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

Had a read of that thread

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Soup is the very best because you can experiment so much with flavours. Eg I adore a deep rich fish soup.

But then a cold soup is great in the heat of summer. Myself and girlfriend had a wonderful one in Madrid when we visited the Prado quite a few years ago.

The soup was lovely..but I had to fiddle around withe flavours a bit...and it is essential the kohlrabi main flesh is added right at the very end. It has a brilliantly crunchy texture..but is quickly going soft and has a lovely mild flavour.

But the stock made from the peel and leaves is hearty.

Shall defo do this soup again.

This post has been removed.

Doesn't it annoy you when the thread title is changed - why do it?

Promoting h2g2 has been, in my case, not bad experiences. Mostly non-commital but a couple of hopefuls.

I've been away for a week or so - missed the appropriate place for this... Anyway, I'll present a piece prepared previously for a specific purpose that may or may not come to anything.
It's intended for reading out loud, so ignore the grammar etc.

quote:
- - - - - - - -

The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy


From time to time I'll be reading bits and pieces that I've written for the website that I use... that website is h2g2 - get your pencil and paper, I'll repeat that in a minute.

If any of you have read The Hitchiker's Guide To The Galaxy you will recognise the reference. If you haven't read it, borrow a copy. It's a trilogy in five parts. Yes, you heard.

Now, the author, Douglas Adams, in his youth, hitch-hiked all over Europe. He made notes about places he saw, passed through or spent time in. One morning he woke up in a field, with a rather unfriendly hangover and … this idea...

A little later, some of his friends gathered around and started a website. It's a Guide. It is not – repeat, Not - an encyclopaedia, though it is learnéd in places - if you look.

It started out as somewhere its members would write about their villages, towns, counties, countries and anything else they were interested in – pubs worth visiting, the best coffee houses, cafés... and so on.

A few years on, it became apparent that the original idea of constantly updating it wasn't going to work – there was just Too Much Of It, so the character of the place (the website) gradually evolved. Nowadays you can find articles dating back as far as 1999. There are conversations too and not necessarily about those articles. Not many of 'em are, actually...

The heart and mind of the place is the Edited or Approved Guide where members (called researchers) write articles (entries) on what interests them – places, books, anything under the sun and beyond.
If and when you write an entry for the guide, if you're not too sure about your writing skills you can submit it to a writing workshop where skilled people (and others) will provide help and guidance with knocking it into shape. Once you're confident, you submit it to Peer Review, where people like you will discuss it, make suggestions and help you to correct any mistakes. After a suitable gestation period it will be accepted for the guide and sent to a sub-editor, then an editor and then, and then, mentioned on the Front Page and put in the Guide.
There are currently something over 10,000 of these Approved Entries in the guide – and goodness knows how many that aren't formally approved - so you're not likely to run out of reading for a while.
One further point: If you do have an entry approved (there's no compulsion) You will hold the copyright. Note though, that the website owners (Not Panicking Ltd) also hold copyright to your work – they did enable you, eh?

We also have quite a few forums (or should that be fora? Nah. Forums). Among them are Miscellaneous Chat, devoted to just that and Ask h2g2 where you can ask a question about anything you like and have a good chance that someone will know a bit more about it than you. There is also a, er, Ess eX forum, that's SeX, short for Science eXplained where you can ask about things you're unsure about, from Astronomy to Zoology. There are some clever people there and if none in that field of science, chances are you'll be told “sorry, don't know - but from what I've read...” or somesuch.

Originally it was just this idea, see? The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To Life, The Universe and Everything.

Now, it's just this actuality, see? The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To Life, The Universe and Everything.

Have you got your pencil and paper? C'mon, hurry up!

Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy – H H G G, two h's, two g's.
h2g2. That's little h, number 2. little g, number 2. Dot Com. Put it into your browser's address bar – or do a search.

It is a place whose raison d'etre is, quite simply, Literacy.
Yes, that's the thing – Literacy. Mind you, there are times when you can be forgiven for thinking otherwise... but then, it's peopled by, er, people, after all.

It is not a fanclub. I'll say that again: It Is NOT A Fanclub.
Naturally, from time to time there are comments, quotations, obscure references but just ignore 'em and carry on... there aren't too many.

Visit. Explore. You can read as much as you like, go where you like, when you like. Wonder at the erudition, at the silliness, at the repartee. Read as much as you like.

Read what you like but if you actually want to say anything, you have to join (but that's mostly painless) and it doesn't cost anything (except mebbe yer sanity).

little h, number 2. little g, number 2. dot com.

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("Doesn't it annoy you when the thread title is changed - why do it?" Because it's automatic and hasn't been changed yet. )

Hey Rod, this is really pretty good! Wherever you share this I think it's a great idea. Maybe worth sharing with Happy Nerd who runs the Communications team?

Rod,

Thanks for posting that - it's lovely. I especially like this bit.

>>>Originally it was just this idea, see? The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To Life, The Universe and Everything.

Now, it's just this actuality, see? The Hitch-Hiker's Guide To Life, The Universe and Everything.<<<



(...and what Mr D said about the thread titles, it happens automatically due to the clunky nature of the limited tools the mods have at their disposal. It's yet another instance of the gaffa tape that is presently holding us together. Please don't pull or push too hard in case we disintegrate even more, as I am not sure how much tape we have left in the stock room.)

Well said Rod, an absolutely timely reminder of what h2g2 is all about!

I joined because of all of the above...

Merry Christmas

Ah, that's a relief

Thanks Rosie, Lanza... Tav, it's in HN's messages.


If anything comes of it I'll report back, probably in

Rod