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

Hi Kandyman
The cars I approve of, the buses are probably an acquired taste, I guess.
My own attempts to renovate classics are a bit on hold on account of dodgy finances and a total inability to weld. I made a horrible mess of a TR5 a few years ago, but I'm glad to say that a more accomplished acquaintance recovered the situation. More recent efforts have been bikes, but even then my progress has been so slow that the latest project has just been reclaimed by it's legitimate owner (a Honda 400 Four - I feel a bit wistful about this, but the Weddell does not entirely approve of such machines).
The SF is also cool. My own attempt is similarly on hold, stalled at circa 90,000 words but too good to leave there (if I do say so myself). The paper clips etc aren't helping...
What I'm going to do with the Californian version is to get it a bit closer to a coherent form, and then post it here to your Space. It'll probably be a couple of weeks or so before I can bring myself to do it (it's execrable at the moment). Then you can have a stab at shaping it. If you offer it to Shazz at the Post, I reckon she'll be up for the sequel.
Maybe I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here...
Anyhow, see you around! (Heavily in fish-debt - yum!)
Pinniped

Hi Pinniped

The cars:-

The Rapier was a lust from my early 20's when I used to service and tune one for a friend. I always wanted one but couldn't afford it until recently. It is mechanically very good but seriously needs a paint job. Likewise, the Mustang was a teenage fantasy car after watching Steve McQueen in "Bullit". The Morris was a chance find in a scrapyard by my dad's mate and needs a lot of work.

The buses:-

Holds head in shame and admits to being a schoolboy bus-spotting anorak. I thought I'd got over when I left school but discovered one of my fellow apprentices was also one. One thing led to another and ten years later we bought a bus to restore, We now have three plus a basket case which won't get restored unless the Lottery comes up. Being a full time bus driver now, I suppose driving old ones at the weekend is like bringing your work home with you. Sad, sad, sad.

Paperclips:-

I'll look forward to getting the Californian sequel.

I had one idea about the creation of the electronic paper clip.

Armitage gets a job testing MS software in his shed. His job title is Office Assistant. Remembering his "almost success" he takes out his last Paperclip to look at it wistfully. Just then, out of a clear blue Californian sky there is a bolt of lightning. The Paperclip acts as a lightning conductor and Armitage gets frazzed and the paperclip get heavily magnetised. As he pops his clogs his soul is grabbed by the magnetised paperclip and it falls on to the scanner which has just started up. The image of the paperclip and Armitage's soul are integrated into the MS package he is testing and becomes the electronic a*****e we have all come to depise.

Yes! Much Better!
Armitage will be duly re-animated on this basis!
(...coming soon)
P.

Glad you like it.

Just read the "Alternative Mr Men" piece in The Post. Superb!

K.

Hi K

Are you into the X-Files?
I think the scene in the LA lock-up (charred carcasses of Armitage and computer, a surreal presence in the network) is crying out for investigation by Muddler and Sulky, but I've never watched it closely enough to convince the true fan. What do you think?
P.

(Glad you like Mr Dead. They idea started life on a summer night in the pub. A bunch of us conceived of, and attempted to write, Mr Rude. We were rolling around in tears, to the point we nearly got thrown out, but we could never remember enough of him to recapture him afterwards. Maybe it was the drink - and I guess he'd get Flamed anyway. Mr Dead suddenly appeared while I was racking my brains to remember Mr Rude).

Hi P,

I watched the early X-Files series but drifted away from it when the episodes all seemed to follow the same sort of format. Something odd happens. M thinks aliens - S thinks conventional explanation. Then 50 mins of each trying to prove the other wrong while spooky things happen. Nothing resolved at the end but you're left wondering if it was aliens or not.

I agree, though, that an "X-files" type of investigation of Armitage's demise has possibilities. I'll give it some thought.

K

Hi K!
Yeah, I could have replied two years ago, but you know how it goes.
By an outrageous coincidence, EPR5 is in the Post this very day.
Not a paper clip in sight...
Pin