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

I've begun working in Japan since the end of April, 2001. In the sudden transition from one part of the world (where you drive on the right side of the road and have an old lady as the figure head of the state even thought she's from another country) to another part of the world where everything is opposite (i.e. you drive on the left side of the road and have an old chap as the figure head of the state even though he has Korean blood) I have missed what was probably the most important, meaningful, but totally tragically shocking piece of news.

For one and a half year I was kept in the dark of this most important, meaningful, but totally tragically shocking news. I did keep in touch with the rest of the world via the internet, but alas I was not destined to acquire this bit of mind-numbing knowledge, at least for one and a half year.

Then, a friend from The Bush Country, a Mac-lover and owner of a cool new iMac (15"), a subject of my merciless mac jokes throughout the years, showed me what a wonderful and cool piece of electronic gadget the iPod was. I bought one as soon as the "Windowsu Bajian" became availabe in Japan.

This, began the inevitable and yet infinitely improbable series of connections leading to my final aquisition of the previously mentioned piece of information, and my coming here to tell about it.

In any case, I stuffed all my music (along with my "Learn Japanese" CDs), 3 gigabytes worth of (legal) MP3's to be almost exact, into my new iPod and went to a scientific conference in the lovely Hokkaido.

It is amazing how fast you can get bored with 3 gigabytes of music.

When I've returned from the trip, I was immediately looking for more things to listen.

It is also amazing how such a craving to listen to "stuff" didn't seem to exist before I bought this wonderful and cool piece of electronic gadget.

To make a long story short (if it is not too late already) I discovered that you can buy and download full-length audio books (which the iPod supports) from the net. So, improbably, but perhaps all too naturally, HGTTG was the first book I looked up, since all my DNA books, radio scripts, tapes, CDs were all sitting memorablly at the bottom of a carboard box in a storage room on the opposite side of the Mostly Harmless Planet.

And, infinitely improbably, but all too fatefully, that was when I discovered that THERE WAS A NEW BOOK! And, finally, in this book, I became aware of this simple news:

That Douglas Adams, may he rest in peace, has a non-functional nose.

I did not know that.

On the bright side, though, whenever I go to a book store, I will never have to wonder if there is going to be a new book.

There is never going to be another one from DNA, and there will never be another writer quite like DNA.

I am truly going to miss you.