Know your target and what is beyond...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/08/06/boy.killed.ap/index.html

NOBLE, Oklahoma (AP) -- A police officer shooting at a snake apparently killed a 5-year-old boy who was fishing at a nearby pond, officials said.

Austin Haley was fishing with his grandfather, Jack Tracy, when Tracy said he heard a shot and saw something hit the water just a few feet in front of the boat dock where he was standing.

Moments later, a second shot hit Austin in the head.

A Noble police officer who had responded to a report of a snake in a tree apparently fired the deadly shot while trying to kill the snake on Friday, City Manager Bob Wade said.

"I was told that they tried several ways to get the snake down, but it was still hissing at them and firmly lodged," Wade said. "What I was told is that the owner of the home either suggested or agreed that they should go ahead and shoot the snake, and then everything happened from there."

Tracy thought someone must be trying to kill him and his grandson, so he put the child on the back of a 4-wheeler and drove to his daughter's house about 200 yards away.

"Then two officers came out of the brush over there," he told The Oklahoman. "They didn't tell us they were the ones who had been shooting or that they had shot him. They didn't admit a doggone thing."

The boy was pronounced dead at an Oklahoma City hospital, about 25 miles north of Noble.

Wade refused to identify the officer but said the person had been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.

"This is so bizarre it has to be fully investigated," he said. "We're pretty sure circumstantially that it is the bullet from the police officer's gun, but it might be a bullet from someone else."

Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown said a state investigation was under way, though it appeared the fatal shot had been fired by the officer.

Tracy has little doubt. "I'm not saying the cop shot him on purpose," he said. "But let me tell you -- if I had a kid and put him in this car and didn't put him in a car seat and he got killed on the way to town, they'd charge me with murder ... and what this cop did is a lot worse than that."

This could have been completely avoided if the officer followed one of the basic safety rules... Know your target and what is beyond

What the hell?

Done!

Finished HP 7 about 10 minutes ago. Excellent read! Still gathering my thoughts for a later post.

Side Note: At the HP Party at Barnes & Noble there was a flier in the bag they handed out that read...

"3,440 pages read, only 784 more to go!"

That was incorrect. The official page count for the US Hardcover is 759

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone had 309 pages and the audiobook was 8h 17m 25s long
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets had 341 pages and the audiobook was 9h 1m 53s long
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban had 435 pages and the audiobook was 11h 48m long
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire had 734 pages and the audiobook was 20h 36m 13s long
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix had 870 pages and the audiobook was 26h 29m 19s long
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had 652 pages and the audiobook was 18h 33m 9s long
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows had 759 pages and the audiobook was 21h 38m 25s long

Bringing the entire saga to 4,100 pages and 116h 24m 24s of audio. Or as iTunes likes to put it... 4.8 days of audio.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling

Publisher Summary:

It all comes down to this - a final faceoff between good and evil. You plan to pull out all the stops, but every time you solve one mystery, three more evolve. Do you stay the course you started, despite your lack of progress? Do you detour and follow a new lead that may not help? Do you listen to your instincts, or your friends?

Lord Voldemort is preparing for battle and so must Harry. With Ron and Hermione at his side, he's trying to hunt down Voldemort's Horcruxes, escape danger at every turn, and find a way to defeat evil once and for all. How does it all end? Find out in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Simply put... This book rocked my world!

Author: J.K. Rowling
Narrator: Jim Dale
Running Time: 21h 38m
Book Rating: *****
Production: *****
(out of 5 stars)

Audiobook
Hard Cover

My brief thoughts before HP 7....

I'm not going to be on the internet tomorrow... in fact after tonight I won't be back online until AFTER I finish Harry Potter 7 which I expect to finish on Sunday.

I'm cutting myself off from the world. No Internet, No TV, No phone, No radio, for the most part, no wife, no kids.

The book has already been online for a few days in one form (digital pics) or another (scanned in OCR).

I've resisted any temptation in downloading these, even though oddly enough, CNN provided links to both in an article yesterday.

It has been my contention for years now that this will be the most spoiled book release in history. If some of things that happened at the HP6 launch are any indicators, odds are you will be spoiled by Monday morning if you don't finish the book by Sunday night.

That's ain't gonna happen to me! I was SUPER close from having major events in book 6 spoiled. I've been waiting for 7 years for this book and I'm going to do whatever I can to limit the possibility of being spoiled.

Here's the plan. Tomorrow morning I'm driving to my local Barnes & Noble to get in line for the wristband that will guarantee me a copy of the book... but more importantly, one of the audiobooks on CD. (I will be able to pick up the book anywhere... even some gas stations!) but there are FAR less audiobooks printed and my local B&N will have less than 50 copies on Friday night.

After that I will head to work. Once the struggle of being at work without surfing the web has ended, I will head home, pick up my kids, grab a bite to eat and then head back to Barnes and Noble a bit early for the Midnight Magic Party.

I will most likely have a VERY low wristband number so I will be able to get out of there around 12:05-12:10am I imagine.

After that I will head home, import a couple of the CDs and depending on how I feel, start the first few chapters. If I'm too tired, I will begin when I'm all fresh and awake on Saturday morning.

Craig's meager predictions... (Don't read anymore if you haven't read 1-6)
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Spoilers from books 1 - 6 below.
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I fully expect this book to absolutely excellent and I'm greatly looking forward to Voldemort getting his ass kicked!

I'm also hoping that none of the trio (+ Ginny) die but I suspect that Ron may.

I expect Grawp will play some important part (get the Giants to stand with them?) in 7 since he's been pretty worthless since his introduction in book 5.

I can see by the end of book 7 that Draco and Harry will be fighting on the same side.

Snape is good and killed Dumbledore on Dumbledore's orders because having someone on the inside of Voldemort's circle was more important than Dumbledore living. And if Snape didn't help Draco finish his plan, he would have died due to the unbreakable vow.

Won't happen but I'd like to see Umbridge die.

I'm looking very forward to the wedding.

School WILL be in session at Hogwarts.

Wormtail will repay his life debt to Harry.

Let's see how I do.

Harry Potter Audiobook Samples

Wonder what all the fuss is about? Check out a few of these samples!

Harry Potter Audiobook Samples

Wonder what all the fuss is about? Check out a few of these samples!

Breaking News: All Online Data Lost After Internet Crash

FUNNY STUFF!!

Wow! This is seriously disturbing!

That hurts! :)

"Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

Publisher Summary:

The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.

And yet . . .

As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate – and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.

So it’s the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort – and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

A wonderful ride. A pleasure to spend 18 1/2 hours with Jim Dale on the mundane commute. If you're not into Harry Potter, I feel sorry for you since events in this book and in book 7 will likely be spoiled for you before you even pick up book 1.

Author: J.K. Rowling
Narrator: Jim Dale
Running Time: 18 hours 33 min.
Book Rating: *****
Production: *****
(out of 5 stars)

Audiobook
Hard Cover