AEROPLANE crashes, it turns out, are surprisingly good for your mental
health. Gary Capobianco and Thanos Patelis, two American psychologists, compared
15 crash survivors with a control group of frequent fliers who hadn鈥檛 crashed.
They found that the survivors were less prone to anxiety, depression and
post-traumatic stress.
鈥淭he psychological wellbeing of airplane crash survivors compared to air
travellers who have never been involved in any type of aviation accident or
crash was much better on all the levels measured. The crash survivors actually
scored lower on several standardised measures of emotional distress than the
flyers who hadn鈥檛 been in an accident,鈥� said the authors.
However, there is a drawback to this particular method of achieving a
positive outlook on life. The reason Capobianco and Patelis only interviewed 15
crash survivors is that these were all they could find鈥� because the
survival rate from plane crashes is so low.
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THEY do things in style in Devon. When Steve Wall went down there to see the
eclipse two weeks ago, he found this notice outside a hotel in Torquay:
鈥淭otal Eclipse `99. In the event of rain this will be held in the village
丑补濒濒.鈥�
THE BRITISH government says it is worried about fraud on the Internet. So are
many subscribers to CompuServe who have written to us complaining about scam
messages which look official and ask for their password, credit card and banking
details.
CompuServe has not been able to stop these messages, so we bundled up a pile
of evidence and sent it to Britain鈥檚 telecoms watchdog Oftel. Oftel鈥檚 Policy and
Analysis Office declared that it had 鈥渘o regulatory powers鈥� and passed the
complaint to the Corporate and Consumer Affairs office of the Department of
Trade and Industry.
Nothing was heard from the DTI so, after two ignored reminders, we appealed
to Kim Howells, the minister in charge. This finally produced a response: 鈥淚t鈥檚
nothing to do with us,鈥� said the DTI. 鈥淵ou should try the Home Office . . .
No, we can鈥檛 forward the papers forwarded from Oftel because we can鈥檛 find any
trace of them.鈥�
Given this level of official concern, it is hardly surprising that the
scammers are getting more cheeky by the day. A reader in Germany has just
received a message threatening to shut down his account unless he replies with
his banking details.
鈥淲e are sorry for the inconvenience and hope that you will continue to enjoy
CompuServe,鈥� it says, ending with 鈥淐opyright CompuServe Interactive Services
滨苍肠鈥�.
MEANWHILE, CompuServe has introduced new e-mail software which looks a lot
like that produced by AOL, the company that bought CompuServe out last year.
CompuServe 2000 comes on a free disc mounted on the covers of computer
magazines. After some pain trying to install it, Feedback can offer a valuable
tip.
CompuServe鈥檚 existing users have to choose a new name. Mail is then
automatically forwarded to the new name. But virtually every name you can think
of is already taken. In an unguarded moment, CompuServe鈥檚 helpline admitted that
this is because C2000 uses the same database as AOL and its millions of
subscribers. If your name is Francis Wartburger, somewhere in the world there is
another Francis Wartburger who already has an account with AOL.
Now for the tip. The users of AOL do not seem to have tried phonetic
spellings. The sound of your real name, misspelt, may still be free. But you
need to move fast before the word gets round. Take it away, Phransees.
READER Alison Brooks鈥檚 Qualcast Panther lawnmower came with a stern warning:
鈥淎lways use a circuit breaker with this device.鈥� Since the mower has no electric
parts鈥攊t is powered only by human muscles鈥攕he is at a loss to know
where to put the circuit breaker, and the instructions don鈥檛 say.
SAILING enthusiasts who watched the recent Fastnet yacht race on the Internet
might have been intrigued to see that the yacht Star Trekker, belonging to the
Royal Logistics Corps, had to divert during the race to pick up supplies.
WHO WOULD have thought it?
Here is an odd piece of information from the 鈥淨uestions and answers鈥� page of
a recent issue of Advanced Driving, the magazine of the British
Institute of Advanced Motoring.
Dealing with a question about swerving to avoid hitting animals crossing the
road, the magazine tells us: 鈥淎n upsurge in animal casualties occurs twice
yearly when the clocks change. Because human traffic has shifted its routine by
an hour, what was a quiet crossing spot for an animal can become a
诲别补迟丑迟谤补辫.鈥�
FINALLY, David Sang informs us that on the pier at Bognor Regis there is a
machine called a 鈥淰irtual Reality Simulator鈥�.
Sang wonders: does this mean that there is a cyberspace beyond
cyberspace鈥攑erhaps, even, an infinite series of nesting cyberspaces? Will
we soon be seeing virtual reality simulator simulators? And then virtual virtual
reality simulator simulators? And then鈥�