So, a little story about conspiracies, conspiracists and America. I'm typing this as I go, so no idea how long this thread is going to be. Just over a decade ago, me and the family went on holiday - to a ranch in Texas.

It my son's choice - he was going through a Westerns phase, thought he was too old to be going on holiday with us, so we let him choose the destination, and just went with it.

The ranch was a lovely old place, run by a guy in his sixties or seventies, though most of the actual running was done by a fantastic Mexican couple who lived there.

The old guy was very Texan - beautiful manners, larger than life, full of stories. The other memory I have is that there were guns *everywhere*. In just about every room.

He spent his evenings online, but not in the way you'd expect these days. He spent his time on networked multiplayer war games, fighting imaginary enemies while talking to his fellow players.