Am I the only one who finds the 40 seconds of incomprehensible muttering utterly pointless? If it's a point of safety, sort of ensuring that pilots are capable of communicating with passengers, I don't think that it's working very well.

Cabin crew are better trained and get a lot more practice of making PAs; I'd rather they told us whether we'll be cruising at 36 or 38, not that it matters much either way.