I'm back from vacation and have a bit of news to announce. I know some of you have noticed some changes in the staff--one new person working and one regular worker ... not. Here's the scoop:

Bert, the owner of the shop, has decided to retire. For lack of a better word.

As you can tell by the picture at the left, he's been running Vortex since the black and white days and it's time he took some time for himself.

Because the more observant among you have been asking, I'm going to answer some questions that keep coming up: a) no, his retirement is not health-related; b) yes, this pretty much means he won't be working any shifts; c) he may pop in from time to time to pick things up, drop things off, have lunch with the staff and what have you, but those visits are at his leisure and are not scheduled so those of you interested in knowing when he'll be around, I'm afraid I don't have a satisfactory answer; d) yes, he is still the sole owner of the shop and he has no intention of selling; e) with the exception of Bert's absence, everything else is staying the same--meaning we'll run the store the same way we always have. There are no changes in policies or other such things. f) No, I cannot call him at home when you disagree with me about something.

Unfortunately, Bert does not have email so I cannot forward him your best wishes. Rest assured he misses (some of) you, too.

As to the "new guy", his name is Bud. And he's only sorta new. He used to work at Vortex--from '99 to '01. So, he knows the ropes--no need for you to treat him like a newbie. (Okay, maybe just a little). He works in color.