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

Hi Icky - I made it back to my parents' despite the snow, and have spent most of my time since then sleeping Time to recharge the batteries... Just fetched the last sister and her husband from town, so now we're all here.

The moving mess is as messy as ever, but I decided to just ignore it and leave it behind me. Got the paper finished, at least, and the rest can wait.

Though I think you're doing it right, tidying up so you can come back to a tidy house.

heh, sleep is good!
Been doing that myself a bit today, come down ill again. Supposed to be off to my sister's place this morning but hardly slept last night. Oh well, feeling somewhat better so shall go over tomorrow morning. Least I don't have as far to travel as you!

Snow? You lucky thing (or maybe not if you are traveling!) Cold wet and windy here, not fun.

Hope you are enjoying your christmas eve, always better with family around. You do a big meal for tomorrow or is family meal some other time?

Hope santa brings you all the pressies you want! (I know, new sword, spear, shield... and horse)

Did you have a good Christmas?

I'm just recovering from all the family. Nice to see them, but nice to get rid of them, too

yeah, although mine was somewhat delayed due to illness. Recurring cold that now seems to be doing its best to turn into tonsillitis, just in case I wasn't already bored of not feeling well!
But yes, was good to see family - and best pressies was definitely the lego aeroplane that niece and nephew bought me And yes I did make it and fly it around Well, if you can't be a bit foolish at xmas...

So hows the new place then? Back in and tidying/organising your stuff?

How very helpful! Let's hope it doesn't succeed.

Sounds like you had fun - you're never too old to get toys, right? I just hope you don't restrict yourself to Christmas for that kind of thing...

I'm still going to be in Germany for a bit - no exams, so I can take some time off. For a given value of "off", I have to turn my mother's old kitchen into a library, then go help my stepmother sort my father's house. So it'll be another two weeks before I get to do anything about my own place

Hey ya,

No, of course I don't restrict it to christmas - but there's a lot of folks seem to think someone my age should be above such things - not least my mother! So this year I am planning on visiting (for a weekend, they have camping!) an engineering depot museum that has everything from spitfires to old triumph bikes and then a steam punk makers convention as well as maybe a couple of small re-enactor events. Time I got out there and did stuff. Most looking forward to the engineering visit in May, apparently has that smell you only get from decades of engines, oil and wooden floors.

Kitchen into library? Do they only remodel when you are there? Sounds like fun though. Hmmm... could do with a library more than a kitchen myself! Ideas...

Hope you are having a good time - although realise father's house stuff might be a bit difficult. Comes to us all unfortunately.

Happy new year for tomorrow and thinking of you, have a good time.

Icky

Ooooh, that sounds fun I love old machines, they're so much more elegant when everything is solved mechanically. Like those self-regulating pressure valves on old steam engines

Spending New Year's at my sister's in Berlin. We drove out to a sort of hippy-ish holiday camp about 100km to the north. Bit boring being an adult there, I'd rather have been one of the kids. We did get to try out the playground and row around the lake in a boat, though. Did you do anything fun?

And are you coming to the Manchester Meet, btw?

ooh, yes, the magic of steam and the wonderful contraptions created, fascinates me. Same reason I find old automatons so fascinating, amazing what they managed to do merely with mechanical linkages (and the occasional cheating!). Then again, I find it remarkable how simple yet effective and powerful a thing such as the carburettor is.

So how was Berlin then? Fun I hope. Although whether it can match up to a hippyish boating lake I'm not quite sure Sounds...interesting!
I visited friends, same as usual. Just the five of us. Town was very quiet and not even the usual cacophony of fireworks. Still idiots letting off those chinese lanterns though - luckily none landed on my car this year.

I do want to go the Manchester meet, just not sure if logistics will allow it. Take it you are going? Would be good to meet you in RL again after all this time, shall see if I can make it.

Yeah, it's been a while since that London meet! I'm going - I thought it would be the same weekend I have to be in Galway, but luckily, they moved that up by a week.

I'm still in Berlin - and they're *still* letting off fireworks. The problem is that we're so close to Poland, they all cross the border and buy the really loud ones (which are illegal here) and they're cheap, so they buy them by the hundreds...

Going to hit a few museums with my sister today - maybe even the technical one, more likely the Jewish museum, though - and then go to the big hiking/outdoor shop. And when I say "big", I mean they have a full-sized pool for testing kayaks and diving suits... I'd hate to live in Berlin, but do love to visit once in a while!

Sounds like an interesting shop - going there for anything in particular? Hope the museums are interesting and you have a good day. Not too cold/rainy (or snowy?).

As for fireworks, friend of mine is go-owner of a fireworks company - small afair but they do big displays and special effects for film and music vids. Makes his own stuff and, well, sometimes has to 'use up' the ingredients. Plus he's had some chinese specialty fireworks. Yeah, quite loud - very impressive though!

I wanted to compare prices for a particular brand of backpack; it's cheaper in Belfast. My sister's flatmate bought a different backpack on sale, though, and my brother-in-law has new winter boots. I acquired a pair of yak wool felt slippers from a Mongolian in a yurt

It's not the size of the bang, it's what you do with it I'd rather see a small, professional display than a dozen people shooting off rockets willy-nilly. But sounds like your friend knows what he's doing...

Oh he does. He actually went to 'firework city' in China to organise a trade import deal for one of the major uk companies before he got into his own company. Bit out of the way, kept getting stopped and talked to just because he was a westerner! Last show of his I saw was an end-of-season one for a mate's retirement where he used up the left over spares and tested out some new ones. Not an official event, just on the local common and kept it to 20 mins. Thing is, he used enough fireworks for about an hour formal show. It was impressive to say the least, all the neighbours were out and generally considered the best show any had seen. More like being in a bombardment than show.
And to think it just started out as a hobby, shows what you can do!

Yak felt slippers? Very middle class ethnic of you Sorry, couldn't resist. Never mind the demo pool, I'm impressed they had the space for a proper Yurt. Were you tempted to buy the Yurt instead and live in that?

Rather more boringly, today I've ripped up the front room floor and partially relaid it because I didn't like the way the board joins had been laid out when I did it before. Too uniform and I think if you are pretending you have an oak floor you should at least make it look a tad rustic. Oh and I took delivery of a microwave (first I have ever bought!) from the worlds most apologetic and helpful delivery driver.

And I think the throat infection/tonsillitis might be finally going...fingers (but not tonsils) crossed.

Hope you are having a good evening, still with sister and brother in law or you gone back now?
You going to Manchester on the Friday or just for the sat?
Been looking at hotels and - my, are they cheaper than London
I quite fancy the trip to the transport museum which won't be do-able if I just come up for the day. I note there is a museum of Manchester Police behind the pub mentioned - shame it is closed on the weekends, looks kinda interesting.

Might pamper myself Depends on work though, but...

Yeep, why have you gone back to a number?

info here:
F78440/T8294821/page/last#P110636586

p.s. still on email though!