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

I like sport. Lots of sport. Cricket, Formula One, athletics, baseball, and certain big events for sports I usually don't usually have much interest in such as the Tour de France, Wimbledon, the Grand National and the Boat Race. Even, sometimes sports I really don't like - yes, I've seen a World Cup game or two, although I missed Germany against Brazil yesterday. I saw the game was about to start and thought about going to the bar across the street for a pint or two, but I decided to stay in and make some scones instead.

Should have gone to the bar

We can't always watch sports live, usually because we're working, so we watch the highlights that are often shown in the evening, or perhaps record it and watch it later. Which means we've got to try and avoid the result of the contest and any details about it. Which used to be relatively easy. You avoid radio and television news, and if you're listening to a radio station that has occasional sports updates that aren't part of the news you either turn the sound down as soon as you here the jingle that usually goes with them, or stick your fingers in your ears and go 'Woowoowoowoowoo' (and hope no-one's watching

That's not possible any more.

Too many people seem to think they have to post comments about whatever they're watching or listening to on Twitter now. I really don't get that. We used to talk about things to our friends *after* they'd happened, whether it was a sporting event, the cliffhanger ending of a drama, even "Bloody hell, did you see that new Queen song on Top of the Pops last night? Fantastic. And the film they made to go with it too! That was amazing!!! Strange name though, Bohemian Rhapsody."

That's how it used to work. Most of us (except for that one annoying little oik that every workplace has) would also respect our friends' wishes not to know anything until after they'd seen it. We weren't all on the phone to each other while it was going on, saying 'Hey, hey, hey, hey, this just happened, and now this, and now this.' Nor were we forcing others to be on the phone and listening to our conversation.

But that's pretty much how it is now, not only with Twitter, but with rolling news and news websites. You can't avoid news you don't want to see unless you unsubscribe from Twitter, the internet, all human contact, the entire bloody world. Which is why I've just found out something about the Tour de France that I'd really rather have not known about until I see the highlights show either tonight or tomorrow From a weatherman

Why? Do people for so bloody important now that they have be the first to tell the world? Whether the world wants to know, or not?

Did I really say "here the jingle"

What are they putting in the water these days to make us do that? Or is it all the transmissions from radio stations, television masts, cellphones, walkie talkies etc that are scrambling our brains? I've noticed myself, and others, doing this sort of thing, as well as missing words out of sentences, much more frequently lately, as in, never used to do it at all.

Where's that tinfoil hat of mine?

'Feel so bloody important', not 'for so bloody important'.

See what I mean?

sorry - guilty as charged - the very best way to watch live TV these days is to watch it with the twitter hashtag open

Andrew Marr, f'rinstance, is only bearable if you can rant to the world

Yes, I usually skip over those ones. And #BBCBreakfast

I don't those so much as the urgency some people feel to let everyone know that a something newsworthy has just happened, particularly something that's a spoiler.

And also the way that the people whose actual job it is bring us the news have come to think of themselves and what they do to as important to us. I was watching a recording last night of the first of a three-part BBC 4 documentary about the history of Istanbul. About half way through it a big banner was splashed across the screen - "BREAKING NEWS ON BBC 1". It stayed there for 20 - 30 seconds and then went away. And two or three minutes later it came back, and then two or three minutes again after that. Four or five times in all, and then once more just before the end credits. It didn't really do much to enhance the enjoyment of the documentary.

The news in question was the death of Nelson Mandela. An important piece of news for sure, but not exactly something anyone watching Simon Teabag Mountebank going on about Byzantium really needs to know, right there and then. It's not like it's the three-minute warning.

Us BBC 4 types are a bit more restrained, more patient, and less impressed by what used to be called a 'newsflash, doncha know

Oh good grief

I don't mind those so much as the urgency some people feel to let everyone know that something newsworthy has just happened, particularly something that's a spoiler.

haha - it's all down to how we use social media I think. It's like talking to lots of likeminded people - plus you can ask questions and usually someone will answer.

sorry 'bout that -