James Fallows of The Atlantic is the blogosphere’s Renaissance Man. I follow him for his posts on East Asia, which are consistently among the most informed on the net (disclosure: he is a friend from his days in East Asia in the 1980s). Jim’s other fields of special expertise range from handicapping Presidential horse races through piloting small planes to battling airport security “theater.”

He is also a guru on all things digital and wearing his digital hat has just posted a blog of special interest to anyone who uses email i.e. everybody. Under the heading, “My Secret Strategy™ for Avoiding Petraeus-Style Email Pitfalls,” his commentary is a wry word to the wise on the still amazingly under-appreciated risks of email. He offers “a plan so effective and perfect that it doesn’t even involve any adjustment in personal behavior, standards of marital fidelity, or anything else of the sort.” He adds: “My plan recognizes that down through the eons people have behaved more or less the same way, and they always will.” You can access it here.

His blog is also notable for flagging Google’s ingenious “Oops” facility, which gives you five seconds to stop an email after you have hit “Send.” Similar unsend facilities are now available also from Microsoft Outlook and AOL. For more on Oops commands click here.