I'M BACK. The Scottish weather was typically gloomy and wet, but it was nice to get away for a bit anyhow and we did at least get to see Dunfermline Abbey. And I managed to get through Neal Stephensons' In the Beginning...Was the Command Line (which is still extremely informative despite being on computers and six years old) and to make progress on his The System of the World. I only got around to starting the latter a week or so ago. The density of infodumps on early eighteenth century culture is a little high even for Stephenson, and he can get away with a lot. But it's a page turner: it succeeds because the various protagonists are the best at what they do and don't miss much, so the conflicts are played out at a high strategic level, and because most of the players are highly sympathetic, so you find yourself rooting enthusiastically for both sides.