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

Thanks!
*puts couscous and ravioli in fridge*
I feel like this party is starting to shape up. *timer starts to beep and Lil removes cakes from the oven*

These can cool overnight in the walk-in pantry where I have the dry goods. Oh, and let me leave a couple of sausage rolls in Styx's bowl. Must tell that rat not to walk on the buffet table. I'm sure QMike will give him whatever he needs.

And now I'm tired. See you tomorrow!

'faithful rat Styx' heh heh
I like that.

*retreats to nest to get out of the way of all the feet*

Ah... Qmike's pic turned out rather well. I can only chaulk this up to him having no facial hair. I have tried to scan my face on many occassion (actually, just since I've lost those pesky 40 pounds that were holding me down- I still don't have a *thin me* picture ), but they all turn out dreadfully awful- all due to facial hair. The only person that I have seen who could pull of the "stubble" look is Shim, but Shim could pull anything off (You're a GOD!!). With my complexion (sp?) I look utterly horrible. And it doesn't matter how long I wait. Whether it is five minutes after a shave or 26 hours later, I still look horrible.

Damned facial hair!!

LOL

Sporky, you put an unique spin on the term "self-abuse'.

Well I better call it a night too. Early release for good behaviour IRL, see you at the party tonight guys?
*wanders through to the guest appartment from whence he came earlier*

*Bumblebee enters kitchen, long, very sharp filét-knife in her hand*
*Takes out the side of smoked salmon and deftly pulls out the bones in the middle before she cuts the fish in very thin slices.*
Smorgasbord, - Swedeish Smørgåsbord.
Koldtbord, same thing in Norwegian.
*Wraps a tray with silver-foil, arranges slices roof-tile style, decorates with crisp leafs of lettuce, rosettas of cucumber and lemon-slices.*
Let this stay in the frigde until the party begins.

*Pops in on his way between meetings*

*Looks in fridge*


Ah looks like there might be a need for another crate of Budvar, I'll drop in the offy on my way home later.

Oh BTW Lil, you know the powers always seem to object to being refered to as the PTB, well in response to another conversation I dug up an old one that has done the rounds, (at least where I work), which may explain why they get grumpy about it. see http://www.h2g2.com/A390430

Singing along to Sporky's music...`I can't see the flame. But I do know Mandinka'. You know the mixing of the music you suggest (techno, house and some guitar sounds) does happen and it can be quite good - There is a mix of Fatboy Slim's Rockerfeller Skank and the Stones Satisfaction.

Ok then where do you want these?
*Drags two small casks of ale from the service lift*
I've got all the bits to sort them out as well.

*Makes some space on the kitchen counters for the beer and puts them up there*
Where's that robot when you need some help lifting and things. Now just get the mallet and tap these.
I wouldn't drink anything from these till tonight to let them settle (really should settle for longer but there isn't the time). Gravity fed straight out of the tap. I suppose you want labels as well.
This first barrel contains Bass Pale Ale. The classic pale from Burton on Trent. The other barrel holds Timothy Taylor's Landlord. Supreme Champion Beer of Britain 1999. I can't get the 2000 one as the great british beer festival isn't for another couple of weeks.

I LOVE the joke about Mike, and anyone who gets upset about it certainly has no sense of humor.

BTW, I see that "Powers in the Towers" is spreading... did you pick that up from me, or did you arrive at it on your own?

*yawning still as she hasn't had any coffee yet*

Um, it was in that post-upgrade thread "Navigating Forums is More Difficult" where I spent some time soothing nerves of upset fellow-researchers. I forget who used the phrase but it sounded right somehow.

Huh, I see I just got strobed, my BlackIce icon is blinking. TCP fingerprint scan! Hm.

*goes to kitchen, opens fridge and stands there, admiring all the beautifully laid-out plates that were done by her friends while she was asleep*

*Whilst putting on coffee, pouring OJ, and putting down food for Mindspring and Styx, she also admires the decorations and the heap of beer kegs*

Wow!

Fresh coffee, oh yes please!
Lil, I won't be making it to the farewell-party before....mmm lets see... in 18 hours.
Friends are dragging me out for a pre-birthday-beer soon. I hope there will be some leftovers when I get back!
But I do have time for a cuppa before I go

There, I'm off then, see ya later!

Oh don't worry bumblebee, online parties tend to last for a few days, unless the hostess is Greebo Cat, in which case the parties last for weeks and weeks and weeks. I don't know if I have that kind of stamina.
*thinks*
If this was one of Greebo's parties, Quorthon could go to Australia, come back in 5 weeks and rejoin his own bon voyage party.

Let's see, I think I'll put the buffet table a distance from the kitchen and have Ampton ferry empty/full dishes back and forth, and we'll have the cleaning bot on standby for the duration.

I had thought about multiple threads like they did for the big birthday bash, for different parts of the Atelier, but I think the conversation gets impossible to keep up with and it loses cohesion. So we'll have a single thread which we'll just renew as it gets too long, the same way we renew this conversation.

But I will post a link to Mike's Mosh Pit, in case the younger ones want to work off steam or flirt in the dark corners or something.

Oh god, I forgot to stock up on those miniature pork pies that Mike likes. And do we have a good stock of baby cham? Regular soft drinks?

Drat I knew I'd forgotten something when I went for the beer. We need some sweet perry and mini pork pies. I'll go off and see what I can find.

And my article has finally made it to the front page. 18 weeks

Thanks, Phil -- I have to ice the cakes, one with alabaster and one with goo. And congratulations on your article!

I'm also drawing up a floor plan for this place so that the guests can find their feet. I think I'll put the bar in the gallery. *sings a snatch of an old Dire Straits song* In da gallery!

I spent some time being vocal in that forum, so I'm sure you picked up that phrase from me. Here's how it developed...

Everyone kept using that PTB thing originally. Then, one of the PTB protested that they would prefer not to be referred to in that way, because it makes them sound like arbitrary dictators or something. So they had a long discussion about it, and they came up with TPTWVH, for "the powers that work very hard." I was caught using PTB, and someone who participated in that forum admonished and corrected me.

At this point, I thought, "who the hell are they?" Lots of people here work hard without getting their names in italics... and they don't get paid for it. Bruce is getting some recognition for it, but what about vegiman, the Post team, etc? The italics get to play around with H2G2 for a living, while the rest of us work very hard at thankless jobs, and then work very hard here because we like to.

So anyway, I went looking for something that had less of a big-brothery overtone, but which also removed the offending reference from the new title, and I've been using "the Powers at the Towers" ever since.

*Rushes in*

Sorry I wasn't here yesterday to help with the preparations, but I brought this.

*Holds up maple cheesecake*

Made with pure Canadian maple syrup. It's the closest I could get to a Canadian dish. Other than my wife, that is (boom, boom).

Now, I hear you might be having trouble with the fridge. The "Infinite Capacity" feature acting up sometimes? I'll just give it a quick tune-up.

*Pulls fridge away from wall and walks around to the back of it. Scans it with some hand-held device. Nods. Pulls out notebook and connects it to the fridge. Types for a moment. Waits. Nods as something comes up on the screen. Types a little more. Disconects and pushes fridge back into place.*

There, that should be good for a few more miles, now.

Here I am! I just drew a floor plan of the Atelier. I'm going to go set that up on the page, plus a link to the mosh pit. I'll create the Bon Voyage thread in about half an hour. If my ISP gets run over by a backhoe and there is no sign of me by 1750 BST, somebody create the thread!!
Be right back.

*hopes that she'll make it to the party, worrying about having to leave too soon*

If I won't please give this to Q for me.

*drags in a big present in a big box that gives absolutely no clue what's in it*