I've always said I wouldn't put a personal journal up on the web, and I'm sticking to that. The closest you'll get to finding something like that here are the narratives in my "places". This is a work journal. Some of my management dislike or don't understand the term "webmaster". Some friends and acquaintances wonder if they want to be one and I spend time on email trying to explain what it's like. This journal will be an attempt to answer the question "so, what exactly does a webmaster do?". It's also therapy. And bandwidth limitation - if I mailed you this URL you got the chance to browse it when you want, rather than when I want.

My training is in engineering, so I've always kept some sort of log book. Originally these were brown card-bound foolscap things, then firm's spiral-bound logs, and finally my trusty Palm, from which this is being extracted. Together with the mobile, the Palm doubles as an office. If you call me at work, you'll get the mobile. That's why the voicemail almost never works: neither the mobile company nor the manufacturers of my firm's telephone system understand what "forward immediate" is about. Unfortunately, although all three outfits will feature regularly in this journal, I can't name any of them. The mobile company and the phone system people would probably scream libel and my firm forbids me mentioning them on a personal web site. (They also forbid posting CV's, so remember, folks, this is only a journal.)

Other outfits I can't name include the ISPs and various agencies involved. And, because my management know where I live, I not only can't name my various colleagues but in some cases I'll need to tone down my comments a bit. Well, a lot, actually. This will make story-telling complicated. So, in fine cryptographic style, let me call the designers Anne and Brian. They're fine people who work with me a lot. I also have the pleasure to be able to call on the services of a couple of excellent young developers, who I'll call Claire and David. For the sake of argument, I'll call the corporate management chappie Earnest. You all now who you are and it's a privilege to work with you all. As in a radio play, other parts are taken by members of the cast.

Now that you've met the main players, I should also set the scene. Read on to find out where the work actually happens.