What's the one question you can ask anyone... a group sitting round your dinner table... friends relaxing outside on a picnic... your workmates at tea break... colleagues round the office water cooler?

A question that offends no-one, crosses no personal boundaries?

A question that interests almost everyone you ask, that sets eyes alight with excitement?

A question that produces a huge variety of answers, is never offensive, and you can ask men or women, children, or sometimes strangers?

Simply this:

Everything changes.

The church we first got married in is now a live production theater.

Lady Gaga used meat instead of fabric for her costume.

Coastal property is dropping in value because of the possible impact of tidal increases with global warming.

The gramophone was popular, was replaced by the CD player, and now is popular again for a growing number of audio enthusiasts.

Except for one thing that always remains constant...

Korvin G. emailed me recently:

"Ken, I can play 2 weekly major games in my country. Should I play just one or both? I can't afford to spread too thin but I like the idea of doubling my chances."

Korvin asks the question that several people also ask me each week.

Should you put all your eggs into one basket by playing one game, or spread your tickets around several games?

It's an answer that has to be tailor-made for the Silver Lotto System, because at first glance it seems better to increase your winning chances by taking a few tickets in many games.

The correct answer is..

Lottery store owners like Thuy Nguyen in San Jose provide an essential service for players. Photo: Mercury News

The shopkeeper gave me a smile. "How are you today?" she asked.

"I have something for you," I said, slipping her an envelope, and watching as she opened it.

Something light to start your week off with a difference.

You just couldn't dream this stuff up...

YOU: (typing) Hi there!

DATE SITE: Hi, how are you?

YOU: Wanna meet sometime?

DATE SITE: Sure, how about Saturday night!

A woman went to her fridge one morning, and to her surprise she found a rabbit inside.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked.

The rabbit replied, "Is this a Westinghouse?"

She nodded.

"What do you mean you're going to write about being a short person?" demanded my wife. "You're not short."

A Harvard like the one I flew in and nearly crashed.

Sometimes you need to be scared into changing your life. This is what happened to me many years ago. I'll tell you how I made a life-changing decision because of my terrifying experience...

PHOTO: Daily Mail

A while back the celebrity wife of footballer David Beckham departed a Los Angeles grocery store leaving the staff in fits of laughter.

The power of a makeover.

I bumped into someone I hadn't met for 20 years, in the vast supermarket he was now managing.

"You're looking very well," were the first words he spoke after we shook hands. I thanked him.

Inside myself I agreed with him... I felt good too.

It's a known fact: being wealthy does make you happy.

But a large win does come with some baggage. And part of winning giant phone-book numbers in the lottery is the problem of dealing with people who suddenly become your friends, while alienating your true friends at the same time. The best answer is never allow yourself to get into that position.

Because as a Silverite (a buyer of my system), your First Rule of Winning a large prize is never to let anyone know. Don't phone friends, workmates or relatives. Because nobody except you can keep a secret that big. So avoid talking about it to anyone.

Here's another tip...

I raised my hand like a stop signal, and my boss stopped talking instantly. A wave of elation swept over me at his response.

I had just quit my job, and he wanted to discuss it. I didn't any more. So I stopped him.

With a simple gesture I bought my power back and reclaimed my life. Until you have experienced the powerful emotions around claiming your own life back, it's hard to understand.

A boss has power over you by virtue of paying you... making a form of financial slavery that is hugely dispiriting to anyone with an ounce of independence. By swapping your life hours for a wage, you are enslaved - even at your choice - to a life not much better than a trained dog.

Want to be like George Clooney? Do you envy his life of endless travel, exciting projects and adoring fans and girlfriends?

Well, you would until you know the reality...

The car drew up next to me. "Oi!" shouted the driver through his open passenger window, and then said something I couldn't hear. But I knew it wasn't nice. I stared straight ahead.

The same day I pulled in front of a large truck. It immediately closed the gap between us and flashed its lights, blaring the horn.

And I had no idea what caused these two events. None whatsoever.

I was in a rented BMW 5-series, driving in a civilized country halfway across the world. And even though I had done this trip every year for decades and driven thousands of miles each time, I had never experienced two driving problems in one day. Maybe once every few years. Never in a single 5 hour period.

When I told my brother about it on returning to his house in the afternoon, he shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps they just don't like white-haired men driving BMW's," he said trying to be helpful. "Perhaps they just had 14 incidents like this and you were the fifteenth, the breaking point."

As wise as those comments were, they weren't the real reason, as I was to find out very shortly.

I lifted the blinds this morning and peered out into the mist and drizzle.

Well knock me over with a feather... just a day after I spent 30 minutes of my life - which I'll never get back - lovingly washing my Lexus SUV, a LX570... it rained on it.

What a wasted effort. But it's curious...

This wash/rain happens so often I'm going to put it into a "World's Biggest Unanswered Questions" website, along with - how do birds navigate, where do flies go in winter, and why are some people more successful than others.

Because this coincidence happens quite often. Wash the car, rain starts... even if the weather forecast says otherwise. Do I start the rain maybe?

Some people have a similar feeling that they are going to win the lottery.

They get this urgent tickle and go out to buy a bunch of tickets, knowing deep down THIS GAME could be the time...

I'm a pain to live with. I know it. I like everything straight and uncluttered in our public areas... the lounge and kitchen. My wife has patiently (or not sometimes!) put up with me like this for nearly 40 years.

Our favorite in-house banter goes like this.

Her: "I'm NOT putting the bread away now to please you - I may still want another slice later!"

Me: "That Swiss finishing school certainly hasn't done you any favors."

Come to think of it, she rarely laughs any more at that one, so maybe I have to change the punch line :)

My attitude is not my fault. I had the dubious honor of being brought up poor, but in my teens I was trained as rich. For example, my two delightful elderly aunts, long passed now, would lecture me on my eating whenever I visited.

These old-fashioned wealthy spinsters would advise me matter of factly... "You can always tell if someone has been brought up properly by the way they hold their knife at the dinner table."

I'll describe how you too can enter the hallowed portals of good manners in a minute, but first I want to tell you why it matters...

This is not an article about smoking. But smoking is a drag. It costs a lot, makes your breath stink - and may ultimately stop you from winning the 100 yard dash to the bus stop.

I smoked, but stopped 37 years ago.

My mother smoked until well into her 50's. Even as a logical and intelligent woman knowing the dangers she faced, this made no difference... she was gripped by this addiction and it was wrecking her life.

So as a last resort - she visited a hypnotherapist. Back then, 40 years ago, therapeutic hypnotism was almost a voodoo art.

And maybe this happened: