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

Hello, friend, and welcome to the atelier? Is it your first visit? Do go over to A304354 , our page, and read a bit about us, and also check the link to the offsite atelier, where you'll find more backstory and even a floor plan.

A brilliant idea was conceived at the beginning of the most recent conversation, namely for there to be a scribe, someone to take notes on all that occurred or that was discussed during the thread. We all find that using the "launch post" as a summary of the previous thread is a very useful archival tool. Some have suggested that the person who is first to the forum should become scribe, but I think that's just a little accidental, and would rather award the job and its attendant prize to a volunteer.

So. d'Elaphant, the salon thanks you for volunteering to scribe for conversation 61X. *presents a small ebony stand with an inkwell and a plumed quill pen. The stand is inscribed "SCRIBE 61X"* Your attention to detail is making it possible for me to write a very solid introduction to the new conversation.

A lot of the previous thread was a weather watch, as Autumn was gradually squeezed out by the cold. Those of us not watching weather were watching the solar flares, and then the lunar eclipse.

A newcomer: welcome to *manda*, and may she flourish over the backlog, whose fecundity has so consternated other newcomers. And then we had two prodigal salonistas, candi nook, and garius lupus, and not before time. Garius was nearly attacked by the backlog.

Here, as listed by d'Elaphant, were pretty much all the topics we discussed in between cups of tea

Stress as a method of weight reduction
Prams and strollers
Lil does limited-series giclées
BB and GreyDesk celebrate birthdays between threads
Zomker gets undivorced
Sleep, benefits and drawbacks
earthquakes
the "w" word (rhymes with 'canker')
Z is published
Amy faints, then irons her brolly
We explore the color of our auras
It gets cold
fire in California
Hypatia loses a lawnmower, weedwacker, car, stove and furnace
The usefuleness of an axe.
shrinkwrapped arrives
university tuition
reservoirs and lakes emptying out
Why people do or don't go to university
Education as a class system
Lil's new computer
What university degrees are useful
Russian chocolate
Marv's new job as a snowmaker, and his new-found fondness for the cold
Desktop Wallpaper
Terrorism
terrible kids and terrible computer repair
Z flies
watches stopping
peanut butter turd statements
Amy's nest on fire
Sporky shaves his dog's ears
The prodigal wolf returns, having moved, and moved, and moved, and moved
again
What's wrong with the What's wrong with Americans thread
Now, now, Egon! The summary is not here so you can skip the backlog
Beautiful South
compound spices, much baking
thefts
the workplace refrigerator

There is some enthusiasm for another subject header game, but it's not universal. So the ukase is: Not until Thanksgiving, fellow salonistas. During Thanksgiving week, we will play a header game which I will announce at the appropriate time.

And now, let's make ourselves comfortable. Chloe has cleaned the salon, as usual, and the sofas are ranged invitingly before a large fire of perpetual logs from the Magic Forest. Matina has baked fresh cinnamon buns and mbougatses and the tea is freshly made. Welcome and welcome back!

?

Am I first?

off to read intro

YES!!!

*does a little victory dance that he has been practicing for nearly four years*

*comes ning in with Ripley hanging on for dear life on her back*

*stops dead*

*pant, pant*

Dang - too late! Congrats Sporky!

Was there ever any decision made whether the FTTF would also be the new scribe?

Beaten by a hair, by a question mark....!

Oh well....

Good summary d'E

*Matina brings Sporky some irish coffee in a FTTF mug*

Is that really your first FTTF mug, Sporky?? Well, you get first refusal of the job offer of Scribe 62X. If you don't want the job, please say so now so we can organise a new scribe right away.

It's raining in Lincoln, and warmish -- about 55°F.

Oh you guys were all just waiting for that, weren't you?

Congratulations Sporky - I'd be dancing too if I'd been trying for four years!

no no. it would be an honor to be the historian for conversation 62Xth

So be it. Sporky is Scribe 62X.

Sol posted to the last thread before she was aware of the new conversation, so let me reprint her interesting thoughts here:

Sol said:
Oh well, it does rather take VR to it's logical conclusion.

Actually, there's a lot to the NLP stuff. In fact, I did know someone who, when revising, used a different perfume for different subjects, and of course to the exam itself. And I'm a very strong visual learner whereas my colleague is aural. If I'm learning a language (or anything else) I need something to look at while I think about it, preferably some kind of diagram or chart, but also tables or sentences and words written down help. I think the reason why I don't make much progress in Russian without clases is because most of my other exposure is aural. I learnt a shedload of new words this summer just by reading, and most of those were ones which I remembered hearing, but had never actualy got fixed. My colleage on the other hand, just finds all that confusing. She needs to hear explanations.

Raining? Though it was a bit grey and damp this morning it's now turned into a beautiful blue sky evening with the low sun just still lighting up the sides of some buildings here. A lovely afternoon to be out on the hills if I wasn't here in the office trying to think of a way to do some array sorting in php. Then again if I fiddle around with the database table that the stuff is coming from I might not need to do any of that...

It is interesting, isn't it? There's even a whole Way of language learning called Total Physical Response especially for kinesthetic people. I'm quite happy to rip the pi... sorry, extract the urine out of it all while in reality using it to further my own ends. It's good for kids.

I'm not sure how you'd catagorise me, but I'm a patient learner, in that I only remember things if I have a patient to associate it with. I don't just remember the condition, I remember everything about my conversation with them, then it's really easy to remember medical details later.

When I'm reading new things about the condition I tend to think "how would Mrs Jones have got on with this new drug for her Gribbins disease?"

(so thanks for helping out a medical student if you ever have done in the past)

I was never particually good at remembering things until I actually got to apply them to people.

Does this make any sense?

The only way I can fix a subject in my brain is by taking copious notes. I can throw them away afterwards, because they've already done their job.

Oh yes I have to do that as well, especially if I'm reading in detail, I have to make notes on it as I'm going. Which is annoying because it means I can't read on a train unless I have a seat to myself that comes with a table. As I now have 40 minutes commuting time all on one train (bliss shear bliss) it means I can't really get on with work on the way to university.

Are we back again? Just in time for me to go home from work.

I was taught that the only way to learn was to take notes, but as I was saying in the previous thread if smell triggers memories then perhaps it would be a method that worked for me. But I'm not sure how I would go about it.

*polishes her FTTF mug from a previous thread*

May I have some please, Matina, and do you have any lemon drizzle ?

I got "undivorced"? Wouldn't that mean that I remarried my ex? I most certainly did not! LOL

I didn't edit that when I saw it in d'E's notes, O Demented One. Perhaps he can explain what he meant.

Re the notes: I left the subject list mostly alone and as d'E presented it, just winkling out new and returning salonistas.

And now off to the post office for a brief stint, then on to the Mighty Walmart.