HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: sander@cwi.nl (Sander Plomp)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Subject: Re: Radio Frequencies and Guards Guards.
Date: 19 Nov 92 10:27:18 GMT

STUCS204@UK.AC.BHAM.IBM3090 writes:

>The Radio 5 frequencies are as follows - 909 and 693 Medium wave (thats 330 and
> 433 metres). I hereby outrageously quote from the Radio Times.

I hope I can receive this in the Netherlands. Anyone know if this is possible.

>Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel,dramatised in six parts, with Martin Jarvis,J
>ohn Wood,Melvyn Hayes (as Corporal Nobby) and Helen Atkinson-Wood.
>1.In Ankh-Morpork the Elucidated Brethren of Ebon Night have turned their hands
> to magic.When Zebbo Mooty is mysteriously vapourised in an alley,Captain Vimes
> knows it's time to act.

Sounds ooook!

Further questions:
  i) At what time are they going to transmit it? Which days?
 ii) Are they going to sell it other countries. Would it be useful
     if I wrote to any local broadcasting entity suggesting they buy it?
iii) Those who can receive it are going to tape it I might hope!
-- 
Sander Plomp                                    Internet: Sander.Plomp@cwi.nl
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: ins534z@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (Quetzal)
Subject: Re: The Last Starfighter
Organization: Monash University, Melb., Australia.
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 23:47:44 GMT

car-a@minster.york.ac.uk writes:

<stuff about The Last Starfighter>

>and then fed it all into a ray-tracer/rendering system.  Apparently it took some
>super-fast computer (well fast in those days) over three weeks solid processing 
>to finish about 25 minutes of animation.  Just thought I'd bring that one up.

I am told it was a Cray that they used.  (Don't know which model.  Wigs here
says it was an X- something . . .)  Crays are still fast by today's standards.

Compare that with the Ballroom scene in "Beauty and the Beast"  (Had to
bring it up again):  It took 2.5 to 4.5 hours to render every frame (granted,
they weren't using a Cray [don't know what they *were* using, actually,
though the software was from PIXAR]), making for a total of 500 days of
rendering time . . .

(Over three *weeks*!  How dreadfully slow!  <Diabolical laughter> )

Tim Pickett.
quetzal@yoyo.cc.monash.edu.au
From: car-a@minster.york.ac.uk
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Subject: Adams and Pratchett
Date: 19 Nov 92 12:56:26 GMT
Organization: Department of Computer Science, University of York, England

OK, my tuppence worth on Adams and Pratchett.

I started out as an Adams fan at the tender age of fourteen, I read the
books with an unquenchable appetite until I got to the end of the series.
Then I read them again, and again...

Until someone told me about Terry Pratchett.  So I read them with the 
same hunger until I ran out of money.  Now I re-read them as well.

The main difference (IMO) between the two is the attitude and the setting
.  Pratchett's books are so outrageously off-planet (in the DW series )
that no-one could possibly try and draw scientific/physics parallels
between the disc and the earth.  Pratchett, I feel, doesn't even try to
be scientific, but appears to make a parody of some of today's thinking
 - in flight broomstick re-fuelling etc...  That's the difference, Adams
tries to be quasi-scientific, but his books are also so wacky that no
respectable scientist could swallow any of it.  And that punches some 
major holes in the plot (for me, at least).

I think the choice of topic - space travel - forced Adams to try and be
scientific, though.

I haven't read Small Gods yet, and I fear that this book may contradict
my next point, but...  

The attitude behind the books seems to be subtly different.  Terry seems
much more light hearted, even when dealing with serious/deadly topics.
Adams seems a lot more cynical in his humour.

I like both authors very much, but I always feel a lot happier after
reading a Pratchett book.  Probably because Pratchett's endings are a
whole lot more coherent...

Well, that's my opinion.  There other writers out here as well, Harry
Harrison et al, who manage to write space-type books without the half
scientific slant.  Hopefully Adams will concentrate on the Gently series
now.

I suppose I should post this to Alt.fan.douglas-adams too.

 
Chris Reece.

"...one should never throw the letter Q into a privet bush, 
unfortunately at times this is unavoidable."
						Douglas Adams
"Relax, no doubt the Universe is unfolding as it should be"
						Evan Dando
"...Worlds may change, Galaxies disintegrate, but women will
always be women"
						James T. Kirk
From: ajl@ecs.soton.ac.uk (Lewis AJ)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Subject: Re: Wolfman reference
Date: 16 Nov 92 11:07:38 GMT

In <BxI3qo.EHw@cs.vu.nl> tamossel@cs.vu.nl (Mossel TAK) writes:

>Oh! Wait! Now it all comes back... There are two of those stories!
>One is about a wereman who is tricked by a magician, the other is about
>some kind of tavern run by a familie of werepeople. One of the regulars
>is a werewhale!!!

I haven't read the second of these, but the first involves a werewolf, not
a wereman - or at least that's what his species assumes they are. It's called
'What good is a glass dagger?', and it transpires that in the absence of
magic, said werewolves become plain ordinary wolves. This is not the main
point to the story though.

Andy

-- 
Andy Lewis (ajl@ecs.soton.ac.uk) | 
Department of Electronics        | A juggler without a theme...
and Computer Science             | 
University of Southampton        | 
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: roddi@cs.monash.edu.au (Roddi Walker)
Subject: Re: Douglas vs Terry (etc. etc....)
Organization: Computer Science, Monash University, Australia
Date: Mon, 16 Nov 1992 04:10:18 GMT

 (JBURTON@ESTEC.BITNET) wrote:
: 
: As for Lindap & Roddi, they should get together. They seem perfectly matched.
: to me.

Yes, like two finely crafted, matched throwing knives - or, on further
reflection, a finely honed chisel and a mallet.

lindap@bruce wrote:

>Oh, yes - we "get along like a house on fire - flames, screaming, people
>running for help." 
>:-)

I do someone the _compliment_ of courtesy, and this is the manner in which
I am thanked :-)

Roddi
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart)
Subject: Re: lots o' questions&annotations for Mort
Reply-To: leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl
Organization: Delft University of Technology
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 10:12:19 GMT

nad@cl.cam.ac.uk (Neil Dodgson) writes:

> You are assuming here that everyone who reads Terry's work can speak
> some French --- a Euro-centric assumption. 

You're probably right about occasional (I hope it's just occasional!)
Euro-centrism creeping into my world view -- it's where I live after
all.

To my 'defense' I should say that I was not exactly thinking "surely
everybody knows at least this much French" but rather "surely everybody
knows what 'cafe au lait' is". Just like you don't have to know Spanish
to know what 'Ole' is. Heck, I don't speak any French *myself*...

Your point still applies, of course.
-- 
Leo Breebaart  (leo @ ph.tn.tudelft.nl)
From: Adrian.Waterworth@newcastle.ac.uk (Adrian Waterworth)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Subject: Re: Lords and Ladies references and query
Date: 19 Nov 92 08:35:32 GMT
Organization: University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, NE1 7RU

Adrian.Waterworth@newcastle.ac.uk (Adrian Waterworth) writes:

>robin@duich.turing.ac.uk (Robin Boswell) writes:


>>  Half-way down p. 62 of the British edition of "Lords and Ladies",
>>there's a list of five terms for lands beyond the mundane.
>>The first, "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" sounds
>>familiar, but I can't identify the reference.  Can anyone 
>>help?

>	The "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" bit is reminiscent
>of a line from one of the poems in "Lord of the Rings".

	[ The wrong bit wot I wrote, talking about Earendil. ]

>	Don't you just hate it when your memory goes on holiday and
>you can't remember something you used to know?

	You've probably seen Nick Leverton's post on this subject by
now. Absolutely right. It is part of "The Road Goes Ever On and On".

	Mind you, I was right that it was spoken by Bilbo in "The Lord
of the Rings" though. Honest! Leastways, I _think_ it was Bilbo! :-)

				Ade.

		\----------------------------------------/
		 |  Adrian.Waterworth@newcastle.ac.uk	|
		/ ---------------------------------------\
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: ins450m@aurora.cc.monash.edu.au (T.F. Eccles)
Subject: Re: lots o' questions&annotations for Mort
Organization: Monash University, Melb., Australia.
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 03:18:38 GMT

ST102315@brownvm.brown.edu () writes:

>p.32-35...refers to such stories as Karate Kid, where a young student
>  is given many menial tasks to perform, which are revealed to be
>  integral to his/her (OK, mostly his) education.
This was more amusing tho :)

>p.62..."Igneous Cutwell, DM(Unseen)..."  DM may be a reference to
>  Dungeons and Dragons, where the DM (or Dungeon Master) knows
>  everything that is going on and controls what happens in the game.
Since when did T$R bring this into the game - its news
to me :)

>p.86..."They could pee through a dozen mattresses..."  Albert here mangles
>  a fairy tale.  Unfortunately, I can't remember how it goes.  Anyone?
>  Anyone?
I've forgotten the nae of the fairy story, but a princess was supposed
to be able to feel a pea through a dozen matresses, due to being 
'delicate'.

>p.140...Is it Cleopatra who bathed in milk and killed herself by
>  sitting on a poisonous snake?  (On the DW, Queen Ezeriel did.)
um. I think so.

>p.168..."When a man is tired of Ankh-Morpork, he is tired of ankle-
>  deep slurry."  Something or someplace has a motto, "When you're
>  tired of ____, you're tired of life" or some such.
Not something - _everything_ has had this attached to it.
NOrmally some local 'hotspot'.

>p.195..."I don't even _remember_ walking under a mirror."  I haven't been
>  able to figure out what this means.  Has anyone else?

Bad luck. Cross b/w mirror beaking and walking under a ladder.

Eccles

Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: eaobrien@vax1.tcd.ie
Subject: Witches Abroad annotation
Organization: Trinity College Dublin
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 11:09:11 GMT

 Tentative annotation for Witches Abroad...

 Baron Saturday .. a reference to Baron Samedi, a voodoo Death figure who
 wears top hat and tails, if I recall correctly.

 one two three..

 I'M..
 PUTTING ON MY TOP HAT
 TYING UP MY WHITE TIE etc :-)

 Somebody who knows more about voodoo might be able to tell us if
 any of the names of Mrs. Gogol's gods are significant (Stride Wide Man &c.)

 Incidentally, when Saturday is introduced to the witches, Nanny Ogg greets
 him as 'Man Saturday'. I for one didn't know Nanny Ogg had read Robinson
 Crusoe..:-)

  --Emmet
Organization: Freshman, MCS general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 18:12:56 -0500 
From: Krysztof Emil Kamieniecki <kk49+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: just a plot question

sorry DEATH
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: esi104@cch.coventry.ac.uk (Jo)
Subject: Re: Radio Frequencies and Guards Guards.
Organization: EEE
Date: Thu, 19 Nov 1992 13:46:54 GMT

In article <ano.722165575@reading> ano@csug.cs.reading.ac.uk (Adrian Ogden) writes:
>leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart) writes:
>
>>STUCS204@UK.AC.BHAM.IBM3090 writes:
>
>>> Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel,dramatised in six parts, with
>>> Martin Jarvis,J ohn Wood,Melvyn Hayes (as Corporal Nobby) and Helen
>>> Atkinson-Wood.
>
>>Oh gosh, please help me: "Helen Atkinson-Wood" ... I just *know* I've
>>seen this name before. But where? Isn't she a (comedy) actress? Isn't
>>she married to Rowan "Blackadder" Atkinson?
>
>Married to him? I've heard nothing about that. However, if memory serves
>me correctly she starred in "Blackadder the Third" as Mrs Miggins(?), and
>also in Radio 4's "Radioactive", where she played a radio presenter
>called Anna Daptor.
>
>
><<  Adrian Ogden -- "Sic Biscuitus Disintegrat" -- ano@csres.cs.rdg.ac.uk  >>

Didn't she also present a rather naff quiz/fashion/mystery guest type program
where a panel had to guess the guest? I think it was universally panned by the
critics.....

----- O  --------------------------------------------------------------------- 
     /\    ___               MAIL -         |  "A fate worse than a fate worse
    |  |  /   \                             |   than death - thats pretty
    \  | |     |  esi104@cck.coventry.ac.uk |   bad....." - E. Blackadder
___\__ /  \___/ ______________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: STUCS204@UK.AC.BHAM.IBM3090
Subject: Re : PRATCHETT vs adams, If a tall stranger etc
Date: Mon, 23 Nov 1992 10:25:36 GMT
Organization: The University of Birmingham, United Kingdom

I have read Reaperman (I have my own copy) I just *forgot* to mention it in my
article.
        apologies

          Richard Thomas - stucs204@uk.ac.bham.ibm3090 (JANET)
                           stucs204@ibm3090.bham.ac.uk (INTERNET)

#If a tall stranger gives you a very big diamond, a large bunch of flowers and
a very expensive box of chocolates then, on past reading, I'd kick him in the
**** and run like hell#
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: peter@NeoSoft.com (Peter da Silva)
Subject: Re: lots o' questions&annotations for Mort
Organization: NeoSoft Communications Services -- (713) 684-5900
Date: Sun, 15 Nov 1992 14:55:36 GMT

In article <1992Nov14.201417.14868@sol.ctr.columbia.edu> slb22@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Seth L. Blumberg) writes:
> Except, darn it, that James Watt *DIDN'T* invent the steam engine! He just
> invented the dual-action heat box (or some stupid name like that, I forget),

The "condenser". Previously, the exhausted steam was vented to the athmosphere.
With the condenser you (a) don't need to feed a river into your steam engine
(which makes it more efficient, and practical for transport), and (b) the
condensing steam pulls the piston back up. It still needs a flywheel, but
it's not nearly as important. And, yes, it was apparently condensing steam
from a kettle that set him off on the right track.
-- 
Peter da Silva.  <peter@sugar.neosoft.com>.
 `-_-'   "Meglelted mr ma a farkasodat ?"
  'U`    "Zure otsoa besarkatu al duzu gaur?"
Das kann nicht mein Zimmer sein, denn ich atme kein Ammoniak.
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: tpratchett@cix.compulink.co.uk (Terry Pratchett)
Subject: Mort on Tour                            
Cc: tpratchett@cix.compulink.co.uk
Reply-To: tpratchett@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Sun, 22 Nov 1992 00:29:00 +0000


Okay -- the Flying Thing Theatre Company, who're doing their tour
with the three-man version of Mort, have sent me a list of
provisional dates (if full geographical details ain't here, don't
blame me; I just scanned in the letter -- but I might post more
accurates stuff it I get to hear of it)

            December 1992
            8-12   Unity Theatre, Liverpool
            January 1993
            15/16 Bradford University (prov)
            23     Harrow Arts Centre (prov)
            29     Skemsdale Library, Merseyside
            February
            3   Dorking, Hurtwood House
            5   Torquay college
            6   Bridgwater Arts Centre (prov)
            11 Carlisle sixth form Centre (prov)
            March
            3   North Cornwall Arts Trust
            4   St. Austell arts centre
            6   Cornwall Arts Trust
            13  Bristol Redgrave Theatre

They say they'll take it wherever they're invited if they can fit
it in (I think they work on a box office split basis, I know I don't
get a penny).  A problem they hit is that 'real' Arts Centres and
small theatres, which tend to be controlled by what I can only
refer to as 'arts graduates', often don't want to know because
it's not a meaningful play by some cacky Frenchman.  Merde.
Anyway, the head honchette is:

            SIM0NE UNCLE
            22 DEV0NSHIRE Road, LIVERPOOL, L8 3TY
            phone: 051-707-2229
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: macaj2@cspyr1.cs.adfa.oz.au (MACKINNELL AMANDA)
Subject: Reaperman...
Keywords: emily Dickinson
Organization: Australian Defence Force Academy, Canberra, Australia
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 07:58:41 GMT

	Is anyone familiar with Emily Dickinson's poem that begins:

		"Because I could not stop for Death,
		He kindly stopped for me-
		the carriage held but just ourselves-
		And immortality."

	To me this sounds like the theme employed in the end of Reaper Man
	when Death, after finding the most user-friendly diamond and the 
	Dark enchantment-variety Chocolates, comes to see Miss Flitworth.


	Amanda MacKinnell

		I just finished my American Lit course, Wonder whether the
		lecturer will notice thats the only Dickinson poem I quoted  
		from,let alone read.
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: kjackson@cix.compulink.co.uk (Keith Jackson)
Subject: Re: lots o' questions&annotations for Mort
Reply-To: kjackson@cix.compulink.co.uk
Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 07:43:00 +0000


In article <1992Nov14.201417.14868@sol.ctr.columbia.edu>, slb22@cunixb.cc.columbia.edu (Seth L. Blumberg) writes:
>In fact, the first recorded steam engines were built in Ephebe (that's
>Greece), more or less exactly as depicted in _Small Gods_.  I believe 'twas
>Archimedes whose writings on steam engines have survived to the present day.
>They did, in fact, use copper spheres as heating vessels, and these spheres
>did, in fact, have a regrettable tendency to explode, which is what limited
>their use until some bright person thought of adding overpressure relief
>valves.

I thought that the revolving sphere turbine was attributed to Hero of 
Alexandria?



      **********************************************************
      * Keith Jackson - kjackson@cix.compulink.co.uk           *
      *               - 2:250/413.4@fidonet.org                *
      *               -90:104/109.0@nest.ftn                   *
      **********************************************************
      *            Rock testing is a smashing job.             *
      **********************************************************
From: GRS00021@CONRAD.APPSTATE.EDU (APHiD)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Subject: Re: The Spell
Date: 15 Nov 1992 10:11:52 GMT
Organization: APPALACHIAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: stat.appstate.edu
X-News-Reader: VMS NEWS 1.24

In <1dgijiINNf0@violet.csv.warwick.ac.uk> maupb@csv.warwick.ac.uk writes:

> 
> Hi there!
> 
> I've only read TCOM and S so far, and I have two queries:
> 
> 1) Do we ever get to know what "The Spell" is?

Yes. In the next book, The_Light_Fantastic.
Go buy it right now!

> 2) How does Rincewind get back into the UU B4 S? as in TCOM he's been
> thrown out!

What's a S? I figured out you meant the Univerity when you said UU but I
can't figure out what you mean by S. Please don't use one letter acronyms
for words you haven't made extremely obvious reference too. It's easy to
figure out multiple letter acronyms like TLF and TCOM and CMOT but just S?
What the heck is S?

Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett,alt.comedy.british,uk.misc
From: gdb15@grebe.cl.cam.ac.uk (Guy Barry)
Subject: Re: `Guards! Guards!' on BBC Radio
Reply-To: gdb15@cl.cam.ac.uk (Guy Barry)
Organization: U of Cambridge Computer Lab, UK
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 09:01:24 GMT

In article <1992Nov18.024204.23944@tdb.uu.se> t88swa@tdb.uu.se (Sven Wallman) writes:

>anyone got any longwave (or whatever) frequencies for Radio 5?

No. it's only broadcast on medium wave (693 and 909 kHz).  I doubt whether
you'd be able to receive it in Sweden.

--
Guy Barry, University of Cambridge | Phone: +44 (0)223 334757 
Computer Laboratory                | Fax: +44 (0)223 334678
New Museums Site, Pembroke Street  | JANET: Guy.Barry@uk.ac.cam.cl 
Cambridge CB2 3QG, England, UK     | Internet: Guy.Barry@cl.cam.ac.uk 
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: daniel@borland.com (Dan Veditz)
Subject: Please reissue "newgroup"
Originator: daniel@genghis.borland.com
Organization: Borland International
Distribution: na
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 01:09:16 GMT

Thanks to all who answered my query: some of you are getting
alt.fan.pratchett just fine, for some it comes and goes, and 
we're not getting much of anything.

It sounds like the usual "alt" group propagation.  I can't 
reissue the "newgroup" from here--could someone else do it?  
When you do include an explanation that this is an existing 
group with good traffic levels but spotty propagation.

Thanks!

Dan Veditz
daniel@borland.com
From: rjh27@cl.cam.ac.uk (R.J. Hindle)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
Subject: Re: Strata annotation
Date: 18 Nov 92 21:01:28 GMT
Organization: U of Cambridge Computer Lab, UK

>pig latin is a schoolboy code : you use normal english but mix 
>around the beginnings and ends of words with extra bits thrown
>in. It comes out sounding like gibberish but if you know the
>code it's really easy to follow. I've forgotten it all now
>(PLEASE ! POST IF YOU KNOW HOW) but pig latin becomes 'igpin
>atinlay' ...

Pig latin is easy (at least the version I knew is) - all you do is take
the first consonant sound, like 'p' in 'pig', or 'st' in 'stop', off the
front of a word, say the rest of the word, then the removed consonant sound,
then 'ay'... unless there's no consonant - then you just stick 'ay' on the
end.  Sounds complicated I know, but it's not -
'pig latin is easy (at least the version I knew is)'
becomes
'igpay atinlay isay easyay (atay eastlay uhthay ersionvay Iay ewnyay isay)'
...with liberties taken with spelling.  A variant is to leave words like 'I'
and 'at' as they are.

(Another language - 'just put 'ag' before each vowel'
becomes 'jagust pagut 'agag' bagifagore ageach vagowagel'
where 'ag' rhymes with 'plague')

-- 
   ____   __       _____________________        ___________________________
  / ___\ / /_     /                     \      /                           \ 
 / / __ / __ \   /    Richard Hindle     \    / "Do you want me to sit in a \
/_/ / //_/ /_/--|                         |--| corner and rust, or just fall |
  _/ /           \  rjh27@uk.ac.cam.phx  /    \  apart where I'm standing?" /
 \__/             \_____________________/      \___________________________/
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett
From: leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl (Leo Breebaart)
Subject: Re: annotation additions
Reply-To: leo@ph.tn.tudelft.nl
Organization: Delft University of Technology
Date: Tue, 17 Nov 1992 09:40:15 GMT

ginsu@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Wes Simonds) writes:

> >p.222..."Is this the face..."  A reference to Helen of Troy, over whom
> >  the Trojan War was started.
> 
> Christopher Marlowe, _The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus_:
> 
> "Was this the face that launched a thousand ships/And burned the topless..."

Why stop just when it gets interesting? Burned the topless *what*?

-- 
Leo Breebaart  (leo @ ph.tn.tudelft.nl)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.pratchett