The longest journey begins with the first step..........

The last Tuesday in August and at 9am I beamed aboard the SS City & Guilds for two hours of intensive reading and exercises from the little book of horrors that is spreadsheets for office XP level two. Actually I'm secretly enjoying working on this module as every time I understand something and can make it work it's a mini triumph. This discipline is a bit like those museum exhibits that are magically mechanical, where you press a button and something interesting happens. With spreadsheets you type in a formula and enter it and it promptly disappears from view, but if you have followed the instructions correctly or better yet worked it out for yourself, the equation transforms your figures into what you want and it is extremely satisfying. I imagine this is what the world is like for geeks and nerds all the time so now I don't feel quite so sorry for them. The bridge of the star ship on this Tuesday was smoothly efficient with the officers answering ensign's queries quickly and quietly and the hours passed swiftly and silently. Everything was so subdued that I almost missed the sound of lieutenant Grumpy de Chatelaine's whip crack voice barking instructions as he belittled some poor unfortunate ensign; almost but not quite.

My human interface on this fact gathering Tuesday was with the quietly efficient officers of the Star ship City & Guilds and my deed was to attend college. My thoughts were on the satisfaction to be derived from the peaceful pursuit of knowledge.