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

The temperatures here are still pretty nearly perfect. I can't imagine what has gotten into Mother Nature. Normally she hates this part of the world.

Kelli, Ag, mini and any others suffering from insomnia...

Don't worry, She sent blustery winds and spotting rain my way when I was cycling back to work.

Oh dear, kelli.
The problems of explaining the concept of valid scientific evidence to to those who believe everything they read - I think I'd have to use the word numpty too.

Reminds me of the time someone questioned the use of electric toothbrushes - because her hairdresser said they were bad for your teeth

Afternoon all!

*admires purple tent*

I spent most of ban collie day riding my motorbike through the lashing wind and rain in order to get the ferry home from Bonnie Scotland. I've just finished writing up my notes, which amounts to 5 A4 pages, so I'll give you just the edited highlights:

I managed to pick my bike up unaided! OK, damn silly of me to drop it in the first place, but hey! Look at me!

Lots of big beautiful mountains and never ending lochs, and platefuls of seafood.

Kelli, my sympathies. Sleep deprivation is torture, but you will get through it What's the link to this parenting website and I'll go rant for you while you catch 40 winks?

Oh, and if the whisky fairy is listening, my favourite is 18 year old Talisker. Thnx.

My dentist told me not to use an electric toothbrush because they're hard on tooth enamel. Or rather, my teeth's enamel. I have thin enamel (it's worn off in several places). According to him, I'm only supposed to use soft-bristled brushes, and use them *very gently*.

Not sure if this qualifies as numpty-ness or not.

I think the difference might be that *your* dentist recommended *you* not to use it, compared to someone taking a hairdresser's dental recommendation... nitpicking



*thinks about the 's rants in some places, and wonders if 's still means that a thing belongs to someone. I do know that it can otherwise be used as an abbreviation of is, was or has, and is not to be used to signify plural*

Ah... the apostrophe ... how long have you got?

These day's it seems to be used more to signify plural's than anything else. (Which i's fine by me - I am a linguistic voyeur, I just watch and ... well ... watch).

It is used less and less to denote possessive's, and I suspect thats because fewer and fewer (less and less?) people know what a possessive actually is, and those who do know what a possessive is tend to know that the rule's are tricky, so I suspect they bottle out and just avoid the issue altogether.

It does turn up in some entirely random place's though. My current favourite's are:

1'st choice
Madra's curry
Its'
and
HGV,s

In the last one it wasn,t even an apostrophe' but a comma.

I language.

My favourite so far?

"Bring you'r own wine."

Some of the really old electric toothbrushes _were_ aggressive. Nowadays, it's possible to get one with a built-in pressure sensor.

I recently saw a piece of research which showed that most damage was done to enamel if brushing was carried out too soon after eating acidic foods or drinking acidic drinks - or vomiting.
That makes sense. Anything with an acidic pH etches the enamel surface, undermining the edge of the enamel prisms.
Left to its own devices, this will remineralise, helped by saliva, but if attacked with a toothbrush, those tiny, wee, fragile bits of enamel are mechanically removed. Obviously, one such occasion isn't a bit deal - but do it twice a day for a few years and it's going to have a detrimental effect on the tooth surface.

Here endeth today's spiel

Getting annoyed at misuse of apostrophes?

Not me - I'm far too busy shouting at people on the radio who get less and fewer confused

The most surreal moment of my weekend was on Sunday morning, in a bunkhouse on a remote part of Skye. Seated around the old collapsing miscellany of battered sofas and chairs were about a dozen rufty tufty bikers, nursing hangovers and discussing what needs to be organised for a major bike trip to Africa next January.

They all became aware of a faint buzzing noise, and turned round to see another biker wandering around the lounge with an electric toothbrush in his mouth.

No words were spoken.

That wa's a lovely little discursion, Ben

Greetings from Amsterdam. Need to do and think - but right now I am very, very tired all of a sudden. Do I do a quick nap or try to settle at least one burning issue first?

Hmmm....

I like my electric toothbrush. I like my mod cons in general. It's great to be living now as opposed to 100 years ago.

Those of you who receive a visit from the whisky fairy...ask her if she has a cousin who delivers gin.

I do think putting out the fire first might be a safer course of action, Santra

ok

Roget is at the farm. Amos took him down there after the garden got trampled.


Newer salonistas: Yup, there's a farm down the road from us. Amos Digby is the manager. We see him when he brings the coach or the haywagon up to give rides. The coach and wagon are pulled by two lovely Clydesdale horses named Bonnie and Clyde.


And thanks for your concern, everyone. I'm feeling much better today, legwise.

Kelli, you have my sympathy for the sleeplessness. A dear friend of mine had a baby who seemed to be colicky for three months straight after she was born. I still remember visiting the night that Claire stopped crying; it was magic.

[z]

Great that you're feeling better, Lil.

Doggone it, my computer goes belly-up for ONE day, and look what you lot have been up to! Just once (more), I'd like to make the first LED...

*s back to read the b-log*