Some unrelated bits and bobs:
* Multitaskers struggle to... ?
When someone says to me, "Keep talking; I *am* listening," while they do something else I've never been too impressed with the results. Anecdotally and over-generalistically, I get the impression that many under-20s never do just *one* thing: if they're watching TV, they're also on FaceBook or playing a game. Wasn't like that in my day, harrumph (though I'm a low-level multi-tasker myself). Obviously if you multi-task you're unlikely to do any one of your activities as well as a single-tasker, but you're also constantly challenging your brain to cope with multiple inputs, so I was interested to read this discussion of a study which tried to work out what new mental skills multi-taskers had acquired. The answer amused me. (link)
* Bugs
I read a lot more non-fiction than fiction. I may not be making my soul more beautiful with this choice, but I certainly learn a lot more stuff about the world. I'm still at the very early stages of reading a book about MRSA at the moment (=Superbug). It's terrifying so far and is likely to turn me into a Howard Hughes-style recluse. Well-written, interesting and full of very unwelcome information. Do your best to avoid it.
* Farewell
And finally something that makes me sad: Lis Sladen, the lady who played Sarah-Jane Smith on Doctor Who - both when I was little and in the last few years - has died from cancer. I was so surprised because she always looked so fantastic that I thought she must be fit as a flea. I can't remember ever seeing a woman in her sixties look so great in a pair of jeans and a leather jacket and I loved the character she played. I think you can often tell when an actor is really a great person and no one seems to have had a bad word to say about Lis Sladen. (I would have spelled her name 'Liz' but I'm seeing it as 'Lis' in newspaper stories.) (news story)