Test Result

I’m recently back from vacation — my house needs cleaning, I’m a few thousand email messages behind, and about 100 blog posts behind. I also need to post much information on my own blog.

SOOOOOOO — naturally I stop for a meme

The Which Lolcat Are You?

Your Score: Longcat
78% Affectionate, 27% Excitable, 37% Hungry
Protector of truth.Slayer of darkness.Loooooong.Longcat may seem like just a regular lengthy cat, but he is, in fact, looong. For proof, observe the longpic. It is prophesized that Longcat and his archnemesis Tacgnol will battle for supremacy on Caturday. The outcome will change the face of the world, and indeed the very fabric of lolcatdom, forever. Be grateful that the test has chosen you, and only you, to have this title. To see all possible results, checka dis. My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:


You scored higher than 94% on Affection


You scored higher than 5% on Excitability


You scored higher than 22% on Hunger


You scored higher than 0% on Felinity

click here to find out Which Lolcat Are You?

Vacation in the Minivan …..

Vacation in the minivan Day #1.

Wake up too bloody early. Finish packing, do laundry. Go into my office where I had a couple of small items to attend to. Get home, take shower, and dress in business casual type clothes (not what I normally wear to drive). Finish packing the minivan and drive to the movie theater. What?? That’s not how you normally start a vacation.

Trade places with Spouse and kids in the line at the theater. Spouse takes kids off to feed them lunch, and I stand in line for an hour and 1/2. Am rejoined by Spouse and Chip, stand in line for another 1/2 hour, and then spend a very few minutes getting picture taken with, and talking to James and Oliver Phelps (more commonly known as The Weasley Twins). Pictures later.

Hop into Spouses sedan and “continue” on my road to vacation by driving to Golf Course Suburb for a baby shower. Niece #1 is having my first grandnephew, so we delayed the start of our vacation travels until after the shower. Chat with family and friends, and then a few hours later, Spouse, Chip, Princess, and GMA-W and GPA-W arrive in Golf Course Suburb. I hop in minivan with all except Spouse. He’s not joining us on vacation, as he started a new job last week and (a) it’s not really a good plan to take vacation right after starting a new gig and (b) since he’s on contract he only gets paid for the time he works — after a bit of time with no income, we can’t afford a week with no pay when there’s an option for a week WITH pay.

Drive for a bit and call spouse “where’s the camera” (which was used to take pictures of Chip, Ramblingmom, and the Phelps twins)? “In my pocket” so you’ll see no pictures from vacation until my return home (and my camera). Now, since we’re travelling with GMA-W and GPA-W (a/k/a the inlaws) we can borrow their camera at times. We’re also meeting SIL and BIL and their kids. BIL is a very avid photographer or so he pretends. We often see him posing people for pictures and taking pictures and doing all sorts of things with cameras, but we never actually see any of these photographs.

So we drive a few hours, get some dinner, and then drive a couple more hours and find a room with a pillow top mattress (and internet access).

We we’re going there may not be Internet access, so you may get the rest of the trip much later.

Order of the Phoenix — impressions after 2 viewings

We saw the movie at the midnight release and then a day later Chip *WON* two tickets to another showing for Saturday so —- I mean what else could we do??

Anyway, now that I’ve seen it twice I have a few impressions

One thing that always disappoints me about the movies is that they can never match the books. I understand that there’s not enough time in 2+ hours to catch everything. They do sort of “fill in” the books for me. For instance, now I have a much better picture in my mind of Luna Lovegood. And let me say that I *LOVE* Evanna Lynch (I think Chip thinks I have a “girl crush” on her). She catches that dreamy/spacey quality of Luna so well. Don’t worry, you’re just as sane as me. Kudos to casting on THAT casting call.

No quidditch :^(. Didn’t get to hear “Weasley is our King”.

Jason Isaacs — WOW — I really hated him as Lucius Malfoy in this movie – I mean I LOVE the way that Jason Isaacs portrayed Lucius Malfoy and made me hate Lucius. Now lets everybody just calm down… shall we?

Now I might have disliked Mr. Malfoy — but Umbridge really got my goat (or Centaur in this case). Pure evil. I kept trying to think that maybe if the Ministry really thought that Dumbledore was waging a war against the ministry that might excuse some of her behavior but I couldn’t forget that (from the book) she had ordered the dementor attack on Harry. I can’t find an excuse for that.

I’m thinking Tonks for Halloween.

What follows is a spoiler for those that have not seen movie 5 AND have not READ book 6.

Cornelius Fudge resigned as Minister of Magic (it was a headline of the Prophet that passed by). Book 6 starts with the introduction of the new Minister of Magic. I’ve loved Robert Hardy since he was Siegfried Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small.
I’m going to miss him in the Potter movies.

BYE BYE Siegfried (though I wouldn’t cry if somehow Peter Davison managed to get cast in an HP movie).

nearest book meme

This has been going around. Since I have a lot of “closest books” to my computer (there’s a 6 shelf bookshelf nearby — which is the closest book? The one on the first shelf or the second or the third?). I did have Dora the Explorer Madlibs Junior ON the computer table — that that doesnt’ have the required number of pages.

So I decided that the next time a book lands on my computer table, I’d use that book for the closest book meme. (If you look at my last post – you may understand how this book came to be on my table)

And here goes …

The game:
1. Grab the nearest book to you.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your blog along with these instructions.
5. Don’t you dare dig for that “cool” or “intellectual” book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

From The Yale Book of Quotations edited by Fred R. Shapiro

David Byrne
Scottish-born U.S. Rock musician, 1952

1 And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house
With a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself
Well, how did I get here?

“Once in a Lifetime” (song) (1980). Cowritten with Brian Eno.

2 And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?

(OKAY — so that was a bit confusing as the punctuation is weird enough in a book of quotations so I just counted end of sentence punctuation marks and went from there).

What was I gonna say???

Ran across the following on Reuters.

Remember your home phone number? Forget it!

LONDON (Reuters) – Can’t remember life before mobiles? Chances are you’ll also struggle to recall your home phone number and family birthdays.

According to a survey released Friday, the boom in mobiles and portable devices that store reams of personal information has created a generation incapable of memorizing simple things.

A quarter of those polled said they couldn’t remember their landline number, while two-thirds couldn’t recall the birthdays of more than three friends or family members.

The tech-savvy young fared worse than older people. The under-30s could remember fewer birthdays and numbers than the over-50s, according to the survey.

Two-thirds said they relied on their phone or electronic organizer to remember key dates.

“People have more to remember these days and they are relying on technology more for their memory,” said Ian Robertson, professor of psychology at Trinity College, Dublin.

© Reuters 2006. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

What about the folks between 30 and 50? What do they remember? (Or did the pollsters forget to poll those folks??)

I believe (though I can’t verify) that Einstein was quoted as saying that he didn’t memorize his phone number because he wouldn’t be bothered to memorize something that he can look up.

(I use that philosophy often in my work doing income taxes – no I bloody well don’t have the tax tables memorized).

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com. This is your first post. Edit or delete it and start blogging!

Another predictions quiz — feel free to copy and keep score

1. Will Harry die and stay dead at the end of HPDH? (3 points)

NO

2. Will Voldemort die and stay dead at the end of HPDH? (3 points)

YES

3. Excluding Harry and Voldemort, who will be the most prominent character to die and stay dead? (3 points)

Hagrid

4. From HBP (p125, American Hardcover), in the shop while the trio were listening with Extendable Ears, what did Draco show Borgin that scared him? (3 points)

Draco has the Dark Mark

5. Assuming Hogwarts reopens as a school, who will return as a student, which means enrolled in classes whether or not they attend the classes (answer yes or no for 1 point each):

a. Harry?

Yes

b. Draco?

No

c. Hermione?

Yes

d. Luna?

NO

e. Ron?

Yes

f. Neville?

Yes

g. Ginny?

Yes

6. Which will be the most prominent couple to marry, if any, during the time period covered in DH, excluding any epilogue? (3 points)

Bill and Fleur

7. Who will be the unusual person who performs magic for the first time “very late in life?” (3 points)

Aunt Petunia

8. Assuming Hogwarts reopens as a school, who will be the: (1 point each)

a. Head Boy?

Neville

b. Head Girl?

Hermoine

c. DADA Instructor?

Shacklebolt

d. Potions Master or Mistress?

Aberforth (hey — how far is a barkeep from a potions master??)

e. Headmaster or -mistress?

McGonagall (interim)

9. Where do Snape’s ultimate loyalties lie? (3 points)

I say he’s a free agent, trying to figure which side will end up on top.

10. Identify the six Horcruxes (asuming 7th soul fragment is in Voldemort’s body) (1 point each)

a. The Diary (given)
b. The Ring (given)
c. The Locket (highly suspect)
d. Nagini
e. Helga’s Cup
f. The Scar

11. What are Snape’s a) patronus and b) boggert? (1 point each)

A cauldron

Harry

12. What is behind the locked door at the Department of Mysteries in the Ministry of Magic? (2 points)

Love Love Love (I’m not sure HOW that’s behind the door??? Maybe an old Beatles recording :} ).

13. True or False? R.A.B. is Regalus Black (2 points)

Yes

Make up to 10 predictions not covered in the Compulsory Question section. (Up to five points each, depending on accuracy and creativity. Avoid overly obvious (Snape will have greasy hair, Herminone will answer a question correctly)

Neville will do something Incredibly Significant in the upcoming battle (like kill 13 death eaters at once or something).

Molly Weasley will die in order to save one (or more) of her children — possibly the git (Percy)

And I realize I don’t get ANY points for this one — but somewhere, sometime in the book Jo is going to have Fred and George cause us all to be rolling on the floor laughing.

Dumbledore’s inclusiveness is going to be significant, all the “good” magical folk are going to need to work together.

Harry will have a son — who will look just like his father (BUT — if he get Ginny Weasley pregnant — the child will look “just like his father” but have “his other’s hair”)

AND — I keep thinking that both Hagrid *AND* Arthur Weasley will die — every time Harry gets a father figure …

Predictions quiz #1

Anyone who wishes is welcome to play along. Keep track when Book 7 comes out. NOTE – some of these contradict others, and some contradict ones from another predictions quiz I’ll post. Oh well – tough I don’t know what’s really going to happen.

1. Hogwarts will be closed for the entire year.

False

2. Harry will enroll in Year 7 classes at Hogwarts.

True

3. Ron will enroll in Year 7 classes at Hogwarts.

True

4. Hermione will enroll in Year 7 classes at Hogwarts.

True

5. Harry will take N.E.W.T. exams.

True

6. Ron will take N.E.W.T. exams.

False

7. Hermione will take N.E.W.T. exams.

True WHAT — Hermione will pass on taking an exam?? Even if she doesn’t go to Hogwarts she’ll probably wander by just to have a chance to take an exam.

8. Harry will be Head Boy at Hogwarts.

False

9. Ron will be Head Boy at Hogwarts.

False

10. Hermione will be Head Girl at Hogwarts.

True – will drive the Slytherin’s CRAZY — a MUGGLE as Head Girl!!!!

11. Harry will teach Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.

Eventually

12. The DADA teacher at Hogwarts will be ________________________. (fill in the blank)

Shacklebolt

13. Harry’s scar is a Horcrux.

True

14. Nagini is a Horcrux.

False

15. Slytherin’s locket is a Horcrux.

True

16. Hufflepuff’s cup is a Horcrux.

True

17. The locket that nobody could open at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place is a Horcrux.

True

18. Harry will keep his Horcrux quest secret from the Order of the Phoenix.

For the first 1/2 of the book. He’ll find he needs help from one (or
more) members of the Order. After all these years he’ll finally
figure out that it’s really OKAY to ask for help from a grownup

19. R.A.B. = Regulus A. Black.

True

20. R.A.B. has already destroyed the locket-Horcrux.

True

21. Voldemort already knows (by the end of Half-Blood Prince) that R.A.B. took the locket-Horcrux from the cave.

False

22. Voldemort already knows (by the end of Half-Blood Prince) that Harry is seeking his Horcruxes.

False (but suspects)

23. Albus Dumbledore is really dead.

He’s not only merely dead, he’s really most sincerely dead.

24. On top of the “Lightening-Struck Tower,” Dumbledore was asking Snape to kill him.

TRUE

25. Dumbledore gave Snape the DADA position because he knew Snape would be leaving Hogwarts at the end of the school year.

False

26. Dumbledore will communicate with Harry through his portrait in the Headmaster’s office.

Somewhat (yes — but not CLEARLY)

27. Dumbledore will communicate with Harry through the Pensieve.

Harry will use the Pensieve

28. Harry will use the Sorcerer’s Stone.

False

29. Harry will return to the Chamber of Secrets.

False

30. Harry will be a Prisoner of Azkaban (or at least go there).

False

31. Harry will use the Goblet of Fire.

False

32. Harry will join the Order of the Phoenix.

True

33. Harry will (intentionally) join forces with the Half-Blood Prince.

True

34. Harry will visit a place called the Deathly Hallows.

True

35. One of the Dursleys will learn to do magic.

True

36. Petunia will (intentionally) give Harry vital information before he leaves Privet Drive.

True

37. Ron and Hermione will be a couple.

Absolutely

38. Harry and Hermione will be a couple.

NOPE (They’re like Luke and Leia — brother and sister — not by blood
but in spirit)

39. Harry and Ginny will get back together.

Yeah

40. Ron and Hermione have already kissed “off-screen” by the end of Half-Blood Prince.

True

41. Sybill Trelawney will make another real prophecy.

True

42. Rufus Scrimgeour will be Minister of Magic at the end of Deathly Hallows.

False

43. Harry will use the Mirror of Erised again.

False

44. Harry will use the sword of Godric Gryffindor again.

False

45. Harry will use the Sorting Hat.

False

46. Harry will use a Time-Turner.

False

47. Harry will use the two-way mirror that Sirius gave him.

True

48. Harry’s knowledge of Muggle artifacts will save him from imminent danger.

True

49. Grawp will (intentionally) save Harry/Ron/Hermione from danger.

True

50. The Weasleys’ – now wild – flying Ford Anglia will play a significant role in saving and/or transporting Harry/Ron/Hermione.

True

51. Aside from James, Lily, Harry, and Voldemort, there was at least one other person present at the Potters’ house the night James and Lily died.

True

52. Bill Weasley will become a full werewolf.

True

53. How did James and Lily Potter acquire their small fortune? _________________________________ (fill in the blank)

They borrowed the Sorcerer’s Stone from Flamel

54. Snape is an Animagus.

False

55. We will learn more about the relationship between Lily and Snape.

True

56. A current member of the Order of the Phoenix will betray Harry.

True

57. The Death Eaters will attack Privet Drive.

True

58. The Death Eaters will attack The Burrow.

False

59. The Death Eaters will attack during Bill and Fleur’s wedding.

True

60. The Death Eaters will attack Hogwarts.

False

61. The Death Eaters will attack Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes.

False

62. Draco will abandon the Death Eaters.

True — but not until almost the end

63. Peter Pettigrew, aka Wormtail, will abandon the Death Eaters.

False

64. Snape will be openly allowed back into the Order of the Phoenix.

False

65. Snape is truly loyal to:
(a) Dumbledore
(b) Voldemort
(c) Neither

(c) Snape

66. Dumbledore trusts Snape because:
(a) Snape made a heartfelt apology
(b) Snape made an Unbreakable Vow
(c) Snape passed crucial secret information to the Order about Voldemort/Death Eaters
(d) Dumbledore had no hard evidence, he just wanted to give Snape the benefit of the doubt
(e) None of these, but we’ll find out in Deathly Hallows
(f) We’ll never know

(E)

67. Snape began working as a double agent for the Order:
(a) Before the prophecy was made
(b) After the prophecy was made, but before James and Lily died
(c) The night James and Lily died
(d) After James and Lily died

(A)

68. Harry will use, or attempt to use, an Unforgivable Curse.

True

69. Harry will use, or attempt to use, the Avada Kedavra Curse on Voldemort.

True

70. Someone other than Harry will actually finish-off Voldemort, even though Harry will have done most of the work. (i.e. Darth tosses the Emperor, Gollum falls in with the ring.)

True

71. The U.S. edition cover-art for Deathly Hallows, portrays the final showdown.

True

72. The U.S. edition cover-art for Deathly Hallows, portrays Harry and Voldemort reaching for a Horcrux.

False

73. Harry will destroy at least one Horcrux by sending it through the Veil.

True

74. The Deathly Hallows is: (a) at Hogwarts
(b) in Godric’s Hollow
(c) a graveyard
(d) beyond the Veil
(e) another name for Horcruxes
(f) none of these, but depicted on the US cover

(B)

75. The final showdown will be at:
(a) the Deathly Hallows
(b) Hogwarts
(c) Azkaban
(d) Veil/Minitry of Magic
(e) Godric’s Hollow
(f) The Underground Lake/Gringotts
(g) somewhere else

(B)

76. Harry will survive.

TRUE

77. Ron will survive.

True

78. Hermione will survive.

True

79. Ginny will survive.

True

80. Neville will survive.

False

81. Luna will survive.

True

82. Hagrid will survive.

False

83. Lupin will survive.

False

84. Tonks will survive.

True

85. Molly and Arthur will survive.

False/True

86. Fred and George will survive.

True/True

87. Bill and Fleur will survive.

True

88. Percy will survive.

True (unfortunately — the Git I say Molly will die to save him.)

89. Voldemort will survive.

False

90. Snape will survive.

False

91. Peter Pettigrew will survive.

True — and he’ll get to go to Azkaban

92. Bellatrix will survive.

False

93. Lucius Malfoy will survive.

False (thank goodness)

94. Narcissa Malfoy will survive.

True

95. Draco Malfoy will survive.

True

96. Harry will become an Auror.

True

97. Harry will become a professor at Hogwarts.

False

98. Ron will become a professor at Hogwarts.

False – Ron has had ENOUGH of school

99. Hermione will become a professor at Hogwarts.

True

100. Neville will become a professor at Hogwarts.

True (yeah — I know this contradicts where I said he wouldn’t survive)

101. The final word of Deathly Hallows will be “scar.”

FALSE

But — before I heard about the interview the other day I wrote …

True. (this contradicts what I said about Harry surviving). Harry
will die — but not before he gets Ginny pregnant. In the epilogue we
will discover that Ginny had a baby boy. Everyone says …..

You look just like your mother — except you have your father’s scar.

This could be true

What Your Latte Says About You

You are very decadent in all aspects of your life. You never scale back, and you always live large. You can be quite silly at times, but you know when to buckle down and be serious. Intense and energetic, you aren’t completely happy unless you are bouncing off the walls. You’re addicted to caffeine. There’s no denying it. You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You’re occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree. You are deep and thoughtful, but you are never withdrawn.

What does your Latte Say About You?

This could be true — but then I never bounce off walls (my kids do enough of that)

But they’ve never been seen together now, have they???

=
Rita Skeeter = Ann Coulter

Just a thought I had earlier today while listening to HP and the Goblet of Fire.

From Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“Don’t you dare blame your father for what that wretched Skeeter woman wrote!” said Mrs. Weasley, flaring up at once.

“If Dad hadn’t said anything, old Rita would have just said it was disgraceful that nobody from the Ministry had commented,” said Bill,

Guess there’s some folks out there that just never learned the old adage ….

“If you can’t say something nice about someone, don’t say nothing at all.”