Category: Books

Does Harry Potter Die In Book Seven?

As many people know, my wife and I are big fans of the Harry Potter series. We’ve both been re-reading (and re-listening to) the series in preparation for the upcoming book and movie. Right now, I’ve got Harry Potter on the brain, so when the Del.icio.us Random Page bookmarklet brought me to a neat Newspaper Clippipng Generator this morning, the first thing that popped into my head to write was an article from the Daily Prophet:

Daily Prophet Newspaper Clipping

My wife is convinced that Harry Potter will die on his birthday, so I took that idea and ran with it. I don’t have any reference material with me right now, (the books are at home,) and I’m too lazy to go searching on teh intarwebs, so some of the names are probably misspelled and/or flat out wrong. I couldn’t remember the name of the “current” minister of magic, so I wrote around that with a lame joke about Fudge.

Let me just say I have no inside knowledge about book seven. I am not connected in any way to J.K. Rowling. I have no idea what is going to happen. I’m just some goofy fan of the books. The clipping you see above is really just me rambling. It’s barely edited, and incomplete. If I get ambitious, I might try re-writing it and making a complete article. I have a couple of other funny (to me) ideas that didn’t fit into the space allowed in the clipping.

Ok – so I suspect that I’m going to get more than a few hits to this post. Welcome one and all. Feel free to post a comment. (Let’s put that spam filter through its paces.) What do you think is going to happen in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows?

Order of the Phoenix

While I’m here, trying to get caught up on some of the blogs I used to read on a daily basis, my wife is in the other room reading the new Harry Potter book.

The continuous clicking of the clock above the computer, and my occasional typing followed by silence as I read is currently being supplemented by bursts of laugher coming from the other room. Perhaps I should take some time to get caught up on the series so I can find out what’s so funny.

One reading project at a time, I’m still trying to catch up on my blogs.

The Rock Bottom Remainders

Jenny and I went with a friend of ours to see The Rock Bottom Remainders at the Fillmore last night.

(Looks like they need to buy more bandwith – here’s another site with some info.)

For those that don’t know, the Rock Bottom Remainders a band comprised (mostly) of notable authors like Amy Tan, Stephen King, Dave Barry and others. Jenny is a big Dave Barry fan, which is the main reason we went. The exact group composition varies from show to show. (For example: Stephen King did not perform last night.)

Barry claims that they suck, and has no idea why anyone would actually want to hear him and his literary cohorts play, but they really weren’t that bad. (Due, in large part, to Roger McGuinn, who is along for the ride for this tour, and “actually plays IN TUNE“)

Jenny got an autographed copy of “Tricky Business“, while I purchased a RBR hat and CD.

A couple of my favorite highlights from the show:

  • Robin Williams as a “suprise guest” to open for the band.
  • Amy Tan in a cross between a biker and a dominatrix outfit singing “These Boots Were Made for Walking”.

Last night was fun, I’m glad we went.

Edit: At least I’m consistent in my inability to spell “Barry” correctly

Edited on Apr 25th 2003, 21:51 by Hooloovoo

Oct 11th 2002, 03:19 GMT

[Quote]
I’ve come up with a set of rules that describe our reactions to technologies:

1. Anything that is in the world when you’re born is normal and ordinary and is just a natural part of the way the world works.

2. Anything that is invented between when you’re fifteen and thirty-five is new and exciting and revolutionary and you can probably get a career in it.

3. Anything invented after you’re thirty-five is agains the natural order of things.
[Quote]

-Douglas Adams

Found in The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time

May 14th 2002, 20:46 GMT

I’ve finally done it. I’ve finally gotten off my duff and started teaching myself PHP. I bought a book on it several months ago, but hadn’t actually started using it until last night.

I think I just needed some motivation, in the form of a good starter project. Something more complex than spitting out “Hello World” or regurgitaing form input back at the user.

A friend of mine has this idea for her website which appears to be perfectly suited for PHP. It also has the added advantage of not being too terribly difficult to code, (I think,) and has room for some enhancements down the road.

I also have some ideas for more extensive PHP based projects for work – but those are a bit ambitious for me to tackle just yet. I need to learn what I’m doing first.

Anyway – I have a question for you other web developer types: Are there any PHP books you’d recommend? Also, since I plan to segue into more complex database driven web applictions at some point, (for the projects at work,) are there any MySQL books or resources I should look into?

(Gah. Has it really been a month since I wrote anything?)