A few years ago I used JMeter for such a task. I generally enjoyed using it, though I never did much research on what else is available and I don't know if it's still actively developed.
Have a listen to the Pragmatic Programmers's podcast on using Ruby for GUI testing.
I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.