Nataly

My niece is turning 5 and I'm really struggling to find her a pressie... I would like to give her something that will last a long time and that has links to her French[-Canadian] or British heritage (her mom's side emigrated from England). In previous years, I got her a Paddington Bear (and book), a Roald Dahl box-set, a (real) tea set, a red coat (similar to Paddington's trench). Can't for the life of me think of anything this year, though... She's too young for a mini scooter!! If anyone has ideas, I would be very grateful... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Hmmm... I'm not convinced that he was a victim... He looks like he has an attitude problem and certainly doesn't *seem* to feel bad about what he did... Looks to me like he's upset he got caught... Pulling the victim card when you are at fault is the wimp's way out. Of course I don't know the full story... But from what I've seen I'm finding it hard to sympathise with him... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I think it depends on her attitude as well as yours. If you're not fussed about a precise time as long as it's within a certain timeframe, let her know what that timeframe is. Make it clear in advance what is and what isn't acceptable, and whether there is any leeway (for instance, maybe you're ok with her being late as long as she calls before the curfew passes). Set clear boundaries, define the consequences, and stick to both. I think there is a stronger chance she will respect where you are coming from than if you randomly switch between flipping out and letting things slide... I'm not a parent, but it strikes me as one of those occasions where clarity and consistency are the two key ingredients for encouraging good behaviour. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Ok - thanks for the feedback on Open Office. I reckon once the trial period of MS Office expires I will give it a try... At home, I don't have much use for Excel, so formatting shouldn't be too much of an issue... Word, however, is a little hard to do without - hopefully it will be ok for minor things like updating my CV and whatnot. No fancy diagrams or anything, but a CV doesn't look so good when all the formatting goes pear-shaped... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

??? I believe drunk-driving deaths and injuries have decreased significantly as the drunk-driving penalties and prevention measures have increased. While I agree that more education and enforcement of penalties has improved the situation, I think there is a limit to how much doing more of the same would lessen the problems... In other words, there is a "peak" in there where doing more of the same thing no longer results in much (if any) improvement. I guess the debatable point is whether we have reached the stage where something else needs to be done in order to get significant results. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Think I did a pretty good job of convincing that recruiter NOT to put me forward for any jobs today!! Biggest mistake - not prepared. I'm used to speaking about my experience in English but not in French - I should have reviewed the terminology, practised, and heck, even asked my Froggy Friends to grill me! It just didn't flow naturally AT ALL - I felt very much like a fish out of water. I'm sure the word "uuuhhhhm" featured about 5 times in each sentence... Not a great way to learn, but a good lesson... Thanks for posting - these are good tips. Some are obvious, but still good reminders!

Huh???? Well, I opted for the bike. I left early in case I ended up taking a wrong turn, but it was dead easy

I think I've heard about this, but didn't know anyone who tried it... Thanks for the tip-off, I will look into this.

Thank you - that is *super* helpful

you bringinig in an African cultural "norm" to rebute a western point of view, about western culture, is pretty much assanine. No, Shah has claimed several times that his views are biological and universal - like you said, I'm pointing out that they are a Western point of view (and not even representative of all Westerners) and therefore NOT universal. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Bought a laptop (Samsung N150 Plus) in October and long story short, just got it back from the repair guys (it broke down in December!). I've mucked about so much I can't be asked to deal with them anymore. They've replaced my hard drive and also removed all software - no Microsoft Office, no Windows media player, no adobe anything, nothing. Except it has a starter version of Windows 7 (but I somehow think even this is missing bits of what I had when I bought the computer - I don't know; I'm not a computer geek). Could someone help me with what programmes I should re-install so I don't miss any? Thanks. ETA - Note this is a PC, not a Mac

I just think it's because American beer is like drinking water... Leaving you tipsy enough to drive but not drunk enough to pass out like Europeans do from drinking real alcohool!!! Ok, ok... Seriously, though, I am sure I read in Super Freakonomics that walking home drunk is by far *more* dangerous for the drunk person than driving home. The key difference is that he/she isn't putting other people at risk by walking... Wasn't it Einstein who said "insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Well, more of the same law-enforcement doesn't seem to have had a big impact on drinking and driving thusfar; perhaps this initiative would be more effective. I think if they manage to make a reliable device that doesn't significantly increase the hassle-factor, it's a good idea and at the very least, new cars should have the devices installed as standard, and DUI offenders should get it fitted in as well. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Nope. But I do think this would be the best option if I did. Another option is ask an aquaintance for a ride. Tell them you'll pay for gas and buy them lunch. That's all it would take for me to drive somebody somewhere an hour or 2 away. I don't have any friends/acquaintances who don't work *and* have a car *and* live in France!! I also don't know anyone stupid enough to lend me their car!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Yup!! Struck me as odd, but it's there, it's free, and it works! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Looked for it again and realised it's available on iBooks but not with my UK account... So I just discovered I could install Kindle on my iPad and guess what? I can buy it electronically through that

God bless predictability - every accountant's dream!! Looked for it on iBooks - not available You've mentioned it before and it sounds good. Will keep an eye out for it because I own so many books already that I'm determined to stick to electronic purchases from now on. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

How far from Virgin-Burner? Don't know; don't want to know. (No offence, VB!) In any case, for a role in Switzerland my preference would be to work on that side of the border but to live in France. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

BEST answer yet!!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

I personally have *never* been seen by a doctor at the agreed scheduled time. I have always arrived early and been seen late. Yes, unforeseen incidents *do* occur, but precisely because they are so rare you would never have thought they would happen, these are exceptional. And yes, some problems cannot be resolved (budget restraints, et cetera). What I don't understand is why it seems like the same things are always causing delays? If something happens again and again, shouldn't there be a "plan" to prevent this regular occurrence from causing delays? Why plan the schedules as if nothing is going to go wrong when you *know* it will?! Why not have agreed courses of (corrective/preventative) actions to deal with these (regular) occurrences? If we know something is a problem and happens regularly, it's not unforeseen - it's unfortunate. It should be dealt with. If you consistently let the same problems cause delays without doing anything about it, you are effectively sending the message that you don't care about wasting the patient's time - you don't care that you are making them wait. But I agree that yelling at the receptionist solves nothing. And being mean to a cranky/ill patient likewise. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

wow I feel satisfied....

Y'know, she hasn't told us what she's interviewing for. We're all assuming she needs to change into more appropriate attire, but for all we know leather might be the exact look her potential future employer is looking for. Well, the role *would* be in Switzerland (where such trades are fully legal)!!! But sorry to disappoint... It's for an accounting role... Somehow I doubt the watch-industry-dress-code includes leather! Well, maybe for the watch-strap... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

This is funny because a vast number of westerners (dare I say the "majority"?) think supermodels are the epitome of "attractive" and I'm not sure they are the "picture of health"!! Also... Been to Africa much?? It's a large continent... And as such it's hard to generalise... But an overwhelming percentage (dare I say the "majority"?) like "fat" (almost "obese") women... I believe the practice of force-feeding girls before their wedding is more common than the age-old American tradition of starving oneself to fit into a tiny wedding dress!!! Come on Shah... You have a narrow view of what "biologically" attracts men to women. A view that is not supported by the wide range of what men actually like across (or even within) different cultures... "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Are you kidding?? Bad weather was invented for "porn-days-in"!! You know the rules...no photo.... Yep... No video means it never happened! I'm just unusually cheerful on bad-weather-days for reasons that cannot be proven!! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

But DZ.com is so helpful in those situations. Yah.. I mean.. These decisions are *important*... God only knows what we would do if we didn't have a group of random people connected by skydiving to tell us what to do! "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss

Nope. But I do think this would be the best option if I did. "There is no problem so bad you can't make it worse." - Chris Hadfield « Sors le martinet et flagelle toi indigne contrôleuse de gestion. » - my boss