Vacation time here in the USA for the Independence Day (July 4th) holiday.

I am having a fine time but I cannot help thinking of our soldiers in Iraq and other areas that are having a terrible time with IEDs and other hostile actions. I also marvel at one reporter who writes fabulous material from Iraq - Dexter Filkins of The New York Times. If you get a chance read his coverage. I have always had a passion for the World War II correspondent Ernie Pyle. Pyle covered the African, Italian and European theaters and was called in action on a Pacific Island by a Japanese machine gunner in early 1945. His reporting from Italy could make you cry. His report of the scene on Omaha Beach on D-Day plus One has to be one of the best wartime reports ever written. I think Filkins is on par with Pyle.

On the lighter side: I was just chatting with my mother-in-law who in her early 80s lives alone in New York City. She is very active and has a love affair going with the game of Bridge.

She spends about 12 hours a week on a site called BridgeBase.com. I get a big kick out of vertical sites that appeal to enthusiasts and special interests. This one is particularly interesting because it is run as a "labor of love." The site is interesting to me also because of its message boards. The message boards have relatively heavy activity. I am not a Bridge player and I presume there are many other Bridge sites? But this one is quite interesting because it runs no ads.