Maybe ten years ago, I was in a speech class. I have trouble remembering anything about it save the final, which was to be a ten minute instructional presentation on any topic of our choosing.

The last thing you want to do is tell a bored geek that he gets to do whatever he wants. After a couple of weeks self-interested, early-twenties blather -- "How to Play a Guitar," "How to Score with the Ladies" -- I got up to give my speech: "The Construction and Detonation of an Atomic Bomb."

It was simplified, of course, and I glossed over where you'd get the uranium, but it was scientifically accurate and fairly complete, down to the best detonation altitudes for maximum impact.

Lord knows the trouble I'd get in today, post-Columbine, for doing something like that, but at the time all I got was a pat on the back, a B+ and the helpful audience comment, "Seemed a little nervous. Should relax when talking about the destruction of mankind."