Fans of Star Trek VII will be well aware that the word “saboteur” arises from the act of flinging a wooden clog (sabot in French) into a steam-driven loom to bugger up the industrial revolution. (If only the Trek movies had contained asides on making money instead of potted history lessons, Sneak would be a happier chap.) Anyway, the shoe thing didn’t help French peasants, clearly, but that won’t stop backward-looking saboteurs from trying to lob a spanner, or possibly a magnetic space boot, into the workings of the next phase of the information revolution. According to the Pew Internet group - essentially a bunch of eggheads with pen-tidies in their pockets - a hardcore group of computer-hating Luddites will emerge over the next sixteen years, hell bent on attacking computers with heavy footwear, spanners and, possibly, their own body odour. Sneak’s advice is pre-emptive action: fire anyone caught wearing Scholl sandals. Preferably out the photon torpedo tube.

28 Sep 2006