TriangleArrow-Left.svgJune 2012 Issues of the Questaholic Magazine August 2012TriangleArrow-Right.svg

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Interview with the Ever-So-Patient
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Clan Quest’s Cool High Councilor and Citadel Manager
~ by LizBeth ~

Hello Tohtli, thank you for spending some time to do this interview. Let’s begin, shall we?

Skills2Quest: How long did it take you to learn the Coding for the Offsite?
The offsite was in another site at the beginning, but there were many restrictions and we have ads on the forums. We then decided to switch to this new site and moved everything to this new "home". It took around 2 weeks to get familiar with it and do the transferring.

How many years / times have you put into your account that you have now?
I started as f2p on October 2008, but the Adventurer's Log reports 209 days 14 hours (June 08, 2012).

Are you taking Draz's place since he went inactive?
Not really, the High Council is working on the stuff the boon was doing.

What is your favorite skill?
I'm not in love with dungeoneering, yet, but I enjoy all the other skills equally. I really have no favorite skills.

What is your most exp in one skill, and what is that skill?
It’s Cooking with 13,113,000 xp.

Do you enjoy being one of the two persons that can activate new members that wish to sign up to have more access to the offsite?
It's not like I enjoy it, but I have no problem doing it. It is part of the administrative tasks of the offsite.

Boricua: So how you doing?
Everything is fine; as we say here "Pura vida".

What hobbies do you enjoy doing?
I like to read, cook for my family, and I like to watch nature.

How would you describe yourself?
I'm a quiet person, who likes to listen to people, and learn from them. I'm not impulsive, and like to take things in a more relaxed way.

What do you think of the citadel's progress since we started it?
It has been a great journey. I learned a lot about the clan, the objectives of many people, and to understand better why we play, and how we play.

What's the most important thing in a clan in general to you?
I think respect is the most important thing. If you respect your clanmates, everything goes smoothly.

Mskonnan10: I just want to say I think you are so helpful and patient with us and the problems we bring to you. How do you keep your cool, when often these things that baffle us must be repetitious for you to explain over and over again?
Once I was so stressed out that I developed a migraine that lasted for 3 months. After a lot of testing and discarding stuff, the conclusion was that is was "pure" stress, so I had to learn to stay calm and "relaxed". After that, I learned to enjoy life and see the "glass half full" of things. As for the explaining, I believe that knowledge is for sharing, not for keeping to yourself, and it is worth the patience if you can help someone learn a new thing.

If it is not too personal, what does your family think of all the time you spend tending to the needs of Clan Quest?
It needs balance, sometimes my wife gets upset because I spent too much time playing, but most of the time I can "balance" my clan work and RS play with my real life.

Wise Ork: Can we see a photo of the man-behind-the-scenes, which makes it possible for us to do crazy stuff on these forums? ;o (That's you, of course xD)

(Liz: Your request has been granted).

Have you ever played any other MMO(RPG)(s)? If so, which one(s)?
Not really, I liked to play network games when they were new, and only some of them have the "network" feature, but I don't even recall their names now.

If you could give 1 skill in RS a big overhaul, which would it be and why?
I will give a big overhaul to construction. There are a lot of new stuff you can integrate in POH, and many features you can add to them.

Ytse: Did you introduce Chaptastic to RuneScape, or was it the other way around?
It was the other way around, Chaptastic and his brother had their F2P accounts, and insisted that I should open one. After sometime, I agreed to open an account, and the rest was history!

Does it ever feel odd playing an online game with your son?
Not at all, since they were little kids we used to play together, so it is not a new activity for us. Sometimes when I have to travel, the easiest way to communicate with my family is to contact them online so that they can tell my wife to connect on the computer!

Tohtli is a Nathuatl word - do you speak fluent Nahuatl, or was it just an appealing name? What made you choose the name Tohtli?
No, I don't speak Nahuatl. Only around 1% of the population speaks native languages, and there are many of these languages, not only the Nahuatl. So it is not easy to learn it, maybe when I get older I will learn it, but I'm not sure about it.

I'm from Central America, and my country was influenced by both the Mayans and the Incas. As it was a "bordering" location, there are no big pyramids, or great ancient constructions, but one of the languages spoken by the original population in the country was Nahuatl (at least a form of it). This was the language of the Aztecs and the Mayans who also spoke it. Tohtli is a Nahuatl word which means Hawk .

A long time ago I was part of the Boy Scouts, and there I joined the "hawk" patrol. Since then I always liked that bird, and when the time came to open an account on RS, what better than to use a Nahuatl work for it.

LizBeth: Hey, Tohtli, so how long have you been with Clan Quest?
I joined clan quest around the end of April, 2010.

I see, and how did you find out about this clan?
I started playing RS around October 2008, because my two sons had an account and they insisted that I should get an account and start playing with them. About a year after

that, I keep hearing about clans, and since I wasn't part of any, I started "investigating" about them. After a while, I found the information about Clan Quest and started using the clan chat, until I decided to "officially" join the clan.

Quite a remarkable clan, isn't it? Since this clan is constantly growing and changing, is there something that you would like to suggest for a better and stronger camaraderie among the members?
I think we need to integrate both the "veteran" members and the new ones, to act as a community, and help each other as one.

How do you manage to balance real life and RuneScape?
I play Rs because I like it and it makes me "forget" about real life for a while. But real life always comes first, if I can't play because of work, or if I'm too tired to do it, I won't play. I need to give time to my wife and sons, and after that, I can play.

I feel the same way you do. Was there ever a time when you had stopped playing RuneScape?
Not really, but there are times when the only things I can do is daily tasks/runs, and nothing else.

Omg! That is exactly what I have been doing lately, too. What is it about RS that makes you keep playing the game?
I like the game. It helps me relax, and stop thinking about work or other issues, and that makes me feel good. I enjoy the conversation that goes on in the clan chat even if I don't participate. I always try to read what it is that the clan is talking about, and most of the time it gives me a different perspective about that subject.

Just wondering, are both the offsite and the citadel hard to manage?
Only when there is a request for something on the offsite that I don't know how to do, then I have to learn about it. As for the citadel, the hardest time is when the clan members didn't agree with some decisions, or wanted to do things in a different way.

Ah yes, and that could ruffle your feathers sometimes, but you seemed to handle that kind of situations quite well. How did you end up doing both these responsibilities for the clan, were you assigned to it or you volunteered?
For the offsite, I kind of volunteered, since I offered the new site. I needed to learn about this for a client, and since I was going to do it, I might as well do it for the clan, too. As for the citadel, I started doing some threads about what I thought we need to do. And then Draz said, in a casual conversation in the clan channel, that I was the citadel manager. Since then I was managing the citadel. I didn't volunteer for it, but I enjoy doing it.

That Boon has a knack for subtly assigning someone to do something almost similar to an Obi-wan Kenobi mind-controlling effect, "You will manage the citadel". "You will enjoy dealing with the citadel for the rest of your RunesCape life".  :D Anyway, has one or both of these tasks ever given you headaches while managing?
After we had moved from the original offsite, it was a very busy time, until we had managed to get to a level where most of the offsite users were comfortable. With the citadel, the worst was waking up early to be there to program new updates when the building tick happens each week, since it was around 6:00 AM.

Wow! You have to wake up that early every Tuesday? Tohtli, you’re quite a trooper! Do you think Clan Quest is perfect the way it is?
Nothing is perfect, and everything can get better if we work for it.

In your opinion, are there still certain areas that could be improved in some ways? If so, what would those be?
We can work in the "community" view of the clan, where all the members get the feeling they belong to the clan, and that working together we can achieve higher goals than if we work as individuals.

How do you feel about Draz's "retirement"?
The Boon is having some RL issues and opportunities he has to attend to. I feel that even as he is "inactive" now, the clan is not founded around him, so we can work together and keep ourselves growing to stay as the best questing clan in RS.

I like that outlook of yours, Tohtli.

Well, what do you know, speaking of the dev...*cough*...Boon, look who it is...

Draziw: How did you become so noob?
I had some great teachers in noobness.

Do you aspire to become more noob?
Every day.

What is your favourite colour? (It wasn't a question on the application when you applied)
I will say blue.

Are you a follower of Brassica? Why or why not?
No, I just haven't spent so many times with Rerecross to become a follower of Brassica.

If you could have anything - what would you ask for?
At this point in my life, I can't ask for anything in special. I feel good about the way life is going.

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It is really nice to know a bit more about you, Tohtli. Thank you for all the hard work that you do for this clan and for simply being such an awesome, cool noob.


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Article by LizBeth

~!~ CABBOOKIES ~!~
A recipe contributed by Dirty Rain.
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The Cabbookie Special Cookie Jar
Ingredients:

1/4 cup light olive oil
3/4 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon cabbage extract*
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup dried cabbage leaves*

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
In a large bowl, mix together oil and sugar until well blended. Mix in the vanilla and cabbage extracts, then beat in the eggs. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder; gradually stir into egg mixture. Mix in the dried cabbage by hand.
Divide dough in half. Form two logs (12x2 inches) on a cookie sheet that has been lined with parchment paper. Dough may be sticky; wet hands with cool water to handle dough more easily.

Cut logs on diagonal into 3/4 inch thick slices. Lay on sides on parchment covered cookie sheet. Bake approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until dry; cool.

* Test kitchen notes - Special cabbage ingredients must be player made. To make "cabbage extract", place the cabbage on the ground, and sit on it for two minutes. Juices will be pressed out, and you can collect them in an empty vial. "Dried cabbage leaves" have to be Sun Dried, therefore take them to the desert and place them atop the Agility Pyramid for maximum sun exposure. Leave them five days to completely dry, then pack in sealed air tight pots.

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Article by MsKonnan

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Facts about the Middle Ages

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- In the 1200s, northern Europe's largest towns--London, Paris and Ghent--contained no more than 30,000 or 40.000 residents. Southern European cities like Venice and Florence had over 100,000. The world's largest cities--Constantinople and Baghdad--each had about a million people.

- Europeans established the world's first universities in the 1100s. Like the world outside then, the university could be a violent place: Oxford University in England had rules that specifically forbid students from bringing bows and arrows to class.

- Under Medieval law, animals could be tried and sentenced for crimes, just as though they were people. There are records of farm animals being tried for injuring or killing people. Animals were charged with smaller crimes, too. Some mice were taken to court for stealing part of the harvest, and, in another case, a flock of locusts was convicted --in absentia--of eating crops.

- A feudal society very much like that of Europe's developed in Japan in the 1100's. The Japanese called their knights "samurai", and like the knights of Europe, they fought on horseback. As in Europe, Japanese feudalism developed at a time of anarchy.

- In the early Middle Ages, Europeans told time in a way that would seem very strange to us today. They divided the day into 7 hours of equal length. Because summer days are longer than winter ones, a winter 'hour" was about 60 minutes, but a summer one was 150 minutes! By the late 1300s, Europeans had mechanical clocks and often installed them in the towers of churches and town halls.

- The knight on horseback would have been impossible without an important innovation that reached Europe from India in the 700s-- the stirrup Mounted warriors could now maneuver their horses more effectively and carry heavier armor and weapons.

- A number of European advances during the Middle Ages were made possible by the Moorish occupation of Spain. Most important was the use of Arabic numerals, which we still use today. The Moors also brought new words to Europe. "Algebra," "lute," "magazine," "orange," and "tariff" all come from Arabic. In addition, the Moors introduced a game that quickly became popular from Cadiz to London: chess.

- What kind of meal was "fit for a king"? King Richard II of England sometimes gave feasts for as many as 10,000 people at once. One of these required 140 hogs, 14 oxen, 12 calves, 12 boars and 3 tons of salted venison.


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Article by LizBeth

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Where is the cat?


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Thou shalt not cheat.


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Article by LizBeth

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<@> Truly Original<@>
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Article by LizBeth

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* Avant - Garde Poetry Corner *
Dare to fly
~ by Wise Ork ~

Bound to earth by metallic wings
No reason to smile, no bird who sings
An iron chain holding you in its grip
A mask'd man, draining your strength with his whip

It's too late to run, there's nowhere to hide
When even your kin stabeth you in your side
Hopeless it seems, all your dreams are lost
Your life paid the price, before seeing the cost

But it's time to break free from the wings of fate
So shatter the chain, before it's too late
Show the world that a bird's meant to fly
So take up and leave, to the great blue sky

The rest of the story is for you to write
A hero you'll be, with all its might
Page after page you'll see what the words have done
With life's biggest treasure, by you to be won

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Article by Wise Ork

QUIZ OF TRIPLES

By Konnan

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What do these three have in common?

1) Belmont Stakes...Preakness Stakes...Kentucky Derby - (s???? ?s?o?)
2) A Soldier...a Tennis Player...a Waitress – (????s)
3) Families...trees...hair – (s?oo?)
4) Days...Continents...Seas – (u???s ??q?nu ??? )
5) A Ball...a Salad...a Coin – (p?sso? ???)
6) High...Uneven...Parallel – (s??q s’?s?u???)
7) Stud...Hoop...Clip – (s?ui????)
8.) Moth...Meat...Medicine – (sll?q)
9) Simile...Metaphor...Oxymoron – (???????)
10) Roman Mythology...The Solar System...Thermometers – (??n????)
11) America...Dakota...Korea – (??nos pu? ???ou) 12) Leif Ericsson...Marco Polo...Christopher Columbus – (s???oldx?)
13) A Nail...a Car...a Golf Ball – (u??i?p ???) 14) A Baseball Glove...A Pool Table...Pita Bread – (s????od)
15) A Coin...a Mug of Beer...An Arrow – (p??? ? ????)
16) Jars...Eyes...Trash Cans – (spil)
17) A Prune...Knuckles...a Shar Pei – (s?l?ui??)
18) A Sling Shot...A Gun...A Dishwasher – (?uip?ol p??u)
19) A Map...a Fish...a Weight Loss Clinic – (s?l??s)
20) Cards...Chess...High School Proms – (su??nb)

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Article by MsKonnan