August was a heck of a month around here for news and visitor traffic -- the highest of the year so far. One way of looking at that is it's the wrong time to kill the momentum. Another way is that summer is fading and it's the perfect time for a break. So before the days grow any shorter, I'm going to take some time away from this joint. Let's call it a week and change. I've got some other projects going that will have me on the road and allow only intermittent contact, so if there's any old business lingering that I neglected to conduct, look for me on the 17th. Mark, Veronique and the rest of the esteemed LAO authors will keep things lively around here, and I may post occasionally — especially when stranded in airports.