I don't use a mantra or run with music, but I do use a smile when things get tough during a race. I ran a 10k race on New Year's eve and my wife said that loads of the runners who went past at the 4.5k mark were looking pained and like the whole thing was a chore. She took a photo of me surrounded by runners and I'm the only one smiling! (Here's a link: http://www.training-time.com/inspiration/?articleId=371 )

A smile can actually help your body to produce endorphins and make you feel more positive. So next time you run why not make it a part of your routine to try and sile your way through the run - especially when the going gets tough!

Steve Cook
TrainingTime

Those fiendish Nintendo gremlins have anticipated my evil plan. I'll have to go back to selling empty boxes instead!

Plenty of Wiis here in Sweden as well. Bwahahaha!

Actually I've been wondering if the Swedish Wiis are compatible with the games sold in the UK and whether it's worth trying to eBay them.

So that would make it a groatbot?

Thanks for pointing this out. Here's a copy of a mail I sent to the competition address. Hopefull if enough people point out how dangerous and stupid this is they will rethink the promotion:

Hi!

I just read about your Smores eating contest. What a completely irresponsible idea! Do you realise that people have died from eating contests like this? The Guinness Book of Records for instance has stopped recording new eating records as a matter of public safety.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinness_World_Records#Ethical_issues

Aside from that fact that you are almost certainly opening yourselves up to huge liability problems, what sort of message about eating is your competition sending? Nowhere in your competition rules do I see an age limit. You are encouraging the most vulnerable people, children, to endanger their health for the sake of $50 and some chocolate. Shame on you! There is actually a place for a company like yours to both sell chocolate AND take a stance that promotes healthy eating.

I seriously hope that nobody sustains serious harm during this ill-concieved promotion of your and that hopefully you rethink the idea before anyone does get hurt. But if someone does get hurt I hope that the negative publicity makes you think twice before running this sort of sick stunt again.

Yours sincerely

Steve Cook

I am a Brit living in Sweden. When Sweden introduced a ban last summer the main motivating factor was to protect the health of people working in bars and restaurants.

I've been following the debate in the UK and I've hardly seen this argument used at all there.

In Sweden the ban has been respected by the vast majority of people as far as I have heard. It has also led to increased numbers in many pubs and especially restaurants.

It will be interesting when I visit London this summer to see how the more independent (a charitable observation, I would rather say "selfish") Londoners react to the ban.

I am all for it (though I live in Sweden, not the US). Seeing Jamie's campaign in the UK made me hugely determined that when my son is of school age that I will do all I can to help make sure that his school dinners are as healthy as the food I serve him at home.

Children's eating habits are just that - habits and habits can be changed. But it does take time and effort and if the schools and the parents aren't behind that change then the junk-food sellers will take the opportunity to make as much money as possible.

It's about as dangerous as intentionally speeding and only slowing down when you think you might get caught out.

Unfortunate that you are equating the American market with the rest of the world Mark. There may be thousands of channels and a growing demand for HD in the US, but in a lot of the rest of the world HD is barely making a scratch. I live in Europe and haven't bought a new TV for 10 years. My 32" Sony Trinitron does the job wonderfully. On the other hand, I've spent lots of money on both devices that attach to the TV and on computers and devices that help me consume media in new ways (mobile telephones, MP3 players etc).

There are imho no paradigm shifts associated with HD television. It doesn't allow the user completely new ways of interacting/consuming media. It doesn't place control in the hands of the user. It doesn't allow me to be master of my own content with a chance of becoming famous/rich/interesting if enough other people think my content is cool. Instead it is still a centralised broadcast model when the rest of the world is moving towards a decentralised microcasting future.

Inutile - that's a word of the day if ever I saw one.

And imagine my surprise when I looked it up and found that it's actually middle english - not just made-upish!