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

Hi everyone.

Despite the best efforts of Qantas, I've made it home. Hurrah for that. Living out of a suitcase, even in one's mother's house and the houses of friends, gets a bit draining after a while.

Have I missed anything important?

I'll turn the highlights of the trip into journal entries over the next few days. Right now I'll just say that today's flights were nightmares, with the first being delayed and the second aborted during take-off. But a spare plane was found and I got here, and so did my luggage, so I shouldn't really ask for more.

Now, I'm off to assess the scale of the backlog, answer a few threads, and collapse with exhaustion. Before that, though, I need some Red.

Ivan.

Good to have you back!

<>

You mean besides me?


Nice to have you home, honey!

az

Welcome back, you've missed loads, just think of all the backlog you're gonna have to wade through

Glad to have you back safe and sound. Looking forward to reading all about it in your journal.

Welcome home!

Oh I have missed you!

yay Ivans back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hope it was a good trip

whooot i will drink some on that

Well, there was a fireman conga line coming through every hour on the hour last Tuesday...but apart from that, you didn't miss too much

Glad you're back, kid, I hope your holiday was relaxing and enjoyable

I missed you too Ivan Love Pinky xxx

Yay! Ivan is back

IVAN! Glad you're back.

It's nice to know I was missed...

I was going to start journalising the trip tonight, but my brain is still addled by returning to w*rk. Maybe tomorrow. There will eventually be a piece about wineries in the Barossa and another about wineries in McLaren Vale, and a long piece about Kangaroo Island (where they have some wineries), and a piece about Adelaide (which has many good pubs which serve wine), and maybe a piece about the time I spent with my family (drinking wine). There might even be a piece about a very untidy wine-fuelled evening...

Not that I spent the entire time drinking. I went to some bookshops as well. Oh, and a wedding.

Right now, though, I fancy a drink. Anyone for ? The cellar's open.

(Lady P - A question for you, while I'm thinking of it. I saw a cafe with a sign advertising kosher coffee. What makes coffee kosher - or non-kosher, for that matter?)

A piece of paper.

There is nothing about coffee per se that can be kosher or not-kosher, so basically it's just a matter of whether the Rabbinate was payed to produce a certificate saying it's kosher, or not...
Of course, the _place_ might be kosher, if it keeps kashrut, i.e. not mixing meat and dairy etc.

In that case, I'm assuming the Rabbinate approved the coffee beans. The establishment itself also offered sandwiches containing beef, cheese and tomato, so the place itself isn't especially... Oh well. Not that it matters to me; apart from being atheist, I don't drink coffee.

Thanks for the explanation. I was baffled... I knew there were ways of rendering wine kosher, but I couldn't see how coffee would be affected.

When it comes to wine, the requirement is basically that it will not be touched by a non-Jew at any point. Even if it's in a bottle at a store. Dates back to the time of wine offerings to the (foreign) gods and all that, which of course makes it absolutely ridiculous nowadays. But hey, who's looking for sense in religion?

You're right, there's no point in looking for sense in any of this. Especially not the bit about foreign gods. I thought one of the points of monotheism was that other gods don't exist, so it would be logically impossible for wine to be offered to one...

But then again - here's one of my favourite lines from 'The Lion in Winter': 'In a world where carpenters get resurrected, anything is possible'.