Author: Vic Socotra

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas

It is a holy morning here in Virginia, and these are some images of a place where sacred events occurred for each of the Three Faiths. In 1990, Vic wanted to see the walls of the first Temple, the Dome of the Rock, and Stones on which the Savior walked among us. A small stone, […]

The Eve of Something!

The Eve of Something!

It’s Christmas Eve’s Eve, so DeMille is attempting to get things wrapped up before things start going all Green and Red and Star-Sparkled tomorrow. There was a trip to the Arrowine Cheese Store over on North Glebe including most of the Creative Section and talk about going south after we heard the talk about the […]

Where the Tide Is Running

Where the Tide Is Running

“US Strikes Yemen!” That was what was up on the screen in the Conference Room, boldface, when Splash walked in to rinse out the last of yesterday’s coffee in the squadron mug he uses. “Is this something new?” He looked groggy, apparently not realizing an Aegis cruiser USS Gettysburg had just shot down one of […]

Solstice, Dollars and The Eddie

Solstice, Dollars and The Eddie

OK, DeMille said we have to go to the big Festive Luncheon and only the words to go to the pictures will work. That is the Solstice, and not shorter or longer, just more of less light. That is from Jim Champagne, RIP. The guy with the paper is Sen. Ran Paul with the budget […]

Fifteen Minute County:Lines of Communication

Fifteen Minute County:Lines of Communication

DeMille had a list this morning. He told Rocket to see if he could get Vic and Vapor to do something to explain the strategic importance of the Pakistani port of Gwadar. Actually, it was the Omani port of Gwadar until 1958, part of the disintegration of British India that erupted in 1948. So, they […]

Fifteen Minute County: Plan Bee

Fifteen Minute County: Plan Bee

DeMille sighed. This was supposed to be a sort of wrap-up week to get the old business out of the in-basket and get set for some holiday routine for next week. And let the Transition sort itself out. Then, apparently Mr. Elon Musk got out of bed around 0400 local and sent a five-word Tweet […]

TMC: Cone cars & the Omnibus

TMC: Cone cars & the Omnibus

The thought had been that the drone thing would be the mid-week messaging center of gravity but there were other things. We knew something about the “Government Shut down” was going to come up and it will be fairly big, if fleeting, today. So, there was that issue and then what was passing in the […]

Fifteen Minute County: Holiday Volume & Wide Spectrum

Fifteen Minute County: Holiday Volume & Wide Spectrum

The messaging had started rapidly on Monday with holiday volume and wide spectrum. Thankfully, it is restricted air space here, so no drone-related activity in the Fifteen Minute County’s night. Well, the part of it north of Rt. 50. Clouds obscured the Moon the Cowboy State Daily published. It was along with the news about […]

Moon Over Big Pink

Moon Over Big Pink

Well, sort of. We thought we might run out of money this coming Friday at midnight, leaving us dry for the holiday. Panic was setting in, both at the HQ at Big Pink and virtual until DeMille reminded us the whole thing was imaginary, since if they shut down the printing presses in that building […]

Three Beard Night

Three Beard Night

(It would be four, if Santa’s were not plastic. These are Timmerman, Vic and journalist Austin Tice, all with similar beards within the Damascus time zone, though Vic’s was in 1980. Times change?) Busy morning, for an Advent Sunday. Rocket’s phone had bounced off the concrete corner of the HQ entrance near where that person […]