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

The NY Times had more detail about the Collyer brothers, mentioned only briefly in Witty's link. Apparently they filled a 12-room mansion with papers, chandeliers, an old automobiles, grand pianos and rotting groceries.

It's good to know that it takes a lot of air to kill someone. That's been one of my irrational fears, that an injection with a little air in would kill me. I once went into a blind panic when attempting to donate plasma, because I noticed a small air bubble in one of the tubes leading into my left arm. Fortunately I passed out, fast.

I was sitting on my sofa when Zeppo climbed on my shoulders. He was actually more on the back of the sofa with his legs extending over each of my shoulders. I'd have loved to get a picture but I left my camera at my parents' house.

It sounds like the Collyer brothers would be good fodder for a movie or at the very least a book.

Yeah, along with those brothers that were a cross between Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Deliverance...where was that again?

A movie, a book, or perhaps a web page?
http://www.wfmu.org/Playlists/Charlie/char.010430collyer2.html

*Still not feeling all that great but getting plenty of rest*

May I have a backlog exemption please?

There certainly are some colorful people in the world. Sort of makes you appreciate your boring neighbors and relatives.

Good boy, Zeppo. Here's a Milk Bone. Reminds me of the old fireman's carry you had to learn in Red Cross Lifesaving classes?

I am officially jealous of my daughter's room. They had a killer sale at IKEA, and after all her hard work yesterday, we got rid of a lot of things, and now she has a loft bed, with a upholstered bench under it. It's the room every kid should have, I tell you. I really think IKEA should be paying me to be a walking advert of their products.

Well, the dog is not making me angry yet, even if it does apparently like to sleep on my bed.

Z, I remember being told that it takes a 100mls of air to kill a cat and pure nicotine (can't remember the pharmaceutical name ) for the perfect murder. Our Professor of Surgery (Harold Ellis) would often open a lecture with stuff like that. He is also a medical historian of no little repute, but has now retired from surgery.

Grey and damp again, which feels sooooo much colder than 2.2ºC. Was it Sol saying that cold and damp is colder than cold and dry? It really gets into your bones. BTW Sol, if you get withdrawal symptoms for Moscow, earthcam.com have camera in Red Square.

The sitting room is a mess, going back to the tidyness topic. The stuff arrived from aria.com and there are boxes and PC bits over the floor and coffee table, as No1 son is upgrading his PC now. My new box came and inadvertently I seem to have chosen the one that is the top buy in one of the PC mags, it is bright blue and matches my car . You have to hand it to Aria, the stuff was ordered on Saturday and was delivered yesterday.

Z, I remember being told that it takes a 100mls of air to kill a cat and pure nicotine (can't remember the pharmaceutical name ) for the perfect murder. Our Professor of Surgery (Harold Ellis) would often open a lecture with stuff like that. He is also a medical historian of no little repute, but has now retired from surgery.

Grey and damp again, which feels sooooo much colder than 2.2ºC. Was it Sol saying that cold and damp is colder than cold and dry? It really gets into your bones. BTW Sol, if you get withdrawal symptoms for Moscow, earthcam.com have camera in Red Square.

The sitting room is a mess, going back to the tidyness topic. The stuff arrived from aria.com and there are boxes and PC bits over the floor and coffee table, as No1 son is upgrading his PC now. My new box came and inadvertently I seem to have chosen the one that is the top buy in one of the PC mags, it is bright blue and matches my car . You have to hand it to Aria, the stuff was ordered on Saturday and was delivered yesterday.

My apologies if you get this rambling twice.

Harold Ellis?! The Harold Ellis? He has written some lovely stuff on the history of surgery, from the digging up of the corpse times to the present. Terrific writer, and yes, I remember each chapter starts with some fascinating factoid...

I'm jealous. Also off to bed. Currently re-reading (besides all the stuff on John XXII and the Spiritual Franciscans, mind you) Pride and Prejudice. I'd forgotten what a lively writer Jane Austen was.

Jane Austin - lovely. Though I prefer Trollop, because his plots include subjects other than social manners and love.

I am finally a bit bored. I am not a natuaral relaxer at the best of times, and I am finding agendaless days a bit of a strain.

Stepson is smoking about 35 cigarettes a day, and despite Z wisely pointing out that it is none of my business if he smokes, I find that degree of self-indulgence repellant.

However, I have put a patch on, and am once more determined to stop, which means that the poor bugger has to go outside to smoke from now on. Also, his father will be paying him money directly instead of via me, and once that starts happening I will be happy to fund patches and gum and things, but not cigarettes. I think we are in for an interesting few months.

I am a habitual smoker, and so I hate stopping when I am around smokers.

Hey ho.

Ben

Well I have just done the back log, and its time to go to work again

Yesterday took an hour to get in as the locks had frozen!

Cheers for the advice on the Cheeseplant, looks like I shall have to move it, and re think a plant in the hall. I'm not sure there is enough light for anything then

We have clutter, but no-one has got lost in yet

How about silk flowers?

Good ones are expensive, but I have had a couple of peonies in a tall vase for almost two years and they still look great.

All plants need natural light, though I guess you could get a natural light bulb. You can get them in craft shops. But I'd go for silk flowers, myself.

Ben

Prof Ellis' lectures were the best, MR, he drew brilliant cartoons to illustrate procedures and symptoms, but if you were late, he picked on the latecomer through out the lecture. Needless to say, I used to make sure I was ~never~ late. He also made sure that the student got to have a good look at any operations he was performing in theatres, as we often got pushed out of the way by the medical students.

Who remembers the days of free plastic flowers with washing powder? I think this created a fear of fake flowers in me for years! I still don't have any in the house, but that is largely because if I don't manage to kill off housplants in weeks, they survive for years. In fact one saintpaulia was given to me by a patient going home 30 years ago! But I have been admiring the extrordinarily realistic ones that Lakeland Limited stock, amazing.

[Amy]

Z have they told you about the treatment for the bends? They stick you back under pressure and make you breathe oxygen for several hours (with controlled air breaks so the oxygen doesn't kill you). The chambers are usually small things so not good if you're claustrophobic! (they also use them for carbon monoxide poisoning I found out when I had to spend some time in one a couple of years back).
Good luck in stopping smoking Ben.

[Z] I didn't know about the treatment of the bends... It was only mentioned in passing in text book I'm using.

Ben, you have every right to stop him smoking in your flat, especially if you are trying to have given up.

just had a rather dramatic moment, A pirced a bottle of lemonade (dont' ask) with a knife, and the thing exploded spraying lemonade across the living room and kitchen. Very exciting. Or not

*hands Z a J-Cloth*

I have just updated my original User page ( U145850 ) to show all the entries I have written, and discard the ones which are either UnderGuide business pages or which I didn't have much to do with.

I hadn't realised just how much I had contributed here.

My feet are frozen, and I am going to make some sausage casserole, I think.

Ben

That should be: U148580



B