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

Probably just passing through on the way to an earthquake somewhere.

Sounds like a percolator to me Cap'n. The water boils, goes up the pipe and back down throught basket full of coffee as opposed to just dropping through it once (as per coffee machines) or stewing in it and being strained or trapped out of the way.

I love coffee but it makes me a bit queasy. Something to do with the caffeine I think. Caffeinated soft drinks seem to do the same, and too much tea though a couple of cups without too much milk seems to be OK if I'm really in the mood.

Anyway, how did we get down here? We were meant to be spiralling from the north pole! Anyway, while we're here, should be head for NZ and see if we can help?

that's up to the captain to decide. But we should probably stay away from Somalia. Those blokes there are giving pirates a bad name.

did you catch this? http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12557011

Have pirates ever had a *good* name outside of a Gilbert and Sullivan performance?

@robyn: close, but not quite right. the water boils, the steam rises up through the coffee and only after that up through the pipe into the upper half of the thingamagic

if caffeine makes you queasy it is no wonder that you have problems with tea as well. teine (or whatever it is called in english) is closely related to caffeine i believe

let's spiral up north from here, wouldn't that be the easiest way?

As long as we reach the temperate latitudes as Spring is busting out all over.

Ah, steam, bubbling boiling water, same diff

Pirates apparently are not popular unless they have attractive corseted ladies with them with gold earrings and big hair (a la geena davis in some awful barely remembered early nineties action flick)... They should be rough and ready anti-heroes with a soft side and a heart of gold. Preferably with a manly swagger but no scurvy.

Yes, tea contains basically the same stuff but it also has tannins which I think alleviate the symptoms a bit. I adore coffee but have never been able to drink a lot of it. 'll have to make do with coffee cake

Pirates like Edward Teech or Anne Bonny are remembered fondly, but this is mainly due to the haze of history. If we knew what they were really like we might not like them as much.

It's an ill wind that doesn't blow some good, Shagbark. At a time when most of the governance models were monarchical or dictatorial, pirates *elected* their captains.

ooooooooooh, i remember geena davis all right what a fine female pirate she was

i believe i have democratically elected my crew, paulh, isn't that good enough for you

()

I'd vote for Pierce anytime

That's a good point, Pierce, but the fact is that you still *have* a crew, whereas a lot of Hootoo's other clubs have gone silent as people abandoned them. You are obviously doing a lot of things right, chief among them being the sort of captain who doesn't abandon his ship.

the Brotherhood isn't dead. It's resting under the snooker table with a damp cloth on it's forehead telling everyone the beer must have been off last night, it had nothing to do with the bottle of wine consumed after 3am...

then there is the
I am a member of the Central US Researchers Group A595163
Most of its members have elvised and gthe leader Broelin doesn't take the time to update the membership list.
I can't remember when someone other than her or I posted to that site.

Could the missing researchers be caucusing with Wisconsin's Senate Democrats?

I read that as Senile Democrats.

no ever lived long enough to turn bad on this ship

here comes the weekend

no did either. However the pirates are another matter