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

Ah, so I wasn't too far from the truth with the Schwingers and the Dysons, then.

I might look into this some time in the future.

I don't trust mirrors anyway. The older I get, the more distorted they look when I admire myself in them.

I've often noticed with quality scientific mirrors, the better the technical quality of the finish, the uglier one looks in them.

I look ugly enough even in the lower-quality ones.

In high school, I had a favorite teacher, physics, until the day he demonstrated concave mirrors. I was very self concious and shy but I was just starting try to be more confident. He brought out these large mirrors and he "zoomed" them in and out at different students saying, "ooOOOOoooh!, ooOOooh!." Then he came at me and went, "AAAAAH!!"

Everyone laughed raucously.


I turned infrared and shrank to a singularity in my seat. I was in abject embarrassment.

I'll never not know how unatractive I am.

I was thinking of quarter wave optical flats used in telescope eye pieces in which one could see every pore, every slightest skin imperfection, not very much short of the tenth wave precision standard in laser mirrors, respectively flat within 125 nm and flat within 50 nm.

Most cosmetic mirrors have slight ripples in the glass one can see with the naked eye.

I don't generally look at myself in mirrors, as I don't care what I look like.

My eldest brother never cared how he looked. I failed to persuade him that this was also a fashion statement.

I never managed to get much height. Then, in middle age, my age went to my middle. But now it doesn't seem to be so bad to be short, and some of the extra weight has been shed, so I'm not afraid to see myself reflected.

As I may have already mentioned, I've moved office - the building I was in for the last 30 years is to be demolished and I'm in a temporary office for the next three to four years.

I've just spotted that there are ammonites in the marble floors of the corridors.

Wow, !

I wouldn't work late - it'd be like 'Night at the Museum'.

are the ammonites staying up to watch the ammonitely news?