HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: mei141@cck.coventry.ac.uk (PH)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Pizza...
Date: 26 Jan 93 19:17:24 GMT
Organization: Coventry University

In article <C1A8nK.8BK@mach1.wlu.ca> dluckma3@mach1.wlu.ca (david luckman 9209 U) writes:
>In article <21JAN199308115170@acad1.alaska.edu> jsfjp@acad1.alaska.edu (PERRICONE FRANK J) writes:
>>>PS Has anyone looked up the references supposedly supporting 
>>>recent theory regarding "The Question"?
>>>Marvin with the mattress and Eddie I think.
>>>The Question being - "Think of a number, any number"
>>
>>That was what I thought it was, too.  I'm glad someone else thought so.  But
>>it's actually (at least in the books) in the scene where they're trying to get
>>into the Justice office to talk to Prak about the truth.  Arthur picks the
>>phone number for the customer service office of British Rail or something like
>>that on the grounds that "it may have some use, and this might turn out to be
>>it."
>>
>>However, Marvin's asking the mattress the same question, then saying that the
>>answer the mattress gave was wrong, is intriguing as evidence, since Marvin
>>read the question from Arthur's brain.  But of course Marvin knows the
>>answer... and Prak said that if anyone knew both, the universe would vanish. 
>>So how could Marvin have the right question?  Hmmm...
>
>Marvin knows the answer, but as it remains undisclosed perhaps there is no
>result.  Results may only occur if both the question and answer are spoken.
>(Like Spells from magic, people write them down and read them but unless
>spoken or properly gestured nothing happens.)
>
>	Dave
Actually, I think Marvin is just proving that the mattress is incredibly stupid
as most people would say words to the effect "What conditions haven't I met" or
"This is bloody stupid" whereas Zem (I think that is his name) thinks that 
Marvin is bloody brilliant, but only proves that Marvin was right.

Stephen


-- 
|   Stephen "PH" Buxton       |   DISCLAIMER:    |    Quote for the Week:      |
|   mei141@uk.ac.cov.cck      |------------------|"Looks like a busy weekend   |
|Aerospace Systems Engineering|Ignore me and you |on the ferries, particularly |
|   Coventry University       |can't go far wrong|Saturday and Sunday" P.Powell|
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: dsteinbe@nmsu.edu (David Steinberg)
Subject: Re: Pizza...
Organization: New Mexico State University
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:41:27 GMT

In article <C17LFz.CxD@dcs.ed.ac.uk> axl@dcs.ed.ac.uk (Andrew Long) writes:
>In article <7630@sersun1.essex.ac.uk> dauldb@essex.ac.uk (DAulignac D D)>
>>
>>	Like most of the rooms in Dirk's house it was large, looming and
>>utterly dishellved. It simply sneered at anybody's attempt to tidy it, 
>>sneered at them and brushed them aside like one of the small pile of dead
>>and disheartened flies that lay beneath the window, on top of a pile of
>>old pizza boxes.
>>    ^^^^^
>>
>
>>How can it be explained that
>>Dirk has pizza boxes lying on the fridge? Does he have a maniatic obsession
>
>
>Step 1.  Go down to local Pizza shop.
>Step 2.  Say in a clear and distinct voice 
>         "I'll have an Extra Large (insert favourite topping) Pizza to 
>	  takeaway please"
>Step 3.  Go back to flat and consume messily.
>Step 4.  Throw empty box on top of fridge.
>Step 5.  Repeat from step 1 as necessary.

I always thought that the joke here was that Dirk, being the holistic
god that he is, managed to get the companies to deliver...

-David "ZZYZX" Steinberg- King of the ellipses
       (dsteinbe@emmy.nmsu.edu)
**********************************************************************
*"Swim with the cactus and      *"I can't believe I'm a junior and a *
* Float with the stone.         * film major, when all I really      *
* I try to convey what          * wanted in this life was to marry a *
* She's trying to condone."     * lobsterman and cook fish."         *
* -Phish                        * -a letter from Christie Searing    *
**********************************************************************
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: sgupta@coral.cs.unm.edu (Sarang Gupta)
Subject: Re: discrepency in Guide
Organization: Computer Science Department, University of New Mexico
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 21:45:14 GMT

In article <ubigpig.727663708@mcl> ubigpig@mcl.ucsb.edu (Jeremy Dodd) writes:
>Incidentally, the radio program states that man goes on to be killed "at the
>next PEDESTRIAN crossing."  Odd, that.
>						-=<(JD)>=-
Nope.. the ACTUAL radio program says "zebra crossing" (with a short "e"
sound)... HOWEVER, I know there is an altered version of the radio program.
The main reason the program was altered was to change the name of the 
worst poet in the universe (they originally used the name of a REAL person,
and he threatened to sue)... Its possible that they made the zebra/pedestrian
change then too.


Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: jondr@sco.COM (Karen Silkwood's car)
Subject: Re: InfiniDim (was: Comment on MH)
Organization: The Santa Cruz Operation, Inc.
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 18:05:10 GMT


martin@cs.curtin.edu.au (Martin Dougiamas) writes:
>Iain.Anderson@newcastle.ac.uk (I. Anderson) writes:
>>BTW, can anyone think of any significance to the name 'InfiniDim' ?
>Well I always thought it was meant to stand for "Infinite Dimensions",

as douglas adams is a heavy macintosh computer fan, i presume he's referring
to the best-selling graphic rendering/animation package called "Infini-D".

-- 
Jon Drukman (God's personal DJ)                 uunet!sco!jondr   jondr@sco.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I was an infinitely hot and dense dot.
From: amw@cs.bham.ac.uk (Andy Wood)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: An interview
Date: 22 Jan 93 17:05:53 GMT
Organization: School of Computer Science, The University of Birmingham, UK

jd4o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Joseph Demasi) writes:

> I was wondering if anyone could help me out.  I would like to have DA
> give a talk or lecture at my university.

You'll be lucky - we're having enough trouble getting him up the M1 to
Birmingham! (England!)

He was supposed to be visiting us yesterday - but was struck down by a
mystery virus and cancelled. (sniff.)

However, he should be visiting in a couple of weeks - although given his
track record I'm not holding my breath. (Not that I could last two
weeks without oxygen anyway...)

In any case, here's a short guide to getting Douggie to visit :

         o  Don't ask him to sign anything.
         o  Don't ask him to talk about THHGTTG.
         o  Don't ask him out to dinner afterwards.
         o  Don't make any Surrey Estate Agent jokes.
         o  Wait two years (and a couple of weeks).

Good Luck.

-- 
Andy Wood : amw@cs.bham.ac.uk
From: weemba@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: discrepency in Guide
Date: 21 Jan 93 15:45:34 GMT
Reply-To: weemba@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu (Matthew P Wiener)
Organization: The Wistar Institute of Anatomy and Biology
In-reply-to: csedlack@ux4.cso.uiuc.edu (Christopher Sedlack)

In article <C12q9w.Cor@news.cso.uiuc.edu>, csedlack@ux4 (Christopher Sedlack) writes:
>>I wonder if anywhere in the U.S. has its crosswalks painted with white
>>stripes, thus being worthy of the name `zebra crossing'.

>The only thing that looks like that which I have seen in the US is the places
>where the bike paths at the University of Illinois cross the streets.

Now that the issue has come up, I've noticed for the first time in my
life (and I'm from here originally) that Philadelphia has genuine white
stripes on black zebra crossings.
-- 
-Matthew P Wiener (weemba@sagi.wistar.upenn.edu)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: nshomron@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Noam Shomron)
Subject: Re: S
Keywords: mice
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Tue, 26 Jan 1993 19:53:48 GMT

In article <ahrrison.728041344@unix1.tcd.ie> ahrrison@unix1.tcd.ie (ashley geor
ge harrison) writes:
>Anybody out there know why white mice rule the world?
>It seems so unfair to the white rats, rabbits, and other "lab" animals.
>
>

Hey, SOMEBODY has to rule the world.  Not like it's all it's cracked up to be, 
you know... "it's a troublesome place, difficult to administer, and as a piece 
of real estate it's utterly worthless because by definition there'd be no one 
to sell it to," as DA so elegantly put it.  Notice how the laws of physics tend
to be a bit flaky; I guess we all have to deal with a second-rate system.  All 
the other lab animals know what they're about, believe me.
--
From: acs_lindstro@rivers.acc.uwrf.edu
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: "GED"
Date: 25 Jan 93 21:01:09 -0600
Organization: University of Wisconsin - River Falls

I know it was said a while back, but I can' find it.  What does "GED"
mean?

Thanks.
From: Iain.Anderson@newcastle.ac.uk (I. Anderson)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Artificial Universe
Keywords: MH, Mostly Harmless, Artificial Universe
Date: 22 Jan 93 16:15:31 GMT
Organization: University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, NE1 7RU

fvkampen@cs.vu.nl (Kampen van F) writes:

> [stuff about artificial universes]


>(He leaves the window two times, is reality being leveled, sort
>of Hofstadter levels????)

Nah. It's two different windows. One in Van Harl's office, the other on the
13th floor somewhere. The one in the research place (13th) is unlikely to be
connected with electronic universes. Mind you, neither is Van Harl's place.
He strikes me as the kind of chap who doesn't hold with that sort of thing.

>--
>Florentijn van Kampen
>email: fvkampen@cs.vu.nl
>"Oh dear" says God " I hadn't thought of that" and promptly vanishes
>in a puff of logic...

Iain
From: spinoza@next06wor.wam.umd.edu (Yon Bonnie Laird of Cairn Robbing)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Mostly Harmless?
Date: 26 Jan 93 01:58:34 GMT
Distribution: alt

In article <A2.93Jan13103540@hadock.ese-metz.fr> a2@hadock.ese-metz.fr  
(St.Monsallier+J.M.Segretain=&) writes:
> I am a french fan of Douglas Adam.
> I read the - HHGTTG trilogy in four parts
>            - Dick Gentry's ... and the Dark tea time ...
>            - The last chance to see
> What else did he wrote ?
> 
Before he learned how to write, he wrote for Dr. Who.



ciao&shalom
jeff

"Dallas won, the Redskins lost (Bwaaaahahahahahahahaha!) and I got a 3.4  
last semester. As they say in astronomy, things are looking up!"
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: mkjensen@iastate.edu (Martha K (Puester) Jensen)
Subject: Re: Comment on MH
Keywords: Readout of the Earth
Organization: Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 1993 16:44:14 GMT

With all of the controversy about the psychologists wanting the Earth 
destroyed before read-out, doesn't it say somewhere that the vogons
destroyed the earth five minutes before it was to finish running the
five million year program?  If the dolphins pullesd in a replacement
earth, shouldn't it have finished running the program too?  I realize that
DNA might just not want to reveal the question, but logically, it should 
be running around the universe somewhere...

Also, Fenchurch describes having a revelation right before the earth
was destroyed the first time.  Did she get the readout five minutes early,
or did she just get god's final message to his creation???

Just something I wonder about...

Martha
From: Richard.Dalton@newcastle.ac.uk (Richard Dalton)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Disaster Area T-shirts ?
Date: 22 Jan 93 15:16:54 GMT
Organization: University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, NE1 7RU

wkinman@esk.compserv.utas.edu.au (Warren Michael Kinman) writes:

>>>>Disaster Area T-shirts (and other Hitch-Hikers T-shirts and stuff) can be 
>>>>obtained from 'ZZ9 Plural Z Alpha' the Hitch-Hikers appreciation society.
>>>>For membership details write to:
>>>
>>>>	Noel Collyer
>>>>	ZZ9 Membership secretary
>>>>	17 Guildford Street
>>>>	Brighton
>>>>	East Sussex
>>>>	BN1 3LS
>>>>	Great Britain
>>>
>>anyone have a source within the U.S.?
>>(please email)
>>
>Ditto for Australia??????????
>just e-mail or post if so desire. 
>Thanx

If you can't, ZZ9 do overseas membership .... I know it's a hassle, but as a 
last resort ...

	Rich 'Z'


===============================================================================
            Richard Dalton	        |         Computing Laboratory
 Email: Richard.Dalton@Newcastle.ac.uk  |   University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
===============================================================================
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: martin@cs.curtin.edu.au (Martin Dougiamas)
Subject: Pelican Crossing (was Re: discrepency in Guide)
Organization: Curtin University of Technology
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 02:22:14 GMT

ajmorrison@happy.colorado.edu writes:
>(they are what Americans refer to as cucumbers). I can manage to puzzle out 
>most of the jokes in British TV shows, but I am totally at a loss as to what a
>"pelican crossing" is..... <SIGH>

A pelican crossing is a pedestrian crossing that has traffic lights.
The traffic lights have 4 modes (instead of the usual three):

RED:            traffic must stop, pedestrians can walk
AMBER:          indicates approaching red, traffic must slow down
GREEN:          traffic can go, pedestrians must wait,  and
FLASHING AMBER: pedestrians may cross, but if there are no pedestrians,
		the traffic is free to proceed cautiously through the
		intersection.  ie it's a free-for-all where pedestrians
		have right of way.

I hope that clears THAT up.
Martin
--
Your eyes are weary from staring at the screen.  Your eyelids feel very heavy.
You feel very sleepy.  Watch the cursor.  Notice how restful it is to watch it
blink.  Close your eyes.  All the opinions stated above are yours.  You cannot
imagine why you ever felt otherwise.  When you awake, you will be irresistably
compelled to send all your money to: Martin Dougiamas, martin@cs.curtin.edu.au
From: ginsu@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Wes Simonds)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Mostly Harmful
Date: 24 Jan 1993 07:38:06 GMT
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: mickey.cc.utexas.edu

Someone writes:

>Unfortonatly, this is not to be the case.  Everyone on this newsgroup seems to
>have their own theory on how they could have been saved and how he can have up
>to five more books in the series or something...  But i truly believe this
>ending was written this way so people COULDNT demand another series...

I think it was written very poorly and witlessly so that people WOULDN'T
demand another series, and also because Adams seems not to have either the 
inspiration or the energy which absolutely top-notch comedy demands.  There 
was a time when he was the top comic novelist in the world, but in his last
two books Adams seems to be deliberately laying waste to his reputation. 
_Dirk_ was a really good book, except for the obligatory and boring SF aspects
of it; _Teatime_ sucked, except for Chapter Three, which I am convinced is the
earliest chapter of the book; and _MH_ has not a single good scene in it, and
only a small handful of good lines.  I won't be buying any more HHGG books.

Wes
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: dsohl@spock.uucp (Daniel Sohl)
Subject: Is this really the DNA newsgroup?
Organization: Choate Rosemary Hall 
Date: Mon, 25 Jan 1993 22:43:46 GMT

I think the title says it all. I have been following this newsgroup for
a while, and I confess that I don't see much of a relationship between this
newsgroup and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, or Dirk Gently or Liff or
Last Chance to See or... So what's up?
-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan Sohl        |"If there's nothing wrong with |"I don't know anything
dsohl@choate.edu| me, there must be something   | about music. In my line,
                | wrong with the universe!"     | you don't have to."
                | Dr. Crusher, "Remember Me"    | -- Elvis Presley
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: S.J.E.Champion@bradford.ac.uk (SJE CHAMPION)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Mostly Harmless?
Date: 26 Jan 93 15:41:07 GMT
Distribution: alt
Organization: University of Bradford, UK
Originator: 92161060@ccw401

spinoza@next06wor.wam.umd.edu (Yon Bonnie Laird of Cairn Robbing) writes:

>In article <A2.93Jan13103540@hadock.ese-metz.fr> a2@hadock.ese-metz.fr  
>(St.Monsallier+J.M.Segretain=&) writes:
>> I am a french fan of Douglas Adam.
>> I read the - HHGTTG trilogy in four parts
>>            - Dick Gentry's ... and the Dark tea time ...
>>            - The last chance to see
>> What else did he wrote ?
>> 
>Before he learned how to write, he wrote for Dr. Who.

I sincerely hope that you are NOT in any way, shape, or form making
a disparaging comment about Dr. Who, chum

>ciao&shalom
>jeff

>"Dallas won, the Redskins lost (Bwaaaahahahahahahahaha!) and I got a 3.4  
>last semester. As they say in astronomy, things are looking up!

Slimey "
From: jute@sday.pulp.nullnet.fi (Jussi Kantola)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: MH: Another observation
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 93 22:10:59 PST
Distribution: world
Organization: Splattersday

tlahdeoj@lesti.hut.fi (Tuomas L{hdeoja) writes:

> Comments? Too made up?

The link between the grebulons and the war Trillian was to cover is
great.	I'm just clenching my teeth now, because I didn't invent
that myself :-).

Not that I haven't tried -- I always thought there had to be something
more with the grebulons.  Perhaps it's this.

> >before the Vogons actually destroyed it. 
> If they destroyed it at all. MH didn't say so, at least exactly.

Vogons?  Vogons destroyed nothing.  The grebulons did.

> OH good God....

Yes.  This is getting wild.

I'm just wondering if even DNA himself thought or meant all these things.
Perhaps we're reading Mostly Harmless better than he is :-).

---
 Jussi Kantola from Paltamo, Finland
 email: jute@sday.pulp.nullnet.fi
From: dlf@geovax.ed.ac.uk
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: The great unanswered biro question
Date: 22 Jan 93 23:35:35 GMT
Organization: University of Edinburgh, Geography Department.


Um, a BIRO is actually a 


















[ahem] ballpoint pen.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DLF@GEOVAX.ED.AC.UK		Dept of Geography
			     	Edinburgh UK.
"A mind is a fun thing to waste"
From: jute@sday.pulp.nullnet.fi (Jussi Kantola)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: any more?
Date: Fri, 22 Jan 93 07:33:40 PST
Distribution: world
Organization: Splattersday

Steve.Kilbey%bbs@jptcs.com (Steve Kilbey) writes:

> I just assumes that this would be the last book, but I am hearing from
> people that they think this definitely NOT be the last one. Has anyone heard

That's because they didn't like the ending of Mostly Harmless.

Hey, what does it matter if this was the last book?  If he won't be
writing hitch hikers, then he'll be writing something else just as
good.  IMHO we don't actually need a sixth book.  Mostly Harmless
ends it all okay.

---
 Jussi Kantola from Paltamo, Finland
 email: jute@sday.pulp.nullnet.fi
From: jens@chemeng.ed.ac.uk (Jens Krabbe)
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
Subject: Re: Help with Long Dark Tea-Time
Date: 22 Jan 93 13:06:49 GMT
Organization: Edinburgh University Chemical Engineering Department
NNTP-Posting-Host: reay.chemeng.ed.ac.uk

bmadsen@dsd.es.com (Bruce Madsen) writes:

>I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could tell me what happened at
>the end of _The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul_ (i.e., what deals were
>worked out in Valhalla?)

As far as I remember, Odin sold his imortality to the mortal couple at
Valhalla only for them to be killed shortly after by the eagle materializing
as a jet fighter aeroplane. The result being that Odin got his white
linen guaranteed for the rest of his life, and everything else went
back to more or less normal again. Of course I could be wrong.

>For that matter, I'd appreciate it if anyone could unravel the whole
>tangled plot for me -- I'm not much of a sleuth and the whole thing
>confused me a wee bit. %^/

Unless others answer this for you, I think you'll have to resort to
read the book once more.

Jens
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams
From: blum@medici.ils.nwu.edu (Dan Blum)
Subject: Re: British humour (was Re: discrepency in Guide)
Reply-To: blum@ils.nwu.edu
Organization: The Institute for the Learning Sciences
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 17:00:22 GMT

Eyvind Bernhardsen (eyvind@Lise.Unit.NO) wrote:
> In article <93Jan22.123008edt.1179@smoke.cs.toronto.edu>, pedmonds@cs.toronto.edu ("Philip G. Edmonds") writes:

>  > How come Douglas Adams seems to have so little control over his works
>  > in other countries (especially the USA).

> I think this is true for most authors, because the US has really freaky copyright
> laws...  For instance, if I were to write a book hear and now, I'd have the
> copyright (in fact, I have the copyright to this post...), except in the US,
> because you have to apply (and pay, I think) to get copyrights.  This is why so
> many books have exceptions for sale in the United States and Canada; probably US
> copyrights to DA's books are held by another publisher than whoever normally
> publishes the book, hence the difference in covers.  Don't sue me if I'm wrong,
> though...

>  > Phil.

> -Eyvind

No you don't.  You can register a copyright with the Library of
Congress if you like, but the copyright exists the moment the thing is written.
> -- 
>      //|                             | DISCLAIMER: I don't HAVE opinions.
>     // |                             | I just repeat what everyone else says!
> \\ //--|miga: There can be only one. |
>  \X/   |         eyvind@lise.unit.no | Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!  Ackpth!

--
_____________________________________________________________________
Dan Blum           Institute for the Learning Sciences   Room 334
blum@ils.nwu.edu   1890 Maple Ave., Evanston, IL 60201   708-491-7149

"It's nothing, honey - the dog's learning how to juggle."
_____________________________________________________________________
Newsgroups: alt.fan.douglas-adams