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

Just clicked on your name on the 'Who's Online' list...

And this library terminal came up with a 'Restricted Site' message!!!

And now you've logged off

Evening Rich.

Saw your message on R2 board today. It was good to see them buzzing again today.

Wonder why this is a restricted site ? It is just the same as the R2 boards etc surely ?

I see everyone was asking Nick (?) computer questions today. I think I'll try to pick his brains. Every time someone sends me a picture, usually a joke thing, I get the message 'Unable to open' I always used to be able to open anything but not any more.

I have probably completely deleted an icon. (Coo, that sounds technical)

Beautiful day today. Warm and sunny. Had a lovely walk this afternoon but ended up exhausted.

Have a good day in the library tomorrow,

Love

Jen

PS Probably wont be about much on Tuesday, but leave me a message please. How's the dreaded telly ?

TV due back today, BUT I won't be watching too much of it....

Silly me, I left it too long between eye tests, and now I've started getting eye strain & headaches from my several-years-old glasses.

Yesterday, I got a rush appointment at my local quality opticians after they had a cancellation...

(I.E. their customers have been stolen by the new branch of '1 hr Drive Thru Spexx 4 U' further up the street.)

The optician said my general eye health is fine - you know, those sudden puffs of air that make you jump out of your seat.

BUT I have a significant worsening of my short-sightedness and a big increase in my astigmatism.

I don't trust '1 hr Drive Thru Spexx 4 U' to do a proper job on my special 'high-index prism lens' prescription, so the quality optician glasses will take 2 weeks to prepare, followed by another few weeks to get over the seasickness of distorted vision as my eyes adjust to the new lenses.

So I won't be posting so much, or watching so much TV, or reading much, for the next month...

Oh Rich,

I hope your new specs get to reach you in less than 2 weeks. I am lost without mine, and frequently they do lose me.

I have several pairs lying about, but I should really have one of those chains from which my specs can hang safely from my neck. Then I would never lose them.

I have never heard of your drive through opticians. It that a bit like 'Spex R US' ?

I use Specsavers but not sure if they're the lower end of the market !

I hate those puffs that go in your eyes. Some years ago I had eye surgery on both eyes and I went around with blace eyes for weeks. The looks I used to get from people were unbelievable.

Take care. Look after your eyes. Like your teeth, you only ever get the one set.

Hi JYY

Actually, '1 hr Drive Thru Spexx 4 U' is my nickname for a certain high street optician that we all "should've gone to", according to the adverts...

Fascinating fact of the day is that I had the same corrective surgery as Demi Moore, on my 'lazy' right eye, when I was a young teen.

Looking at a certain one of Demi's school photos, it seems she was a few years older than me, and she had a much 'lazier' eye, before she had her surgery.

Can't stop too long at the library today - would you believe, April 1st is a certain person's birthday in my house, and my older sister (the 50-yr-old) is coming for one of her twice-yearly visits!

Hi Rich.

Thank you for that info on Demi Moore !

Was it your birthday today. If so, I'm not too late to wish you a very happy birthday am I.

If it's not your birthday today, save my wishes until the right time !

Some friends of ours got married on 1st April. They didn't have much trouble booking the church etc as there wasn't much demand for that date !

Hope your headaches are bearable. Don't leave your new specs so long next time !!

Jen

No, actually my Mum's birthday. Mine was 28th Feb.

Thanks for the sound advice. I'm giving up the R2 MBs for a while, until my eyesight is back to normal. I like to read all the new messages each morning on the MBs before I post my own, but it's hard for me to speed-read through a twenty-message thread when my eyes are this bad.

Luckily, H2G2 is much easier on the eyes, and I only have to look for a couple of messages a day.

So I'll still be posting brief messages on H2G2, and I look forward to continuing our week-long conversations. As the song says, JYY, "you're a pal and a confidante."

Rich

(In case you're racking your brains, the song is 'Thank You For Being A Friend'!)

Belated birthday greetings Rich !!
You've just caught me as I'm out of here in 5 minutes.

Today, I WON'T be late.

Rich, thank you for your kind words. I can't think of anything to say back that's as charming.

Can only think of the song 'I'll get by with a little help from my friends'. (What are all the other words !!??)

Hope mum had a lovely day.

Now, I'm off

Hi JYY

Are you staying long today, or do you have to ?

Oops - gotta myself now...

Hello Rich Dee.

Happy Easter !!

I have not been able to write very much due to dog walking commitments, the dentist and today the hospital where I had a lump thing removed from my forehead.
But I am all right and just waiting for the biopsy, so I expect to still be writing to you for a long while yet !

How's the eyes. Not too bad I hope.

The weather has been hit and miss here. When the sun shines it's so warm, but then the rain comes back with the wind and hey, just a few hailstones now and again.

Managed to cut the grass earlier this week. Well, to be honest, half the grass. Too, too tiring.

Was watching Friends on E4 earlier when suddenly my telly - the brand new telly - went blank.

So I did the sensible thing and had a drink and started catching up on my e mails.

Are you doing anything for Easter ? I am not doing anything special. I think we have the dogs till at least Sunday, probably Monday.

We do enjoy walking them, but it's not much fun when the rain's on.

Take care, speak soon

love

Jen

Rich, I have eventually replied.

Jen

Evening of 8th April. 22.21 to be precise !

Hi Jen, Happy Easter

How many dogs & what breed?

I am not much of a dog person myself, but then neither was Clement Freud and he is best known for a dog-food advert (and he is not best-pleased by it either! see this week's 'The Message' on Radio 4 - 'Henry' the dog had to become Henrietta because the original Henry was visibly, um, 'excited' during filming...)

Got the new glasses last Thursday and initial reaction is that my vision is a bit blurry with them on. I'll give them a few more weeks before I decide to complain. and wait until the expected side-effect goes away.

The expected side-effect: at the moment, when I look at a flat tabletop, it looks like one of those gently curving saxon shields. And looking at my feet when I'm walking on flat pavement, it appears I am perpetually just walking over a gentle rise to a plateau. As I said, I was warned about this initial side-effect from the optician, and my vision will gradually correct itself, but not so sure if the blurriness will go away too...

Weather here is wet & cold enough to put the dampers on next door's magnolia. Hope it will be warmer on Monday when my Aylesbury sister, her husband & three of her kids make their regular school holiday visit here. Sister's oldest son (20 yrs old) doesn't like chocolate, so instead of an easter egg, he is getting either two pork pies or some lard (don't ask - he is a big fan of lard).

Library closed tomorrow & Monday, so I'll be back online on Tuesday.

Hope you enjoy your holiday

Hi Rich Dee !

It's Monday, 10.02 on 12 April.
We walk three rottweillers. (Please don't hate me !!). Lots of people just don't like the breed, but I do.
There are 2 bitches and they are just so lovely. 9 years old now so getting old, fat and slow. They don't want to walk far these days and they have to keep stopping and having a rest.
The male is only 5 years, and very energetic. We always drive the dogs into the local countryside - 5 minutes away - where there is less chance of meeting other people etc.
But most other dog walkers want to stop and chat, so it's a good way of meeting people. Not that I ever learn their names. It's just 'Oh it's Shep's mother' or 'There's Spot's dad'

I understand perfectly what you mean when you say everything is a litte bowed and curved. Walking and wearing new glasses can feel close to sea sickness. Everything is undulating. I hope the blurriness goes soon. It cannot be very pleasant for you just now.

Don't think I want to know about the lard ! Not that I want to talk about chocolate either. I have just finished off a Cadbury's egg and now almost finished all its chocolate buttons. And this is before breakfast !

I do remember Henry the dog and why a female had to be used !!

This message will be waiting for you first thing on Tuesday. Hope you had a lovely week-end with your family.

Jen

PS I love magnolias

Hi Jen

Thanks for the Easter greetings. Sister from Aylesbury, plus husband & 3 kids, came for 5 hours yesterday - hardly seems worth it when their journey time is 4 hours total! Perhaps we'll be invited to Aylesbury for a few days, next half-term, then I can spend a little time on their PC in the evenings...

Let me know how the biopsy went - a friend of the family had two small growths removed from his forehead in recent years, both perfectly benign.

I'm getting used to the bowed effect of the lenses, but my vision is still quite blurry and I had a hard time reading the tiny print of the 'Who's Online' list this morning. I'll give the lenses another 2 weeks before I complain at the opticians.

Someone's been a greedy piggie, eh? I've still got half my Heroes easter egg to eat, plus five packs of Kit Kat squares!

Hi Rich Dee !!

Sorry to take so long to reply. My, you are a goody two shoes with your chocolate ! How can you not eat it ?? I have started another tube of extra large smarties tonight. Good job I'm dog walking else I'd be like the size of a barrel.
Saw your posting about the Rah Rah girls !! No mention of any of us real girls then ?

I hope you get your trip to Aylesbury. I have only had the pc and been on line for about 15 months now. It is very addictive. Plus if you are busy doing other things during the day, it's great to be able to come on line each evening on H2. Still prefer the R2 boards though.
Yes I will let you know about the biopsy results. And like your friend, I am sure I will be fine. At the moment I am carefully arranging my fringe to hide the outsize plaster. Otherwise I'd look totally ridiculous.
Hope your are getting more used to the new specs !

Have a good friday,

Jen

Hi JYY

Glad to hear you're well. I'm getting used to the glasses at last - optician warned me that he couldn't totally fix my astigmatism in one go, so I guess that's the main problem I have to get used to.

Just taken my first hayfever pill of the year - last year was an unusually long, hot & dry season for sneezing. Maybe this summer will be easier.

If you look at the cheerleader section of the Miami Dolphins website (at the obvious address, dot com, with no capitals or spaces) you will see that I wasn't making up those rules about dress code for the auditions.

Well, apart from the beards, of course...

Morning Rich !!

Right, I'll nip over and see those audition requirements. As they say, only in America.

Apparantly Eric the Red, or our Ken, was on Question Time. Did you hear him at all ? Everybody, well Perkins and Jason, are so impressed that someone as eloquent as he frequents the R2 boards !!

But then, we're all like that aren't we. Have a good weekend Rich. Rain forecast here.

Jen

Morning Rich.

How are you ? Well I hope. I have come out of Ruth's journal as I cannot keep up with all the replies.
I watched the Friends last episode with Phoebe and Mike's wedding. The bits with Ross and the smelly dog made me laugh out loud.
I can't believe this is the last series ever - to quote the blurb !

I expect I shall be watching reruns for ever.

Cornwall was lovely, but wet and cold unfortunately. We stayed in St Ives and did some exploring round and about. We walked the coastal path to Lands End and took the obligatory photographs. We also did some bird spotting and spotted the Cornish Chough which we should have reported to the local RSPB but didn't. Our B & B landlady said there were notices all over the coastal path to that effect, but we saw nothing !

No other news, have a lovely day. It's gardening weather.

love

Jen