Timewaster's Guide Archive

How long do these events usually last for?

A few buddies and I are thinking of driving up from Denver, and are debating if we should just spend the night there or drive back afterwards.

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Based on what I've read/heard/thought of, this is what I think can explain the hat/sword and "unbeatable" wand.

For the hat/sword issue, in one interview she said "There is more to the Sorting Hat than what you have read about in the first three books."  It should be noted, that she isn't talking about the sword coming from it, since that happened in the second book.  It's known now that the sorting hat was originally owned by Godric Gryffindor.  My guess is, the reason that Neville was able to get the sword, was because there is such a strong connection between it and the hat, since both were owned at one point, by the same wizard.   Godric Gryffindor obviously didn't create the sword (since goblins did) but I think it's safe to say he did modify it some (putting his name on it) and could of thrown some magic on it to tie it to the hat as well.

Also, the explanation I think is the strongest about the "Unbeatable" wand, is that mainly, the "unbeatable" part, is just part of the children's story.  If I'm not mistaken, the only time it's referred to as unbeatable, is directly in the story.  Now, as Dumbledore brings up, the story is likely just a story, and not a real account of what happened.  I'm sure there are countess examples of a similar thing happening in real life, where a real event is exaggerated, and then simplified into a children's  story.   

Based on that, you can assume that the wand wasn't unbeatable, but simply a much more powerful wand.  It would do the same spells, but do them stronger.  More evidence for this, is that Harry was able to determine that the first wand Hermione gave him didn't feel quite as powerful as his own.  So we know it's possible for a wizard to judge the power of their wand.  Later on, Voldemort says that the Elder Wand doesn't seem as powerful as it should.  Based on that, it would seem that Voldemort knew that the wand was just a "stronger" wand.  If it did have some magical unbeatable property tied to it, then it would of acted on it's own (I would think) more like Harry's did at the beginning when Voldemort was coming after him after they fled Privett drive.   Based on that, I don't think the wand was unbeatable.  I think it was just a very powerful one, and the children's story about it just labeled it as being so.

Another theory I have heard, is that since the wand is part of the Deathly Hallows, which are objects used to defeat death, the master of the wand can lose a duel with it, if the attacker doesn't have any intention of killing the wizard who is the master.  This would explain why Grindelwald is still alive, and Dumbledore had the wand.  It would also explain why Draco was able to defeat Dumbledore (Since it seemed like Draco wasn't going to kill him).

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Does anyone have a good understanding of how the piece of Voldemort's soul left harry, and how exactly matching up the 3 Deathly Hallows affected things?

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Spriggan has some good advice.

Realistically, for most people, there isn't too much of a difference.  I spend my day working on every kind of computer OS you've heard of, and often ones you haven't.  After a while, none are really absolutely better than any others.

It comes down to what you are doing with it.  If you are just going to surf the web, check email, play a few simple games, store pictures, etc, than it shouldn't really matter.  Both systems have more than enough to do that.  If you like using a Mac and don't see any problems with it, than stick with it.  If you want to try something new and see what all the buzz about Vista is about, then give it a shot.

Even better, for many of those things that most people use a computer for, there are plenty of free software programs that are easy to adapt to and let you do what you need to do just fine.  Many of those programs support both Windows and Mac OSes (as well as Linux).   From that standpoint, it matters even less, because you can get the programs you want to use on both of them.

If you like iPods and are thinking of getting an iPhone or apple tv at some point, than it might be good to go with a Mac (even though both will probably work fine with Windows).

It all comes down to usage.  If you like playing games, most people stick to Windows, though if you only play certain games (WoW comes to mind) than a Mac will work fine.   

All that being said, there are a reason Mac laptops are so popular.  Thus, if you are looking for something portable, and already familiar with Macs, than I would stick with those unless you have a really good reason to change.   There are a reason you see so many Mac laptops around.

Also there is overhead involved, not just buying the books but to handle orders we pay a certain percentage to pay pal for each order so we don't have to have our own shopping cart.  It's not a lot, but even at $15 a book EUOL isn't making as much as people might think (though it's still a fair amount).

If you aren't yet 100% attached to paypal, you might look at Google Checkout.

It's fairly easy to set up for websites (should be really easy with just one product like this).  It's also free to use through 2007 (no % paid from processing payment on either end), and cheaper than most alternatives after that.

According to this article in Britain that's true, 32% of people who bought Harry Potter books had no intention of reading them.

I think this statement is somewhat unclear.  From another report about the same data (http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/latest/200703111756/best-sellers_go_unread)

Just under a third (32%), of adult readers admitted they did not get to the end of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

32% of adult readers not finishing the book, and 32% of people having no intention of reading them have two totally different meanings.

I could see some people buying the Harry Potter books simply as something to sit on the shelves.  It might not happen so much in the US (Since I think there is still somewhat of a stimga associated with adults who read and enjoy these books) but in England I think it makes a lot of sense.

I could also see a lot of adult readers attempting to read the book, and not finishing it.  This would really hold true for people who bought it to see what the hype was about, and didn't read (or enjoy) the first 3.

I'd be curious in finding the original source of the information to see if it's broken down or specified further.

I know that personally, I have bought books for "decoration."  Such as buying all 6 HP hardcovers.  I already have at least one copy of the other 6, but thought it'd be nice to have a 'virgin' set that I could put on display.  I also bought a hardcover copy of Elantris that I might not read, that I simply bought after I read the paperback.

As a WoW player (addict?) I think this game is going to be great.

Even if it isn't the big killer that pulls people away from WoW, I think it should at least put some much needed pressure on Blizzard.  WoW has such a huge percentage of the player base right now.  It's almost they have a monopoly.  There are a lot of things that players want, that they aren't providing, but in all honesty, no one else is really providing those things either (with the exception of maybe 1-2 things you can find in a game or two).

For example, people in WoW have been begging for some kind of formal guild housing since even before the game was released.  At this time, it doesn't look like it's something they are going to see.  Even something as simple as a guild bank is only being planed for sometime in the distant future.  Age of Conan not only provides, that but it takes it 2 steps further.

A lot of the things Age of Conan has to offer (Guild cities, skill based combat, solo content) are things that MMORPG players have wanted for a long time.  If anything, this should at least finally put some pressure on Blizzard to bring some new things into WoW.