Burn my eyes! Burn my eyes! Baybeeeeee!

I love my new camera. I bought it a 512MB MMC card and uploaded 400MB of '80s Australian indie rock MP3s to it. (Taking ninety minutes to do so, further proving the suction power of USB 1.) And the sound is lovely. I'm really going to enjoy this toy.

Having previously been cyberpunkian repurposers of others' discarded technology, we have somehow moved way up the gadget chain. Still second-hand, but suddenly we're donating phones and Macs and stuff to the po'. It's somewhat disconcerting. But ooh the shiny.

The last major item will be a printer/scanner thing. Inkjets are fundamentally a con, but we have an actual application for one, which is to print colour photos for redcountess's mum (whose DVD player has sat unconnected for the past two years, so attempting a technological uplift isn't a feasible option). Are there any injket printer/scanners where they don't completely sodomise you on the ink? Should we get separate devices? Open source compatibility would be a nice extra, but failing that we'll just hook it to the Mac like the garglers of Steve's piss we are.

The second last major item will be giving all our computers the gift of memory. Crucial remain top for service, but have somehow become much pricier than I remember. Is there anyone cheaper who's still good?

Every mental muscle flexed and pumping at the crank.

The MP3 camera is fantastic for playing exercise music without disturbing redcountess. The headphone lead is annoyingly short, but I have lotsa 'phones here. The camera didn't arrive with the hand strap, so I put the one from the old Canon Powershot A40 on it, and now it has a strap somewhat larger than it is. Fear my spycam's industrial might! I also particularly recommend the seller, gdsupplies, who originally sent the wrong manual (EX-Z3 rather than EX-M2/EX-S2), but when notified promptly sent the right manual, signed-for, no less. How someone deals with a foulup is the telling thing.

(By the way, if anyone I know wants a Canon Powershot A40, you're welcome to it. Large, clunky, 2MP, takes CompactFlash of which I can't find any of mine, appears to be working, may stop at any time. Free, must cost me 0 to get it to you.)

For the first time in twenty years, I take a size 18 T-shirt. I have abdominal muscles and visible hipbones. Liz said this morning "You've got tits!" and I had to point out those were pectorals from doing pushups. I must say that this is doing wonders for my self-image. I'm really enjoying this "having a body" thing. It's nice having something worth wearing a mesh top for. (Something I started doing specifically because Liz liked the idea!)

Quite a lot of this is the speedy side effect (metabolism like a blast furnace and more energy for exercise) from being back on Cipramil, which I started on because continued unemployment was really getting me down. (Liz says I've been noticeably losing it since the flat exploded in November; I can't see that at all, but she maintains it's the case.) I was on the stuff three years ago as well. This time around it's working well enough; I'm a lot more cheerful and I'm still a bubblehead, but am actually getting stuff done. And am not quite on the same degree of crack I was when I first arrived in the UK.

The side effects are much the same this time — ridiculously increased libido with difficulty reaching orgasm (an annoying combination in some circumstances, a fantastically useful one in others!) and speeding off my head (lack of sleep, speeded-up metabolism, eating a lot less but thankfully not forgetting to eat this time around, occasionally talking even more rubbish than usual twice as fast). A new one this time is unexplained bruising, which is a bit weird, but I know there are perverts out there who like that sort of thing.

SSRIs are largely a side effect lottery and you need a GP who really gives a hoot and will act promptly at the first sign of trouble — they're medicine and to be approached with caution. But I do consider them one of the great medical advances of the twentieth century, up there with refrigeration and antibiotics &mdash so many of my friends have basically gotten their lives back from them.

Today I am in a "party on crack and rock and roll all night" mood. I hope to be at B-Movie, depending on Liz and arkady's health. Liz in particular is having a horrible time on hormone pills while waiting for Godot in the form of the Whipps Cross gynaecology and endocrinology department. So send her your love and Whipps Cross your glares.

Note, August 13th: Yes, I continue to drink like a fish on them without turning into a pumpkin. Good, huh.