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Diablo III

- Season Journey Chapter II (Season 11)
  September 1, 2017Diablo III / Diablo SeasonsI’m still moving slowly through Season 11. For some reason, the gap between hitting Level 50, and hitting Level 70, takes longer than I’d like it to. Part of the problem is that I’ve been waiting to play Diablo III until after my paid writing work is completed. I end up playing while tired, and since my Monk is hardcore, I feel the need to be very careful so Qiwoot will stay alive for as long as possible. One thing that helped move my Monk through Chapter II of the Season Journey was that I completed a couple of the objectives before I unlocked Chapter II. Some objectives are the same every season, so you can plan ahead a little bit and finish stuff “early” and have it count. Kanai’s Excellent Adventure: Find Kanai’s Cube. Kanai’s Cube can be found in Act III in The Ruins of Sescheron. Kanai’s Cube can be used for very powerful things such as extracting Legendary Powers and upgrading Rare items into Legendary items. Friends With Benefits: Fully Equip one of your followers. Change Clothes: Transmogrify an item at the Mystic. Qiwoot is now wearing fancy, transmogged, pants! Qiwoot picked up the Bovine Baradiche while he was working his way through Chapter I of the Season Journey. It gives players four cows that randomly appear and fight enemies. They don’t last for a long time, but are reasonably effective. After they disappear, it doesn’t take very long for them to reappear and join the battle again. Qiwoot got Fire Walkers. The flavor text on them says: Tradition has it these boots were forged in the heart of the great Challsop Volcano. The best thing about Fire Walkers is that they “Burn the ground you walk on, dealing 391% weapon damage each second.” I was really enjoying The Crudest Boots, because they gave me two Mystic Allies. Trying to decide which boots to use was difficult – until I looked at the Required Level. The Crudest Boots were 12, and Fire Walkers were 58. It was time to make a change! I stored The Crudest Boots into my stash with the intent to put it into Kanai’s Cube as soon as possible. Here’s Qiwoot wearing Fire Walkers. I took this screenshot of Qiwoot because I really liked the way his gear looked. Unintentionally, I gave him gear that mostly matches. The red in the gear goes nicely with the red on the weapon. I had temporarily moved the difficulty up to Expert. When I started to get sleepy, I moved it back down to Hard. Soul to Squeeze: Kill Zoltun Kulle at level 60 or higher on Hard difficulty or higher. Maximum Efficiency: Raise the Blacksmith, Jeweler and Mystic to level 12. Penchant for Enchants: Replace a property on an item with Enchanting at the Mystic. Enchanting is very useful for replacing an unwanted primary affix on a near-perfect item. Everything: Kill Malthael at level 60 or higher on Hard difficulty or higher. Qiwoot killed Diablo, and received the Warstaff of General Quang. The flavor text on this item says: “When he took the field himself, the General bore a demon-visaged staff shaped with a number of protrusions and barbs designed for tripping, disarming, and dismounting his opponents. Witnesses described the General moving through armies like a blur, leaving behind swaths of prone troops for his bodyguards to dispatch.” – A History of War by Lord Jerem Kiel. I’ve heard of this weapon (which is only for Monks) – but this was the first time I obtained one. The Warstaff of General Quang is gorgeous. Look at all those little details! Both ends of the weapon give off some kind of energy. Qiwoot will be using this weapon until he finds a better one (which will be transmogged to look like the Warstaff of General Quang.) Above and Beyond: Reach level 70. Qiwoot unlocked two pieces of what I like to call “The Transmog Set”. Players who reach Level 70 in a Season unlock two transmog options. Do this for three consecutive Seasons, and you will have the whole “set”. In Season 11, players who hit 70 unlocked the Knees and Toes (or pants and boots) part of the “set”. Above & Beyond: Reach level 70. Hot Anvil, Strong Steel & The Real Deal: Craft a level 70 Weapon or Armor piece. The Little Things That Count: Craft a level 70 Ring or Amulet. SEASON JOURNEY (CHAPTER II) COMPLETE! Players who finished Chapter II of the Season Journey in Season 11 received their first Haedrig’s Gift. It automatically goes into your in-game mailbox, and you have to take it out and put it into your bag. The Season 11 Haedrig’s Gift set for Monks is Rainment of a Thousand Storms. The first Haedrig’s Gift gave me the helm and gloves for this set. Mask of The Searing Sky has flavor text that says: It is said that the hollow eyes of this mask’s fearsome visage will show an enemy her fate. However, few live long enough to make use of that revelation. Fists of Thunder has flavor text that says: “When one’s strike is true, the force of the blow expands into an electric shockwave that echoes through one’s soul.” – Matriarch Lion Rasmussen The helm goes together nicely with the weapon (which isn’t part of the set). I completed several of the Chapter III objectives while I was working my way through Chapter I. Doing so means that there isn’t much left to do in Chapter III, and I can zoom right through whatever is left to complete....
- Haunting Hannah
  August 31, 2017Diablo III / Diablo PetsThis is Haunting Hannah. I got her from a Menagerist Goblin during Season 11. The flavor text for this pet says: “If you think death will be our parting, you have another thing coming.” – Hannah I try my best to chase, and kill, every goblin in the game. Each kind of goblin drops a different type of loot. The Menagerist Goblin – Napper of Pets – are the only ones that will drop pets. There goes Qiwoot, my Season 11 hard core Monk, chasing after the Menagerist Goblin. He caught him! Killing the Menagerist Goblin causes him to drop loot. As you can see, he dropped an item called “Haunting Hannah”, which I had never heard of before. Here is a closer look at the Haunting Hannah item. The flavor text says: This looks like an old bed sheet, but it moves, even when there is no breeze. Haunting Hannah: “If you think death will be our parting, you have another thing coming.” It makes me wonder what her backstory is. There isn’t anything in game that specifically gives information about that. The phrase “If you think death will be our parting” sounds very similar to “until death do us part” – a phrase used in marriage ceremonies. To me, the flavor text suggests that Hannah made that statement to her spouse – who apparently had murdered her. Clearly, it was a dysfunctional relationship. Haunting Hannah comes back in the form we see her in. She likely died in a bed that had sheets similar to the ones that now make up part of her ghostly form. We don’t know what happened to Hannah’s murderous spouse – other than he isn’t with her anymore. (NOTE: This little story is not officially from Blizzard. It is something I made up based on the few things we know about Haunting Hannah.) Haunting Hannah floats along behind your character. She’s almost graceful – for a half-formed ghost that resembles “an old bed sheet”. Like many other pets, Haunting Hannah will automatically float around and pick up gold for the player. Here is a good look at the Haunting Hannah pet. Parts of her look solid, and other parts are almost transparent. She moves as though a light breeze is blowing through her....

Book Reviews

- The Year of Loving – by Traci L. Slatton
  February 26, 2017Book Reviews / romanceSarah Paige’s life is stressful. She has two daughters, and has very strained relationships with both of them. Her youngest, Alex is a high schooler who is constantly in trouble. Her oldest, Dani, is in college and seems to want absolutely nothing to do with her mother. Sarah believes that her cantankerous, narcissistic, ex-husband, George Calhoun, is intentionally trying to turn their daughters against her. His attitude probably has something to do with Sarah’s second ex-husband, Clifton Perini, whom Sarah left George for. It feels like he wants to “make her pay” for that humiliation. Clifton, on the other hand, gets along with Sarah. His beautiful, realist, paintings are the centerpiece of her art gallery. Her love of art makes her very selective about what she will display. The modern stuff other galleries sell simply will not do. As such, her gallery is on the edge of grave financial difficulties. Out of the blue, Sarah accidentally meets a handsome man – in the goofiest “meet cute” I’ve ever read. There is an instant, smoldering, attraction between them. This impromptu moment turns out to be the start of Sarah’s “year of loving”. The Year of Loving is what I would describe as a romance novel with a drama rolled into it. There are some hot sex scenes to look forward to. Some situations are presented in quirky, amusing, ways, which made me giggle. (The “meet cute” at the start of the book had me laughing!) In addition, the book includes some painful moments, any of which could set the reader off on a “good cry”. The story runs the range of emotions, which makes the book feel a bit like a sample box of chocolates. We all have our favorites, but the ones we tend to avoid are good, too. As I mentioned, early on in the book Sarah meets a handsome man who is a bit younger than her. She’s not sure if that’s going to work out, but cannot deny the intense sexual attraction they have for each other. It gets complicated early on when Sarah thinks she wants a limited relationship focused primarily on sex, and the handsome man wants more than that. Both of them have chaotic lives, and there are times when it seemed like this relationship was doomed. Later on, Sarah’s friend introduces her to a man who is older than Sarah. He is kind, and respectful, and a widow who is ready to start a new relationship. He is handsome, in a different way than the younger man is. He’s also quite rich, and can offer Sarah the stability that her life has lacked for so many years. I spent the book trying to guess which one Sarah would end up with. There are twists and turns in the story, and I couldn’t quite decide which of these two men were best for her. All I’ll say about that, without giving anything away, is that Sarah makes her decision by the end of the story – and by the time she gets there – it actually makes a lot of sense. That’s just one part of Sarah’s “Year of Loving”. Sarah aches for the love from her parents, who passed away when she was a young adult. She longs for the love of her daughters, whom she once had a close relationship with when they were younger (and before her divorce from their father.). Along the way, Sarah learns how to love herself. She “grows up”, for lack of a better description, and discovers that maybe she doesn’t have to try and win every battle. She develops compassion for the people in her life that constantly cause her pain and anxiety. Best of all, she figures out how to let people in – and how to love someone new....
- Things That Never Were – by Matthew Rossi
  December 6, 2016Book Reviews / fictionOne of the things I love about books is that they are an excellent place to escape to when the real world seems dark and dire. In Things That Never Were, Matthew Rossi gives the reader plenty of interesting, incredibly detailed, glimpses into what the world might have been like if you take what we know of history, twist it around, and see where it goes from there. The full title of the book is: Things That Never Were: Fantasies – Lunacies – & Entertaining Lies. I like to think of it as a series of essays that could be described as “intelligent conspiracy theory”. That being said, Rossi is not really trying to convince you that the essays in this book are factual (and this is where he differs greatly from actual conspiracy theorists). These are “things that never were”, after all. ….Right? It took me a long time to read through Things That Never Were. Each essay is wonderfully detailed with just enough real-world events in them to make it feel like the alternate universe Rossi was describing might be entirely plausible. I found myself pondering the scenarios that he presented in an individual essay long after I’d finished reading it. I love books that make me think – and this one gave me so much to think about. The back cover of the book describes it as “speculative nonfiction” (among things). I believe it is safe to say that you won’t find a another book that is quite like Things That Never Were. Sometimes, I am able to guess what will happen next in a book, or where things are going. All of my guesses were completely wrong for this book – and that makes me very happy. In “Quantum Britannia”, Rossi starts with the murder of a man named Benjamin Bathurst, who may or may not have been killed by either Napoleon or his agents. Rossi then spins a scenario where Bathurst survived and disappeared. What follows is a fascinating technological arms-race in which the Napoleonic Oracle and the Electrical Mathematician keep each other in check. Other essays discuss the Tunguska blast (which really did happen) and the potential behind-the-scenes reasons why it occurred. You can also find essays that discuss gods (be they mortal or immortal), dinosaurs, vampires, demons, green children, and all manner of other unexplained and mysterious – perhaps even creepy – topics. There are parts that mention time travel (and it’s limitations), pocket parallel universes (and why they appeared), and more things that I’ll leave you to find for yourself. My initial impulse, when I started to write this book review, was to dive into a few of my favorite essays from it and spill out all my thoughts about them. But, that would create some major spoilers for those who want to read the book, so I refrained from doing so. In short, if you like books that play around with what we think we know about reality, this is the book for you....

World of Warcraft

- It All Makes Sense Now
  August 20, 2016Pre-Expansion Events / World of Warcraft“It All Makes Sense Now” is a Feat of Strength Achievement that players could earn during the pre-launch events for the World of Warcraft: Legion expansion. Players had to gather specific pamphlets from the Doomsayers that were scattered through either Stormwind or Orgrimmar. The individual pamphlets were distributed randomly, and there was a fifteen minute cooldown between when a player could get one pamphlet and when the Doomsayers would give him or her another one. The best way to earn this Achievement was to just keep trying. One good thing about the “It All Makes Sense Now” Achievement is that it any character could do it, no matter what level they happened to be. In other words, it could be done with a low-level alt and did not require players to be at max level before they could do it. New players, whose character was big enough to get to the main city, could go ahead and start gathering pamphlets. It All Makes Sense Now: Collect all 12 pamphlets from doomsayers during the Legion pre-launch events. The pamphlets players needed to collect were: * Tattered Pamphlet * Damp Pamphlet * Odorous Pamphlet * Scribbled Pamphlet * Ominous Pamphlet * Blackened Pamphlet * Worn Pamphlet * Crumbled Pamphlet * Prophetic Pamphlet * Stained Pamphlet * Demonic Pamphlet * Scrawled Pamphlet When I was working on the “It All Makes Sense Now” Achievement with my Death Knight, all of the Doomsayers in Stormwind were Human, and identical. Since then, Blizzard added Gnome Doomsayers, Night Elf Doomsayers, and Dwarven Doomsayers. My Tauren was in the form of a Murloc. If I remember correctly, a random player turned her into one. I haven’t played my Tauren much since then, so the altered form remains. The point of the screenshots above, though was that the Horde had Forsaken Doomsayers and Tauren Doomsayers, and Troll Doomsayers. (I assume there were Orc Doomsayers, too, but I didn’t happen to find any.) The way to get a pamphlet was to talk to one of the Doomsayers. They say: The end is coming! Would you like a pamphlet? Players needed to click on the text that said: “I’ll take a pamphlet.” Doing so automatically gave the player a random pamphlet. To be honest, my initial reaction was to think: “Nope! That’s ok, Doomsayer. I don’t need to know any more about that.” (Which is how I would have reacted if I were to walk past a “Doomsayer” outside of World of Warcraft.) It took me a second to realize that these pamphlets must have been important. I ended up completing the Achievement with Riglee, my Gnome Death Knight. I haven’t tried to earn it on any of my other characters (but might give it a try if time permits). Talk to a Doomsayer, any Doomsayer, before the fifteen minute cooldown was over, and the Doomsayer said: You have the aura of one who is questioning. Switch to a different character… and the Doomsayer still won’t give you a pamphlet until the cooldown ends. I’ve seen a few players trying to get around this by getting themselves killed. They would talk to a Doomsayer and get a pamphlet. After receiving one, they got on a flying mount and flew into the air. Then, they dismissed the mount while they were in the air, fell to the ground, and died. It appears that when players did the corpse run back to the Doomsayer, they were able to get another pamphlet. I guess that might have been a faster way to work through the Achievement. But, to me, it didn’t look like a fun way to do it. Instead, I killed time by doing the daily fishing quest, and the daily cooking quest. Riglee spent a lot of time commuting between Stormwind and Westfall (where she was working on low-level quests she hadn’t done yet). The Doomsayers had things to say. Doomsayer: A searing emerald fire will burn away our corruption! Doomsayer: The end is coming! Again! Doomsayer: Forces beyond our comprehension have seen us unworthy! Doomsayer: There is no escape from the inevitable! Doomsayer: Our time ends, the cleansing is nigh! Doomsayer: The Light has forsaken us! Doomsayer: The world will be shaped anew! This is what the pamphlets said. Tattered Pamphlet: FOR SALE: EZ-123 BUNKER BUILDER The end is approaching, but you and your loved ones can survive with your very own B.B.! The Bunker Builder is the latest in gnomish engineering. Simple to operate, small enough for a mountain ram to carry, the B.B. can deploy in almost any terrain (see disclaimers). With the press of a button, the device will tunnel deep underground and hollow out a cosy cavern where you can live in peace. Each purchase comes with two air fresheners, a rope ladder (see disclaimers), and an operator’s manual. Disclaimers: Not for use in sand, water, or Dalaran. Deploy rope ladder BEFORE entering the B.B. tunnel. Damp Pamphlet: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: DEMON INVASION EDITION <The scroll contains a list of instructions on how to prepare for the Burning Legion’s invasion, but the items have been crossed out and are illegible. The phrases “burn everything” and “nothing can save you” have been scrawled in blood over and over again across the parchment.> Odorous Pamphlet: ZEPPELIN TO OBIVION, PRESENTED BY TRADE PRINCE GALLYWIX Green fire rains from the heavens. A tide of demons washes over civilization. Sounds bad, right? Not if you’re seeing it all go down from Trade Prince Gallywix’s Zeppelin to Oblivion! Act now and buy a ticket (see disclaimer) for a place on the trade prince’s uberzeppelin. This floating pleasure palace will tour every major city as the Burning Legion dances the fel tango over the world. Grab a drink, enjoy a live performance by the Bilgewater Quartet, and ride out the apocalypse in style! Disclaimer: Access to the uberzeppelin’s rum slides and pudding jacuzzis sold separately. Scribbled Pamphlet: LIMITED SUPPLY: HIGH-QUALITY DEMON DISGUISES Say the inevitable happens. You’re minding your own business when a pack of demons comes knocking at your door. What do you do? The Darkmoon Theatre Troupe has your answer! Our award-winning face-gineers have created a series of full-body demon costumes that even Kil’jaeden the Deceiver would applaud. Current disguises include pit lord (requires two people to wear), doom guard, mo’arg, and felhound (not recommended if you have back problems). When the demons see you in one of these suits, they’ll never know the difference. That’s a guarantee. Ominous Pamphlet: DEFY THE LEGION No one can save us from the demons, but we can deny them the glory of their victory. Burn your worldly possessions. Set the streets alight and give in to the temptations of chaos. Do not stop the rampage until only dust and bones remain for the Legion to conquer. Blackened Pamphlet: A GREAT DAY COMES Our lives are fleeting. Our accomplishments are dust. Our existence is pain. Sargeras seeks to free us from this torment. This is your only chance to take your place at his side and have a true, lasting impact on the cosmos. An eternity of servitude is better than a flash of freedom. If you are worthy, the Burning Legion will accept you, and set you loose upon all existence. And if you are not worthy, your passing will be quick. Worn Pamphlet: THE EMERALD ASCENSION Fear not the time when great Sargeras’s shadow eclipses the sun. That is the moment of our ascension. Death will follow, but it is only a doorway. Step through, and you will shed your frail skin and take on a form kissed by emerald fire. Dig the ash from your eyes, and you will find a higher purpose at Sargeras’s side. Crumpled Pamphlet: EMBRACE THE LEGION The demons are not the enemy we have been led to believe. They seek only to purge the corruption that rots at the heart of the Horde and the Alliance. Our leaders want us to think otherwise. They want us to fight the demons so that they can keep their precious thrones and lofty titles. Do not die for them. When the demons come, lay down your arms, and they will show you compassion. Prophetic Pamphlet: PROPHECY OF THE THREE SIGNS These are the three signs of our doom, as foretold by the sages. When all of these events have come to pass, we will know the Burning Legion has won and our oblivion is at hand. The king below will cast away his diamond crown. Day will break over the city of eternal night. The wolf cub will inherit a bloody pack. Stained Pamphlet: THE END OF ALL THINGS The crooked serpent with no eyes is watching from the endless sky. Forked tongues flicker through the black pits in dead stars. The veil between dream and dreamer slides away like skin from bone. And even the darkness howls for the light it once despised. <The rest of the note is illegible, covered in strange glyphs and scribbles.> Demonic Pamphlet: FIRE OMENS The flames foretell our destiny. Listen to the fire crackling in the hearth, and you will hear the demons marching on our cities. A hundred thousand blades sliding from their scabbards. A hundred thousand war cries screaming in unison. Stare into the candlelight, and you will see demons in their moment of triumph. An army without number, its soldiers twisted and grotesque. A Legion wreathed in a cloak of green fire. Scrawled Pamphlet: YOU CAN SAVE YOUR FAMILY Azeroth will burn. None of you can stand against the Legion. Not you, not your family, not your greatest champions. So save what you can, while you can. Join the Legion. Now. Not later. The day will come when all mortal fools finally accept the inevitable, and there will be a great tide of people pleading for the Legion’s mercy. But right now, many still cling to a worthless hope. Now is your chance to claim a place in the demons’ numbers before it is too late. Bring your friends. Bring your children. (Feel free to abandon those who annoy you.) Time is running out. This announcement popped up on my screen the instant I collected the last pamphlet I needed for the “It All Makes Sense Now” Achievement. It was not possible to collect the pamphlets in the order listed on the Achievement, so the last one I got before this announcement appeared was the Demonic Pamphlet....
- Riglee Tries Winter Veil
  December 26, 2015Holiday Events / World of WarcraftRiglee is my Gnome Death Knight. She is level 72. Winter Veil is not my favorite World Event (because Christmas is problematic for me). Despite this, I decided to see what Riglee could accomplish during the 2015 Winter Veil. Overall, my attempt at working on Winter Veil Achievements was a mix of success and failure. It turned out that Riglee is not a high enough level to do everything. There were, however, some fun things that she was able to complete. I started working on the Winter Veil stuff in the early hours of Christmas Eve (December 24, 2015). For whatever reason, I thought that the presents that are under the big tree in Ironforge would be ready to open. Nope! Fail number 1: The presents aren’t ready yet. As you can see, there are no little, yellow, floating exclamation marks under that tree. I’m going to have to make time to come back here on December 25, 2015. I settled for a screenshot of Riglee with Greatfather Winter. So, Riglee can’t unwrap presents (yet). What can she do? I decided a good way to figure that out would be to check my Winter Veil Achievements and see which ones she has already earned, and which ones she has yet to complete. On Metzen! : Save Metzen the Reindeer. Riglee earned this one December 30, 2010. Obviously, this Achievement is referring to an older version of the quests that involve Metzen the Reindeer. I heard that a new one had been added to the 2015 Winter Veil. Would the game let me do the new version, or would it think that I’d already done it? Simply Abominable: Complete the quest to retrieve Smokeywood Pastures’ stolen treats and receive a Smokeywood Pastures’ Thank You. Riglee completed this Achievement on December 30, 2010. He Knows If You’ve Been Naughty: Open one of the presents underneath the Winter Veil tree once they are available. Riglee completed this Achievement on December 25, 2010. Riglee was able to successfully complete some of the Winter Veil quests. Wulmort Jinglepocket: Have a wondrous Winter Veil, friend! Be sure to say hello to Greatfather Winter! If you’ve been nice this year, you’ll receive wondrous treats on the day of the Feast of Winter Veil. Be sure to tell him what you hope to get this year! Also, be sure to stock up on treats to give those who’ve been nice this year. We have a great selection to choose from. Fresh from our farm to your plate – it’s Smokywood Pastures wholesome goodness! Greatfather Winter: A wondrous Winter Veil to you… uh… little girl. Good children get special, um, discounts at any local Smokywood Pastures vendor. Yum. Greatfather Winter: Ho ho hello. I am Greatfather Winter, and I – courtesy of the fine folks of Smokywood Pastures… “Fresh from our farm to your plate, it’s Smokywood Pastures wholesome goodness” – would like to wish you a fantastic Feast of Winter Veil. If you’ve been good this year, maybe you will receive treats from Smokeywood Pastures as your treat for the Feast of Winter Veil. Huzzah. Success Number 1: Riglee completed the “Greatfather Winter is Here!” quest. Greatfather Winter: Hey, can you do Grandfather Winter a favor, um, little girl? Not to needlessly talk about myself in the third person, but Greatfather Winter has been at this all day and he could use a treat himself. Some gingerbread cookies and ice cold milk to wash them down with would really hit the spot. Think you could be a friend to the Greatfather and fetch some for me? This quest requires players to bring Greatfather Winter 5 Gingerbread Cookies and an Ice Cold Milk to Greatfather Winter. Go the nearest Inn and buy the Ice Cold Milk from the Innkeeper. Players have to craft the cookies themselves. You can buy Holiday Spices from the Goblin vendor. (You can also buy the Gingerbread Cookie recipe from the Goblins – if your character hasn’t yet learned it). There are two ways to obtain Small Eggs. One – go to Westmarch and kill some birds. Almost all of them will drop one Small Egg. Two – buy the amount of Small Eggs that you need from the Auction House. Cooking requires a fire, and these will do! This is the closest fire to Greatfather Winter. Greatfather Winter: All this talk of treats has given me a hankering for some myself. Mmmm… gingerbread cookies and milk. Greatfather Winter: You’re quite the helper to ol’ Greatfather Winter there, Riglee. Have a great Feast of Winter Veil. Here’s a little something … you know, for the effort. (The “little something” is a Smokywood Pastures Gift Pack.) Success Number 2: Riglee has completed the “Treats for Greatfather Winter” quest. Goli Krumn has had it with all the Smokywood Pastures stuff! Goli Krumn: Gifts, treats, presents… bah, I say! Those goblins pollute the true meaning of this season – the Feast of Winter Veil. This is a time of renewal; the land slumbers under a blanket of snow brought forth by Greatfather Winter, who is NOT the bumbling fool over there in the red suit! If you’re interested in learning what the Feast is all about for yourself, ask Historian Karnik at the Explorers’ League. I’m sure he’ll be surprised that someone cares about history rather than getting presents. Historian Karnik is located at the Explorers’ League in Ironforge. He’s standing in the back of the room, and off to one side. Historian Karnik: The Feast of Winter Veil, you say? Alas, in times past it held a more substantial meaning to use dwarves. Nowadays, it seems as though others have turned the legend of Greatfather Winter into something that helps to sell candies and presents. It’s no surprise that Goli is bitter about that sort of change. He and other dwarves like him cling to our past like a banner of war. While I think a little celebration is always good, it is important to remember the origins of the Feast. Success Number 3: Riglee completed the “The Reason for the Season” quest. Historian Karnik: Here- if you are interested in learning more about the Feast of Winter Veil, read this book. While I think our recognition of the legend is the appropriate one, I’m enough of a scholar to appreciate the collection of all information into a single source. When you’re done, take the book to Muradin Bronzebeard. I know for a fact that he’d be interested in hearing that others have taken an interest in the older legends. The “quest objectives” section says: Feel free to read the book, “The Feast of Winter Veil”, to learn more about the holiday. When you are finished with the book, deliver it to Muradin Bronzebeard in Ironforge. The Feast of Winter Veil book has six pages. I found it interesting. Muradin Bronzebeard is happy to receive “The Feasts of Winter Veil” book. Muradin Bronzebeard: I bid you welcome to the Kingdom of Ironforge, friend. I always take an interest in the kingdom, its people, and its lore. Is this why you are standing before me? Muradin Bronzebeard: The legends and lore surrounding the Winter veil are ones that have faded from the forefront of public thought over the years. While I recognize that the goblins are helping to revive the season for their own ends, the fact that the citizenry thinks about it at least in some form does good to keep such lore alive. Your desire to go beyond the material and learn about our past is an admirable trait, young death knight. I salute your erudite nature. Success Number 4: Riglee completed “The Feast of Winter Veil” quest. I had heard that the Greench stuff had been updated this year, so I went over to check it out. When I arrived, I found players already fighting the Abominable Greench. Riglee immediately joined the battle. The strange thing was that I could target the Abominable Greench, throw spells at him, and hit him with my weapon. But, no matter how close I stood, the screen always said “Miss”. The group of players that I joined managed to kill The Abominable Greench. This screenshot was taken seconds before something killed me. I’ve no clue what it was. One second, I’m standing in front of a dead Greench, and the next I’m standing in front of a Spirit Healer. I did the “corpse run” back to where I died… and The Greench was gone. There was no loot to pick up, either. I wasn’t sure what I’d done wrong, so I stuck around until The Greench respawned, and tried again. The new group of players successfully killed The Greench, I managed not to die immediately after… and yet, I could not collect the loot from the bags the other players were getting it from. All this stuff is inside The Greench’s cave. Riglee can’t pick up any of it, or access the bags of loot outside the cave. I later learned The Greench fight is for characters that are level 100. Fail Number 2: Everything associated with The Abominable Greench. I found Metzen the Reindeer! I was hoping that this would be the start of a quest, but it wasn’t. I’m not sure why. Maybe there is a quest that leads to this that I hadn’t picked up yet. I also read online that the Metzen quest was bugged. Around this reindeer’s neck is a tag with the Smokywood Pastures logo on it and a name – “Metzen”. Metzen looks at you with sad, forlorn eyes. It is almost as if the reindeer has been immobilized by some unseen force. Fail Number 3: The Metzen quest. Random Success: The player standing near Metzen the Reindeer recognized Riglee from at least one of her attempts to kill The Greench, and saluted her. Scrooge: Throw a snowball a Muradin Bronzebeard during the Feast of Winter Veil. Success Number 5: Riglee completed the “Scrooge” Achievement. Riglee was working on the “Winter Veil Gourmet” Achievement. She already made the Gingerbread Cookies (for Greatfather Winter). In the screenshot above, Riglee was making Hot Apple Cider. She used her Little Wickerman as a stove, but it got placed wrong. The barrel started smoking! The Gnome Death Knight set out to make a holiday beverage, and ended up committing an accidental act of arson. Things worked out much better when Riglee made the Winter Veil Egg Nog. The Winter Veil Gourmet: During the Feast of Winter Veil, use your culinary expertise to produce a Gingerbread Cookie, Winter Veil Egg Nog and Hot Apple Cider. Success Number 6: Riglee completed “The Winter Veil Gourmet” Achievement on December 24, 2015. Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho’s: Use Mistletoe on the Alliance “Brothers” during the Feast of Winter Veil. Brother Joshua in Stormwind, Brother Crowley in Stormwind, Brother Karman in Theramore, Brother Cassius in Stormwind, Brother Kristoff in Stormwind, Brother Wilhelm in Goldshire, Brother Nimetz in Stranglethorn Vale, Brother Benjamin in Stormwind. Riglee completed the “Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho’s” Achievment on December 25, 2015. Success Number 7: Riglee completed the “Bros. Before Ho Ho Ho’s” Achievement. Crashin’ Thrashin’ Flamer: Proud owner of the 2015 Vintage Winter Veil gift, the Crashin’ Thrashin’ Flamer. Riglee got a Mechanical Greench from one of the presents. Success number 8: Riglee was, eventually, able to open presents. Riglee didn’t have a Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater in her bank, so she had to buy one from the Goblin Vendor. The Gnome Death Knight goes Caroling – in Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater. Her singing was not very well received. A-Caroling We Will Go: Use your Gaudy Winter Veil Sweater to carol in enemy capital cities during the Feast of Winter Veil. Riglee completed the “A-Caroling We Will Go” Achievement on December 26, 2015. Success Number 9: Riglee completed the “A-Caroling We Will Go” Achievement. Riglee couldn’t quite finish the “Let It Snow” Achievement. She managed to throw a Handful of Snoflakes at a Blood Elf Warlock, Draenei Priest, Orc Death Knight, Night Elf Druid, Human Warrior, Troll Hunter, Gnome Mage, and Dwarf Paladin. Fail Number 4: Riglee couldn’t complete the “Let It Snow” Achievement this year. RANDOM FUN Players got very festive while waiting for the presents to be ready. Jakado gave me two Grumplings. I have no idea who this player is, but he was super nice to me. The Grumpling is big and resembles The Abominable Greench. I got into a fun snowball fight with Kirafyre. She was throwing snowballs at everyone, and only a couple of people decided to play along and throw some snowballs back. When Winter Veil crosses with Christmas…. My good friend Medros gave me a Left Shark. It’s a shark in a bubble that makes funny noises when you click it! This made me giggle. A player who was a complete stranger to me sent me a Death Talon Whelpguard in the mail. I’ve never seen one of these before! This was the first year I actually turned my mount into a reindeer. Winter Veil fest is not usually my thing, but I have to admit that I had a really good time playing with the holiday stuff and working on the Achievements for this world event this time....

Out of Spoons (Chronic Illness)

- Spacey
  September 22, 2017Fall Pollen Season 2017 / Out of SpoonsToday is Day 37 of the Fall pollen season. My mouth is still sore from the dental work I had a few days ago. I’m not really able to chew food yet, and that makes getting enough calories incredibly difficult. This is the third day in a row where I’ve tried to eat and ended up with less than 1,000 calories anyway. As in, not even close to 1,000. The result is I am super spacey and having difficulty focusing on anything. The pollen count today was 6.3. It’s moving in the right direction, but it isn’t where I need it to be just yet. I hate not knowing when pollen season will be over. If it were possible to know an end date – I might cope with it a bit better. Shawn and I went grocery shopping today after discovering that there wasn’t very much food that I could eat at home (due to the limitations of the dental work). We didn’t find very many things at the grocery store for me to eat. I’m already very limited by food allergies, so the selection is small. The photo above was taken at Peet’s while I waited for my mocha coffee. (It’s probably called something else, but I can’t remember what). I intentionally got a coffee with as many extra calories as I could, in the hopes of not dying of starvation before the dental work is done. Eventually, I go back to get this temporary cap removed and the permanent one put in. Not being able to eat is making me more tired than usual. There’s a strong chance that the lack of food will push my borderline anemia right over the border. I would prefer that doesn’t happen. Part of my goal for 2017 was to lose weight, but this is not the way I wanted to do it....
- Smoothie Fail!
  September 21, 2017Fall Pollen Season 2017 / Out of SpoonsToday is Day 36 of the 2017 Fall pollen season. I’m having trouble eating due to the dental work I had done yesterday. One of the people who worked in my teeth yesterday suggested that I drink smoothies. The temporary cap they put on might have to be there for 10 days, and smoothies sounded like a reasonable solution for someone who can’t chew right now. Except, of course, it turns out there aren’t any places in town that can make a smoothie that doesn’t contain things that I’m allergic to. The photo above is of a wonderful pumpkin smoothie from Jamba Juice that I had last year. Of course, Jamba Juice changed the ingredients – and this year’s version is unsafe for me to consume. The pollen count today was 7.3, which means things are getting worse. The weather has gotten noticeably cooler, and that should make the pollen calm down. But, of course, it continues to spew into the air. I really don’t need this right now. The new version of Jamba Juice’s pumpkin smoothie contains milk and chia seeds. I’ve no idea if I’m allergic to chia. They made two new versions of the pumpkin smoothie, and neither one is safe for me. I put effort researching online menus trying to find a smoothie that was safe for me to eat. Most places have coconut and strawberry in some of their smoothies. I’m allergic to both of those, and the risk of cross-contamination is too great. One place had bee pollen listed as an ingredient in at least one of their smoothies. Bee pollen is NOT food! I’m allergic to bees, and pollen, and we are in the Fall pollen season right now. This fancy little place could make me incredibly sick from cross-contamination. I don’t even want to walk in there. There was one place that had one smoothie that was safe. The menu said “peach – banana – peach juice.” Except, that turned out to be a lie. Shawn went through the trouble of trying to obtain a smoothie for me, and explained my food allergies to the server. She told him that all their smoothies contain coconut, but that she could make the peach smoothie for me with pineapple juice. It sounded like a good try, and I can eat cooked pineapple. But, I can’t safely consume pineapple that isn’t cooked. So, Shawn had a smoothie, and I had a horrible, frustrating, day. I’m never going to try and get a smoothie from anywhere every again. There’s no point in trying....

Other Video Games

- Candy Crush Saga: Dreamworld – Funky Factory
  May 23, 2017Candy Crush Saga / Other Video GamesIn order to unlock Dreamworld, a player must complete Episode 4 – Chocolate Mountains in Candy Crush Saga. It seems to me that Dreamworld is some sort of expansion. Players do not have to play through the Dreamworld content in order to progress through Candy Crush Saga. That’s a good thing – because the Dreamworld section of Candy Crush Saga silently disappeared shortly before I put together this blog post. The second part of Dreamworld was called Funky Factory. At the start of this section, the little girl, Tiffi was standing next to a robot in what appears to be some sort of factory. The robot appears at the end of Episode 15 – Sweet Surprise. If you didn’t play through Dreamworld – Funky Factory, you wouldn’t have any idea why there is a robot among the characters that appear in earlier Candy Crush Saga episodes. Dreamworld doesn’t provide much context, either. The idea behind Dreamworld is that Odus the Owl brings Tiffi to Dreamworld when she gets tired. She falls asleep, and each section of Dreamworld appears to be part of Tiffi’s dreams. So… maybe the robot works in the Candy Crush land factory, and Tiffi was dreaming about the factory? It’s unclear. As with the previous section of Dreamworld, each level requires players to carefully choose which candies to match up – based on which colors are attached to the moon. Do it wrong, and Odus falls off the moon and the level instantly ends. Booster unlocked – Moonstruck Every time a player matches 3 (or more) candies, it has an effect on the moon that Odus is sitting on. Tipping it too far one way, or the other, will cause Odus to fall off. Careful players will be able to fill the moon while keeping it balanced. A Moonstruck will automatically happen, exploding some of the candy in the Level. The player gets 3 Moonstruck Boosters. The game directs the player to use one right away. I completed Funky Factory with 3 stars in almost every level. There were two levels where I got 2 stars. I completed Dreamworld – Funky Factory on January 2, 2017....
- Hearthstone: Fight Promoter Card
  May 20, 2017Hearthstone / Other Video GamesOn May 20, 2017, Hearthstone offered a free card to everyone who logged into the game. All players had to do was log in. There was no catch. Players didn’t have to do anything at all – other than log in on the right day. If you have found this blog after that date – you are too late to get the free Fight Promoter Card. I find it somewhat amusing that some commenters on the Hearthstone post about the free card felt the need to create a conspiracy theory about it. In short, some believe that this free card was a test to see if giving away free stuff was enough of an incentive to make players log into Hearthstone. As conspiracy theories go… this one seems harmless. Almost immediately after I logged into Hearthstone, a pop-up appeared informing me about the free card. Fight Promoter: Battlecry: If you control a minion with 6 or more Health, draw two cards. The Fight Promoter card costs 6 mana to play. It has 4 attack points and 4 health points. This card can go into the deck of any Class. In my opinion, it is a decent card, and it was nice to get it for free. Next time I play Hearthstone, I’m going to fit it into a deck and see what happens. I have to admit, logging into Hearthstone made me feel like playing it. So, I got into a Rated match (with my super low Angry Chicken level). I was paired with another Angry Chicken, and proceed to lose the match. Now I remember why I stopped playing Hearthstone. Recently, I logged into Hearthstone to get some free Un’Goro packs. Some I opened, and some I have yet to open. If I remember correctly, I got a free pack for logging into Hearthstone on my iPad. There’s a chance that all these new cards (well, new-to-me cards) might improve my existing decks. ….Maybe I will start playing more often after all....

TV & Movie Reviews

- Things from Mad Men that are Different from Today – Season Seven
  April 8, 2017TV and Movie ReviewsSeason Seven was the final season of Mad Men. I was kind of sad to have reached the end of the story, but I liked how it ended. I can always re-watch it if I want to. My husband and I watched the entire series of Mad Men on Netflix. I took notes on the things in Mad Men that are different from today. Before you read this post, you might want to read what I wrote about previous Seasons: Mad Men Season One Mad Men Season Two Mad Men Season Three Mad Men Season Four Mad Men Season Five Mad Men Season Six Warning: There are spoilers. Episode 1: Don flies to California where his wife, Megan, is living. She has a tiny black and white television. He buys her a huge console television. The thing is so heavy that it requires two big men to carry it inside. It looks like a cabinet with the television embedded in it, and I think it had built in speakers on either side of the TV. This was a top-of-the-line, expensive, color television…. that Megan didn’t want. Episode 2: * Don wakes up to a buzzing noise. It is coming from his alarm clock, which can be described as an analog electric alarm clock. The numbers flip over. * Don and his daughter, Sally, are at a diner. She wants to call her friends. Don put two quarters on the table. Sally takes the quarters, gets up, walks across the diner, and puts the quarters into the payphone that is on the wall. Today, Sally would have picked up her smartphone and made the call (or would have borrowed her dad’s smartphone to make the call). Episode 3: * Harry finally tells one of the other partners that he’s been lying – for a long time – about there being a computer that he uses to figure out the best ad placement for television ads. He’s been lying to the customers about it, too. There is no computer. This revelation sparks a conversation about the company needing to invest in a computer. Today, its hard to imagine an entire office without computers. * Betty goes on a field trip with her son, Bobby. She is a chaperone. Betty and Bobby ride on the school bus with his classmates, teacher, and a few other moms. Betty smokes a cigarette on the way, and ashes out the window. Episode 4: * The creative’s lounge is taken away from them because the office is going to put a computer there. It takes up that entire space. The only thing this computer could do was “crunch numbers” – literally computing. * The computer is an IBM 360. It is a mainframe computer that was accessed by remote terminals. It had 8,000,000 characters in bulk core storage. Monthly rentals ranged from $27,000 for a basic configuration to $115,000 for a typical large multi system configuration. * The “System/360″ became available for delivery in 1965. The office in Mad Men is getting it installed in 1969. Today, most offices do not invest in computers that are four years old. * Harry asks the IBM guy who is overseeing the computer installation to tell him where to find a keypunch service. The IBM 360 ran on punch cards. A keypunch service had people (often women) whose job it was to put a deck of blank cards into a hopper. The worker would type an operator command, and the hopper machine would feed one card at a time into a punch station. A series of dies punched holes into an individual card. Harry needed a service to make those cards for the office’s computer. * In order to operate the mainframe, a person needed to – by hand – put the stack of punchcards, in a specific order, into the mainframe one by one. * I have personally done that a few times when I was a little kid (because my dad sometimes took me to work with him.). Dropping the punch cards on the floor was a complete disaster. It meant you had to stop entering the cards, stop the computer, take the time to put the cards back in order, and start putting them into the computer again. If you accidentally put one card into the computer in the wrong order – the computer wouldn’t work. Once all the punchcards were correctly entered, you had to wait around for the mainframe to process them before you could start working from a terminal. * Don uses a typewriter at his desk to get some work done. He has a piece of white paper, then a sheet of carbon, then another piece of white paper sandwiched together. The purpose of this was so Don could make two copies of what he was typing at the same time. Episode 5: * There is now a secretary who sits at the terminal inside the room the giant computer is in. She appears to be typing something into the terminal. Behind her is a computer with a magnetic reel tape drive. * The giant mainframe computer makes a constant humming noise. The computer room always has the doors closed because it needs to be in an air conditioned room. Episode 6: * Peggy is working on an ad campaign for Burger Chef. She and Don decide to come up with a new idea rather than what they originally planned. Peggy mentions something about the ad including a mother who is picking up Burger Chef for her family on the way home from work. Don says “Mothers who work is too sad for an ad.” Peggy points out that he is surrounded by mothers who work. This doesn’t change Don’s mind. They end up going with a completely different idea. Episode 7: * This episode focuses on the Moon Landing. Everyone watches the rocket lifting off on television. Then, they watched the first space walk on television. * Peggy is in Indiana with Don, Pete, and Harry because they are pitching to Burger Chef the next day. Peggy went out to get alcohol, but Indiana was dry on Sundays – meaning stores could not sell alcohol. She ends up having to buy two cans of beer from the hotel clerk. Indiana was dry on Sundays until July 1, 2016. The laws changed on that date to allow distilleries, breweries, and wineries to sell alcohol on Sundays. The laws still did not allow people to buy alcohol and bring it home with them on a Sunday. Episode 8: * Don has an answering service. He calls and a female worker answers and tells him who called him and when. The service is not work related – it is taking calls from women in Don’s social life. * Joan and Peggy are talking to their client, Topaz pantyhose, about a problem. L’Eggs pantyhose – a competitor – is a lower price and is selling more than Topaz. L’Eggs pantyhose came in a plastic egg shaped container. Episode 9: * I didn’t see anything new in this episode, that you don’t see today (that hadn’t already been mentioned in this post or in posts about previous seasons.) Episode 10: * Sally’s friend Glenn comes to visit. He is now 18 years old. Glenn, and a female friend he brought with, ask Sally to go to Playland with them. Glenn reveals that he has joined the military and will be going to Vietnam. Sally gets very upset about this and rushes to her room. Later, Glenn returns, knowing that Sally is not there. (She was on a class trip.). Glenn came to see Betty. Betty gives Glenn a beer. The legal drinking age in New York was 18 until 1982 – when it went up to 19. On December 1, 1985, the legal drinking age in New York moved up to age 21. * Don was running late for work, so he shaves at his desk in his office while his secretary fills him in about what is scheduled for the day. He uses a battery powered electric razor. Those types of razors increased in popularity in the 1960s. * The office has a darkroom which Stan (one of the creatives) uses to develop film – usually for ad campaigns. People have to knock on the door before coming in because opening the door lets light into the room. Doing that at the wrong time can completely destroy film. Episode 11: * Peggy and Stan are working with children for an ad campaign. There is a table of toys in front of the kids. One of the toys is a metal slinky. Episode 12: * The office gets absorbed by McCann. They lose the computer that took over the creative’s lounge. Harry says that McCann has a team of people who do statistics – so they don’t need the computer. * McCann has an informal “ladies club”. The women who work there get together to complain about work (and drink). * Peggy’s last remaining creative guy chooses not to go to McCann. He is still at the old office. He says he is still being paid, so he thought he’d “make some long distance calls”. Long distance calls were very expensive at the time. Episode 13: * Don has gone on an impromptu road trip. He doesn’t carry luggage. Instead, he has a large paper bag with a change of clothes in it. The bag says Sears. Today, a lot of Sears stores are closing. Episode 14: * Don’s road trip continues. This time he is carrying a bag from Penney’s. The bag probably came from JC Penney’s (which, today, is also closing a lot of stores.)...
- Things from Mad Men that are Different from Today – Season Six
  April 7, 2017TV and Movie ReviewsAs my husband and I watched our way through Mad Men, I took notes about things that are in the show that are different from today. This post is about Mad Men Season Six. We watched the entire series on Netflix. Before you read this, you might want to read what I wrote about previous Seasons: Mad Men Season One Mad Men Season Two Mad Men Season Three Mad Men Season Four Mad Men Season Five Warning: There are spoilers. Episode 1: * Megan uses a Kodak Instamatic camera to take a photo of Don while they are on a work/vacation in Hawaii. The Kodak Instamatic was launched in 1963. It used a 126 film cartridge. The Kodak Instamatic 104 was released in 1968. It had a holder for a single flashbulb on the top of the camera. Take a photo with the flashcube, and cock the camera for the next exposure (meaning – roll the film for the next photo). The flashcube would turn 90 degrees to bring the next flashbulb into position automatically. * The maid was vacuuming while Don was watching TV. The television had two squiggly lines of interference across it – one near the top of the screen and one near the bottom. It was not a common problem, and the TV went back to normal when after the vacuum was shut off. Episode 2: I did not see anything in this episode that was different from today (and that wasn’t already mentioned in this list or the lists about previous seasons.) Episode 3: * The news in the background on televisions in various scenes discuss the Vietnam War. It has been said that Vietnam was the first “television war”, or the first “living-room war” (the room people watched television in.) Being able to sit in your home, in front of your TV, and watch what was happening in a war far away had an effect on people. At first, TV stations were trying to be upbeat – providing wire reports or a battlefield roundup. Later, things got darker and some “horror of war” was televised. The ability to watch the war on TV had an effect on people’s opinion about the war. In 1968, the Tet Offensive happened. It appears that this is what the television news is talking about in this episode of Mad Men. Episode 4: * Joan and her friend Kate go to a restaurant where there is a telephone at every table. The name of the restaurant is “Ma Bells”. The name is a play on The Bell Telephone Company. Ma Bells was the creation of Restaurant Associates. The restaurant actually existed. Every table had a telephone on it. People called their order into the kitchen. The telephones could also be used to call someone who was sitting at another table. * Megan and Don go out to dinner with Megan’s coworker and boss (who are a married couple.). During the dinner, it is revealed that the couple are “Swingers” who are interested in swinging with Megan and Don. Swingers were people who had open relationships. Some were heterosexual, and some were bisexual. Being a swinger became popular in the late 1960s, when the “free love” movement was taking place and casual sex was becoming an accepted thing among some people. Swingers felt it was natural to have sexual desires outside of your relationship, and to act on those desires (if the desired person was consenting.) Episode 5: * This episode focused on when Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed. * Someone (I forgot who) turns on a black and white television. A bright dot appears in the center of the screen, which becomes a horizontal line, that eventually spread out over the screen. This was how televisions at the time warmed up if they had not been turned on in a while. * Don takes Bobby to watch a movie. They see “The Planet of the Apes.” At the end of the movie, it’s clear that Bobby liked it. Don asked “Do you want to see it again?” Bobby does, so they stay in their seats and watch the movie again. This wasn’t unusual and was allowed at the time. Episode 6: * I didn’t see anything in this episode that hasn’t already been mentioned in this list (or the lists I put together about previous episode) Episode 7: * Pete’s mother comes to his apartment. The handyman calls Pete to let him know she is there. Pete tells the handyman to fix his mother a drink. The ice cube tray is made out of aluminum. It has a quick release handle on it that you pull up to crack the ice cubes. Today, ice cube trays are plastic and you twist them to crack the ice. Episode 8: * The office is visited by a “doctor” (brought in by one of the partners of the company that Don’s company merged with). The man is not really a doctor. He was brought to “fix everyone up.” Don agrees to see the “doctor” because he is suffering from a bad cough. The “doctor” injects several of the men in the office with an unknown concoction. Based on the actions of the men who took this injection – it appears that at least some of it is amphetamine. The “doctor” appears to be somewhat based on a real person named Max Jacobson who was known as “Dr. Feelgood”. Jacobson did have a background as a doctor – but was known for mixing up unknown ingredients (along with amphetamine) and injecting that into the (often famous) people who came to him for help. Jacobson “treated” JFK, Marylin Monroe, Eddie Fisher, and others. Episode 9: * Don stops at a gas station and tries to get the gas station attendant’s attention. It was a full service gas station (which was standard at the time). People did not pump their own gas – the attendant did it for them. The gas station attendant would fill the tank, check the tire pressure, check the oil, and wash the cars windows. People paid for the gas, but the other services were provided for free. Gas stations used to hand out trinkets as well – for travelers to collect. (drinking glasses, key chains, calendars, road maps, etc). There are some places in the United States today where people are required by law to allow a gas station attendant to pump their gas for them. It is no longer a common practice – and does not come with the extra services. Episode 10: * Joan tells a potential client that Harry works on figuring out where to place television ads “with a computer as big as this room”. The first personal computer wasn’t introduced until 1975 – and they were kits that people had to put together themselves. * This episode focused on the 1968 Democratic National Convention that took place in Chicago. * Megan watches the violence that took place outside the DNC. She calls Don, who is watching it, too, (while away on business). Megan says she can’t vote – but still cares about what’s going on. Megan is Canadian. She was from Quebec. * There is a lava lamp on the desk in the Creatives Office. The lava lamp was created by Edward Craven Walker (who was a British accountant). He sold the U.S. manufacturing rights in 1965 to a company named Lava Lite. In 1968, lava lamps were marketed to executives. Episode 11: * The office, which is in New York, receives fresh oranges from California from Sunkist (who is a client). In a previous episode, Roger’s daughter told him that her husband had this great idea about investing in refrigerated trucks that ship produce. This indicates that it was not easy to obtain fresh oranges from California if you lived in New York. Those oranges were a big deal. * Sylvia and Arnold (Don’s neighbors) have a son, Mitchell, who is 18. He returned his draft card as a form of protest of the Vietnam War. After Mitchell dropped out of school, the military re-classified him 1-A. This designation meant that it was extremely likely that Mitchell would be drafted and sent to Vietnam. Mitchell tells his problem to Megan (who relays the problem to Don). Megan said that Mitchell was “going to run”. This meant that Mitchell was going to leave the United States and go to Canada in order to avoid being drafted. Megan considers helping Mitchell because she has family in Canada. Much of this episode is about how to solve Mitchell’s problem. Episode 12: * I didn’t notice anything new in this episode (that wasn’t already mentioned in this post or in posts from previous seasons.) Episode 13: * Sally get suspended from boarding school because she used a fake ID with her mother’s name on it and bought alcohol for herself and the other girls. Betty calls Don, all upset. Betty tells Don that the reason why “nothing is working” and “the bad is beating the good” is because Sally is “from a broken home.” That’s not a phrase people use today in regards to a child from a family where the parents got divorced and remarried....