At Hitler's lunch table, Dr Dietrich boasted he got his best ideas in the bath. "Then you should bath more often", said Dr Goebbels. ...true. But seriously, you get more ideas if you have time to think about them - how surprising is that, Herr Professor?

Must be right (radio-synch) Time at a glance *plus* proportional 'time before' (so analog face, numerals if you need them) Must work at night (luminous) Must have legible date Must be swim/shower proof (sub. escapes are rare) Must have conformant strap (metal bracelets are for Girlz) - hard to find an *expensive* watch that meets this spec!

Read it ALL on pprune (ignore the permanent troll there), and you'll see that things were quick, but not necessarily simple. The sad guy who just 'pulled' to misleading 1g stall had his young wife in the back, so don't ever think he wasn't trying. I do believe think the sidestick movement (lack of) and logic (deltaT, not proportional) is suboptimal, but that wasn't all.

"If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out. If thy hand offend thee, cut it off. If thy brain offend thee, turn Catholic."

I used to find 'Microsoft Maps' quite useful, and easier than some to post on websites. But since they called them Ping, or something equally stupid, I haven't been back.

Maybe OT, but if in the UK do check out the 'PCG Guide to Freelancing', 84 pages .pdf. Obviously the tax and law detail is specific to Britain, but the general advice is very sound.

Old wheels just transfer sliding friction to a controllably-greased axle. Wheel 1.1 is different in principle, with friction-free roller bearings in the axle. "Grandpa rolled things on logs, so put the logs in the bearings".

Older folk will remember the standard Business School case-study of 'Singer' sewing machines. They once even owned forests, to secure the best wood for the traditional bases. Then it all went wrong: opposite reason from Kodak - their product lasted forever, and no one needed replacements. But the fundamental error is believing that your 'distinctive competence' is your technology, or your vertical integration, when so often it is something quite different and unexpected.

Watch out for the US abuse now 'debuting': to 'reach out' to someone, when what they mean is merely to 'make contact'. It's spreading like the plague, you'll hear it tomorrow.

Bought a cheap Playbook for the wife, to pair with her 'phone. She loves it - who am I to argue? She didn't want the big i-Pad the daughters bought. 'Horses for courses'. Tablets for girls.