Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Non-ratings period (again)

Sorry for the huge length of that last post. I was going to split the review up into multiple shorter posts and have it as a whole series, but I figure that those who are interested (probably only be a few) might prefer to get it all at once.

From tomorrow, the next week or so will be a(nother) non-ratings period during which I won't have access to email or blogs. Please refrain from posting anything too interesting. Jessica and I will be off having a break up the mountains: reading, walking, playing Tigris and Euphrates and getting lots of sleep. This time off was a lovely surprise given to us at the recent thanksgiving service from our sisters and brothers at All Souls and is much appreciated!

While you're waiting for regular posting to return, you might like to explore the sidebar for highlights and series you might have missed. Or not. Instead, you might like to switch off the internet, stretch your legs and enjoy the world around you. You never know, you might like it...
Fifteen points for the last person to have left a comment on this post when I return. Five points for the country in the picture above.

46 comments:

Drew said...

Scotland?

Mandy said...

England?

Praying you and Jess have a lovely refreshing break.

Persephone said...

I'll vote for "somewhere cold".

Hope you have a relaxing break.

Anthony Douglas said...

I'm with Drew.

But mostly, I want to say...Happy Anniversary!

Drew said...

Hope you didn't get caught by the bad weather either!

Andrew Paterson said...

If no one else is keen - I'll have a go at the 15 points!

Andrew Paterson said...

Oh - a guess would be Scotland or New Zealand.

Drew said...

So when was Byron getting back?

Andrew Paterson said...

yesterday?

Christopher said...

I am keen. I can only ever get the novelty points.

Mike W said...

points please

Christopher said...

So when was Byron getting back?

It has been a week, I guess we are in the "or so" period

Drew said...

In my RSS feed, the points page was at the top - does this mean Byron's back and has updated it (although conceivably he could update it from an internet cafe anywhere), or does it just mean someone else visited it, jumping it to the top of the list?

Christopher said...

I am not sure. I am not even sure what an RSS feed is...but I am ok with that.

peter j said...

Cool. did you get a copy of T&E. I'm ready when you are.

I think all the obvious places have been said. Alaska?

Drew said...

This is a competition for producing the most innocent looking comment, while retaining your position as the last post...

Rachel said...

Oh Byron come back this very minute so I can rejoin the points game...this is nearly like gambling...

Anonymous said...

stop fighting over the points....
and the picture is of a baby ox

Anonymous said...

I wonder if I can make use of the UK time differnce to win the points.

Hope you had a loveley break Jess & Byron.

Doug

Unknown said...

Ok, I've never taken a stab at any points, but here I go!

:-)

Neil Cameron (One Salient Oversight) said...

It's obviously one of the following:

Afghanistan
Akrotiri
Albania
Algeria
American Samoa
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antarctica
Antigua and Barbuda
Arctic Ocean
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Ashmore and Cartier Islands
Atlantic Ocean
asAustralia
auAustria
ajAzerbaijan

bfBahamas, The
baBahrain
fqBaker Island
bgBangladesh
bbBarbados
bsBassas da India

boBelarus
beBelgium
bhBelize
bnBenin
bdBermuda
btBhutan

blBolivia
bkBosnia and Herzegovina
bcBotswana
bvBouvet Island
brBrazil
ioBritish Indian Ocean Territory

viBritish Virgin Islands
bxBrunei
buBulgaria
uvBurkina Faso
bmBurma
byBurundi

cbCambodia
cmCameroon
caCanada
cvCape Verde
cjCayman Islands
ctCentral African Republic

cdChad
ciChile
chChina
ktChristmas Island
ipClipperton Island
ckCocos (Keeling) Islands

coColombia
cnComoros
cgCongo, Democratic Republic of the
cfCongo, Republic of the
cwCook Islands
crCoral Sea Islands

csCosta Rica
ivCote d'Ivoire
hrCroatia
cuCuba
cyCyprus
ezCzech Republic

daDenmark
dxDhekelia
djDjibouti
doDominica
drDominican Republic
ttEast Timor

ecEcuador
egEgypt
esEl Salvador
ekEquatorial Guinea
erEritrea
enEstonia

etEthiopia
euEuropa Island
fkFalkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)
foFaroe Islands
fjFiji
fiFinland

frFrance
fpFrench Polynesia
fsFrench Southern and Antarctic Lands
gbGabon
gaGambia, The
gzGaza Strip

ggGeorgia
gmGermany
ghGhana
giGibraltar
goGlorioso Islands
grGreece

glGreenland
gjGrenada
gqGuam
gtGuatemala
gkGuernsey
gvGuinea

puGuinea-Bissau
gyGuyana
haHaiti
hmHeard Island and McDonald Islands
vtHoly See (Vatican City)
hoHonduras

hkHong Kong
hqHowland Island
huHungary
icIceland
zzIles Eparses
inIndia

xoIndian Ocean
idIndonesia
irIran
izIraq
eiIreland
isIsrael

itItaly
jmJamaica
jnJan Mayen
jaJapan
dqJarvis Island
jeJersey

jqJohnston Atoll
joJordan
juJuan de Nova Island
kzKazakhstan
keKenya
kqKingman Reef

krKiribati
knKorea, North
ksKorea, South
kuKuwait
kgKyrgyzstan
laLaos

lgLatvia
leLebanon
ltLesotho
liLiberia
lyLibya
lsLiechtenstein

lhLithuania
luLuxembourg
mcMacau
mkMacedonia
maMadagascar
miMalawi

myMalaysia
mvMaldives
mlMali
mtMalta
imMan, Isle of
rmMarshall Islands

mrMauritania
mpMauritius
mfMayotte
mxMexico
fmMicronesia, Federated States of
mqMidway Islands

mdMoldova
mnMonaco
mgMongolia
mjMontenegro
mhMontserrat
moMorocco

mzMozambique
waNamibia
nrNauru
bqNavassa Island
npNepal
nlNetherlands

ntNetherlands Antilles
ncNew Caledonia
nzNew Zealand
nuNicaragua
ngNiger
niNigeria

neNiue
nfNorfolk Island
cqNorthern Mariana Islands
noNorway
muOman
znPacific Ocean

pkPakistan
psPalau
lqPalmyra Atoll
pmPanama
ppPapua New Guinea
pfParacel Islands

paParaguay
pePeru
rpPhilippines
pcPitcairn Islands
plPoland
poPortugal

rqPuerto Rico
qaQatar
roRomania
rsRussia
rwRwanda
shSaint Helena

scSaint Kitts and Nevis
stSaint Lucia
sbSaint Pierre and Miquelon
vcSaint Vincent and the Grenadines
wsSamoa
smSan Marino

tpSao Tome and Principe
saSaudi Arabia
sgSenegal
rbSerbia
seSeychelles
slSierra Leone

snSingapore
loSlovakia
siSlovenia
bpSolomon Islands
soSomalia
sfSouth Africa

sxSouth Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
ooSouthern Ocean
spSpain
pgSpratly Islands
ceSri Lanka
suSudan

nsSuriname
svSvalbard
wzSwaziland
swSweden
szSwitzerland
sySyria

tiTajikistan
tzTanzania
thThailand
toTogo
tlTokelau
tnTonga

tdTrinidad and Tobago
teTromelin Island
tsTunisia
tuTurkey
txTurkmenistan
tkTurks and Caicos Islands

tvTuvalu
ugUganda
upUkraine
aeUnited Arab Emirates
ukUnited Kingdom
usUnited States

umUnited States Pacific Island Wildlife Refuges
uyUruguay
uzUzbekistan
nhVanuatu
veVenezuela
vmVietnam

vqVirgin Islands
wqWake Island
wfWallis and Futuna
weWest Bank
wiWestern Sahara
ymYemen

zaZambia
ziZimbabwe
twTaiwan
eeEuropean Union

Mandy said...

LOL. I'm pretty sre you won't get the points if the country has already been nominated, but a valiant attempt.

Rachel said...

my guess is they're coming home today... just thinking out loud, nothing to do with points or anything...what points?

Matthew Moffitt said...

Who needs points anyway?

Christopher said...

Please refrain from posting anything too interesting.

Reading through these comments I think we honoured Byron's request

Matthew Moffitt said...

indeed

Mandy said...

c'mon, we've provided him with a list of all the countries in the world and shown him how desperate we are to hear from him - what more could a man want?

Rachel said...

mmm so anyways... do you like stuff?

peter j said...

I know I'm desperate. At least for those points to get me back into second place.

Ali said...

I think it looks like Glencoe in Scotland.

peter j said...

I think Byron would look good with an Amish style beard. Any seconds?

Anthony Douglas said...

I'm guessing that's what he's been doing. They've been holidaying in Pennsylvania, I heard...

Simone R. said...

Hi Ali. How you going?

Christopher said...

This is a little like Russian Roulette, except without the gun and fear of death, but it is fun. Perhaps it is more like musical chairs.

Jonathan said...

I'm still very confused by the fact that Byron updated the points post last wekk, but there aren't any new posts yet.

Anyway, my comments usually kill the conversation, so I should get the points if they're still on offer. ;-)

Mike W said...

surely he is back by now!

peter j said...

I think he's back but just toying with us to see how long before we loose interest.

Matthew Moffitt said...

Snow in the Blue Mountains

Drew said...

he's distracted by facebook...

I swear it's the matrix.

Christopher said...

I hear that facebook is the next myspace, which replaced the blog, which replaced the rant, which replaced the club over the head.

Rachel said...

right B. time to up the the wager (you can't half tell my granfather was a bookie) I reckon that the last comment gets the amount of points as comments.... so 41 big ones coming my way any day soon.

ps Hi pete.

byron smith said...

OK, yes - I am now back. There are points a plenty coming, but I'll distribute them when I have a few minutes (maybe a little later in the day). I have to run off again now.

byron smith said...

Oh my - I also had 225 emails to read... Apologies if you wrote something to me and are waiting for a reply...

byron smith said...

OK - points here we go...

Drew - five points - it is indeed Scotland. Sort of sad that someone got it on the first comment, but since I was away I'll also pay points to others who were close.

Thus, two points to Mandy for being close.

Two more to Perspephone for a nicely vague yet incredibly accurate guess.

Four to Anthony (it would be five, but you weren't first). I'll also give you another three for remembing our anniversary.

Drew (again) - We missed the 'bad' weather, though our rural location did get some lovely (and much needed) rain.

Andrew P - two points for being being the first to not even try to disguise your attempt at getting the fifteen points with a somewhat relevant comment. And I'll give you three for getting Scotland, even though you diluted your correct guess with a second one (it is meant to be one guess per person per post per day!).

Christopher - two points for being keen.

Drew (again again) - the RSS feed indicated my points page was updated last because I was noting the possibility of these points that I am now awarding.

Lachlan - a baby ox? Very close. I'll give you a point.

Joanna - have two points for having a go!

OSO - I'll give you two points for correctly guessing the UK (if you were more specific re Scotland it might have been more), but then I'll have to take off one point for each of your 268 incorrect guesses (since they were all made on a single day). So minus 266 points unfortunately. However, since we're playing by backyard rules, you can't get out off the first ball, and since many of your guesses were close (correct continent), perhaps we'll just call it one point and be done.

Christopher - I'll give you another two points for honouring my request so admirably.

Ali - ten points for extra precision. Well done.

OK, now for the serious points. I must confess that the first time I briefly peeked (but didn't feel like dealing with the backlog) was about 11 pm on June 19, so fifteen points to Mike.

But then when I 'officially' looked this morning, Rachel's comment was last. Given the sheer audacity of her request, I'm going to grant it. Forty-one points. Luke 11.5-10.

And bonus consolation points to Drew, for having the most attempts. Six points (one for each attempt).

I think I just awarded 96 points. Now to update the scoreboard...

Ali said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ali said...

Well, hello Simone! (And excuse us Byron while we have our own private little tete-a-tete here.) I'll find you through another route ...

And I deleted my earlier comment just for a silly typo - is it possible to edit a comment or delete all traces of it?