Dave Kelly's Stuff (updtd May 2014)

All the pictures for the Kelly threads show up on Google images giving me false hopes

I hope this isn't too forward of me, but does anyone know what happened to all of Dave Kelly's fantastic reviews? I was (slightly) active on the forum between '09 and '12 under a no longer extant profile and Dave's work was probably the most comprehensive collection of knowledge on Early and Late Modern swords on the internet. Most of the threads still exist, but the reviews have vanished. There's also no obvious rhyme or reason to what is there and what is gone; some fairly old ones are still around while some newer ones are gone.

Just go to facebook and search David Kelly swords. Once there ask to be a Friend and will give you access. 

F***, Afoo: go take a cold shower.  I am not, and never earned any such title. I wasn't combat arms. ('Cept for the 5 days after they made me a Reserve Infantry Lt., I wanted on active duty. It was 1973 and Viet Nam was ending. My University got a notice from Army Personnel that if my peer group wanted to go on active duty they had 4 billets for the Transportation Corps. I went on active duty as a logey puke.) Got a few normal rotations in small units then wandered off into the world of Plans and Ops at Corps, Dept of the Army, Joint Staff and Unified Commands. "This is my lap top, and this is my graph paper. They are my weapons of war..."

Scholar, sort of. Warrior: not my job. 

Another funny moment: Finished my company command tour and got a call from branch personnel. "Hey Dave? Your file says you have an undergrad degree in Philosophy? How would you like to go back and get a masters (our expense) and a billet at USMA as a military ethics teacher.?"

Couldn't speak. I was too busy laughing. "I'm not a West Pointer. I'm alien to the whole culture up there. Besides if I do that, you guys are essentially going to cut me adrift to serve as a faculty member up there with no return date to active service."  Guy on the other end whimpered, "Do you know how hard it is to try and fill this @$&%$! ?".  "Nope. You can send me to any hot zone ya gots, and I'll go willingly; but West Point liberal arts: hell no."

Bed Time.

Thanks for your frank and honest reply. I'm sorry to hear of the travails of both the site and of you personally, although I am glad to hear that your collection has grown so prodigiously. I've always enjoyed and respected your work.

Thanks for the offer, but the graphics are all on Photobucket, and practically all of the reviews were hand-drafted on the forum. I have a copy of Stellar Phoenix software for deep disk recovery. (And Avast! for security.) Nothing on my drives I don't want. I've got 7 of my larger articles saved in windows/pdf.  

All the wishful web stroking and I am shooting finishing pics of the current laydown....  Keep your fingers crossed. If the office doesn't call me in cause some a*****e called off his duties, just maybe....