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

Welcome to the Atelier on our fourth anniversary! If you haven't been here before, please take a moment to check out A304354 and follow the link to an area offsite which includes a floor plan and some more backstory. We are four years old! We have history.

Amy has done such a superb job of scribing Conversation 70X that I am reproducing her notes more or less verbatim! *Chloe steps forward to present a magnificent quill pen with ostrich plume of spun silver on a little gold plinth* You will remember of course that your hostess regally screwed up the numbering of conversations and jumped from 69X to 70X. By consensus, We are now proceeding in state to Conversation 6A, whence We shall make Our way through the rest of the hex numbers. At that point We will skip 70 and go on to 71. We shall very likely need reminding.

Here are Amy's recollections of our most recent conversation:


The weather has been variable with sun in Surrey and snow in New Mexico and Estonia. Lil provided stunning photos of her share of the snow. Easter/Passover presented its usual challenges to the dieters amongst us. The situation was not helped by Hati's trip to Belgium. Matina made us some delicious hot cross buns. Good Friday had the usual effect of galvanising the Northern Hemisphere gardeners into action.

The first barbeques of the year were had and, of course, it was Tax Season again for many Salonistas.

Traveller in Time joined us, as did winstonz but he was probably just passing through. Sadly, Ivan retreated in the face of the backlog, but BryceColluphid popped in and Gw7en returned, much to everyone's relief and joy. Tamberlaine flitted through at the start of what appears to be a world tour.

Ben, A (offstage presence) and dave had birthdays. Among other personal events, Marv and GDZ had interviews and subsequently started new jobs. Kelli is changing jobs soon. Z had important exams and we wish him luck for the results. After his examinations, he went to the Outer Hebrides to do some doctoring there and is having a good time.Marv went camping, as did GDZ. There were no serious injuries. Affy played jazz. MR got another tattoo.

On a more serious note, Ben, GDZ and MR faced some tricky decisions in the last thread and have challenging times ahead. We wish them well. Kelli is making progress with her wedding plans and, on the subject of marriages, MR is attending a wedding soon and shared with us her posh yellow dress, which turned out in the end to be a posh blue dress -- but both were very pretty. Still on the wedding theme, Ben's ex married a horse.

In other news, Caer searched for grey army socks without success and Ben built some websites (with great success) for us to test. Hati got a new Scottish terrier puppy called Frida but Hypatia's cat Chico is unwell. B4 made a glowing delivery to our landlords, CLI, and then informed us that he had nuked some fish at work and that someone dropped a flashlight in his reactor. We all still seem to be here but Salonistas are reminded that the advisory on lead-lined underwear is still in force. Fortunately, the Superheroes test proved that most of us are well provided for in that respect. The prevailing opinion is that ltp's sink is a greater danger than anything B4 has to offer and against that, there is no known defence.

These events were followed by a brief discussion of life expectancy. Goodness knows what brought that on. Apart from the Superheroes quiz we were also given links to dancing robots, a 'Which Nigerian Scammer Are You?' quiz and a website on folding a t-shirt origami style. The 'Which OS Are You?' quiz made another appearance and we were treated to a stress test, which was, by popular aclaim, 100% accurate. The new word of the thread was 'bluesnarfing' and we learned new meanings for the terms 'not mud' and 'not oregano.' Anyone not familiar with these terms should take steps to bring themselves up to speed immediately because they have entered into Lore.

We made a lovely collection of spam headings, described by Ben as being by a 'lexicographer on acid'. They are on display in the library.

We were blessed with some seriously meaty conversation topics in the last thread. The report of a road traffic accident led to an examination of tracking devices, speeding, personal liberties, privacy, ID cards and freedom of information.

The results of a survey about the level of knowledge about history among folk in the UK led to a vibrant debate about teaching and learning. We covered metacognitive issues including learning preferences, we shared our personal experiences of learning and considered the meaningfulness or otherwise of grades and assessments.

We looked at the tricky contemporary issues of (non)attendance at class and plagiarism. The pros and cons of selective schooling, single sex schooling and graduate entry into nursing were also discussed and information was exchanged about the length of degree courses in various parts of the world. On the medical front, we learned about the time it takes for french babies to gestate and raised the matter of the reliability doctors' diagnoses. We shared some medical horror stories.

Technical topics included gmail and email clients. We went on a trip to a museum for old Walkmans and listed the old electronic stuff still in our possession. Several Salonistas expressed an interest in horology. The relationship between tintypes and photography was investigated and this led to some enlightenment about excitation in a chemical sense. Digital photography and photoCDs were also covered. On the subject of photographs, Sporky showed us some of his wonderful work and Lil exhibited some of her RL artwork. This prompted Salonistas to share their assessments of their own art skills. We learned that art now threatens the fabric of society in the US but this doesn't seem to be our fault.

We had a lengthy discussion about the history of drug abuse especially in a spiritual, religious context.Other topics discussed were:
Ren & Stimpy
Films of books - Ringworld, Discworld.
News of Farscape mini-series
Schools and their effects on property prices
Theta rhythms
Public speaking
Training others to do the washing up and other household chores to your own satisfaction.
Poodles
SUVs
Cyclists
Aquariums... er... aquaria... um... fish tanks
Media streaming

We look forward to a report on Z's Baileys and Balti diet. If it works, it'll be bigger than Atkins.



And now, for this new thread...

*from the salon, though the library, down the hall and past the atrium, bots have erected banks of huge screens that replay highlight events of the past four years. The screens are banked with bouquets and pots of flowers and greenery*

*The exhibition area has been filled with round tables draped in white damask linen, each with a centerpiece of red and white roses. The china plates are ivory and feature in their center the entwined logos of the atelier and its landlord, an Art Nouveau 'A' with the letters 'CLI' forming the crossbar of the A*

*the tables are heavy with silver and crystal glassware, and at each place there is a present wrapped in holographic paper with a gold bow*

*Along one side a bar has been set up, and Eleven presides here. He directs a fleet of waitbots, all in white tie and tails. There is much activity at the SWIFT (SideWays LIFT), where chafing dishes are being carried to the bank of tables across from the bar*

*A bot stands by with a camera, waiting to record the gorgeous fashions in which salonistas, it is expected, will appear*

Let the banquet begin!

*enters, tiptoeing carefully in her dress made of living plants*

Shhh...
It's impressive!

*pipped at the post*

Nice dress Hati.

*throws in another calling card*

[spk]

(ltp)thought id amble over early

Oh, I haven't described mine

As you can see, I have discarded the combat suit for a full length black strappy column dress over which I'm wearing a short black and red devoreé velvet jacket.

The black high heels are bit of a killer, but I can still dance in them, just.

*Matina sets a First-to-the-Forum cup at Hati's place*

*Lil emerges from her apartments and rustles in to the exhibition area in a corseted gown of Edwardian design, in ecru silk and white lace, with 18-button gloves. Her hair is done up in a Mary Pickford style, and her jewelry consists of simple diamond drop earrings and a brooch with the combined atelier and CLI logos worked in precious stones*

Eleven, may I have some champagne, please?

::tiptoes in and quietly settles in a chair, lazily scratching her newly acquired mosquito bites::

*Enters wearing hostess pajamas in a coral and cream colored vertically striped top with solid coral bottoms.*

*Takes a from a passing tray and reminisces over the events displayed on the screen.*

Ah, those were the days.

*dave walks in, wearing a slightly small tuxedo, a bowler, and carrying a black walking stick*

Herr hum. I hope I'm not too late. I do so love a banquet

*enters quietly, wearing her wedding attire as a test run*

Oh, this is lovely! And look at the roses!

Ah, off to grade. My favorite thing to do, don't you know.

*Puts a link in her pocket to give to ltp when her arrives.*

http://www.amm.co.uk/pubs/fa_glanfever.htm

Glandular fever and infectious mononucleosis are one and the same, and it looks like that is what my daughter has. She turned up this morning with two other symptons that fit the disease. Blood work has been done and the doctor's diagnosis should be confirmed by the end of the week. Thank goodness he prescribed steroids to help combat the swelling of her throat and tongue.

So many wonderful and bizarre things have happened here. And to think we started out as a two-room walkup!

dave, you look mahhhhhhvelous. We can all mill about and drink until Wolfgang arrives, I suppose. Hati, how do you sit down in that?

"her" should be "he"

*enters, looking sleekly groomed for once. Wearing ankle length pink dress, slit to just above knee height on either side and covered with appliqued flowers in a different shade of pink, each attached to the dress only by the centre. A gauzy wrap nonchalantly draped around my shoulders - and strappy pink sandals with not a single millimetre of hard skin on my feet*

Oooooh - yes please!

*wanders off to admire the other Salonistas*

[Egon]

*mustering every scrap of style she can Amy steps forward in her gym kit to receive the plume*

I think I'd better go and change. Excuse me.

*heads off to a guest room*

*Ben arrives with a voluptuous and slightly tipsy bottle-blonde who is wearing a long green dress which clings where it ought and shows more than it ought. My Lady Greensleeves looks like a wobbly and over-bespangled mermaid*

*Ben, on the other hand, is wearing a pair of dark purple silk pyjamas, which she erroneously imagines shows off nothing at all*

*The kareoke-mermaid smells slightly of gin, but Ben smells of clean hair and soap*

for the FTTF mug.
I love mugs, I collect them, especially IRL.

As about sitting in this dress - barstools are the best, the dress is wide enough.

<Marv pops out of the salon and into his apartment, he reappears in coat and tails with black bug eyed sunglasses and his hair is spiked up in a fauxhawk of sorts. He ambles over to matina and whispers a drink order, when presented with what appears to be a full pint glass of beer (only filled halfway) and a shotglass, he lights the contents of the shot on fire and the drops it into the beer. He then pounds the concoction and then asks for a G&T with a beer backup>

Guess I better get mentally ready for the affair. Shall we discuss adventures past, or favourite moments? My first postings to the Salon were about some of the gargantuan hardware I have seen in jobs past.

I also am personally celebrating not only the 4th anniversary of the Atelier, but my 5th anniversary of researchership as well as my employment.