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Book Reviews

- The Sovereignties of Invention – by Matthew Battles
  January 26, 2020Book Reviews / fictionThe Sovereignties of Invention is a book of short stories – all of which are at least somewhat creepy. Matthew Battles does a good job of keeping readers in a state of curiosity and wonder, which sometimes leads to dread and horror. This may not be the book for everyone, but I really enjoyed it. If you like stories that include strange situations that leave the reader wondering what happens next, this is the book for you. My favorite story in this book is called “The Gnomon”. It takes place at a technology convention, where everyone is walking around wearing lanyards with little plastic pockets that serve as their admission passes. The Gnomon is a black box that has no discernible ports, no lights, and absolutely no one there to explain what it does. It becomes a topic of conversation as people try to figure out what it might be. Then, it starts following the people who are attending the conference on social media. There is a point where the story goes from an interesting puzzle to true horror. The reader is never given a specific explanation of what The Gnomon is, or why it suddenly reacts the way it did. The first story in the book is called “The Dogs in Trees.” It involves a situation where people are noticing that dogs have started appearing in trees. At first, it seems like a quirky story, but it slowly becomes very disconcerting. Only the dogs seem to know why they’ve taken to the trees. A story called “I After the Cloudy Doubly Beautifully” had me interested in it just from the title alone. A librarian was given the tax of clearing out the “X cage” – a repository of things that didn’t quite fit anywhere else. The librarian finds a mechanical translator machine, that involves ball bearings with letters on them that are spun around inside a glass dome. A ticker tape comes out with the words that it makes. The machine can translate back and forth into several languages. The librarian starts translating things from one language, to another, to yet another one. I found myself wondering what the final translation would sound like. But, something happens before the librarian is finished with the machine. There are other stories that I have not mentioned and will leave the reader to discover for themselves. The Sovereignties of Invention is filled with glimpses of strange and beautiful things that can also be creepy and unnerving. I found myself thinking about these stories long after I’d finished reading the book. The Sovereignties of Invention – by Matthew Battles is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!...

Diablo II: Resurrected

- Diablo II: Resurrected – Clips
  August 22, 2021Diablo II: Resurrected / Diablo II: Resurrected Open BetaI had a lot of fun playing the Diablo II: Resurrected Open Beta. There has been a bit of a learning curve as I learn how to use an Xbox Series S controller and navigate the Xbox menus. The game itself, however, feels intuitive and I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to play the Open Beta. One of the cool things that Xbox allows is for players to take short clips of their game play. The clips last for approximately 30 seconds, so you have to learn to time it well. Players can also take screenshots. Both of those things are really easy to do. The difficult part was trying to figure out how to get them off the Xbox S and onto my Mac Mini computer. I’m not adept enough to explain this properly. There is an Xbox app you can put on a tablet. In short, players can use that to view all of their screenshots and clips, and get the option of saving them or deleting them. My husband helped me figure out how to get the Xbox app to let me pull out the screenshots and clips, and stick them into the Photos app on my tablet. From there, I was able to upload them to my Mac Mini. The most difficult part of making a very short video out of clips was finding software that would let me do it. When I record my Diablo III game play, I use a piece of software called ScreenFlow. It will record whatever it sees on my computer monitor after I tell it to start recording. Unfortunately, it is not possible to upload clips from Xbox (or anywhere else) into that software. I ended up having to use iMovie to put together a few clips from the Diablo II: Resurrected Open Beta. Working with iMovie is not at all intuitive. Fighting with it long enough to put together clips that total to about a minute and a half was manageable. Exporting it to my desktop made everything else on my computer run extremely slowly until it was done. Anyway, that’s how I was able to record, stitch together, and create a video of clips from Xbox S. #Blaugust2021 Diablo II: Resurrected Clips is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!...

Diablo III

- Season 24: Khazra, Skeletons and Zombies
  August 28, 2021Diablo III / Diablo VideosIn this video, my Barbarian started out at level 50 and ended up at level 55. To do this, she completed some – but not all – of a set of Bounties. After that, it was a lot of Khazra, skeletons, and zombies. Unlike my previous video, this one actually recorded the in-game sounds. I always turn off the in-game music, because I put it on YouTube. I’m trying to avoid copyright strikes. All it took for me to fix the audio problem for this video was download something and click a button. As such, the upcoming videos should have proper audio. Another thing I learned by making this video is that I’m having more fun running around Sanctuary killing skeletons, zombies, and now also Khazras than doing a set of bounties all in a row. That said, I have exactly zero ethereals. There is still time to get them. #Blaugust2021 If you enjoyed this video, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi. Thank you!...

Pocket Camp

- Animal Crossing Pocket Camp: Holiday 2017 Reissued Items
  December 29, 2020Animal Crossing Pocket CampAnimal Crossing Pocket Camp reissued tons of previously released holiday items. The ones that caught my attention were the Holiday 2017 items. I did not have time (or materials) to make them all, but I did get a fair amount of them done. These screenshots were taken in December of 2020. Some of items in the Holiday 2017 collection have “Jingle” in the name. Jingle is the name of the reindeer animal friend that leads the 2020 holiday events in Animal Crossing Pocket Camp. As you might expect, all of these items are crafted for the player by Cyrus. Jingle checked rug Jingle checked sofa Jingle checked bed Jingle snow globe festive bow tree mountain of presents Jingle fence The festive fireplace required 60,000 Bells and took about 24 hours to craft. festive fireplace festive streetlight Here is how I arranged my Holiday 2017 items. The arch in the back is not part of the collection. It is from the 2020 holiday events. The golden ornament tree in a pot is also not part of the Holiday 2017 items. It was a gift from Animal Crossing Pocket Camp. The animal friends at my campsite seems to like these holiday items. Animal Crossing Pocket Camp: Holiday 2017 Reissued Items is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!...

Other Video Games

- Neko Atsume: Scratching Board
  August 3, 2021Neko Atsume / Other Video GamesNeko Atsume is a game where you collect cute cartoon cats. Entice them to come play in your home/yard by putting out items that will attract the cat’s attention. The Scratching Board is popular with many cats. The screenshots in this blog post were taken in 2017. The flavor text for the Scratching Board says: A chunk of two-by-four covered with fabric that your cats can sink their claws into. Buy one to curb those razor-sharp paws. Pepper Ganache Shadow Marshmallow Socks Cocoa Melange Misty Sunny Willie Spooky Caramel #Blaugust2021 Neko Atsume: Scratching Board is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!...

Out of Spoons (Chronic Illness)

- The Biden-Harris Covid-19 Vaccination Plan
  April 18, 2021Out of Spoons / Public HealthPhoto by CDC on Unsplash Have you wondered about how the Biden-Harris administration managed to get so many COVID-19 “shots in arms” in such as short period of time? Were you surprised when pharmacies, stadiums, empty stores in dying malls, and pop-up vaccinations sites appeared? All of this is thanks to the Biden-Harris Covid-19 Vaccination plan. “Fact Sheet: President-elect Biden Outlines COVID-19 Vaccination Plan” was posted on January 15, 2021, on what was originally the Biden-Harris Transition website. After Joe Biden was sworn in as President of the United States, and Kamala Harris was sworn in as Vice-President of the United States, that content moved to the White House website. The information posted by the Biden-Harris administration before Inauguration Day shows that they were thinking ahead about how to stop the spread of Covid-19. This contrasts strongly with the Trump Administration’s severe lack of planning. Fact Sheet: President-elect Biden Outlines COVID-19 Vaccination Plan starts with a brief paragraph about the need for effective and equitable vaccinations. It also provides some information about the spread of COVID-19, and the number of deaths. From the Plan: Effectively and equitably vaccinating the U.S. Population will happen through stronger partnerships with states and communities, increased supply, more vaccination sites, and more vaccinators. “The Covid-19 pandemic is getting worse by the day – more people are hospitalized with COVID-19 than ever before, the death rate is up almost 20 percent, and we’re nearing 400,000 deaths total. At the same time, there is a new, more contagious strain spreading across the country and we are woefully behind on vaccinating the U.S. population. “President-elect Biden will confront this historic challenge with the full strength of the federal government – working closely with local communities already in the trenches. He will lead an unprecedented, whole-of-society effort that mobilizes every resource available – across the public and private sectors. It will take every American doing their part. “As we move forward to get vaccines in arms as quickly as possible, we will not leave anyone behind. Communities across the country are counting on it. The health and economic security of our nation depend on it. “Today, the president-elect outlined key highlights of his plan to efficiently and equitably vaccinate the U.S. population. This includes taking action to: … The next portion of the Vaccination Plan is listed out very clearly. Get more people vaccinated Encourage states to allow more people to be vaccinated including individuals 65 and older as well as frontline workers. “The process of establishing priority groups was driven by science, but the implementation has been too rigid and confusing. We now see doses of vaccines sitting in freezers unused while people who want the vaccine cannot get it. President-elect Biden’s plan encourages states to open up eligibility beyond healthcare workers and long-term care facility workers like teachers, first responders, grocery store employees, and anyone who is 65 and older. “It won’t mean that everyone in these groups will get vaccinated immediately, as supply is not where it needs to be. But it will mean that as vaccines become available, they will reach more people who need them. For states with the capacity and supply to further expand, we encourage that as well. The federal government will continue to look to the CDC Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) framework for an equitable, effective vaccination program.” Ensure equity throughout the vaccination process to reach those in hard-to-reach, marginalized communities. “We will ensure that there is equity in the vaccination process by using data to target resources to hard-hit communities, ensuring no out-of-pocket costs for vaccinations, and equitable access to vaccines in marginalized and medically-underserved communities. Partnerships with state, local, and community-based organizations and trusted health care providers, like community health centers, will be central to this effort.” Create more vaccination sites Stand up new, federally-supported community vaccination centers across the country. “Getting as many people vaccinated as quickly as possible will require close coordination between the federal government and all states and territories. Knowing that not all states and jurisdictions have the resources to scale vaccinations at the pace this crisis demands, the Biden-Harris administration will leverage federal resources and emergency contracting authorities to launch new vaccination sites and to expand state and local efforts across the country. “With the support of Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), these sites will mobilize thousands of clinical and non-clinical staff and contractors who will work hand-in-glove with the National Guard and state and local teams. The program will be scaled based on what is working best on the ground for state and local partners, and the communities they serve.” Fully reimburse state deployment of the National Guard to support vaccinations and provide additional FEMA assistance. “President-elect Biden will deploy mobile vaccination clinics in the most hard-to-reach communities and to support those who face challenges accessing vaccination sites, including individuals who live in underseved urban and rural areas. The federal government will partner with states and local providers, including primary care providers, to ensure that they have the resources needed to help get vaccines to the communities they serve. “The federal government will launch targeted programs to engage community health centers, rural health clinics, critical access hospitals, and tribal health services to ensure that we can meet the needs of all communities.” Make vaccines available in pharmacies. “Millions of Americans turn to their local pharmacies every day for their medicines, flu shots, and much more. Nearly 90 percent of Americans live within five miles of a pharmacy. President-elect Biden will quickly jumpstart efforts to increase capacity at chain and independent pharmacies across the country to get Americans vaccinated.” Launch a new partnership with Federally Qualified Health Centers nationwide. “Federally qualified Health Centers (FQHC’s) serve more than 30 million patients each year – one in 11 people nationwide. Many are people of color and many live in rural communities. FQHC patients are often individuals struggling to make ends meet. “Given the role that these providers play in their communities, President-elect Biden will launch a new program to ensure that FQHC’s can directly access vaccine supply where needed. At the same time, the administration will encourage jurisdictions to engage and work closely with health centers in their community vaccination planning. “And to ensure that health centers have the resources they need to successfully launch vaccination programs, President-elect Biden has called on Congress to provide additional funds to support community health centers, and HHS will launch a new program to provide guidance, technical assistance, and other resources to prepare and engage these providers nationwide.” Launch new models to serve high-risk individuals “The administration will make programs available for high-risk congregate settings, including homeless shelters, jails, and institutions that serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” Increase supply and get it out the door as quickly as possible Ensure a robust vaccine supply and spur manufacturing “To help people get vaccinated more quickly, the president-elect will maximize the manufacturer of vaccine and vaccine supplies for the country, including the Defense Production Act. This effort will prioritize supplies that could cause bottlenecks, including glass vials, stoppers, syringes, needles, and the “fill and finish” capacity to package vaccines into vials”. The Federal Emergency Management Program (FEMA) has an explanation of the Defense Production Act. The Defense Production Act is the primary source of presidential authorities to expedite and expand the supply of materials and services from the U.S. industrial base needed to promote the national defense. DPA authorities are available to support: emergency preparedness activities conducted pursuant to title VI of the Stafford Act; protection or restoration of critical infrastructure; and efforts to prevent, reduce vulnerability to, minimize damage from, and recover from acts of terrorism within the United States. DPA authorities may be used to: Require acceptance and preferential performance of contracts and orders under DPA Title I. (See Federal Priorities and Allocations System (FPAS)).Provide financial incentives and assistance (under DPA Title III) for U.S. industry to expand productive capacity and supply needed for national defense purposes;Provide antitrust protection (through DPA voluntary agreements in DPA Title VII) for businesses to cooperate in planning and operations for national defense purposes, including homeland security. FEMA also provides information about the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, PL 100-707, signed into law November 23, 1988; amended the Disaster Relief Act of 1974, PL 93-288. This Act constitutes the statutory authority for most Federal disaster response activities especially as they pertain to FEMA and FEMA programs. Title IV of the Stafford Act is called “Major Disaster Assistance Programs”. Section 401 “Procedure for Declarations” provides the following explanation of this part of the Stafford Act. “IN GENERAL – All requests for a declaration by the President that a major disaster exists shall be made by the Governor of the affected State. Such a request shall be based on a finding that the disaster is of such severity and magnitude that effective response is beyond the capabilities of the State and the affected local governments and that Federal assistance is necessary.“As part of such request, and as a prerequisite to major disaster assistance under this Act, the Governor shall take appropriate response action under State law and direct execution of the State’s emergency plan. The Governor shall furnish information on the nature and amount of State and local resources which have been or will be committed to alleviating the results of the disaster, and shall certify that, for the current disaster, State and local government obligations and expenditures (of which State commitments must be a significant proportion) will comply with all applicable cost-sharing requirements of this Act.“Based on the request of a Governor under this section, the President may declare under this Act that a major disaster or emergency exists.” The Defense Production Act, and the Stafford Act, are what gives a president the power to take action in emergency situations in order to provide states with what they need to survive it. The incoming Biden-Harris administration clearly saw that the COVID-19 pandemic is an emergency. There appears to be a potential problem, though. In order to receive emergency aid, a state’s governor would have to request it from the Biden-Harris Administration. My best guess is that the Biden-Harris administration believed that every state Governor would do so, but there was still the possibility that some state governors might decide not to accept the aid. President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris would not be able to directly act on it until after the Inauguration and swearing in ceremonies were over. Planning ahead helped to make it possible for so many people, across the United States, to get vaccinated. Be a reliable partner for states by providing actionable data on vaccine allocation timelines and delivery. “To effectively plan and scale distribution, states and localities rely on both advanced understanding of their allocations and timely delivery of their ordered doses. Under President-elect Biden’s plan, the federal government will provide regular projections of the allocations states and localities will receive. “The federal government will build on the operational plans in place to ensure the effective distribution, storage, and transit of vaccines to states, including support for maintaining or augmenting the vaccine-specific required cold chain. The federal government will also fully leverage the Defense Production Act to fill any distribution gaps, including with respect to any needed refrigeration, transportation, or storage facilities.” Increase vaccine availability while maintaining a commitment to the two-dose schedule. “President-elect Biden’s plan will release the vast majority of the vaccines when they are available, so more people an get vaccinated quickly, while still retaining a small reserve for any unforeseen shortages or delays. To continue ensuring second-dose availability on the timeline recommended by the FDA, the Biden-Harris administration will closely monitor development, production and release of vaccines, and use the DPA as needed to ensure adequate supply for second doses on the timeline recommended by the FDA.” Mobilize more personnel to get shots in arms. Surge the public health workforce to support the vaccination effort. “A diverse, community-based public health workforce is essential to an effective vaccination program. President-elect Biden will address workforce needs by taking steps to allow additional qualified professionals to administer vaccines and strongly encourage states to use their flexibility fully to surge their workforce, including by expanding scope of practice laws and waiving licensing requirements as appropriate. “The federal government, in partnership with states, will provide appropriate training, including thorough use of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. The president-elect will also act swiftly to amend the current COVID-19 Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act declaration to permit certain qualified professionals, including retired medical professionals, that are not licensed under state law to administer vaccines to be able to do so with appropriate training in order to expand the number of qualified professionals able to administer the vaccine.” The Commissioned Corps of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) “is one of the nation’s uniformed services – a branch committed to the service of health. Officers advance our nation’s public health, serving in agencies across the government, as physicians, nurses, dentists, veterinarians, scientists, engineers, and other professionals.” Their mission is: Protect, promote, and advance the health and safety of the nation. They work at the CDC, FDA, Indian Health Service, National Institutes of Health, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Defense. The Declaration Under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act for Medical Countermeasures Against COVID-19 was placed on the Federal Register by the Department of Health and Human Services on March 17, 2020, during the Trump Administration. It is also called the PREP Act. The Summary of the PREP Act (at that time) stated: “The Secretary is issuing this Declaration pursuant to section 319F-3 of the Public Health Service Act to provide liability immunity for activities related to countermeasures against COVID-19.” Part of the Supplementary Information included: The Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP Act) authorizes the Secretary of Health and Human Services (the Secretary) to issue a Declaration to provide liability immunity to certain individuals and entities (Covered Persons) against any claim of loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the manufacture, distribution, administration, or use of medical countermeasures (Covered Countermeasures), except for claims involving “willful misconduct” as defined in the PREP Act. This Declaration is subject to amendment as circumstances warrant. Another part, Section IV. Limited Immunity, stated: The Secretary must also state that liability protections available under the PREP Act are in effect with respect to the Recommended Activities. These liability protections provide that, “ubject to other provisions of the , a covered person shall be immune from suit and liability under federal and state law with respect to all claims for loss caused by, arising out of, relating to, or resulting from the administration to or use by an individual of a covered countermeasure if a Declaration has been issued with respect to the countermeasure.” In Section IV of the Declaration, the Secretary states that liability protections are in effect with respect to the Recommended Activities. In other words, the Trump Administration decided that the best way to handle the COVID-19 pandemic was to prevent people from being able to sue “those that manufacture, distribute, administer, prescribe or use Covered Countermeasures.” It wasn’t about protecting the health of the American people at all! On January 28, 2021, about a week after Inauguration Day, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) posted: “HHS Amends PREP Act Declaration to Increase Workforce Authorized to Administer COVID-19 Vaccines”. This is the amendment that President Biden mentioned in the Biden-Harris COVID-19 Plan. The Release stated the following: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today issued a fifth amendment to the Declaration under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act (PREP ACT) to add additional categories of qualified persons authorized to prescribe, dispense, and administer COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.“To respond to the nationwide public health emergency caused by COVID-19, the Biden Administration is broadening use of the PREP Act to expand the vaccination workforce quickly with additional qualified healthcare professionals,” said HHS Acting Secretary Norris Cochran. “As vaccine supply is made more widely available over the coming months, having additional vaccinators at the ready will help providers and state health departments meet the demand for vaccine and protect their communities more quickly.” Among other things, the amendment: Authorizes any healthcare provider who is licensed or certified in a state to prescribe, dispense, and/or administer COVID-19 vaccines in any other state or U.S. territory.Authorizes any physician, registered nurse, or practical nurse whose license or certification expired within the past five years to prescribe, dispense, and/or administer COVID-19 vaccines in any state or U.S. territory so long as the license or certification was active and in good standing prior to the date it went inactive.Requires any healthcare professional described above to complete Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Vaccine Training and, for healthcare providers who are not currently practicing or whose license or certification is expired, requires an on-site observation period by a currently practicing healthcare professional. “Under the PREP Act and the Declaration, a qualified person is a covered person. Subject to certain limitations, a covered person is immune from suit and liability under federal and state law with respect to all claims for loss resulting from the administration or use of a covered countermeasure if a declaration under the PREP Act has been issued with respect to such countermeasures.” As you can see, the Biden-Harris administration does include protection for health care practitioners who administer COVID-19 vaccines, as well as the manufactures of the vaccines, from being sued by a person who was harmed from it. The Trump-Pence administration made that the entire focus of the PREP Act. The Biden-Harris administration’s amendment makes it clear that the most important thing is to make it possible for more people to obtain a COVID-19 vaccine. It puts people first – not corporations. Mobilize a public health jobs program to support COVID-19 response. “President-elect Biden has asked Congress to make an historic investment in expanding the public health workforce, funding 100,000 public health workers to nearly triple the country’s community health roles. These individuals will be hired to work in their local communities to perform vital tasks like vaccine outreach and contact tracing in the near term, and to transition into community health roles to build our long-term public health capacity that will help improve quality of care and reduce hospitalization for low-income and underserved communities.” Ensure the American people have the information and confidence they need to get vaccinated. Launch a federally led, locally focused public education campaign. “The federal government will build public trust through increased transparency, communication around progress and setbacks, and a public education campaign that addresses vaccine hesitancy and is tailored to meet the needs of local communities. The campaign will work to elevate trusted local voices and outline the historic efforts to deliver a safe and effective vaccine as part of a national strategy for beating COVID-19.” The Biden-Harris COVID-19 Vaccination Plan worked! The White House COVID-19 Response Team posted regular updates about how many people have received a COVID-19 vaccination. On January 27, 2021, @WHCOVIDResponse tweeted: “The President set an ambitious goal of administering 100 million shots in our first 100 days. To get there, we’ve got to average about a million shots per day. Just one week in, our trajectory is good and we are all well on our way to hitting that goal.” The tweet includes the following graphic: The graphic says: 7,000,000 Vaccine Doses Administered Since January 20, 2021. Below it are a series of dots where each dot equals 10,000 vaccine doses. On February 3, 2021, @WHCOVIDResponse replied to its previous tweet with a new tweet: “Since last week’s update, we’ve administered another 9 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. The steps we’ve taken to increase supply & work directly with states to change the course of the pandemic make a difference in our goal to get 100 million shots in the first 100 days.” The tweet included the following graphic: The graphic says: 16,000,000 Vaccine Doses Administered Since January 20, 2021. Below it is a series of dots. The black dots are toward the bottom Each black dot equals 10,000 doses. A grouping of blue dots each equal 10,000 doses. All the blue dots equal new vaccine doses since January 27th, 2021. On February 10, 2021, @WHCOVIDResponse tweeted: “We’ve been making steady progress over the past few weeks — getting more vaccine supply, getting more vaccinators on the ground, and creating more places to get vaccinated. We’re on track to meet our goal of delivering 100 million shots in our first 100 days in office.” The tweet included the following graphic: The graphic says: 26,000,000 Vaccine Doses Administered Since January 20, 2021. Below it is a series of dots. This time, the black dots are located starting at the left-hand side of the image. The black dots rise to the line of dots third from the top, and decrease in stair steps from there. Each black dot equal 10,000 vaccine doses. There is also a bunch of blue dots that start out on top of the black dots. The blue dots also decrease in stair steps on the right hand side. Each blue dot equals 10,000 vaccine doses, and new vaccine doses since February 3rd, 2021. On February 17, 2021, @WHCOVIDResponse tweeted: “27 days ago, the President launched his comprehensive national strategy to beat this pandemic. We are working every day to execute that strategy and seeing results.” The tweet included the following graphic: The graphic says: 38,000,000 Vaccine Doses Administered Since January 20, 2021. Below it is a series of dots. The black dots start at the bottom of the graphic and continue up to the ninth line from the bottom. The black dots recede in stair steps as they get closer to the left-hand side of the graphic. There are blue dots on top of the black dots. They fill the top nine lines of the graphic, and recede in stair steps on the left-hand side of the graphic. The blue dots fill in gaps left by the black dots stair steps. Each black dot equals 10,000 vaccine doses. Each blue dot equals 10,000 vaccine doses. All the blue dots equal new vaccine doses since February 10, 2021. On February 26, 2021, @WHCOVIDResponse tweeted: “In just five weeks, we’ve administered more shots than any other country, with among the highest percentage of the population fully vaccinated. That progress is because we’re working around the clock to increase vaccine supply, places to get vaccinated, and vaccinators.” The tweet contained a very large graphic: At the top of this graphic, there are a multitude of tiny blue dots. A bracket holds them up. The bracket leads to text that says “For context, 10,000 vaccination doses looks like this”. A line leads down to a circle that has one blue dot at the top of it. The circle has text that says “Just one of these dots holds 10,000 vaccination doses”. A line leads down from the circle into a rectangle that has a lot of black dots at the bottom. This time, they stair step as they reach the right hand side. Each black dot is equal to 10,000 vaccine doses. On top of the black dots are many blue dots. They fill in the stair step where the black dots left off, and continue to the top part of the rectangle that all of these dots are in. Each blue dot equals 10,000 vaccine doses. All of the blue dots together equal new vaccine doses since February 17, 2021. There is larger text in the middle of the graphic that says: 50,000,000 Vaccine Doses Administered Since January 20, 2021. On March 12, 2021, @WHCOVIDResponse tweeted: “Last night the President said that we’re on track to reach his goal of administering 100 million shots in his first 100 days weeks ahead of schedule. While there’s still so much more work to do, this by-the-numbers breakdown of our COVID-19 response outlines how far we’ve come.” The tweet included the following graphic: The top of this graphic says: “An Update On The Biden-Harris COVID-19 Response”. There are no dots on this graphic. Under the heading, it says: “81M Shots Since January 20, 2021.” Drawings of eight syringes are in a line next to it. There is a line under that part. Below it, there is text that says “More than 70% of 75 Year Olds have their first dose”. Next to that is a drawing of a bottle of vaccine with a yellow label. Below that, there is text that says “More than 60% of 65 Year Olds have their first dose.” Next to that is another bottle of vaccine with a yellow label. Off to the side, there is a drawing of a small calendar. The calendar says: “2.2M per day” and there is an arrow pointing away from it, across the calendar page. Below the calendar it says: “7-Day Average of 2.2 Million Vaccinations Per Day.” On March 19, 2021, @WHCOVIDResponse tweeted: “Before President Biden took office, he set a goal of administering 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines in his first 100 days, which meant increasing vaccine supply and then turning vaccines into vaccinations. Today, on his 58th day in office, we have reached that goal.” The tweet included the following graphic: The top of this graphic says: “100,000,000 Vaccine Doses Administered Since January 20, 2021.” Underneath that it shows that each black dot equals 25,000 vaccine doses. It also says each blue dot equals 25,000 doses. There is another blue dot next to text that says “New vaccine doses since March 10th.” Below the text, there are about eight lines of blue dots, stair stepping down as they reach the right hand side of the graphic. Below them are a multitude of black dots, slightly stepping up as they reach the right hand side of the graphic. After reaching this goal, President Biden decided to double the goal and attempt to reach 200 million vaccine shots administered in his first 100 days in office. I really like the transparency that the Biden-Harris administration is providing people in regards to the effort to protect people from COVID-19. The Biden-Harris Covid-19 Vaccination Plan is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!...

Cockatiels

- Two Birds On Top of Cage
  September 16, 2020CockatielsThe cockatiels decided to be active. Pinky climbed up to the top of the cage for the first time. Marvin climbed up there, too. Pepper is looking out the window. Pinky and Marvin were happy to share the top of the cage together. Their very tall head crests show how they feel. Meanwhile, Pepper is inside the cage and picking at the blanket that covers it. Cockatiels find joy in destroying things when they think the humans aren’t looking. It’s ok. He can’t do much harm to the blanket. Two Birds On Top of Cage is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!...

Diablo Immortal

Podcasts

- NaPodPoMo 2020
  November 9, 2020PodcastsSound wave from a podcast I recorded on Garageband in 2013 I am participating in NaPodPoMo 2020. It stands for “National Podcast Post Month” – but it has included international podcasters as well. The goal is to post a total of 30 podcasts during November. Here is a list of the podcast episodes I released during NaPodPoMo 2020: ONE: Words of Jen episode 057 – When the Piggy Bank is Empty TWO: Diablo Video: Season 21: To Level 70! THREE: Words of Jen episode 058 – Dreaming of Buffets FOUR: Diablo Video: Season 21: Master Nephalem Rift FIVE: Words of Jen episode 059 – The Outrage Machine SIX: Diablo Video: Season 21: Queen Araneae SEVEN: Words of Jen episode 060 – Spider is Recalculating EIGHT: Shattered Soulstone episode 282 – Shades of the Nephalem NINE: Diablo Video: Season 21: Lunatics and Bloodmaw TEN: Diablo Video: Season 21: More Paragon ELEVEN: Words of Jen episode 061 – Mind Eraser TWELVE: Diablo Video: Season 21: Torment I Nephalem Rift THIRTEEN: Words of Jen episode 062 – That Demon Named Pain FOURTEEN: Diablo Video: Season 21: Running Greater Rifts Expert FIFTEEN: Words of Jen episode 063 – How a Washer and Dryer Changed Our Lives SIXTEEN: Diablo Video: Season 21: Greater Rifts and Revelations SEVENTEEN: Diablo Video: Season 21: Torment II EIGHTEEN: Words of Jen episode 064 – The Can of Tuna Rolled Away NINETEEN: Shattered Soulstone episode 283 – Ready for Season 22! TWENTY: Diablo Video: Season 21: Cow Level TWENTY-ONE: Words of Jen episode 065 – Ice Cream Delivery TWENTY-TWO: Diablo Video: Season 22: Barbarian Challenge Rift TWENTY-THREE: Diablo Video: Season 22: Nephalem Rift and Leveling Crafters TWENTY-FOUR: Diablo Video: Season 22: Cydaea and The Skeleton King TWENTY-FIVE: Words of Jen episode 066 – We are in the Wrong Timeline TWENTY-SIX: Diablo Video: Season 22: Adria and Vidian TWENTY-SEVEN: Shattered Soulstone episode 284 – MaxRoll TWENTY-EIGHT: Words of Jen episode 067 – Vicious Cycle TWENTY-NINE: Diablo Video: Season 22: Housekeeping THIRTY: Diablo Video: Season 22: Nephalem Rift on Hard Difficulty If you enjoyed these episodes, please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!...

World of Warcraft

- WoW Classic: Flight Plans
  January 27, 2020World of Warcraft / World of Warcraft ClassicVaca has acquired a weapon called Goblin Smasher, and is ready to put it to use! She was Level 12, and prepared to go finish some quests. These screenshots were taken on September 12, 2019. The day started with a flight over The Barrens. The goal for Vaca, and her friend Neverlast, was to turn in a quest at Thunder Bluff. Shortly after arriving, Vaca fell right off the ramp. She sat at the bottom, waiting for Neverlast to catch up with her. They turned in the Ride to Thunder Bluff quest to Ahana the Leather Armor Merchant. As you can see, Vaca and Neverlast had matching, fancy, purple cloaks. Ahanu: Ah, a new bundle of hides. I will get to work on these immediately! Thank you, sister. You have done me a great service. Here are some coins to pay for your time and travel costs. Ahanu quickly crafted some leather goods. He put them into a bag (one for each of us to carry) and sent us to to Tal the Wind Rider Master. Tal the Wind Rider Master: Greetings, warrior! What can I do for you? The answer to that question was obvious. Now leaving Thunder Bluff – destination Crossroads. Somewhere along the way, our Wind Riders synced up and became one. After landing on solid ground, Vaca and Neverlast spoke with Jahan Hawkwing at the Crossroads. He is the Leather & Mail Armor Merchant. We gave him Ahanu’s Leather Goods. Jahan Hawkwing: Vaca, you are back from Thunder Bluff? Did you deliver the hides to Ahanu? Eventually, the Tauren found their way to Ratchet. Neverlast and Vaca found the dock, and spoke with Wharfmaster Dizzywig. Wharfmaster Dizzywig: You seek passage on the next ship, or have some item you wish to send aboard it? I honestly cannot remember who we got this quest from, or where we obtained the Secure Crate that Wharfmaster Dizzywig wanted. It didn’t take long to walk from the dock to the Flight Master. Neverlast and Vaca discovered a new flight path! They immediately made use of it! It was easy to see why this place was called Thorn Hill. Neverlast and Vaca make a good team. But, sometimes Warriors get the idea that they can take on more than they actually are capable of fighting. Both of the Tauren ended up here. The Tauren needed to collect a few more body parts from plainstriders in order to finish a quest. Vaca was very close to hitting Level 13. Killing plainstriders for experience points will do! Vaca hit Level 13 after killing a plainstrider. Neverlast was already at Level 13, and had been for a little while. The Tauren spoke with Serga Darkthorn at the Crossroads. She was the one who sent Neverlast and Vaca out to obtain plainstrider parts. Serga Darkthorn: Have you collected the plainstrider beaks? The Tauren handed over the beaks, and completed the Plainstrider Menace quest. What was Serga Darkthorn doing with the plainstrider beaks? It was a mystery. Serga Darkthorn: How many zhevra have you slain? This was a quest that the Tauren hadn’t gotten around to working on yet. Serga Darkthorn wants Vaca and Neverlast to collect zhevra hooves. It wasn’t clear what Serga was going to do with those. The Tauren decided it was better not to ask her about it. Before leaving the Crossroads, Neverlast and Vaca stopped to talk with Thork. He was the one who gave them a quest called Disrupt the Attacks and sent them out to kill Razormane. Thork gave them a new quest called The Disruption Ends. Thork: One of my scouts witnessed an attack on a caravan from Durotar, Vaca. The culprits are indeed from the Razormane tribe of quilboars. One of the quilboars in particular is leading the raids: Kreenig Snarlsnout. He was seen northeast of here, just south of the road from Durotar. If the threat is to be ended, then Kreenig must die. To be sure the attacks cease, though, I say we add insult to injury. Kill Kreenig along with more of their tribe, and return to me when you have his tusk. Before slaughtering more Razormane, Neverlast and Vaca returned to Thunder Bluff. Hunter’s Rise had class trainers that could give them access to new and improved skills. The Hunter Trainer and the Warrior Trainer share this space. Vaca spent some time – and money – getting new skills and upgrading some of the skills she already had. She would have to return here again after leveling up some more and unlocking new skills. This seemed like a good place to stop and take a rest. Much progress was made, and Neverlast and Vaca needed to gather energy to fight the Razormane when next they set out. WoW Classic: Flight Plans is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!...

TV & Movie Reviews

- Things from Mad Men that are Different from Today – Season Three
  March 10, 2017TV and Movie ReviewsMy husband and I watched the entire Mad Men series together, one season after the next. In nearly every episode, I noticed some things that were very different from today. This list covers the things there were different in Season Three. You might want to start with the list I made for Season One of Mad Men and the list I made for Season Two of Mad Men before reading the Season Three list. Warning: There are spoilers. Episode 1: * Roger brings Don a box of Cuban cigars and a bottle of Stolichnaya vodka. Roger said these items “came through Greece”. In 1960, the United States had an embargo on Cuba. Today, Americans can visit Cuba (under certain circumstances). * Joan puts the British male secretary into an office. The office has a large ant farm on display. There are ants in it, digging tunnels. Episode 2: * Don comes home late at night. Someone left the black and white console tube television on. The TV stations had stopped broadcasting for the night, so the screen was filled with static – and a scratchy sound – often referred to as “snow”. Episode 3: * Roger has a big party. He sings to his wife while wearing blackface. Most of the people at the party think this is acceptable and amusing. * Don meets a man at the party who says he was from New Mexico “before it was a state.” Episode 4: * Don breaks the ant farm that was in one of the offices. Joan covers her mouth and nose with a thin scarf that she held with one hand while spraying the ant farm, the table it was on, and everything else near it with an aerosol can of RAID. The windows in the office do not open. Episode 5: * Betty gives birth to their third baby at the hospital. The nurse injected her with something referred to as “twilight”. It was a mixture of morphine and scopolamine. This drug combination did not prevent pain. Instead, it created retroactive memory loss – so a woman wouldn’t remember the pain involved in childbirth. Many of the women who had the drug combination administered had to be physically restrained. Some would try to hurt themselves or leave. This was part of the reason why husbands were not allowed to be present during the birth of their child. Previous to using an injectable combination of morphine and scopolamine, the nurses would use chloroform on women who were going into labor. The drugs were considered to be a better alternative. Betty ends up hallucinating while under the influence of the drugs, and fighting the nurses because she doesn’t know what is happening to her. * Don drives Betty home from the hospital when she and their new son are ready to come home. Betty sits in the front seat and holds the baby in her arms all the way home. There were no seat belts in the cars, and there was no such thing as a baby rear-facing carseat at the time. Episode 6: * The soda vending machine in the emergency room waiting room at the hospital dispensed glass bottles of Dr. Pepper soda. Episode 7: * Betty calls the office of a man who is an advisor to the Governor. He’s not available, so she gives his secretary her phone number. Her phone number starts with Wilson. In the middle of the 20th century, phone numbers started with a letter that was then pronounced as a specific word. A few numbers followed that letter. When a person wanted to make a call, they actually had to call the operator and tell her what phone number they wanted to be connected to. They called a telephone exchange. Each telephone exchange could facilitate about 10,000 subscribers. Full words were used in order to help customers remember the telephone exchange name, and to help switchboard operators connect calls. Episode 8: * I didn’t see anything in this episode that you wouldn’t see today (that wasn’t already mentioned in this list or on the lists I put together about previous Seasons.) Episode 9: * Betty brings the laundry downstairs in an actual laundry basket – not the kind made of plastic that we use today. Episode 10: * Peggy and Paul are asked to work on an ad campaign for Western Union’s telegram. It is no longer possible to send a Western Union telegram. The company stopped offering telegrams as part of its services in 2006. Episode 11: * Betty speaks with her family’s lawyer about selling her father’s house. Betty privately asks the lawyer about if she should get a divorce. The lawyer basically says she can’t because she wouldn’t be able to prove to the court that Don had an affair. * Halloween is coming, and Betty and Don’s kids want their parents to buy them costumes from the store. Don says no because those costumes are plastic. He thinks they are garbage. * Betty sews hand-made costumes for her two oldest kids. (The baby is too young to trick-or-treat.). Sally was a gypsy. Bobby was a hobo. Episode 12: * This episode was focused on the Kennedy Assassination. Episode 13: * Don, Roger Sterling, and Bertram Cooper stage a coop and start their own business (with a few select others). They have to locate the paperwork connected with the accounts they are taking with them. They go through rolodexes to find phone numbers. Today, all of that would be digital. * Betty wants to divorce Don. She can’t do it in New York state because she can’t prove Don committed adultery. The only way to get the divorce is for her to move to Reno, Nevada, for six weeks to establish residency, and then file for divorce there. Don agrees not to contest the divorce. Things from Mad Men that are Different from Today – Season Three is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Patreon or at PayPal.me. Thank you!...

Coloring

- Johanna Basford 2019 Coloring Calendar – January
  February 9, 2019ColoringA friend gave me the Johanna Basford 2019 coloring calendar as a Christmas present. My goal this year is to try and keep up with it as best I can. Coloring is relaxing and fun. It is also good for my rheumatoid arthritis (which is in my hands). January 1 January 2 January 3 January 4 January 5 and 6 January 7 January 8 January 9 January 10 January 11 January 12 and 13 January 14 January 15 January 16 January 17 January 18 January 19 and 20 January 21 January 22 January 23 January 24 January 25 January 26 and 27 January 28 January 29 January 30 January 31 Johanna Basford 2019 Coloring Calendar – January is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!...

Medium

- How to Curate Twitter To Make it Better
  July 5, 2021MediumImage by Dsndrn-Videolar from Pixabay Have you become frustrated with Twitter? There are plenty of valid reasons to feel that way. Fortunately, there are ways to curate Twitter to make it better for you. My first experience with Twitter was back when your tweets were limited to 140 characters, and it was easy to find a group of real people who shared your interests. If I remember correctly, this was sometime in 2007-ish. At the time, I was easily able to follow and have conversations with other podcasters who used Twitter. It was nice to be part of a community who were excited by the same hobby that I was. Those days are gone. As such, I tend to find Twitter frustrating and annoying at times. What I liked best about Twitter was being able to easily interact with Tweets from my friends, but Twitter’s algorithms make me feel like I’m missing stuff I wanted to see. Content from the lists I’ve made can show up in my timeline. The entire purpose of making lists was to be able to see what those accounts post from time to time – without having it clutter up my timeline every day. In addition, I now have a personal Twitter account, and a Twitter account for one of my podcasts. Trying to retweet one into the other is complicated if I do it directly through Twitter. And… there are other reasons Twitter can be awful. In short, it seems to me that Twitter enjoys putting things that are likely to evoke strong, negative, emotion from certain groups of people, into its “What’s happening” section. This is simply not healthy because it influences people to retweet, quote tweet, like, or make a thread about the thing that made them angry. Here is how to curate Twitter to make it better Use TweetDeck TweetDeck is owned by Twitter. You can access TweetDeck through tweetdeck.com, or the Mac App Store. Twitter describes TweetDeck this way: TweetDeck offers a more convenient Twitter experience by letting you view multiple timelines in one easy interface. It includes a host of advanced features to help you get the most from Twitter: Manage multiple Twitter accounts, schedule Tweets for posting in the future, build Tweet collections, and more. I use TweetDeck because I strongly prefer its interface to that of “regular” Twitter. I love that you can modify TweetDeck to suit your needs. Here are some advantages that it offers: Everything is put into its own column: My personal account shows me Tweets from everyone I follow in chronological order. A second column shows all notifications to my personal account. Excellent tool for gathering show notes for a podcast: I can use TweetDeck to scroll through my podcast account’s feed and retweet (or comment on) the Tweets that match the topic of my podcast. Those who follow my podcast account – most if not all of whom are listeners – get an updated stream of information about the main topic of my podcast. When it is time to record a show, I can pull the relevant information I curated in the past week and talk about it on my show.Feedback from fans: My podcast account has a second column that shows likes, retweets, quote tweets, and even threads about the stuff I tweeted or retweeted. This helps fans to discuss things together, and to retweet things they found to be very interesting. It gives me clues about what to include in the show.Retweeting: from my personal account – to my podcast account (and vice-versa) is super easy if I do it through TweetDeck. All lists have their own columns: As an example, I have created a list called “Cute”. It has photos and videos of adorable cats, dogs, birds, and farm animals. Twitter accounts that I placed into that list don’t clutter up the timeline of my personal account. Putting the “Cute” list into its own column means I can stare at cute animals when I’m having a rough day. I also have a list for my favorite baseball team.No ads: TweetDeck does not include any ads. (So far, anyway). My best guess is that the interface only recognizes the accounts you chose to follow – or the ones you have put into a list. The ads on Twitter are put into people’s feed – but are not something that a person has chosen to follow. The lovely result is that using TweetDeck means you won’t see any of those ads. TweetDeck lets you add – or remove – columns whenever you want. As such, you can entirely avoid seeing the “What’s happening” selections on Twitter. Or, you can add what TweetDeck calls “Trending” as a column, quickly glance at the topics, and decide if any seem interesting to you. Be warned! Opening up one of those topics on TweetDeck will produce a “firehose” effect as the tweets added to it quickly scroll by! Those of you who use Mastodon will intuitively understand how to use Tweetdeck. Block the Twitter accounts that you don’t want to see People are diverse in their opinions. Most of the time, this is perfectly fine. For example, I have a favorite baseball team. You might also have a favorite baseball team, which is not the same as mine. That’s great! I feel no need to get into an argument over whose team is better. It isn’t that important to me. That said, there are things that I just don’t want to see on Twitter. Reporting the most vile of Tweets does not result in Twitter making any changes (at least, in my experience). We are left to curate what we see on Twitter ourselves. Here are some examples of the types of accounts I block on Twitter: “Empty” accounts: No avatar, no banner, no bio, few tweets that are often repetitive, zero followers. I assume that these are fake accounts, only there to prop up the worst possible viewpoints.Bio full of Trump hashtags: I have no interest in people who only identify themselves through a series of hashtags created by (the team of) a former President who has been permanently banned from Twitter. What happened to all the other interests they had before 2015?Guns, guns, guns: I’m not against all gun owners. Taking your gun to a place where you can shoot at a target is fine. People who hunt in order to feed their families are fine (assuming the animal targeted is in season and the hunter has all the proper permits). Those who post a pile of guns in their Twitter banner, or images of guns pointed at the viewer are troubling. It makes me think the account holder is just itching to use their gun to murder someone.Accounts of companies that sell guns: See above.QAnon: I’m not comfortable with anyone involved with this conspiracy-theory laden cult.Bullies: I don’t want to read another word (or watch any video) from people who attack marginalized people (LGBTQA+, Black people, people of color, unhoused people, immigrants, people who are disabled, or minors). Cryptocurrency accounts: I used to ignore these accounts, until cryptocurrency users started stealing other people’s artwork and putting it on the blockchain (in the hopes of making the thief rich).Misinformation about COVID: Spreading misinformation about a highly infectious virus that has killed 3,980,409 people (according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center the day I posted this blog) is dangerous. I block these types of accounts in the hopes that it will shorten their reach. Unfortunately, properly weeding all of this garbage out takes some time. The main reason I put in that time is because I absolutely do not want any of the people in those categories to be able to follow me or view my personal Twitter account. How to Curate Twitter To Make it Better is a post written by Jen Thorpe on Book of Jen and is not allowed to be copied to other sites. If you enjoyed this blog post please consider supporting me on Ko-fi. Thank you!...
- Why I Closed My PayPal Account
  June 30, 2021MediumImage by 3D Animation Production Company from Pixabay PayPal allowed a scammer to fill up my email account with demands, harassment, and death threats. PayPal then decided the disputed case in favor of the scammer. As a freelance writer, I don’t need to check my email more than once a day. I am incredibly lucky to have found stable clients who are very clear about the topics and number of blog posts they want from me each month. My husband and I have a small business and we use a business PayPal account to send out invoices and receive payment for completed work. For reasons I don’t remember, I set up a personal PayPal.me account. At the time, it seemed like something I could attach to my personal blog and link to on my social media. There have been a couple of times when someone I knew sent me some money (and I am very grateful that they did). Unfortunately, the majorit