Jan. 31, three days ago, marked the passing of someone whose life and work have managed to touch many on this list -- Paddy Roy Bates, known in refined circles as Prince Roy of Sealand.

After claiming HM Fort Roughs as the Principality of Sealand[1] in 1967, Prince Roy defended it against physical and legal attacks in the years that followed, including a mass forgery of Sealand passports.

Sealand and its aura of mystique provided the perfect, slightly surreal, backdrop for the rollout of HavenCo[2] Limited in 2000, a data center set up in "the world's only true free market environment"; as well as the Wikipedia micronation wars through which many of us became familiar with this story.

The Principality will remain under control of Prince Michael, who has been Prince Regent since 1999.

++SJ

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HavenCo