Prof. Missa Matz

Bumping this again since the deadline is getting really close!

Bumping this again since the deadline is getting really close!

Bumping this.

Every October Gryffindor holds our annual Gryfftoberfest, where we basically spend the entire month doing tasks and challenges and driving other houses crazy while we spam insanely about how much we LOVE Gryffindor. (Please, no actually spamming.) To start the month we begin with our Motto Contest, and then the avatar and signature contests after we've selected a motto. Look below to submit your information! Gryfftoberfest Motto Contest! It's that lovely time of the year again. October! Which means, it's time to start breaking out those cases of butterbeer and other assorted goodies, and get ready to start the party for GRYFFTOBERFEST! As always, we start the party off with our fantabulous Gryffindor Motto Contest! Some of our previous mottos were: "Normal Doesn't Appy To Us" "You have to be mad to survive" "Gryffindor - So Insane We Broke The Padded Walls" "Insanity Is Our Logic" "Gryfftoberfest - ereh sevil ytinasni" And last years winner: "The voices in our heads agree - we're not crazy!" So, interested in coming up with some mottos? They earn you... BEANS, the coveted currency of HOL, and of course, if you WIN, you get the privilige of seeing YOUR motto litter the halls of Gryffindor and HOL. Also, the top 3 motto-creaters will get a shiny Gryfftoberfest award they can show off around the Common Room. And of course, following the motto contest, is the GRAPHICS portion of this two-parter. Of course, we gotta have a motto FIRST. Beans. - 5 beans per entry (3 entries maximum count for beans, but you can submit more) - 10 additional beans for 3rd place - 15 additional beans for 2nd place - 20 additional beans for 1st place Rules: - Mottos should be fairly short and to the point, so no more than 15 words long. - All students, prefects/JPs (den or SPD), and professors may take part in this contest! I know staff members like beans, too. - You may submit as many mottos as you want, but only the first 3 will count for participation. All beyond 3 will still be included in voting. - Mottos need to be of appropriate rating. Nothing obscene or offensive. -Mottos should be submitted in a single email (no flood of owls every time you think of a new brilliant motto) to spd@gryff.net with the subject line "Motto - HOL Name - HOL ID" minus the quotations. Please fill in HOL Name and HOL ID with your own name and ID. If you absolutely need to, a second email with additional mottos may be submitted. But please, no more than 2 total emails. The deadline to submit your mottos is September 28th at 11:59 pm HOL Time! That isn't really very long from now, so you better get started! Just think of the BEANS!

The Gryffindor Staff would like to welcome the following people into JPism. They'll have to work hard and due to their promotion they may have to switch dens, but give them all a round of applause. Laurie Lovegood Aurora Lestrange Guinevere Avalon Patrick James

I may or may not get a few things this week done. I'm hoping to. However I start school in like 3 hours and I don't know what my time frame will be. So. Word up and do your best if I can't respond to you all in a timely manner.

Applications for this term have now closed. We will be notifying those selected within the week.

Bumping this up since we have not received any applications so far!

Completely, and EASILY stolen from the last JP application. Hopefully we can get good entries and people don't die out into nothingness as they seem to have a penchant for. JOIN THE GRYFF STAFF!! With a new school term beginning soon, the Gryffindor staff is working hard to keep the house shiny and organized while planning fun and exciting activities for all the students. We are pleased to announce that once again we are looking to add a few new Junior Prefects to the staff! So if you have creativity, enthusiasm, dedication, and/or a good work ethic, keep reading for more information! What is a Junior Prefect, and what do they do? Junior Prefects are Gryffindor House's prefects in training. It is our goal to ease you into the responsibilities associated with being a full-fledged Prefect. As a Junior Prefect, you will be a member of the Gryffindor staff and help contribute ideas to discussions, help plan and organize activities and clubs, be responsible for answering questions or relaying information to and from students, and in general just being an active and enthusiastic member of Gryffindor. You will, of course, have experienced Prefects and older Junior Prefects around to help you learn the ropes. :) What do I need to do to be a Junior Prefect? To qualify to send in an application you must satisfy the following conditions: Must have been active at HOL at least 1 full term (meaning, at least the most recent Fall term). You must have earned at LEAST two quills in the last term (Fall term) in order to apply. Be aware that as a Junior Prefect, you have no prefect rights in HOL. You do not receive those until you become a full prefect. Must be willing to achieve the following this year (this is part of our current prefect contract): If you think you can handle this and meet the above qualifications (and yes, we will check) then please answer the following questions to the best of your abilities. When you are done, send the application in a PM to Prof. Missa Matz by February 15th, 2013.. (But don't wait until the last minute!) They will then be reviewed by Jenny and Missa before a final decision is made. So aside from that, if you have questions, definitely ask! QUESTION SECTION Answer these to the best of your ability. Being able to do so is definitely part of the requirement. You don't have to be proficient at English or anything, you just need to be able to communicate and SHOW that you know how to with others. 1. Name: 2. Year: 3. Why do you want to become a Junior Prefect? 4. What makes you a good candidate for the Junior Prefect position? (Your Qualities/Traits, Prior Leadership Experience, What You Can Contribute, etc. Anything you can tell us to help aid our decision.) 5. Do you prefer to work on a team or individually? How do you think that will help you as a staff member? 6. If a situation arises where you disagree with the general consensus in a discussion, would you post your concerns, knowing that it may be rejected or possibly slow down the project, or would you keep your comments to yourself? 7. On a similar note, how would you resolve a conflict with another staff member, either in Gryffindor or another house, that you did not get along with? 8. We would like you to please create a monthly den challenge or house activity and then tell us about it. (For example, but certainly not limited to: What is it about? What is required? Why did you choose it? Etc.) 9. Dealing with new students is one of the many jobs of a junior prefect. If you received the following message, what response would you give them? 10. Are there any areas of Gryffindor in particular you would like to help with? Please note what your preference is, but also realize that based on needs you may not get put there. 11. Being on the Gryffindor staff means added expectations and time commitments. Are you confident you will be able to take on these responsibilities? 12. Is there anything else that you might like to add? A touch about yourself and your character, a fun story, a word or phrase, or nothing?

All Gryfftoberfest beans have been awarded! Don't spend them all in one place.

So like don't take this the wrong way or anything people who I lovingly owe beans to. I have been pretty busy, so I apologize for the delay in sending them to you. I only get limited time on the computer right now due to the holidays (my schedule actually gets easier closer TO Christmas), but I have every bean logged and I know where it is supposed to go. You will get it, probably in the next few days if I accomplish RL goals first. And if you think that it shouldn't take long in awarding beans to people, think again. Every time I 'friend' someone on HOL in order to give them beans, makes me kinda pissed off. As I dislike the friend feature on HOL, i wish there were any easier way to do it. Like a bulk submission like in classes. But nope, because you have to submit EVERY SINGLE THING separately it's time consuming to do. But I swear you will get them. I definitely have enough.

Staff Changes! Welcome to the almost start of the 2012/2013 HOL school year! We've had a few staff changes, so we thought we might as well let the students know, so that you can bug THEM not us. First we have Hailey Potter moving up in the world of Prefectdom in Gryffindor and will be our newest Prefect In Charge In Training! (Wow, that is a mouthful.) Kadina Tigano will be showing her the ropes on how to whip all the other prefects in shape. Stepping down from prefect and being moved back into junior prefect for at least this term are: Jinxy Jo and St.John Aloisius Sloots. Taking their places as full Prefects in HOL are Chadwick Cadet, Bay Reilly and Tom Foster! *round of applause* Finally, we had a LOT of wonderful application submissions for Junior Prefect. We've had one JP step down (Alexzandria Lestrange), and of course 3 JP's move up. So here are your new Junior Prefects for this year! (Or until I can fire them...) Anneliese Lee, Destri Weasley, Fumei Shirokuro, Nina Messersmith, Pandora Gotham So, if you students need help with anything, bug the JP's and Prefects and leave me alone! *G*

How do I get on Internet Relay Chat (IRC)? IRC is one way to get to know your fellow students. You are not required to use IRC to be a member of HOL. As some of you may know we have a house chat room on IRC, it is #gryffindor and can be found on the Blitzed network. This is a great place to come and talk with fellow gryffindors and also to meet people from other houses. If you have never used IRC or don’t know how to get to #gryffindor, I will explain two different ways. The easiest way is using cgi off the blitzed website, but while that is easier overall, it is much better to go and download a program like mIRC which required a little more effort but is much better in the long run. 1. CGI - Getting on to #gryffindor using CGI is the easiest. The best/easiest way is to do this is by going to the HOL homepage here. Once you have done that you will notice on the right hand side of the page under the house cup standings and HOL menu which says "HOL Chatrooms", below that there is a place for a nick and a box for the channel. First you enter the nickname you which to use, and then you replace the channel, which is #hol by default, with #gryffindor. Once you have done that you click on the log in button and wait for it to connect to the server. Once you are connected you can chat using by typing into the text box at the bottom of the screen. 2. mIRC (for PCs) - Accessing IRC in this way makes it easier to chat, but requires a little more effort. Download the program at <a href="www.mirc.com">www.mirc.com</a>, then click on download mIRC on the right of the screen. Choose a download location (it doesn't have to be your/state or country) and click on it. You then save the file and allow it to download. Once the download is complete you open the file and install the program. Once mIRC has been installed, open the program. If you get a message at the beginning about having to pay for mIRC you just click on the x on the upper right of the small box. mIRC has a 30 day trial period, but you do not have to pay for it after the period is over. You can just keep pressing continue on the message and use mIRC. Once you are registered you will come to an option screen (if you don’t, hit alt+o and it will open, or find it at the top menu by going to File >Connect >Server). There will be text saying "IRC network" and next to it a small box with an arrow on the right side. Click on that box and scroll down until you find Blitzed. Press "Connect" on the small menu to the left again, and fill in your HOL name and choose a nick. Make sure you have a full name and email address entered below as well as a nickname. You should NOT put your real full name. Once you have done that click on the connect to IRC button and wait for a connection once you have one type /join #gryffindor in the main window that opens up and you will have a secondary window open with our chat room in it. If you have any questions you can direct them towards one of your friendly prefects. Hope to see you all in #gryffindor, and don’t just come once, keep coming back! 3. SNAK (Mac) - For Mac users you can go to <a href="www.snak.com">www.snak.com</a> and download a chat client there. It has a 30 trial period, and after using it for 30 days, the program will disconnect every 30 minutes. The program costs $20 USD. HOL Channels: #HOL - This is the main IRC channel for HOL. The easiest way to get on is by using the CGI script on the main HOL page, but if you plan to go on IRC a fair amount it is worth it to download mIRC (for PC’s) or Snak (For Macs) #Gryffindor - This is the Gryffindor house chat, once you are on IRC all you have to do is type /join #Gryffindor and you will join the channel. Students from all houses are welcome in all house chats. Other house channels, do the same as above - #Hufflepuff, #Ravenclaw, #Slytherin We have young members at HOL, so remember to keep chats clean and g-rated - if the conversation is going in a questionable direction, take it someplace other than the official chat channel. We need to make sure we are keeping HOL a safe place for the youngest members. Where can I find Gryffindor on IRC? The official channel of Gryffindor house is #Gryffindor on the Blitzed IRC server. What are the #Gryffindor IRC rules? The following should be read by all Gryffindors - especially those chosen to be OPs in our official channel, which is #gryffindor on the Blitzed servers. Being an Operator (or "OP") in our House channels is a special privilege given to those Gryffs who are responsible and willing to follow and enforce the rules of HOL. OPs exist to help keep peace and order in our house channels, and all students are asked to follow their instructions. Some OPs will be strict; others more lenient. It all depends on the person and how each person interprets the rules of HOL. All students using an official house/HOL channel should respect the chosen Ops, and try to remember that OPs are not trying to be mean, but just trying to do their job. We hope with this document, that we can set a few "consistencies" in the way our OPs work so we can have a fun and safe channel for the students of HOL to enjoy. 1. Gryffindor Prefects & Professors who visit IRC will have AOPS privileges. Please send your registered IRC nick to Missa to be added to the list of AOPS (P2P, PM, or Owl). Make sure and visit the channel every now and again so your AOP will not drop from disuse. 1a. Choosing a Nick on IRC: If you are new to HOL we'd appreciate it if you joined our channel using your HOL name so we can get to know who you are. Also, if you choose a nick that is the same as another HOL regular, chances are that the nick is registered and IRC will automatically change your nick to "Guest". You cannot go by a nick that someone else already has. Please try to pick something different, as it is confusing for our members to figure out if it's "Mary" or Mary v2". 2. Gryffindor Students may also have the opportunity to be AOPS. This is all based on the discretion of the Channel Team. Students who have shown responsibility, dedication, helpfulness, fairness, and discretion will be considered. Students who constantly ask for an AOP will NOT be considered, and may be reprimanded for annoyance. 3. People of other Houses: Professors, Prefects, and Students of other houses are *HONORED GUESTS* in our Channels. They do not receive Ops. We are happy to have them visit, and welcome them with open arms, but the channel is *OUR* home and we shall have control over it at all times. If the Guests are being bothersome and break the rules, they may be kicked and/or banned from visiting our channel, depending on the severity of the infraction. The title of "Honorary" in Gryff terms means "We don't necessarily like you; we just want to keep a closer eye on you." *G* There are a few exceptions. 4. If an OP is the only OP in the channel and must leave for a time, that OP may choose another Gryffindor who is present, who they feel is responsible, to become a temporary OP. Please do not leave the channel without making someone else an OP if there will be none left. Hopefully, we will have enough OPs to have regular ones at all times. 5. Please be on the "lookout" for inappropriate links being shared in channels. Try to encourage that all links be shared via P2P so that young ones don't inadvertently click on something they shouldn't. This also means that all links that are not posted by an OP need to be approved by an OP before being posted (just like in #hol). 6. An OP shall remember that HOL is a very diverse community with many different people of all ages and walks of life. People will have differing opinions and viewpoints on what is right/wrong. In no way will we tolerate any "hate" type talk (I'm sure you all know what I mean - saying "I hate homework" is very different than talking about people or a group of people in that way.) or racial comments. Please remember that HOL channels official language *is* English (that means keep the conversation ENGLISH), and try to be helpful of those who have a problem understanding English. Remember that Patience and Tolerance is the key here. We don't want to be too strict, but we don't want people to be able to swear, curse, or make others feel uncomfortable. This can be a fine line to tread, so please use your best judgment. Remember, we can have very young people in the channels, with protective parents - please do not jeopardize their membership at HOL by allowing inappropriate conversation to continue. Let's have fun, but make sure it's good fun for all present. Abuse of Channel OP powers will result in suspension of OP powers; 1st infraction will be a warning and/or 1 week suspension (depending on severity of abuse); 2nd infraction will be one month; 3rd infraction - until further notice.

While not exactly appropriate material, BJ... I'll respond. There is not difference between either. If you're straight, and are a boy, you do it with a girl. If you are not straight and are a boy, you prefer to do it with a boy. So since the question itself is really lame. I'd rather be happy with whatever decisions I choose to make. So, as a happily married mother, I'll be both. Would you rather do: Truth or Dare?

Wow, I apologize, this should have been posted earlier this week, but it seems to have been forgotten! Anyways, the first house meeting of the year has been approved for this coming Sunday, October 23rd at 9pm HOL time! There we will discuss what we hope to have forthcoming in the house activities, as well as current news, and of course to take any comments, suggestions, or questions, by YOU our lovely house students! Who: US! Your lovely staff, and you, our wonderful students! What: House meeting, coz you need to KNOW. When: 9pm HOL time October 23rd (That's 4 pm EST). Where: on IRC. The room is #gryffhousemeeting Why: Because we would love to keep you informed and hope to help keep all of us active! How: If you have IRC you can use that, otherwise just go to the main HOL chat page and use the cgi chat located there! I really hope people attend!

This has been extended until October 15th. We need signatures, avatars, and banners! Get creative!

Gryfftoberfest Motto Contest! It's that lovely time of the year again. October! Which means, it's time to start breaking out those cases of butterbeer and other assorted goodies, and get ready to start the party for GRYFFTOBERFEST! If you are looking for more information about Gryfftober, try here: What is Gryfftoberfest? As always, we start the party off with our fantabulous Gryffindor Motto Contest! Some of our previous mottos were: "Normal Doesn't Appy To Us" "You have to be mad to survive" "Gryffindor - So Insane We Broke The Padded Walls" And last years winner: "Insanity Is Our Logic" So, interested in coming up with some mottos? They earn you... BEANS, the coveted currency of HOL, and of course, if you WIN, you get the privilige of seeing YOUR motto litter the halls of Gryffindor and HOL. Also, the top 3 motto-creaters will get a shiny Gryfftoberfest award they can show off around the Common Room. And of course, following the motto contest, is the GRAPHICS portion of this two-parter. Of course, we gotta have a motto FIRST. Beans. -2 beans per entry (3 entries maximum count for beans, but you can submit more) -5 additional beans for 3rd place -10 additional beans for 2nd place -15 additional beans for 1st place Rules: -Mottos should be fairly short and to the point, so no more than 15 words long. -All students, prefects/JPs (den or SPD), and professors may take part in this contest! I know staff members like beans, too. -You may submit as many mottos as you want, but only the first 3 will count for participation. All beyond 3 will still be included in voting. -Mottos need to be of appropriate rating. Nothing obscene or offensive. -Mottos should be submitted in a single email (no flood of owls every time you think of a new brilliant motto) to spd@gryff.net with the subject line "Motto - HOL Name - HOL ID" minus the quotations. Please fill in HOL Name and HOL ID with your own name and ID. If you absolutely need to, a second email with additional mottos may be submitted. But please, no more than 2 total emails. The deadline to submit your mottos is October 2nd at 11:59 pm HOL Time! That isn't really very long from now, so you better get started!

I know have 2 computers and a laptop. The oldest computer is called Ponta, the laptop is called Momo, and the new comp is called Fuji. I have no idea if my husband or brother named their comps. >>

Firing thread will open on Thursday at 1 AM EST (that's 10 pm Pacific), I'll post in the correct forum to take your shots. Everything will be updated before then.

Welcome to the start of the 2010 Battleship den challenge! In the past we were able to demonstrate how this challenge worked by opening up the previous year's forum. Unfortunately, all that information was lost when we had to completely redo the Gryffindor Board. So for those of you who are new at this, look towards your den leaders and higher years for guidance. What is Battleship? Well Battleship is a game where the main objective is to sink the other persons ships, in this case there will be a total of six ships that you will have to search for. How do I play? Gryffindor's version of Battleship is run a bit differently than any other normal Battleship game. The three dens compete against each other. The first den who has all their ships sunk ends in third place, the second one down is in second place, and the winning den is the den that still has ships left. You can earn up to three hits a day, but more information on that will follow. How do we earn shots? At the very beginning of the game, each den has three shots. They can choose to shoot all at one den, or break up the shots between the other two dens. Once the den leader selects three locations, a series of puzzles for those specific locations are placed into the den and in order for them to count, the puzzles must be solved. So as an example, the CC den chooses three locations, but only solves two of the puzzles. At that point the two locations they have selected are colored into the board, showing a hit or a miss. This gives them two shots to select the following day. The third puzzle (that they didn't solve) rolls over and once it is solved the location will be colored in on the grid and they will have three turns again. Each den has the opportunity to pass if they cannot solve a puzzle, however there are only three passes for each den the entire game, and of course, they won't get to know what was in the location they selected. Sounds a bit confusing, I know. So here's a simplified version. This is how CC's turn would have looked. CC managed to solve the puzzle for GG's c4 and MM's a6, but failed to solve NN's b3 before the deadline, but the other dens solved all three of their puzzles. So once the deadline has arrived, I color in the grid locations, and the firing thread opens for the next day. When this happens it will look like this. That next day, after selecting their two new locations CC manages to solve the two new puzzles, as well as the one that they were not able to solve the first day. They will get the three locations colored in. The original MM b3 they had from the previous day, and the two new locations they had selected. When the firing thread opens for the next round, they will be given all three shots to fire. Who gets to select the locations? There will be FOUR people in each den who will be allowed to select locations in the firing thread. It is preferrable that it be the den leaders and one chosen student. However, I know that the dens aren't currently all that active, so in such a scenario, there can be the den leaders and two students. NO ONE else is to post in the firing thread, EVER. If there is a problem within the den then someone needs to PM me to advise me, so that alternate selections can be chosen. It is also very important to note that you absolutely, positively may NOT edit any firing locations once they are placed in the thread. I don't care if you made a mistake, or one of the other people wanted a different location. If I see it, your den will be disqualified, as I consider it cheating. So don't do it! Great, you know how it's played, but what does everything look like? The GRID. In the main thread there will be three grids like the one above (one for each den). Based on the locations the den leaders have chosen for their ships the object will be to select squares. Once the puzzles are solved you will be able to tell what was hit. Blue squares are water (meaning you missed), red squares mean a hit. Once the ship is sunk, it will be crossed off. Once ALL ships have been sunk on a grid, the grid will be crossed off. A tally of which locations each den selected and whether they were hit or miss, will be placed below the grid, so that everyone knows each location and who did it. The PUZZLES. There will be 4 different types of squares. 1. FREE HIT. The free hit square is exactly what it sounds like. There is no puzzle in that square, it is a free hit. When the answers are sent to me via PM the den will include the free hit location as well. 2. Logic puzzles. Yep, them good old word logic puzzles. You have to love to hate them. But they are necessary. 3. Sudoku puzzles. Again, you either love them or hate them. I'll leave that up to all of you to decide. 4. Brain teasers. Traditional brainteasers, which I don't think are all that hard to solve. THE SHIPS. There will be six ships this year. There will be two size 2 ships, two size 3 ships, one size 4 ship, and one size 5 ship. The size of the ship correspondes with the number of squares it will take up on the grid. So a size 5 ship, will take up 5 squares on the grid. Ships may be placed veritically or horizontally, you are not allowed to place a ship diagonally. THE RULES. I will PM the leaders of each den individually within the next few days. They will select the people to represent the dens for the firing thread, as well as picking ship locations. It is at the descretion of the den leader whether to select the locations themselves, or to have the den do it as a whole. I really don't care, so long as the locations and the leaders are sent to me before June 1st. After I have received the above information from all dens, I will open the firing thread on June 2nd at 2am EST, which would be 10pm PST (which is when I get home from work). Don't ask me to convert to your timezones, figure it out yourselves. At that time, each den may post their selected dens and locations to hit. You will start with three shots. As soon as I see your selected locations, I will go into your den and post your challenges. You will have until 11pm EST, (8 pm PST) the following day to solve and to send the answers to me via PM. The only people who may PM the answers to me are one of the three selected in each den to have access to post in the firing thread. When the answers are sent to me, I prefer they be in the format: It will help me keep track of what I'm supposed to be doing as well. It is important to note that some days I may be a bit late in opening the firing thread. I get home from work less than 30 minutes before the firing thread opens, and I will need to check puzzles and update the grids before I open the firing thread. Also note, I DO sleep people. Not often, but I do try. So sometimes, if you take 3-4 hours to post your locations in the firing thread, there is the chance that I won't get around to posting your challenges until I wake up the next day. So you may want to select someone who is awake during the beginning of the firing thread, to get your shots in fast so you can have longer to work on your challenges. The game will run until there is a clear winner. If it makes it simpler for you, I will not be able to send puzzles to dens after noon EST on any day. I will be at work. I hate that place, btw. IMPORTANT: Please be advised that if you solve a challenge incorrectly you will lose that shot for that day. So the answers you PM to me must be correct. If not, then it's just like not solving it, and that location will roll over to the next day and you will only have 2 shots in the firing thread. I will advise you which answers are correct and incorrect in a PM back to you. If you have any questions, please seek out your den leader. If the den leaders have any questions, please post them in the War Room so that I may answer them. Rubies: 1 ruby for each person in a den who answers a task (that means a ruby for every task you answer, not just one in general). No rubies for free hits. Winning den gets 40 rubies. Second place gets 20 rubies. Third place gets 10 rubies. Only those who have participated in the task will be awarded rubies.

Both my desktop and laptop have "names" from the same anime, Prince of Tennis. My desktop is known as Ponta. (For the grape soda that Echizen drinks.) I've had this comp for yeeeears, and it's only blown up once. My laptop, which I bought last year and have rarely used, is named "Momo". This is a dual name. Momoshiro from Prince of Tennis, and erm in references to Pi's "peaches" (which only a JE fan would get.) I haven't named any of my 3 externals or my phone. Usually I end up referring to them by naughty names if they don't load though.