The best part of Saturday is behind me: several hours spent in bed with the gorgeous beastie and several hours puzzling over the illogic of asp for beginners.

It's a beautiful summer's day outside, but like most people I daren't go outside to enjoy it lest I get, sunburned, mowed-down by traffic, stung by insects or tradesmen, etc.

There's an odd feeling of anxiety about, part of it the inescapable feeling that I'm back to work soon. Admittedly, this Bank Holiday Monday I shall be taking off; the first this year. But my brain is now in working holiday mode. Still I must drag myself away from this machine. Bye ... for now.

It's nine minutes past midnight and I'm feeling comfortably numb on the contents of at least one bottle of wine. Okay. so it's a vice; but one of the few I can afford.

Ive spent most of the day committing the best part of 4Gb of peer-shared mp3s to CD-ROM, freeing up precious hard-drive: of such things are holidays-at-short-notice made.

Firstly, the answers to yesterday's quiz. They were a) Three nuns and canoe, b) Only when the day has a "Y" in it, and c) Jeffery Archer, although "A useless piece of scum" would also have been acceptable.

These are "fluid" times in the land of Max Brockbank and his freaky family. It's still the summer holidays as far as the kiddies are concerned, but the flexibility of my work means that it's actually hard to get into the vibe. The British summer of 2002 isn't doing much to help; one minute it's hot and sticky, the next it's hot and wet, or is it cold and grey? Add that to wrestless kids and tight finances for the time of year and you have a recipe for stress and tension.

Worklife is also tense. There's a feeling of demob fever in the air as the current editors of TIME Europe prepare for the big handover, and with the 9/11 anniverary approaching no-one is very settled. Add to that the troubles of our parent company on the US stock markets and the numbers of people taking the chance of a holiday and you have an uncomfortable atmosphere.

Personally speaking, uncertainty is definitely the worst.