Here's a weird new piece of cyberspace for you to try out.   www.imvu.com.  It's a free login as a 'guest' to what is effectively a cross between a messenger service, a chat room and a blog!  You create your character (or avatar) and choose some clothes for them.  Additionally, IMVU give you some free credits which you can spend on-line on new items such as clothes.  If you pay for the premium membership, you can make money by designing new items for the environment yourself.

I've added a screenshot showing you what chat with another member looks like.

I began by creating a female avatar for myself (to go with the part of me that is Penny) and then changed my mind and went with a more honest male personna.  In retrospect, I think that going femme might have resulted in more chat.  In my brief experiments so far, I've noticed quite a few potential 'chatees' disappearing as soon as the chat begins and what I suspect is happening is that they ping out as soon as they can see that the person they're chatting to is not female.  My guess is that these chatrooms are frequented mosly by teenage boys.

I don't have time in my life to engage in this kind of thing.  Do you?  If so, what sort of stuff would you chat about and why wouldn't you just phone a friend instead?

This week I'm experimenting with working from home. I've only done it a couple of times before, mostly because I have three children who bounce off the walls during the holidays. In our 2.5 bedroom semi, there isn't an east wing for me to retire to, away from the din.

To try and find some quiet space, I've had to buy a wireless LAN router so that I can take my laptop upstairs. Now this proved to be a very simple replacement for my previous router and the setup wizard worked a treat, making the configuration a matter of 30 seconds. The trouble is though that not all IT stuff works this well, and that set me wondering about those people who struggle with the technology. Of course there must be some folk who simply don't have a computer at home at all, either because they can't afford to, or who just don't see the point, or are just too damn scared to dabble in what they see as black arts!

Is it possible that some families will go for generations without sight of a computer at home? Will these people get sufficient exposure to computers at work to stay in the IT race, or will a whole technological underclass evolve who have no propensity or will to engage with all the electronic gadetry we seem to depend on so heavily these days?

Some of us might have difficulty believing that anyone could manage without a mobile phone, without a computer at home, without an MP3 player, without an instant-replay digibox (I don't have one of these), but actually, I reckon that life does indeed go on without these things. Does it really matter though? What is the downside to not keeping up with the IT Jones's from nextdoor? Do children grow up in technology-poor houses stand less chance of doing well in life? At the moment, I'd say they're still safe. They can still catch up. The trouble is though that it's invasive. The companies we buy these products assume more and more that we have the necessary hardware at home to connect to and that we understand how to use it. Some, obviously work hard to make using these devices simple, but more and more, we're expected to be able to troubleshoot complex problems. If it continues, it will create a kind of geek-upperclass and the techno-underdogs...won't it?

I went out for a few beers with Otherphil last night. He said...

"What's the similarity between kinky sex and lobster thermidor?"
"Don't know," I said.
"You won't get either at home," he replied.

[Shrug] - It was one of those conversations.

Have a wonderful time over Christmas, whoever you are, whatever your race or colour or creed! Peace and goodwill to all.

Dear Santa,

I don't think you exist, but I'm writing this letter in the hope you'll respond, just to prove me wrong. I don't believe in you because I've never seen you. Well you don't really expect me to believe those fat men in red velour outfits at the shopping centre are you do you?

I've also never seen God, so I don't believe in him either. Why doesn't he do it?! It would be so easy. Just pop into existence and torch a few bad people, like rapists (to use a topical example) or appear on the Oprah show and do some mind reading tricks. Even Blain can do stuff like that, so it shouldn't be too hard to do.

OK Santa, so I guess you're very busy all year round whipping those elves into a frenzy of toy making, but here's my plan...you see I don't believe in nymphomaniacs either. You've guessed it, I've never met one, so as far as I'm concerned, they just don't exist. I think nymphomaniacs are an urban myth, a figment of the fevered and wishful imagination of the male psyche. I really want to believe in them, so they should have a head start on the game. All I need is for one to bump into me on the corner of Throgmorten Street on a chilly December evening and entice me back to her house for an hour or two. Perhaps her interest in me would last until the cold clutches of Winter fade, warming me up with her sensuous, urgent love-making, before turing her attentions on another, less spent man.

So the plan...yes! Here it is Santa. You can prove your existence to me, and the existence of nymphomaniacs by delivering one to me as my Christmas present. Two for the price of one. And God? I've got less selfish plans for him.

Your sincerely,
Sleeper
P.S. I have been a good boy this year! Honestly.

I still haven't managed to shake last week's cold completely which is a nuisance. I had hoped that a longish bike ride yesterday morning in the frosty air would coax it all out. It was a fantastic morning though! The sun was rising over the skeletal trees and burning up the mist, that lay, blanket-like over the frosty fields. Frozen air clung to pockets of shade in the dips in the road and chilled my bones until the next rise allowed the life-giving warmth of the sun to my itchy-cold thighs.

The blue sky and the sparkling dew in the velvet fields reminded my why it's worth commuting 3 hours every day. Hardly any concrete to be seen.

It would be great to keep this up...try to work off some of the middle-aged lethargy which is making it harder and harder to get off my backside and burn calories just for the thrill of being able to spring and bounce and run and live.

...and sometimes the thing you've gotta ask for is a pay rise! nuff said. I may still go and see what this other outfit is like, just out of curiosity.

I know I'm about a zillion years behind the rest of the crowd, but I've finally upgraded (free) to a phone that plays MP3s, so i can listen to music on the daily commute. It's a step in the right direction.

Got D's Christmas present today. I hope it's as insipired as I felt about it! If I was a girl, I'd be pleased to receive this. NO, it's nothing like that! It's a perfectly practical piece of clothing...an outer garment.

I'm going to bed now. Try to sleep off my sore throat and cold.

Good news! I passed the telephone interview and will be face-to-face next week. This works well because I've arranged to work from home one day so that I can attend my youngest child's school play.

I'm not sure this opportunity is right for me, but it's worth looking into, partly because it will be more money and less commuting. Huzzah!

Damn! Just wrote loads of stuff and the session timed out. Couldn't get my text back, so here it is double quick 'cos I can't b-arsed to write it all over again.

Good weekend, but wimped out of cycling! Showed my children how to do electroplating. We copper plated some screws and an Ikea Alan-key. I think they enjoyed it.

I had a telephone interview for a job. Seemed to go OK. Keeping my options open.

Well I politely pointed out to Scat that he could have dropped by to apologise before disappearing into his improptu-more-important-than-our-meeting. See Common Courtesy. He kind of apologised but since then has sniped about me leaving work early! I knew he wouldn't be able to resist a counter-offensive.

Actually, I think I'm going to have to call Scat "Calamity John" because he's something of a cowboy! I'm sure there'll be more on him later. IT'S A TRAIN WRECK WAITING TO HAPPEN!

In the meantime, I've found a very entertaining blog! Click on the tag Ferry at Juzzy and enjoy. Somewhat Hunter S Thompson.

Also, I've had a bit of a purge of some of my less active blog-pals. I'm sure they won't notice, and if they do, I'll be touched and will welcome them back with open arms and profuse apologies.

Fitness: I'm supposed to be going mountain biking this weekend with Otherphil. Initially, I also thought we should team up with B.I.L. and his pal Pate. Trouble is, they're superfit and make Otherphil and I look like creaking duffers - which we are of course! Otherphil doesn't seem to be reading his e-mails at the mo so it might not happen at all, especially as I'm coming down with a cold. Drat and double-drrat! (in best Dick Dastardly voice).