This week I'll be mostly drinking Italian coffee

That's a bit of a small cup.
Pass the half-pint mug please.

Coffee, I've always thought, is bad for you.

I guess it started when I was a kid, when the kind of coffee my mum made - comprising a saucepan of boiling milk poured into a mug over Nescafe granules - would leave me feeling a bit ill. It was quite a few years later before it really properly dawned on me that I was lactose intolerant. Doh!

And then there was that time in 91 when we'd just moved office and I was so close to the drinks vending machine that I didn't even have to leave my seat for a brew. I was getting through more plastic cups of machine coffee than you could shake a stick at. It was only a few weeks later that the doctor sent me to Bart's hospital for a bunch of tests that resulted in some periods of unconsciousness, large quantities of blood being taken, a handful of x-rays, and an inconclusive diagnosis that had something to do with my 'lifestyle'.

This week I'll be mostly on holiday

As I'm on holiday and am 
unable to take a suitable photo, 
here's one I prepared earlier.

I'm on holiday, so there won't be much to say (you'll be pleased to hear).

As we speak, well, as I write, well, as I type, I'm just down the road from where we used to live in Broadstairs, in bed with the missus who is finishing off some book or other, while I think of something to write about the fact that I haven't had time to think about what to write, what with being on holiday and everything.

I'm able to write and post this because the friends we are staying with have just today got wireless internet installed in their home. I was lured in with the usual "hey, you work in computers" conversation, which moved swiftly into the "so you might be able to give us some advice" arena, at which point I (un)wittingly invoked the "while I'm here I could sort it out for you" clause. Within 12 hours I had recommended, supervised the purchase of, and carried out the installation of, a nice shiny Wireless 802.11g ADSL router. All in return for a couple of evenings of good company, an all-day-breakfast, and a few bottles of Stella.

Beats work any day.