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

Entry: Isaac Asimov - A41936286
Author: h5ringer (Scout) - Every day is the start of a new error - U3386111

Another Flea Market rescue. Unbelievably, this Entry was started back in 2000. In May last year, the author Fragilis - U136122, announced they would be leaving h2g2 permanently

It is far too good a piece to leave gathering dust. I have tidied it up, polished it and brought it up to date. Hopefully as good as new.

Original entry: Isaac Asimov - A391763, has numerous conversations attached to it

for tomorrow

An excellent rescue, well done

Some words chill you to the bone, eg "Master tape erased" ~shudder~ thank goodness for books.

GB

Hi h5ringer this is a lovely, well presented and informative Entry you've got here.

A couple of things spotted so far are:

For those less aware of literary awards could you explain in a footnote what a Hugo award is please.

<> there’s a comma missing after the year.

'Some words chill you to the bone, eg "Master tape erased" ~shudder~ thank goodness for books'.

Reminds me of a cartoon I once saw of a spotty-faced 'yoof', wearing base-ball cap the wrong way round, seated, with a puzzled expression as he examined a rather large tome in his hands.

A voice aside says, 'It's called . It's like a CD only larger and heavier'.

Good point Opti. Footnotes added for Nebula and Hugo awards.

Fantastic, h5ringer.

I'm a big fan of the Foundation trilogy (though haven't yet read all the prequels and sequels), and I'm starting to get into the Robot series.

This Entry is of a length where the Eds might want to split it into two. Maybe it's worth preparing for that eventuality?

I'm glad you mentioned that. Didn't he call the last one 'the fifth instalment in the increasingly inaccurate Hitchhiker trilogy'

Icy

Good read, h5rbinger.

Two remarks:

1) There's a typo in the section on "Asimov and Women" - "Gertrude smoked, which bothered Asimov immensely, *nnd* she consistently..."

2) In the section on his academic career, maybe the thiotimoline spoof deserves a mention? (A footnote would seem fitting... )

Best of with the entry!

Nice save

>>He was president to the American Humanist Association for a decade before his death.<<

It is of note that after he died, Kurt Vonnegut, who was also a member began Asimov's eulogy with "Isaac is in heaven now" and this brought down the house.

Good spot Otus I'll have a look at the thiotimoline spoof thingy later

Excellent quote paily. I've added it as a footnote

Kurt Vonnegut = A3724823 - although I would place that footnote as a blockquote as the final senence of "Religion, Ethnicity, and Belief" section rather than footnote it (which the sub or Eds may remove)

I know what you're trying to say, but it sounds odd, put like this. The fictional Seldon never compared himself to Asimov.

Done Icy. These authors eh? What are they like?

Good stuff, Ringer!

I've added a paragraph on the Thiotimoline story

GB re post 11, I'm not clear why you think I should put the contents of the Kurt Vonnegut footnote at the end of the section. This would separate it from the context of the AHA. Also, why might the Eds remove it?

I think it's good enough to be in the text of the article, and I thought it belonged in that section rather than at the very end. I've known footnotes disappear, during final polish. I try to incorporate them myself when subbing but usually run the changes by the author; not all the subs contact the author so it's very much pot luck. At least in PR you have some control.

There's some technical reason why they're editing out footnotes. But I'm damned if I can remember what the thing is called, that's caused it. It's a hand-held device that people can access h2g2 on, well all fine and dandy but the contraption doesn't display footnotes. Logic would dictate *make* the thing do it, but no, out go the footnotes. But not everyone got told so the info is only slowly seeping through. I will probably wake up in the morning remembering the name of the "new technology" (I'm glad I'm a technophobe sometimes)

Yes, it's a phone. If you look at h2g2 on the phone interface, the footnotes aren't put at the bottom, they're stuck right into the text at the point you put them. But we haven't been asked to reduce the number of footnotes, just to keep them reasonable.

The other things that phones do is not display links except for the ones in the right margin, so you have to make sure the sentences make sense if the links are removed, and that the links make sense with the sentences removed.

Ok I've moved that footnote into the main text.

Here I sit in front of a 20" monitor with 1280x1024 resolution and yet I'm being told that we have to do this in order to satisfy the needs of a minority of users with a phone/PDA with a 3" 256x320 resolution display. So who's problem is this? Fix the phone/PDA problem or live with it I say, but stop telling the rest of us that we can't do something because it doesn't suit you.