This week’s F5 question comes from the inimitable Dan: A train leaves Chicago at 3pm travelling south towards New York at 80 pounds per hour. Meanwhile, a car leaves London on Tuesday, heading towards Los Angeles at 3.5 meters per sterling pound. When the two meet, a hapless high school student will realize he’s never going to get into college. Before that happens, suggest five ways in which your local school system could be improved to better prepare students for either college or the real world or both. (Bonus points for someone who can tell me when the train and …

I hope some of the other F5ers submit some questions to the Friday Five soon… because this week’s question is once again mine: You’re granted an interview with the political leader of the country of your choice. Who would you choose to interview, and what five questions would you make sure to ask? Hmmm. I know that many people would ask for Bush, just to ask him pointed questions that he would sidestep. I know that others would ask to talk to Tony Blair, to see what kind of demon possessed him to make his country into America’s lapdog. Some …

This week’s Friday Five question comes from Mike, my neighbour and co-worker, who occasionally reads eclexys. Hi Mike! Here it is: If you were a superhero, what powers would your five worst super-villain enemies have? This isn’t such a hard question, since of course the powers that my enemies would have would be the worst, most annoying, obnoxious ones around: The Thumper’s power would be Instant Evangelical Conversion. All he would have to do would be to declaim Biblical verses in a praiseful voice, and anyone hearing him would be instantly (temporarily) swept away in an ecstatic religious frenzy, and …

This week’s long-winded Friday Five is mine: In the depths of a dream, a voice speaks unto you: Little one! Little one! You’re not sure who it is, but it doesn’t occur to you to ask. so you just listen. Listen, I haven’t been to earth in a long time, but I have some good data here that suggests unless five species are made extinct, the whole planet will simply shut down within a week. I haven’t visited in a long time, and you humans seem the closest thing to sentients on Earth. I need your help. Doesn’t matter which …

This week’s Friday Five question is mine: Okay, without giving any context at all, what are five things you’ve really wanted to say to people in the last month, but haven’t said. Don’t give context, just give the thing you want to say. Right, quotations out of context. A quick note of warning, for those of you who read this blog and also know me offline: don’t assume the quotation is in reference to you. It probably isn’t, since most of these quotes are directed at people who don’t read this page. Another thing to bear in mind: most of …