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

Once or twice, my mother resorted to dumping a pitcher of icewater on me. I *refuse* to have an eastern window that will let in sunlight. I hate getting up that early.

At university I have one window facing north, the other facing south, both in the same room.

Right now I'm living in my parents' guest house, and the window faces (ugh) East.

I know we aren't supposed to ask for any more smilies and that there are about a thousand suggestions already on the list. Having said that, I really think we need a bookmark smiley. Shaped like an actual bookmark with a little tassel on the the end. For other conversations, of course. Not for use at the Atelier.

You don't have to use the aol browser. You can just connect through it, minimize and then use whatever. That's what I did when I used AOL.

I'm pretty sure bookmark is on the list, Hypatia. We just have to be patient.

Well, the interview went well, and I now have part-time brewing work for the summer :oD I start in July.

Marv, you mentioned nitrogenated stout. Do you mean that it is Fizzy?

Z, don't go into a serious relationship just because it's comfortable, or that you're worried about not being in a relationship. That's why I got married and it contributed to things not lasting.

d'E, I have just booked tickets to fly Home later in the month.

I may well be driving back. The Single (Glasgow - London)is £185 the return is £85, and that's trying all the possible options re times.

I bought the return, and may or may not use the second bit!

I think that's certainly why she isn't getting into a relationship, because she knows that we're comfortable together. I'm scared of not being in a relationship though,and also scared taht I won't find anyone else, as I did used to have a lot of causal sex,in my lesbian days and now I can't, obviously, so I think that's a reason I'm lookingfor a long term relationship!

Toc, Not fizzy, but with a solid head that does not break down. Guiness and the like are tapped using a 75% nitrogen and 25% CO2 mixture of gas, rather than straight CO2 like most beer. At least here it is like that. The nitrogen makes a more stable head that does not break down nearly as fast. DO they serve stout flat in the UK? I was fairly sure that it was the same.

I actually understand the physics behind why nitrogen systems make beer taste so much better. As our atmosphere is mostly nitrogen, the nitrogen in the beer does not want to escape as much as CO2 does.

Cask ale (otherwise known as 'Real ale') should not be dispensed using gas at all. The small amount of yeast in the bottom of the barrel will produce CO2 as a by product of fermentation.

The Beer is pumped to the tap by hand.

Keg ale (otherwise known as plastic ) is dispensed by forcing nitrogen in and therefore the out when the tap is opened. Depending on the system used, this can also make the beer fizzy.

As far as I remember the uk pubs I had dealings with used Nitrogen in these cases. A couple of them even had the means to isolate nitrogen from the atmosphere.

The trouble is that cask conditioning is time consuming and expensive. In the US, nearly every draught of beer is aided by the use of either CO2 or Nitrogen/CO2 mixes.

I forgot to mention that some places do still do cask conditioning, including a pub in Denver called Pint's Pub. It is apparently the home away from home for many displaced UKians. Pint's Dark Star ale is award winning and incredibly good. One of the better microbrews I have had.

there's no cask in the US?

You will find it at microbreweries only. The usual weasle-piss that is called beer here is all force carbonated.

When I brew my beer it is all bottle conditioned.

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Speaking of being able to wake up early--on the weekends it always helps to have (comparatively) exciting plans. For instance, tomorrow a friend and I are doing the rounds at the local yard/rummage sales and farmers markets beginning at the ungodly hour of 8am.

Are rummage sales as popular outside the US? You know, where people haul out what they think is their worthless junk and the public (such as me) think its grand to buy somebody's Italian pasta bowls for only a few .

yard sales in new england are nearly impossible, purchasing wise as nearly everything has been in the family for decades and thus it demands an antique price. a woman down the road opens up her barn every spring for her "barn sale" and usually only sells 3-5 pieces because her prices are so steep. she calls it trash but yet has no problem keeping it around and pricing it up.

::sigh::

The more usual variant of a rummage sale here is a car boot sale. Although there have been garage sales very rarely here, but I have never seen anyone at them.

One place I haven't been to is an archetectural (sp?) reclaimation yard. I would love to have a poke around, but H is worried that I'd come home with a couple of stone lions, several window frames and countless roll top baths

Remember the old adage... There is a sucker born every minute.

I like yard sales. You can occasionally find some good stuff that way. I think Ebay is the yardsale of the internet, by the way.

I'm going to do a car boot sale on Sunday. I have quite a range of things to sell. Books, CDs, tapes, videos, crockery, clothes, and costume jewellery.

I just need to get it all cleaned up and labelled.