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

The Mug for Post 4242 has been awarded to Toccata, and, at long last, we all stand at the threshold of a new conversation.

But first, if you are joining us for the very first time, welcome, do come in! Have a good look at the top part of the home page for this forum -- the bottom part is a not-very-updated list of salonistas -- to get a feel for where you are, and also have a look at http://www.asterlil.com/h2g2/aplannew.htm , cos we have recently redecorated. Matina, the bot in the kitchen, will fetch practically any refreshment you wish. Practically. We do have standards.


Well, it was because of the war. I was angry about it and decided not to start a new conversation until it was over. And then, when it was more or less over, and in some ways you could say it isn't, Marv said, hey, why don't we push on to post 4242. It wasn't so bad, although the proscription of the most dominant subject in everyone's minds made part of the experience somewhat surreal. I think that was the word that was used.

I mentioned that we redecorated. That's why you'll see a bunch of concurrent threads in this place; to date we have a wood workshop and a tech lab, with a planet-building workshop still behind lock and key and a fishery waiting for B4 to attend to it. The tanks have been sitting in the salon for over a week, so the environment must be stabilised by now. We all want tetras.

The Panto is in its final act, at the gingerbread house, and audience and cast alike are looking forward to the party and awards ceremony that will follow.

Affy has been kidnapped! Irv is leading the rescue. The backstory is in the first post at F25840?thread=280280 and the rescue actually commences here: F125481?thread=280450 .

Salonistas not seen in quite a while: Professor Tonks and eatsmice. Peripatetic Warrior Monk has just returned from the latest crusade and ox was just seen lurking around the barbeque food. Z is a new salonista, already welcomed and well-settled.

You can't possibly expect anyone to summarise 4500 posts! I won't. I'll just invite you all in and we'll move on.

Hello! everyone..

I'm here .

[{Courtesy}]

*the smell of a new conversation is like a spring day after a light rain *

rats! missed out on the mug again...

But it was worth it. Turns out that this program allows not only me, but my mom and dad, too, to jump on the college savings bandwagon just by signing up and using our debit/ credit cards (which you can either post online or, as I did, call an 800 # to give them to someone). It's awesome, and when there's a certain amount in there, they help you set up a 529 college account, which is tax deferred, and if used for education purposes, tax free.

And this is for things like going to the grocery store, which I do anyway, so why not?

It's just amazing how fast a new conversation can open.

*Matina brings Z a frothy chocolate milkshake in a FTTF mug*

Well done, Z wins in his maiden race!

Going back to the Simpsons Quiz, MR mentioned that at least she's not Krusty the Clown. No, but I am!

"You are Krusty the Clown!! Always cracking clever jokes and insulting others you love being the center of attention. Off the cameras however, you become a cynical, depressed, a******."

[Pattern-chaser]

I should have named Pattern-Chaser also as a new salonista. I apologise. Thread overload. I will see that you are formally named on the next thread.

Was there anyone else I forgot?

Arives just in time to find the mega-thread has ended (Woopie)

Scored 8 on the art quiz, which just shows my knowlege of art resulted in a score exactly equal to a random result

Toc
There are several online tests to see if your cable modem is working ok
http://www.vantage.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/v2/v2.htm
Seems to work well and it's results are often requested by blueyonders tech support, when reporting problems. It should also work on NTL.

At the moment hootoo servers seem very slow compared with the rest of the BBC site, so I assume theres something wrong at their end.

[BB]

Congrats, Z.

Ok, I know many of us are on diets, but I just found an amazing cheesecake recipe. It is called Peanut Butter-Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake. Check my journal in an hour or so for the recipe. I have lots of cheesecake recipes, and this one looks much more decadent than most. I'll make it and bring it to the library. That will let F and I have a slice, but not the whole thing. You should see my little old lady genealogy society volunteers tuck into cheesecake.

Do you think that it is murder if you defenestrate someone who has no value to soceity?

*slides into the new conversation, happy to be out of the back-log*



I know I missed I few LED's somewhere in the last one...

The lovely thing about a new thread is that there is no backlog!

My ADSL connection is so dire that I have had to pack up the ADSL modem and send it home to Mommy so it can have its nose wiped, its connections tested, and generally get its lights flashing again. I used a next day delivery service, but even so they still have to test the thing, and yadda yadda yadda.

The reason I am being so stingy with modem-time is that I have to pay for my Plain Old Telephone Service modem link by the minute; the ADSL link is a flat rate per month.

I have got myself a secretarial temp assignment, which feels like a mix of good news and bad news. It will obviously make a difference financially, but my non-negotiable out-goings are geared to a much higher income. I am really really reluctant to give up my medical insurance, for example, because you get massive no-claims discounts. If I give it up, when I take it up again it will be scarily more expensive. I could give up the ADSL of course... When I do that you will know that times are REALLY hard!

One thing about the temp assignment: I have found myself translating every single piece of expenditure into the hours and minutes it would take me to earn that amount of money. This is a fabulous way of focussing the mind on not spending!

Anyway, I am getting rather hungry, and need to go get some groceries. Did I tell you about the parking-problems with my neighbour? I have got the parking space at the moment, and now I have to decide between walking to Waitrose (expensive, good exercise, pleasant walk, keep the parking space) or driving to Kwick Save (cheap, no exercise, no walk, may lose the parking space...!)

I dislike how petty I have become about the bloody parking!

I won't be reading the backlog till the ADSL line is sorted, (or until they foolishly let me access the BBC websites at the place I am working), so I will drop in and let y'all know how I am doing every two or three or four days.

Take care, one and all

B

Wasn't the cat, Gussie, also from the previous thread?

Lady Augusta Tiptree. Noted.

And now I must go get some lunch. Got a client here in 2 hrs.

I go out to water the garden and plant up a tub of margerites and come in to find a shiny new thread!

Bursts in with a semi masticated sausage hanging from one hand and looks relieved to see that everyone is now here. Raises pint of Mr W*dworths XXXXXX to Toccata for being 4242. I managed a 10/16, but feel that the urinal should be art. Talking of art is cr*p do I recall an august UK institution forking out a ridiculous sum of money for a sealed tin allegedly containing the ordure d'artiste? Lil - your exploding world gourd sounds V Fab - post a phot of the finished beast and ensure that you claim intellectual copyright!

Hootoo splendid from where I sit. Connection, however, leaves much to be desired.

Congrats Toc and Z!

And re modern art. I have now seen three of Malievitch's Black Squares, which I gather are some thing special iin the Avant Guarde world. Certainly there was a delightfully long bit of fluff which accompanied the last one. Which also had a room all to itself at the Hermetaj in Petersburg.

They are all black squares on a white background. The oldest has the black paint flaking off abit and some red showing through. Apparently it was supposed to do that. The youngest is the blackest. Apparently this is also of significcance. He also does black circles, crosses and I think I may have seen a triangle. *hugs herself with glee*

I confess my brother and I go round modern art galleries and make up stupid names for the pictures. Some of them are surprisingly close to the original. *hugs herself in more glee*

I did like that sleeping beauty pice with the woman ion the glass aquarium though. Don't ask me why.

OH! And I nearly forgot to say that I aced my Russian test today. Much to my teeacher's surprise I gather.