Bob M

Since so little is known about which element (quark, hicks, electrons, other) were present at the big bang, then I sometimes wonder if it is possible to accidentally create the perfect conditions.

I know some of this, for example the singularity is not electron nor quark. Since we know that a quark must be in pairs and if an electron came into existence in the same place/time as it's anti-matter counterpart though there would be a very large release of energy, we actually know how much energy, so it is not the right particle or wave.

But the hicks is another matter, we do not really know what it is or it's properties, just the idea that it probably exists. That makes it quite a dangerous thing to play with if we really do think we are getting close to the answer.

I spent most of my working life in UNIX, so Linux was a natural step, at first used to try out code and use instead of a dumb client. Right from the start Linux was a good operating system.

Linux gradually improved on it's desktop GUI and application sides, not making huge unroads, mainly attracting us geeks still. But for us Linux was a godsend.

But now we have Dell selling Linux PCs, Radio shack with their £100 Linux laptop, and other outlets too.

But the question is, are people using it, it has always been tricky getting numbers as far as Linux users are concerned, one guide used to be from information collected on web hosts, a percentage of OS's used for browsing. But this is a limited way to work out how big Linux is now.

When you look around you, do you tend to see more Linux users than you once did?

Beer was priced out of reach, so bar/social club users were reducing fast. Absolute ban on smoking, as opposed to accomodating us in a way that is acceptible, put the final nail on the coffin for bar type socializing. That can never come back, generations made up the numbers in the bar, everyone knew everyone, there wasn't trouble, arguments sometimes, but pecking orders had been created long before.

From this you knew if the man down the road needed a bit of help, or if Mrs SoAndSo was struggling to get a bit of shopping in because her legs were bad.

In our youth generations of parents and their mates were there to teach us socializing, how to pace drinking, teach you the shame of bad behaviour etc. Teach you to communicate, teach you the boundaries.

All of it now gone. I don't know the names of anyone round here except the woman next door. The people down the street or on this estate I do not know at all.

Now the young have no mentors in the bars, no wonder they are not getting a good press, they are not learning the life and social skills that would see them through to adulthood. They are instead learning not to care, why should they, we don't give them much to build on.

But it affects us older men too. No interest in TV, sick of the few videos we have, where do we go to socialize now?

I would say that other than at work the only conversation I have with other men other than family is a two minute chat when walking the dog.

So, how do you socialize? Is there anyone around you you call a mate outside of the family who you can chat to? Are we all expected to sign up dor some daft night course just to give us someone to chat to? What do you do to create a social world around you now that the old social world has been taken away from us?

I like iTunes but the one thing that bugs me is creating a playlist of an album I have downloaded. I seem to remember before the last big iTunes update they mentioned automatic album playlists.

I haven't found that. I have to create a playlist, then find the songs in the library and drag and drop them. But newly downloaded albums don't always appear in that list straight away, sometimes you have to close and reopen iTunes to find them in the list, then drag and drop them.

Has anyone found an automatic way? Maybe download into a playlist?

What would actually happen, or change, if an absolute value for PI was found. Would it make a difference to any theory?

Do the rest of you get many of these?

I answer questions, I am logged in, then I press Preview and it asks me to login again, after that the answer box is empty.

It puts me off writing long answer because it might be wasted.

Are there many ordinary blokes out there who would love to have a go at wrestling. Not out on a stage where everyone can see the odd shaped blokes in trunks, but in a private gym.

I mean men of my sort, who don't workout, don't walk when the car will do a better job. But wouldn't mind getting rid of a bit of excess energy and lifes frustrations in a wrestle, if it was available to them.

I wasn't gifted at school. But After school I studied electronics and that took me to maths then advanced maths. I loved it and found it very easy to study and flew through the exams.

Now though when I try to study just for personal interest I find that my momory doesn't work. I can read the text do some exercises and ten minutes later know nothing of what I've tried to study.

I don't have memory problems in normal life.

So what is it I need to do to trigger my memory into action?