I came across the following exchange when clearing out some files.

It's a series of messages sent via sixdegrees.com with someone I used to chat with online.

I kept the messages because I thought they were hilarious. I still do.

I wonder what James Sparshott is up to now.

I have an addictive personality (and I am also a completist). I don't know whether I am hard-wired this way or whether I was dropped on my head when I was a baby. Whichever, it makes for an, umm, interesting life.

My latest addiction is keeping an online food diary. And it's working; I'm losing weight. Finally, a healthy addiction!

When I find something new that fires up my addiction, I have an intense frenzy of activity.

I bought the NewScientist today because of its lead article "Why your brain is primed for addiction." I have my own theory about addiction and wondered how it compared to actual research.

The article included case studies about various addicted people. One was of a 16-year old boy who spends 70 hours a week (mostly at night) online, socialising. The author writes: "he has few friends in the real world" (my emphasis) and ends with "he denies he is addicted to his computer."

Argh!

I'd like to yell at the author: "he's not addicted to his computer, you bozo!"