Monday 23 April 2001

Pic of the day: All I want is a little peace and quiet ... But I have to hurry home to write yet another journal entry! ;)

Catching up is hard to do

One single weekend of purse holding, amateur video watching and nightly theology debate ... and my diary is one "di" behind. Really makes me respect those who manage to write a daily journal in the middle of a hectic family life. Catching up is hard to do ... running faster is a poor substitute for having started earlier.

***

I've mentioned the new expansion pack for The Sims. Well, it may be nice. But it also slows down the game so much that I better stick with bachelors or childless couples for Sims until I get some more memory. Luckily, this seems not too far off.

The portable only has 32 MB RAM. It has a rather fast disk, so by and large it has not been too much of a problem. But it grows steadily worse, as software expects you to have lots and lots of memory. So I ordered a 128MB RAM package at the Shop of Angels. (Not real name.) The price was decent, given that it is a portable. They even offered to install it for me. It should arrive at Wednesday.

The processor speed of 300 MHz is decent enough. I suppose I could even play Black and White on it, or Cultures. The latter is a strategy games about a small Viking tribe trying to establish a colony in America in AD 1050. I was seconds from buying it in Oslo. Even though I don't actually have time to play more games than I already do. In fact, I don't even have time to play The Sims as much as I'd like. At least not right now.

***

SuperWoman asked me on Saturday evening to watch some television program about au pairs with her and her sister (the very unofficial former au pair). I was looking towards the bedroom where the computer was standing. "Come on, be a little social" said SW. "I'd be doing more social things with my computer than looking at a box" I replied. But since it was so relevant to her sister, I stayed anyway.

But I still maintain that by my standards, mailing lists and forums are pretty social. While I've learned to appreciate hugs (at least from some people) in recent years, that's not the level I normally interact on, nor do I really need physical presence. And many people are more open when they know they can just log off if the embarassment becomes too great. That's not really the motivation for me, but I like to hear what people really think. Those who do. (Name calling and other toddler-like behavior holds no appeal.)

So I end up with a feeling of commitment to these boards and lists and the occasional IRC channel. But you know, I am the drooling fadboy. These things are off and on. Sometimes I spend quite a bit of time there, other times less. It goes in waves. That, according to C.S. Lewis, is as close as human life comes to perfection. Waves. At least I'm pretty stable emotionally. :)