he had a different party name; same difference) as President. SCAF (the Army government) tried to set the table by dissolving Parliament and taking over the new Constitution-writing, but even if that man is just a figurehead... ho boy... he's going to be trouble.

..... and lots more.

OK, your turn. This is an Open topic thread.

The usual rules all apply; most importantly: Play Nice.

As always, thank you All for coming here.

Sunday Open Push

Same Story, Different Day. Just Worse.

Hope you All are well out there.

Here's an Open thread just to keep things available here. yadayada Rules; yadayada Play Nice.

Be back when I can be.

Memorial Day, 2012

Decoration Day.

This one is for the Yanks... the 'mates get their day in November.

h/t to Glenn Reynolds for the following Patton quote:

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather, we should thank God that such men lived."

As usual, I spent as much of the day as I could with some old friends.

***

Ich hatt' einen Kameraden...

Memorial Day, 2012.

LDG

still an Open thread

Still same situation here.

Open Thread; so Play Nice.

Stop cheering for the alligators, you guys.

Monday Open Push

Just like it was Sunday, only later...

Here's an Open Thread for you.
The usual rules and all: Play Nice.

***

All the wrong kinds of busy right now.

(Hint: the right kind of busy usually gains one something; the wrong kind usually prevents a loss. I'm 'baling water out with my hat' on a matter here. Or, say, observing something about swamps and alligators.)

Be back on the 'morrow.

Sunday Open Push

Time once again for an Open Thread.

Your turn, folks. The usual rules apply, specifically Play Nice.

As always, thank you All for coming here.

Saturday Open Push

Obliged elsewhere.

Consider this an Open Thread.

Usual rules. Importantly, Play Nice.

See you on the 'morrow.

Sunday Morning Push

So, another Sunday has come...

Time for an Open Thread, as usual.

Also as usual, the rules still apply. In particular, Play Nice.

***

A couple of site admin matters this week:

I lost a couple of days midweek to computer troubles. All better now, and thank you for looking in while I was letting important topics slip by... well, they won't all get away but I'm not posting on them today.

and...

If you notice any format problems with this or earlier posts, "thank" Blogger. They pulled a massive change to all the features behind the scenes at this 'blog and the new text editor/entry page is just one of the problems they created by this utterly unnecessary set of changes. At least you can change the option of how it interprets line breaks...

Yeah, I've complained. Any bets on if they'll bother change anything?

***

Anyway...

Thank you All for coming here.

Saturday Open Push

Can't...talk...too...busy...juggling...

Open Thread

Play Nice while I'm obliged, please.

Sunday Open Thread

Time for an Open topic thread to round out the week.

The usual rules apply, foremost amongst them: Play Nice.

If you are of the mind to click on a link, here's one that plays to this author's interest in history: Who do the British consider to have been their greatest foe in history?

I'd call it a fair cop; the famous line about "will kill you in your sleep on Christmas" remains a favorite of mine.

Anyway...

All else seems to be going about as well as can be expected here.

As always, thank you All for coming here.

Saturday Open Push

Yeah, yeah, usually comes on Sunday...

Not happening.

Here's an Open Thread for you All while I have some time with family. As always, the usual rules apply, specifically: Play Nice.

See you on the 'morrow, and thanks for coming here.

Sunday Morning Open

Yes, it's that time again, time for the Sunday Open thread.

The usual rules apply (all of them), but in particular: Play Nice.

April Fool's Warning ~ don't even try it, wiseguys.
((grin))

As always, thanks to All for coming here.

Sunday Morning Open

Let's try this again...

Here's an Open Thread for you All, to ask questions or discuss topics of your chosing. The basic rule remains: Play Nice.

However since there seems to have been a minor misapprehension about that sort of thing recently, let's also get some things straight:

. Play Nice means don't come in here with a load of attitude, and don't go looking for a fight. If one finds you, don't feed the troll. A little rough-and-tumble with words is fine, but as soon as someone takes offense, game over. Drop the topic.

.. It better be either interesting or important to discuss it here, in public. My e-mail isn't a secret; If you want to discuss something but just doesn't seem appropriate to wave around in public (good-wise or bad-wise), send it to me privately and if it turns out to be good public discussion, I'll ask if I may post the discussion. If it's bad, you'll catch hell from me, but not out in public.

... I don't place ads or charge a subscription; as such I take particular umbrage with anyone who (no matter how politely) posts spam, ad-links, or redirects to someone else's for-profit site. As soon as I see one of those in comments, it goes bye-bye and the poster draws a permanent ban. No debate, no appeal. Gone.

.... Same-same for anything I decide is beyond-the-pale morally or socially. No debate, no appeal. Gone.

..... Lastly, the Catch-All Rule: My basement, my rules. That means I get to decide what is ok, what isn't, who gets comments deleted (or gets banned) and who doesn't. Yep, that means if I so much as think you are looking cross-ways at me, I might drop the hammer. You don't like it? Start your own 'blog.

Now then, since this is the first time in almost four years I've had to spell things out, let's call it done and go on.

Here's to better days.

As always, thank you All for coming here.

Sunday Midday Open

Ya... long time coming, but as opportunity allows a good 'blogging pace for now, let's run with it.

Here's an Open Thread for all of you. This is for folks that just want to keep in contact, or ask about anything from the Nuba Mountains to the Euro Crisis and beyond; pretty much wide open. Even partisan politics are ok, but do recall the basic rule for commenting here: Play Nice.

As always, thanks to All for coming here.

Am holding position...

...and maintaining rate of fire. Will advance at first opportunity.

Sounds serious, right?
((grin))

Yeah, well. It is. But 'twill be right in the end. No worries.

***

Until then, here's something for you in the USA entertainment market area to look forward to:

That ain't CG

h/t: Froggy at Blackfive

The film this making-of video is from is called "Act of Valor".

Please do see this movie when it opens.

***

Addenda: CompHyp friend Marie sends over this link (via FOXNews) to the theatre-release trailer for AoV. Thanks!

All input...

...no output.

At least for now, my regrets.

Just got back in here after more than a few days functionally AFK. Hope you All are well, and looking forward to your choice of winter holiday. We're on track to get a nice New Year's time here, but...

... almost all my cards, gifts, and such to friends went out late. Or are still going out. At least family got covered in time this year.

Sheesh. Proper Planning and all that.

***

I've been toying with the idea of a year end wrap up of favorite topics here at CompHyp. I mean, other than Hugo and I'maDinnerJacket, the list of usual suspect out there is getting a little slim. I mean, when the fountain of 'blog content that was Kim Jong-Il has passed from this mortal coil, it may be time to tell one last telling of the tales of the old villains and go back into the analysis mines to see what new disasters await unearthing in the coming year.

Hmm....

Yes, well...

...I've been obliged. Usual reasons.

Here's an Open thread as a catch-all for any questions or issues about any of the myriad of stories that have thundered across the news the last month or so. I'll have a couple of them up over the next day or two, but you may well have something worth discussing that I'm to pass over in my efforts. So here you go.

Also:

I've been asked why (elsewhere), after the 9/11 memorial thread, there hasn't been the regular memorial posts regarding Gothic Serpent, USS Cole, and so on that I have previously made a habit of posting about. The answer is simple: It's just been too sad this year. Those sort of topics require a righteous sense of vengeance that, while it certainly still burns in me, is contrary to the need I have right now to come to terms with the sad parts. So... I'm rolling it all together and will post Remembrance Day (Veteran's Day) as I did for Memorial Day. 'Nuff said.

OK, play on with the Open thread, but remember the usual rules still apply: Play Nice.

...and thank you, All, for still coming here.

Advisory

There is still some there, there.

Just not here, or more correctly not here right now.

But there will be. Until then, consider this an Open Thread.

The usual rules still apply: Play Nice.


I'd offer more, but considering that the time someone said (paraphrased from memory) "Stick around, Ian. I'll be right back." it didn't work out all that well... this will have to do.

So I said to someone I'd post on the weekend...

...apparently I didn't think to mention *which* weekend.

It's been a while. Thanks for looking in here in during my absence, All.

For now, here's an Open Thread for you and I'll see what I can do about getting regular Topic Threads up again soonest. As always with commenting here, the usual rules apply: Play Nice.