6/21    Potter mania!!!!  arrrrrgggggg!!!! go nuts!!!!
        \_ Why?  I don't get it.  The HP books are no different than a million
           other kid's books.  They're imaginative and decently written but
           still repetitive in a way kids like but adults can get through
           them.  This is in no way unique to the HP series.  I'm baffled to
           see the bookstores last night packed with mothers with fake scars
           on the heads (often on the wrong side) wearing black hats. --baffled
           on their heads, often on the wrong side wearing black hats. -baffled
           \_ People are sheep.  Clear?
           \_ Actually, I'd say they were mediocre knockoffs.  YMMV.
           \_ I remember a similar craze over the E. Nesbit books.  Seems that
              \_ Ok, they're mediocre knockoffs.  That's fine.  I'm still
              I am unbelieavably old.  Seems that
                 baffled.  --still baffled
           \_ I remember a similar craze over the Narnia books.
              I am unbelievably old.  Seems that
              every 1.5 decades the little kids want to be led a dancing
              and a skipping out of Hamilton through fantasy.  This is
              the same bunch of kids who worshipped barney a few years back,
              remember?
              \_ This is much more dangerous than Barney because it is older
                 kids... I'm telling you, we're about to raise a whole new
                 generation of uberdorks!
                 \_ yeah, if things really go awry, these dorks might end
                    up growing up to spend time on their weekends flaming
                    other computer science geeks on some stupid text file.
                    i shudder at the thought.
                    \_ generation upon degeneration.
                 \_ Dude, the current generation is so much more dork-
                    friendly than my generation that I feel like a grumpy
                    old geek just talking about it.
                    \_ 1) You are a grumpy old geek.  2) The current generation
                       isn't any more friendly.  You're older so they assume
                       you'll have more money to spend on them than some
                       freshman (hopefully a true statement about your
                       financial status) and *that* is *always* attractive to
                       any woman of any age.  They don't give a shit what
                       you're talking about as long as the next round is on
                       your tab and there's a free dinner involved.  As a geek,
                       you're not going to insist they put out afterwards,
                       either.  It's super win-win for them.  Now go out there
                       with wallet in hand and get laid for the first time in
                       your grumpy old geek life!  The older you are, the
                       easier it is to nail all those super hot 18-24 year olds
                       that wouldn't give you time of day when you were young.
                        \__ what the fuck are you talking about?
                       \_ Um.  Actually, I was talking about how the current
                          generation of _kids_ was much more dork-friendly,
                          as evidenced by the incredible popularity of
                          various card games, computer games, console games,
                          and anime.  As a married grumpy old geek, I have
                          no idea how receptive the current legal-age
                          generation is to advances from grumpy older geeks
                          like myself, and, yes, I count my lucky stars.