h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I've been in most of the day (it's been raining outside) and thanks to vast quantities of Java (the !) I actually managed to stay awake for most of it!

The episode of "A Touch of Frost" was excellent, as always, and I also watched CSI, Boomtown and NYPD Blue - I'm burned out on cop shows for the moment.

I just finished "tweaking" my laptop, downloading all the latest patches and service packs then setting it up for the mother of all defrags.

I've set the laptop up semi-permanently on the network, next to the couch - this lets me look up the TV guide while I'm actually in front of the TV, and as it has nice sounding speakers I can use it to listen to the BBC's streaming digital stations too.

On that subject, I just popped over to Radio 7 and took the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy quiz again - they've fixed the wording on the question I e-mailed them to complain about last month. I don't know if it was just me, or if they got a slew of complaints, but it's nice they took notice anyway.

The only other thing I did of note was to scrounge a 2-lamp light stand from my friend Mike (he had been using it to light up his shop windows at night, but he bought a new one over the weekend) and set it up in my living room to shine light on the shadowy carpet by the door where I keep dropping stuff and losing it.

Yay, let's hear it for caffeine!

I live on my own and I got a coffee percolator for x-mass. and, check this, it's set up in my front room instead of in the kitchen. I've now taken to drinking coffee by the jug.

I may be an insomniac, but at least the flat smells nice.

In my old flat, I had three filter machines - one by the sink, one by the computer in the next room and a spare!

I really want one of these:
http://www.pimprig.com/modules.php?s=71c35c99896e8adc9e663ff05ea42149&name=Sections&sop=viewarticle&artid=72

couldn't you build one from a coffee machine and old spare computer parts?

Sadly, my coffee machines aren't really "industrial" enough... You need one of those two-jug office jobbies...

I've had an interesting day trying to distribute your "accommodation wanted" cards, Tabs... It seems that the fashion for supermarkets having customer notice boards is pretty much over. I was in six supermarkets today, and not one had a board. The one I was certain had (because I used it a few years back), didn't, and one of the cashiers said it was taken out last year.

I managed to place one in the window of the upholstery shop round the corner from my house, one on the notice board in the canteen of the "Aberdeen Foyer" (where I was off for my "Gateway to Work" course these last couple of weeks), then I passed one on to a friend who frequents a supermarket which still has a board, three to a pal who stays out in Milltimber ( a desirable suburb) to circulate round the local newsagents, and three to a pal who works out in Portlethen (a less desirable, but cheaper suburb) to put one in his works' canteen and two in the out-of-town supermarket megastores he frequents. Another two or three are going out to my friend who stays just outside Inverurie (the woman who got that last info for you) which she'll place in the local shops.

I'm knackered.

I used £6 of the £10 so far; £3 for an "all day" bus ticket, and £3 for a taxi home when I missed the last bus by 5 minutes because I stopped to watch "Demolition Man" round at my pal George's...

for Peet...you are a gem