Three things coming to mind on listening to Half-Blood Prince

(Hey, it's better than listening to the news, right?)

• If Slugworth taught Snape, Lily and the Marauders Potions; and Snape's an unparallelled (as far as we know) Potions genius, especially as evinced by his student-era notes... why doesn't Slughorn speak more of how brilliant he was?  Certainly, there's to be some comparisons between a student and her son, but Snape's the one who went on to make Potions a career....
  


• Ron's watch that he received from his parents for his majority has stars in place of hands; we've seen Time Turners, for one, and we know that a simple locket's going to be a major player next book.  Is there something special about this watch?  Is it being waved before us the way we had 'oak-aged mead' whapped over our heads when Dumbledore visited the Dursleys'?
  


• I just noticed - aren't all Dumbledore's appointment notes to Harry being delivered by, and only by, members of 'Dumbledore's Army'?

Grocery store pride

I'd like to point out that according to the signs in the Monarch Lakes Publix (near my work) over $900K of that relief money has been raised by the Miami Division alone.

Publix Assists in Hurricane Katrina Relief Efforts

LAKELAND, Fla., Sept. 8, 2005 - In just four days, Publix customers and associates helped raise more than $1.8 million for the American Red Cross to assist in relief efforts for the areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina and victims of other disasters.

"Our associates and customers have always shown generosity towards those affected by tragedy. Our neighbors in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi need our help," said Director of Media and Community Relations Maria Brous. "We are humbled by the outpouring of support our customers continue to show for communities in need. As a company, Publix will continue to assess ways in which we can assist with relief efforts. We are currently working with the State of Florida to deliver trailers of donated water to the affected areas."

Publix established the fund Aug. 31 to offer its customers and associates a way to directly help those areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. Customers are able to donate any amount they choose by adding it to their grocery totals when checking out at Publix registers. The program will continue for a few weeks, based on customer response.

In a separate donation to The Salvation Army, Publix Super Markets Charities gave $250,000 to relief efforts for the areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina.

(The other three divisions are Atlanta, Lakeland (where HQ is) and Jacksonville.)