(I'm sure my rabbit sings too, when I'm out of the house)

I will continue (as started late in 2007) to go for regular check-ups at dentist and optician, and to the doctor when I feel unwell. I will set a morning routine for myself: get up at the same time each day, allow time to enjoy a relaxing bath or shower, time to floss my teeth as well as brush them (dentist's orders), most importantly I will make time for breakfast (doctor's orders), and then I will leave for work in good time so I don't spend my half-hour commute to Brighton in a panic over the consequences of being late in. I will never skip breakfast (at worst I'll keep cereal bars, fruit, etc. in the house to take with me if I'm running late).

I will use my full lunch-time allowance each day, and try spend at least half of it away from work, stretching my legs and getting fresh air in my lungs, and clearing my mind of stressful thoughts. I will not spend my break complaining to Iestyn about problems at work! I will break for lunch as soon as I have an opportunity (aiming for between 12.00-1.00), rather than have a very late lunch or no break at all.

At work I'll schedule time for 'housekeeping' (tidying the clutter from my desk, backing up my work, etc.) as this will make me more efficient and clear-headed and will improve on my productivity in the long run. I must remind myself that putting client work before these tasks is counter-productive. I'll ensure I'm comfortable in my working environment, and if I pick up on RSI risks or anything else that concerns me I will deal with these problems as I go, as it will improve my happiness (for myself) and increase my productivity (for the company and its clients), so everybody benefits.

I'll continue to write a fresh 'To Do' list at the end of each work day, but this year I will put the list out of my mind until I get back to the studio the next day. I will make an effort to enjoy my weekday evenings, rather than mulling over problems or watching mindless TV. I will try to do things that make me feel my time was well spent; I already know from experince that expending a little energy on activities I enjoy leaves me feeling far more refreshed than doing nothing at all.

Phew. So there it is.

My resolution definitely isn't set in stone, and it's not an 'all or nothing' deal. There will be days where I need to bend the rules a little, and projects where I'm working overtime for the pleasure of it as much as for the client's benefit. I'd like my work to be a source of satisfaction again, and not be a burden like it has been lately. Ultimately, I want to restore the balance in my life. I'm not quite sure when I lost it, but late last year I finally acknowledged that I wasn't happy and realised what I needed to change. I'm surprised at how small and manageable these changes are, as I expected I'd have to do something far more significant.

Happy new year, everyone!

Then only moments later, a friend sent me a link to this video and it was like being hit with a vision of the future.

The way this works actually seems quite simple, and I think it probably would have been commercially available much sooner only we've had to patiently wait for advances in technology to make it more accessible and cheaper to manufacture, as tends to be the case with anything new in computing.

I understand the mobile phone industry is expected to move in this direction following Apple's success with the iPhone, but I see a future where all of our electronic entertainment, computers and communications devices will be controlled in a similar way.

We've become accustomed to using a mouse and/or keyboard to control our computers, and using an interface incorporating drop-down menus and folders which mimic a typical office filing system; even my TV with its Sky+ box has a multi-tier menu system and a remote control with 41 buttons, most of them single-use. There are many variations but they're all based on the same design.

We depend much more these days on being able to share data between different devices and access it no matter where we are. So it's natural that we should want to be able to juggle this data more rapidly, not just by utilising speedy broadband connections and lots of RAM, but with interfaces that can actually keep up to speed with our thought processes. Face it, that keyboard is just slowing you down (plus, you're getting RSI from using it all the time).

We're encouraged to 'browse' our computers, which for me conjures an image of wandering around somewhat aimlessly, waiting to spot something potentially useful. I don't have time to browse, I already know what I want and I'd just like to retrieve it, make use of it, and move on.

I don't think this 'surface computing' is another passing trend, this will replace the use of a mouse and keyboard for everyone and will become the next stage in the evolution of human-computer interaction.

Of course, if you're in Brighton, you could always take a first hand look at his shirts - Si’s often got the SINAGE stall set up for business down on the beach by the old West Pier at the weekend (as long as the sun is shining!), so if you’re down that way, keep an eye out for them, and make sure you stop by to say hello!

There are 6 designs currently available, in a variety of colour combinations and sizes - check out the store for the full range - I’ve spent the last month trying to choose between the Crest (on blue) and Bleeding Heart (gold on black) designs, and am still completely torn, so unless someone can help me make my mind up I’m going to have to start saving those 10p’s again so I can get both!

With several of my friends earning their driving licences shortly after leaving school, and the rise in popularity of mobile phones (not to mention getting a job and having 'real' money always to hand), 10p coins no longer had any special value. But I'd still occasionally throw a couple of them into my jar, saving them for no real purpose other than a 'rainy day'.

10 years on, I guess my rainy day has arrived. I've been saving up a bit of spare cash over the last few months, trying to get enough money together for something really special that I've got my heart set on... I just need a tiny little bit more, and I can't bear to wait yet another month, so I've raided my jar!

I honestly thought I had a bit more in there, it doesn't seem a lot for 10 years of saving, but it's absolutely fine because £107 brings me up to almost the exact budget I'd set for my purchase.

I'm so excited!!

You'll have to wait until another day to see what I'm buying, though.

I wish I'd got round to writing about this after one of the previous times I donated (this would be the fifth time I've done it) - but better late than never. The timing isn't so bad actually, as I've just discovered a really good virtual tour on the National Blood Service website, which describes a typical session more accurately and in far more detail than I could have hoped to.

Go to blood.co.uk and click 'What happens' in the menu on the left; you'll see a link at the bottom of the page to launch the virtual tour.

The only thing in the tour which I have to disagree with is the guide claiming that she hardly felt a thing when the needle was inserted. I don't believe in lying to people about this sort of thing - it is a bit painful! I'd say it's about on par with accidentally banging your knee on a table leg. It might cause you to flinch and use a bit of obscene language, but within a short time that pain will subside to mere discomfort, and the sensation will probably disappear entirely within about a minute. There might be a brief moment of further discomfort as the needle is removed at the end.

All in all, the level of pain is tolerable when you weigh it up against how good you feel leaving the session: proud to know you're helping to save lives, and aiding important medical and scientific research.

The website includes details of your nearest session, so if you've thought about going before but never quite got round to it, please find time to go!! Drag a couple of friends along if you can, it's more fun that way, and more much-needed donations.

If you still have a tiny shred of doubt about doing it, just imagine if you or a close one needed an emergency life-saving blood tranfusion, and there wasn't enough donor blood available.

It's got to come from somewhere, right?

I guess it's too late to worry now, I've bought it. All I can do is proceed as planned: stick a lemon up its bum and hope for the best. Wish me luck...

I had the honour of being Lisa's bridesmaid (thank you Lisa!) and being asked to do a reading at the church (which went very smoothly, much to my surprise).

I didn't take many good photos as I was so busy during the earlier part of the day, and so drunk at the reception, but I've uploaded a handful of the better ones here, including some unique pictures of the girls getting their hair done in the morning.

Iestyn's far superior photos are here, and the pictures from their honeymoon are here.

Congratulations also to Martin and Jane, who got married on the same day and whose wedding I unfortunately couldn't attend. Iestyn left Birmingham immediately after Dan and Lisa's service and did the 220km dash back down to Brighton to join Mart and Jane at their reception.

We joined them for the wedding reception in the evening. If someone had warned me it was being held in a field on the bride's parents' farm, I might not have turned up in a slinky dress and 5" heels. Ah well. The bumpy ground would explain all the falling over, anyway. It wasn't the wine, I swear.

There are photos here, and there are videos here, here... and here's one of Luke dancing with a lady.

I did originally upload these clips to a more popular free video hosting site (*cough* YouTube *cough*), but it compressed them beyond all recognition. Google saves the day again...

Here's what's been going on since I last posted (in no particular order):

We went to the Firegathing festival, which basically involved pitching a tent in strong wind, spending the best part of an hour pumping up an inflatable mattress with a cheap foot pump with a big hole in it, hanging around with a load of stoned vegetarian hippies for the weekend, helping to pull several cars out of a waterlogged field as they were leaving to go home, and then disassembling our tent in pouring rain before departing ourselves. Oh, and there were bands too - favourite performances came from The Hat, and Bunty vs Chickenshit, both of whom we saw at the Brighton Festival during the previous week. Unfortunately our flat doesn't provide much space to dry a damp tent, so we spent the whole of the next week clambering over the flysheet every time we needed to use the bathroom.

I damaged my coccyx (or something near it; I'm still not sure exactly what happened to me), possibly by sitting funny on a hard floor one evening. I was in agony throughout the night and had to sleep on the sofa to give some support to my lower back, and was completely unable to lift myself from the sofa the next morning. I discovered that kneeling on the floor with your face near the ground and your bottom in the air is a good position to relieve pain to an injured coccyx, but it's just not that practical in public. Painkillers helped me through the day and by the following evening I was moving normally again (maybe I freed a trapped nerve while the Ibuprofen and Paracetamol were doing their jobs) but I still get the occasional twinge of pain.

I learned that trigonometry does actually have a use in real life, and that it's not just something they added to the National Curriculum to punish small children. Iestyn was re-learning it for something he was doing in Flash which I didn't really understand.

Another failed keep-fit attempt - I finally got on the rowing machine; I managed 5 minute sessions on 5 consecutive mornings... and then I wore myself out with work and other things and couldn't face getting up that extra half an hour early in the mornings any more. I'm also taking cod liver oil capsules for the pain in my knees, but I keep forgetting to take them.

The scaffolding finally came down from around our part of the building. Now I can have my bedroom windows and curtains open at night again to let the fresh air and morning light in. I was living in fear of strange men strolling past my 6th floor window at inopportune moments.

I've re-potted most of the plants on my balcony to give their roots a bit more space - the herbs are thriving, and the hebe has flowered!

Two friends have had babies.

Iestyn has given his resignation from Littleloud; he's got a couple of weeks left with them before he faces the big wide world as a freelancer for the first time.

I've been watching the World Cup, obviously giving my support to both the French and English teams. Both are through to the last 8, and both play their quarter-final games on Saturday - which happens to be the day before my birthday, so any plans to celebrate will come second to plans to watch the footie.