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

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A572294

A companion piece to an already recommended entry on the covered bridges of Perry County, this one is finally ready for prime time.

Submitted for your review.

Cheers!

- Jimi X

Jimi --

What on earth are you going to do when you run out of things to write about Pennsylvania? Pick up your family and move to a new state for fresh material?

Anyways, this is another good one, although it seems to have a few grammar hangups (examples follow).

1) "So rural is Perry County that it only received its first McDonalds franchise in the 1990s along with its first traffic signal."

Would be grammatically correct as "So rural is Perry County that it only received its first McDonald's franchise in the 1990s, along with its first traffic signal."

However, would be considerably easier to read as "Perry County is so rural that it did not receive its first traffic signal until the 1990s, about the same time the first McDonald's franchise moved in." OR "Perry County is so rural that it was not until the 1990s that it received its first traffic signal and McDonald's franchise."

2) "However the county is home to a dozen or so covered bridges which ae still open to traffic more than 100 years after their construction."

This may just be me, but I remember learning that you needed to have a comma preceding the which in this formation. Without the comma, "that" would be more grammatically correct than "which".

"However, the county is home to a dozen or so covered bridges that are still open to traffic more than 100 years after their construction."

Just my 2 cents....


Mikey

*pockets the 2 cents*

Woohoo! I'm getting paid to write for h2g2!!

*wonders when my name goes all itallics*

Good points all.

* Don't know why I went with that odd structure in #1 and I think I like the fourth option best - it's the most conversational.

* And as for commas. We don't need no stinking commas. I use 'which' a lot in the bureaucratic writing I'm forced to use at work and it sometimes slips into other stuff. I prefer 'that' and will make the change.

And as for moving my family - we've been living in this state since the 1770s. I don't reckon I'll run out of stuff anytime soon.

Perry County is a wonderful patch of 'wilderness' within a short drive of major cities. There's a real sense of unspoiled nature there and it's nice to drive out there and take a walk in the woods and forget about everything else for a while.

I started this entry first but got side-tracked on the whole covered bridges thing for a while. I'm just glad I got it done before wandering off in some new and unusual direction...

Thanks for the feedback!

- X

Another winner, Jimi.

Let's not leave Pennsylvania without an Entry on Johnstown. How about padding out my rather minimalist description of Pittsburgh (before someone else does).



JTG

I could do a whole University project on the Great Flood. Not to mention that the Johnstown Chiefs were the basis for the Charlestown Chiefs in that classic hockey film 'Slapshot' starring Paul Newman.

Hmm - sounds like I've got the material, now to find the time...

Hi Jimi,

So, I went to the Italics and said "what this Guide needs is more entries about Pa." I actually meant my father, but they seemed to think I was keen on the state. Anyway, they said, "What about this piece from Jimi"? And I said "That? Okay, it'll have to do." So before I knew it your article was, like, approved, and you *know* what happens from there...

So, like, well done, man!


GVI

Personally, I think your dear old dad is a natural for a Guide Entry - what with leaping tall buildings with a single bound and being faster than a speeding bullet...

However, if neglecting his inclusion into the guide for a few more weeks will get one on my entries in, so be it!

Thanks GVI!

Cheers!

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Congratulations!