Surf Not Affested by Houthi Advances Toward Bab Al Mendeb Strait Inline image PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT Perim Island is CLOSED for recreational swimming, snorkeling and surfing due to Iranian IRGC incursions. US CENTCOM reports Socotra Island and it’s sweeping beaches remain open for recreation but advises those engaging in water sports keep a wary eue […]

The Sunday Dance-Off We started Sunday morning considerably farther south and east, watching what could have been the sun coming up over Socotra. There were thoughts of surf. Fishing. Breakfast. And naturally, coffee. Mocha. Which turned out to be an unexpectedly useful word this morning. Across the water from our newly rediscovered island sits the […]

Yesterday was emotional in a way that none of the last twenty-five observances of that strange and lovely morning had been. It was a morning that became too busy to think about and too intense to fully channel, and one that would hold such horror—and so much energy and attention—through the next quarter century. Only […]

This is the view from the North East corner of Socotra Island, looking west. It is where some of this nonsense started when some of the current grand stand of people arrived to cheer the misadventures as the Persians and the Americans do their joustings at one another. And jeer. The ‘news’ from here is […]

This is where I left the story in 2011. You can see the Pentagon façade just under the overhang to the left. It is where the jet came in a quarter-century ago. The old Navy Exchange gas station was located at what was called Quarters K, a name left from the old Army layout on […]

What is a galley proof? Galley proofs are books in the pre-publication stage, sent around to interested folks who might want to review what is coming before the final version goes to print. Vic claims to have worked for McGraw-Hill in a previous century, and he reminds us that publishers used to send the things […]

Those were some of the volleys from yesterday. We did not put the three tankers CENTCOM struck on Monday on our map, including the one reported now on the bottom of the Persian Gulf. But you can see the ominous red lines of the missile tracks heading west from Iran. The reported target solution was […]

Hi! Afternoon from Fairfax in the Old Dominion of Virginia! It’s Deirdre here. I wanted to check in after the Production people got done complaining about the Chapter One and Chapter Two continuity problem. That dragged us back to why we are currently in Fairfax, and how this flexible living arrangement seems to suit people […]

Cooking for the Crowd Inline image Vic had the good fortune to be born in Detroit, a city famously located north of Canada, although explaining that geography to people elsewhere can take longer than eating lunch. It would be faster to just click through and order some. Speaking of which—here, have a pierogi from Pietrzyk’s. […]