I understand that a big part of Patrick's mandate is to reassure nervous flyers, but I have to wonder, after all the irrefutable statistics have been published showing that air travel is by far the safest way to go from A to B, and when even nervous flyers themselves acknowledge that driving is much more dangerous than flying, how is it that there are still so many aviophobes amongst us? Is this country not the "home of the brave"? Didn't the nervous nellies all stay behind in "old Europe"? How is it that many people not only willingly admit to their aviophobia, but even harbor a secret kind of pride in it? And, Patrick, do you not, secretly, harbor a kind of contempt for them? I do.

It's not a joke anymore:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7914542.stm

"the supply of talented people exceeds the demand"

Correction: the supply of people who think they are talented always exceeds the demand. The supply of people who are talented always falls short of the demand.

I walk. I drive. I bike. I fly. All are perfectly natural for humans, since we live by our technology, created by our intelligence. We need more and better technology, not less.

Americans don't walk. They waddle.

The more I read this column, the harder it is for me to see much difference between being a pilot and a long distance truck driver. Both are exhausting screw-up-your-life jobs, combining lousy hours, shitty food, hours of boredom and chronic insecurity. I'll pass.

He's a pretty good song writer and a third rate poet. But much, much better than Bobby Zimmerman.

"Why bother saving people when 99% of them aren't worth saving?"

Of course, you and I are in the other 1%, the 1% that is worth saving. Too bad the ones most worth saving are usually the first to go.

Feminism should die, to be replaced by humanism and socialism. Men are not the enemy; capitalism is. Men can be as oppressed by it as women. Men will benefit from universal health insurance, affordable child care, excellent education, a liveable minimum wage just as women will. Let's get our priorities straight.

I was addicted to Salon. I quit.

I worked in a public library in an area that had a low income black population and an orthodox Jewish community. At 3:30 the kids would start coming in. I remember some of the black kids asking for books on "fighting dogs", drugs and sports. A Jewish girl, about ten, asked for books on podiatry. These kids had very different expectations of the future.

"Give me the right to issue and control a nation's money and I care not who governs the country.”

Meyer Amschal Rothschild, International banker.

Happiness at another's misfortune is schadenfreude. Unhappiness at another's good fortune is envy. Unhappiness at another's misfortune is compassion. And happiness at another's good fortune is mudita. Of these four, the first two are bad, the second two are good. Patrick, I have mudita for your extensive travels and compassion for your tiny apartment. Except on the days when I have schadenfreude for your tiny apartment and envy for your extensive travels.

China has many problems to deal with - rural poverty, unemployment, pollution, corruption, health care and a continuing lack of respect for human rights. Nevertheless, China has raised more people from poverty to the middle class in the past 30 years than any other country in history. I don't think China wants to be the world's next "superpower", but it does resent U.S. hegemony. In fact, the age of U.S. dominance is already over since the government is highly dependent on Chinese loans. A debtor cannot dictate terms to a creditor, and the U.S. has become a debtor. If you visit China, you will see an extraordinary level of energy, optimism and confidence. The airports and highways are new and well-designed and it is shocking to come back to La Guardia and crumbling roads and bridges. The infrastructure alone tells you the U.S. is in decline. The Chinese actually believe in the "family values" that is nothing more than an empty phrase in this country. They don't need evangelical relgions; family is their religion. They will take their place not as the world's next superpower, but as one of the world's most important countries, as they always were in the past. I welcome it.

I was exactly the same as you at 25 except that I had not completely my degree. You are lucky that you have already done that. The reader who advised you to get an easy job in order to socialize into the routine of work gave good advice. Since you already have a degree, I would advise you to pick a professional school in a field you could learn to like and complete the program. You will then have real job skills in a real profession. It could be library science, physician's assistant, paralegal, occupational therapy - anything that will get you started in a real career and out of the door each day to be a part of the normal working world. Get job training, get a job, get an apartment, get a car and get a girlfriend. Got it? Good luck.

By the way, forget all those people calling you a lazy s.o.b. The fact that you are confused at 25 only means that things can get much better in your thirties, forties and on. In my experience, the older you get, the better it gets. Don't worry. Just take positive steps. You can easily grow out of depression.

Certainly, you can go to a psychiatrist if you wish and it may help. But you don't want to become dependent on drugs or therapy. The main thing is to get your ass into a professional program and stick to it like a barnacle.