h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, we had some good beers and the odd tea, though Clive was left waiting at Whitelocks and I had trouble getting hold of a cup in the Chinese place. Speaking of which the seaweed was tasty, but I swear it would have been easier to eat if I'd had some chopsticks. There's not many foodstuffs you can say that about.

Richard suggested a free computer game to me, which I eventually found: http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/. It's not easy to Google when you can only remember that it's called Dwarf something. Anyhow, it looks hideously complicated, though he did warn me of that.

A link to Dwarf fortress?!? Bagpuss you fool!!! How am I meant to get anything done now?!?

Rather you than me from the look of those instructions. His reason for suggesting this to me was when I mentioned liking Dungeon Keeper. One big advantage of DK is its simplicity compared to other games of this time. Richard's gone and given me something at t'other end of the scale.

Well I'll soon find out. Haven't had a chance to play it quite yet, but soon will I'm sure

Hate to inform you, but Richard has lost interest in the game. He's realised that the came requires complete micromanagement from beginning to end.
Even if you manage to train up your brewer, you have to tell him to make booze every time you want it- you can't just leave him on auto pilot.

Hmmmm, maybe I'll redo Civ IV then. My main poison at the moment is Ichor - its very pretty, though it does tend to eat your CPU.

I've gone back to Battle for Wesnoth for a bit. Mind you, I still have to finish Syberia when I get bored with that. And Sonic on the Wii.

You have a Wii?

/me envies

I've actualy found that despite its flaws I just can't help but try and *not* kill my dwarves. Its ridiculously addictive...

Yes. I haven't got that much for it though, not wanting to spend huge amounts of money again any time soon. Still, I've got a few games to trade in, which should offset the cost of new stuff a bit.

Well the main thing for it, given the little I've played of it, seems to be the Wii sports anyway. Its great fun multiplayer. I've heard that the Zelda is very good too. What else have you been playing?

Wii Sports is pretty cool, though I can't get the hang of baseball to save my life. I've just about worked out the rules, I think. I've not played it multiplayer, but one of my friends is planning a Wii Sports night as soon as we can muster four remotes between us. I'm probably going to get a classic controller and LAN adapter next for some retro gaming goodness, so a second remote will have to wait.

I've completed Zelda, which was great. I didn't do many of the optional side quests, so I'll have to go back and try them again some time. I felt a bit guilty going off hunting for insects while people were pestering me to save the world. Saying that puts me in mind of one of the Sam & Max games when Max complains about getting "whiny memos" about the destruction of Washington DC that you're supposed to be stopping.

Also Sonic and the Secret Rings, which is fun but sometimes pretty frustrating, and SSX Blur, a snowboarding sim that I've not played that much, but I think one of my housemates is into.

O I love side quests. I never actually completed the main quest in Oblivion (Elder Scrolls IV) because of all the funky side quests, but then that was quite special.

From the retro gaming activity do I assume that you are getting tired of the Wii control? Or are you just looking for a change?

Does the baseball have ramps and so on as in Super Monkey Ball (2) on the Gamecube? I remember that version sucking tremendously, especially as you could pitch an unhittable ball every time.

I just like old games. Their relative cheapness is a certain draw, but they're also great fun (well some of them). Nowt wrong with the Wii remote, though I can't quite get the hang of flying carpets in Sonic.

The baseball's just a normal game of baseball, so no ramps.

The baseball is a... I mean... uh... it's really hard. Even golf I can kind of get a handle on, but baseball? Bah.

I'm not bad at the golf. Much better than I am in real life anyway, but that goes for all the games, possibly even baseball.

I just want to say, in my defence, I never realised it would take 20 minutes to get a cup of tea - or that everybody had just ordered a round of halves.

I fling myself upon the mercy of the court.

Twenty minutes for a is not something any of us would've expected. Plus I can easily take twenty minutes to drink a half.

At least you got one- I got told I wasn't allowed one in the Victoria because is was so busy.

I clarify: the staff at the bar said no. I wasn't forbidden by other hootooers!

If hes flinging himself on the mercy of the court I feel that I should don a funny wig and sit in judgement

Under common law a man has an inalienable right to a legal cup of tea. This must be distinguished from a licence to drink tea by both the determinate term of tea tea drinking (i.e. for the next half hour rather than until until the quiz) as per the ratio in Lace v Chandler [1944], and by the exclusivity of possession of the tea as per Street v Mountford [1985].

On the former point it seems that Clive wished to enjoy his tea during the time it would take to consume another round. Although this appears indetermiante, it is important to take into account the circumstances of the period stated. Given that it was at a pub (on a meander no less) it is possible to apply the doctrine that time is an illusion in such circumstances and that 'until the next round is consumed' would be about as determinate as one could ever achieve under such circumstances.

On the latter point the court finds with ease that Clive intended to have the tea, hold the tea, and love the tea - well until he drank it - and thus he had exclusive possession of it. It is also notable that the tea came with only one cup, which raises a presumption that it must have been for one person (Antoniades v Villiers [1990]).

The court therefore finds Clive to have had a legal cup of tea. On must, however, check that the correct formalities were complied with when Clive ordered orally at the bar. Although an oral grant to a cup of tea is not normally legal (s.52 Law of Tea Act 1925) it may be where the term of the cup of tea is for 3 years of less, is for immediate consumption and is obtained at market price, without a fine (s.54(2) Law of Tea Act 1925). The idea of a fine for a cup of tea is ludicrous and thus the court therefore finds Clive to have had a legal cup of tea created by the correct formailities.

It requires us, therefore, only to consider whether the grant of the legal cup of tea was enforcable against third parties. Being an unregistered title to a cup of tea, the court may simply re-iterate that legal interests bind the world regardless.

Clive, you were thus entirely within rights to have your cup of tea.

The kangaroo court has spoken

What worries me is just how long you must have sat there and made stuff up in order to make that post.

And I still only understood the salient points. I was doing fine until the last two paragraphs, anyway.