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

Ah shame there aren't any birds to see apart from the lost pigeons.
It must be strange isolated like that in such a vast structure but am glad at least you can sleep

Indeed the lack of birds, or any wildlife really does make you feel isolated. But on the bright side, sometimes we get to see the tails of whales, and we always get to see beautiful sunsets and sunrises. After all, we are completely surrounded by the vast blue sea and the endless sky above.

Very beautiful when you stand up top, looking out at the sea and watch the sky flare up as the sun drowns into the ocean, only to be followed by a dark sky, lit up by stars =)

It's not really too bad out here, and yes I get to sleep. I work nightshifts, 7pm - 7am. Today after the shift, I had some food, went to bed at 8am and slept like a rock until 5:30pm. Then up, shower, eat, and back to work hehe =)

It sounds very tranquil sunsets and sunrises are best viewed along the horizon of the ocean
I think whales have a mystical quality to them.I can see why you like itAlthough I envy your sleep*sighs*
What is the food like?I think I would really miss cooking for myself
What is the time difference between Norway and Scotland I wonder,are you asleep or working right now...

Norway is on CET, meaning GMT+1, so I'm an hour ahead of you. Though, since the platforms are so far west of Norway, I think in reality I should only be 1/2 hour ahead of you =)

I work from 7pm - 7am, that's 6pm - 6am GMT, nightshift! Right now I'm working. Or rather, I'm at work, tho not working too much. Not much to do at work during nighttime, so its more or less a Standy-by thing the entire shift. Only have an inspection round to do and fill the tank on the generator, which I do twice each night. So its calm, nice and quiet =)

Food is ace! Today I had a wonderful steak, with potatoes, broccoli and a very tasty sauce. Also we had red wine along with the steak, though non-alcoholic of course. No booze out on the platforms!

I like to cook as well, but the food is made by great chefs, so no reasons to complain. And there is usually 2-3 different menu's to choose from. Fish, steaks, lasagne, hotdogs etc. They always make sure there are 3 different to pick from since people have different taste. The sidedish you choose yourself, just like a banquet. And you can go for seconds, or try other meals as well!

One of the best ways to sleep well, is in the arms of someone. Perhaps thats what you need to get some relaxed sleep? I fall asleep anywhere though, even if there are foghorns or people cutting metals and such. The noise is annoying, but I fall asleep anyways after grumbling once, and sleep great afterwards =)

Oh, my mistake. Do you mean one of those big things w/the drills and pumps that are, like usually moored out in the middle of the ocean?
I don't know much about things like that as a landlubber, so I was probably technically incorrect numerous times.
-Thorn

To better illustrate where I work, here are some pictures from the place.

http://home.c2i.net/svvikse/ekofisk_en_side.htm

And even more pictures...

http://home.online.nleirhaug/bilder.htm

Enjoy =)

Thankyou for the pictures ,now I have a clearer idea of where you are.There certainly is a lot of ocean
It has been a lovely sunny day here quite warm,my friends came for lunch and then I did a bit of catching up with my family usual Sunday.
Actually slept a little longer last night

How do you get the internet way out there? is it via satellite? , there must be some really good ing too.

We get the internet via cables and via satellite. There are pipelines stretching from the North Sea platforms all the way to Teesside in England where we send the oil, and to Embden in Germany where we send the gas.

We have broadband connections so the speed on uploads and downloads is amazing =)

As for fishing, yeah, you can get some monster fish out here, but I have yet to try it myself. Hardest part with the fishing is getting the fish up the 30-60 feet from sealevel and up to the platform deck =)

yes a really long fishing line and reel required there then lots of wild life under the sea I bet

Yeah some wildlife that we dont want as well. There was an incident a few years ago where a submarine had old maps, and actually hit the jacket (legs) of one of the platforms, and got stuck. That was a rather stressing situation hehe =)

Sub had no clue what it had hit, and people onboard the platform had no clue what had hit them... hehe.

Silly submarines. They really need to get windows or something dont you think?

No windows? Must be to save money. You'd think it would cost more if that made people hit rocks. Wondering about that. Hey does anybody know a good place where I could like find the full story about The Flying Dutchman? I know,- talking about s doesn't do much to help anyone's sleep . I am real big on supernatural&folklore/folktales & that sort of thing.

Submarines that could have been dangerous Whitemouse
Sorry thorn guy I can't help you with your ghost stories try a google search on the net for it

. thanks anyway though all the same.

Hey, so then how did they finally get the sub out of there?

It got out on its own after 25 minutes. The main problem for the sub was knowing what it was stuck in. They couldn't go forward, and they were jammed enough to be stuck even in reverse, but they eventually got it free by backing out at full speed for a long while.

that musta felt very . No giant squid though, like in Disney's 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea ?
yeah, I know,-(thanks a lot! Geez!).
I've heard that most squid are primarily very shy. Giant squid only live way down deep water anyway, and the only ones people have really much found documented, are dead bits of remains. Bits that were an inordinate # of feet long, but still just 'little' pieces of them.

Giant squids, of the ten-armed (tentacle) kind which I assume you mean, decompose fast when they brought out of the water. Their bodies are made of something-I-dont-know-what-is-called-in-english. Thus the reason why there are only bits left of them after a short while. And yes, they live very deep, so not easy to study nor capture.

Giant ten armed squids am sure I have seen a really bad black and white B-movie about a giant squid
How is Norway today?