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My place in geek heaven is now totally assured ...

Just before Christmas I convinced myself it would be a magnificent to take the plunge and buy my own personal mobile phone. However, the standard run-of-the-mill telephonic instrument would have been sub-standard so I settled for a rather nifty Nokia 6600 on the grounds it had a calendar, contacts book, camera etc etc.

For a couple of weeks all was well until I realised that all teenagers have evolved and possess a special kind of "new wave" thumb which makes it possible for them to type endless text messages without an ache, a pain and without breaking into a sweat.

Being over 30 I don't possess such opposable dexterity and I quickly realised the only way to store my information usefully was in some form of PDA. So I replaced my £70 phone with an HP Ipaq (which I have to admit is a fantastic toy !!!). There were minor rumblings of discontent from the wife but let's face it, my old HP Jornada just wasn't up to the job of keeping me up-to-date. Really. It wasn't. Swear to God!

Now after a month or so of furious stylus flourishing I finally got around to buying a GPS nav system for the iPaq - and it's totally cool !!!

I can now drive around with a PDA wedged on my dashboard, surrounded by flashing lights and an electronic voice which tells me to turn left, take the motorway then leave at junction 6. I never again have to wake up in a cold sweat thanks to nightmares about getting lost and most importantly I no longer have to rely on out trusty old AA Map of the Road which has the page for west London missing.

"Does it work and is it accurate ?" asked Elly. "Of course it does," I told her, "I got all the way to work and back without getting lost once ..."