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

Yes, if you enjoyed the four Red Dwarf books (two co-written and then one each) you'll probably enjoy "Incompetence". I've also met Dave Gorman at a book signing last week and next week Terry "Python" Jones himself is doing a book signing - so non-stop on the book signing front at the moment! There were well over a hundred people at the Dave Gorman book signing, so it seems he's more famous, or Waterstones book shop advertises better than Borders...

At the moment I'm about to start this year's open University course again - my first essay is due in at the end of the month. I'm doing 19th Century Europe this year, which I did a little of back at school, if I can remember it...
I'm also trying to finish off some articles I wrote for H2G2 about Yorkshire's castles.

<BB<

I'll see if I can get a copy of Incompetence, I have some vouchers left over from christmas. I've been reading doctor who books the first new adventure ones that came out in the early 90's, just the timewrym ones back on Terry pratchett now though.

work isn't great but never was anyway!.

my mum bought a computer so I've ben helping her use it.

steve

Well, I've managed to write my first essay for my OU course - my tutor doesn't seem to be with it, though... Which is worrying as I would prefer to be taught by someone who knows what they're doing.

At the moment I'm hoping that Blakes' 7 is finally going to be released on Monday as I've been waiting for it for a year now. I've got some WH Smiths vouchers I've saved since Christmas to buy it with.

<BB<

yes its very important to be taught by someone you can trust and knows what their doing, I hopoe it goes alright for you.

I taped the first series of Blakes seven whe it was show on bbc2 a year or two ago, shame they didn't continue, I have seen them all on sky, probably won't get the dvd's though.

At the moment I'm trying to see if I can get a copy of the last chance to see radio series the douglas adams did, though i have been trying form years really, no one seems to have a copy, i did hear that the BBc only have 4 of the six episode left, ah well.

work hasn't been so great lately, otherwise things aren't so bad.

steve

Well, at the moment I'm enjoying a heavy cold. Oh well...

I bought "Blake's 7" - I did want to record the series when it was UK Gold, but as it was on around 7am I kept being asleep despite the fact my alarm went off. Why is it that I can get up really early ready for work Monday-Friday, but if I try to do the same Saturday or Sunday for something I actually enjoy, there's not a chance?

I've just seen the new "Battlestar Galactica", and wasn't impressed. Too American and cheesey - it was very run-of-the-mill science fiction of the last 15 years or so.

<BB<

I never really bothered with Battlestar Galactica much liked the idea though...

I like the choice on the new doctor who though, all sounds promising.

reading terry pratchetts's men at arms, not really doing much at all these days.....

I liked the original Battlestar Galactica - although I felt that the opening film was good, but it went quickly downhill after that - with the Galactica 1980 series being the worst series ever made.

I've not really seen much that I can remember with Christoher Eccleston, so I'm waiting to see. I'm hoping that Paul McGann will have some sort of a role and a regeneration - it would give the new series more continuity, even in a fresh start. That was one of the things I liked about the TVMovie.

I've actually been reading some of the Missing Adventure novels that I bought second hand a couple of years ago - most of them have been quite good. I'm not quite brave enough to try the Virgin New Adventures yet...

<BB<

Shallow grave is the film I remember Christoher Eccleston in I have seen a couple of the films but don't recall him. A regeneration would be nice I was thinking that maybe they should start with Christoher Eccleston and then in a second series should there be one, have an episode where he remembers back and then have the regeneration, either way, it should be good.

I've now read the timewyrm new adventures books, not bad but not great either. I have got some more I'll read later on sometime. but I think arthur C clarke will be next.

That's the trouble with the New Adventures - they're not on sale new anywhere, and you can never find them all together second hand. I've got one of the Timewyrm books, and one of the cats cradles, but without all of them it seems a little silly reading them.

Other than that looking forward to having some time off in a couple of weeks - I have a week's holiday on the Island where Sarah & I are going to organise our wedding, book venues etc. So that will be a relief out of the way.

Other than that I've been to the dentist for the first time since 1998. I hadn't had any toothache so assumed nothing was wrong, but he said that I need fillings in most of my upper teeth, and my bottom teeth were fine except for the two very back ones on either side - one would cost £800 to repair, the other £500 - or I could have them pulled out for £60 each. Now I don't really want to lose my teeth, especially as they haven't been hurting, but I don't really have a spare one and a half grand lying around to spend on teeth... If only there was a free NHS Dentist somewhere in the world...

<BB<

yeah i like to read bookm that are part of a set when I have all, otherwise when you get to read them you've forgotton what's its all about.

Well I hope you get all your wedding stuff sorted, they're not the eaiest things to get done.

I didn't have a dentist for years but a NHS one opened up so we got in, not the best but better than none. its very wrong that your paying for a service and can't use it, but thats' thew way this country is, in desporate need of change.

I've almost finnished the botton part of the dalek I'm building, looking not too bad, but I think that's the easy part done with...

Good luck with the dalek making. I never really got into model making - namely because my sister had a habit of sitting on what I'd spent hours making...

I see the complaining about the new series has begun already - not really a surprise. I wasn't expecting the fact that the episode length is longer to have provoked such a reaction. Personally I always felt that 25 minutes was always too short. By the time you've sat down and got back into the story, the episode is over and you have to wait another week. With 25 minutes some episodes I felt took 5 minutes to explain how the last cliff hanger was got out of, then there'd be 15 minutes of plot, and then 5 minutes of getting the Doctor/Companion into the set up for the next cliffhanger. With longer episodes there should be more time for the story to develop without having such a rigid formula. But then I'll be happy with anything as long as its good, and isn't cancelled by Michael Grade...

<BB<

well I've never been much and model making either, but I saw a site where someone had built a dalek so I thought I'd give it a go. Actually I didn't think I'd go ahead with it at all, but here I am.

I'm very much looking forward to the new series, more so the more I hear. I think times have changed too much to continue with 25 minute episodes. I didn't think they worked well when they tried it out with Coiln's doctor but then that was then. There is a lot more planning to this series, a lot more thought going into it, its not just something that's being churned out every year. Its something that's planned to have commerical sucess, They can decide on things in much more long term way then they could before.

steve

That's true - although I think they're still waiting to see whether the (13?) episodes are a success first. Does this mean they'll be selling it in DVD series box-sets?

I've been to a funeral today - my fiance's grandmother, who I'd met a couple of times. I've now met all her family, at least.

<BB<

Well like any series they see how it goes, what works better, and discover what they ned to concentrate more on.

sorry to hear about your fiance's grandmother. My wife's sister and boyfriend have been over last weekend, we went out and saw a band they were really quite good.

stared reading hitchhiker a bio of douglas adams, I seem to keep reading but the pile of books I have to read doesn't seeem to go down, funny that...

I've had a busy last couple of weeks! Since the funeral Sarah & I went to Manchester for a short weekend were her old house mates had a reunion, and that was quite fun. I only knew half the people there, but everyone there hadn't changed since I saw them when I visited Sarah at her university (she went to Staffordshire when I went to Southampton).

After that, Sarah & I spent a week on the Isle of Wight organising our wedding. We had a look around 5 different venues for the reception and interviewed different photographers, and have now finalised on where we want and who we want. So, the plans are to have the ceremony in Sandown Baptist Church on Saturday 4th June 2005 around noon, with the reception at Farringford - a 3 star hotel in Freshwater on the Island that was the home of the poet Alfred Lord Tennyson. We now have over a year to save up for it all!

So, wedding is very much in our thoughts right now, making decisions on everything. Such as - do we want champagne at our wedding? Hotels charge about £25 a bottle for it, and if we have 60 guests (the guest list is another nightmare! Who do we invite and who do we insult when we only have a very limited budget?) that's about 10 bottles for everyibe to have a glass. So, if we follow tradition and give everyone a glass when they arrive and a glass for a toast, that's £500. £500 for 2 glasses of champagne, which most people don't really like anyway... It's rediculous - but we wish to have a proper wedding, but without the unneccesary bits. (I think wine's good enough, don't you?)

Today we escaped from it all while the day was nice and went to the Peak District, where we saw the unusually named Devil's Arse and Peveril Castle, and had a good time in this bank holiday.

Oh, and other things - Sarah's contract ran out, so she is now unemployed but temping, and we're planning on moving from Leeds soon, down to Reading.

Always lots going on...

<BB<

weddings are very expensive ours wasn't the most expensive but still cost a packet. I wasn't going to invite a lot of my family to our wedding as my wife only had about two members of hers there, but what happened that we work in the same place and the people are quite funny, if we invited a few then we'd have to invite the lot otherewise it would have made things difficult afterwards. So we ended up inviting a lot of people I would have rather not had there. but there no real way to keep everybody happy.

My dad has no job now. He was made redundant after 20 odd years, actually they've just gone on holiday. He's looking but in no hurry.

my sisters pregnant, though I'm happy for her, I'm a bit dissapointed that its not us and we have toi pay for the IVF treatment, my wife is a bit depressed too.

A bloke at work brother just killed himself, bit of a shock, not seen him since he was suposed to come back today but didn't.

I see Anthony Ainley who played the master has died, bit of a shame, I met him once a few years ago. didn't like his master, to be honest, but still sad.

Well, neither Sarah and I have to worry about inviting anyone from work as we're now both temping and we're getting married 350 miles from where we work. It's odd, I'm in an office of 160 odd people and haven't managed to find anyone there easy to get on with. I'm not really sure why as most are about my age. I guess its one of those things.

The other big shock is that someone I went to school with and actually got on with quite well is now a celebrity. It's a long story, and I missed the TV show he was on as I never watch reality TV, but someone in my class was on TV. I guess it shows that even people who did more or less what I did at school can grow up to get on television. It's a funny world at times.

<BB<

It doesn't take much to be on tv these days.

Well the weather's nicer, not been doing a lot with it.

I see paul mccartney is going out on tour again, I did see the wingspan cd going for a fiver in virgin didn't get it though, might do if its still there next time.

That's true. I really don't know what people see in Reality TV. If people watch television as a form of escapism, why escape from dull lives to watching other people's dull lives? Oh well...

Yes, Paul McCartney is on tour - I got a text message from him telling me (when I went to his concert in Sheffield last year they had a message board you could text to have messages on the arena's screen whilst you waited for the concert to begin, so I think he got my number from that). I don't know what would be more expensive - going to Prague or trying to get tickets for Glastonbury. But talking of festivals, I'm off to the Isle of Wigt festival in a short time. Only a couple of weeks to go.

<BB<

No I don't care much for reality shows, I saw a bit of hells kitchen last night not planning to again.

I'd love to go to see Paul Mccartney, i'd love to go see a lot of things but money seem to be lacking, still saving for the IVF treatment.

I see Billie Piper will be the Doctor's companion in the new series, not really seen much of her acting, and not someone I would have thought of but yeah great.

steve