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

Welcome to the Atelier! Have you never been here before? Then odds are that you're over 16 years of age. And we hope you enjoy good conversation, earnest discussion and like to play at roles, because that all abounds here. Do please look over our forum page at A304354: this will make the experience so much more coherent!

Your hostess apologizes for a protracted and involuntary absence brought about by a moribund DSL connection and a name so common that duplicates abound even in sparsely populated areas. The techies kept trying to fix the wrong account, dang it.

A group of hard-working salonistas have picked up the job of scribing sections of the last conversation and conveying their notes to me. I want to thank David B, space cadette, GDZ, Teuchter and Ben for their assistance, and Chloe has been deep in the Rif of the linen closet finding the appropriate gifts for all of you. A simple quill pen seemed to be inadequate to the job, this time, and so, for each of you, we have a tee shirt -- long sleeves for the coming season -- in bright goo. It says on the front, "I MULTI-SCRIBED 93X". And then we also happily present you with this magic box of chocolates. Never goes empty. Likewise with this bottle of 2007 Beaujolais, which I personally find to be a very good year. Special thanks to Ben for her last-minute contribution in the post-2000 posts!


Welcome to minichessemouse, lostmonalisa, goodearthguide and Happy Nerd! You have so far surfed the backlog successfully and contributed interesting thoughts, and we are glad to have you here. And another welcome for The Mysterious Stranger, who remains behind the potted palm.

Special comment -- congratulations to GDZ on his approaching nuptials on May 16 2009!

And now for the reprise of events and ideas, beginning with notes from David B:



After admiring the scribing and the cleanliness of the cups, the Salonistas began to make themselves known, with Hypatia winning the first to the forum race. The arrivals included quite a number of faces not seen for a while.

Hypatia
Magwitch
Lil
ltp
FG
GDZ
Witty
Kerr
IrvWash
Marv
little miss nicky
Phil
j'au
WanderingAlbatross
Kelli
David B
spacecadette
Montana Redhead
tod
gw7en
Bald Bloke
Solnushka
egon
Lentilla
Titania
Amy Pawloski
B4
LibrarianPear
Bagpuss
Z
Rev Nick
Mr Dreadful
sporky
SGV
Mol
d'Elaphant

Bald Bloke somehow beat ltp to post 42. Shocking!

News included:

- little miss nicky becoming a qualified teacher
- Phil attending a music festival which made other Salonistas green with envy
- David B doing yet another show (will he ever stop?)
- the phone box outside tod's house said 'Kung Fu Panda' for far too long
- Ben's car being wrecked by people in a stolen vehicle
- Lil anticipating being overrun by tourists and other visitors
- MR suffering from inappropriate early morning leafblowers outside her window
- Kelli hearing her baby's heartbeat for the first time, but has a really rubbish day after that
- MR appears on TV, after a [tax] fraudster is finally caught.

Selected topics of conversation:

- who will turn up next?
- insanely alcoholic fruit
- the Nintendo Wii (which would continue to be mentioned on and off throughout the conversation)
- satnav systems
- how to resign
- various forms of vehicle-related crime and the ineffective means of punishment and insurance associated with them
- the weather (of course!) and unnatural disasters of the fire variety
- related to the above, means of dealing with impatient drivers
- ringtones, cellphones and iPhones


Now space cadette takes up the tale:

The salonistas talked about how people who look creepy can get into sensitive jobs; re: MR’s tax problem – an event which led to her true crime video debut. it was agreed MR looked very un-dorky! Beatrice was featured in The Post, writing about her trip to Cape Canaveral on a Harley, although she apologized for the photo, citing her unconventional socks.

News presenter styles were discussed, such as the differences between female newscasters on the US east and west coasts. Utah media was accused to hiring the unappealing, while AZ was declared to be getting their style sheets from CA. Some salonistas have given up on video news programs completely as a result.

Gardeners bemoaned the bane of their existence: too much of the wet stuff. They also discussed varieties of beans, and the impossibility of constraining cucumbers, as well as the joys and sorrows of overly prolific produce.

Many lovely recipe ideas for dressing the produce were drool-worthy, and many Greek and Indian dishes were described. This led to a discussion of all the various ethnic choices in food readily available. Various methods and names for beef cookery were brought up and compared. A long discussion of Vietnamese Pho noodle soup led to much longing for it. The taxonomy of edamame was brought up, with the mention of dry-roasted soynuts. Also, the relative merits of fish in general, and sushi in particular.

Various salonistas had news about family health problems, both Good and Bad, and discussed the impossibility of eating hospital food. Home cooking was declared very curative. LP did point out that mealtimes can also be looked forward to, in a day filled with less pleasant things. Hypatia pointed out the food her husband was fed in hospital was good, but inappropriate for diabetics.

Beatrice returned from the States with a tan , a stuffed Rodent and a Busch Gardens T-shirt, before trudging off to London on Business. Ben was unamused at being on the road too early to get to an assignment where she would be up too late. Many job woes were put forth, there were several job interviews and the terminology and method of demoting librarians was put forth. Magwitch went through some anxiety regarding her school assignment, but was saved by working for a school with large playing fields, and large classes.

Ben had a weekend fraught with tortoise, neighbor, and other types of untidiness – a new car helped, despite the price, as did some Perry. The escape skills of tortoises were marveled at, and her shelled ones managed to find their way to Blackpool, in the end.

Smart cars were debated, with some voting for the safety of a larger vehicle. SVG reported that the Smart car was rather fun, but it was odd being able to touch the rear window from the driver’s seat.

Sol was relieved when the Star was okayed by the health visitor, when his poo stopped glowing...and turned from green to yellow. Sol was later chastised when the Star resisted gaining weight, resulting in frequent feedings for Star and hunger for her. Salonistas rallied to the pair’s defense, against health worker pronouncements.

The rumored requirement of ‘not oregano’ for watching “The Mighty Boosh” was declared to be unnecessary for seeing the humor.

The explosion of Gw7en’s toilet led to comparisons to other misbehaving household fixtures, as well as misuse of others.

Sudden severe weather enlivened the Courthouse in Lincoln NM, and caused some flooding and calls from the National Weather Service for details.

The process of online banking was discussed, when MR ended up in a Catch-22 involving a non-existent paper bill, with other examples of online billing vagaries brought forth.

MS Word was mutually Frowned Upon, due to it’s uncooperative Styles and Formatting ‘feature’.



At this point GDZ takes over with his notes:


d'E provided us a link to Dr. Horrible.
Our conversation about cheese continued.
G7 discovered she had the highest grade in her Juvenile Delinquency class the prior term, thus providing her the necessary skills to be a juvenile delinquent.
space cadette went to the zoo and enjoyed seeing the last adult tiger there in a healthy state.
There was the inevitable discussion of weather.
Santra went to Germany.
Bagpuss wondered if s can write their own sick notes.
GDZ went camping and caught his first fish in years. Upon returning home he found he had been offered a new job.
Witty's daughter met Pierce Brosnan.
lmn was homeless for a bit.
Lentilla had a puppy at work. {This is ambiguous. -Ed. }
Irv and Witty purchased iPhones.
There was discussion as to wether or not the weather affects the kinds of foods we eat.
LP was told she doesn't need to see her cardiologist for another year.
MR was awoken at 4AM by a leafblower.
Magwitch announced her wedding.
Hot coffee or iced coffee?
Ben had problems with teens and her car.
Titania rejoined us at post 681.


Now we hear next from Teuchter, who picked up the baton for posts 721 through 1500:


This section began with an Ode to Pus, found by Titania

We had the usual wide-ranging and eclectic discussions including:

A long discussion on beer - the delicious and the disgusting and the origins of shandy.
The benefits of wine and problems with yeast
Thanksgiving food - which led on to poultry in general, eating animals one has known personally, vegetarianism and rabbits.
Public transport in LA.

It was good to hear from Kerr Avon, Bald Bloke and B4 - and a Mysterious Stranger caused a flutter of interest.

Titania found an amusing Evolution of Dance video and we marvelled at Christian the Reunited Lion, found by Ben. Ain't youtube marvellous.

We had some random singing of showtunes.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn died.
We enjoyed seeing pictures of Speak, Lentilla's newish dog.

As usual, Salonistas had a lot going on in their lives -
MR's loo suffered earthquake damage and she thought about some new ink - though these things were not connected in any way.
Bagpuss suffered moustache confusion - and started a new job. Again - no direct connection between these things
Magwitch's impending nuptials suffered disruption when her bridesmaid/photographer backed out - and her vacuum cleaner started smoking. Yet again, no direct connection.
Kelli's household became be'poxed.
Phil enjoyed the partial eclipse.
David was involved in West Side Story.
Ag looked forward to an end to studenting malarkey.
spacecadette was frustrated by job confusion - but this came good in the end.
Teuchter suffered ipod rage - and raved about the opening ceremony in Beijing.
Ben and Z visited and enjoyed the Isle of Man.
It was decided that MR's D is to spend the Fall with her grandparents, attending an excellent arts magnet school.
GDZ announced his wish to continue his studies with the ultimate aim of teaching history at high school.
Hyp and Syn went to St Louis for baseball and culture.
Lil survived a Pageant Weekend.
Mr D LARPed - and found work demanding and stressful.
d'Elaphant had care of four dogs, twice his usual allocation.
Gw7en anticipated her vacation in September.
egon enjoyed a free festival in Lincs.
Marv went to DEFCON in Las Vegas.
IrvWash wondered about jogging with a camel.


Discussion topics
The Weather
The tragedy of booklessness amongst the very young
Computer security breaches and the advisability - or not - of publicising same
The death of Isaac Hayes
We were in awe of Michael Phelps swimming prowess and haul of 8 gold medals, ditto Chris Hoy winning three golds in the velodrome
We discussed our different views on the Olympic Games and Chinese politics
Titania sparked a ranging discussion on the origin of surnames
Plethora of garden produce - and what to do with it
Push me/Pull you relationships and emotional maturity,or lack of it
Ways to rid ones abode or workplace of fruit flies
We touched on Silly Hats
We deplored the dumping of people by text message
We invented new types of ice cream - Vendetta and Revenge - and discussed customising unpleasant flavours
We discussed the ruinous effects of teachers on the enjoyment of literature by their pupils - and that led onto the merits, or not, of various so-called classics


Events and happenings in the Lives of Salonistas
Some of us were enthralled with the Olympic Games, notably Amy P's Faith, who got so excited at emulating the sportsmen/women that she had to have her viewing rationed.
Ben and Z went to the Klimt exhibition in Liverpool and planned a holiday in the Shetlands.
Several Salonistas expressed an interest in visiting the Bones exhibition in London.
Teuchter contemplated applying for a research post and planned another conjugal visit to Beijing.
There were arguments with washing machines. Bagpuss' phone and Lentilla's puppy came off the worst.
Agapanthus tussled with her dissertation.
The Library of Glum had its ceiling painted, causing much disruption and discomfort to its denizens.
The Library of Doom upgraded its software.
egon and Phil enjoyed their musical festivals, despite less than kind weather.
Lil had a front page article - and a film crew visited the courthouse.
Mr D studied physics and he and Mrs D acquired a new car.
SGV had a wet summer scout camp in Norway - and gave his 50 metre hedge its annual trim.
Tod's phonebox sported a Kun Fu panda for several weeks - and he had a birthday.
Magwitch got married and we enjoyed seeing photos of the happy day.
Kelli visited the outlaws and had a day in Edinburgh.
Beatrice went over the seas to Skye - on her motorbike - and later reported flooding in Norn Irn.
IrvWash observed Navaho Nations Code Talkers Day.
GDZ had a weekend away to celebrate two years with J.
MR was bizarrely accused of indoctrinating students.
Gw7en discovered that one of her co-workers is Lil's landlady's daughter .
d'Elaphant was mislead by GPS and found his mother preoccupied when her input was required.
FG enjoyed a camping trip in the Idaho wilderness - and the hot shower she had on returning home.
Librarian Pear, Witty, Ben and Teuchter contemplated career paths.
Sol moved house - next door.
Mol popped in.
Witty announced that she hopes to come to the UK next Spring with #2 daughter.
Hyp got a raise and an extra week's leave.
The UK had a Ban Collie Day


At this point your hostess picked up the thread at #1500 and continued for a bit:


Salonistas are watching the Olympics and discussing literature, particularly the authors they dislike, all of whom seem to fall in the 19th century. Special odium is reserved for Maggie Tulliver in The Mill on the Floss.

Kelli infects all of our brains with he Bob Marley song "Jammin'". Thanks, Kelli.

lostmonalisa joins the atelier with a quiet comment about, well, jammin'.

Then there was the topic of what we keep and what possessions we tend to cull, particularly wrt books.

theearthguide pops in to chat and has a long conversation with minichessemouse.

Santra's mother is diagnosed as having probable Alzheimer's Disease.

More topics that were discussed:
Courgettes, marrows and zucchini
walnuts, pecans and divinity
fancy water with minerals, vitamins and fiber in it.
sleeping on a clothesline
the ubiquity of green tea as an ingredient
age banding on books
google chrome

'ipso facto' is used wantonly in various sentences.

Lil re-introduces the salon to artrage and the atelier's gallery of past works (see post #1849 for links to gallery and free software)
AG FINISHES DISSERTATION (#1857)
Wandering Albatross returns from Portugal and knocks everyone flat with a prize pun(#1868)
Beatrice receives a secret email.
We learn that Ripley is trapped on a space ship in the course of an adventure at F35868?thread=5438445
Ben writes a poem (#1931).
tod tells us of his trip to post-Katrina New Orleans.
Lady Chattingly falls into an illness spiral.
Ben recommends another art program, Mr. Picasso Head (Link at #2006)
Salonistas (well some of them) begin to stir with anticipation as the publishing date for Anathem approaches.


At this point Ben came to the rescue and provided additional notes:

Irv Walsh's cow-worker was being a drama llama.
FG went to texas.
Minicheesemouse had an interview.
Gw7en had an outpatient surgery and had to type with one hand.
The world didn't end (and there's a reassuring money-back guarantee in the source code in case it does) and the rap about Cern was cool (thank you Space Cadette).
Teuchter and Mr T are being shunted around the far east at the whim of the company he works for, and Teuchter has officially retired.
Witty's Issues have a prospective end date which is comforting.
New flavours of icecream were planned.
Beatrice became assistant editor of the Post but turns out to be allergic to Venice.
Egon arrived back from NY.
Santra had a musical moment in Copenhagen.
There was a debate about taking the p out of hampsters.



And now for the final leg of the relay, the DC Al Fine of scribing, courtesy of your hostess:

Irv and MR have a tug-of-war over productivity.
MR provides some lego links at #2438 and gets a new tat.
magwitch is unanimously urged to seek legal help over custody problems. The problem is eventually resolved without sharks' help.
Irv promises an interesting day, and Marv returns from his hols only to be laid off. Then Amy P's school loses a couple of children -- and it must be about this time that Lil is in the depths of her internet blackout.
tod learns from the PTB that his signature has been condemned for spamming.
We learn that Eoin Colfer has been awarded the challenge of writing a sixth book in the Hitchhiker trilogy.

It is announced that the BBC website will no longer admit entities under the age of sixteen.

Talk Like a Pirate Day is celebrated with grog and bad accents all around.

Hypatia and Irv are by now on their mini-meet progresses.
Z complains about the spelling of a medical student, which throws the scribe into a reverie, remembering what Z's spelling used to be like. Credit time spent in the Atelier for the change!

*****

And that concludes the reprise of the previous conversation, a process so prodigious that Matina and Chloe had time to shampoo the carpets and upholstery, in addition to their usual cleanup. So Conversation 94X is now officially open. Please make yourselves at home!

we hey

[mr]

Good grief. What a time to get back. I don't need a backlog exemption pass.

*slides into the new chair and sips new *

First LED?

FG, coming back to what you were saying...yes, yes. I don't mean actually IN the office, sitting at some random desk -- or, heaven forfend, sprawled out on the floor -- I mean onsite childcare. Why don't more businesses have it? Big places -- think the MS evil empire, Nike, Google -- have onsite care. Maybe small businesses could get together and work that out (say, in a 10 mile radius, there's one facility).

It's the binary between work and family in this country that I just don't get. Why should I have to sacrifice my mothering for the workplace, and conversely, why should you -- or any other childless person -- be a second class citizen when it comes to vacations and holidays? Why do we feel the need to create binaries?

yes, I realize that last question is insanely broad, but it comes back to my whole way of thinking lately, which is why we divide everything into binaries...

ooh shiny!

mini

That was a long convo.

*Matina brings ltp an Irish coffee in a FTTF mug*

*darts in, and skids on the floor, fetching up on the potted palm*

OMG, did I make first LED? That's gotta be a first...for me!

May I have a cuppa, Matina? Thanks!

*goes back to read the backlog at t'other convo*

Well done to scribes

First LED, huh?

Hummmmmmm. Kids at work. I allowed that with one employee several years ago. But we have kids in the library all the time. There was no reason at all not to allow the woman to bring her daughter. The girl was very well behaved and was no trouble at all.

[BB]

*Skids into the new thread and backs up to catch up on the dialogue.*

lml

its scarily tidy in here, and someone has moved all the coffe cups! and they have moved my cheese, it was a really nice piece of smoked cheddar and i was saving it for a special occasion. . . oh well.

mini

check in that thingy on the sideboard.. the cheese plate.

* carefully sniffs the cheeses on offer taking care not to touvh them,

i found it! yay my cheese isnt gone! i shall however move it for safekeeping.

mini

*screeeeeeeeech* Runs in and brakes hard, panting.