We?ve all picked the wrong queue at the fuel station and cursed ourselves for not being psychic. It?s a gamble, and like any form of gambling, some you win, some you lose. Occasionally though, you lose so spectacularly that your head almost explodes. Or is that just me"

Some of you will know exactly what I mean. For those that don?t, let me explain what happened this morning. The sun was shining and I was in a fine mood when I left the supermarket carpark and decided to fill the van up with fuel. As I pulled onto a reasonably busy forecourt, my mind went into overdrive. Eyes focussing on every customer, one at a time; 100% of my cognitive capacity dedicated to figuring out what stage of the game everyone is at. Are they opening that flap, about to full up, or closing it after filling the tank" Have they paid at the pump or are they about to saunter into the shop to pay the old fashioned way"
Typically, you?ve got between 2 and 4 seconds to make a decision. Today, I made the wrong decision. I should have known. I should have read the warning signs. But I didn?t. The car that I pulled up behind didn?t have a fuel nozzle sticking out of it and the little old lady was fingering the buttons on the ?pay at the pump? machine. I took that to mean its fuel tank had already been replenished. Oh, how wrong was I" What she was actually doing was pressing the ?pay at kiosk? button. She hadn?t even started filling up.

Blame game

At this point, I only h...