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

Was it someone on this site a few years ago who broke their keyboard and had to post using only smileys for a couple of days?

something has crawled under my shift key too
i will not be able to shout anymore
no caps
damn

~jwf~

Can you not do caps lock ~jwf~

my shift is ok I meant my space bar

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/westboro-baptist-church-founder-fred-phelps-reportedly-death-article-1.1723451

How sad.
Too bad.
Never mind.

Dancer to stand as MP: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-26601873

Well, we were talking about left wing politicians, maybe Salford will get one.

Is iGas an Apple product?

I did think that when I read it, but then thought even Apple couldn't get away with charging the prices gas companies do

Well he has good left wing credentials, offering free stuff to voters.

The UK is about to lose its first Yorkshire-English dictionary.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26606768

(It's a bit like other dictionaries, except that every word begins with the letter T)

Tart - What poncy southerns go to galleries to look at
Tether - Purple stuff that grows on t'moors
Tangle - Triangles 'ave three of 'um
Trap - t'M'n'M does it
Tram - Male sheep

Copywriters and h2g2 authors take note: America's first robotic journalist:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26614051

But do they have a Genuine People Personality?

What? Copywriters?

603 seems to have gone quiet after that one Icy.

How wrong can a government scheme be.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-26618139

This is about increased subsidies for child care. I know that this will help people on lower salaries (but may end up being skewed towards middle earners benefiting most) but at the top end....

'open to families where both parents work and earn less than £150,000 a year', (that is EACH).

So a married couple who can afford to run one of these:-

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/18/BMW_730d_xDrive_%28F01%29_%E2%80%93_Frontansicht,_31._Dezember_2012,_D%C3%BCsseldorf.jpg

could well end up being subsidised by someone running one of these:-

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Vauxhall_Astra_Mk_V.jpg

Nick agrees with David.

PP.

The cost of childcare is a serious problem at the moment, I know a few newish parents (I'm that age) where one of them has given up work instead, because it's actually cheaper to stay at home with the child than to pay for childcare.

A friend I asked said that for decent childcare where they live, they're looking at between £20k and £30k a year. That's an utterly ridiculous figure!

Is your friend confusing child care with boarding school?

Those figures seem a little unrealistic to me, but then it may depend on what they want from child care.

I have to admit, I was shocked when I heard them. They said that it was an all day thing, five days a week, and that food and some excursions were included. But still, it's astounding.