Never was it a plan to write these comments once every year—or two. All too familiar how skillful time is at slipping away. You know the drill, before we can catch our breath another year has drifted by.

And no point dwelling on what a year it's been up and down the scale. From COVID-19 to the oddest political season ever, there's been every reason to overwhelmed, anxious and perplexed.

Though in retrospect all of that hardly seems to justify inaction, yet lack of communication has been more rule than exception. Alas that's been true in this quarter too. At least as far as sharing information goes which of course doesn't mean there hasn't been progress.

Rather than dwell on shortcomings at this point how much better to give a recitation of actual accomplishments. In this case regarding this website. And despite appearances there has been quite a bit in recent months.

The bulk of improvements have been made in the “infrastructure” of the site. Among the more visible changes you'll notice the ability of visitors to make comments. This had been a Work in Progress for a long time, now it's available for all to use.

At this stage it's a simple system. It lacks threading or direct replies to comments, no editing, etc. Some of these features may be added in the future. On the plus side name and email are saved and are automatically inserted the next time you're making a comment. (That information is stored in your browser and doesn't require anything from our server.)

We think our visitors are by and large upstanding folks, but no surprise a few are predisposed to bad behavior. To prevent abuse, comments are moderated which means it could be up to a day or so before a comment is “released” for public consumption.

Other important changes are less visible. Server/software upgrades, numerous bug fixes, security enhancements are all crucial aspects of site life-cycle maintenance. Keeping up with requirements is an ongoing effort, but it's a necessary committment.

On the whole, it is a wonderful experience to see the results of the work that goes into it. Ultimately it's a real joy when it all comes together.