(no subject)

Your meme, should you choose to accept it, is to rank the following things in order, from "couldn't live without" to "couldn't care less". To add value to this process, you must also add one item to the list - which can be achieved by subdividing an old category if you like - before passing the meme on (including these instructions). You can remove one item too, if you want.

The Internet
Books
Comics
Recorded Music
Cinema
Irony
Video Games
My Family
Dancing
Television
My Computer
Live Music
Tools
Pubs
Boats

Morning Fun

Goodbye Buffy party last night (5 of us and a variety of wine and spirits). I abandoned people at 10:30 and crashed out. Erin promised me she'd pack before going to bed, and that as her plane wasn't until 10:45 she could leave home at 8:30, check in at 9:30 and all would be well.

This morning there was mad screaming and panicking from Erin as she dashed around the place with not enough time to get things sorted so that she could leave at 8:00 for her 10:15 flight.

And then she took time out to shave her legs.

So, we finally made it into a taxi at 8:40, drove all the way to Sainsburies (about 10 minutes of bad traffic) and she realised she didn't have her bank card. So we turned around and sped back to the house, she dashed in, got the card and came back with socks as well (which she'd apparently forgotten).

She dropped me off in central Edinburgh, not far from work and took a taxi all the way there (no time for the cheaper bus option).

I got a call at 9:35 saying "They had to reopen the check-in for me. The plane takes off at 10:05. And my baggage was 8 kilos overweight, but they didn't charge me."

And that's why I'm glad to be safely at my desk, checking COBOL code. It's nice and safe and delightfully dull...

New treatments being sought for bipolar disorder

Article on the fact that bipolar disorder seems more complex than previously thought.

Posted here because 73.4% of my friends list suffers from it.

Constitutional change

Guardian Unlimited Politics has an article on the reshuffle yesterday.

Of course, by reshuffle, I mean massive constitutional change whereby the legal and political systems suddenly get a buffer area, the way QCs are appointed gets a radical overhaul. The Lord Chancellor's position gets removed after 1400 years (Bill just wandered by and pointed out that technically the English Parliament was dissolved in 1703 when the British Parliament was created, so it's a slightly tortuous 1400 years, but what the hell). Oh, and we just created a Supreme Court.

This, of course, was announced in a minor press release as "Reshuffling the Cabinet." The opposition came out with:
"To remake constitutions on the hoof, on the basis of personnel changes within the cabinet, is the height of irresponsibility. To announce it in a press release at 5.45pm on a Thursday evening is nothing short of a disgrace."

Personally, I find the whole thing rather amusing, and it seems to me to be a fantastic example that as far as Tony Blair is concerned the country needs to be dragged into the 21st century, he doesn't give a flying fuck what anyone else thinks about it because he has a ridiculously huge majority and he doesn't see why he shouldn't do the right thing while he's got the power to do so. As someone who believes in benevolent dictatorships and only puts up with democracy on the grounds that it prevents malevolent dictatorships, I'm finding myself admiring this stance a lot. I may not agree with all the moves he makes, but I know that if I was in his position I'd be remaking the rules to suit me and not worrying about the opposition either.

(no subject)

At Kirsty's prodding, and to bring some scientific rigour into what was previously blanket statements along the lines of "They're mad! The lot of them!!!", here's a poll.

[Poll #145435]

Dude!

The Infinite Teen Slang Dictionary

Ducker
adj. more foreign than usual.
"Kelly is, like, so Ducker."