Drinking About Life
You'll have to excuse me being even less coherent than usual this issue. A few months ago, I set up a virtual pub on h2g2 with the idea that we could have occasional tasting sessions and share our thoughts on different ales. Last night, we had our third beerfest, and as a result I'm more than a little shaky today.
I've been to a few social gatherings recently, and the contrast is quite interesting. I've tended to end up at parties where most of the guests are someone's work colleagues, and there is an odd dynamic - people who happen to share a workplace don't often share many interests, and everyone wants to look good in front of the boss. I often find myself smiling at people all night without ever really enjoying myself.
An online beerfest should, by rights, be quite a geeky thing to do. It shouldn't really be that much fun. After all, there are only four or five of us, and what we are doing is, effectively, getting drunk while typing. But it does work, somehow - we've all known each other around the site for a long time, we're all proper ale enthusiasts and we share a few laughs through the evening. We even have a jukebox, and last night we had a h2g2 quiz won, admirably, on the last question by Roymondo.
It's always fascinating when we do something better on h2g2 than we do in 'real life'.
Anyway, welcome to the latest issue of The Post. I know it's my job to wax lyrical about it, but it really is a fantastic issue, with getting on for 30 articles and subjects ranging from computer games through compost to the Beijing Olympics. It's all pretty eclectic, and there's definitely something for everyone. There are far too many for me to mention all of them, but some do deserve a special mention.
First of all Entry of the Month needs your support. This brilliant idea, started by Mu Beta to reward the best Entries written for the Edited Guide each month, has been a little short of voters. All you have to do is go and check out the nominations for each month and pick your favourite. Not only are your votes needed, but the scheme is a great reward for those who go the extra distance in putting together some wonderful writing. Go and do it now.
There are a few things you can get involved in, too. For a start, benjaminpmoore's big experiment is under way, and your contributions are welcome. The first part of Whatever Next is in this issue. Another column we're looking for contributions from you for is Our Man at Milliways, so if you've had a good or a bad meal anywhere lately, we're looking for your reviews. Finally, if you're interested in history, we have a new regular column in conjunction with the Royal h2g2 Historians Society in Keeping Up With Doctor Jones.
I'm also delighted to announce two Post competitions that we're running; one based on some poems written by minorVogonpoet and one to tie in with the new Doctor Who series. Details below.
Some quick thank-yous: first of all to Psycorp, who has been flooding the inbox with what seems like a million ideas and articles over the last couple of weeks, and of course to all the contributors who have made this issue such a pleasure to work on. The team have worked very hard this week - Matt and Mina have settled in extremely well - and all of them have gone beyond the call of duty in chasing articles, organising competitions and putting the final touches to everything. Finally, thanks and congratulations to minorVogonpoet and Ms Ob, who have both been awarded their Post Reporter badges this week.
Phew! There's plenty to keep you busy there, anyway. Deadline for the next issue is Sunday 20th April - we'll see you then!
Skankyrich
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