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

I agree with Lil. It appears to me that horses enjoy racing. It's the peripheral business of 'encouragement techniques' (e.g. whipping), training and what happens to the animals after their racing careers are over that matters more. Dog racing certainly has some issues to address. The North of England is awash with unwanted greyhounds.

Keeping children away from places where alcoholic drink is served isn't the European way and my brothers and I all played the one-armed bandits at the seaside as kiddies. None of us drinks or bets on a regular basis now that we're adults. We learned that there is a choice and that you can choose to go out of control. The consequences of being out of control weren't hidden from us but were discussed. I can remember having quite a detailed conversation with my mother about my grandfather's drinking problem when I was about three.

I think if a parent just says that something is naughty it becomes perversely desirable. If they express how sad a situation is and stress the element of personal choice and its consequences then a child is much more likely to form a rounded opinion.

Vindication for the Atkins diet?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3044689.stm

I am no fan of horse racing, but can recognise a good horse and Red Rum was a , what ever did happen to poor Shergar?

I don't think that a picnic at a race track is necessarily damaging, but I do think that it is mean fisted when it is a tax write off and the only venue on offer every year.

Whilst still at school I went to spend half-term with a friend, who was horse mad, and was taken to a local amateur point-to-point event. The point of what I didn't get, but by crikey was it a cut throat affair! The es all appeared to be having a great time though!

It's a . It's definitely less than 14 hand high .

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Toc

A day of housework ahead of me

The girl is smiling about housework? Good grief!

Going to the gym the day after Pilates is far too much like hard work!

Well, that goes to show how much I took in, Amy. They looked pretty much like horses to me and big too! But it was quite a social event and I must have been around 14 at the time and I seem to remember spending my time looking at the handsome young men

No, point-to-pointers are horses. The smiley is a because it's less than 14 hands high . Actually it's less than 14 pixels high at the shoulders .

This is bringing back memories of my schooldays, when I used to ride (badly). I hated football and cricket, and jumped at the chance to so sport where the some other creature invested the muscle-power! I loved riding, but haven't been for more than thirty years now....

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

Oh right, . I knew going to the gym would be a mistake! All my brain power has been sapped. And you can stop muttering 'what brain power'

But it just goes to show how little I know about . How high is 14 hands? The field full I pass regularly I know are ies cos they are very little and share the filed with donkeys who are bigger than they are.

A 'hand' is four inches, or 100 millimetres in new money.

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

[p]

Nice picture for the Rivers thing Lil.

Oh, Caerwynn, if you know little of horses, you might not know that you measure their height *at the shoulder* (in hands), not to the top of the head. [Sorry, I'm not sure what the correct term for an animal's shoulder is. It's not 'fetlock' or 'rump'....]

Caerwynn ... white castle?

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

The correct term is actually "shoulder"

Pattern-chaser

"Who cares, wins"

'Withers' is the term you're looking for. The ridge between the shoulder blades of a horse.

Me not horsey atall.

only happy about housework, because I avoid it most of the time. This has two advantages, it isn't as much of a chore and when you do get round to it, it really makes a difference.

(The kitchen and bathroom are exceptions. They have to be clean if not tidy)

I have the architects coming again this morning. We're to the picking out furniture and placing stacks stage.

Ok, I'll admit to being a semi-Puritan about gambling. Although I've visited many race tracks (dogs, only 1 horse track) I went not because I wanted to, but because Frank wanted to. But we didn't take the kids until they were 18. And while my brain tells me that for 99% of us, gambling is harmless recreation, my gut still feels uncomfortable with it. I don't even buy lottery tickets. Plus, I think there are places suitable for adults that are not suitable for kids. And as an adult, I enjoy a night out now and then where there aren't any kids.

I think it is a healthy attitude to view gambling as a form of recreation that you budget a certain amount of money for, if that appeals to you. Personally, I feel like I'm just giving my money away. I went to a gift auction last week that benefitted my daughter's school. It operates like a mega-raffle where you buy tickets and deposit them into containers for the gifts you want to take a chance on. I went because I looked at the money spent as a donation to the school, not as an opportunity to win something. I wouldn't have gone at all except for the personal connection to the organization.

[spk]