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

...but I'm not a cat so hopefully it shouldn't kill me. I am, in fact, an ACE (Assistant Community Editor) and it means that I have volunteered to personally meet and greet newcomers to the Guide such as yourself.
Welcome to H2G2 Hotblack!!
Oooohhhh... GCSEs... Good luck with them.
What are you doing?
If you have any questions, ask away... I may not be able to answer them accurately or even at all, but I'll be able to find someone who can. You can also go and ask the rest of the ACEs at http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/Aces
Don't worry if it takes you a while to get back... I have a plentiful if not endless supply of s and and will sit here eating them until you return. So there's no hurry! But do have a doughnut or some cake yourself.
*offers and *


¦M¦

Thanks, M. It's always nice to get a welcome.

Incidently, the GCSEs I'm doing are... too numerous to list. I'm doing geography, though, which is as bad as it gets.

Rest assured, I'll let you know if I have any problems. None as yet, though.

Thom/Hotblack

Ooohhhhh Geography... *groan* I'm doing that too... only Systems and Control equals it terribleness. I think I just made that word up. But hey! Today I had my last Geog exam (did you?) and I never EVER have to do it again.

OK. Have fun!

¦M¦

I had my last Geography exam today, too, so it's party-in-the-steet-time right now. I took Systems as well, but I found that quite intresting. It sucks that the exam is so late, though: I've got four exams next week, a full two week break, then that at the end of June. And I had music, which was the first exam I could have had. It really doesn't get any worse, surely. Ah, well, life's tough, I guess.

Thom

You didn't have our teacher. She is eeeeeevil. We all hate her and she nearly left because of us. Which would have been incredibly nice, and about the most considerate thing she would ever had done, but she decided to stay and spite us... Evil woman...
You've got Systems at the end of June?? I've got my last Systems exam tomorrow, but at the end of June I've got RE, after a two week break.
How's everything else been going?

¦M¦

'How's everything else been going?' Pretty good, really. I'm sort of almost confident about a good fraction of my exams, most of the time. I am concerned, however, because people seem to keep expecting some kind of success from me. Like I'm going to get straight A*s or something. I fear this may not be the case.

I don't have an evil teacher, really. I feel deprived somehow. My physics teacher has had it tough though... loud classes, insults, put downs, laughter when she tries to call order and, once, a chalk in the eye. She's leaving at the end of this year. Can't think why...

I hope your Systems exam went okay, as well as the others. Don't tell me what's on it, mind, 'cos if a moderator reads this we'll both be up the creek.

Well... Good luck with the rest of your exams (RE? Rather you than me) and don't work too hard.

Thom

I get that too... annoying isn't it?

Oh, you're lucky! I had, at last count, three. Don't feel deprived, you're better off without one. Unless you need someone to hate.

Well, most of my exams have been OK. Only the English ones and the second Systems one I'm not happy with. But there you go...
Yeah, I'd rather not be doing it either. But w*rk?? *grins* I haven't been w*rking much and I don't intend to start now!!

¦M¦

You get a SECOND Systems exam? Jeez... I only get the one. Which country are YOU in? (joke). I haven't got an exam for a fortnight now. I've decided to take the week off.

Incidently, everybody needs someone to hate. Makes the world go round.

By the way, I've been doing some reading... the entry about entertaining kids in the car on long journeys was inspired. Well done!

I got my first one printed recently *bursts with pride* about buying your first guitar. I guess music is one of the only subjects I can claim to know anything convincing about.

Take it easy.

Yeah... and the fist is always on Resistant Materials instead of Systems...
*grin* I've got the week off too, and guess what I'm doing? Trying to teach myself guitar!!
And I read your entry- very good!
Oh yes... the entertaining kids one... I had very little to do with it actually... I posted to a conversation there once and they included me as a researcher for it, so whoever it was (Mina I think) who came up with the idea didn't get any more of a mention than me. Very unfair, methinks.

Actually, I'm convinced that there is at least one person in the world who doesn't need someone to hate... and I don't think I will ever find them either...

¦M¦

So you're learning guitar now? Good luck with that. One thing that's always puzzled me though: How are you sopposed to teach yourself something when you don't know it in the first place? It strikes me that lessons would be mostly unproductive (is that a word? It is now). Hey- we should meet up and do a gig. Picture the occasion: a huge stage, strobe lights, amplifiers as big as office blocks and seven thousand people in the audience screaming their heads off. "Ladies and Gentlemen, for one night only, The Guide Researchers!!!" (cheers). It'll be great.

I managed to get a friend to join as a researcher, by the way. If I could remember his nickname I'd introduce him to you (apparently its the name of the character in some game I've never heared of.) Then again, knowing your friendly nature, you've already contacted him. His real name is Robin, anyway. Say 'hi' for me, if you see him.

Take it easy.
Hotblack.

Well, I've got my mum's old guitar book from when she tried to teach herself, and I've got huge amounts of easy music from when I learnt things like recorder, clarinet and flute, and stuff that I'm still learning on piano, and I try and play it. You can also get books and music from libraries, apparantly. And I should probably start concentrating on chords, but I can't be bothered...
*grin* You would NOT want me in it - believe me, there are people on h2g2 who are way better than me.

Hey cool!! I've never managed to get anyone I know IRL to join. Well, apart from one guy, and he never comes on.
I don't think I have... I haven't been greeted anyone for about a week, but I might do tonight.

¦M¦

It's begining to disturb me, how much we have in common. We're talking big league coincidences here. First, obviously, is H2G2. Then there's the Systems and Control thing, and Geography too. Now, you are learning guitar, you play (or used to play?) clarinet, which I have been playing even longer than guitar, AND you play piano, which is what I'm trying to learn to play over the Summer. Wow! What are the odds! Do you do any athletics? 'cos that's something else I do. And I want to take up Ju Jitsu this Summer, like some of my friends. So, any matches there?

Oh, if you need to know how to play the odd chord, let me know and I'll at least try to help...

Respect,
H.D.

Yes, I used to play Clarinet, I started when I was 8, I think. Gave up in Yr6 after passing Grade 3 to learn Flute. Gave up flute before Yr7 because I would have had to have lessons at school and that would have drawn attention to me...
I used to do athletics; I was best at triple jump and 100m, and would probably have been good at hurdles if we'd done it. I also did race-walking. Only everyone's outgrown me, so I have absolutely no chance any more... and *grin* my sister's just taken up Ju Jitsu, but what she's been taught so far I do instictively...

OK, I will. Good luck with the Piano.

BTW- ever done any shooting?

¦M¦

Okay... guess what my best events are? Triple jump, hurdles, and 100m. This is just too freakin' scary. I'm pretty good at long jump too, though.

To throw a bit of reassurance into the mix that we are not actually the same person, the closest I've done to shooting is paintballing. Great fun. Doing that on Wednesday, actually... a kind of "we're free from exams" celebration. So, do you shoot to kill, or do you prefer to just cause suffering?

Oh, so you're an instinctive martial artist, eh? Respect for that. You'll probably find out in a couple of years that you are the "Chosen One", born to fight the vampires and the forces of darkness... I find this unlikely, though. Sorry, that came from the Buffy fan in me.

I had a private teacher on the clarinet, so I think I was spared most of the insults. I had to join the school band though, which could have been bad, but I'm the main clarinetist now, and I play guitar, so I have salvaged at least some respect.

By the way... as you are pretty much the only experienced guideperson -Guidegirl? Guideguy? Sorry, I never thought to find out, and I'm not much good at detective work- I know, I was wondering if you could help my friend with a minor problem... he has forgotten his password. Okay, as problems go, this is actually a fairly big one. Is there anything he can do, though?

Systems exam on Tuesday... wish me luck! And good luck with the RE.

God... this is a long message. I'm in a talkative mood tonight.

Thom.

Eeek... eeek... I mean, I've met some people here who are sort of kindred spirits, but you're just freaking me out!!
OK, guess what... I'm OK at long jump as well...

You know, I've never gone paintballing... something I've always meant to do but never got round to...
I shoot at little bits of cardboard using old rifles. But if I was shooting anything living it would depend what (or who) it was and what they were doing...

Well... she has only been taught two moves so far...
Ooh, another Buffy fan. There's lots of you about...

Aaaarrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhhh... school bands... hate them... but main clarinetist?! Brilliant!!
I've steered clear of school bands and I've joined a local orchestra instead. Much better - they don't sound terrible.

Yep, he can go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/mybbc and click the 'forgot password?' link and get it e-mailed to him. He needs his login name though.
Wish him luck!

Oh, and good luck in Systems!!
Thanks. The RE went fine, I think. I finished the paper, which is always good with the RE exam...

¦M¦

Well, I did write a message but I didn't put it in this string. So if either of ye want to read it it'll be from your personal post thing, Thom.

Oh you got your password back!! Excellent!!

¦M¦

Robin, meet Ming (Sorry, never did get you're real name).
Ming, this is Robin.

Well, isn't this a party, huh?

Ming- Systems exam went fine, thanks for the luck. Only one question I didn't get time to do. Did yours go well, when you did it? And whereabouts do you live, if you're doing exams at different times? I wonder if we did the same paper.

By the way, in my school, the band is better than the orchestra. It depends on the conductor. can't be bothered with out of school bands and orchestras mind...

The rifle thing sounds cool. Gotta try that.

Rob- Well done for getting your password back. And good luck with that article. Sorry, can't think of anything else to say... I just spoke to you on Messenger!

Take it easy, both.

Hotblack

Ming: I've just some reading, and I've only gone and answered my own question, haven't I?

Sussex, South-East England. You couldn't be further away if you tried, could you?

It's amazing what one finds if one actually bothers to read one's friend's introduction...

Thom.

Hello Robin. Nice to meet you!!
Do you want to know my real name then?

*grins* Reading intros does sometimes help. Of course, sometimes it doesn't...
So where do you live?
I'm glad the Systems went OK. We've probably not got the same exam board. Mine's OCR.

In my school the band is usually merged with the orchestra and the only flute player in it really annoys me. Which is why I'm not in it... And I like the orchestra I'm in.

Oh, it IS cool!! I love shooting. Great for relaxing after having a seriously bad day.

Oh- what messenger have you got?

¦M¦