Days Without alcohol 48
I deliberately didn't go out to examine my car in the cold light of day, in the continued hope that if I behave like an ostrich that the problem will go away. If I can fool my car into believing that it is fine then that's even better. The fact I got home in the first place suggests that this tactic is working.
Sadly I seem to be conforming to the stereotype of geeky man and have been buying a lot of gadgets recently I am probably spending around £200 a month buying some piece of electronic equipment that I can't do without, whether it be a replacement iPod or electric toothbrush (I am not strong enough to move a toothbrush on my own) or a small cheap laptop (as recommended by Stephen Fry in the Guardian) that I can take out with me when I don't want to lug my massive Macbook Pro around (but which at least means that I am both a Mac and a PC) or the digital voice recorder I ordered on the internet in the small hours of this morning in the hope that it might make me remember to record my gigs and thus not be forced to try to remember the script as I have been this week. And the sad thing is I have another digital voice recorder, but it's a bit old and not as good as the one that was used by someone interviewing me last night and so I was able to convince myself that a new one was required.
It's tragic, but it's nice to have a hobby. And if you think about it I am probably saving about £200 a month on booze, so if I put the money towards something useful (even if it ends up in a drawer after three months) then maybe that's not so bad.
I am really enjoying the iPod Touch, I have to say, my delight only slightly tempered by the fact that they brought out one with double the memory about a fortnight after I bought it. But it's a very convenient way to access the internet whilst you're out and about - I had an enjoyable and depressing half an hour following the score of today's York City game (their first loss since the new manager took over), whilst I had a coffee this afternoon. It is fun enough just making the page bigger and smaller by squeezing your fingers one way or the other. And whilst I probably wouldn't try to write a Warming Up on it, you can catch up with a newspaper article when you're out and about - as long as you have some kind of roaming wireless account (I paid £120 to get a full year at Caffe Nero, because there's usually one in any town I am in and I was paying at least £10 a day for access in hotels on the last tour, so it's worth it. Doubly so now because btopenzone have bought out the company and honoured the contract, so I now have access at a lot more locations, including anywhere in Westminster! The future has arrived!)
It's also got a calendar and contacts on it and is much better (and more Mac friendly) than my phone. Plus of course, I can listen to music on it. And illegally watch episodes of Seinfeld (or anything I want) like I did on the way home from my gig tonight (I am starting from the season 1 and hope to watch the whole thing on my iPod by the end of the year!). If only my electric toothbrush has as many functions - having said that I did stop short of buying the toothbrush which had a wireless connection to a little display which would inform you if you were pressing too hard on your teeth. I mean it's ridiculous enough that my one has a timer and a beeper telling you to move on to the next "quadrant" and will also inform me when I need to replace the head. But if you need a toothbrush that tells you how to brush your teeth then you will soon be buying toilet roll with a microchip in it that lets you know if you're wiping your arse inefficiently.
The sad thing is that I'd probably buy it.
I love gadgets.
