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

Hee hee! You don't want to know what I think about Microsoft...

All the proper names in this region (Southwestern Bell, Southwestern Exhibition and Livestock Show, etc.) use the word without a hyphen. I think it's safe to say that if it's a proper name, no hyphen. If it's a location (like south-west of Fort Worth) then hyphenate.

Oh, cool - my favorite bars:

Downtown: The Flying Saucer - "The Best Beer and the Wurst Food" Carries hundreds of beers from all over the globe, some on tap, some in bottles. Frequent visitors are advised to join the UFO club. After a member of the UFO club has sampled every beer that the Saucer has to offer, a gold plate with the member's name is hung on the wall.

Cultural District: Ye Olde Bull & Bush - Small cozy British pub atmosphere. There are no televisions or barstools - just a jukebox and darts in the back. It's a great place to have a conversation over a beer. Run by an ex-bush pilot from England named Nick; if it's a slow night, he might regale you with stories of Africa.

South-west (!) of downtown: J&J's Blues Bar - THE blues venue for Fort Worth and Dallas. They claim to be the hottest blues bar in Texas, and in times past have featured Albert King, James Cotton and other blues legends. (see website: http://64.26.45.20/jjbluesbar/curcal/nov-2000.html)

There's lots more in Fort Worth, of course, but these are my three favorite. I spend the most time at the Bull & Bush, because it's only a block away from my house!

Excellent work. Must be time for a beer

I've spoken with others about the grammar checker in Microsoft, and they told me that they turn that function off - it tends to put commas and hyphens in weird places.

For ex: the first line of the Ft. Worth piece has a comma after Fort Worth. This just looks weird (and wrong!) to me. With the colon in place, breaking up the first part of the sentence with a comma is unnecessary.

Your pieces always look grammatically correct to me - do you use the Microsoft grammar checker on a regular basis?

Lentilla

Oh no!

I notice that the article contains the words "Messrs Armour and Swift." Armour and Swift are company names, not proper nouns. I would recommend the removal of 'Messrs.' - I have no information on whether these individuals interacted on a personal level or not.

Lentilla

Lentilla, I don't use the grammar checker. I do use the spell check feature in Outlook Express* Mine is set to New Zealand English (similar, but not the same, as British English). For example, in your yarn it wanted to turn Center into Centre. h2g2 style allows American English when dealing with proper nouns so I didn't change it. I did change other American spellings.

I can't alter the sentence you refer to as I have sent the article back to h2g2 Towers. The yarn will be checked for accuracy, grammar and spelling by the paid staff before it is posted on the front page. They also add links to related articles on h2g2 that the author and sub have overlooked. Hopefully they will lasso the rogue comma and submit it to the unkindest cut of all - deletion.

*I use Outlook Express like a mini word processor. Programmes like "Word" add hidden commands that the h2g2 parsers interpret and display in weird ways.

Loony

Simulpost

Lentilla, to have h2g2 make changes to the article you can post comments in the yarn's forum. They will be read by the editors before the piece appears on the front page - or (wearing your Scout hat) you could contact Anna direct.

Gracias!