It's been literally weeks since our last post, gentle readers. (Though, in comparison to our former month-long absences weeks seem like almost nothing.) The reasons for our absence are many-fold. And so, with Christmas upon us, and the holidays looming, and the spirit of good-will and honesty filling our beings with soft, puffy truth, we give you:

• We are busy. We have our hands in too many pots, as they say. A rock band, a Miniature Gallery, a Graphic Design company, an actual job, and these things called "friends".. they've been keeping us busy. Damn them all, but they've just made us a sweeter offer than this internet has of late.
• A sorry attempt to perform the act of holiday gift-giving in a better than half-assed manner. We've been buying/making/collecting presents slowly for the last month or more, in hopes that we may come off as less than entirely sketchy this year.
• An almost thorough sickness of all things "virtual". Messageboards. Livejournals. Online Newsgroups. Forums. They've been a near-constant source of anxiety of late. Why do we find ourselves reading blogs we know will only enrage us? Why do we participate in discussion threads that we know will result in untimely ulcers? A break seems appropriate on a semi-regular basis
• Keeping Up With The Criminals. Let's be honest with ourselves folks. When it comes to blogging, our homeboy Lukas has pretty much got it covered for quality, and quantity. Simply put: Dude makes us look bad, and we're just not sure we can compete. Best bud, he may be. But an awesome blogging-foe he also represents. Ok, maybe foe is not the right word. But when you've got keeners like Luke on your team, it's hard to feel like a real contributor.
  And finally... the one you've all been waiting for:
• Computer Woes. Yes. They've stricken us too. First the server, and now at home here in sunny cold as fucking ice Halifax, Nova Scotia. After weeks of chugging, our harddrive has finally bit the electronic dust. So while we wait patiently for our new one, which is costing us a beautifully tragic 350 bones, we're reminded of simpler days. When we drew and wrote, and conversed using paper. Paper that didn't cost us our meager fortune.
• We would also like to mention, (for a cheap sympathy shot) that with our harddrive went the better part of three weeks worth of design work for our pal Jon Epworth, and a number of other clients/friends. Three weeks since our last backup. Serves us right, we suppose.

So, readers - this may pose a question for us all. Will Optimuscrime Halifax return when his computer springs back from it's untimely grave? The answer to that question is a complicated one. In short - we don't know yet. Our world is a complex one, and we have, as we've said, many things on our proverbial plate. Perhaps we can find a way to regain a foothold in this so-called "internet". Maybe this "blogging" business isn't over for us yet.

Only time will tell.

And in that time, please accept our most genuine wishes of holiday cheer.
We have no special holiday mp3s, or fancy lists of awesome things. Optimuscrime already has those covered. No, what we have is a very special, very tenuous relationship with our readers. And a total lack of promises, or holiday offers. Only this: Have a good holiday. Hug your friends and family.