"Pakistan retaliated by counter-fire, " he said, declining to provide any other details.

WSJ: Afghan, Pakistani Forces Clash

How unlike the rapid firing off and counter-fire of email messages in which many of us find ourselves engaged nowadays as our predominant means of communicating with colleagues and friends, and even with complete strangers.

BBC: A Point of View: Mourning the loss of the written word

Even when a good plan is possible, I believe there are many circumstances where the ready-fire-aim approach is the best alternative, even though it may be counter-intuitive that one can fire without having aimed precisely.

FORBES: 6 Right Times to Be a Ready-Fire-Aim Entrepreneur

Politicians under fire have a habit of throwing back counter-claims of wrongdoing by others.

ECONOMIST: Politics in Brazil

"It may sound counter-intuitive, but performing well in a fire is something inherent in large piece of wood, that's why in forest fires the trees that survive are the largest ones, " he says.

CNN: Can wooden skyscrapers transform concrete jungles?

The new department would concentrate on safeguarding borders, working with first-responders such as local police and fire departments, analyzing threats and promoting technological changes to counter chemical, biological and nuclear threats.

CNN: Bush touts plans for new department

"The way that neurons communicate with each other is by how fast they fire pulses, it's a little bit akin to listening to a Geiger counter click, and it's that property that we lock onto, " said Professor Andrew Schwartz from the University of Pittsburgh.

BBC: Paralysed woman's thoughts control robotic arm