Many of my colleagues have blogged on the “best of 2004” (I particularly liked Hal’s and Craig’s.) I was thinking of doing the same. Then I thought I’d do it in question and answer format. Then I decided to skip the questions (for now). Enjoy.

• Because she woke up with a bat in her bed.
• It was a large one, but we managed to get it all.
• How d’you feel about being a grandfather?
• A thousand pounds of rusty cast iron hanging from the ceiling.
• Spending more time in church than since I was a 12 year old altar boy.
• Reading all seven volumes of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower?
• The tension between autonomic behaviour and “choreography” or “orchestration”.
• Groove Armada, Blackfield, Morrissey. (But why did Al Stewart have to slip?)
• Philosophy. Poetry. Blogging.
• Flying to Seattle for my son’s wedding; then hanging out with The Fellowship watching the extended edition of “The Return of the King” while sipping Laphroaig.
• Yes – but only if there’s a meaningful way of expressing semantics without simply showing us the code. Otherwise, no.

And finally:

• Nailing Robert Wright over the Dan Dennett interview.

I may not be blogging for the next few days, as I’ve explained in one of these answers. Have a great winter solstice, wherever you are and whatever you celebrate. (Memo to those who want to “reclaim Christmas”: this celebration predates you by thousands of years. Don’t be greedy.)