&lt;div class=&quot;track&quot;&gt;&lt;img alt=&quot;&quot; src=&quot;http://hits.guardian.co.uk/b/ss/guardiangu-feeds/1/H.22.2/84141?ns=guardian&amp;pageName=Notes+and+queries%3A+Is+it+a+good+idea+to+try+to+contact+aliens%3F+Why+do+so%3AArticle%3A1602918&amp;ch=From+the+Guardian&amp;c3=Guardian&amp;c4=Alien+life+-+extraterrestrial+%28Science%29%2CSeti+%28Search+for+Extraterrestrial+Intelligence%29%2CSpace+%28Science%29%2CScience&amp;c5=Not+commercially+useful&amp;c6=&amp;c7=11-Jul-06&amp;c8=1602918&amp;c9=Article&amp;c10=Letter%2CFeature&amp;c11=From+the+Guardian&amp;c13=Notes+and+queries+%28series%29&amp;c25=&amp;c30=content&amp;h2=GU%2FFrom+the+Guardian%2FAlien+life&quot; width=&quot;1&quot; height=&quot;1&quot; /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p class=&quot;standfirst&quot;&gt;Is it a good idea to try to contact aliens? Why do so many people live in the south of England? Why are overheard mobile conversations so annoying?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;I read that Russian scientists are beaming  radio signals into space in search of aliens.  Is this wise?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As long as they use the wavelengths of BBC3 or BBC4 I am sure they will only attract the right sort of alien.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;John Whitehead, London EC2&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I wouldn&#039;t worry too much. We&#039;ve been notifying the aliens out there of our presence since Marconi started out, though the signals have got stronger. However, if they receive too many episodes of Mrs Dale&#039;s Diary, All My Children and Dynasty, they may well want to avoid us like the plague.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Chris Dutta, Portsmouth&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Unless another civilisation has worked out a means of overcoming the cosmic speed limit, ie the speed of light, even if someone does receive and interpret the signals, we are hardly likely to have any visitors during our lifetimes. At the maximum speed our current space vehicles are able to achieve it would take, from an observer&#039;s point-of-view, thousands of years for a spaceship to reach even our nearest star, &lt;a href=&quot;http://www.universetoday.com/59336/proxima-centauri/&quot; title=&quot;As the nearest star from our Solar System, Proxima Centauri is a prime candidate for future interstellar travel and space colonization missions.&quot;&gt;Proxima Centauri&lt;/a&gt;. It would take 10 years even at the maximum theoretical speed. Everything points to we humans being stuck with our planet and the little green men being stuck with theirs.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Terence Hollingworth, Blagnac, France&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What&#039;s the worst that could happen?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ned Potter, York&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why do so many people live in the south of England when it is, frankly, not as good as almost every other region of the world?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I suspect that the fact Dan Ware writes from Stockport might have something to do with his suggestion that the south is &quot;not as good as almost every other region of the world&quot;. While there are many beautiful areas (the New Forest, South Downs, Chilterns etc) and historic sites, which enjoy a pleasant, temperate climate, I too would put it a fair way down my list of places to live if it wasn&#039;t for one thing: the fact that so many other people, both now and in the past, have chosen to live here.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In London, we have one of the cultural and historical (to say nothing of economic and financial) capitals of the world. I love travelling, but there are few other places that can provide anything like the sheer variety of museums, galleries, theatres, cinemas, music venues and the like.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It&#039;s also pretty handy for the rest of Europe.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Simon Dennis, London W5&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The answer is in the question(er) &ndash; because it is less grim than the north of England. More enlightened northerners realise this and move south, which is why it is so crowded here.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Steve Vanstone, Purley, Surrey&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Having visited most parts of the UK I cannot share the view that they are &quot;better&quot; than south-east England. Sure, scenically it can&#039;t compare to, say, the Lake District, West Highlands or Welsh Marches, but many parts are attractive. The North Downs are lovely and there are many gems scattered around. The much maligned Essex has a longer coastline than Cornwall, and much of it remains unspoilt. Epping Forest is a grand woodland and the Chilterns remain outstanding.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But it&#039;s not only about scenery. Public transport in south-east England is generally better. I don&#039;t need a car to get around, so living in the Smoke is actually more ecological than deepest Sticksville. When it comes to jobs there is no comparison. The south-east has a better range of accessible jobs, mostly paying better. True, it has horrendous unemployment areas, but so do other parts of the UK, including Stockport.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Crime? Yes, it exists across the south-east, but not overall as bad as other British conurbations. And my chances of being shot are actually higher in the country than they are  in London.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The wonder is why TV programmes such as Escape to the Country aren&#039;t replaced by Return to Civilisation.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Roger Backhouse, Ilford&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;As my Kent mother-in-law says:  &quot;It would be more popular if it wasn&#039;t so crowded here.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Jo Gibson, Liverpool&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Where, exactly, is this north-south divide located?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;James O&#039;Keeffe, London&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why does overhearing one half of a mobile phone conversation irritate, whereas overhearing both sides of  the same conversation in the flesh wouldn&#039;t?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Many of the most irritating conversations overheard on mobile phones are completely unnecessary if the other person is there in the flesh because: they would know you were on a train as they would be there too; they would know which station you&#039;ve just passed through; they would realise you were now 15 minutes from home.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Gary Heiden, Buckhurst Hill, Essex&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;h2&gt;Any answers? &lt;br /&gt;&lt;/h2&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;How come jeans go with anything, when ordinary trousers of the same colour don&#039;t?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;William Francis,  St Andre de l&#039;Epine, France&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Does anybody else suffer from Empty Car Park Syndrome, whereby the time taken to park increases in relation to the number of spaces available?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Pete Whittle, Canterbury, Kent&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Why does my rabbit like eating firelighters?&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Maisie Tucker, Bristol&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Post your questions and answers below or email nq@guardian.co.uk (including name, address and phone number).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;related&quot; style=&quot;float: left; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;&quot;&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/alien-life&quot;&gt;Alien life&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/seti-search-extraterrestrial-intelligence&quot;&gt;Seti (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence)&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/space&quot;&gt;Space&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;br/&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;terms&quot;&gt;&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.guardian.co.uk&quot;&gt;guardian.co.uk&lt;/a&gt; &amp;copy; 2011 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. 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