Posted by Jim at July 20th, 2007
There’s already a summary of the plot of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows up on Wikipedia.
I haven’t read it. I’m mostly immune to being bothered by spoilers, but the plot summary is so long that I’m afraid that it will blow every surprise in the book.
Thus, I’m skipping it for the moment.
Posted by Jim at July 18th, 2007
So I decided in June that rather than re-read the entire Harry Potter series in preparation for the new book that I would just read the sixth book and be done with it. So I did. I re-read “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” in June.
It is now July and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” will come out this Saturday. Abandoning my sensible policy of last month, I decided I would re-read “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”
Not stopping there, I continued through almost all of them and am now re-reading the fifth book (”Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix”). If I am wise, I won’t re-read the sixth book a second time in two months.
On the other hand, why should I start being wise now?
Posted by Jim at July 13th, 2007
Well this has been an odd week with regards to Iraq… We have President Bush telling us the reasons to stay and the House voting to go. Mind you, the House doesn’t have the power to do that without the Senate’s help, making it something of a symbolic vote.
Still, bearing in mind the Republican senators who have recently come out against the war, I can’t help but wonder how long it will be before the Senate has a majority for pulling out.
Of course, Bush’s inevitable veto of any resolution of that kind means that they’ll have to have more than a majority. They’ll need two-thirds of the Senate to actually succeed.
That’ll be more of a challenge.
Bush’s Characterization of Withdrawal
I found it interesting to listen to Bush’s characterization of the question of withdrawal. He described it as an argument between those who believed we could succeed and those who believed success was impossible.
I can’t speak for everyone who wants to withdraw, but I don’t believe that success is impossible. I believe that success is possible but that the Bush administration has never put in the necessary resources to succeed and that they have no intention of doing so since it would mean tripling the number of troops we’ve currently got there.
Bearing in mind that success is improbable with the resources that they are willing to put in, I’m inclined to think that withdrawal is the better option.
Abandoning Iraq to Al-Queda?
As much as Bush points out that we are fighting Al-Queda in Iraq, it’s worth mentioning that while Al-Queda does exist in Iraq, there’s also an organization called “Al Queda in Iraq.” It’s not directly controlled by Al-Queda and is more of an Iraqi franchise than something controlled by Bin Laden.
So, we’re not really fighting Al-Queda in the classic 911 sense.
What’s unfortunate though is that Bush is right that abandoning Iraq to it’s own devices shows a certain irresponsibility. We’ve made a big mess there and owe the Iraqis help in cleaning it up.
Sadly, our presence there generates a certain amount of violence by it’s very existence. Also unfortunate? The fact that pulling out would remove whatever good effects we’re having there. I’m thinking specifically that we prevent some Sunni/Shia violence and help preserve some semblance of order in places.
The essential horror of the situation to my mind is that neither staying nor going is automatically going to produce a stable society.
A Modest Proposal for Withdrawal?
I sometimes wonder if pulling out might not be the best solution in the following sense:
If we did pull out anything that exists only because we’re there would probably fall apart. Eventually though, some sort of order would come into being (probably after considerable violence). With any luck, it might be a form of order created by Iraqis, something reasonably stable and not supported by outside forces. With a government that has control of Iraq and the support of it’s people, it would be possible for Iraqis to get somewhere.
At that point, the US might be in a better position to do some good in the country–provided Iraqis didn’t refuse our help on general principles.
Of course, if we did pull out I suppose it might be possible that some other country (Iran?) might prop up an unstable government favorable to itself.
No Good Solutions But Maybe a Good Observation…
I’m trying to wrap this post up right now, but I don’t really have a good ending for this. I have no solution to point people to.
All I have is the following thought:
The Bush administration probably thought that bringing down Saddam Hussein by force was a better bet than sanctions or diplomacy. It does have the advantage of being immediate, but it should be obvious now that violent overthrow of a regime you don’t like is just as uncertain as persuasion.
Posted by Jim at July 3rd, 2007
So I was driving to a client’s house late last week and I saw a rock.
It is owned by the River City Excavation Company. River City Excavation sells mulch, rocks, dirt and presumably excavation.
I happened to speak to someone who works there (my wife wanted me to find out how much mulch cost) and learned that the rock weighs 1300 pounds and would ordinarily cost $120. Nonetheless they are currently selling it for $82.99, dropping it by a dollar a day until it’s sold.
I hear that they’re a little worried because while it is on the corner, the people in the cars that pass seem to be talking on their cell phones instead of noticing it.
They’re considering placing a manikin in a bikini next to the rock (because there’s nothing that convinces you to buy rocks like a hot manikin…).
Anyway, if you’re interested, they’re located on Hall just on the east side of 131.
You know, they ought to be paying me for this.
Posted by Jim at July 2nd, 2007
Critics can be valuable. When you’re talking about something that you might pay for (like a book, movie, or CD), critics can warn you away from something that looks great in the advertisements, but pretty much sucks in reality.
They can also be valuable to the artist if the critic points out real flaws in the work.
On the other hand there are also critics whose stuff I read and think, “This is criticism for the sake of criticism.” I’m talking here about criticism that is over the top negative and (for example) calls the author a pedophile and suggests that he “die in a fire.” To me, it feels like the critic is going nasty because people find nasty reviews entertaining–not because the object of criticism is as bad as they say.
That’s not to say that that sort of thing can’t be funny. It can even still be valuable stuff despite the tone.
Bearing that in mind, I’d just like to point out that people doing exactly those sort of reviews have come to web comics. I give you:
Your Webcomic is Bad and You Should Feel Bad
So far as I can tell, it gives no good reviews and specializes in demolishing comics. I find it amusing that someone would bother to review web comics in this way in that
1) The critic is not saving anyone any money since most web comics are free.
2) Despite the fact that most web comic authors will actually read a review, the critic is giving up any chance of influencing them by writing as if they were the source of unrelenting evil instead of writing a lousy comic.
I agree with the author’s criticisms about some comics, but I’ve got to admit that he goes considerably farther than I would. Am I planning on reading it further? No. Not when stuff like Websnark exists.
There’s no denying that bad web comics are out there, but I don’t feel compelled to wallow in them.
Posted by Jim at June 20th, 2007
As the next Harry Potter book comes out relatively soon (about a month from now), I thought I would get my predictions of what will happen out in public.
The ones I’m fairly confident of:
1. Dumbledore really is dead. Admittedly this isn’t a prediction, but since some people argue that he’s secretly alive, I thought it worth mentioning.
2. Harry (or more precisely his scar) is a horcrux. For more on this, read my original post on the subject.
3. Harry will ultimately survive the seventh book. I’ve no reason to believe this, but it seems more probable to me at the moment. Still, I wouldn’t be surprised if his death seems like an inevitability through a large chunk of the novel.
4. Ron and Hermione will also survive, but, this doesn’t mean that they can’t be seriously hurt.
5. The fact that Voldemort used some of Harry’s blood to embody himself will somehow help Harry.
6. Peter Pettigrew will ultimately somehow help Harry against Voldemort whether deliberately or no.
Predictions I’m not at all confident of:
1. That RAB stands for Regulus Black, Sirius’ younger brother. I’ve no clue whether he’s alive or dead though.
2. That Percy will ultimately be restored to the Weasley family–but I wouldn’t be surprised if he dies in the process.
3. That at least a couple Weasleys will die in the book as well as other Order of the Phoenix members (I don’t dare even guess how many) .
4. Arthur Weasley becomes Minister of Magic by the end.
5. Dumbledore was right about Snape and Snape will ultimately be fighting on Harry’s side. Why? Well, here’s a total guess… Remember the bit at the end of the sixth book where they mention that Snape told Dumbledore that the Potters’ deaths caused him to stop serving Voldemort? I’m going to guess that while Snape hated James Potter, he loved Lily. Thus he would have motivation to change sides after her death. Of course this is largely conjecture on my part…
Anyone else have predictions?
Posted by Jim at June 19th, 2007
I just saw space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space station in the sky above my house. It’s strange to think that I just saw human made objects orbiting the planet…
If you want to read more about it, try TV8 and Bill Steffan’s blog.
Posted by Jim at June 13th, 2007
One of my daughters (Becca) recently had a birthday. One of her aunts (who will be left nameless) bought her a toy electric guitar.
You can’t actually play anything on it. It doesn’t have strings, but it does have five buttons high on the fret board that play prerecorded guitar riffs in different styles ranging from rock to blues to country.
She loves it and plays it a lot. Kristen and I are of course just a little sick of it.
Here’s a bit of actual play post birthday party:
To set the scene it must be noted that Becca and Abby have put down the guitar (Yay!) and are playing with the baby carriage that Becca also got. They are pushing dolls around in it and pretending that they are hurt.
Becca: Let’s take the babies to the hospital.
Abby: OK.
Becca: Baby, you are going to the hospital.
They push the stroller around the living room for a bit.
Abby: And let’s pretend that they pass a concert!
Things go downhill rather quickly from there.
Another scene:
Kids have gone to bed. Kristen (my wife) is cleaning up the living room and has picked up the guitar. She presses one of the frets and we can both hear the ensuing guitar solo.
Then she mimes beating the guitar against the floor.
Me: What are you doing?
Kristen: I’m imitating the Who.
Posted by Jim at June 2nd, 2007
It turns out that the huge boar killed by an 11 year old boy recently had only been released into the wild six days prior to being shot.
I had wondered about that. The bit about the kid’s father and others being ready to shoot the pig with rifles if it threatened him made it sound like one of those farms where you pay to shoot something.
Posted by Jim at May 30th, 2007
Wow. Though it’s not over yet, May has been a new low in writing blog entries. I’ve managed to write only three this month (not counting this one) one of which had what, three sentences? For what it’s worth, I have been writing. It’s just that most writing I’ve been doing lately has been on my novel. The rest of my time has been spent reading books (most of it) and playing video games (a little). For example, last night I spent a few hours dying while playing Star Wars Battlefront 2.
As evidence that I’ve even been trying to blog, I give you this entry about the River Bank Run that I started more than two weeks ago, but never finished till now.
Some of you may be curious how I did in the River Bank Run on May 12. I did OK though not incredibly well. I ran it in 2:25–which is about six minutes slower than last time. My goal had been to hit consistent 9 minute miles and finish around 2:20. Admittedly, two hours and twenty-five minutes isn’t that far off, but I’m still sure I could have done better.
I like to think that my slowness can be blamed on pulling a muscle in the course of training. This is at least partially true, but it wasn’t a really bad pulled muscle. I could feel some soreness when I walked, but no pain and I had full range of motion in the leg.
When I called the doctor I was told that I could run, but if I felt extreme pain at some point during the run I needed to stop immediately.
I like to think that I would have done that anyway.
The beginning of the run went phenomenally well. I was running consistent 8:49 minute miles through about the halfway mark. Actually, that’s just what the official race splits say. As I remember things, I did decently until mile 10 or so.
That’s when I began to hit the really bad hills.
At first I was okay even then, but ultimately I couldn’t make myself continue at a consistent speed. I let myself walk a little while and then did it several more times (all rather briefly) despite the fact that running felt better in some ways than walking.
That’s when I lost a lot of ground, getting passed by a number of people–including Spiderman and my cousin Mike.
Some guy ran the race in a Spiderman costume. We passed each other a few times, but I ultimately lost out when I took a bathroom break. I didn’t see him after that.
As for my cousin… I didn’t even know he was running until Kristen noticed that he got a time about five minutes faster than mine.
As I ended the run, I reflected that I felt surprisingly good for having run that far. Approximately ten minutes later, I had to rethink that as my body’s endorphins wore off. I felt the pulled muscle quite well, but that was balanced out by the fact that my other leg felt just as bad for different reasons.
If just one leg had felt bad I would have been limping. As it was…. Well, can you limp on both legs? If you can, I probably did.
I had good time anyway. I’ve been thinking about how I’ll train next year already–assuming I can. The pulled muscle still hurts a little. I plan to call the doctor about it again, but the fact that it’s been feeling consistently better each week since the run makes me less motivated than I ordinarily would be.
In the meantime I’m thinking that I’ll be exercising via bike, rollerblades and swimming and give running a bit of a rest.
I’m also tempted to take up rock climbing. We’ll see if I get around to it.
P.S. Did I mention that Kristen also ran? I should have.
P.P.S. Though many races offer free beer at the finish, I strongly recommend fruit. I have no idea how much watermelon and orange slices I ate, but at that moment they were wonderful.
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