Arms and influence

OK, I'm back

Thanks for all your encouraging words.

Still here--but for how long?

To everyone who has asked what happened to me over the last several weeks, thanks. A lot of responsibilities escalated suddenly--work and parental responsibilities, primarily--that made blogging seem like an expensive luxury.

But that's not the whole story. I also needed a break to take stock of what I've been doing with my life, blogging included. My conclusion? I'd like to continue writing Arms and Influence--but only if there's an audience. If I'm just talking to myself, I'd rather not pour time into an elaborate series of personal reflections on national security. If people are reading the blog, and want to continue a dialogue about national security, I'll return to regular posts.

Therefore, you, Dear Reader, hold the fate of Arms and Influence in your hands. I'll base my decision, to a large extent, on the responses to the survey below. The number of responses is as important as the Yes, No, or Don't care choices. If you feel very motivated to help keep this blog on track, send people over here to answer the survey.

Meanwhile, I'll do a little posting soon. One topic I'd like to discuss is an idea for a military history project. I'd love to hear your suggestions, criticisms, etc.

Survey

In the lap of the laptop gods

I had all kinds of good intentions to catch up on posting over the weekend, but my laptop bit the dust. I'll try to squeeze in something tonight.

Hello from the cave

No, I'm not dead. I haven't joined up (though Pentagon standards may be low enough for me to do so). I've just taken an unexpected vacation from writing.

To some degree, my absence from blogging was necessary. I had some big writing projects in my new job that consumed my time. I couldn't justify writing anything else until these were done.

However, I can't blame work completely. I had a bad case of blogging fatigue, which happens when you worry that your effort is largely wasted.

Anyway, I'll try to get back on a regular schedule of posts. I hope someone is still reading.

Light posting for the next few days

Our experiment in switching phone and DSL providers blew up in our face. The short version: if you make the change, be sure to parse the phrase "phone line" correctly. It does not mean the physical connection to your house. Instead, it means an active phone number assigned to your house. Guess wrong, and you may not have both a phone and Internet access.

On the upside, I've learned a new term, "dry loop." Plus, I'm learning the virtue of patience, the kind that keeps me from punching someone in the face.

Training day(s)

I'm at newbie job training the next couple of days, so I won't be posting much. Don't worry, I'll be back soon.

Defeating the legion of dickheads

As a blogger, my "reward" for having a post linked in some other popular blog or web site (such as Wikipedia) is spam. Therefore, I'm forced to make some changes in the comments section, as much as I hate to do so.

Starting today, I'll be holding comments for approval. Apologies in advance for times when I'm not as speedy as I should be with these approvals.

On the plus side, you'll be able to use HTML in your comments--because YOU asked for it!

Rest in peace, Andrew Olmsted

Milblogger Andrew Olmsted died last week. Click here to read his self-obituary; click here to read a memorial article at the Rocky Mountain News.

Godspeed, Major Olmsted. You will be missed. And to quote from your farewell post:

If there is any hope for the long term success of democracy, it will be if people agree to listen to and try to understand their political opponents rather than simply seeking to crush them.

Thank you for your dedication to the cause of democracy, here and abroad.

The dark side of cat blogging

Other blogs have a tradition of cute cat blogging. To prove how adorable their pets are, bloggers post pictures of the beloved beasts, rolling on the floor, sleeping, playing with twine, etc.

I have to put up with a cat who posts taunts in the comments section of this blog. Baddas Cattacus (e-mail: [email protected]), I know who you are, and where you live. One more outburst from you, and I'll see you on Donald Rumsfeld's Island of Death for the final showdown. I fear you not.

Ch-ch-changes

After another hiatus, I'm back...For now.

I'll have to feel my way through the task of regular blogging. I've changed jobs--or, more accurately, changed careers. Last Friday was my last day as a product management VP. Next month, I start work as an industry analyst. In between, of course, are the holidays, but so too is a chance to get back on the blogging horse again.

Still, I don't know what this new career means for my blogging time. We'll just wait and see.

Meanwhile, let me just say that this career move is a good thing. I've wanted to try being an analyst for a while, since it allows me to focus completely on the research part of my work.