Happy Nerd

We have been pushing so long and so hard to keep our marvelous site running while also building the foundations for tomorrow's bigger, better, more awesome Guide. Field Researchers Limited is now a reality, a part-owner, and a promise kept to the h2g2 community.

In far too many ways, I've been living like a college student since we first came together to save h2g2. Instead of working on a thesis, though, I've been working with my fellow researchers on h2g2 itself. Volunteering for h2g2 in one capacity or another has eaten all of my spare time, my exercise time, my rehearsal time, a shameful amount of my family time, and most of my housework time.

I've had an earache for days; each time I swallow, I wince. The first available medical appointment is Wibble, unless I want to pay a whole lot more money. (Can't wait to get me some of that full-strength Obamacare in 2014.) Come Wibble, the doctor will probably scold me about my weight and blood pressure, both of which have risen over the past 18 month. But if he does scold, I can cup my hand around my achy ear and say, "Eh?"

Not that I'm complaining, well not much. I've learned a lot in the year and a half it has taken us to get this far. h2g2 is a ing awesome website, but just a website, after all. There is such a thing as a work-life balance, and I need to restore mine.

And that's were you all come in.

At his memorial service, we learned a lot about the man. We are his son's age though, and I don't remember meeting the man until about 12 years ago. He used to ask his kids every day when they came home from school, "What did you learn today?" and then he'd listen. The next question was, "Did you have fun?" He did this the whole time they were growing up, and even after they were done with college.

What did I learn today and did I have fun?

What did I learn today? I need to define clear boundaries.

Did I have fun? Well, I guess that depends on how you define fun. But overall I feel better about a position that had become a large and unwieldy mess.

I've been looking into gamification lately.

Gamification is a term that covers a wide range of concepts designed to encourage certain behaviors by making them more fun, more game-like.

Lots of activities are drudgery from start to finish. Some are interesting at first but then become tedious.

And who better to learn from that the masters over at Institute For The Future: http://www.iftf.org

A year ago today, I found out that the BBC were planning to dispose of h2g2, probably a few hours after everyone else did, due to the time zone.

Not wanting to accept this fate quietly, I began tweeting links from some of my favorite Guide Entries from my own twitter account. I also signed up for the same google group as two hundred other people did. Within a few days, I was using two twitter accounts and a newly created Facebook page to help keep the researchers calm and focused on the task at hand - saving h2g2.

Then of course there was the bid, then the contract, then the move, then the relaunch, and through it all we promoted h2g2, the Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy, Earth Edition.

The Comms Team's remit evolved over the past year to keeping researchers informed through the Announcements and social media and promoting h2g2 as the ever-expanding Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything to the general public through traditional and social media.

Thank you to all the current and former hard-working members of the Comms Team, your work promoting h2g2 has helped expand it even as we faced an uncertain future.

Thanks to those of you who volunteered but then were scarcely heard from again. It's hard to be hoopy enough for the Comms Team, and you can always reapply once you have had a and found your .

And thanks even to our "detractors", you know who you are. You couldn't kill us, you made us stronger.

I'm done with work for the day and the week. So it is suppertime!

Want to guess what's for supper?