Well Done, Sherlock! - Ministry of Defence

This is one statement of the bleedin' obvious that will go down in history as a classic. It's a shame that it relates to such a tragic and pointless loss of life and massive waste of resources. The Independent reports that the Ministry of Defence has determined that the war in Afghanistan is 'unwinnable'. Well, stripe me pink but I believe a number of us were saying that when Blair and Bush started it. It began as an exercise to root out Al Qaeeda's training camps, developed into removing the Taliban regime and eventually became a campaign to install a western-style democracy. But as enny fule no, it's not that easy to impose a system, that has taken 'The West' several hundred years to develop, on to a tribal  culture based on patronage, overnight. Or even to colonise the place. The Brits have been trying it for over 150 years...the Soviet Union tried and failed to impose a Stalinist regime...and I suspect The Taliban regime would eventually have fallen once the tribal warlords got their act together. So, it's Well Done Sherlock! to the strategic geniuses at the MoD.

You have to laugh or else you cry.

Take A Nap, Sherlock!

This person is in the running for a Well Done, Sherlock! award. Dr Sara Mednick, who has a Phd in Psychology from Harvard and is a researcher and faculty member at the University of California, has figured out that taking a nap in the afternoon can be quite refreshing. She's even written a book about it, available from our tax-dodging friends at Amazon for a mere £8.99.

Her researches have revealed, amongst other things no doubt, that there is an appropriate time during the day, which is related to the time you woke up, to take 'The Ultimate Nap'. This is a perfectly balanced state in which REM and slow-wave sleep are equally proportioned. There's a nifty little Flash animation on her website that you can use to work out when this will be in your particular case. This assumes, of course, that you have had an unbroken night's sleep and Dr Mednick does not explain on her website what to do if this is not the case. Should one take a nap according to the first time you woke up or the latest? Or a nap for each waking up? I guess we'll have to buy the book to find out.