I'm half way there - I purchased Panther yesterday and installed it last night. Adobe's Creative Suite went on board too, and everything looks absolutely delicious. I noticed, though, that I'd purchased the wrong Macromedia MX 2004 version - needed the one with Flash Professional on it, so as soon as I make the swap all that software'll go on and I'll be good to go.

It's warm here in Auckland - it's just started raining; or straining to raining more like it.

In the last week I have been described as:

- guarded
- aloof
- like a lady cop
- polite
- having a "tough kiwi accent"

I dunno.. I'd love to see me from someone elses eyes it's amazing how one's perception of oneself can be so misaligned with what other people see. See, what I know I am is:

- will talk endlessly about myself on less than a glass of beer
- that beer being consumed in any one of a number of less than snobby bars
- although "spread 'em" is in my normal, daily vocabulary, my memory doesn't permit me to police anything
- I was repremanded for being rude, for goodness sakes
- the kiwi accent *does* sound harsh.

I was reading about scientists trying to find out why the Maya civilisation suddenly disappeared, and about an expedition to discover Atlantis. That, along with the Beagling and Rovering of Mars makes me think people are looking for somewhere else to live.

It's not so difficult to leave home, it's not so easy to move towns, changing your country-of-origin pulls at lots of heart strings - how the heck is anyone going to be able to leave their Planet behind in favour of another? Human Anthropological Separation Councellors might be the next *big* thing.