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

Well, there must be vampire smurf legends. Wouldn't an imaginary race have their own imaginary monsters?

You know what is freaky? There are actually folks out there who think that vampires are real and they are one. We have one in WC.

It is pretty strange, but the person referred to in the above post came in today. It's a he. He dyes his hair black, wears all black, paints his finger nails black, and uses a pale colored foundation makeup and red lipstick. He gives me the creeps. Which I'm sure is his intention. He once told another patron within my hearing that he was going to have his incisors filed to a point. I'm not sure how old he is...early 20's I'd say.

Since you insist on ignpring this conversation I take it you don't believe in vampires. Not even in congress? Oh, right. They're money suckers, not blood suckers.

HA

Sorry, busy.

Do you know a good cure for the hiccups? Mine aren't going away.

Drink a glass of water without breathing? Stand on your head and breathe into a brown paper bag? Alka Seltzer? Turn on the news? That should scare them away.

Holding your breath works sometimes.

Well they're gone now

I hate the hiccups. I heard someone had them for eight years. I wouldn't have lasted that long.

Hey! Lookee.
In the bottom left corner of the front page one of my entries got a second airing First time for me.

Off to look.

Your Milhouse article.

Speaking of cool....it's in the 50's this morning. I love it!

And you should see how the stone is looking on my building. 'Twill be gorgeous.

Speaking of gorgeous, did you see your new UnderGuide Volunteer badge?

We just got them. I've been working with Jims on this for months. It's nice, isn't it?

I like the color. Although I feel like a fraud having one. And since it went up, my Post badge is just a box with an x in it. Two badges! Who'd a thunk it?

Purple. Just like the h2g2 eds. I think they ran out of acceptable colors. Still better than pink, though, eh?

My post badge is that way too I hope the UG badges didn't somehow fudge up the Post badges. Probably just a defect of the upgrade.

Two badges? Pah. I now have a lifetime total of seven. Maybe I should sign up to be a guru and sub just for the vanity of it. Nah. I never liked subbing or guruing.

Some researchers have no badges, Mr. Smarty. Two badges are better than no badges. And not nearly as ostentatious as 7 badges.

Ostentatious? You make it sound like it's a bad thing.

There is a quiet dignity in having a couple of badges, or having none at all when you could. Of course, I've got no problems with dignity shortages.

Well, since badges are often awarded for volunteerism, rather than achievement, I would say that just collecting a high total is somewhat meaningless. Your badge for your uni project was earned, so you should be more proud of it than of an ace badge, for example. Some aces do a lot and are great for the site. Some aces do very little. But they all have badges, regardless of their accomplishments. You happen to work hard at whatever you do, so I think you deserve your badges. But your Ace badge, for example, is denigrated by the simple fact that some people have them who don't deserve them. It's like my new shiny Underguide badge. I like it and hope to become more active in the UG one day, but as of right now I really don't deserve a badge. My badge makes your badge less valuable because you earned yours and I didn't earn mine. Am I making any sense? I do think I've earned my Post Reporter badge.

Actually, I have decided that the UG volunteer badge will stay with people, like the Post Reporter Badge. This is basically because I have a lot of friends who aren't currently very active (like you) and I don't have the heart ask Jims to take their badge away, and I don't have the access to the button to give and take away badges from people, so I have to go through the italics.

Speaking of inactive, KJ just made what he decided was his last post on h2g2 I'm going to miss him. He was great.

Oh dear. That is sad news. Any chance that he'll change his mind?

I really will do more for the UG. Promise. Thanks for sticking up for me. I'll earn that badge, by yimminy.

I have to leave the house at 4:30 in the morning for a 200 mile drive to Jefferson City. I am speaking at the Secretary's Council on Library Development. I should have gone up tonight but didn't want to leave F by himself for that long. So, I'll be really bushed when I get back in tomorrrow evening. But it will be good for my library for me to go, so I didn't feel like I could turn it down.

I don't even think that KJ is going to come back to look at the responses. You could always leave a nice message though, of course.

Sticking up? Nah, I just made a general decision, and I think I can keep myself in charge of badgery as long as I'm around. I couldn't take badges from GTB and FwT - former editors I spent a lot of time working with, nor could I take it from KJ - one of my favorite miners ever.

That sounds exhausting indeed, but speaking at state government must be nice. What're you speaking about?

Speaking about the problems of small libraries and their relationship to the Sec. of State's office.

So what's the other new badge going to be for? Something you'll qualify for,no doubt.