Standby Plan

Her Majesty's government is demonstrating that obtuseness is a race for the bottom by announcing that it plans to outlaw the "standby" button on electronics on the grounds that hibernating gadgets use up 8 percent of all domestic electricity.

We humbly suggest that someone take the solons in question aside and explain to them very slowly in words of one syllable that the standby option is an energy saving feature and that eliminating it will mean that people will simply leave their computers and DVD players flat-out on all the time.

Next: Water conservation by ripping the tap out of the wall.

Tip o' the hat to EndGadget.