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

wow!
they broke up on June 23rd and have around 6 weeks

usually it's mid-july to the beginnng of September, but the different regions of Germany stagger the school holidays so 60 million families aren't all on the Autobahn at the same time.

Really? Just think of the huge party and BBQ you could have, ... Zillions of cars that can't get anywhere.

Ummmm, as an aside, from the beginning of your journal. My -worth is to see your family doctor or OB-GYN. At only 32 years old, milady began some of the most horrific mood swings, and after about 4 months of it, I had to give her an ultimatum. Doctor, or I move into barracks until she found out the "why". Apparently, her mother's family has a predisposition to very young 'changes', though she proved to be about the youngest in several generations.

well.... I need to go to the OB/GYN but .... ewww I hate that. And I need to find a new one, the last one, last year, found a lump, I had a week of panic before the specialist said he had no idea what she was on about and a medical student shouldn't have made that mistake


maybe my he is fab. And the bonus is he's so fat he never tells people to lose weight

Actually, it was her family who diagnosed. But with everything seeming far too young, she referred my missus to the other, for a 2nd opinion. The treatment proved quite simple, ... the mildest form of a contraceptive pill available. Just enough to stabilize the confused hormones. In any case, it IS just a notion, and I do wish you success in finding an answer soon.

Away from the more 'public' thread/journal ... You know, I quite like the idea of an international network of pen-pals. Of course, it is not the sort of thing for Natalie to publish broadly, because it becomes far too open to risks. How-ever, folks like yourself, and Wilma, and a dozen others that elude the memory at the moment ... That could prove to be a safe e-mail network for first ideas, that could then grow into a Teen-HooToo thingie!!!

I'm a member of a private forum which has been going about 6 years
we all met online (not on hootoo) and after realising we were all in the same threads, like broadly the same things and have broadly the same outlook on life, we started talking about meeting up

to keep that away from prying eyes, we opened a private invitation-only forum and are a sort of sewing-circle. Very good freinds, even though I've only met the european contingent. Most of us have met at least two of the others and we all mail and phone and write (snail)

something supervised like that would be good.

But let's start small. #1 is home from school now so I'll ask her if she wants a pen-pal in Canada.

Sounds good and simple enough. I do hope #1 had a fine day as well, without all the nail-nibbling that some folks may have had.

she says she'll write - like she's doing us all a big favour

and she had a good day at school but was mostly worried if the missed her, then excited about her mobile phone

she'll be fine
I was a nervous wreck when I noticed that the other "big" kids were back in the village... until I heard her key in the door

Well, perhaps you deserved a bit of the worries ... I mean really, giving a youth a brand new toy on a day that she couldn't really play with it.

I am pleased to hear that her day was a good one though.

she only got it when she came home... just for emergencies

Ah well, that's not so bad then. There was a time, the beginning of my 10th year, that I got a brand new slipstick. And all day long, not one need of it. I had to wait until I was home to manipulate it, to learn ... Oh alright, to PLAY !!!

Wot? No raised eyebrows about what a 'slipstick' might be, and why a lad would wish to play with it?

well... I was worried what the answer might be, to be honest

remember this is a family friendly site...

go ahead, explain away!!

Well ya see, I have been a for a lonnng time. So my very own slide-rule was a big moment !!! Remembering that digital watches and calculators were a very new concept, and horribly expensive.

I've still got mine...

Oh yeah, I still have mine and employ it a couple of times a year. Hust to remember how to.

In the earliest 80's, we found quite a number of quartz crystals at work, and one of the lads wanted to label them as to what operating frequencies they were intended for. Of course, being a young lad, he asked for aq calculator to work the formulae. I gave him my slipstick, and he just stared at it. I believe "How archaic" was the actual verbal response.

gawd, I can't remember how they work now - but of course, they were soooo accurate it was sometimes better than a calculator. Probably because you can actually see the result.

We had a chemistry teacher who would issue a challenge at the beginning of each year. He'd have some kid write a 6 or 7 step equation on the chalk-board, and then with his sliderule, compete with any one who had calculators to come up with the answer first, to atleast 4 digits accuracy.

He never lost in the 8 or 9 years I was aware of the challenges.

that's impressive.