That goes back to the absolutely lame excuses poeple used in BB1 + 2 for nominating. Do you think that 'missing someone' would be an acceptable reason for nominating in BB3? I would be disappointed if it were - I hated that in the last two series, its just a cop-out coward's excuse.
I don't think if Johnny just said he missed his family it could be counted as communication with the outside world, the HMs have discussed the things they miss on numerous occassions and I haven't noticed any of them get pulled for it.
So I stand by my original words and say that I still think Johnny carving names on the table was a bit strange - and destructive come to that, as well as a permanent reminder to all that he's missing his family if they were looking for a lame excuse to nominate him.