Iain Begg is CUT's Treasurer and a founder member.
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Welcome Iain. We're standing at a
well-stocked bar. What are you having?
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Either an orange juice and lemonade (no ice - it's expensive enough), or if I'm thirsty, a shandy.
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How did you get involved in CUT and why?
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I accidentally arrived at the unmetered mix of a Videotron contract with the Direct Connection. After reading Alastair's Watch site and the other information
available, and realising that one of the few unmetered connections might be at risk, I felt that something should be done. CUT evolved and now puts this
issue on a far wider scale and helps promote its awareness.
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What is your current occupation (or would be if you could get the job you're
after)?
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I have always been a bit of a technical freak - dabbling in this and that. I enjoy writing software, and
manipulating databases to get the most usable information from them.
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What is your dream occupation?
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Surviving. To explain: I enjoy the challenge of life - having to work to survive and being able to go off
sometimes and do something really different, knowing that I have worked for and earnt it.
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What's the proudest moment or achievement in your life to date?
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Two things really - canoeing my first grade 5 white water in the Alps; and surviving my first parachute jump after being
pushed out!
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Do you currently have unmetered calls to the Internet? What do/would
you find them most beneficial for?
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Yes, of course! Exploration - there is a wealth of information out there.
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What's the most pointless sport in the world?
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None really. If people enjoy doing sport then let them. We get something good out of doing them.
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What's the most likely thing to make you laugh?
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Anything funny, so long as no-one gets hurt.
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What's the most likely thing to make you get up on your soapbox?
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A big bully-boy organisation trying to con and bluff its way with the meak and uninformed.
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Where do you see the Internet being in 5 years time?
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Regretfully, more controlled.
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Where do you see the telecommunications industry being in 5 years time?
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Very difficult to say. There are so many different turns and angles appearing every week.
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If you were at a dinner party, who would you most like to be sat next
to and why (living or dead)?
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Maggie Thatcher - despite some of her political views and her portrayal in Spitting Image, she is
really someone to reckon with!
(Aside - mixed cheers and boos)
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What do you read in the bath?
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I don't take baths - books would get very wet and soggy in the shower.
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Does Finnegans Wake by James Joyce make any sense to you?
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What's that?
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If the UK telecommunications industry was an animal, which one would it be?
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A sheep. It is so easily led by the rest of the flock and rarely ventures far by itself to explore.
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What is the most useful/valued/indispensable piece of technology that you possess?
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My Swiss army knife - although recently lost in the hills of Scotland :^(
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Do you like marzipan?
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Hmmmm - it's OK.
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If the aims of CUT are realised, would there be anything else you would feel
equally worth campaigning for? If so, what?
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I've never been involved in a campaign before. If there is something with a similar level of
injustice, then I may join in.
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What CDs/LPs/tapes are currently stacked upon/against your Hi-Fi?
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While I was away, my sisters unfortunately, during a clear out of my flat (they had to hire a skip!), thought that my Leak valve
amplifier was something else that I was hoarding, and so chucked it out. They left my speakers (which often get mistaken for
cupboards). But I still have my very mixed pot pourri of music.
So, none at the moment.
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Who is the most underrated band or musical artist in your opinion?
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None that I know of.
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There's a pile of Smarties of all colours in equal reach. Which do you take first?
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None - I would grab them all!
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A mischievous angel gives you the opportunity to
throw a rotten tomato at anyone or anything in the world every day for a year. Who or what do you choose
and why?
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Currently, part of a certain government agency who think that they can get away with manipulating the law, and who themselves operate
unlawfully.
We shall see!
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We have a time machine on standby. It can go forwards or backwards
but it's a one-way trip. Do you want to use it and, if so, where will you go?
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Despite all of our moans and groans, I still think that there is no time better than the
present. Although, there may be parts of my own life that I might go back to and make minor redirections to.
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Well, the bar is closing now. We have every method of transport at your
disposal. How would you prefer to get home?
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If I still had one - car. Maybe a 'greener' version - but still a great convenience.
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