Taking civil liberties

It's quite something when people in the States express concern about the increasing threat to free expression and speech here in the UK. Really makes you stop and pay attention.

I'm not tone deaf

The internet says so! In fact, I'm almost completely untonedeaf (more commonly referred to as pitch perfect). I thought I knew this, but now I'm sure. A score of 95% says so. Come one, the internet can't be wrong, can it? Bring on your SingStar game, kitty! I'm on fire!

Game on!

Paul's inadvertant LAN party on Saturday was a rousing success, with two clear winners (one quite surprising). UT2003 is still as fun and addictive to play as its forebear, and quite a few hours were spent running away from the ubiquitous Bane. Glenn is lethal in FPS God mode! Mortal Kombat:Armageddon made an unlikely appearance and rapidly degenerated into a King of the Hill free-for-all that was, astoundingly, great fun. Good day.

And breeding

Having human DNA should not immediately grant an individual inalienable rights. Rights, it was decided, and equivalent responsibilities, should be given to "citizens", and only those above a certain level of intelligence could become citizens. Protests did result when some humans failed to qualify, whilst all AIs and some particularly bright pigs did

Brass Man, Neil Asher

Darn skippy!

Citizenship, here I come

Crazy/interesting/bizarre stuff I've discovered en route to passing my UK citizenship test today:

• It's perfectly acceptable to sue for divorce from your partner in the UK if they don't want to breed


• Hereditary peers no longer have the automatic right to attend debate at the House of Lords


• The UK parliament has the right to dissolve the Irish Assembly at will - and has done twice already since its inception


• The entire canal network in Britain was dug mainly by Irish labour


• The Commonwealth is second in member size only to the UN


• I'm expected to know more about British life than any average Brit to become a Brit

The last point - and a £34 test fee and £10 study guide - aside, I find that I don't actually begrudge the process. I have learned some pretty interesting stuff that will stay with me, and read a lot of trivia that has already, no doubt, evapourated.