Question:
If I were in Hawaii and dropped a bowling ball in a bucket of water which is 45 degrees F, and dropped another ball of the same weight, mass,and size in a bucket at 30 degrees F, both of them at the same time, which ball would hit the bottom of the bucket first? Same question, but the location is in Canada?

Answer:
Both questions, same answer: the ball in the bucketof 45 degree F water hits the bottom of the bucket last. Did you think that the water in the 30 degree F bucket is frozen?

The question said nothing about that bucket having anything in it. Therefore, there is no water (or ice) to slow the ball down

my two part question is:
!. mr mike can we please go to cedar point with you with the wheelchair/walker/crutches so that we can skip the lines and go up the exit ramps? i will be there memorial day weekend, july 20-23, and probably mid september. i promise that i will buy your ticket and food all day.
2. do you trust snape? am i foolish for trusting him?
love noel

So, I asked Marek for ideas last night and his response was "I don't know I can't even make a grocery list".
Therefore, my silly question is: What would be on your grocery list?
I hope this stirs some type of interesting dialogue even though it has nothing to do with bowlig balls or roller coasters.
love court
oh -- and i don't trust snape at all

I trust Snape, even though there are sooo many reasons to not. I would love to know Mike's feelings on this, though!

Hi Erin - Good idea. I have a quiz that my daughter sent me that about drove Tom and I crazy. Mikes a smart guy so I'm interested to see how he does.

You have to work out what the letters mean. See No 0 as an example.
According to MENSA, if you get 19 + of these, you are a "genius".
Only 2 MENSA members achieved full marks. See how well you do.

Scoring:1 to 5 is Average, 6 - 11 Somewhat Intelligent, 12 to 18 Intelligent, 19 + Genius

No. Cryptic Answer
0 24 H in a D
( 24 hours in a day)

1 26 L of the A
2 7 D of the W
3 7 W of the W
4 12 S of the Z
5 66 B of the B
6 52 C in a P (WJs)
7 13 S in the USF
8 18 H on a G C
9 39 B of the O T
10 5 T on a F
11 90 D in a R A
12 3 B M (S H T R)
13 32 is the T in D F at which W F
14 15 P in a R T
15 3 W on a T
16 100 C in a R
17 11 P in a F (S) T
18 12 M in a Y
19 13=UFS
20 8 T on a O
21 29 D in F in a L Y
22 27 B in the N T
23 365 D in a Y
24 13 L in a B D
25 52 W in a Y
26 9 L of a C
27 60 M in a H
28 23 P of C in the H B
29 64 S on a C B
30 9 P in S A
31 6 B to an O in C
32 1000 Y in a M
33 15 M on a D M C

YOU SCORED

Question for Mike:
Of all the magic spells in Harry Potter, which one do you wish you could do?

Bonus question; what do these letters mean:

OTTFFSS

For those that can't wait for Mike's guesses, here (http://www.chesskit.com/mis...) are the answers to the Mensa quiz Bessie posted.

Thanks, Bessie!

I tried the Quiz and got about 15 of the G D A. I don't know the other F 18.

The question: Nik and I have #3 due any day. The Explorer only holds 2. Is it better to buy a 2003 Honda Odessy with 50K mi for $16,000 or any GM 2005 MiniVan with 20K mi for the same price?

BTW: Answer to the bonus question: Order Their Tea For Furry Slipper Shoes.

Oh yeah, Haaserpalooza, the North Shore's premiere family reunion, will be broadcast live in HD on ESPN Reunion Dos this year thanks to our new sponsor Ciudad Nacional. Darme el dinero!

Jason:

I made Dad read the question himself, twice. The first time, he added the "in water" while he was reading. The second time he did leave the words out, but was still stuck in the water rut (and so said first bucket first because the other was frozen). He went and read the answer before I could pick on him about it.

Court:

Dad had one item that popped right up: good deodorant.

Nole:

Dad digs the Cedar Point idea.. he thinks September will be best. He'll be looking for interesting things to do..

Bessie:

This ended up being a group effort, as Gram & Aunt Phyl showed up. Collectively, we got quite a few (25). Aunt Phyl rocked the house... but she's a word-game whiz, so I'd expect nothing less.

I should add though that the more obscure ones were pretty well spread out amongst the four of us..

Eric:

Dad got a kick out of your comment. He also did not hesitate in saying, "get the Honda." I have to say that I remember the Honda doing better in the latest CR buying guide, too - but I don't think it was the total blowout it usually is.

Harry Potter Questions:

Jim:

Dad didn't have to think about this one at all: skelegrow.

The Snape Discussion:

Dad cautiously trusts Snape, in that he thinks that Snape is anti-Voldemort, and is a good guy with flaws..

We did have a lot of discussion, Dad has this theory: In the argument Hagrid overheard, Snape said that Dumbledore was asking too much of him. Dad thinks that Dumbledore wanted to pass certain protections to Harry (just as Lily did with her death), and so asked Snape to kill him in those circumstances.

Dad also repeatedly notes that even as Harry is chasing them (Snape and Malfoy) across the lawn, Snape is coaching Harry on how to face Voldemort: you will not be his equal until you can keep your mind and your mouth shut!

Dad thinks it ultimately will come down to who is better at occlumency and legilimency to figure out who is tricking whom.
Dad finds Dumbledore's comment to Malfoy (that he and his family can be hidden so that Voldemort can never find them, and may even think them dead) significant, as it may mean that others presumed dead are, in fact, hidden (not Dumbledore, but perhaps Ollivander and Fortescue).

There are some interesting theories about what's coming in book 7 on some of the larger fan websites, like http://www.the-leaky-cauldr... and http://www.mugglenet.com/. JK Rowling's site also does a good job of debunking some of the rumors: http://www.jkrowling.com/

Bessie: A big hit!! I got 23 without any help!!

Mike, Thanks for the skinny on the Honda. We ended up with a 2004 Odessey. Funny thing, on the way home I was stopped by a one eyed police officer after zoning out to some strange music and ended up axle deep in water before getting back to my wife (that's for the Homer fans(not Homer Simpson)). Thanks, see you soon!