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

Just a few random jottings...

I headed into town at about 8am, and made it to Redpeck's hostel at 9. We met about three minutes later, while she was checking in. Then to Central, to catch a train to Circular Quay. The two stations after Central are underground, then suddenly at Circular Quay the line is a storey above ground level. The view from the platform covers the Harbour Bridge, Sydney Cove and the Opera House, which I why I picked that station. By the time we were there the pubs in The Rocks were just opening...

After a couple of beers, we went back to the hostel so Red could move into her room. On the way, jetlag hit her really quite hard, with visible effects, so I went alone to the meet.

I could swear Newtown station has moved a few blocks further from the Carlisle since my last visit - but I got there, sweaty, dishevelled and tired, clutching a copy of Hitchhiker's. Linus was at the bar.

Soon after, Feisor appeared, with cheese and biscuits and sugarplums. Platypus came along, and BadZen. My memory of events after this is a bit hazy; I can remember what happened, but I'm not sure of the order of events. Wowbagger and Amy were there, in paper form. I rang Red's hostel a few times, leaving encouraging messages for when she emerged from jetlag. Red did make phone contact; I passed the phone to Linus so he could impart local knowledge, and soon after she appeared by taxi. Lots of conversation ensued. Precisely what it was all about I can't be sure, but it was interesting and quite wide-ranging. The bits that I remember most clearly were about education, hootoo, children, Chumbawumba, jetlag, cooking bacon, and sparkling shiraz. They're all nice clever people, and there wasn't a dull moment. The supply of Coopers' Dark Ale ran out...

Sometime after midnight, after 'last drinks' at the Carlisle and a walk up the street, Red took a taxi to the hostel and I took another one back to Stanmore. I spent the next day as a piece of rubble on a couch.

That's an edited version of my already abridged memory. I just can't type long things at the moment. Something to do with being on holiday...

hi Ivan

I'm now at Byron bay enjoying the pouring rain. Never mind I'm having a great time. We're here til sunday. I shall attempt to post to hootoo from time to time but it may be a little intermittant

Sounds wonderful, I'm sorry I missed it. Maybe next time....glad you had a good time!

Niwt, I think there are moves afoot to do the whole thing all over again when Redpeck gets back to Sydney...

(Which reminds me - I must get that film processed...)

Anyway. I'm not sure how far the idea has progressed. Sometime after Easter I'll start asking around. Can't remember the suggested date at the moment, but I think it'll be on the 'Chrimbo picnic' thread.

Jolly good. Then again, I've been trying to make it to a meet-up for over two years - nearly made it a couple of times, but never quite. Ah well.

I have to ask you a question! Yay! As you're another Australian, do you find the quote at the start of the edited guide entry on Canberra A287813 offensive? I remember not minding a couple of years ago when I first read it, but when I looked at it today to link my law entry to, I did not like the quote at all, as *nobody* who gets murdered is lucky, no matter what (Canberra or not!). So...what do you think?

I see your point - murder's never fun - but I don't expect intelligent or thoughtful commentary from the SMH . Ever.

In the Canberra entry, have a look at Footnote 1. It's very very wrong and misleading. The C'wlth of Oz is a member of the Commonwealth, of course, but that footnote... um. D'you know how we could get it fixed? Can we get it fixed?

If 'getting it fixed' involves a rewrite of the whole entry, then maybe it's a good chance to lose the quote from the dreadful SMH.

Well, I guess it is SMH but I still fail to understand why the author chose that quote.

*inspects footnote 1*

Well, yes, technically it's right, but that's the other sort of Commonwealth, not the Commonwealth of Australia. Or something like that. So it's wrong. Well, very misleading rather than wrong. Whoops, that's what you said.

It shouldn't be too hard to get it fixed and sadly I don't think a full re-write is necessary (unless between us we can come up with enough extra information to warrant a re-write, and then we can remove the quote as well). If we head over to Editorial Feedback at some stage (somewhere under the Feedback button, I think <./>Editorial-Feedback</.&gt we can let them know and Jimster will change the entry. They would fix the footnote but I'm pretty sure they wouldn't remove the quote. So that makes me really tempted to research Canberra and offer a re-write, now it's possible with the new update forum. What do you reckon?

I think we could collaborate on a new improved Canberra entry. Sadly, I live in Canberra, so I can pick up all sorts of obscure odds and ends of information just strolling around Civic... We'd have to add some sort of comment on Gungahlin (the new satellite town), make mention of the 2003 firestorm, and I think some mention of public transport is needed. (The fact that the 36 and 39 buses go to Parliament, that sort of thing.) I'd also mention the fact that the government is still the largest employer here, but it now uses less than half the workforce; Canberra's starting to grow up.

I'd like to keep to the style of the existing entry; when all's said and done, it is quite funny.

Perhaps we should think about this one for a while - well, for a week or so at least. By the end of the month I should be free to do some writing.

Having just checked out a couple of other entries about cities, I think you’re right. If you live there you're sure to be an expert. politiThis entry is pretty good on history, but I’m sure there’s more to add. What you said sounds good, definitely the bushfires. In fact, the bushfires affected many other parts of Australia at the same time, perhaps we should write a whole separate entry about the "Great Aussie Bushfires of 2003"?

There's a good case for a full entry on the 2003 fires, but they do need a mention in an entry on Canberra. They affected the city so drastically, and the effects are still with us. There's definitely a sense of community that didn't exist before. Rebuilding's still going on. (Incidentally, we nearly lost the whole social security system in the fires; flames came within a couple of metres of the offices that house Centrelink. That would have caused nationwide havoc...)

So here's the To Do List:

Revised entry on Canberra;
New entry on the 2003 fires;
Entry on law-making at State level (I can lend a hand if you like)

That should keep us busy for a while .

That's good! That's excellent! Yay! We're going to have a great time! Also, I'll do my common law/precedent entry (I sent you a link in the other thread, but I think there might be errors in the entry...)

I think that if we write a new entry about the fires, we'll be able to link it to Canberra, and vice versa. So we can mention a sentence or paragraph in the Canberra entry, linking it to the other entry if people want more information.

I should be free to write a lot in a couple of days (school holidays) so I can start on the fire entry if you want (there's a lot about it around).

Please feel free to start the fire entry. When I get my act together I'll chip in with Canberra-specific details. The inquest into the fire is still in progress, and it's digging up some rather harrowing information. I'll try to pay attention in case there's stuff we should include.

I have heard a little bit about the inquest. I find it rather weird and confusing. I guess we'd better add that to the entry - although the inquest isn't finished, is it? I don't want to lay any blame in the entry, but yeah we should probably mention it.

I shall start the fire entry now. If I can remember anything.

Inquests. It's rather muddling because there's an ACT inquest, a NSW inquest, an ACT inquiry about something-or-other, and a restructure of ACT Emergency Services which is accompanied by another inquiry. It's all rather odd. I dare say there is/was an inqury in Victoria too, and probably in WA as well...

Maybe we should just mention that inquests happened, and leave it at that.

I'm trying to remember where the fires were in 2003. Victorian high country, Snowy Mountains, Blue Mountains/Mittagong area, and of course the ACT. (By the way, I think 76% of the ACT got flamed.)

The ACT fire was two fires to start with. About 8 January, a lightning strike started a fire in the ACT in Namadgi National Park. About the same time, a fire started in NSW at Macintyre's Hut (spelling?). The fires merged on the 16th or 17th, and all hell broke loose on the 18th.

As you can tell, I'm just jotting down things as I think of them. The events of the 18th I'll deal with later.

The inquisitorial situation sounds a little to complex to write about then, I think.

I believe there were actually fires burning in Australia from around Christmas onwards, but nothing particularly bad. But yes January 18th would have been the worst, it was all over the news, apparently even in England and other random countries. 76% is a huge amount, but most of that was just bush, right? (poor koalas)

Yes, most of the 76% is/was bush; I think 45 or 50% of the ACT is Namadgi NP, and pretty much all of that was hit. A lot of the non-park land was pine forest; now it's open land with charred stumps that will probably be used for either housing or open space. The timber industry here's basically been destroyed by the fire.

I try not to think about the wildlife...

I just did a google for 'bushfires 2003' and most of it is about ACT, very little about the other states. Hopefully enough to write about though.

Simulpost...

Oh no! They'll use the excuse of "it's all burnt" to turn ex-bush into housing!

Simulpost!

I can certainly add in the eyewitness-type details; for actual facts (dates, times, statistics) I might have to rummage in the Canberra Times archives. *thinks - should be something online*

The bushland will be kept and regenerated; the pine-forest land may be housing. Not all of it, though; Canberra's too keen on open space to do that.

I'll stop now. This will be another simulpost no doubt.

Ivan - needing a rest after a dreadful day at the office.