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

It's all extremely confusing, and I'm not doing anything to clarify matters. I speak of the Halloween game we're playing, of anagramming our names. Great fun for those of us with more than 5 letters in our handles! Great befuddlement for passers-by! But that's what donning disguises is all about at this time of year.

Welcome. I'm actually Asteroid Lil, not whatever combination is currently gracing my preferences, and this is the Atelier. If you've arrived for the first time, do please take a moment to review our personal space at A304354 , for a few basic guidelines and a link to an offsite place where there's a floor plan and more backstory.

There were thing to celebrate in the thread just past. It was the Autumnal Equinox, and sea reappeared to inform us that she is engaged! Ongoing congratulations, sea. Hope your bright future takes your mind off all those stairs.

There were quizzes, as usual. We had a pirate name quiz, a silly name game (I'm Zippy Bananasniffer), a netiquette quiz, and one titled What Greek God are you? Most of us are Morpheus, it seems. This elicited from d'Elaphant the best quote of the thread:

What good is a meaningless test if it isn't accurate?


The Netiquette Committee spontaneously re-formed again, during this thread, as we discovered (or re-experienced) what it's like to be trolled, how frustrating it is to deal with name-calling, and mourned the dearth of ethics among the certain of the younger researchers. Although the Italics suggested that we drop the issue -- it was no longer getting us anywhere -- I like to think that those salonistas who felt impelled to participate in the discussions acquitted themselves well. Except Mina She had been waiting a long time to express herself.

The most puzzling post, an award I might just institute if I remember to take notes, was from Egon, who said: You think calling the one whose name we cannot mention _____ will work. Is _____ really a better name than the one whose name we cannot mention? Are _____ and the one whose name we cannot mention, both _____? Or indeed the one whose name we cannot mention?



And then there was the Single Sign On Experience. Somehow, Jim Lynn poured too much tea into the Infinite Improbability Drive, and surreal, existential uncertainty was the result. Were we logged in? Were we not logged in? Did we exist? Were we penguins on a beach?

Thanks, perhaps to our community participation in all that head-banging in the region of the Community Artist pages, several researchers were stimulated to look us up here at the atelier. I don't know -- it's ineffable -- how many researchers habitually lurk here, but we are happy to welcome OETZI, Egon, Rho and Austin Morris to the terrors of salon backlog. Mina is now with us in non-Italic format, which must be much more relaxing and easier on the back. None of that sloping.

There was an examination of hootoo registration dates in which we discovered that the Atelier will be 4 on 29 March, 2004. This will be quite the party! Wolfgang will cater.

Other events and topics of note (this list is incomplete, due to time constraints and server misbehavior):

Lil was visited by the ghost of a cat
The latest Neal Stephenson book, Quicksilver, becomes available
Bradford Broccoli
shoes!
wasp stings
gall bladders (MR came through successfully)
mrs. life is like a cup of coffee will be having a little coffee life
the idea of artwork for the atelier was discussed
another virus outbreak
telemarketing
linux
Marv Goes to a Wedding (and so do Bryce and Zomnker)
Lil sells a framed print
Hypatia's lawn mower becomes en flambeau
Travelling Wilburys
Martial Arts
Wang Chung

And there it is, a story of conversations past. On with the new! Perhaps in the next thread we'll incorporate a new game.

[BB] checking in

Oh and {BL} for good measure

[Egon} doesn't beat either permutation of Bald Bloke...

*Matina brings Bald Bloke an irish coffee in an FTTF mug*

BB, is this your first mug?

Not quite Lil
*Thanks Matina for the coffee*
I did sneek in just before T once before, but I think getting the posts from both current varients may be a first.

*Candi tries to shuffle in unobtrusively, trips over own feet and lands on floor*

er...hello all

*Gets a fresh cup of during the thread shift.*

I've just gotten the strangest phone call. It was a recording:

"This is not a sales call. You are very important to us. We will be with you shortly."

And it repeated over and over. I let it go for about a minute out of curiosity. Then I hung up. The Caller ID was odd, too. It was area code 765 followed by seven zeroes.

Hiya, Candi! How are you and what have you been up to?

darn. so close so close so close

[]

Hi WM - I'm fine thanks, no major news really, just popped in to say hello after a long break from h2g2. Probably won't be able to post often but I'll be around, lurking!

If I think of anything exciting to tell you, I will, but for now I'd rather fade into the background if that's alright

*gets up and finds an out of the way place to sit*

Was that Candi I saw before she faded?

*sits on the wing of Caer's armchair in order to get a good view of proceedings*

Nothing new to report here. Still being bored at home, and still reading quicksilver. I stopped reading it for a few days, and am nearly done with it, but I am insanely curious what the next volume will bring.

*waves to Candi, nearly knocks the off*

Oops, you all right, Amy?

The temperature is dipping fast this evening, I've had to turn the heating up.

I've just been watching an interesting programme about the Last Day of Pompeii. It has been on my list of places to visit for years and as another eruption of that magnitude is due, I'm undecided if I should go sooner or later.

Evening all,
Gosh, these threads do move fast!
A.M.

Welcome to the Atelier Backlog (tm).

Lil, I've just got home, and have checked my university E Mail address, and still only had two e mails about the medical school orcestra, (A wants to join despite being a classics student because it's called the Aeschlepius Orcestra)

I've just got back from my first night on the fund raising job, and really enjoyed it, I raised erm a four figure sum, which I was quite pleased, with. I was ringing graduates from the 1940s and didn't have one negative response, even those that couldn't donate were very aplogetic about it all.

Hypathia, i'm glad you're not resigning, having that attiutute towards annoying people is always useful - it makes you stick at it. When I was made to have a year out of med school, because of my operation people kept telling I could sue them and a in the same situation who was sacked for the same reason got a lot but I didn't because I wanted a career not a large sum of money. (and I'm raising money for these people?)

Ookay, well I probably don't know anything anyway anyway what with being young and idealistic.

Our Kiwanis Club has an annual "Books For Babies" project (free books for poor kids). We've found that an effective way to get books donated is to write publishers and chain book stores and ask them nicely. Is this an option open to you, Hypatia?

fg, the kitchen was too small anyway. No stress.

Hey, Candi! haven't seen you in this part of the world for some time.

sea beats me in rent only because I lucked out and live in graduate housing. Else I'd be paying 1750 a month for a very, very small two bedroom. As it is, I pay more than I should.

Courtesy, I will see you Friday night, and every Friday night for the foreseeable future, you can see me at the pub. I took the night shift, so come on up and bring that brother of yours!

Off to get the kid, take the kid to a friend's, go to class, come home, pick up kid, write two reviews, read a book, and perhaps get some sleep.....

Why, oh, why, did I ever think I would enjoy grad school? What sort of twisted, sick masochist am I?!?!