December 2014 – Book of Jen

Robot Visions – by Isaac Asimov

Robot Visions is a collection of 18 short stories, and 16 essays, written by Isaac Asimov. The stories were originally published between 1940 and 1976. The essays were originally published between 1956 and 1974 (with a big gap in the middle somewhere).

I had not read any of Asimov’s work before I picked up this collection. I would recommend it as a good starting point for people who want a glimpse into Asimov’s robots (and the way humans interact with them).

It includes a story called Runaround which was published in 1942. This story is significant because it is the very first one in which Asimov specifically describes the Three Laws of Robotics. It is those laws that govern the behavior of all of his robots.

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Chronic Illness Inspired Haiku from 2014

There was a time when I filled my Twitter account with haiku poetry. Some of those haiku made it onto my old blog, in monthly installments of random poetry about whatever was on my mind.

In 2014, I wrote a lot of haiku about being sick and struggling to recover from whatever was making me sick. It seemed more than appropriate to move those haiku over here. Consider this a “snapshot” of what that year was like for me.

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Flight Rising, Other Video Games 0

Flight Rising: Worth Something Someday

The “Worth Something Someday” Achievement in Flight Rising requires players to collect up 11 different kinds of dolls. There are two ways to do it. One way is to use your Gathering points in the “Scavenge” section. A doll that matches that Dragon Flight you selected might randomly drop. I did find a couple of them this way.

However, the most efficient way to earn this Achievement is to buy the dolls from the Auction House. All of the artwork in this post is copyright of Flight Rising.

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Diablo III, Diablo Seasons 0

Act V Achievements (Season 1)

This blog is part of the series I am doing about my progress through Season 1 in Diablo III. I started this season with a brand new Barbarian named Gurr, and he ended up being my only Seasonal character. When the Season began, I had two goals. One was to get him all the way through the content in Story Mode. The other was to get him to hit Level 70.

Along the way, I wanted to see how many Achievements I could earn before Season 1 ended. This blog focuses on the Achievements that Gurr the Barbarian got in Act V of Season 1. I was playing on Normal difficulty (figuring I could raise the difficulty later on if there was still time). The screenshots you see in this blog were taken between September 6, and September 13, 2014.
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Flight Rising, Other Video Games 0

Flight Rising: Legacy Challenge – Ninth Generation

Flight Rising is a game that lets you manage a Lair full of dragons. You can do many things with your dragons, including breeding them. I am nearly finished with the Flight Rising Legacy Challenge. It is a ten generation breeding challenge with specific rules and limitations. The goal is to end up with an attractive triple gened dragon at the end of the challenge.

I had no idea what to expect from this challenge when I started it. Now, I’m nearly at the end of it. All of the artwork in this post is copyright of Flight Rising.

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Diablo III, Diablo Seasons 0

Gurr’s Adventure through Act V (Season 1)

This is part of a series of blogs that I am putting together about my experience in Season 1 of Diablo III. In this one, I focus on Gurr the Barbarian’s adventure through Act V of Story Mode (Normal difficulty). I will show the Legendaries he found, the monsters he fought, and the Levels he gained.

An upcoming blog will feature the Achievements that he earned during this trip through Act V. My main goals for Season 1 were to complete the content in all five Acts in Story Mode, and to get Gurr to Level 70. Ideally, I wanted both of those two goals to be completed at the same time, but that’s not quite how it worked out. The screenshots you see in this blog were taken on September 6, September 7, September 9, September 11, September 12, and September 13, 2014.
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Flight Rising, Other Video Games 0

Flight Rising: Cragbacked Bouldursa

The Cragbacked Bouldursa was part of the 2014 Rockbreaker’s Ceremony in Flight Rising. It is an annual event that takes place at the end of November. This year, all of the holiday Familiars are bears. (Last time, they were Sprites).

The best and easiest way to get a holiday Familiar is to do it while the Elemental Festival is going on. If you miss that opportunity, it gets much more difficult to obtain one. There is a chance that someone may be selling the Familiar that you need in the Auction House. Expect the price to be high!

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