Four years ago, in 2002, I was coming to the end of my second year at university, living in a small house in Heworth, York, with one guy and two girls. The World Cup was about to start in Japan & South Korea - henceforth known as Japorea - and it was a very exciting time. Several trips were made to ASDA to buy some booze in. I remember by the end of academic year and coincidentally the end of the World Cup, some four weeks later, I had gone through 72 bottles by myself.

Skip forward four years, and the next World Cup has begun in Germany. Excitement was building once again, memories of Japorea resurfacing. Now back home in Huyton, Liverpool, trips to ASDA were once again made to buy in the alcohol. During the first week of matches, many bottles have already been consumed.

I went to the pub on Friday to have a few drinks with my mate, and much fun was had by all. Then on Saturday I got a text from another friend who was back home from university for the weekend and wanted to go the pub. So, Saturday night I ended up at another pub. I decided to take it easy given the week previously, and I didn't drink. At all. Apart from maybe two. And you know what? It was still fun.

So that's when I learnt that you could go out and socialise without alcohol and still enjoy yourself, provided you are doing it with good mates. With this theory in mind I went to watch the England match on Tuesday in the pub, and limited myself to a couple of cokes. Again much fun was had by all, and the best thing is that due to my non alcoholic night I was able to drive there and back, saving £10 on taxi fare.

This has opened up a whole new world to me. I can go to more places now because I don't have to worry about how to get there - driving is possible (parking still tricky)! Where will this amazing epiphany lead to? Only time will tell...

One of the major problems we face in today's electronic world is the lack of nuance. When face to face with someone we can put all kinds of meaning into the words we say, by stressing certain words, using different tones of voice, and we use a great deal of body language. Yet more and more of us are communicating via the written word every day, through emails, instant messaging, irc and the great destroyer of the English language, SMS.

Of course, people have tried to bring these nuances to text through certain abbreviations, emoticons and other means. Sometimes they even work. Sometimes.

So what does this have to do with 'heh', I hear you ask? Actually, I don't hear you ask. Currently I hear Blink182 on the radio. Such is the way of the written word however. Anyway, to not completely lose sight of the point, take a look at this little excerpt from an irc log of mine.

[16:19] heh, really shoulda got her number
[16:19] i know where she lives
[16:19] it should still be in the phone box

Now, I think most people would agree that this little exchange is quite amusing, but how do you react to it? Think carefully. The wrong response could form a lasting impression about you that you really don't want people to have... A typical response would be a "lol". Let's examine this. Lol. Laughing out loud. Did it really make you laugh out loud? Chances are, no. Too many times people say "lol" without meaning it - that's what kids say, or even worse, AOLers...

For much the same reason, "rofl" and "lmao" are out - reserve these for the very special occasions where, if you actually had weak bones, laughing would indeed cause your arse to become separated from the rest of your body.

The best response you could possibly give is "heh". Think about it. It's not a "hehe" which indicates outright laughter. It's an acknowledgement that humour is present, without losing your cool. You're not saying it's the funniest thing you've ever heard; conversely, you're not saying it isn't. Keep the cards close to your chest, give nothing away. People will respect you for it. You're the cool one. Heh.