"Not bad for a low-tech relic", observed Himself, turning it over in his hands from which I hastily removed the topless felt-tip. "Not bad at all. Re-purposed. Though you'd be much better off with a PDA, of course. You'll wish you'd let me get you one for Christmas." An electronic Personal Data Assistant? I thought. Battery chargers, leads, endless 'have-you-seen-that-special-pointy-tool-for-my-PDA?". I don't think so.
"Actually, I don't think think it's technically repurposed, since it's still a diary", I mused.
"Upcycled!" exclaimed Himself, waving it in the air while I quietly slid the half-full coffee cup out of the way. He was clearly wishing to give my efforts a little more status than 'recycled'.
"I'm not sure Kelly Rae Roberts would agree with you", I replied. "I've just dismantled her 2010 original, interleaved it with the pages of an 85p diary from the Pound Shop, and whizzed it through my Bind-It-All. In my defence, her new one doesn't ship to the UK".
"What are the blank sheets for inbetween each diary page? And the pockets?" Himself asked. I reached out and gently halted his fingers from their energetic riffling of the contents.
"Notes, things to do, blog-post ideas, plans, a record of my days: a single place to capture all the things I'm thinking about so I don't have to carry them around mentally".
"Yes, but you're going to carry this around", he said, balancing it dubiously in the palm of his hand. I caught it deftly just as it toppled in the direction of the floor. "Wouldn't it be easier to just have it all in your head?"
"Haven't you heard of things weighing on your mind?" I asked mock-sternly.
Himself looked at me in his best Winnie-the-Pooh fashion. "I don't think programmers have those", he said, meekly. "It's all carefree cloud-computing where I am." The phrase head-in-the ... hovered in the air, but didn't quite make it. "Well, it's very nice", Himself concluded. "And there's even a place for your pen."
I thought I detected a whiff of 'How quaint", but let it go. I was just at the top of the stairs when the words floated up: "By the way, have you seen that special pointy tool for my PDA?"
Between you and me, I don't think I'll be wishing any time soon ... :).
