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

I don't get it. It's not even as if it gives them a longer sales run, because when October *is* here they won't be selling it, they'll have moved on to the next seasonals.

It sure beats the hell out of me, and yeah, by Halloween they'll have run out of their Christmas winter warmer, will have gone through most of their winter barley wine and will getting ready to start selling their spring seasonal

I guess they couldn't wait for October.
http://beerpulse.com/2013/09/winter-beers-have-arrived-1351/

Seriously? That's just plain wrong, and there's no way on earth the breweries can explain it away with the 'We don't want to have empty spaces on the shelves or gaps between seasonals' excuse.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24650954
Pepper spray campus police officer awarded compensation

Un-ing-believable. I'm glad I'm not one of those students. I can't imagine what I'd be feeling after reading that.

"He said he was not proposing "some sort of big brother watch" but wanted to educate people, possibly starting in schools."
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25210867

Seriously? Big Brother has nothing at all to do with it - it's all about seeing a fair trial, and common bloody sense. Why on earth should such a qualification be necessary for something like this?

Unless it wasn't, and what the BBC isn't telling us is that it was said in response to a question from a reporter or a TV/radio presenter, in which case the report should make that clear.

And it's a bloody pointless question (see above).

Rereading this thread.

> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-11692304 Seriously? Have the big corporations still not learned that it's really, really bad for their image when they take on a minnow like this?

Actually, they don't have a choice. A trademark is a trademark, and if you don't protect it, you lose it. And you have to protect it always, under all circumstances. If you let the little people away with it, you will, actually lose your trademark.

See http://johngreenbooks.com/who-owns-dftba-an-introduction-to-trademarks/ (see also a comment there, which disagrees). (That's US law, of course, but I believe similar provisions apply in the UK.)

TRiG.

Yep, I'm aware of that. There have been so many stories of trademark infringements in the beer business recently that most of us who follow the beer newsfeeds must feel like we're trademark law experts now, having heard so much about the ins and outs, and the explanations from the trademark owners. In fact there was another one this week, but it ended without the need for litigation, or even a lawyer's letter as far as I can tell http://sixpoint.com/blog/recent/the-lil-wisconsin-accord-of-13/

The big companies very rarely seem to see it any way other than one they've always known, which has usually ended up with them getting their own might-is-right, we've-got-the-biggest-lawyers-and-pots-of-money, fear-us way. If you're a tiny company like Belleville Brewing or Redwell Brewing both of whom got cease-and-desist letters from high powered lawyers representing AB InBev and Red Bull respectively, letters which are, to put it mildly, usually pretty forthright in their language and legalese, it can be very intimidating, particularly when what's being threatened is your business and your livelihood.

Perhaps the big companies haven't yet caught on to the power of the internet and social media, something they haven't had to contend with until recently. In times past the worst they might have to deal with would be a story on That's Life or on a consumer slot on something like Nationwide.

I've just agreed to accompany a friend to the hospital on Monday morning for some kind of an -oscopy (not up the bum, he assures me). He has to be there at 5am for a 5.30 appointment.

Seriously?

I'm going to have to get up at 3.30am for this. What was I thinking?

It's a decent thing to do. Being a good friend doesn't come without its inconveniences. So, good for you!

Yep, you have to take the rough with the smooth. Swings and roundabouts, and all that.

And I thought my 6:30a Monday morning MRI was an early appointment. Sheesh!

I'm guessing that even by him asking, he's worried about it. You've gone up a lot in my estimation just by being the one who says "Yeah, I'll do it."

He told me it's a hospital stipulation that has he be accompanied. Apparently he won't be able to drive afterwards because, I think, there's an anaesthetic involved, so we're going there and back by taxi. I think I'm in the frame because I'm the only of his friends who doesn't have to go to work later that day, but I'm probably also the only one who doesn't drive, hence the taxi.

Hey, I'm determined to see the human decency side of it, if I have to die trying. But yeah...3.30.

Which I think is just about the time I went to bed last night. No, I wasn't out painting the town red - I fell asleep on the sofa around 9pm and woke up just before 1am. Then, while I was tidying up and getting to ready to actually *go* to bed I realised that I was wide awake and that there'd be little point in trying to sleep, so I made a cup of tea, cut a slice of cake and sat down to series 1 episode 3 of New Tricks. And probably something else too because New Tricks is only an hour long, but I can't remember what it might have been.

I do know though that earlier on I was listening to something I'd long since recorded off the wireless, and I was in that half asleep/half awake place where your brain starts to merge the two states, because I was dreaming about what I was listening to and visualising the character who was speaking. And in my semi-dream she had huge tombstone-like teeth

Well, here I am, eating brekkers at 4.25 in the ante meridian, surprisingly awake and un-bleary.

I take it your medical trip went quickly and you went back to bed.

I got part way to my appointment and realized I'd left my paperwork in the pocket of my other jacket. (It reeked of smoke from the bar from Saturday so I swapped it as I was heading out the door and let it air out on the balcony.) I was just a bit late as I was originally told to be there at 6:30, but 6:45 was more realistic and the time they told me when they confirmed my appointment. I was obviously the first of the day as I didn't even finish filling out their forms before they took me back, maybe five minutes after walking through the door.

I was out of there in less than an hour.

I headed up into Houston to do some shopping at Central Market. I got some steel cut oats and cheese cloth. I haven't decided whether to use cream in the athol brose yet. I probably will, but I can get that easily enough.

I got home after a late breakfast by noon. I had to head back to the MRI clinic because they gave me back the doctor's order for delivering the scans. On my way back home I did just a little bit more shopping and got my self a crimbo present from my parents. Once home decided to change my brake pads. Unfortunately, on the last set I discovered I need to have a caliper bracket replaced.

It's been a busy day.

Yep, everything went swimmingly. We got there about 5.30 and he went in around 6.15 while I sat in the waiting room listening Tom Baker reading his autobiography for about an hour. Man, that bloke had a strange, strange upbringing. A very religious one. Nuff said.

We went for breakfast afterwards, so I had two breakfasts today

I didn't go back to bed though. I lay down on the sofa and had a doze while listening to something on the radio, then I baked some bread, then I had another doze, but I'm yawning, at... just after 8pm.

I really must remember to reset the alarm when I go to bed. No need to be waking up at 4am tomorrow