582nd Friday Blog Roundup

Mental Floss posted the exchange rate between Muggle money and magical money, giving us insight into the cost of various items in the magical world.  1 galleon is about $25, which means a sickle is $1.50 and a knut is 5 cents.  I don’t know, I sort of feel like the magical world would have a few more denominations between $25 and $1.50, nu?

Harry’s wand cost $175, which is far less than what we pay for our phones.  How are these two objects equivalent?  I don’t know.  But considering how much they use their wands and we use our phones, I thought it would be a comparable price.  On the other hand, he spend $250 on a pair of omnioculars.  That doesn’t sound quite right.  A pair of omniculars costs more than a wand with a phoenix feather core?

And Mr. Weasley got a $1250 fine for his flying car?  That seems awfully steep even in the scope of Muggles finding out about magic.  And the book Advance Potion Making is $225?  More than a wand?  A wand with a phoenix feather?  And that phoenix only gave one other feather?

Magic folk may want to rethink their pricing.

*******

Stop procrastinating.  Go make your backups.  Don’t have regrets.

Seriously.  Stop what you’re doing for a moment.  It will take you fifteen minutes, tops.  But you will have peace of mind for days and days.  It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments in order to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

But first, second helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week.  In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “MicroblogMonday: He Stayed” (Our Wish)
• “Of Potatoes and Miscarriages” (I Pick Up Pennies)
• “I Will Grieve” (Infertilityhonesty)

Okay, now my choices this week.

Family Rocks has a raw, moving post that will make your heart ache.  She explains about her relationship: “He’s still the perfect package to me.  The package is a bit beat up.  Marred by resentments, hurts, family stress, breakages of trust and pain.”  You can hear the love and the pain in every word in this post.

It has been three years since Bio Girl lost her sister.  She wrote a line so perfect that I stared at it for a full minute: “As with all things I guess, the grief over these last three years has gotten easier. Not because I miss her less, but because I have grown more accustom to the missing.”  Go hold her in your heart as she remembers her sister this week.

Lastly, Lavender Luz calls for a better discussion to introduce people to the intricacies of adoption.  She writes about a hospital-based program trying to change the conversation and better prepare and support all members of the triad.  She links to a podcast about the program, too.

The roundup to the Roundup: Magical to Muggle exchange rate.  Your weekly backup nudge.  And lots of great posts to read.  So what did you find this week?  Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between February 5th and 12th) and not the blog’s main url. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week?  Read the original open thread post here.