Back again. I seem to be lapsing into weekly blogging but I have decided to set myself a new goal. This post will mark 64 entries and I think with a concerted effort I may be able to make it to 100 before the end of the year. That averages to one every 3.65 days, which isn't too bad. Still, I actually have to do it yet.

Firstly, a quick update. Some of you may remember that I had a little trouble with some names and may have called a colleague an animated fish. Anyway, it turns out that I still had it wrong - it is in fact, Nino. When discussing a related project with some other people, I said Mimo thinking I've got it right this time, and they all burst out laughing. It seemed a little too raucous to me until they explained that it had been going around the office that I can never get this guy's name right. I guess its just one of those things. Every time I think of his name, I second guess myself and about the only thing I'm sure of is that he is not named after the animated fish. After that, its anyone's guess.

Things have been a little... well, tense isn't the right word... at my house. Our ADSL connection has been out for over two weeks now. Yes, we got caught up in the whole Veridas scandal and the subsequent vulture attack. DW is missing the connection particularly. Its funny how dependent on it we have become. We have had it for about a year and DW only used it a little until we bought her a nice, shiny new laptop earlier this year. We were using around 1.5~3GB per month until the laptop arrived. BANG! We were hitting 7~8GB per month. Admittedly that makes it sound like DW suddenly started downloading tons of stuff, which isn't really true. That was me but it did happen when the laptop arrived. Not that I was using the laptop. Anyway, no internet is driving poor DW crazy. It has become a life-line to the rest of the world. Actually, just the phone bill savings has more than justified the cost of the connection.

I have noticed the absence of the connection at home because I don't get little messages from DW all day. I like hearing all the little things that are going on. Thinks like "I'm hungry, going to have a cuppa and a biscuit", "Princess wants to type something", "gceigwcuelbcblkwceb" and "Little Man has filled his nappy. He's in the backyard and I can smell it from here. Better go deal with it." I get these little glimpses of what's going on at home sporadically through the day and sometimes I respond but often I just let them float by. Its nice and helps me feel like I'm missing less.

But DW feels the loss much more. She has a group of friends that all use Instant Messaging and email and quite often DW might go several days without talking on the phone, all because she is able to chat with others online. The problem with using the phone is that Little Man and Princess are drawn to it like moths to one of those zappy things. Princess always wants to talk and always says things like "Well, what I was going to say is... its Big Ted's birthday and Baxibax and Batasha are here and Little Man has filled his nappy and its GROSS! and Mummy says I don't go to Kinder today and I'm having yoghurt." Little Man seems to think that the best time to fall over or run into something or get cranky is when DW is on the phone. Instant messaging does away with that. A quick message can be sent without too much interference and the reply doesn't have to be acknowledged instantly. The result is a simpler, more effective communication. DW loves it. DW hates not being able to have it. DW knows its not my fault but sometimes she gets that look in her eye as if to say, "You're one of them - one of those IT guys and therefore are somehow connected to this conspiracy." I am so looking forward to our connection coming back up. Really.

Ciao!

Thought for the Day: I tolerate lactose and it tolerates me.