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

Z - according to the received exercise wisdom I have - you will burn more calories if you eat afterwards. The exercise on an empty stomach fires up your metabolism and gets it whizzing along. It then stays higher all day.

I could never eat beforehand anyway as I felt sick pushing myself on a full stomach. I remember reading something about it being best to eat after rather than before here on the beeb but can't remember where...

, but look in any search engine about Godzone, and all you will find is Australia. and

did you select to search from the web or just Aus? This was the first hit when I searched the web for god's own country using google.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/God's_Own_Country

I don't think you will like it.

In Ben Elton and Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical 'The Beuatiful Game' (about football and 'the troubles' in Northern Ireland), there's a duet called 'God's Own Country', where a Catholic girl and a Protestant girl both sing about Northern Ireland using that term. I think that's a rather late entrant in the Godzone running, though!

Kiwis, as we call them, are a troublesome lot. Godzone was taken by them after many great Rugby contests. Don't mean a thing tho, as more and more Kiwis move to and live in Oz.
Cross Tasman rivalvary. can't beat it.

Nice one, Kelli.

for the Ozzie

Besides, you're all wrong and you know it. God's own is in the Middle East. No not that one, the one next door... and we have the joke to prove it:

... and so it was and God created Lebanon last. It was to be His masterpiece; from its proud Cedars, to its rich Beqaa, from beautiful beaches, to mountain brooks, its nightlife, its fun-loving welcoming people, its gorgeous girls (eh, not quite *all* the girls, you understand. Nonetheless...), He spared no effort.

Guardian angels from other countries began to grumble and protest. Calmly, in his Just and Fair Infinite Wisdom, God said: "Relax! Wait till you see the neighbours I have given them..."

That would be funny Wilma.... ach, you know the rest.

Ok, wise and educated Peeps, I need your thoughts and advice please.

I am writing a ducument which includes the plural of an anacronym we are using which is "BAS" (pronounced "baz").

Would the plural be BASes, BASs or BAS's? If anyone can quote Lynn Truss for me, I'd be incredibly grateful.

My Boss has come up with a recommendation which she claims is based on Lynn Truss, which I completely disagree with.

Tantrums were me.

*sigh*

Thanks

Ben

I'd go with BASs. It's an acronym, so I can't see how and 'es' ending could come into. 's is just plain wrong. So BASs it is.

As it happens, Wilma, Scotland and Wales have similar jokes.

House style here would be BASs. Plurals don't take apostrophes which rules out BAS's, and BASes looks wrong. No Lynne Truss from me - sorry!

Mind you I always have trouble with 'belonging to James' - James's? James'? Jameses? Gah! I will reconstruct entire paragraphs to avoid having to say it.

Ahem. No, *we* have a similar joke - we're the ones that have neighbours from Hell on *both* sides.

*The Diva looks delighted with Mr Dreadful, not only is he Scottish, and in worsted (and green worsted, too, how thoughtful of the man) but he appears to be interested in talking to her*

*Of any other woman, one would say that she simpered. But we are kinder about Greensleeves than that. Let's just say that she welcomes Mr D as a Gentleman Vistor*

*Then suddenly she remembers something said earlier*

>>But we can all take the Mickey out of each other, surely, for fun and laughter

Can we? And there was me thinking that we only did that when we knew people well enough to tell whether what we were saying might be offensive.

Ah well.

How wrong can one be?

*She stares around the company and blinks meditatively, the wake from her mascara'd eye lashes causing the straps of the Bondage Bean Bag to flap in the breeze*

*She sips her green tea, and suddenly remembers her companion*

Oh, Mr D. I am being rude. I am SO sorry. You were saying....?

*... and she returns the full force of her attention, green eyes and mascara to the dapper and debonair Scotsman*

<>

*Sticks fingers in ears*

La, la, la! Not listening!

*the owl thinks a bit and comes to the conclusion that he agrees, that taking the mickey only really works properly when you know folks reasonably well*



*sorts his feathers out, having returned from his constitutional fly*

Sorry Ben, I am useless at those things. I insist on treating them like deer and butter - no 's' anywhere. As penance.

*Settles down for a quiet read and a with Greensleeves.*

<>

I was just wondering whether you might like to join me for lunch...

*Kisses Greensleeves on the hand in a gentlemanly fashion*

Ummm...

*Tries to surreptitiously remove wedding ring. Fails.*

Has anyone got any WD40?

I suppose we all know where Chritianity began, and what good will to all meant.
Pity tho, that the Middle East is at the heart of all the troubles for one reason or another.
Don't know the solution, however, and if I did I'd be seen as a Messiah. Best not think about it, too man's inhumanity to man.

No, but got Superglue to keep ring on.

And what about when there is more than one James, and they both own something? The Jameses's boots? The James's's boots?

*agrees with Greensleeves'ses point that one usually waits until one knows a person well enough before taking the mickey*

I have a good friend who is a lovely, good natured, good humoured chap who will take a fair bit of stick about all sorts of things, but he has one very sore point to do with his physical appearance. He is realyl sensitive about it, and those that are friends know this. One time when we were at the pub, a group of us were exchanging the usual banter. A new person had joined us and accidentally chose the wrong thing to rib my friend about resulting in a very awkward silence and general hurt feelings. Yes, caution at all times...

Kelli, would that be the Jameses' house next door, I think.
Perhaps.
Maybe.

Hark at the furriner opining on English grammar, I'll just sit here and read the paper, shall I?