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

Welcome to the Atelier! A very special group of entities dwells here, devoted to good conversation and stimulating discussion, not to mention very odd birthday gifts. You are welcome to join us; if the conversation seems too fast at the outset, just step into the foyer, cough politely, accidentally knock the calling cards from the occasional table (which is occasionally something else) or feed one of the sloths a donut. A salonista will be out directly to make you at home and tell you never to do that again.

This conversation finds us all in an especially good mood as we watch the erstwhile trapped Chilean miners being winched to safety one by one.

Tod scribed the last conversation right up to post 2000, at which point your hostess commenced this introduction but found real life imposing its own demands. Like the White Queen, I tried running as fast as I could but still slipped backwards. But here we are at last, gathered at the start of conversation 102X, waiting to finish the traditional reprise before we slip back into whatever we were doing before.

For Tod, we bestow this award for his scribing work, with our thanks for his diligence and hard work. *Chloe steps forward with a complicated set of straps which are in fact a null gravity system for effortless kayak portage, along with a bottle of champagne and a moleskine notebook*

According to our scribe, the award for most inventive use of use of smileys goes to Taff for this representation of Jenny Agutter:





We endured some good punning this conversation, but I "liked" this the best, by Kerravon, who was responding to Dr. Z: "And their was an accident on the Fourth Road Bridge last night so we were bumper to bumper for 20 minutes. "

Perhaps you should have taken the fifth...



Welcome to the atelier to both Professor Animal Chaos and to jzzy. Although someone thought the Prof had actually posted to the wrong door, perhaps he'll visit again. We do, after all, have the best malt n the island. Meanwhile, welcome back to pedros ecosse and nicki!

First LED roll of honour:

Hypatia
Mol
Runescribe
Titania and Ripley
Beatrice
Mr Baconful
Bald Bloke
Happy Nerd
Ben

----------
Mysterious Stranger
Kelli
Eatsmice
Magwitch
Witty Moniker
Santragenius V
Phil
Lostmonalisa
Taff
Good Doctor Zomker
Bel
FG
David B
KerrAvon
Todaymueller
Gandalfstwin
Lentilla
Marvthegreat
Teuchter
Amy Pawloski
Dr Zen
Metal Chicken
Milla Curtis
Blue-Eyed Bipedal Bookworm
Sulking is Easy [Sporky?]
SpaceCadette
Bluebottle
Bagpuss
Solnushka
Rosemary
V
Minichessemouse
WanderingAlbatross
Agapanthus
Babel17
Rev Nick
Freddie
Lapislazuli
egon!
------------------------


Witty put the dream home up for sale and Milla purchased a painting from a doorsalesman. FG headed up the Lewis & Clark trail to a cabin while Eats went mad in the kitchen with a sanding machine. Mrs Zen had her last day at McBank while Kelli braced herself ready to stomp on a bag of burning carp on her desk.
It was hot in the Ozarks acording to Hyp, while Teuchter enjoyed the air display over her house. [her own house not Hyp's] Bagpuss went to see Spamalot, Sol posted from a wonky computer, at the sight of which post Lil wanted know if it was worse to lose vowels or consonants. Lostmonalisa reckond y cn stll b ndrstd wtht vwls.
Santra arrived in Italy for a holiday, and FG got back to find a childish e-mail just as Mol set off for Cornwall. Marv got back from a wedding in Colorado and Lil wanted to know what salonistas were reading.

How to wipe a hardrive before disposal was discussed: to take it in the garden and beat the carp out of it with a hammer is considered effective.

Dr Zen was helping in the education of a friends 7yr old.

WA got a date for a new Hip [October] , Hyp brought up the subject of heirloom veg, Beatrice and Amy were in the housing market, and Ben was going to job interviews.

The salon was holding its collective breath, and also held a pool, for the arrival of BB's baby. Lil had a visit from a real PI, and Amy made tough decisions on a house. Metal Chicken went to the Tatton flower show, and Agapanthus tried to sneak into the salon. [Hah! -Ed.] Rosemary entered some things in the village show, and David B spent the day filming.

Babel17 popped into the salon, to everone's pleased surprise.
We had a collective worry for Kelli's dad (he's ok now, but needs dialysis).
Beatrice got the keys to the Bea-hive.
Mini and 'S' got closer, and we find out Jenny Agutter didn’t get her 's out in The Railway Children. [Get your mind out of the Agutter, Tod. -Ed.]
Kelli's dad comes out of hospital but will need dialasis, Santra, santra's from a tent in Sweden.
GDZ lost Tammy the cat, Titania found that cats can make you crazy via toxoplasmosis, MrBaconful was still looking for work and Mr and Mrs BB had a BBB ! Yay !

Lil's hometown had its annual pageant, and Mini gave a microbe for a present, but it was not well received…the salon, on the other hand, loved them.

There was an Edinburgh meet, The Zens were in England, the salon became briefly 'mopeful', and David B had a run in 'All Shook Up'.
Sol came back from Moscow, Rev Nick returned to the salon. Classic fm and classical music in general had an airing, quite a long discussion in fact.

The salon remembered Lady C on what would have been her 70th birthday.

FedEx missed Lil at home and were publicly humilated for their crimes against wheelchairs, and Ben got the job.
Marv was burning the candle at both ends, with gigs and paintball.
Bagpuss came back from Canada, and Sol sought and found a bargain pushchair.
We found out that the giving of badges for entries was Dr Zen's idea, while Ben and Teuchter caught up at the fringe.
San Mateo was graced with the presence of a salonista.


David B was accosted by some dirty old women on a bus in Folkstone [now there's a sentence I never thought I would write. -Scribe]

GDZ joined the list of salonistas seeking work, Eats dropped an iron on his foot, and GT could not sleep. Milla was rehearsing 'Fiddler on the Roof'. All salonistas agree what a good thing it is, that difficult subjects can be discussed objectively in the salon.
Martina baked some mbougatses, FedEx apologised to Lil, Ag's father in law fell out of a tree and broke his leg, and Rosemary went camping. Rev Nick pointed out that military guys and gals tell it like it is. Beatrice left her hive and headed for Embra and the fringe, while Witty's 1 took 2 to University.
Dr Z has a birthday, Mags gets the hump with txt spk.
Mini's S learned the hard way to share his work schedule with Mini, and Marv entered a bowling tournament.
Ben headed to California.
It seems there is a strong streak of non-militant atheism running through the salon, judging by the intersting and rather confessional conversation that ensued. Meanwhile, Titania reported on a mystery man statue. Mags and Eats discussed which Xbox to get, and which games were best.
Tea is generally approved of in the salon but not the tea party.
GDZ went for a job interview, subsequently got an offer, and Rosemary clooney's Mambo Italiano gave everybody an earworm.
Kelli got a new bike computer, Phil was preparing for the start of term, and Sol announced that she may be going back to Russia.

Metal Chicken's car exploded on the M6.
Tod went to Wales and caught a , JW's think it's the end of the world. A gingerbread housewarming took place at the new zennery.
Milla and David B had successful opening nights.
Happy Nerd reported in after a lot of work on her Chocolate Shop. Not twenty posts later, Eatsmice revealed a curious longing to be covered in chocolate and thrown to the lesbians. As a cat, of course. Sadly, the chocolate shop was snafu'd by gummint regulations.

Lil went out for the first time since April. Eats wanted an iPad but wound up with an iRon (kudos to Taff for that wordplay).

Santra accidentally unleashed a nasty attack of punctuation that disturbed posts for several LEDs thereafter. Even the Mysterious Stranger was not immune to the onslaught.

Sol and Bagpuss both acquired new cars. The Solmobile is a Peugeot. Bagger's motor is a Citroën Saxo. French cars both! Later on, GDZ got a Subaru Forester, and Metal Chicken got a Mazda.

Garius Lupus made a rare appearance, via a bot bearing a video link.

Zendevil Terri passed on.

Titania posted link after link as she alleviated the boredom of routine computer tasks. Santra went to Istanbul, which news set off some travel anecdotes about training through Turkey. GDZ received what Taff called a psychometric interview quiz, and Happy Nerd couldn't help noticing that the proper way to make a peanut butter sandwich is more complicated than the correct way to get a giraffe in a fridge.

Kelli returned from a loverly family holiday in Luz.


Other topics of note:
Opera -- especially those sopranos
What is the best classical music to introduce young people to?
How would we like our assassins -- swift and brutal or sweet and charming?
Living on a cruise ship
Paternity leave
the pro's and con's of same sex parenting
Ikea pronunciation and bookcases
fasta pasta
Which Pratchett Discworld novel to start with
When is corn ripe?
Is the world /really/ about to end? Consensus: only if teh Stupid prevails.
public footpaths on private land -- one of the most vigorous discussions in this thread
Dude, you have no koran! (another vigorous amicable discussion that ranged (via right-of-way) across the US Constitution)
What do spiders think about?
Leonard Cohen songs
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches


Here endeth the scribing of the last conversation. Please make yourselves at home. Remember not to hog the first LED!

*leaps in*

First?

Why is there ALWAYS a cat on the chair you want to sit in?

*Matina brings Eatsmice an Irish coffee in an FTTF mug*

*runs in, earlier than in a long time*

First LED at least? Off to read the notes...

*Runs in*

Ooh, first LED!

Hello again

i made it!

to the scribing.

mini

Yay!!! Back in time for the first LED. Congrats to Eats for FTTF.

Great scribing Tod.

Great scribing but a minor quibble really. Lil I thought it was the Red Queen who had to keep running just too stay where she was.

16 miners rescued

mini

That calls for a cup of tea! *Puts v/_\3 on*

<BB<

I think I should stretch into the new conversation. Oh, also, I am looking for work again. Got let go from the last gig. It's been a rough half decade for me.

for Marv

Thanks BB
*has a *

with the job search, Marv.

Surely this can't be the first LED for me?

Oh Marv. How pants is that. Definitely a large drink coming your way.

Folic acid, mini. No matter what you decide, just in case, folic acid right now.

Luck to Amy too for the result you want.

for the scribing and, surely, both and for marv.

Phil, you're right!
http://www.victorianweb.org/art/illustration/tenniel/lookingglass/2.4.html

I ~never~ watch the teevee in the morning, but today I'll have it on all day, just to see the miners come up.