well, well…

1. Glider and tow plane
2. Champagne Supernova
3. Vermont
4. Paycheck
5. Red October
6. Mozzarella pesto burgers
7. Jupiter
8. Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene
9. The Gates of the Desert

gotta get it in writing before tomorrow night: my theories, and theories I agree with

1. Harry wins.  Otherwise there’s no point.
2. Remus Lupin and Neville Longbottom die.  (Oh, yeah, and Voldemort.)
   1. Neville dies doing something incredibly outrageously heroic, that allows Harry to blast Voldy.
   2. Lupin dies for the sole reason that then Harry’s ties to his parents will be limited to Snape and Petunia Dursley, and that just seems like the kind of thing Rowling likes to do.
3. Snape had an unbreakable vow with Dumbledore: If Snape could protect the fact that he is a double agent giving the Order of the Phoenix information on the Death Eaters only by killing Dumbledore, he must go through with it.
4. Voldemort orders Lucius Malfoy to do something, but Malfoy botches the job.  Voldemort kills Lucius Malfoy and turns to Draco, giving him the same order; but when it comes down to it Draco hesitates and, through inaction, allows Harry to deliver the mortal blow to Voldemort.
5. Snape gives Harry the means to destroy Voldemort.  Some piece of information, or the last horcrux, or some potion or spell.  Too bad Sirius Black isn’t around any more, ’cause if he was, I’d predict that right as Snape does that, Siruis would kill him.
6. Three possible ideas on how Voldemort eats it, in increasing order of how likely I think they are:
   1. Voldemort casts something at Harry and it reflects back at him.  (Rowling used that one already.)
   2. The second-to-last chapter ends with Harry standing over Voldemort, who is sniveling on the ground trying to be all obsequious, and Harry speaks the words “Avada Kedavra.”  That will be the only time that any of the kids uses one of the unforgivable curses.  (I don’t think any of them is really going to be able to kedavra anyone, given how nasty you supposedly have to be to cast those spells.)
   3. A third party enters the scuffle (Snape?  Draco?  Kreacher?) and (accidentally?) knocks Voldemort back to his death.  Think Gollum destroying the One Ring.
7. Harry will magically (gasp!) not act overly pubescent any more.

I amused myself while walking home by estimating the cost of the following liquids in dollars per gallon

• Gasoline: $3.10/gal (at Ithaca-area gas stations)
• Milk: $2.50/gal (at Wegmans – not far off the mark, which is actually $2.79)
• Bottled water: ~$10/gal (assuming $1 per 12-ounce bottle from a vending machine)
• Soda: ~$10/gal (ditto water)
• Coffee: ~$16/gal (assuming ~$2 per 16-ounce cup)
• Human insulin: ~$8,000/gal (assuming about five 10-mL vials are $100 — this turns out to be a gross underestimate now that I’m back in my apartment and have checked my records: the actual figure is more like $25,000/gal!)

Three Parks, Three Snakes

• Garter Snake at Taughannock
• Unidentified Snake at Ithaca Falls
• Garter Snake at Robert Treman

(Also a painted turtle, two bullfrogs, about sixteen mallard ducks, a dozen canada geese, a black-and-white dragonfly, four or so redwing blackbirds, some swallows, a groundhog, and half a bazillion fish at the Cornell Plantations.)