Connundrum

What's a rhetorical question I ask myself?

Car Trouble

Ye Olde Fiesta was in a different place this morning. So at least it seems to be working at the moment. It has this rather nice anti-theft device which flattens the battery if you leave the car alone for more than a month or so (something we did a while back). As a way to make the car hard to steal it works great, but too much efficiency is sometimes a problem...

Still not found the registration document though...

Car Sale Panic

I make it a rule never to sell cars to people I know. The problem is that I always worry about the engine exploding/dropping off things that I pass on. There is no reason why our Olde Fiesta should suddenly take it into its head to fall apart, but I reckon that one way to guarantee this is to sell it to somebody who knows me. I suppose that this means that I'm happier ripping off people who I've never met, rather than acquaintances, but there you go.

So, having taken due regard of these strongly held feelings I've just sold the car to Dave next door. I told him about my rule and he instantly claimed to have never met me. So the deal has been done. One more thing to worry about in my nerve racking world.

Now I've got to find the registration document...

My Time Has Come

I was very pleased to read in the paper yesterday that "Gadgets are becoming sexy". Apparently the ladies are getting into hardware, so to speak. Personally, I credit the ipod for arriving as "technology as jewelry" and then doing something that can be seen to be actually quite useful. I mean, a robot dog can be made to look quite neat but it doesn't do anything much for you. Whereas the idea of being able to carry round your entire collection of Barry Manilow and Lionel Richie records might have appeal in some quarters.

At last, perhaps as an inveterate gadget collector I am now the man of the moment. This may mean that all my time spent out there on the leading edge is actually going to pay off. With shops like Maplins and Gadget shop opening up all over the country and Christmas stockings filling up with lithium ion powered goodies I will become even more attractive. No more will men be measured by such outdated criteria such as age, looks, wealth and sense of humour. Instead my innate knowledge of technology will allow me to rule supreme.

I will be sought out for advice on the suitability of 3.2 megapixel cameras and what size USB keyring to buy. I will be able reduce parties to scenes of hushed awe as I recount my adventures transcoding video from DivX to WMV. Oh, the glory that is to come.

On the other hand, if the word gets out that I still can't program my JVC video recorder (but then again neither can anyone else) I could be ruined overnight......

Undeserved Glory

Like millions of others I bought a copy of the new Halo videogame for the XBOX last week. It is part of my "down with the kids" approach to keeping young. And I like video games. So there. Thing is, I'm not very good at them. With the exception of driving games (for which I have over 20 years or so start) I get thrashed by number one son every time.

So when I started paying Halo I set the difficulty level to "Easy". I just don't feel like a "Normal" kind of player. And, to be quite honest, I kind of like things "Easy". I set my exercise bike to "downhill".

Anyhoo, the game started and I was like a god amongst men. I could kill the baddies with one shot in their general direction. And they could not kill me. And all around my computer controlled colleagues were going "Great shot sir", and "Glad to have you around". I spent one entire level just being driven down a tunnel by the other soldiers. I'd run out of ammo five minutes before but it didn't seem to stop me from emerging a hero at the end.

And after a while I started to feel kind of guilty about this underserved glory. It quite took the edge of the experience. All around me was carnage and if things got tough I could just hide behind a rock while my shields repaired themselves.

I think there is a lesson to be learned here people. And I will consider it learnt once I've finished the complete game at this level. Perhaps I'll try Normal next.