I'm typing this on a genuine 1980s Cherry keyboard, second only to a genuine 1980s IBM keyboard.

OK, so there are some uses (such as (a) being able to look something up on the internet from the sofa without wasting a few seconds walking to the always-on desktop, and (b) being able to carry all your holiday snaps around to show to people who didn't know they wanted to see them, and (c) there are some cool games for two-year-olds to play with) but none of them apply to me.

So, I use computers for email (fondleslab no use without an add-on keyboard), web (ditto, unless you stick to read-only sites), software development (no idea, can you get Visual Studio on a tablet? - I haven't looked), accounts (can you get Quicken on a tablet? - and even if you could you need a keyboard again) and so on. I haven't felt a need for a fondleslab and haven't acquired one.

What am I missing?

The phone is fine, the problem is that you can't get a decent battery for a Nokia 6250 any more - the rip-off clones currently available will only hold their charge for around four days, which is nonsense.

So it looks like I'm going to have to buy a new phone just to get back to a decent battery life.

I was telling outside a polling station. A car drew up. Someone got out of the car and went into the polling station.

The presiding officer came out and said to us tellers (representing the candidates (I forget whether this was a year when I was also the candidate)):

"There's a disabled lady in that car who would have considerable difficulty getting into the polling station. I have been asked to take her ballot paper out to the car for her to fill in. Do you have any objections?"

This suggestion was of course completely illegal. Naturally, however, I and the tellers for the other candidates said "no problem at all, go ahead" and that's what happened.

A victory for common sense over the boring details of the regulations. I had no idea, and neither did any of the other tellers, who the punter was going to vote for - that wasn't the point.

... the gods themselves contend in vain."

Er ... ... well, that's it, really.

... I'd keep well out of its way.

I'd probably stay on the ground, actually, unless someone experienced in flying in that sort of weather was able to convince me that it was OK.