2010 — 14 April: Wednesday

Tomorrow is, as ever, another day and — given that it's now 00:34 — it's arrived more or less on time. A rather doleful anniversary, to be sure: exactly two and a half years since Christa was physically in the house. Still unbelievable on some level...

I spent the evening catching up on the various security patches from Microspit and Adobe, and then finishing the last of the Vorsokigan saga. I think it will either be Honor Harrington or Aubrey and Maturin next. Maybe I should toss a piece of eight to decide? Ho-hum. G'night.

Unbrightly unshines...

... the not-so-new day (it's already 10:19, I note) as I sit here, gently plotting tasks and fun for today. And idly wondering if this...

Snake

... is what I think it is in Geoff's garden recently. Maybe I'll start wearing shoes when I next venture out into Christa's jungle?

Microspit remains remarkably ill-informed about me...

The last 18 months or so has been a challenging time, particularly for small businesses. Now, after a lengthy period of economic turmoil and cost cutting, business conditions seem set to improve, and this increased optimism is seeing businesses like yours starting to invest in productivity again. With the right technology you can ensure you're equipped to take advantage of new business opportunities.

Robert Epstein, in a mailshot


They wish. Do they really want all that lovely "irrational exuberance" back again? (Actually, they probably do.)

Recovering from...

... a less than cheerful chat with dear Mama, whose short-term memory has basically disappeared without trace. Today's topic was the gardening that a handyman is doing for her, but about payment for which had bemused her. Her neighbour filled in a cheque for her, which she signed, but she was worried about how to get cash for the chap. Three times round the same conversational loop without forward progress — not my idea of fun. Oh, and, by the way, when am I coming up to see her? Not that she would recall my visit. This is a sad remnant of the former parent!

Meanwhile, it's already 16:14 and I've shopped for tomorrow's guest and his culinary preferences. If he wakes up in time to get here, of course. Also paid in the double dose of ERNIE which is always a pleasant task. I shall pop over to Winchester this evening to watch a film or two, but I've insisted Mike doesn't feed me — after Monday's unplanned free dinner with Brian and Liz it's the only way I'm going to finish off the latest crockpot without wasting it. And I swore a mighty domestic oath towards the start of my new life as a widower that I was not going to waste food.

Time for a cuppa; I could use the warmth.

Thanks, Mr Postie

Martin Gardner is still going strong (he was partially responsible1 for getting me into the computer industry back in 1974); "Broken English" (for me, until now) was just the title of the fabulous 1979 album by Marianne Faithfull, and "Star Suckers" looks very interesting.

Book and DVDs

  

Footnote

1  Had I not read his book The Ambidextrous Universe I would have made an awful hash of explaining why a mirror appears to invert left/right and front/back but not up/down. And that was one part of the hurdle just to get to an interview for a post as a trainee instructional writer.