[the_old_crowd] Dumbledad's Introduction OT

[Randy Estes]

Hi Tim,

I see some parallels in our lives.  I also read Harry
Potter books aloud to my sons in various dialects. 
Our oldest son is Brian (10) followed by Steven (7)
and Matthew (4).

I worked in Massachusetts for 2 years and posted alot
as a release from work and other stress back in 2000. 
We have since moved back to Florida and I came without
a job in hand, but I have since found one and been
happy working for 9 months.

Due to my wife's involvement in Nimbus 2003 and the
close proximity of our home to Orlando, we have
custody of some of the Harry Potter group items for
the year.  We hope to play Quidditch with the kids
outside with the equipment used at Nimbus 2003. 
Unfortunately, I missed seeing the match and will have
to make up some of the rules unless someone else can
fill me in.  I plan to invite several of Brian's
friends over for a game next week.

Welcome to the group.  If your wife gets too involved
in the planning for the next Nimbus conference, you
may get an invitation to join SPEW (Spouses of Potter
Entranced Women), a self help group we are starting at
the suggestion of Heidi's husband.  Perhaps will plan
a retreat during the next Nimbus conference.

Randy  
aka (Red Eye Randy)



--- Tim Regan <tim_regan82 at ...> wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> Wow, how exciting  an invitation to join a secret
> society. That 
> doesn't happen every day. Do we have a special
> handshake? I've 
> rolled up one trouser leg in preparation for my
> first post. Here 
> goes ...
> 
> ***Name:
> Tim Regan
> 
> ***Nicknames/IDs:
> Kropotkin or Bakunin (on AlphaWorld, OnLive,
> CommunityPlace etc)
> fourthirtythree (on the Zone)
> Darth Timmy (on xbox Live)
> tim_regan82 (on hotmail and messenger)
> 11720668 (on ICQ)
> dumbledad (on yahoo, nntp, plus anything else
> recent)
> 
> ***Age & Birthday:
> Born September 27 1965, so I'm 37. A nurse at a
> blood donor session 
> whose birthday was the end of September told me that
> she saw more 
> people born then than she would expect. When I
> pointed out that it's 
> nine months after Christmas, she blushed.
> 
> ***Family:
> I started dating Kate (my wife) when I was 17. We
> have two kids 
> (Megan was born in February 1993 and William on
> Christmas Day 1994). 
> They are all HP fans. My Mum and Dad were teachers
> but are now 
> retired. My brother and sister live in London. My
> sister-in-law and 
> her family are HP fans too. 
> 
> ***Homes, Education, & Jobs
> I grew up in Essex. Moved to Yorkshire for my first
> degree in Maths. 
> Then off to Sussex for a terrible year as an
> accountant (but the 
> people were fun). Stayed in Sussex for my doctorate
> in Theoretical 
> Computer Science and then moved to Suffolk to work
> in British 
> Telecom's research labs. I moved to the Seattle area
> to work for 
> Microsoft Research in December 2000. Most of my
> research has been on 
> social software. Now (well on August 7) we fly back
> home to England. 
> I've no job lined up and feel alternately brave /
> wise / foolish / 
> scared depending what mood I am in. I guess
> Woodbridge in Suffolk is 
> where I've felt most at home as an adult.
> 
> ***Other things we might want to know about you:
> Ovo-lacto-vegetarian; raised a Quaker but left in
> 1994 to live more 
> honestly as an atheist; left wing but affected by
> Thatcher and a 
> childhood belief in anarchism. 
> 
> ***Posting habits:
> Very spasmodic. If I'm snowed under at work, with
> important 
> deadlines looming, I tend to start posting a lot as
> an avoidance 
> tactic! My first posts are: HPFGU 23 April 2002
> #38069, HPFGU-
> OTChatter 15 July 2002 #11325, and
> alt.fan.harry-potter 23 Jan 2002. 
> I feel an imposter here  but thanks for the invite
> :-)
> 
> ***First contact with Harry Potter:
> Just after PoA came out a Scottish uncle of mine,
> who lives in 
> Edinburgh, bought my kids the first three books.
> Megan read the 
> first at school and at home and started the second
> (I don't think 
> she finished). Then the film came out and we all
> went to see it. I 
> was amazed at how good the story was so read the
> books to myself and 
> as bedtime reading for the kids. I love reading them
> aloud to the 
> kids, though I wish I was better at some of the
> accents (my Hagrid 
> accent drifts worryingly towards Pakistan via Wales)
> and I wish I 
> hadn't chosen so many raspy voices. Sections with
> Dobby, Sirius, or 
> Mad-Eye in leave me horse! My Dumbledore and Snape
> voice are stolen 
> from the film. The kids really love my Trelawney
> voice and my Dobby 
> voice. Meg recons I'm better than Stephen Fry and
> Jim Dale :-)
> 
> ***Favourite Potter things:
> I like PoA best. Then there are great things about
> PS, GoF, and OoP 
> so I cannot choose between them. Although I love CoS
> too, it's my 
> least favourite. Even though the films are pale
> reflections I 
> enjoyed them. I preferred the first. I have great
> hopes for Cuaron. 
> My other favourite Potter things are HPfGU,
> HPfGU-OTC, a Dumbledad 
> beard made for me by Kate, some pensieves I did as a
> craft project 
> with the kids, and some chopsticks we use as wands
> when dressing up.
> 
> ***Other interests/activities:
> Running, cycling, swimming, cooking, hiking with our
> dog, camping, 
> 
> ***Current/recent reading:
> Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" graphic novels, Dicken's
> "Great 
> Expectations", Neil Astley's poetry anthology
> "Staying Alive", plus 
> some work stuff: "The Myth of the Paperless Office" 
> and "ActionScript for Flash MX: The Definitive
> Guide".
> 
> ***Current/recent listening:
> Britten's opera "Gloriana", Fatboy Slim's "Halfway
> between the 
> gutter and the stars", Robbie Williams "Escapology",
> a Gong 
> compilation CD, "Late Junction" on BBC Radio 3, and
> "Critical List" 
> on BBC Radio 2.
> 
> ***Current/recent viewing:
> Tour de France. Favourite TV ever was GBH starring
> Robert Lindsay, 
> and the Clangers. Favourite recent film was "Frida".
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Dumbledad.
> 
> 
> 


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