Translating the interface is a great way to learn about all the features of the software and it's an especially good deal if you're expecting to be a long term Question Writer user because as I update the software to new versions, I'll supply you with free upgrades for the few additional items that are needed for translation in each version. You don't need to be particularly technical, but it helps to know a little about XML. You'll be able to make the edits in a text editor.

Here's the Question Writer Blog item.

Compare this to the non-adjusted for inflation values, again, same source.

What looked like a crash between 1989 and 1995 in the first graph, looks more like 'prices going sideways' in the second graph.

I'm no economist, but I am fool, so I still like to predict the future.

I'm expecting to see continued increases in UK inflation in the next few years to avoid the appearance of a house price crash. I'm also expecting trickery to keep the official inflation figures low. We might see house prices (while they are declining) reflected in the Bank of England's inflation target and/or a different remit for the BoE who are currently charged with keeping the CPI at around 2%.

Attach this device to your PC/Mac via a USB port, and it will use the 3 mobile network to offer a (max speed) 2800/384 kbps connection. It's £10 month (18 month contract, 1Gig cap). It's a suitable replacement for both a light home-user, and as a replacement to the patchwork wi-fi network in place across the country for mobile users.

The revolution here is because it doesn't require a landline (£11 p.m. alone) . . . . BT now also require an 12 month contract for any new line connection and an installation charge of £125. That's pretty tough for a student or a short-term renter. You might think TalkTalk would be an alternative . . . but what they don't say is that they can't connect phone lines. So you've got to sign up with BT first. 12 months later, you can become a Talk Talk user.

For anyone who doesn't need a landline - this broadband is very affordable. And it's mobile.

LearnDirect's goal here is to reach the right audience but a side effect of its sponsorship is to underwrite the show. I wonder if that remains a tenable way to spend taxpayer funds after Judge Alan Berg's comments yesterday in sentencing one of the show's participants after a head-butting incident -

"It seems to me that the purpose of this show is to effect a morbid and depressing display of dysfunctional people whose lives are in turmoil. It should not surprise anyone that these people, some of whom have limited intellects, become aggressive with each other. This type of incident is exactly what the producers want. These self-righteous individuals should be in the dock. They pretend there is some kind of virtue in putting out a show like this."

He added that it was "a form of human bear-baiting which goes under the guise of entertainment".

And I'm particularly excited by the Japanese market. Generally, Japan is poised to do exceptionally well in the coming decades. I think its financial markets will suffer with the rest of the world in the short term with the inevitable return to a 'real economy' (as opposed to a 'financial services economy').

With the US looking down the barrel of deflation/stagflation/hyperinflation right now, Japan has been emerging from a 15 year deflationary period, stronger and leaner. The emerging Chinese market is on Japan's doorstep and with an emphasis on honesty and productivity, it's in pole position for a global rebalancing.

1) It grows and creates a knowledge base. That's searchable, so users can find the answer to their question immediately if it has been answered before, although I'll always answer a question rather than expect users to search for the answer.

2) It's indexable. Google indexes it and it's already full of the keywords that people searching for quiz software are looking for.

3) It's public. Each post is timestamped - that provides a public record of how long it takes to get answers to support queries. And it's usually much faster than the guaranteed 24hrs - I'll drop nearly anything to respond to a support forum request.

It requires dedication - but the benefit was crystallized for me last year when I got this e-mail confirming the direct link between forum support and sales -

"I want you to know that one of the things that convinced me to purchase the software was looking at your support forum and seeing how well and, especially how fast, you always responded to questions and comments." - Alan Merrell

I made it a priority to get the forum right from the start because I knew that quality of the forum is important in making a purchasing decision and because so many software companies make mistakes with their forum. The main problems I see are -

1) Hidden Forum. Some won't let you see the forum until you're already a customer - that doesn't suggest confidence in the product.

2) Empty Forum. Some forums are empty with few or no posts - you wonder if anyone is using the product at all.

3) Undersupported Forum. Some leave all the support to a customer support department - but some questions can only be answered by the developers.

4) No Forum. Some don't have forums at all - they have 'Frequenly Asked Questions' but they're more like 'Favourably Answerable Questions' - only questions that cast the product in a favourable light are there.

5) Private Forum. And most have some kind of registration system (but who wants to set up a whole new account just to ask a question?)

Here's an BBC news report about using the PSP as a wifi phone/video phone.

These guys held a press confence on hairstyles from the 1970s amidst the media circus of the Boston city bomb scare. They refused to play their assigned roles, thereby highlighting and questioning the broadcast media's automatic right to define the story.

The real story was the incompetence and overreaction of the Boston Police and their willingness to cause fear (or terror if you like) rather than admit their mistakes. To add to the city's shame, the artists had trumped-up hoax charges levelled against them in support the official narrative.

The charges have been dropped today, but it looks like they've been through the wringer. I hope that they can find a way to capitalize on their fame.

She's hoping that the Jury knows that they have the power of jury nullification. (Jury Equity here in the UK). That's the ancient power of a jury to judge the law as bad rather than the defendent and bring back a 'not guilty' verdict (or a hung jury) even where it flies in the face of the evidence.

Typically, a judge won't tell the jury of this power and inisist that they only consider the facts of the case.

Furthermore, a judge will typically hold a defendent in contempt if trying to educate the jury of their power.

She just has to hope that they already know.

It doesn't seem the mainstream media is rushing to educate people either - this Sky News report doesn't mention jury nullification, even though it's clearly relevant in this case.

In the UK, where mass protest is largely ignored, voting has little impact, and complaining on the internet does squat, jury nullification is a real power that reasonable people have to reject unreasonable laws. But only if people are aware of it.

Let's hope Patricia Tabram gets lucky and gets a fully informed jury today.

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Praise for effort rather than intelligence or even results.

“Emphasizing effort gives a child a variable that they can control,” she explains. “They come to see themselves as in control of their success. Emphasizing natural intelligence takes it out of the child’s control, and it provides no good recipe for responding to a failure.”

To be effective, praise needs to be specific and sincere.

New York University professor of psychiatry Judith Brook explains that the issue for parents is one of credibility. “Praise is important, but not vacuous praise,” she says. “It has to be based on a real thing—some skill or talent they have.” Once children hear praise they interpret as meritless, they discount not just the insincere praise, but sincere praise as well.

Teach that intelligence can be developed.

The teachers—who hadn’t known which students had been assigned to which workshop—could pick out the students who had been taught that intelligence can be developed. They improved their study habits and grades. In a single semester, Blackwell reversed the students’ longtime trend of decreasing math grades.

The only difference between the control group and the test group were two lessons, a total of 50 minutes spent teaching not math but a single idea: that the brain is a muscle. Giving it a harder workout makes you smarter. That alone improved their math scores.

Intermittent Re-inforcement

The brain has to learn that frustrating spells can be worked through. “A person who grows up getting too frequent rewards will not have persistence, because they’ll quit when the rewards disappear.”

That intermittent re-inforcement idea is particularly important in developing persistent behaviour - it's why you check your e-mail too frequently and why gamblers in Las Vegas continue to play slot machines.