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

Sorry to say, I haven't a microphone to deal with Skype or other VoIP stuff. You are, of course, always welcome to offer up a land-line phone number (by e-mails) and I may surprise you one day.

Milady ends her current job in about an hour and a half, and begins the new one tomorrow. And she is so sad about one, and yet giddy-happy about the other. The poor girl is torn with conflicting emotions.

Our travels, on the other hand, are neatly falling into place. The 'travel cheques' were ordered today, and 4 weeks from this very moment, we should be leaving our house ... Toward the international airport.

I was wondering if 'a head of steam' meant Mrs.Nick was worried/excited/carried away...?

So, what are you going to see in the UK? And how long are you staying?
(Sorry, you must have told all about it countless times )

Let's see, a 'head of steam' to me usually means that someone has built up a great deal of energy or personal attitude to deal with a ver daunting task. Maybe because I come from a long line of old-time farmers, when anything mechanical was a novelty. Steam was a source of raw power for machinery ...

Anyway, to our travels ... There have been h2g2 friends inviting me to visit their corners of the world for over 3 years now. And being our 20th anniversary seems to demand something special, we decided to see somewhere outside of our country. And visit some of these friends as we go. So we will begin by landing near London, England. Staying in the area of a friend who lives just outside of the city (a real Bed and Breakfast over an English pub), we will spend a few days with her as a tour guide of London. She knows the city well. Then we will take a bus ride to Cardiff, Wales, where another friend will have us in her home. And show us about her area, some of the normal life-style, some of the heritage and history, some shopping (which pleases milady). After that, we are off to a couple of days in Dublin, Ireland, where another friend will host us in her home, and show us her world. We want to live and see the day-to-day life as they live it. NOT tourist stuff. Our final stop is a day and night in Manchester, England. Two young friends have wanted to buy me an or 20 for a long time. So we will have some time with them, before returning home. In all, about 15 days will be our travels.

Sounds great - hope it all goes well

We are both firm and obstinate people, and WILL ensure that it will be a delight. I also have a special surprise for my wife. That will turn her into a soft puddle of tears and sentiment. But that, you must await the journal after we return.

Does she never glance over your shoulder?
Or are you deliberately making her drool?

She's not yet home from work. And she know's that something is a-foot, But also knows that I will NOT tell her.

Sorry, Nick off to bed
Hope to talk to you soon
Best regards to lucky Mrs Nick
and goodnight (it's quarter past 1)

Now you see, there's the problem with where you are. Nothing to do with politics, geography, economy, ... Not even with taste in pop-music. (Gods, but I hope you don't like our modern cr@p) ...

It's all about not getting time zones correct !!!

Absolutely! It's high time you new-worlders did something about it
I wouldn't have to stay awake at three o'clock in the morning

As for the pop cr@p or rock cr@p, I've got my fair share of it - son N1
is working hard on his ages old electric guitar (in the room he shares with his two brothers, and which the sisters have to cross each time they go to or from theirs ) as he hopes he'll soon be able to earn some money by playing in clubs. But who knows? Believe it or not, son N2 is to be promoted (allegedly Tuesday and not without some help from his mum - I couldn't help investing in his business and the family is now provided with a yearly amount of shampoo and bath salt and what not )
Honestly, the things we do for our kids!

Oh dear, you just brought back memories of my school days. Every season, there would be some trip or function that needed money, and so we would be selling chocolates, candles, novelties, ... what-evers. Over a span of many years, our family had atleast 3 or more kids in such affairs, and the parents always felt obliged to buy the junk from us.

Ahhh another advantage of homeschooling to note..... no subsidising field trips though school promotions mmmmm however as there is no funding in this country unlike New Zealand and parts of Europe for homeschooling we end up subsidising everything

Morning all

So what will Mrs Nic be doing from now on or is it top secret....work for me is getting busier and so I have made the momentous decision to defer uni for the rest of this year...as I simply can't fit everything in and do it well

On the good news front a clinic here in has agreed to help with my research so now I will be able to test out some theories…….. This is pretty exciting well at least for this boffin head

We are in the process of setting up a chemistry lab at home as part of Rafes birthday present as he is mad on all things chemistry….this has seen me buying wonderful things like emulsifying pearls and calcium carbonate……what we end up with at the end apparently will be toothpaste, bath bombs and hand lotions …I figured it was safer to start off on cosmetics before moving to exploding compounds having already been through this with our eldest

It is still raining lots and the vegi patch is humming along wonderfully as is the orchard and last night I heard frogs in the lily pond yes I have finally bought some lilies for our little pond and it has taken only four weeks for the news to spread and the frogs to come it was very nice lying in bed last night listening to them.

We travelled to Perth this week to see an exhibition from France of Egyptian artefacts after the first room the two youngest had seen enough and so while hubby and daughter continued on I took the boys to the museum where they happily looked at dinosaur bones and lumps of rock before visiting another exhibit on titled National Treasures of Australia which is currently touring… the boys loved this more than all the “dead Egyptian stuff” simply because they could relate to it. the thing I liked most was a book put together by the POW’s for the children held prisoner in Changi prison during WWII the illustrations alone were beautiful apparently it has been published so I am going to try and get a copy of it.

Well enough of my waffling …..time to make breakfast and do some walking on the treadmill before the Mongols arrive…they are tending to arrive a little earlier now spring is just around the corner …is it my imagination or was winter shorter this year

Milady is clerk and assistant manager of a very large office outfitter now. With all the stationery, appliances, furniture and assorted doo-dads that make up an office. It also includes a complete copying, reproducing and laminating department, the 2nd largest Hallmark card and gift unit in Canada, and about 5 other functions that have recently been incorporated. They relocated to a new facility over the week-end, tripling their floor-space, and officially re-opened yesterday. She is, in brief, loving it !!!

Now may I ask what directions your own research are taking you? I am sorry to hear that you have put the University on the back-burner for now, but of course you must decide what is too much.

And now a chemistry laboratory in the house? That is the sort of thing I dreamed of as a lad. Of course, a dream is all it could ever have been ...

I am looking into the correlation between scoptic light sensitivity and visual-spatial and kinaesthetic modes of learning. Whether the neural wiring required for these types of learning means an added sensitvity to light? I know boring you think but if it is as I suspect then that opens up all sorts of questions and opportunities.

I am impressed by Mrs Nic's work no small feat.

Re the science lab you could always set one up now and maybe it would entice the little ones to visit speaking of which Aussie post seem to have lost my marsupial they have another two weeks to try and track it and then I get a refund and I will purchase another one and try again at this rate it should arrive for her 10th birthday

I am actually relieved to have put Uni on hold for the rest of this year I was starting to feel overwhelmed now maybe I will get to play on Hootoo a bit more though judging from some of the sites I usually play on and the tone of their recent conversation maybe not.

Spent a good portion of today printing up history sheets and hand colourning pictures , producing menus and painting banners for Rafes birthday....we still do things the old fashioned way here no MacDonalds for us ...no its party games and treasure hunts costumes and chocolate crackles and fairy bread ....well maybe not the last two its actually going to be ribs , chicken satay, vegetable bake and a bacon and cabbage dish followed by fruit salad and chocolate cake......Rafes choice all of it...for and 8 year old boy he has very definite views about what constitutes good party food....not for him sausage rolls and pizza squares

Well it has been a busy day and I am off to bed to watch a movie on my lap top and enjoy the feeling of not having a dead line to meet....ahhhhh

Actually, though it's mostly well over my head, your studies and project sounds fascinating.

I don't think even a full-fledged circus here, let alone a simple chemistry lab, would bring my little ones visiting. I can't afford to transport them that 1,350 or so miles, and they certainly don't have the resources. We are hoping to work in a visit with them next summer, along with my in-laws, that all live within about 500 miles or so of each other.

Do you suppose there might be some pictures of this grand and homey birthday party? It would be lovely to see the whole tribe, doing what they enjoy doing ... being together.