Makes you want to do something purely mindless, or exercise some grey matter to create something that's, again, purely mindless. Luckily, there's opportunity enough for both possibilities to materialise.

Let's start with option one. Scared is a first-person 3D shooter for Java. Here's how the game works: You roam around, look for robots, aim, fire and, ummm, yeah, that's about it. There are instructions (not that you need them unless you have the IQ of a politician), release notes, and tested platforms. Don't complain. Apparently, most 'action' games are similar to this one, albeit with different background scores, and better-looking targets.

Now for option two: Wasting a lot of time to create something that doesn't do much. Sodaplay claims to be the 'home of creative play' and lets you bring a number of animated characters to life. They're all based on models made out of masses, linked by springs and muscles. Choose from two main modes, animate, play, or construct new characters by adding new masses and springs.

You can grab them with your mouse and drag them around the screen too, for hours on end. No gravity, no rules. A word of advice though, from the creators: 'Do be gentle! Some of the models are fragile and don't like being treated rough…'

And I thought I was touchy!

This reminds me of a very special man. An avid cyclist who arrived at his favourite parking spot in London one morning, found a notice prohibiting all cycles from being parked there, and flew into a rage. What did he do, then? What half the planet does, of course: set up a Web site.

He calls it 'What Should I Put On The Fence?' and gets his own back at the owner by locking everything from a tricycle and fridge door, to a pot of tea, ironing board and pan, to it. You can read or post your own suggestions too, if you fancy something in particular chained to the railing. And yes, do check to see what's on right now.

Who is he? No idea. He uses the name Fencemaster, and the site has no pictures of him. When you think about it though, who can blame him?

Since we are discussing getting one's own back, there are now a number of peer-to-peer applications thumbing their nose at the music industry, in our post-Napster world. Take KaZaA, among the more active media communities, which boasts - according to the homepage -- over 370 000 users online, simultaneously. The KaZaA Media Desktop lets you search, download, organise or play all kinds of media files, and also boasts an 'intelligent download' feature that gets a file from several sources at once, boosting speeds tremendously.

One last thought. Paper.

Yes, we've thought about it before. Yes, we've been trying to create paperless offices for years. Yes, we all want to help. No, we haven't a clue about how we can.

ReThink Paper can help. An organisation that tries to find solutions for the reduction of wood use; it is also the lead supporter for the incorporation of non-wood fibres into paper products. The battle, however, has only just begun. After all, what it has to do is not merely augment wood pulp, but try and eliminate our limitless desire for paper.

Difficult, but still possible, if you and I want our grandchildren to know what trees are like when they arrive. Think about it, then log on.

I'm off. There's rage to let out. And some robots will pay…



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