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

http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A609202

This is my first entry, and i am quite pleased with it. My friend Terri suggested that I do this... I hope it's ok and I'm not doing something horribly wrong!

I think the subject is quite unusual, i searched for it and there were no entries even vaguely similar.

Hopefully no-one will burn their feet because of me.

Hi, nice entry.
You might want to mark it up a bit further. I tested the GuideML and you have lost all your paragraph formatting in the change of style to guideML. Put paragraph text here tags around your paragraphs and they will return. Unfortunately it looks like a big block of text at the moment and so is hard to read.
There are one or two typos in there but not many.

Afraid I'm a bit of a sceptic on this sort of thing but it's nicely written and I don't see any reason why it shouldn't go in the guide

Orcus

thanks, will do. i was wondering where they all went!
i'm not very good at this guide ml stuff yet.

This is a nice little entry.

I have only one issue: where you comment on the probability of their being other rituals for firewalking. This is an international guide, 'us' will not just be British. I would suggest perhaps saying that there may be other methods, but this entry is looking at the one most commonly used in Britain.
or something

otherwise this is great

Shouldn't there really be some mention of the various scientific explanations for fire-walking?

I can think of several explanations which require no ritual whatsoever: the poor heat conductivity of dry wood coal, that only a small part of the coals is actually touching your foot (coals are a very uneven surface), fire-walkers tend not to spend too long on the coals and keep moving, ash on the coals forms a good insulating layer and that blood forms a good conductor of heat away from your feet.

Several demonstrations have been performed without the assistance of hardened hippy chanting, without harm (but don't try this at home!)

Perhaps the topic should be 'Ritual Firewalking' instead?

perhaps there is a name for this ritual... a local name? that way it leaves the guide open for the edition of the other rituals at a later date....

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'Peer Review' to 'The Writing Workshop'.

Please see the posting below for an explanation...

Hi folks,

This entry has been moved to the Writing Workshop. It was a tricky decision to reach, which we'll explain below.

The topic itself, and most of the material of the entry, is actually very interesting, and certainly worthy of consideration for the Guide. There are, however, a few issues which we'd like to see addressed before we can accept it - hopefully a little time in the Writing Workshop will get everyone to help with this process.

* The first point we need to address is to put some kind of warning at the top to mention that this is a very dangerous thing to attempt, and could easily end up giving people permanent burns on their feet - not something we want to happen to our readers, or anyone else. Some kind of serious diclaimer such as "Warning: Firewalking is very dangerous and can result in permanent burns to the feet or worse. Anyone who attempts this should make absolutely sure they know what they are doing." might be appropriate.

* Secondly, firewalking is actually a very serious part of many cultures - a rite of passage ritual, and not something to be treated lightly. If anyone thought this entry was about this ritual process, it might appear to be rather a narrow or superficial view of it. For this reason, maybe the title ought to be changed to something like "Firewalking In The West", just to make it clear. Perhaps it would be worth including some background material on how the ritual is carried out in other cultures, and the meanings and values behind it - make an 'ultimate' and universal entry about the topic, perhaps.

* Thirdly, it's not totally clear why the preparatory business with the Charlie Sticks and the four quarters should be important, or indeed necessary - it seems to be quite detailed, so some explanation of its meaning needs to be supplied.

* Lastly, it might be an idea, as some people have pointed out in this thread, to mention a scientific explanation of why firewalking is possible at all. That might give some balance to the entry.

As we say, we'd very much like to get this Entry into the Guide - it's a fascinating topic - but it does need these issues to be enlarged upon a little more to give some idea as to the meanings behind them. Hope this explains our decision.

Editorial Note: This conversation has been moved from 'The Writing Workshop' to 'The Flea Market'.

Twisted firestarter? nah
Anyone else interested?

I was doing an entry independently when I came across this. I'd like to incorporate some of this into my entry, or vice versa. Does anyone object?

Well its stood here abondoned since my posting 3 months ago, so I think you should just go got it ZSF

Howsit going anyway?
vp

Sorry, VP - just seen this reply! I wasn't ignoring you.

Busy. Posted loads of entries (well a few), including my most ambitious one on world debt. I got my photos back from Boots a couple of days ago and I got a couple of nice ones. The only really bad one was the one taken by (not sure) outside the pub. There was a really nice one of Deackie. I can't post them on-site (or even off-site) as I don't have a scanner.

I've no excuse not to get on with my firewalking entry now. I'll probably cannabalise this one as my style is totally different, and I've got a structure for my entry, but I'll credit the author.

How are things with you? Are you keeping your balls in the air?

not keeping balls in the air as often as I would like to at the moment - actually I guess I juggled myself out recently - I made a big effort to get my five ball off the ground, and since then I havent really jugglied much - just everynow and then really. I guess seeing as my finals are coming up and Ihave lots of serious work to do I will get back to juggling quite a lot as a sort of procrastination.

...and I really ought to get a grip and finish the many unfinished entries I have on ozone sometime soon... will get there eventually I hope

Have you joined the Procrastinators' Society yet?

I think I've only got two unfinished entries now, firewalking, which I blocked out some while ago - it's quite different in shape to this one as I'd intended to look a bit at firewalking around the world, the meaning of it and the technology - how it is technically possible - in short, all the things that the h2g2 people were suggesting. We'll see how it pans out.

The other one was the collaborative entry with Deackie, however that looks like being a marathon one and others seem to sneak up on me when I'm not looking and demand to be written.

What are yours on?

Well I have six entries all on the ozone - where it came from, what it does, what we did to destroy lots of it, why the ozone hole is so bad above the poles, what we are doing to mend things ect ect. I was kinda hoping to get all six through peerreview at pretty much the same time, so that I can cross link them within the entries, but they are miles away from being PR ready, and I am not working on them enough.

Then there is an entry on the Forth Bridge I did lots of research for about 2 months ago, but which I havent got round to writing at all yet, and an entry on the songs of monty python I am meant to have writen for the university project which I just have totally failed to getting round to doing.


Its a pretty long list of neglected work really

blimey! i haven't been to this site since i posted that thing about firewalking some time last year... anyone can do anything they like with it since i wrote it when i was off my tits at 4am in any case. no wonder it is a pile of crap.
x georgia

I've been sitting on a Firewalking entry which I had in draft for some while, <./>A655300</.> before I saw your entry in the Flea Market. I did a firewalk (well, two actually) a few years ago. I thought I might combine the information in both. If I use any of yours, I'll make sure I credit you!

I've been sitting on a Firewalking entry which I had in draft for some while, <./>A655300</.> before I saw your entry in the Flea Market. I did a firewalk (well, two actually) a few years ago. I thought I might combine the information in both. If I use any of yours, I'll make sure I credit you!

You actually did one ZSF?