Hey Martin, I'll bet you have stories to tell. Re optimists: that makes me chuckle; it's that essential black humour that keeps people going as they wend their way through a slightly insane world.

@ Blast - Yeah, it's quite pleasant to find a place in the lee of the twitter/social/media hurricane. Sort of like a krummholz in the subalpine -- you can brew up a cup of tea in peace and enjoy the view as the wind howls by.