Firstly I must apologise to Dominic Ford. He sent in a complete solution to his excellent game Shipwrecked, and another amazing loading screen, for EUG #32 and I forgot to put either in. The solution now appears in this issue but I'm afraid the screen needs a better brain than mine to change the number. So sorry Dominic, can you change the number?

Like many people here in the UK, I have been listening to endless people, especially employers, moaning about current education standards and claiming that the A Level pass rates are high because standards are apparently too low. Now I am not an expert on education but it seems to me that, no matter what happens, people moan - and I am not really sure that this is necessary or desirable. The exam results represent the culmination of a lot of very hard work for a lot of people and to have these rubbished by businessmen, who basically look for ways to shift the blame for their inadequacies onto others, is unfair. It is surely the responsibility of the employer to use his/her resources to their best advantage. If he/she isn't capable of this then perhaps he/she shouldn't be an employer.

In my job, I use a lot of very specialised tools. The job that I do depends upon my skill using my tools. If the job is not up to scratch, it's my fault. Not my tools. If my tools are faulty, then it's my fault for not repairing, replacing or maintaining them. If a tool is inadequate then it's my fault for buying that tool. I don't buy anything with the name Black & Decker, for instance, because everything they sell - with the possible exception of the Workmate - is rubbish. It's my responsibility to select the right tools for the job and use them to their full advantage. So it is with employers. If they want better staff, perhaps they should offer better pay and conditions; not treat their workers like they should be grateful for being alive. They then might get a better result.

One thing that really bugs me is when I see some employer driving to work in a big, shiny, new car, going into a comfortable office and drinking a cup of fresh coffee then moaning about his/her staff who are sitting in some grotty canteen drinking lukewarm coffee from a machine because they are discussing how they can afford a rise in the bus-fare to get to work in the morning.

Businessmen need a proper reward for their effort and gamble but if they put rubbish in, they shouldn't be surprised when they get rubbish out.

Now that did feel good.

A number of members, especially those who have joined more recently, say that they want information on various computer-related topics.

This is what EUG is for.

I do try to keep up but I frequently forget or lose a specific request.

Can I ask all members, if there are any areas on which you would like some information, how about writing a list? Try to be as specific as possible. If you say "Games Programming", this can take many forms - almost as many as there are games. However, it is often difficult to be very specific if you have little information to start with. So, if you want to know more about games programming, write it down and send it in together with anything else you want to know about. Many members have a lot of knowledge in some areas and would be only too glad to share it. Few of us know as much as Richard Dimond, of course, but he is always ready to help.

If you want to know about something which has already been covered in EUG then I will try to list the disks which covered it. Additional information and help on anything that hasn't been covered can then be dealt with.