(11:48:35) dad: hello
(11:49:22) lou: hello
(11:49:52) dad: not on for long going out with Paul for lunch
(11:53:19) lou: going anywhere nice?
(11:53:37) dad: the crown !!
(11:54:51) lou: so, no then :)
(11:56:22) dad: mmmm
(11:56:41) dad: its a amn’s pub us pie and pea’s biys !!!!!!!!!!!!!
(11:57:56) lou: it’s an illiterate’s pub
(11:58:26) dad: man’s
(11:58:31) dad: :D
(11:58:45) lou: “biys”?
(11:58:56) lou: “us”?
(11:58:57) dad: boys
(11:59:00) lou: “pea’s”?
(11:59:10) lou: “its”?
(11:59:17) lou: oh so many things wrong with that sentence
(11:59:17) dad: mmmmm
(11:59:37) dad: ok so I’m not after the Turner prize
(11:59:47) lou: i think that might win the turner prize
(11:59:54) lou: as an artistic statement
(12:00:07) lou: the booker prize, which is actually a prize for writing, on the other hand…
(12:00:28) dad: really you think I’ve a chance !! >:) <):)
(12:00:41) lou: no. not in the slightest.

Since moving offices at work, I’ve noticed I’ve been having more pains in my wrists than normal. By coincidence, I’ve also met several people over the last few months that have been debilitated through RSI. I realise that the latter might have made me more conscious of the former but anyway, it’s made me start thinking about how much my life would change if I couldn’t spend all day in front of a computer and forced me to take action to stop (or at least lessen the changes) of that happening. And that’s probably a very good thing.

I’ve started paying more attention to posture and making sure I hold my hands correctly over my keyboard. I’ve also installed a little open-source program that I read about on the RSI page of Wikipedia called Workrave. It is reminds you to take breaks regularly and give yourself a daily limit as to how much time you should spend on your computer. It also, rather nicely, gives you muscles stretching and strengthening exercises to do during your longer breaks to relieve eye strain as well as your wrist/arm/shoulder muscles. And it’s got a cute sheep for a logo.
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I spent yesterday afternoon tidying up the garden for winter. I cut back the wild rose bush (because it’s got too tall) and the fuchcia and other misc shrubs (because they were stopping the gate from opening proper), and turned over the vegetable bed/tubs.

I haven’t grown as much variety of veg as I did last year. I decided to concentrate on things we would use (more than just things I thought would grow) and things that would grow in the north-facing rocky, clay-y soil that we’re stuck with. I started with beans (broad and french) and peas (sugar snaps and garden) in tubs, and onions (from sets) and potatoes (from sprouting old ones) in the main bed. Everything started fine until the slugs and snails descended and by the time they were gone, so had most of the peas and beans seedlings. I planted some more peas out in the bed but it was too late to start any more beans (I tried, they died).
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