Could it be that people that use allot of items containing these substances also have a more feminine culture they pass on to their children? As far as 106 girls for each 100 buys being born, could it be connected to a changing lifestyle in some way, like women choosing to get pregnant later because of careers? Could it be that having plenty of food tweaks our fertility to produce more women and less men, and vice versa? I have no clue, just suggesting... (:

I've started studying again after about five years of IT work. Its been a mixed experience, especially the financial side of it, and also to marshal the motivation to keep going at times. I'm on a study project that will take me seven years total, but once done I will (hopefully) have a secure high income job as a medical doctor.

So, I'm moving away from IT to deal MORE with people. I found the most enjoyable part of my old job to be working with the users of the projects we implemented, and especially holding courses and design workshops.

As for dealing with the financial side of going back to school - this is hard. Quite simply hard. But also surprisingly rewarding at times as well. I now find I'm proud I can survive on much less, and also not having access to all the latest kit made me aware of how addictive it can be to buy things. It's almost as if it provides a kind of escapism, always buying a new gadget. Now cannot, and it's okay.

The biggest problem I feel though, is that I can no longer keep up with my girlfriends lifestyle. Her life is more like my old, with more travel, going out with people and buying things. Mine is locked to my studies, and I cannot afford expensive pastimes like going out for dinner allot.

At the same time, to immerse myself in the science courses I'm currently taking can be very rewarding, and its good to have a project in life with a definite goal down the line to work towards.

But have no illusion this is easy - a solid job you know well with a high income is very very comfortable. But sometimes you have to move out of your comfort zone to progress I guess. I'm mostly happy to be away from IT.

Maybe this can be interpreted as a sign that DNA technology is getting affordable and widespread the same way photo manipulation is now relatively easy with widespread access to image technologies like Photoshop. In the case of images, we can more easily fake them, but we also benefit from more advanced visual design around us.

At the same time, it's not always easy to be constantly present and self-reflecting in relationships over long periods of time. I think plenty of intelligent people get into trouble with their marriages, cheat and what not.

To continue the WoW example: setting of time for your partner may seem like an obvious thing, but day-to-day living and routines that change slowly over time sometime makes it hard to see how little time you spend together etc. Career gets in the way, hobby projects and other social commitments.

I think the value of books on things like partnerships are highest when they function as a "remind-to-review" thing for things that ARE important, but that easily slip away. Do you spend enough time with you wife? Have you told her you love her recently? Did something to strengthen you relationships in the past three months? Painfully obvious, but also easy to forget.

Also, I completely agree with you on honest, open and calm. I'm personally very happy I found a girl who has all those qualities (:

If a few rouge iPhones are capable of messing up the cellphone network, then isn't that a general problem with the network rather than if the user has access to all the settings of the device? I mean, build a few phone-like devices in your garage, set them all to go off at a certain time, then drive around and drop the "bombs" near different towers. Why is the iPhone anything special?

My guess is that over the past 500 years, bad authorities have killed, injured of messed up the lives of far more people than other criminals.

Some examples:

• loss of property
• assassination, jailing for political activity
• extermination for ethnic reasons
• suppression (violent or otherwise) of groups
• war

Yes, crime sucks and should be fought, but bad politicians are more far more scary.

I suspect some small percentage people ARE affected by games, but I think allowing these games is much less dangerous to society than allowing authorities to limit your access to media and entertainment (to the extent it is done in authoritarian regimes, where the authorities are the real gangsters - but they don't allow movies about that either, do they? Hmmm...).