Did my usual rounds around the park again. It was a little more difficult than it was on Tuesday, but for an out-of-shape-and-trying-to-get-back-in runner, I don't think it's worthwhile trying to draw any conclusions from the run. I ran. I gave my heart a bit of exercise. That's it.

Lifted arms yesterday and will do legs / pressups while we're away until the weekend. We've already ordered our wedding rings and will start to finalize the rest of the preparations while we're up in Yorkshire.

Wasted a lot of time on the computer surfing yesterday. I always feel like that when I get a break in teaching. I spend my free time surfing and end up feeling like I've wasted it. One of the things I feel is true, is that how you use your time is, in a way, a reflection of what you think of yourself - if you feel yourself to be valuable, you will feel your time to be valuable and want to use your time wisely. What does my wasted day say about me?

I've been reading some interesting books whose central themes appear to be about how the human race is increasingly being de-humanized. I think human beings are increasingly losing the essence of themselves. Who am I? To my ex-bosses, I was a statistic; one of the many teachers (read lackeys) who were supposed to do as they were told. To my bank, I am not me, but a log-in name and password. I am the same thing to many other people; a faceless name, a credit card number, a user-id. One thing I find interesting is the thought about how, decades ago, people wondered if computers would be smarter than humans. Growing up in the 80s, I remember all the things like Kasparov vs Deep Blue etc, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and how people thought a computer would never take over the world because there needed to be a human being to program it to do so, and hence humans would still be in control. Yet if we think about how much of our life is influenced and shaped by technology, and how dependent we are on it - can you live without your computer - it's frightening to realise that computers have, indeed, taken over our lives. Technology is invasive - can you live without your computer? - and it forces people to use it. I read that Britain is abolishing analogue within the next 10 years. Everyone will have to resort to Digital TV, like it or not, or not use a TV at all. There's this interesting thing about Digital TV - press the red button to vote etc - do people realise that information is being collected about their viewing choices and profiles? Or when you flash that supermarket club card - do you realise information about you is being collected? It seems to me that I am no longer me, with personal information about me being collected like this. The other day my Norton Antivirus updated itself when it wanted (slows down my 56K immensely) in the background without letting me have a choice. I'm glad I don't watch TV on the computer, or have broadband - goodness knows what information about me would be collected in the background and sent to who knows where!

Anyway, enough ranting - time to get some breakfast and I've got loads of chores to do before we leave at noon.