If you've got to disappear from your weblog, common sense says, say something and give a time that you'll be back. It's polite, it gives readers an idea of when someone's going to be back, it's a way to set expectations.
Ah, but then there's idiots like me....
OK, to start with, my apologies for the sudden disappearance; it wasn't planned per se, but was thrust upon me like a flyer when you're walking down the street. You don't want it, but what do you say to the poor guy who's job it is to hand out flyers and has a face saying "Just take the damnable thing so we can *both* get on with our lives." You take it, and dispose of it as best as you can.
What happened was, in order, my job took a turn for the worse, so I started looking for another job; then my company took a turn for the worse, so I figured I should find another job right away; then my company decided to keep me, so I suddenly had to read up on several systems I hadn't touched in years; and then I decided that this was A Clue From On High, and that when a company starts laying off more than 70% of it's staff in one office, that that's not a good thing, so I should, in fact, continue with my first impulse.
In other words, I had to find a new job. Immediately.
Part of the problem with blogging non-anonymously (and thank you, FTP, for forcing me to learn to spell "anonymous") was that talking about this was impossible. I think the total number of people who've read this can be counted on a finger, so I wasn't too panicked that my bosses would see it -- but this site does figure pretty highly when I'm Googled. And I had nothing else going on.
But that's ended, and I'm back, and I should be blogging on a more regular basis now. My apologies for the drought, and this should be a lot more fun now.
Thanks,
Ted