So the PC is definitely struggling, as with the latest version of iTunes running it now skips a lot. Nightmare. Will just have to wait for the new year though.

Interesting experience on return to the rented cottage we have last night. There are 16 cottages in a rectangular cul-de-sac. They are all pretty old and we have one tucked away at the end. Turns out the guy next door to us owns the little lane we use to access the three cottages at this end and also owns the garages at the end of the road. He wants to build flats there and it's been refused due to the limited emergency access. So he'd tried to buy some of land the cottage gardens sit on, but everyone refused it. So I arrive last night to find a new gate and some metal bollards, which means I cannot get the car anywhere near the place. He's done it out of spite and it's not legal. However, the lawyers are about to come down on this prize cock very swiftly and access should be resumed shortly.

Some people are idiots.

Well, I think my PC is struggling.

With the holidays coming, I thought I'd take the opportunity to rip some of my DVDs for use on the ipod. Trouble is, while the results are very good, it takes AGES on my nearly 4 year old steed. So I think a new PC will need to be sussed out in the new year. Some of the new Dell Studio gear looks appealing and some of it is incredibly cheap at the moment - who'd have thought you'd get a quad fully built, with 3GB of RAM, for 650 quid? Will be keeping an eye on that one! The aim is to get the new PC and then at some point a new screen - something nice, big and wide ;-)

For those interested, here is the link

Great pictures on ZDNet showing some examples of when Christmas decorations go wrong...

LINK