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

Pastey

There must be about two weeks left until your wedding. I wanted to wish you all the best for the day and hope you survive your stag night.

Precautions you could take are :

Drink a gallon of milk before you go out so that you'll be too bloated to drink too much

Drink a litre of olive oil to line you stomach to stop the alcohol being absorbed so quickly

Chain your self to the bar to avoid being stripped to your underpants and being chained to the park railings (or put on the night train to Glasgow)

Sellotape a phone card to the bottom of your foot so that you can phone for help from Glasgow

Write your phone number on your hand inedible ink so that you know who to phone (I was going to suggest a tatoo but that would be a little inconvenient when you move)

All the Best

From Distant Shores

Thanks!
It was inded two weeks yesterday! I do like the idea of taping a phone card, or perhaps a bit of money to the bottom of my foot. They'd never suspect that
It should be quite a tame do, as it were. We've planned a pub crawl around Norwich. Starting around mid-day, as I have to work from 4am and catching the last train back, if we make it! There'll be two landlords and a brewer in the group so I'm sure that the beer will flow And my best man Ben is quite a sensible chap, so I should be okay.



Probably.

YOU'RE LEAVING??? But i just found you!!! OH no!

Sorry for dropping in like this, but i saw you online and decided to investigate.... which resulted in the pressing need to express my distress!


The Archangel Zax*

Feel welcome to drop in anytime just as long as you don't spill the beans about the tenner Pastey's going to tape to the bottom of his foot.

From time to time. I really struggle to cope with the narrow views of the staff. They seem so short sighted. I wasn't particularly pleased with the handling of the upgrade and all the changes I had to make to my 'stuff'. It doesn't help that they come over so arrogantly.

I'll probably hang for a while.

(-:

From Distant Shores

that's good to hear!
i was a bit (rather) peeved about the new changes too. i still don't like them, but i'm not actually thinking about bailing anymore.

i think what got to me most was the fact that people would actually ATTACK me when i said i didn't like it... as though *I* (of all people) was being close-minded! what REALLY got my goat tho, was when someone actually said to me "When you've been around h2g2 as long as *I* have, you will welcome a change!"... i really hate it when people pull the 'seniority' trip. i've been here for 2 months, yes... but i've been on this site 10 hours a day, 6 and 7 days a week... they have an older number, but they are hardly ever here. of course it doesn't bother them that it was changed! They haven't bonded to it like i have! the whole "i'm right and you're wrong" attidude REALLY made my fuse run short!
but anyhoo....

i found a way to defeat BOTH page styles, so my page will look basically the same in both skins... i'm happy for now. We'll see
what happens when the NEW new changes come along... grrrr!

so.. how are you doin'? have you come to terms (temporarily)? have you met any cool new people?

T.A.Z.*

T.A.Z.

The "I've got a small number" syndrome fits in nicely with my Animal Farm metaphor. "All researchers are equal, except some researchers are more equal than others". I, for one, can happily do without such people.

After my various run-ins with the editors, I finally came to realise that what they're trying to achieve is not so bad. It's just that they've only scratched the surface in terms of functionality of GuideML. It makes GuideML pretty hard going at the moment. I hope that they can make it work but guess its going to take a long time.

I'm tempted to try out using HTML but will do a few tests to see what the results look like. I like to keep everything very simple mainly due to my ineptitude with HTML. I haven't dared look at the new "skin", the name is enough to put me off!!!!

I've come across some interesting and helpful people in the guide. Bruce, the GuideML Clinic Guru, has the patience of Job - I cannot believe how he has put up with all my rantings. Global Village Idiot's stuff is always interesting. If you like arguing (constructively, of course) you could try Gargle Blaster or MyRedDice.

cool- bruce is a fellow angel and ace, and also my personal idol (lol!) he's saved my page more than once! (more than 4 times, actually)

i haven't seen reddice or gargle around much, but i think i'm gonna start moving more in those circles soon... broaden my interests (as tho 250+ forums aren't enough!)

anyway, i originally programmed my page in Guideml, but switched it over to html last month. the switchover was REALLY INCREDIBLY easy. i hit the button and hit update. I had 2 guideml goodies that didn't transfer- a "Box" tag and a "footnote" tag. i just exchanged them. everything else was perfect! Guideml is MUCH more strict than html, but it's worth it. now i'm working in html, and dread the day i have to go and fix all of my sloppy programming to go back to guide! (they're making it so the guide won't accept javascript or html in the future... it'll be a while yet, but it'll be a LOT of work when it comes around!

if you want a bit of a brushup/reference, this page has gotten me through MANY tough spots..
http://hotwired.lycos.com/webmonkey/reference/html_cheatsheet/

Webmonkey- who makes that page- also makes some other really handy reference sheets, like for special characters¹ (¹glyphs) like é and ¿ , color charts, and sheets for javascript, etc. they're all really simple, and easy to navigate. mine is bookmarked!

found any good conversations lately? i just stumbled on a Red Dwarf discussion... imagine my glee!
see ya soon!

Zax*

I've been on a virtual vacation (usually called work) so I haven't been hanging around the guide for a while. It's changed again and seems to have gone quiet.

It's certainly getting more and more pretentious by the minute. "University" my .......

Blaster changed his name to Colonel Sellers and usually wades into to any argument where angels fear to tread. Religion or the lack of it appear to be one of his favourite jousting grounds.

Thanks for the tips.

(-:

glad you're still around, tho!
sorry to hear about the w*rk thing!

FDS, I'm glad you're still around too. I agree with you about the narrow cultural background of what appears to be the majority of researchers. But that is exactly why h2g2 needs you to stay. It needs someone who can point out when articles have been written from a narrow perspective. I qualify under all the categories you listed for the majority of researchers except the young one and I wouldn't claim to be wealthy by western standards, 'tho I most certainly am by some other standards. However I was brought up mainly in Africa and travelled enough to know how much I don't know and to know that the western view of the world is NOT the only one, NOT necessarily right and not even a majority view.
It might help to remember that given the hitech nature of the job many of h2g2's official staff are likely to be young(ish) and that at that age, in the West anyway, people have great confidence in their opinions. I can remember being absolutely sure I was right about all sorts of things I now know I know nothing about.
Wz

PS Re your homespace entry - I found out 6 years ago I didn't have time not to slow down. I slowed down and have peace of mind back and the time to see what I'm looking at.

Wazungu

Thanks for you kind comments. The frightening thing about the about the narrow perspective of h2g2 is that :

1. I'm English and White
2. I have spent less than 10 per cent of my life overseas
3. I went to school and university in England
4. I work in IT/internet
5. The above qualifies me as rich even if my bank balance doesn't


and my views are the alternative !!!!

(-:

From Distant Shores

That is frightening but all that doesn't disqualify you from having a wide perspective.

Maybe what counts is the use you made of the 10%!
My % would 33, but spent in a white european environment.