Which is the best army in the world? Why, the Swiss, of course. And this has nothing to do with those great knives (BTW and quite OT, did you know that officers get one with a corkscrew whilst other ranks are issued one with a bottle opener?). No, the reason I say the Swiss Army must be the best in the world is... well, when did you last notice Switzerland being invaded?

My general point is that the only thing better than dealing with a situation effectively, is not letting the situation arise in the first place. But you get more credit for dealing with messes, than for not getting into them. There is a lot of unsung heroism in keeping things from going wrong

This leads me, by an admittedly circuitous route, to a hymn of praise to the monks of the mind. The real monks, of course, are wonderful. Many's the time I've asked a question and they've answered it. But the monks of the mind are perhaps even more powerful.

For every question I've posted there have been two or three that I have formulated... and then, as I'm getting ready to press the preview button I hear Crazytachtillyn saying "did you think of...? Why didn't you first try....? Have you reviewed the friendly manual?" and back I go to the drawing board. And often there the solution is.

The monks of the mind, who are of course composites of the real monks (tm), are one of the most valuable things about this place - the challenging ambience that doesn't just solve my problems, but puts me on my mettle to understand them better myself.

§ George Sherston