Idle thoughts  Are meetings getting you down? Never fear, says
Tom Hodgkinson. With a little tactical planning you will be in
the pub before anyone can say 'cross-platform infrastructure
solutions'  The idler in the workplace has an ambivalent
attitude towards meetings. On the one hand, they provide the
ideal opportunity to avoid real work. An hour or more of not
glumly staring at a screen can be welcome, as can a stroll
through the building to another department or even, if you're
lucky, to another office.  The meeting can give you the chance
to ponder whether or not you fancy that girl or boy from
marketing. You can choose what role to play in the office
dynamic. Will you be the jokey one? The serious, silent one? Or
the irritating git who always says "OK. But just to play devil's
advocate ..." before slagging off the brilliant creative idea
you've just put forward. Oh, men of little vision!  But on the
other hand, meetings can be unbelievably dull and the spectacle
of your co-workers trying to ingratiate t