Today I drove Sally & Martin’s automatic car round the block, my first time ever successfully driving a non “stickshift” car. I don’t know what I’d been apprehensive about all this time. Now if the need arises to drive down the Chilean Andes from El Transito to Vallenar in an automatic in pitch darkness down a one lane unpaved road with sheer drops and wild animals on either side, Sita won’t have to be the one who takes over the wheel from her narcoleptic uncle.

The electric bug zapper I ordered (1 buck off of Ebay) for Sally & Martin arrived yesterday. Imagine a high voltage badmington raquet and you won’t be far off. On contact with the mesh you hear a loud crack and the bug falls out of the air, moribund, clutching its little insect heart with a look that says “Why?”…”How?”. V. Satisfying.

Started our journey through the Sopranos Season 5 last night. Even Sally’s into it. Seems a bit slower paced than previous series, but none the worse for it.

Off intersurfing to investigate prices for car rental in Geneva next, the DSL’s gone to dial-up speed today for no apparent reason so it may be a long process.