Status-Q

Here’s one I came across by accident. In 1979, Susan E Brownlow patented a small ‘cool box’ in the shape and size of a cigarette packet. There’s a removable section at the bottom which you can put in the freezer, and the box is insulated so that you can carry it in your pocket and the contents are kept cool.

The motivation? People giving up smoking need something to chew on which doesn’t include too many calories. Carrot sticks are apparently good. But how do you carry carrot sticks around with you all day and keep them fresh and crunchy?

Oh dear. Someone in the UK has been prosecuted for using an open wifi connection. Three questions occur to me here:

• If you connect to someone’s network by accident, like my aunt, are you liable for prosecution?
• In any incident, does the owner of the network have to press charges?
• Is there a way to say ‘I believe in sharing my resources and any passer-by is welcome to use this network?’ We should establish a convention, perhaps like including ‘open’ in the network name.