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

Hello, everyone. Long time, no see!

[RNick - Secretary/Treasurer, resting up for Royal Canadian Legion Week]

'ello Mala

Good morning.

Hello, old and new

This very moment I am quite worried, watching the news. A right wing neo-nazi group held an unathorized demonstration (is that the right word?) in Gothenburg this weekend.
It's a failure of our legislation - you're not allowed to hold demonstrations unless you have a permit from the police. But police are also NOT allowed to break up an unauthorized demonstration unless there is violence, risk for traffic disruptions or other issues.
Somehow, the police don't see this demonstration as a threat to jews and other minorities. "They have not reach the level of threat" to be stopped and forbidden to march. And march they did. Shields with the Thor rune, black clothing, straight lines and rythmic marching.
But not bad *enough*.
They self-confess to be nazis. They want to kill other people, jews especially. They should not be allowed to march, they should be stopped!
I am so sad about this.

That sounds troubling (about the protest) I hope nobody was harmed!

Popped in to see who (if anyone) has seen the "me too" thing that has been going around on facebook for the last couple of days.

It's an invitation for anyone who has been victim of sexual harassment or assault to speak out and post "me too" to help show how widespread the issue is.

I personally posted it because I have been 'cat-called' and wolf whistled at, but nothing more.

I think it's an interesting and powerful idea.

Mini

I've seen it, and added my one. Haven't shared what happened on fb, but it's been various things.
From getting the bathroom door at school unlocked and pulled open from the outside, to a man pleasuring himself in his car (with the door open so I could see well) when I was biking past, to being assaulted in a close relationship, my hair being fiddled with by a customer when I was a consultant. Off the top of my head. And yeah, honked and called just the other week, walking to the bus stop at night. And also, having sex when I wasn't really in the mood, but couldn't make myself say stop.

I'm just an ex-military guy, recounts of occasions don't count. I was told this by higher authorities.

Quoting myself from fb:
"If you don't *feel* you have been harassed you should not join the #MeToo thingy, right?
I have been approached a number of times by men who felt attracted to me. And one even touched me (but I just experienced that as his - albeit clumsy - way of testing if I was susceptible to being seduced into a homosexual relationship).
I guess most of my male acquaintances would have felt it as harassment. I know of one particular who - when hearing about this - said he would have given those guys knuckle sandwiches or worse. But why shouldn't gays have the same right as straights of approaching potential partners?
I just refused the offerings and that was it. No big deal."

Yep. I had a similar experience when I was a young man. I was a bit shocked, but I apologized and explained that "we weren't on the same team" as it were, and that was that.

This was in an era of prevalent "gay bashing". Many of the young men I grew up with would definitely have gotten violent in the same situation. Kids from suburban high schools made a game out of riding into "The Montrose" area of Houston to make sport of beating up gay men, or at least they bragged about doing so. And a few notable cases that can best be described as lynchings proved that some did more than brag. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Paul_Broussard



I won't be using the hashtag myself as I don't feel it applies to me, but I stand with those that do.

Of course we stand with those that do

Our exiciting update- which many of you will have seen on facebookk. Is that Ben and I are now the proud owners of a lighthouse keepers cottage. It's in the far north of scotland, and we can't move there yet. So we're busy trying to work out how to run a holiday let business.

It's strange, we met here at Lils. So as well as an h2g2 baby, we now have a h2g2 lighthouse.

Does the cottage include a functioning ? Or enough of shambles to build up for a tourist "look-out"? Even the latter would be so

Yay – lighthouse! How many times have people mentioned The Lighthouse Family song 'I Wanna Marry A Lighthouse Keeper' and 'Fraggle Rock' (sadly most of the UK's 'Fraggle Rock' was destroyed when TVS lost their broadcast license), as well as 'The Horror of Fang Rock'?

Is the cottage located adjacent to the , or a short walk away?

<BB<

I saw the pics when you were checking it out. It looked quite cozy.

Morning all, so, er, I organised a proper 10km timed race this weekend just gone!

Runners had RFID chips and everything.

Learned a few things, such as the need for better marking (three people took wrong turns) with a different colour spray chalk on the way back, and marking out the mile/kilometre points, and having a few more marshals. But considering 101 runners set off, only having 3 take wrong turns isn't too shabby.

It was great fun, and I'll definitely be doing it again next year!

Yay for and yay for (with small percentage of )

Wrong turns can be part of the fun - last year's Santa Run round Winchester had in all directions
I hope they weren't serious runners desperate for a PB…?

<BB<

The cottage is very very very close to a working lighthouse. It's probably about 50m away from the lighthouse, and is in the same courtyard.

We're going to be setting up a holiday cottage business, because we can't move their, and we can't afford to just spend that amount of money on our own holiday cottage.

Ben has made us a website

http://www.lightkeeperscottage.co.uk/