Muggles Rejoice

More magic to come: Author JK Rowling announces the world of ‘Pottermore’

It’s no surprise that worldwide fans of the bespectacled boy wizard are clamoring over the promise of a new Harry Potter venture.

With the final installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows set to release this summer, what are rabid fans to do with their time and devotion beyond re-reading the seven books and visiting Universal Studios in Orlando. It’s just never enough!

Luckily, Harry’s literary mother and modern day prophet, JK Rowling, allayed fans’ fears earlier this month by revealing there is still plenty more of the wizarding world to explore through the online adventure of Pottermore.

Speculations rang out across the Potter blogosphere over what Pottermore could possibly contain. Is it a new book? Is it a video game? Or is it, as many fans feared, boring old electronic reproductions of the previous seven books?

Much to the collective relief and excitement of fans across the globe, Rowling revealed Pottermore’s purpose in a lunchtime press meeting at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. (How British of her!)

Her recorded statement video (at top) explains that Pottermore will be an online interactive website that invites readers to participate in the further development of the universe. Pottermore = more Potter. Get it?

The site will collect the electronic versions of the books for the first time anywhere. But with interactive elements, kids of every age will experience them in a way more visually stimulating fashion than boring ol’ imagination like old people seem to love so much.

Rowling will also provide additional written material to officially record the backgrounds of the minor characters of Harry’s world that fans have been fleshing out on her behalf for the past 13 years. (Let’s see if her stories are as good as some of the fan fiction out there…)

Initially and most exciting, a bonafide magical wand hunt will occupy the minds and hearts of Potterphiles for at least the next few months. Extremely trivial minutiae from the novels will be the clues fans need to begin traipsing across the globe in search of authentic Ollivander’s wands hidden in various spaces in Britain, America and beyond.

Finally, the site will allow fans to share clues and converse with one another globally. Similar to the massive multiplayer role playing game model of World of Warcraft, obsessive fans will learn a new set of social skills (like multicultural communication) and unlearn others (like showering) as future adventures distract them all from living boring Muggle lives in favor of their new, more interesting wizarding lives.

Self-driving Roller Coaster

More self-driving cars expected to roll out in Austin for 2025

Waymo car

Photo courtesy of Waymo via KVUE

Various brands offering self-driving cars are on-and-off in Austin.

Expect to see more self-driving rideshare vehicles, also known as robotaxis, on Austin roads next year.

Robotaxi company Waymo, which you may have already seen on Austin's roads, is partnering with Uber. At some point next year, customers will be able to use the Uber app to call a self-driving ride.

Austin-based company Avride is in the testing phase and plans to roll out its robotaxis next year.

Currently, Volkswagen ADMT and Amazon's Zoox are in the testing phase in Austin, while Hyundai's Motional is in the mapping phase.

Last year, robotaxi company Cruise paused operations in Austin after the California Department of Motor Vehicles revoked the company's permits to operate driverless vehicles in the state. And last week, General Motors said it would no longer fund the company because of the time and resources needed.

This way of getting around has come with its safety concerns and issues. The city is tracking those concerns. According to the Transportation Department, the problems span from blocking the roads and parking in front of people's homes for weeks with lights beaming through their windows, to actual wrecks.

Since July 2023, robotaxis have been involved in 75 incidents. Only 21 of those incidents happened in 2024. It's important to note that Cruise has not been operating in Austin this year.

Since July 2023, driverless rideshare vehicles have been involved in 22 near collisions, eight collisions and seven instances where driverless taxis ignored directions from the Austin Police Department (APD).

According to the data, at least four of those Austin police incidents happened in recent months. The issues varied from driving through police checkpoints, to malfunctioning and getting stuck at an APD road closure near pedestrians, causing safety concerns.

A Waymo spokesperson said their vehicles have gesture recognition capabilities, which they've been training APD officers on using.

As the report shows, sometimes it does not work and Waymo said it is working to improve that. The spokesperson said that as of just last week, Waymo's First Responder Program has been independently verified by TÜV SÜD, making Waymo the first autonomous vehicle (AV) company to receive third-party validation for our emergency response protocols. They also said the data to date indicates the Waymo Driver is already reducing traffic injuries and fatalities in the places where the company currently operates.

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Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com.

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