Ooops, "Harry Potter" reference

As if “Star Wars” weren’t enough:

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Now start with the “Harry Potter” references!

Couldn't stop laughing

I’m regularly reading the comic “Girl Genius” online (every Monday, Wednesday and Friday when a new page is up, to be more precise). Yesterday, I saw this panel

and couldn’t stop laughing for quite a while.

(For those of you who haven’t had any contact with the comic and the special dialect of the Jägers, the dialog translates like that [left to right, top to bottom]:

“I will teach him how to impress the girls.”

“I will teach him about the birds and the weasels.”

“And I will teach him how to avoid those two.”

“Ah. Then he may have a chance.”)

“He” in this case is Gilgamesh Wulfenbach (usually called ‘Gil’ by most people, though), and insanely in love with Agatha Heterodyne, the title character of the whole comic. (Insane is also a word to describe some of his moods, as he’s a spark [a mad scientist] - like Agatha herself. )

Currently, I even use a phrase of his from the comic as my signature for the forum I regularly post at:

“If being like YOU is the alternative - I’ll GLADLY take evil.”

(Gil’s father Klaus - who currently is basically out of the picture after a carousel fell on him [don’t ask...] - is the bad guy of the story, sort of.)

What I like most about the comic, though, is the good story and the humour. And I like that phrase, as it describes me and my mindset (when faced with certain fundamental-thinking people) so well.

Just thinking

The Apple “iphone” reminds me of a novel I read years ago (while I was still at school): “Phule’s Company” by Robert Asprin (I’ve already written a post about his “MYTH” novels). The books of the “Phule’s”-series are his tribute to science fiction, one could say.

Now, I hardly will own an “iphone” in the near future (not before I make my first million or so with my novels, that is) - and, honestly, I don’t need one, I use my own cell sparsely, if ever. I’m no businesswoman, neither am I another person who needs to basically carry her whole office around. I’m just a simple office worker, nothing more.

But the “iphone” (or, rather, the advertising for it which I saw) reminded me of how much our technical possibilities have changed over the years. When Asprin wrote the “Phule’s” novels (at least two of the three I’ve read), the idea of a small device, not bigger than a paperback novel (Apple’s new phone is even smaller) that can hold your notes, get you online wherever you are (well, if it’s somewhere with a connection to the cell network, of course), serve as a phone, get your emails and so on, was real Science Fiction. Nobody would have expected such a device to be (almost) affordable for everyone (wait a few more years and you’ll have to walk past a mobile shop quickly to avoid “iphones” being thrown at you). The commander of a squadron of space legionaries (like French Foreign Legion, just with less sand and more space) owns such a thing - but then, he’s a millionaire.

But then, some years ago, nobody expected almost everyone to be able to afford a cell phone. And nobody would have thought the internet would become such a big thing, when it was invented as a means for scientists to work together. Computers you can buy in a shop today do things that were next to impossible for the huge main frame computers twenty or so years ago. It’s really amazing, when you think about it.

I can still remember my first computer, a simple one, starting up with a disc (though it was 3.5” already).

One of the first games I played on it, by the way, was “Pirates!” (and I never got anywhere, I just couldn’t navigate ... so Captain Jack Sparrow and Captain Hector Barbossa are safe from me, I guess). By now I’d say the graphics were dreadful ... but then, for that time they were quite okay. I even managed the fencing part, but the navigation always got the better of me - which is quite bad, if you’re trying to actually board ships and later on sell the loot ... hard to sell anyone anything, if you can’t find a harbour. (Kate is so going to laugh about that...)

And I remember installing the first “Discworld” game (still one of the best for me, although I like “Discworld Noir” more) from 20(!) floppy disks (took ages).

The third computer I had was the first with a CD-drive. By then, games on CD were quite the rule. (But I’m not going to tell you how abysmal I was behind the controls of an X-wing.)

And now? I’ve got two DVD-drives (one for burning and reading, one for reading only), two hard disks (which are far bigger than the first one I had), a 3D-graphics card, a CPU that’s faster than everyone would have thought possible when I bought my first computer. I won’t even mention the masses of RAM... (Or “Windows”, but for other reasons entirely.)

Technical means have evolved a lot during the last twenty years or so, that much is for sure. And that was what I thought about after that “iphone” advertising.

It goes on and on and on...

Kate blames not that kind of raven ... and I blame Kate:

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I was guessing I’d be worth half that amount ... or less.

Truth of life

It’s not just the kitten on Ebay ...

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... which does look different than the pictures.

I bet he likes it

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On the other hand, why not sleep with the fishes?

Been Tagged...

Well, you don’t go online for one day and strange things happen to you. As Kate tagged me - and it’s been some time since the last meme - here we go:

I give you money and send you into the grocery store to pick up 5 items. You can only pick one thing from the following departments, what is it?

1. Produce: tomatoes

2. Bakery: cookies

3. Meat: steak

4. Frozen: pizza

5. Dry goods: tea

Let's say we're heading out for a weekend getaway. You're only allowed to bring 3 articles of clothing with you. So, what's in your bag?

1. t-shirt

2. short pants

3. swimming suit (let’s just hope we’re not going to Antarctica)

If I was to listen in on one of your conversations throughout the day, what 4 phrases or words would I be most likely to hear?

1. Mr. H.’s number has changed, try the ...

2. There’s another box missing here.

3. Wasn’t it half past ten ages ago?

4. Okay.

So, what 4 things do you find yourself doing every single day, and if you didn't get to do, you probably wouldn't be in the best mood?

1. Do a quick check of my favourite websites.

2. Spent some time writing.

3. Get about 7 hours of sleep (at least - the more, the better).

4. Brush teeth.

You're driving down the road, and suddenly you're hit with this sense of road rage. What 3 factors probably contributed to it?

1. Senseless overhauling (just before you have to stop at a traffic light anyway).

2. People misjudging the speed of my car and pulling over way too soon.

3. Slow trucks with insecure load.

Sweet, you just scored a whole afternoon to yourself. We're talking a 3 hour block with nobody around. What 5 activities might we find you doing?

1. Reading a good book

2. Going for a walk

3. Playing computer games

4. Listening so some good music

5. Watching a good movie on DVD (or two)

We're going to the zoo. But, it looks like it could start storming, so it'll have to be a quick visit. What 3 exhibits do we have to get to?

1. Fish (sharks or piranhas for preference)

2. Wolves

3. Spiders (or other venomous insects)

You just scored tickets to the taping of any show that comes on T.V. of your choice. You can pick 4, so what are you going to see?

(As I live in Germany, my choices might be a bit outdated.)

1. Smallville

2. quer (a German political magazine)

3. Navy CIS

4. The 70s Show

You're hungry for ice cream. I'll give you a triple dipper ice cream cone. What 3 flavours can I pile on for ya?

1. Chocolate

2. Banana

3. Lemon

Somebody stole your purse/wallet…in order to get it back, you have to name 5 things you know are inside to claim it. So, what's in there?

1. Fluffy cow key ring

2. Yellow promotional ball pen (“Norton Antivirus”)

3. Red promotional cloth shopping bag (“Central Apotheke”)

4. Red and violet purse with a small devil in the lower right corner

5. Foldable red umbrella

You are at a job fair, and asked in what areas you are interested in pursuing a career. Let's pretend you have every talent and ability to be whatever you wanted, so what 4 careers would be fun for you?

1. Marine Biologist

2. Police (or Private) Investigator

3. Journalist

4. Parapsychologist (or Ghost Hunter)

If you could go back and talk to the old you, when you were in high school, and inform yourself of 4 things, what would you say?

1. Permanent records aren’t permanent, whatever they say - so have fun!

2. If they don’t like you the way you are, they aren’t worth spending time with.

3. Computer science and psychology will come in handy.

4. You have more talents than you think, trust the future.

I tag:

Basically everyone who reads this ... okay, you’ve been tagged!