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

Sally, Tim, Dai, Ian, Andy, and Jon: I am posting to Sally's space because that is the common denominator for all of us except for Andy.

Today, a post was pulled from one of our threads. You will know if it was your post, because the Mod will have sent you an email saying so and explaining the reason it was pulled. It wasn't me.

I would like to know if it was one of us so that we can know the reason. Also if it wasn't one of us, then it would be comforting to know that the Mod is keeping an eye on things.

I have read the h2g2 rules and they seem very reasonable and clear. Since many of us have experienced difficulties with the moderation on the ctmb and have thus escaped here, I am wondering if the rest of you can take a look at the h2g2 rules so that we do not run afoul of the powers that be here in our hitherto secure and Mod-free haven.

We will be getting around to having discussions on goals and so on as soon as everyone is up to speed and feels there is enough of us to make good decisions. Meanwhile, nothing stopping the newcomers from starting threads. Hugs from Ani.

Hi Ani,

I still don't know whose post it was, but it looks like it was a reply to Ian's about getting paranoid about the CMB mods

Sally

It wasn't me, sausage, all though as you say I do get frustrated at the regularity and pedantry of pulled threads (ooer)

BTW it's me, Andy - AKA; AMR/McLeanReid/Andy_hyphen.

I've had soooo many problems on the BBC boards that I now have three alias' to choose from. Sorry for any confusion.

I think I managed to add Sally and you to my friends, not too sure though.

Good to see farmer Jon here, now we can both be the new kid in class together.

Pax my friend

Andy

Yes Andy McLean-Reid, you have indeed added Sally and myself to your list of friends. Ani.

OK thanks........what happens now?

I missed most of the Parade today, after work 'she who must be obeyed' had hijacked the interweb to get on the gardening board.
After my brother's wedding this weekend (ooh got my kilt OK) I should be getting a new laptop next week. Then I can set up a wireless network and we can both post when we like

You shone today ani, it's so good to have you back after your absence.

BTW is Eliezer a lad or a lass/ I am confused by the female name yet everyone refers to 'him'.

Andy

Dear Andy. I am so happy you like Pascal, Schrodinger, and Heisenberg. They have me in gales of laughter too. Thank you for welcoming me back. I am not sure about Eliezer's gender. Perhaps of the womanly persuasion: is 'Elaine' equivalent to 'Eliezer'? I struggle to ask. Rijker has been up to his nonsense on the jtmb and, last time I looked, folk were pretty cranky. Ani.

HI Ani

<<'Elaine' equivalent to 'Eliezer'>>

I don't think so, Eliezer is another shortening of Elizabeth as far as I know, like Liz, Beth, Betty, Lizzie, Lilibet etc. Not sure if the name is irony given the criticism of our own monarch posted today, but I understand ED is American so surely that option is ruled out.

Now I've wandered firmly into the land of stereotype I feel uncomfortable posting about someone who can't answer back so moving on..........

Rjiker - what's all that about then? He was upsetting the Muslim Board a few weeks earlier - I think we are the only ones to have not risen to the bait.

Tell me about Heisenberg, new to me but I am quite the teutoniphile having lived/worked in Germany.

Andy

None of my posts got pulled with a reason but I have seen one or two vanish. There was mention of server problems yesterday and i lost all access from 4pm until I went home.

Rjiker, sounds like Reicher, just another poster who makes me glad I have a preview button.

Is it me but do The Questioner & Stephen make you want to bring back smiteing? My initial responses are usually 'arrrrrgh, your wrong, your wrong, your wrong, just liiisten!!!!!!!!'

Before headbutting the desk and composing something a little more sane.

Hey Jon

My posts are always being pulled, once had a message pulled for describing The former Bishop of Durham as 'mad as a wet hen' but in an affectionate way, stating that CofE bishops should all be academically brilliant yet eccentric in a uniquely British way. I only felt emboldened to make this comment because I have met him several times and he was my father's ex-boss.

Defamation of character I suppose.

I have a bit of a soft spot for our Mr Buckley. I think that when you have posted on the CTMB for a few months you get to recognise the cyclical nature of things. He is certainly ardent in his beliefs and I think he does himself more discredit than I coud ever achieve so I tend not to get angered. Lynne/SweetCaroline/CracklinRose gently reprimanded me yesterday and reminded me that we should feel sympathy for Stephen as he is locked in the grip of a cult, he needs help and support rather than judgement, she is of course right but I take your point that he can be infuriating.

I often imagine what posters would look like in real life, I shall spare you my vision of SB, but I am sure I would be consistently wrong if I were ever to meet any posters (not that I could as it is distinctly frowned on in virtual circles, I believe).

What do you think of this site? A bit intimidating to navigate at first but I think I'm getting the hang of it, pretty good really

Pax my friend

Andy

Well, Dai has explained that his post was pulled because he asked them to.

Smiting - sounds like fun, but it might get a bit messy. Trouble is, there are an endless supply of 'smiteables'. You're obviously more determined than me. I tend to just skim their posts without reading them, on the grounds that argument is pretty pointless anyway.

Besides, they're still not nearly as annoying as the guy who was resident rabid Christian when I first joined !

Sally

Andy and Jon and the rest of you. I defended our good monarch Lizzie! Only saying that there are all too many things I think she would rather have behind her and that therefore she was altogether too au courant to be our Left Behind Queen.

I don't think I have ever missed a Christmas address. She's been an excellent monarch. I am afraid, however, that I will not say the same for many of her brood.

Andy, once you have caught up on the Left Behind Parade, do nominate someone anachronistic enough and enough of a throw-back to be our Left-Behind Queen.

Jon, yes, there are some posters who are upsetting. I keep a running list and ardently strive to 'not see' their posts.

1) I am aware of many who lurk and who then post months later having benefitted greatly from something we have discussed.

2) I am aware of the bonds of friendship which have developed over time.

3) I am aware that it is not me who convicts, but the Holy Spirit.

4) Stephen, is indeed a member of a cult. I myself at times have been less free than I would have liked and therefore understand and sympathize. I will not coddle Stephen. But will continue to hold out an expectation that he can and should ask Jesus to deliver him from bondage.

5) There are others who are just plain hateful. I have no idea why they have come to the Christian Board and, on occasion, wonder about demonic influences. I try my best to ignore them. Once in a while, they step on some doctrine of particular value to me and I step off my horse with both guns blazing (and both eyebrows twitching).

6) Chatting on h2g2 will give us an opportunity to toss around some ideas in a safe forum and, from time to time, strategize; perhaps even divide out some posts. This would certainly serve to 'balance' out the ctmb. Lately, there have been some excellent threads.

7) Do you have any goals? ideas?

8) One goal has come up for me. I would like to see one thread per week explaining and discussing an aspect of Catholic teaching. It has certainly distressed me in the past to see so many misconceptions about my faith. Having said that I am thoroughly fed up with the usual subjects which all seem to fall under one heading: sexual practices. Oh, and the Spanish Inquisition. And from time to time the Concordat. I am also thinking through priorities in the area of Catholic teaching because I definitely think there are basics (and advanced subjects which are based on basics). I would also like to present this information in the spirit of ecumenism and healing. Jon, you are Catholic, what do you think of this idea?

9) I would love to see something similar to (8) for the Church of England, but am not qualified myself. There are also the Churches in Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (I have no idea what the Church of Wales is, for instance).

10) I am posting something about the four waves of charismatics today. I would love to see something regular on charismatic practice. This brings the U.S. heavily into the discussion, but also the rest of the world. It is also intrinsically ecumenical.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Ani,

Catholic? - I'm sorry but I live in Northern Ireland and am a member of the presbyterian church, (not Paisley's Free P's I should add) shall I get my coat?

However my best friend is catholic and to be honest (so far) denomination has never been an issue during our study together. I would find the subject extremely interesting, if only to educate me and counter the preconceptions that fly about.



To be honest one of my 'goals' as a christian is to help people of differing denominations understand the ties that bind them are so much stronger than the differences.

I'm Welsh as well, so the usual cultural pressures don't apply (my wife is from over here and ten years of nagging paid off)

From my time as a chorister (I would like to say in a previous life) I can say that the Church of England & Wales are pretty much identical, Rowan Williams 'promotion' being a case in point.

Andy. Heisenberg:

Werner Heisenberg, born in Bavaria in 1901, founded quantum mechanics and, in particular, the Uncertainty Principle, to wit: 'The more precisely the position is determined, the less precisely the momentum is known.'

In spite of having written a ground-breaking dissertation on hydrodynamics, he received a C on his doctorate by virtue of the fact that he had not a clue about astronomy, nor about operating a light interferometer, these two deficiencies having come to light in his oral.

Some time later (having amended his deficiencies), he published a paper advancing the quantum theory of Bohr to a new level which used matrices (a branch of mathematics) and which accounted for electron spin and the Pauli Exclusion Principle.

Einstein didn’t like Heisenberg’s approach as the following excerpt (Heisenberg, ‘Physics and Beyond’) of a conversation demonstrates:

Heisenberg: We cannot observe electron orbits inside the atom…Now, since a good theory must be based on directly observable magnitudes, I thought it more fitting to restrict myself to these, treating them, as it were, as representatives of the electron orbits.

Einstein: But you don’t seriously believe that none but observable magnitudes must go into a physical theory?

Heisenberg: Isn’t that precisely what you have done with relativity?

Einstein: Possibly I did use this kind of reasoning but it is nonsense all the same….In reality the very opposite happens. It is the theory which decides what we can observe.

(This conversation illuminates the running dispute between observational and theoretical physicists.)

Initially, Einstein distrusted uncertainty, saying ‘God does not play dice with the universe’ but, by the mid 1930s, he had reversed his position. Schrödinger advanced the study of uncertainty by using wave theory, a much simpler approach than matrices.

Jon.

Re <> Sorry, my mistake. My folk (way back) are from the South: Dublin and County Clare. Having been mentored by a very decent and wise woman of the Blake/Kelly/Joyce family, the desire to move on has become deeply ingrained in me.

Re <> We are reading from the same page then.

Hi Ani

I know what you mean about Windsor - The Next Generation.

My anachronistic Left Behind Queen, I honestly am struggling. I had issues with Doubting Thomas ages ago, so eager to see offense where none was intended (or visible), Hugh had the same experiences, but she seems to have returned whence she came - I shall ponder and try to find someone I dislike but frankly I fear I am too saintly and humble to think of anyone

I do quite like your idea to add some structure and theme to the CTMB. Is there a danger that this would be preceived as 'trying to take over'? I would hate to marginalise anyone or give the impression of a them and us arena. Maybe I am worrying untowardly, however this would be a good place to get our act together without restriction before posting.

I mostly post off the top of my head, the exception being when I query my 'virtual' KJV in response to a reference. I don't have an agenda as such, maybe I should, not sure. I enjoy the fellowship that the CTMB offers.

Church of Ireland is the CofE in Ireland, or Irish Episcopal Church. The Church of Scotland is the state church of Scotland (not Anglican), the CofE in Caledonia is The Scottish Episcopal Church. Never heard of the Church of Wales but we could have fun with spellings

I think it important that if we are going to set an agenda for the CTMB we try to aim to provide a medium that as many as possible can contribute to. Maybe I'll have a think and we can agree some common guidelines.



Andy

Hhhmmm. I think 'agenda' is not exactly what I was proposing. I have no fears whatsoever about being perceived as 'taking over' because I am not; nor would the other posters let me.

I am suggesting that some actual information be posted once in a while. This would be to balance what is already there.

And I am not requiring that we all do the same thing over here at h2g2. Just wanting to know what people are interested in; what use we can put our little h2g2 haven to. (I love dangling participles)

Thanks for that info on the churches. I think people on the ctmb would be very grateful to know what the churches on your island(s) are all about. Somebody else (was it Jon) said that the Church of Wales is basically the C of E in Wales. The Church of Scotland, now: what is that?

I think guidelines are best left until after we have brought our wish list to light. The guidelines arise out of the wishlist.

I also think it is very important that we not turn our haven exclusively to the ends of work. I am sure people will want to continue coming here just to relax away from the all-seeing eye of the ctmb mod. Certainly, when Tim gets back from renovating the Institute with Dai et al, he will want to hone his Mornington Crescent skills.

I guess 'balance' would be what I would wish for.

Notwithstanding my comments above, please do have a think and let us know what you come up with. All the best, Ani.

Our anachronistic Left Behind Queen need not be a denizen of the ctmb. In fact, for many reasons, it is perhaps preferable that she not be. And I don't think we should discriminate as to gender either.

I am thinking I might nominate Garth the Stultifier. Ani.

Well, I typed Eliezer into google and looked at the first few entries (Yes, I know, it's sad - anything to put off weeding the garden)

Judging from the rather fine collection of beards thus displayed, I would hazard a guess that Eliezer is, in fact, a male name

Sally

Hello Ani Free at last, free at last!

Thanks for the navigation advice - no stopping me now wus. Both French and Welsh "pont" are derived from the latin "pontis".

Mam’s Welsh Cakes are renowned throughout the hills and valleys in fact anywhere there is serious drinking and fighting to be done.
BUT Mam says Wild horses couldn't drag the recipe for her Welsh Cakes out of her. Me and the lads were thinking of herding up some ex pit-ponies to give it a go but we aren't that keen on hospital food.

There's nothing virtual about Delwyn. He's built like a brick sh... outhouse. It's one of God's small mercies that I don't have a twin in any shape or manner especially one shaped like Delwyn or with his mannerisms.

All the best for now

Dai

Bulletin Bulletin! Extreme weather warning. Dai is loose.