Now, Where Did I Put That Hacksaw, Mama? Merry Christmas 2009

Well, it's that time of year again—as I have every year since we began, I'm closing up shop for a few days to celebrate the ancient Solstice holiday, joining in whilst much of my culture commemorates Mithras and Mammon and honors the Christ Child. We're hoping to raise a flagon of nog with friends and relatives, smell the scent of pine indoors, trade gifts, and eat. Well, overeat, but overeat well. (Hey, a palindrome.)

I'll be back before the New Year gets here. We've got a lot of good stuff coming up: I spent a couple of hours on the phone yesterday with Peter Turnley, and it looks like we might be able to bring you his selection of his work from every phase of his career, which is going to be interesting to say the least. Howard French is working on an interview with one of our favorite photographers, and Christopher Lane has written a guide to a category of products that's been stirring great enthusiasm amongst equipment nuts recently (I can use that disparaging term because I'm one). I've been working on the next TOP Ten Cameras, we have in the hopper some more good book reviews from Geoff Wittig and from myself, and of course we'll name the Book of the Year 2009 and the Camera of the Year 2009 as part of our eagerly-awaited pointless end-of-the-year awards. And, perhaps best of all, we have a very pleasant surprise coming up on or about the 20th of next month. I cannot say more now. I'm pretty sure I wasn't supposed to say that much.

I know the following has made the rounds on sites of every description and innumerable email forwardings already, but I can't resist one more time because I love it:

(Photographer unknown)

And with that, a Happy Holiday Season to all. Back soon. I'll leave you with a nice little post by my friend-I've-never-met John K. about how our subjects choose us, which I'll put right above this one.

And now, back to working on that chain between my ankle and the leg of the desk—now, where did I put that hacksaw, again?

—Mike, TOP's M. of C.'s and and Longsufferin' Bob Cratchit Figure

Mike and Zander, a few years back

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Comments

[Simon, Norfolk UK]

Happy Christmas Mike from a snowy corner of the UK. Thanks for all the interesting reading in 2009 and looking forward to 2010.

Simon

[Bryce Lee]

Merry Christmas to Mike & Zander Johnston
and various relations.

Best wishes for 2010!

From
Bryce Lee
Southern Ontario in Canada.

[Oronet Commander]

Happy Christmas from Spain, Mike, Ctein and all the usual contributors and commenters who make my days more entertained and thus, livable.

Rodolfo

[Richard Kevern]

Ditto

[almostinfamous]

that photo is awesome!

[Tim McDevitt]

2009 was your best year ever. Have a great holiday and come back refreshed. We'll look forward to more TOP material for all of us daily addicts next year.

[charlie]

Ditto

[Paul]

Mike, thanks for being a daily stop along the information superhighway in 2009. And here's to being a pleasant place to pause on the superhighway in 2010!

Merry Christmas from just a little further north (45˚33'N) and further east (62˚39'W) from you

[erlik]

Here's a greeting card for you and all the interesting people who come here.

Inspired by Ctein. :)

[Patrick Dodds]

More happy Christmas greetings from the UK Mike - have a good break.

[Ludovic]

I know it's a bit early, but the results are just in and so I thought I'd share: the Blog Of The Year With Words Like Online And Photographer In The Title Award has been awarded to you in 2009!

Whodathought, eh? Congratulations, and lots of celebratory eggnog

(...and of thanks!)

[Gavin McLelland]

Writing from an airport departure lounge waiting for yet another delayed flight. Hope everybody has wonderful Christmas and as I once saw on an Iranian government Christmas card. "Congratulations on the anniversary of the birth of your saviour" and enjoy Hogmanay. Thanks for a great read nearly every day.
Gavin

[John MacKechnie]

That photo clever and everything, but jeez, did you see all of that noise. I bet it would fall completely apart if it were enlarged to 40 by 60. I hate to be a pixel peeper, but the noise alone completely ruins it for me. The photographer must have been using one of those 12 mp prosumer models that can't handle an exposure at 3600. I say why bother if you don't have the proper equipment. He should have read DPReview before he dared put that photo on the net. Oh yeah, Season's Greetings.

[Rod S.]

Mike and Zander, Best wishes from Sydney, Australia. Here, it's the morning of Christmas Eve, a very warm day is shaping up, and I'm off to buy the traditional king prawns and oysters.

Thanks for all the interesting and inspirational ideas and links in 2009. Have an enjoyable few days off. Put your feet up a few times...hopefully you'll have found that hacksaw by then!

[Robin P]

Thanks for another year of good reading Mike, you must still be getting it right as you're second from top on my Firefox bookmarks (after my eBay Selling page, of course).

Cheers, hic, Robin

[jamin]

wouldn't that be palinword? wordendrome?

hrm :p

merry christmas!

[Bob]

Thanks for all your efforts and the wonderful blog.

By the way, that's not a palindrome.... it doesn't read the same backwards.

[Archer Sully]

Happy Mithrasmas!

[Yvonne]

Merry Christmas, Mike. Have a good one! Hope you don't get RSI, like me, from being chained to that desk too long. Definitely high time to learn all the keyboard shortcuts I've been ignoring for years.

[mike b]

I'll have a Blue XMas without y'all.

Let's swap ice storm/blizzard horror stories next week.

[Eirik Frøystein]

Wish you a merry christmas from Norway Mike. Thanks for all the great posts in 2009, looking forward to 2010. Have a good one.

[Player]

Ditto!

[Marty Spellman]

To all at TOP,

Happy Holidays and best wishes for 2010. Thanks for being the best blog out there!

- Marty

[Maarten B.]

Have a good time, Mike.

Christmas Eve is starting right now here in Holland and since we have two days of Christmas celebration and eating (First and Second Christmas day) I will need a lot of exercise afterwards.

[Pardik]

This "Ditto" picture is so Kurt Vonnegut!
Merry christmas,