How to turn completing a survey into a torturous process…

I was thrilled the other day to receive a personal letter from my local Conservative Councillor. It is not every day this happens. It said ‘Dear Mr Meader’ and was hand-signed at the bottom. How lovely. It seems they wanted to know my opinions on certain things, political mainly. The letter was titled ‘2009 Residents Survey’, but why they should send it to me I don’t know. I guess they think I’m important and wise and whose opinions should be listened to.

A short study of sneezing

There are many ways to distract yourself at work. Some people browse the internet while others play solitaire. I collect statistics on the number of times I have sneezed during the day.

Lots of people carry out research into very important things, like a cure for cancer, but it strikes me that history tells us you don’t get cures for cancer by looking for it. Many of the great scientific discoveries were accidental. Penicillin for instance was discovered when Fleming was researching food poisoning, x-rays through investigating cathodic ray tubes and of course viagra came about as an interesting side effect from angina studies. So, laugh you might, but my sneezing statistics may one day lead to a cure for cancer!

The rules of travelling by train

There are unwritten rules involved in travelling by train and today they were broken.

Seat selection is a very important daily decision process. Every seat has its pros and cons. A table seat can provide more space for reading or using a laptop, but you end up kicking the person opposite and they end up kicking you and it all gets messy. Then there are the priority disabled and elderly seats, which are brilliant for leg room, but not so good for reading, because the shelf to lean on is too far forward. Plus, there is always the risk that you might have to give up your seat. It never happens, but you never know.

The perennial problem

Snow has got to be the best excuse for missing work. You’re not ill, there’s no medical appointment, no funeral, it’s not costing leave, but it is widely accepted as an unavoidable absence, and is verified by the many colleagues who also cannot get in.