Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

Tue Jul 14 14:30:29 EDT 2026

I've always wondered why he didn't pick the prime 43 instead.
Doug

-----Original Message-----
From: use-livecode <use-livecode-bounces at lists.runrev.com> On Behalf Of Colin Holgate via use-livecode
Sent: Tuesday, July 14, 2026 11:15 AM
To: How to use LiveCode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com>
Cc: Colin Holgate <colinholgate at gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

I had worked with Douglas in the launch event for the Macintosh Portable in the UK. It was a Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy themed event. Then during 1991 I was programming the Expanded Books, and go together with Douglas to show him how that was going. I did also get to spend some time with him at book shows that Voyager had a booth at. One time I was stood there, with just me and him, and so I dared to ask him ‘why 42?’ He told me how that came to be the answer that he used.

> On Jul 14, 2026, at 12:07 PM, Peter Bogdanoff via use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
> 
> I was at Voyager when Adams visited the company about 1991 which led to Voyager Co in Santa Monica publishing the Expanded Book of The Complete Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and the CD-ROM Last Chance to See—both in HyperCard.
> 
> He sat down with everybody and just talked.
> 
> I don’t know that I have enough time or energy for such a project, but I do work in audio editing and know others that do.
> 
> HyperTalk (not LiveTalk) was the beloved language of that golden age.
> 
> Peter Bogdanoff
> 
>> On Jul 14, 2026, at 8:47 AM, David Bovill via use-livecode <use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>> 
>> 42 is most definitely a sacred number - as is 0207 222 7701 - which I 
>> just learned was frighteningly close to my first girlfriend's 
>> telephone number - and a major reason for many nuisance calls.
>> 
>> On Tue, 14 Jul 2026 at 16:40, Craig Newman via use-livecode < 
>> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> Is 42 an even number????
>>> 
>>> Will this be a LC stack that looks like the Guide? I think I can 
>>> suggest a couple of words to put on the cover.
>>> 
>>> Craig
>>> 
>>>> On Jul 14, 2026, at 11:15 AM, David Bovill via use-livecode <
>>> use-livecode at lists.runrev.com> wrote:
>>>> 
>>>> I've been quietly working away on a new project for the last couple 
>>>> of years - that I'd like to share here on my favourite list first - 
>>>> to sense the temperature, and guage if there is a will and interest 
>>>> to
>>> participate.
>>>> 
>>>> Long story short, through a set of improbable historical 
>>>> coincidences, we have inherited the rights to use the characters 
>>>> and story lines for Hitchhikers Guide - to build a real world 
>>>> working copy of the Guide
>>> itself.
>>>> Our aim is to re-imagine what such a guide would look like given 
>>>> all the amazing tech we have now to build it with, and for some 
>>>> completely irrational reasons hand over the rights to all of this 
>>>> to whoever shows
>>> up
>>>> and helps us build this thing.
>>>> 
>>>> This is my first post on this, it's not marketing, or hype - just a 
>>>> shout-out - or as we call it a Request for Guidance - to see if 
>>>> there are any good people out there interested in helping to build 
>>>> the Guide in Livecode, and in so doing reach out to a new 
>>>> generation of coders. We are looking to interest a new generation 
>>>> of coders experimenting with AI -
>>> but
>>>> alos artists, and lovers of sci fi. We hope that this project could
>>> bring a
>>>> new eneration of creators to Livecode and the beautiful language 
>>>> that we share  - and that Douglas Adam's was a big fan of - LiveTalk.
>>>> 
>>>> What do you think? Anyone interested?
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>>> 
>>> 
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