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

from az and Noggin


How are you guys?


az

well some of us prob are not smileing like the cat thats got the cream, eh Az, suppose you page will have a couple of threads that are now no longer worth lurking

az

Actually, it was a lovely reunion and this morning we went out for brekky and a bit of shopping. Bought a few cd's to listen to on the new 'mini stereo' we bought a few weeks ago. Just listening to Harry Nilsson's greatest hits at the moment.

There's a great music shop here that has older catalogue stuff at very good prices - between 6-9 euros. So aside from Harry we bought a Paco de Lucia anthology, Greatful Dead, a blues anthology and - don't laugh - the soundtrack for Forrest Gump. Crap film, fab soundtrack.

Anyhow, slipping into real life quite nicely, thank you very much.




az

Hello,

Delighted for you az, Noggin.


Wouldn't that be Harry Nilsson's greatest HIT? "Can't live, can't live any moooooooooooore..."

I enjoyed Forrest Gump, I must admit. There was some very clever interlacing of Forrest into archive film of some historic moments. What's on the soundtrack? It was set in the Sixties so presumably the's a lot of FAB music. Yes?

Real life. Ha, who needs it? It can seriously muck up your dreams. Hang on to the fantasy, that's what I say (although the nice bloke in the white coat doesn't agree).

F

<>



Nooooooo . . . but the funniest thing is that when we were just going through all my old cd's and organizing them I discovered I already had that one!

Thing is, my cd player has been broken for years and so my cd's were all just collecting dust, hence it's been ages since I bought any new ones. Ah well, that one was only 5€. Would you like me to send the extra copy to you?

The Forrest Gump sountrack starts late 50's and carries on into the early 70's, and it is quite a wonderful selection. In fact, I think there are only two songs on it that I don't absolutely love.

<<(although the nice bloke in the white coat doesn't agree)>>

What, your bank manager wears a white coat?

Meanwhile, as I was walking to my first class this morning I tripped over a bit of sticky-uppy pavement and bashed my already bashed-up knee (that I had previously bashed falling *up* the stairs a few months ago - don't ask). Several people ran to my rescue and helped me up, but within seconds I had an egg-sized and very bruised lump just under my knee.

That'll teach me to walk around with my head in the clouds.


az

The nice bloke in the white coat is my analyst. Actually he's a software analyst - he came package with Windows XP.

Hang on to the extra CD and I'll pick it up when I'm over there. (Bound to be, sooner or later.)

You do realise you can play CDs on your computer don't you? You put them in that little drawer you've been using as a cup holder*... You can even Hootoo while they're playing.

* Comes from a call to a computer help desk: a lady asked if she could get the cup holder repaired. After some questions the help desk helper realised she meant the CD ROM drive tray. The story is somewhere on the jokes thread.

Perhaps you can clear up a little mystery for me. I'm sure I've had a white rioja somewhere - if it wasn't rioja it was something that sounded very like it. Do you know if there is such a thing?

F

Cup holder??? Nah, it's just that I have dinky little speakers for my computer and the sound is crap. So I just never bothered playing my cd's on the computer much (a few yes, but not usually).

Noggin and I just spent the past hour setting up the new stereo in its 'proper place' and also dusting off and organizing all my cd's and cassettes (and putting in some he'd brought with him as well). So now it's great - one bookshelf has the stereo and cd's on it, within comfortable reach. And the cassettes are all set up as well.

Yes, there is white rioja. Rioja is a wine growing region in Spain that produces red, white and rosé wines, though of course the most famous (and the best) are the red wines.

My personal preference for Spanish white wines are those produced in the Rueda region. Dry, crisp and fruity. Marques de Riscal is one you can probably find quite easily in the UK. They also make a wonderful rosé.

I have yet to find a white rioja that I like, so I mostly stick to the rueda white wines.

Another Spanish red you might want to check out is Ribera del Duero (I think I've spelled that right). Very very nice.


az

walking Az surely you mean skipping to your class
sticky uppy pavement,so there are spanish student all refering to
a raised paving slab as sticky uppy.

does that mean we will soon be seeing "clutching egg in leg"
no i'm not refering to noggin, lets rephrase that then "cluching leg instead"

No, I might say to a student that I fell over a bit of 'sticky-uppy' pavement, but I would always give them the correct translation later.

'Clutching egg in leg' was promptly dealt with when I showed up for my class. They went off to find me some ice to put on my swollen knee and I sat there giving the class with my leg up on a chair and ice on my knee - if not I'm sure things would be much worse now.

In fact, when I fell down in the street one of the guys that helped me up told me to go home straight away and put ice on my knee. And another old lady was all upset, going on about the state of the pavements these days! I was sort of in shock and wanting to get to my class, but it really was lovely how this group of people was so caring and wanted to help. Even after I stumbled off I could hear them continuing to discuss the 'accident' amongst themselves.

People are just so lovely sometimes.


az

Hi guys,

How's your knee, az? I hope it is recovering now. Watch out for the sticky-uppy pavements; especially after the slosh-downy Spanish wines.

Not much going on here. I had a very quiet (AKA boring) weekend doing very little. I did construct a set of shelves - still to be sanded and painted - but that's about all. Anything interesting going on with you guys?

F

Don't you mean 'sloshy-downy' Spanish wines?

Yeah, the knee is a bit better now, but over-compensating for it whilst walking has caused my back and upper left leg to go painfully wonky. Anyhow, according to my doctor friend Ricardo I am a *very lucky girl*. He said that type of fall with the injury I sustained usually results in a broken, or at least fractured, tibia. So, lucky lucky me!

Hey, have you seen this?

F53684?thread=490812

Think you might be able to make it?


az

I don't see what's lucky about tripping over a pavement and injuring your knee, however much worse it might have been. It's some kind of weird optimist that says 'you were lucky' whenever you have an accident just because the injuries could almost always have been worse. If you ask me you were unlucky to fall in the first place and I hope your knee is better soon. You were especially unlucky that Johnny Depp wasn't there to catch you; even though you would have to just thank him politely and then walk away...

The problem with hurting one leg is that compensating for the injury inevitably hurts your back. Perhaps you should get Noggin to smack you in the other knee with a blunt object to even it up a bit?

A London meet in January? There's a lot going on at the moment with the job situation and some other issues so I won't know for a while if I can make it. I'll have to discuss it with Mrs Fathom but as she isn't keen on meeting strangers I know it won't appeal to her. It would be nice to see some of the people I've met on here (except perhaps the ones I've offended) so I'll see what I can do. Perhaps I can work it in as part of a 'weekend in London' package; she might like to go and see a show or something. I'll give it some thought.

F

Well no, falling down wasn't particularly lucky! Though I guess luckier that nothing worse happened as a result.

But I am told by various doctor friends that I MUST get an xray done to make sure there was no other damage, especially as I can barely walk right now. I get screaming pain down the side of my left leg whenever I put my (considerable) weight on it. This could either be (according to my doctor friends) a pulled muscle or else - eek! - a hairline fracture in my hip! Well, we shall see.

Meanwhile, Noggin doesn't seem to want to bash me in the other knee - the old softy!

Still - what a b*gger! We'd had plans to go to Gibraltar this weekend but it doesn't seem sensible as I can barely hobble around to do a bit of grocery shopping. Aaaaaaargh!

The winter meet seems quite up in the air, depending on 2legs getting a pub venue organized. Again, we shall see.

What's going on with you?

az

You can't start with the Rebel Angels, try first with the Deptford Trilogy - Fifth Business, the Manticore and World of Wonders.

My most favourite author ever!

az

Sorry to hear about your leg now. I hope it's not as serious as your friends are suggesting. It does sound more likely to be a pulled muscle or tendon (or damaged cartilage in the hip joint) than a fracture if it happened when you bashed your knee. Unless you also have osteoporosis perhaps.

I'm just waiting for my job to come to an end when I can either apply for another job within the company (if I can find one) or take redundancy. I would get a good redundancy package so this is not such an easy choice; I can think of sound reasons for choosing either way. Nothing much else is happening right now that I can think of.

F

How old are you?

az

If you want a youthful figure ask a woman her age...

I'm 45. Didn't I tell you that once?

On the Robertson Davies question, I know who he is but only because I read a short story by him some time ago and unfortunately I can't remember the title. Rebel Angels is one I've seen somewhere recently but as a pure coincidence - I can't walk past a bookshop without venturing inside - but I didn't buy it. I'll track down the ones you mentioned on your recommendation. As a trilogy are they all in one book?

F

Most of the trilogies are now published in omnibus editions. The Deptford trilogy is to die for. The Cornish trilogy is fabulous. Oh, I cannot say enough about this man.

45, eh?

So getting a hefty pay package might actually suit you very well at this time of life . . . you know, to get you to think about what else you might like to be doing.

What else might you like to be doing?


az

I'd like to buy a big motorbike and drive across Europe (but Mrs Fathom wouldn't)...

A change of career would actually be a good idea and the redundancy package would make it much easier to, say, retrain in another skill. I'm just young enough to get away with it I think.

Sensible(ish) possibilities are:
Learn some IT skills for a qualification - web site design, programming, tech support etc.
Learn to be a driving instructor.
Apply for a similar job to the one I have now.
Start my own business - I have some ideas with varying levels of realism. Did you say you needed a window cleaner?
Write a book.

My wife has some health issues so this would be a good chance to do some of the things we would like to do while she is well enough to do them. That would mean a lot of travelling (though not on a motorbike) including my wife's ambition of the train journey across the Canadian Rockies. If I could combine the studying (and/or writing) with the travelling - and not spend the money too quickly - that might just be possible.

There's no question there are opportunities here but it's all a bit scary right now. What do you think? Any suggestions?

F