See you in a week

There are so many things I'd find interesting to talk about at the moment, from the latest inside dope on security theater as reported by the people who have to carry it out, to the Most Valuable Player awards for software and hardware in the last year (and updates on Offline Gmail and Windows 7), to the best replacement for the boiled frog cliche, to, yes, The Economy. Plus, the view in China at the dawn of what is both the Year of the Ox (牛) and the year of the Obama (奥巴马, the last character meaning "horse" but there just for phonetic reasons since it is pronounced ma). And so on. Including, yes, a further comment on the Inaugural Address, which will be yellowing in the National Archives by the time I type out my promised wrapup.

But because of a long-anticipated series of family and personal obligations that lie immediately ahead, some pleasant and others merely unavoidable, I will be off line for most of the next week or so. Details as relevant later on.

If this were back in my Japan days, I would sign off with じゃ�¾た, ja mata, my favorite Japanese "see you" phrase that is the functional equivalent of Ciao!  Instead I'll use my current favorite Chinese counterpart, �…��° -- man zou, literally "walk slow" but conceptually like "take it easy" in all senses of the term. It's often said by shopkeepers or restaurant staff as patrons leave the building. To the extent the Atlantic is a hybrid of friendly specialty store and lively cafe, it therefore applies here.

�…��° to all for now.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2009/01/see-you-in-a-week/9478/