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

Oh for goodness sake

Posted Nov 6, 2005

I cannot believe what I have been reading in the last few days. With this in mind I think it only right that I bring a few things out into the open. I am aware that is going to be an unpopular journal entry but the air needs clearing.

I am *not* ill. I *was* ill - very ill with peritonitis and it was touch and go for a while. Since an operation, recouperation and a bout of severe post-op depression, however, I am now back to good health apart from coping with the onset of the menopause due to removal of an ovary.

What *did* set me back for a while was the loss of my computer twice due to a corrupt hard drive and the loss of all my email contacts, messenger details etc. My email address remained the same so I didn't perceive that to be a problem at the time...

Now, with regards to The Post. I was very heartened to see many rally round to keep The Post going. If it could be maintained during my convalescence then at least there would be a Post to come back to.

1) I *was* looking forward to returning... but

2) The lack of *any* communication from *any* of the current team or *any* of the italics started to make that increasingly difficult. When difficulties were encountered why didn't anyone make some sort of effort to contact me for assistance? You can't stay 'in the loop' and hope to return if you are summararily excluded.

3) The increasingly large amount of behind the scenes work which would need to be undertaken in order to justify the Front Page link. The lifeblood of The Post for a long time was the Archives and, when we lost a permanent link for a while during the h2g Front Page reshuffle, the *only* link to The Post was to the archives. There used to be a file readily available to The Post Team which emphasised the importance of the archives and how easy it was to update them at the same time as editing an article.

Included in this file were guidelines to every aspect of creating and publishing The Post. These were aimed at keeping continuity so that Post pages were instantly recognisable, they conformed to the guidelines laid down by the h2g2 italics (No, on my watch we never, ever had an entire Post Front Page removed for moderating. A couple of articles which mentioned a portable cabin by name and a couple for a mix-up over acceptable swear words were the only ones temporarily hidden and quickly replaced) and The Post since its inception and, most of all, to make the process as simple and painless as possible. They were not intended to be in any way dictatorial - they were *guidelines*

4) A few random remarks here and there about previous columns and articles. The misconception that the sporting column was generally rubbish when several, Master B and I did our best to cover a wide range of sports including rugby, football, tennis, skiing, snooker, baseball, Amfoot, dog sledding - to name but a few. The fact that several (whose contribution was a sub-part of the sport column called 'Sporting Blues' by the way) died shortly after these posts compounded this feeling of sadness.

5) The difficulty with cartoons and graphics. A cursory glance through the many articles using graphics would have revealed exactly how to code these. A small foray into the archives would have led to A3962685 (The Post 2005 Graphic Competitions) where the requirements for graphics for The Post are clearly laid out.

6) The changes in deadlines. Not a major issue but I had made it clear that the weekend was my busiest time work-wise which is why it was prepped during the week. With DJ and bar duties stretching into the early hours, plus other commitments, finding time to edit any Post at the weekend was not an option for me. This problem, however, would have been easy to fix and I fully understood why the goalposts had to be moved.

7) A breakdown in communication in some areas. I worked very hard to keep all postings done under the 'Post Team' umbrella courteous. I am aware how tedious and time consuming this can be but surely it takes the same amount of words to be polite as to be verging on rude and dismissive? A few bridges would have to be built.

6) The appearance of postings with regards to 'I wish The Post would die' and it being a millstone. Again - if things had got that bad why was I not even approached to come back or assist? For things to deteriorate that quickly, even with a larger team than ever working to produce an issue once a fortnight, seemed like a slap in the face. I had spent almost 6 years of my life on The Post and, despite having to write appeals for assistance or articles occasionally, I *never* felt that The Post was any less than a joy to work on. I may have had the odd blip - things sometimes went wrong as with any project in life - but I looked on it as my adopted child and cherished it accordingly.

So is it any wonder that I cleared my desk? Am I being unreasonable? I certainly didn't think that I should have to come cap-in-hand to the current team to ask for my job back which, ironically, I would have accepted! I would have thought it should be the other way round...

I know that this sounds an ungrateful tirade but it isn't. It is posted in the hope that the record is put straight and not as an attack on any one individual or group of people. It is *my* side of the saga of The Post.

Discuss this Journal entry [43]

Latest reply: Nov 6, 2005

The time has come to say farewell

Posted Nov 2, 2005

After over 6 years of h2g2 and almost 6 years of running <./>ThePost</.> the time has come to hang up my quill.

It has been a fun ride. The friendships I have made will endure a lifetime - especially the one which saw me move to Holland!

Since my operation and illness earlier in the summer I have dropped by occasionally to see how things were going. What can I say? This place doesn't seem to be a place I want to visit anymore. I guess it has moved on and I have remainded the same.

I give my full permission for the Dutch Researchers club to be taken over by whomsoever would like to run it.

I wish the new Post Team all the best for the future.

I hope that all my old friends will still feel free to email me at my usual address - and those who have enjoyed our hospitality or those who have been invited to in the future are still most welcome.

shazz - no longer 'PRME'

Discuss this Journal entry [55]

Latest reply: Nov 2, 2005

Offline until further notice

Posted Jun 25, 2005

Discuss this Journal entry [10]

Latest reply: Jun 25, 2005

Totally P***** Off :-(

Posted May 15, 2004

I still can't get used to the 'bike' attitude over here.

I spent a great evening as a DJ in a local bar in town only to come out and find someone had ridden off with Giselle. Yeah, I know its pathetic naming a bike but she's been a good friend to me since February 2002 when she replaced Gabby my previous Gazelle - also stolen from under my nose more-or-less.

I know that this 'borrowing' of bicycles isn't particularly perceived as a criminal act over here and that all are considered fair game after a late night when you just want a quick way to get home. Sorry but to me it feels like an affront. She's seen me safe to and from college every day, allowed me the freedom you don't get with public transport especially as I gave up my car when moving over here. She's had lights 'removed', wheels bent and stickers affixed by persons unknown. She's often been caught in amazing rainstorms and kept soldiering on. She's been treated to a new bell, new pump, new lights and the odd lick of oil. Everytime I fetched her out of the shed it was like greeting an old friend... and now she's gone goodness knows where.

Yes I have her frame number and, yes, she will be reported missing. I don't hold out much hope though...

So, to the who took her I just say very much! You've ruined my weekend and made me feel that this place is a little less friendly than it was this time yesterday.

shazz - no longer eligible for the h2g2 cycling club...

Discuss this Journal entry [16]

Latest reply: May 15, 2004

h2g2 Summer Meet 2003

Posted Jul 3, 2003

What a great time we had.

We flew out from Holland mid-afternoon. The sun was shining and people were melting. The flight (for once) was on time, with just a little turbulance and we landed 45 minutes later at London Luton to find a 10 degree temperature drop and steady drizzle. It was about this time I wondered if I had packed suitable clothes for the weekend!

The bus journey into London was fairly uneventful, although I'm not entirely convinced that we chose the best drop-off location as we seemed to back-track rather a lot to attain the comfort and safety of the Pre-Meet Pub.

The Pre-Meet was, as always, a great night. It was great to renew old aquaintances and make one or two new. Thankfully the staff had been persuaded to serve jugs of beer (under protest), so we didn't have to make too many trips to the bar. Time was called all too soon and we were shunted out into the night to make our way back to Peta's house for the night. We negotiated the tube without too much hastle and, following a (for me) longish walk - I'm used to biking everywhere now - we arrived at Peta's pad. After a few s, great music and excellent conversation, we retired to bed - to sleep, perchance to dream.

The next morning, or was it afternoon we awoke to bacon rolls, more and Peta's daughter having fun with a computer game. A brisk walk back to the station and we were once more en-route for the city centre.

I am running an 'English Pub Night' at the beginning of August so needed to stock up on naff tourist items such as flags, beer mats and union jack clothing. Some new sounds were also on the shopping list, so we high-tailed it to HMV to enjoy the benefits of their 'Biggest Ever Sale'. Purchases made and purses lightened, we then made tracks to Hyde Park. As everyone found, the route there was somewhat crowded with Bon Jovi fans and the bandstand surrounded by odd-looking people who were most certainly NOT h2g2ers. As the weather had turned kinder than in Luton and was positively hot, we treated ourselves to an ice cream and sat on a bench to consume this before ringing through to find the throng. Imagine my delight to see Titania - mobile phoneless and lost - wander up! At least, even if we were late, we'd managed to find another Meet Attendee.

Peta must have been busy as she didn't answer her phone, but I managed to raise Pastey who let us in on the current whereabouts of the mob. After a shortish walk we met up with him and joined in the laze in the sunshine.

Around an hour later the exodus to the pub began. Skillfully led by Mina we negotiated the afternoon crowds and the underground and were soon ensconced in the Penderel. What can we say about the pub? It is fairly comfortable, almost big enough to accomodate us all - but the staff... and the lack of beer!!! I had to try 4 times before they actually had a decent pump beer and this ran out after 2 hours and they weren't prepared to put a new barrel on, suggesting I went upstairs to purchase one instead. This was not on! Eventually they saw sense and relented by providing Titanic. Did they really think I'd flown all the way from Holland to drink tap beer - or LAGER!!!!

Chatter was extensive and far-encompassing. the quiz was tricky but fun and spimcoot's 'etchings' divine. Many apologies to those who I really wanted to speak to, but didn't quite get around to. I'll try to do better next time. Too soon the night ended and we once more headed out to Peta's, this time with Ceolacanth in tow.

Sunday dawned and we all decided to take a taxi to the station to rest our weary feet a little. As seems to be the norm in the UK these days, it took forever to arrive, the driver's grasp of English was limited and he charged us more than the quoted price. Coely went to the tube and we went to the BR station to purchase tickets to Gatwick - finally achieved after a lengthy wait because the woman in front seemed to be enquiring about every trip possible, bought tickets and then left the station!

It was only later we realised that we were waiting for a non-existant train. We needed to go to East Croyden to connect to the Victoria-Gatwick train, but the trains from Balham only go to West Croyden on a Sunday. No worries, it says that there is a handy tram link between the two. So, a short journey - including a 10 minute wait for the 'train behind to catch up' - and we arrive in West Croyden. Following the 'tram' signs leads us on a wild goose chase, finally tracking down the correct stop after about 1/2 hour of walking. Once safely aboard the tram we find that it retraces our steps and stops just around the corner from the station... either the signs are very misleading or some kind person had moved them all round.

Finally we arrive at Gatwick, book in and browse around. I actually found somewhere with limited food, so managed to get some cheese and sausages to bring home. 'Fast' food was more of a problem. After TM queued for at least 20 minutes, our gate number was called out and any thought of a snack before departing was gone. The flight left pretty much on time, arrived early and before long we were in the car and driving back home.

Nobody ever claimed that travel was straightforward... did they?

Anyway, all in all it was a brilliant weekend. Thanks to Mina and Abi for organising it and a special thanks to Peta for literally 'putting up with us'.

Discuss this Journal entry [5]

Latest reply: Jul 3, 2003