Richard English

In debates on this forum. creationists attempt to disprove evolution by suggesting that examples of the evolutionary process process that have been observed, such as Darwin's Finches, the peppered moth and antibiotic resistent bacteria are not evolution, but "adaptation".

I have frequently asked how this "adaptation" works and how it differs from evolution, but I never get an answer.

Could someone enlighten me, please?

There is much talk about "faith" in these columns and, according to Ambrose Bierce in his Devil's Dictionary, faith is:

"Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel".

What do contributors here have to say about this definition and its accuracy?

I have been an atheist sice the age of 12 and have satisfied myself that the concept of heaven, hell and indeed a deity are all contructs of humankind's imagination.

I am now of any age when I have to consider my own mortality which can't be long delayed and I have to confess to being very frightened about the idea and feel somewhat jealous of those who believe, with complete certainty, that they will be going to some wonderful place with all the incredible (albeit impossible) benefits their own religion promises.

So, fellow atheists, how do you deal with the inevitabilty of death without the comforting belief of some form of everlasting life?

And she was made so by an Angel of the Lord (or the Lord himself), would you believe her or would you suspect it more probable that she had been having a bit of nookie with that new pop singer at the youth club? And if you wouldn't accept her story then why do you believe the self-same kind of story about a carpenter's fiancée who lived 2000 year ago?

And please don't simply quote the bible, which is, at best, a book of myths.

I have a Garmin Nuvi 205W which is about 5 years old. A few days ago I tried to update its maps (I have a lifetime subscription) and a message came up after about 20 minutes to say the process was complete, so I unplugged the device. Now when I try toi turn it on I get an error message "System Software Missing" and the device won't work. Plugging it into the computer doesn't help as the Garmin updater can't find it (although the computer "chimes" to show it's found the device).

I wrote to Garmin customer relations and got a very offhand answer that basically said, "We don't support this model any more, so tough doodies".

So I went onto the Garmin service site and found my model and clicked on the "repair quote" request box - to get the answer, "This model is no longer repaired".

I accept that 5 years is a long time in computer terms - but the device does everything I want and I don't see why I should have to lash out over £100 to replace it when all that's wromg is some minor software glitch.

Any ideas as to how I can fix the SatNav or get someone in Garmin to behave as if customer service weren't an unknown concept

My Konica Minolta 3730 works perfectly with plain paper, but when I try to print card, even with all the settings correct, every sheet jams in the feed tray. I can see exactly what the problem is; as the media is fed by the roller it gets as far as the small unpowered "squeeze" roller but that is so tight in rotation (it has a scroll spring on it to make it so) that the feed roller just skids until the machine shuts down with a media jam error message.

If I feed the top sheet of card past the initial resistance point where it meets the squeeze roller, then it will print perfectly - but usually just that one sheet - and will then jam again.

The only though I have had is that there might be some adjustment that opens the gap between the drive roller and the squeeze roller which isn't working - but I certainly can't see any such thing (although, of course, there is no way of checking what's going on as everything is arranged so that any attempt to operate the machine with a cover open will simply give rise to an error message.

I have tried cleaning the drive roller but this makes no difference. I will soon need new toner cartridges and, seeing as though these cost over a hundred quid each, might I do better to simply buy a new printer and throw away my hardly-worn machine simply because it has a very minor fault.

Micrografx Picture Publisher is probably one of the best photo manipulation programs made - but is no longer produced. My old version won't run on my new Windows 7 system. I can get the installation pane to appear and most of the applications (help, Demo) run, but if I click on "install" nothing happens.

I have tried using the compatibility modes and have tried compatibility for W98, 2000 and XP - all of which used to run it. But nothing happens except I get the initial panel, from which the "install" option does nothing at all. I do sometimes get the warning about the program wishing to modify my settings, which I accept, but again I get no further than the first installation panel.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can get it to run or where I can get a version of PP that is compatible with W7? I am presently using Photoshop Essentials, about which the only good thing is that it's better than Corel Paint.

I was forced to change my computer as Microsoft no longer supports Windows XP. Having lashed out the best part of a thousand quid for a new laptop and a new desktop I was expecting everything to be miles better but it's not.

My new computers are slower than my old ones and many of my old programs won't run on my new machines (The excellent Picture Publisher won't, for example, and the alternative installed, Photoshop Elements, is rubbish).

Apparently Windows 7 is "more secure" than XP - but that's a bit like saying that your new car is better in a crash than the one you were happy with driving before you were forced to change it. If you don't have a crash then the benefits are illusory. So far I have found not one single, solitary benefit of Windows 7 and am more than ever convinced that this has just been another shabby trick by Microsoft to force their customers to pay more money.

So my question is twofold:

1. What (if any) are the advantages of Windows 7 over Windows XP?

2. Is there any way I can get my old Picture Publisher program to run on my new system (I can't buy a new version as the manufacturers have been taken over and closed down)

I have a fish mate pressurised UV pond filter which has recently been getting blocked very quickly - to the extent that the waterfall actually stops after a couple of days.

I have been using the "Powerclenz" cleaning cycle regularly but it doesn't seem to remove all that much sediment and needs to be done every day to keep the system running at all.

Today I was so fed up with the poor flow than I "reverse-flushed" the filter by connecting the pump to the outlet pipe and the intake to the debris hose. Absolutely masses of debris poured out and it took a couple of minutes for the system to run clear. On reconnecting it the flow was back to its old self - rapid and clear.

My question is twofold:

1. What has gone wrong with the "Powerclenz" and can I put it right?

2. Will using a reverse flush do any harm?

Filters are expensive to buy and I don't want to replace my existing one if I can keep it working.

I have a large sealed double-glazed window in my conservatory and it has somehow become damp between the two panes of glass. This means that there is now condensation on the internal faces of the window, which I cannot reach to remove.

Shot of replacing the entire window (a lengthy and expensive operation) is there any way I can get rid of this condensation? I have tried warming the window and that does evaporate the condensation - but it re-forms as soon as the window cools.

I get a mountain of Spam because my website has my address on it (I know, I shouldn't have put it there - but it's too late to change what I have done)

One Spammer calling itself Canadiana Pharmacy sends me around 200 identical Spams every week; I have tried reporting them to SpamCop and I have tried writing to the Spammer - all to no avail.

Does anyone have any ideas? Can I sue them? Would it help if I were to place an order with a false credit card number and keep re-submitting it until someone actually talks to me?

All answers welcomed. Incidentally, I am not sure if I am in the correct area - this is the area that the auto-allocater suggested - although I don't use my Yahoo email.

The United Arab Emirates is a largely dry country but I was lucky enough, when I was in Dubai, to find a Belgian Bar in the Intercontinental Hotel. Does anyone know of a similar oasis in Abu Dhabi? I will be staying at the Fairmount, but I've not yet managed to find out what they have in their bars - I suspect it'll be the usual chemical fizz :(

Because I have a website with my address, I get well over 100 Spam emails every day (often a dozen or more from the same Spammer who wants to sell me medication). I try to report the Spams to SpamCop, but this does take time and, quite frankly, seems to make not a jot of difference; I am now getting more Spam than before I started using SpamCop.

Short of removing my contact details from my website, is there anything I can do to reduce the Spam and/or get back at the Spammers?

I have received a leaflet advertising this product, which is an aerosol spray which claims to enhance erections, rapidly and harmlessly. It suggests that one simple spray application gives an immediate erection which lasts for several hours. In addition it is claimed to enhance women's enjoyment as well.

Furthermore, it can be reapplied soon after ejaculation, giving another erection within a few minutes.

It sounds too good to be true and I am wondering whether anyone here has tried it. It's not at all cheap at around £17.50 per application (or double that if both partners use it) - although it would surely be worth that much if it worked as well as it claims it does.

I am using Outlook 9 and tried to add the UK's Bank Holidays to the calendar. Although following tools>options>peferences>calendar options>add holidays worked, it only added holidays up to the year 2000.

Is there any way I can update Outlook to let it see the present year and later?

I get, every day, many emails that all say the same kind of thing:

"...hi sweetie

I can send you some nude pictures of me, I`m hot 22 yo girl :)

please drop me a line at sally03@freemailtoday.ru ..."

There is no link to a drugs site (the usual scam) and if I reply (which I have done a couple of times to see what happens) I hear nothing further. Why is someone wasting time sending this kind of Spam message when they seem to be deriving no benefit?

My only guess is that someone is harvesting addresses by checking to see whether anyone answers - but I would have thought there were better ways than this to find out good email addresses.

I can onbly get the index...

I keep getting emails from Yahoo advising me that a contributor has added me as a contact, and adding this message:

"...If you'd like, you can add ??? as a Contact too. Just follow this link:

http://answers.yahoo.com/my/contacts/invite/ ..."

Obviously I would like, at the very least, to acknowledge that person's request but, if I click on the link, all it does is take me to my own profile and activity. There is no mention of adding a contact. Indeed, I can find no way of doing this on any page. Does simply clicking on the link do the trick and, if it does, does that action tell the inviter that I have accepted his or her invitation?

I can't ask Yahoo since I am convinced that only robots work in their customer care department, judging by the automated answers that I receive (all identical word for word).

So, amongst the many erudite contributors here, is there someone who can advise me?