Say what?

So one thing you may have noticed about this blog is that I have a few strange words scattered around here and there. Why is this blog called "Lumos"? What's with that strange word that I sign my posts with and that I use as URL for this site? Why does it say "Don't Panic" over in the sidebar? In this post, I will answer all of these and hopefully reveal a little more about myself in the process.

Basically, it boils down to the fact that I'm a dork and I like to make references to things I find cool. Sometime's they're pretty overt (if you know the source); occasionally they're more obscure. Often I prefer not to explain them or draw attention to them, and just leave them for people to either enjoy or wonder about.

Since the ones I mentioned above are all posted prominently on the site, however, I feel a certain obligation to explain them. The first two are blatant references, and would make sense to anyone familiar with the original works. "Don't Panic" is a reference to Douglas Adams' series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The quote appears "in large, friendly letters" on the front of The Guide. I thought it was an apt phrase to appear in at least small friendly letters on the front of my blog.

The title of this blog, "Lumos," is of course an unabashed reference to another of my favorite works, Harry Potter (by J.K. Rowling). The word is the incantation for a very simple but practical spell, which, if spoken when holding a wand, causes the wand to emit a beam of light. Take what meaning you will from this. Perhaps my blog will shed some light for you on an unfamiliar topic. Maybe my blog, light a ray of light in the darkness, is a beacon of hope in a lonely world. Maybe that's why all the colors on my page are so bright.

The reference in "Fëamacar" is much more subtle. In fact, it's more of a riddle than a reference, and as such, I've decided to leave the mystery for now and see if anyone can figure it out. Feel free to post your guesses or vent your frustration in the comments. Let me first just say that it has nothing to do with this guy, who is an even bigger dork than I.