Author: Vic Socotra

The Fifteen Minute County

The Fifteen Minute County

There is a lot going on here, and DeMille said to draft something with apologies with a flashy graphic at the top and figure out how to track what appears to be noise about general war in Europe- the one with rockets and NATO or EU forces somehow entering the conflict in Ukraine with troops […]

Arrias: Strategic Catastrophe

Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke, the Elder, mastermind of the Franco-Prussian War (among others), said that “Errors in tactics can be corrected on the next battle, but errors in strategy can only be corrected in the next war.” By strategy, he meant the overarching war plan of a nation. And his point was that if […]

Morning Edition

Morning Edition

Goodness, what a week that just passed! In included First Snow here, big fluffy flakes that came down with gray chill gusty drizzle for a while. It was a seasonal adjustment to the smoking area on the Patio and consequently everything needed to be done in the conference room with the big flatscreen adding low […]

Arrias & His Muse: Winter

A crescent Moon is waning, But the sky – an inky black, Ghostly clouds dart silently by, A fleet of ships maneuvering for attack. Frost is building on the roof, With Thanksgiving a week away, The Dismal Swamp seems mighty cold In this mid Autumn day. Brew some tea, feed the dogs, Two deer glide […]

Vapor Lock

Vapor Lock

“Not all those who wander are lost.” J.R.R. Tolkien “But sometimes the wanderers aren’t aware of where they are going.” Vic Socotra Vapor had that look on his face at the picnic table. It was crisp with that cold front that swept through last night and the waning moon hung bright in the blue sky. […]

The Boomers are Back

The Boomers are Back

Morning! Splash here, and I am large and pretending to be in charge. That’s me on the bottom in the middle, but look at those pics! We looked at the graphic over coffee this morning on The Patio. We thought it was a cover of TV guide or something, not the start of the Cabinet […]

Porch Pirate

Porch Pirate

Hi! This is Kristina and I am not happy about Tuesday morning. This one, anyway.  Melissa promised she could get me a great opportunity to learn the ropes on the legal internship thing here at Socotra House. She used to do it, but DeMille, the boss, was told to do some local stuff for the Daily- something harmless […]

Time of Transition

Time of Transition

Shakespeare summed it up in a lot of stuff. We had to wade through some of it when there were still books and stuff at Washington and Lee before they changed the second part of the name. The football team is undefeated this year, which is not what it was when I was there, so […]

Ring Around the Moon

Ring Around the Moon

(The Moon over the patio at 2:23AM Sunday. Clockwise from top left, DeMille, Splash, Eddie, Melissa, Rocket, Vapor & Rick. Middle is Kristina. Sketches by Vic).  That was the moon above the Big Pink patio outside the entrance to Socotra House World Headquarters this morning. Jupiter is in there as well, but things got a […]

Arrian: Seapower and National Security

On the north side of a runway, at an airfield about 60 miles west of Gdansk, Poland, about 10 miles from the Baltic, lies a US Navy operated installation. It is a missile defense base – known as AEGIS Ashore. It was just declared fully operational just a week or so ago, though it has […]