Something, or things, you can't afford, know you probably never will, but would love to have if you could afford it/them?

I'd have a top-of-the-range PC, maybe two, each with huge screens that came down out of the ceiling and swung up and out so I could use them but push them out of the way when I didn't need them. I'd have a colour laser printer, and whatever is after a terabyte? I'd have dozens of drives with - well, let's be honest here - as much storage space as I could possibly have.

You?



Speaking of storage, I would buy a bigger house. I'm not talking about a mansion here, just a place big enough to have some extra storage space and a living room far enough from my office that I can't hear the TV.

This is what you want. This is what you get.

If I could afford it, I'd take a year unpaid leave from work (something I'm allowed to for whatever reason).

I'd take some of our families on a long vacation in the Maldives. Then I'd hire people to paint and refurbish parts of the house and garden, inside and out. Maybe we'd get a wall knocked down, perhaps two.

Then I'd probably buy some things for the studio, like a pair of Milab DC96Cs (which I technically can afford, but can't justify) and a Telefunken U47 (way too expensive). Actually, I'd probably have to rebuild the whole studio.

I could want a house by the sea with a boat in the garden, but the kids seem happy here so maybe that's for later in life.

Happiness is a warm manatee

A tropical island far enough out from the mainland that I wouldn't be disturbed by unexpected visitors. A house on the island with solar and a back-up generator. A motor boat with a cabin and a helicopter so I could get to the mainland when I needed to.

And some helicopter pilot training lessons.