Well, I'm "protected" now. Lovely Wife went out last night and bought me a 12 pack of the little plasticine things. It's not that I didn't want to use them earlier, honest. It was more a question of price than anything else. I mean, you don't "need" them so it's really just wasted money, right? And why are they so bloody expensive anyway?

I put the first one on as soon as she got home last night. That was a bit wierd, let me tell you. Fortunately the fit wasn't off by as much as I'd feared. Almost a perfect fit, actually. They make these things in a bunch of sizes but Lovely Wife has a good eye and matched them up very well.

Using protection definately changes the experience. They say "Razor thin" on the package. Razors are not exactly what I want to be thinking of being around the equipment there, if you catch my drift. "Completely clear" they say. Well, there's these little bubbly trapped air pocket type things that stand out to my eye. It's not like you're going to overlook it or forget it's on there is all I'm saying.

The feel is different too. I don't get that intimate smooth slide anymore. Without that barrier in place the slightest touch or motion elicited an immediate response. It takes a bit more work now and I have to go a bit harder to get the same effect that I used to.

But it's "Safety First", right? Got to protect the merchandise. If it was just me using it I wouldn't have bothered but there are so many people here at work that want to take a turn with my equipment and I've always had a hard time turning people down. Lets face it, not everybody is going to be as careful with it as Lovely Wife is. So it might be a bit irritating but I'm sure I'll be thankful later on. Hell, with the confidence these things give I might start offering it out!

Truth be told, I should have been using these things right from the start. There's no good excuse for the danger I put man's best friend in. I mean with the various hands that have been on it I'm pretty lucky it isn't seriously damaged by now. Fortunately there's just a few very small scratches and you don't see those unless you get it right up in your face. That happens sometimes of course - people have different opinions about size after all. Some think it's a fine size or even too big, others think it's small (or at least much smaller than what they're used to) and they handle it accordingly.

I guess none of that really matters though. I'm protected now and that's what's important. Lovely Wife even got me a pack of new styluses since the one that came with the PDA has developed a burr on the tip. With the screen protector overlay in place that isn't such a big factor but why scratch up the overlays needlessly right?

It's good to know the equipment is safe now and has every chance of serving me faithfully for many a year to come.