Giok - mental arithmetic doesn't make my mind more agile, it puts me into a horrible limbo where nothing is real. I'm verging on the innumerate, and fell on my knees to give thanks when decimal currency came in.

It's *so* great to be able to go to any country in Europe and spend the same money and know what I'm getting for it. When I'm in England, I spend what I think is 50 euro, an ok kind of a price for a nice T-shirt, say, and discover that I'm turning my pockets out!