Additionally - we Brits lost the mid-'American' landmass through unwise laws and a bit of a Revolution. Now, we sad Brits are enmeshed in EU Socialism and their 'Political Correctness'. But at least the escaped Aussies ("No Worries") are fully engaged with the future.

My work colleague had rudimentary Mandarin. Whenever we had an official Chinese delegation in London, she would help me in the Boardroom. They were hugely delighted with her greetings, and the meetings became much more sociable. I was amazed that Chinese/Brit subtle humour had much in common, too. Of course we had a professional interpreter also on the team, but do NOT underrate the value of effort to learn some sounds in Mandarin, and (never mind the business) to laugh along with your ancient-world counterparts.

Didn't we all have to do virtual 'cards' in 'decks' when offering WML to Nokia phones, in far off days when they were the main force? Didn't seem to last long, but it's still part of my elderly Dreamveaver.

So an association of shrinks wants more 'analysis' and less meds? Hey, book some sessions soon!

Living in Western Siberia is just as complex as anywhere else. Less low level crime, because everyone knows who did it, more high-level corruption, because everyone knows who needs it. And don't think 'tribal' societies are easier either - you'd better know whatever holy book they use pretty well, if you'd like to live.

On this chilly Spring morning in England it is 234.9V. That's either a British compromise, or yet more evidence that we never did really want to join 'Europe'.

We still have ours, but use it only for the Christmas tree lights. It will switch 13A at 240V, but that doesn't seem very safe.

People who are stupidly credulous respond better to authoritative counselling.

I tested my rods on a road with trenches either side, looking for 'pipes', with a friend who could see down the trenches. Nothing, but at one spot they always crossed even with no pipes evident - eventually we noticed there was a wire running overhead at that point. Not saying it 'works', only - and most likely - that it sensitively discloses the operator's own subliminal suspicions/intuitions. Plus, confirmation bias - how many other trials have I not reported? But in the bomb case, provided the bad guy thinks your fake detector works, you're half way there with all these credulous locals. Dice would be just as good, if he believed you were a wizard. All busted now, of course!

A pair of L-shaped brass rods, one in each hand, seems to work for 'dowsing'. They swing across each other over a target. But if you clamp the handles in a swivelling frame, they (unsurprisingly) swing only parallel. Hypothesis, the kit indicates only what the operator is subliminally suspecting (just like the traditional stressed hazel twig, or magic pendulum). So you can do a bit of theatre with such things (especially if the credulous believe they work), but it's fake, but/and it's fake for a reason.

It's arguable that the rise of 'Party' is a direct cause of the decline of true 'democracy'. We used to vote for individuals we trusted, either as 'representatives' (US) or 'members' -whose outlook we largely shared (UK). Now the effective choice is too often binary between Parties, and the individuals concerned stand no chance of election unless they jump through whichever hoops the party machine requires for selection. How might a simulation look if candidates were forbidden from joining a Party until after an election?

I really would tell all my country-cousins to update their Java, but I couldn't rely on them to untick the 'Make Ask my default homepage, and add the toolbar' box. That sort of inertia-sell to the ignorant inspires no confidence at all.

Usual reason for doing this with official data is to avoid sensation-seekers 'hotlinking' to specific data without noting the disclaimers, statistical cautions, changes of basis etc. which moderate any interpretation.

AF447, they probably never knew (mostly 1g, apart from the bumpy bits and the swaying they'd been warned about). But takeoff and landing? You really might need your wits about you, if only to help others. Flying is still not magic.

Takeoff and landing, you're supposed to concentrate on safety instructions which (very rarely) you might need to think about right soon and seriously. Just... put down the gadget for a moment, and join the real and dangerous world of the paid staff.