Mokka mit Schlag

An idiosyncratic list of the most intriguing, most mind altering, and just plain fun books/movies/etc. I read in (not necessarily published in) 2012:
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In 2012 I saw:

• 335+ total species
• 204+ species in New York
• 58 Life Birds (mostly in Cuba, but a few in New York, one in Bermuda, and one in Florida; total now at 850)
• 12 new ABA area Birds (Total now in the vicinity of 500, though that may include a few like Muscovy Duck, Black Swan, Cockatiel, and Budgerigar that “don’t count”)
• 13 new New York State Birds (Total now at approximately 300)
• 7 new New Jersey State Birds (Total now at approximately 182)
• 15 new Louisiana State Birds (Total now at approximately 143)
• 40 new Florida State Birds (Total now at approximately 77)
• 35 new Plaquemines Parish Birds (Total now at approximately 85)
• 6 new Orleans Parish Birds (Total now at approximately 123)
• 2 new Jefferson Parish Birds (Total now at approximately 61)
• 9 new Kings County Birds (Total now at approximately 230)
• 3 new Queens County Birds (Total now at approximately 202)
• 8 new New York County Birds (Total now at approximately 112)
• 4 new Richmond County Birds (Total now at approximately 111)
• 12 new Nassau County Birds (Total now at approximately 138)
• 8 new Suffolk County Birds (Total now at approximately 132)

I didn’t go to the Bronx, and added no new birds in California.

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We now have two-and-a-half more chapters of Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality to consider. Chapter 85, while awesome and sad, doesn’t add a lot to the mystery. Nor does Chapter 87, which is primarily further character development for Harry and Hermione. But Chapter 86, now that’s interesting.
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To my mind the big open question in Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality is the identity of Hat-and-Cloak. I think there are two possibilities:

1. Hat-and-Cloak is the defense professor.
2. Hat-and-Cloak is not the defense professor

(Well I suppose there’s a possibility he/she is both of the above, but that seems overly complex, especially if the people who wear the hat and cloak are not working together.)

So which is it?
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I still can’t stop thinking about Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. But as I read it again (up to the original version of Chapter 85, though the new 85 and 86 don’t majorly change my thinking on these points), and the more I think about it, the outline of the plot is becoming clear. There’s only one piece that doesn’t fit now. Who is Hat-and-Cloak and what does he/she want?

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On rereading Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality for the third time, I’m starting to figure out what really happened. Spoilers follow.

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