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

Been down for a week and a half. Hard Drive was fried, either by Defrag or a meet-n-greet between 11kV lines that occurred at plus-minus the same time. "Bloke" said ouch to former and ouch to the latter. Combined with a course requiring train travel to Bris-Vegas, I have managed to read three books in September: Douglas Adams - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, PG Wodehouse - Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit, and Michael Dobbs - House of Cards.

Played Monopoly with the spawn tonight. Trout Montague champion of course with holdings on "the unpopular yellow ones". Monopoly harbours an unresolvable flaw: you can't unmortgage the utilities and Park Lane without rounding: e.g., the utilities sell for $150. Therefore, they mortgage for $75. Therefore, you need $82.50 to unmortgage them. Yes?

Play the English version like a true patriot. They have sensible prices.

I find the Nicholas van Hoogstraten technique (buy up all the brown ones) is a very good way of bringing other players to their knees early on in the game so you can prevent them from buying the more expensive stuff.

The magnitude of the price is the same whatever the currency. We play in squiddlys but don't have a pound symbol on this typewriter.

It's ages since I played Monopoly. I tried teaching little a while ago, but he wasn't that interested. Maybe he's a bit young. I can't remember how old I was when I started to play. I thought I was about his age, but then I can't really remember. I used to like the Green ones and I always went for Mayfair and Park Lane.

Has it come about in the £ to $ conversion.

No. In the traditional London edition water works and electricity company are (quid)150 and Park lane is (quid)350. The error persists.

The switch to decimal currency.