There was a Three Mile Island video game??

Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station has been in the news again over the past year, because controversial plans are underway to restart its shuttered Unit 1, perhaps as early as 2028, in order to provide nuclear-generated electricity that would be purchased by Microsoft to support its energy-intensive data centers. (Imagine telling Microsoft's young leaders in 1980, five years after its founding and one year after the partial meltdown at TMI Unit 2, that this turn of events would be part of their company's future.)

Recently, I was surprised to learn that there was a Three Mile Island video game, by Muse Software. 

Three Mile Island, for the Apple II, was published in 1979 and it was followed a year later by Three Mile Island: Special Edition, all according to Wikipedia.

And, yes, the point of the game is to avert a nuclear meltdown. What fun!

I found out the game existed through an eBay listing. Apparently they sell (or are at least listed for) a pretty penny. Here's another listing, one of about a half-dozen total. The listings range from $100 to $300, though I don't see any that have actually sold recently. I guess you'd need a working Apple computer, too, with a 5¼-inch floppy drive, to play it. (And this is also assuming that the data on a 45-year-old floppy disk is still intact, which is not a great bet.)

According to MobyGames: "This simulation puts the player at the controls of a nuclear power plant, with the challenge of operating the pressurized reactor, keeping it afloat financially, and adhering to safety procedures to prevent such disasters. The plant's operations are managed in (accelerated) real time, aided by graphical and textual information screens: detailed, animated views are available for the containment building, the turbine/filter/condenser section, the reactor core with its control rods, and the pump house. Individual subsystems like valves, turbines, pumps, rods and filters can be adjusted as needed, and the effects are visible on the various graphical displays and readout panels. ... The player will have to meet electricity demands, raise profits, handle equipment failure, and deal with government officials and their requests for inspection."

All of that sounds like an actual job! When you could have instead been playing Mystery House or Mystery Fun House.

The My Abandonware page for Three Mile Island has 15 screenshots, including a page that, ominously, just states "EMERGENCY NOTICE NO. 6, MELT-DOWN." There are also some first-person memories of the game on that webpage, which is great for the historical record. In 2019, James wrote: "I remember in 1982 was the first time I played the game. My high school in Pekin ILL had a computer room with like 20 computers. I would always get their before class and had like an hour to play. At first I would always have a meltdown before I had to leave but over time I mastered the game and could run the plant forever without melting down."

Photo of Three Mile Island I took in Goldsboro on April 4, 2018.

Sunday evening ramblings

Blargh. Between the national news, the desert heat, the prospect of returning to work in the morning, taking care of the cats and did I mention the national news, my mind is all over the place this afternoon and evening.

I missed my normal window of putting together a coherent blog post this morning, partly because the Phillies-Nationals game started at 8:35 a.m., Arizona time.

I'm behind on posting as it is. I do have a lot of good starter ideas stacking up in Blogger's "Unpublished" queue. It's just time that I need. Don't we all? 

Anyway, here's a miscellaneous collection of stuff that's been on my radar and won't be in a separate post:

1. I made a cryptic reference to Orson Welles last Sunday, but I no longer have the energy or desire to do that as a separate post. I was going to write about how Ash and I watched the ridiculous 1981 "documentary" (it really shouldn't be called that) The Man Who Saw Tomorrow, in which narrator Welles shares the prophecies of Nostradamus, as badly interpreted by Erika Cheetham. 

Skip it and watch F for Fake if you're looking for something involving Welles pulling one over on the public. I stand by what I wrote about The Man Who Saw Tomorrow in 2018: "The supernatural-seeming angle and the fiery, horrifying visions of the future offered by the film ... preyed on both Cold War fears of nuclear annihilation and racist anti-Arab sentiment. It cast "The Middle East" as some strange land from which a devilish villain would start the gears of World War III into motion in the 1990s." That is not an endorsement.

Further reading: Reddit and Jedadiah Leland on the Through the Shattered Lens website.

2. RIP, Terence Stamp. My official favorite movies of his are The Limey, Spirits of the Dead and Superman II. But my secret favorite movie of his is the absolutely bonkers Modesty Blaise (1966), where he saves the world alongside Monica Vitti. 

3. Want to help a New York City bookstore, spread the availability of books and contribute in a small way to the ideas of social justice? There's a summer book drive for Bluestockings Cooperative, a bookstore located at 116 Suffolk Street in New York. They're seeking new and gently used books on the topics of race, gender, sexuality, class, socialism, anarchism and more. The book drive continues through Sept. 1. For me, it was a very positive way to chip away, once again, at Resimplify Me and clear some shelf space. Here's the poster. 

4. Speaking of books, this amazing dust jacket cover showed up in my BlueSky feed recently. Adventures with Phantoms, by British ghost hunter Robert Thurston Hopkins (1884-1958), was published in 1946. I hadn't heard of this one before, so I'll have to keep my eyes peeled. It would look dandy alongside the likes of Haunted England and A Ghost Hunter's Game Book.

5. That's all for now, folks.

Jarring juxtaposition in my Bluesky feed this morning

Book cover: "The Earth Changes Survival Handbook"

Third post in a row with a theme of survivalist literature, in its many different hues...

• Title: The Earth Changes Survival Handbook
• Author: Page Bryant (Born 1943 or 1944. Died July 27, 2017, at age 73.) Her full name was Jean Page Bryant-Guynup. Her other books included The Spiritual Reawakening of the Great Smoky Mountains, Starwalking: Shamanic Practices for Traveling into the Night Sky, The Second Coming of the Star Gods, and Terravision: A Traveler's Guide to the Living Planet Earth. And there's a significant Arizona link to her life. According to a 2017 article on AshVegas.com, "Bryant was living in Sedona when she was one of the first people to identify specific locations there of powerful energy centers that she called vortexes. A vortex “is believed to be a special spot on the earth where energy is either entering into the earth or projecting out of the earth’s plane,” according to visitsedona.com. 
• Foreword: Brad Steiger
• Correlated by: Eva Prang, who is listed in a 1981 newspaper article as one of the founders of SPACES (Sedona Planetary and Cosmic Education Society)
• Illustrator: Scott Guynap (Bryant's husband)
• Publisher: Sun Books, Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Year: 1983 (this copy is the July 1988 sixth printing)
• Pages: 440
• Format: Paperback
• Price: $20 (Converted from 1988 dollars, that's about $54 today!)
• Back cover blurb: "Included are: Cosmology, Initation, Evolution. Vortices. Native Americans. Prophecies. Aspects of Survival. The Need for Balance."
• Excerpt from Steiger's foreword: "Page is not merely giving us her psychic impressions; she is not simply recording the channeled messages from her spiritual contact, Albion; she is also documenting the aforementioned subjective material with objective data from hardnosed scientists. THE EARTH CHANGES SURVIVAL HANDBOOK is not a book to be taken lightly."
• First sentence: The Earth is a 'Pilgrim', weaving its way through time and space in what far too many of us believe is but a mute and aimless experience."
• Random excerpt from middle #1: We wish to bring to your attention a couple of areas of concern to the Brotherhood at this time. One is the place known as Apache Junction, close to Superstition Mountain. This is one of the most powerful spots in Arizona, but its energies have been used negatively. This vortex causes war and destruction. It spurns hatred and fear. It manifests on the physical and emotional levels of consciousness of life forms. This area can erupt and spread an "inky-like" astral substance all over the Phoenix valley.
• Random excerpt from middle #2: The scientific community is certainly in agreement with the notion that the climate is indeed changing. In 1976, a report released by the Central Intelligence Agency, indicated that the Earth is entering into a "mini" Ice Age! 
• Did the CIA really say that? Not really. For the full scientific scoop on what's happening now, check out this 2023 coverage of the work done by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
• Random excerpt from middle #3: You can be a survivalist. Unfortunately, there are many groups around that call themselves "survivalists" that feel that guns and violence are the best insurance one can have. Such attitudes have their pro's and con's, but they need to be considered carefully. It is a common misconception that gun-carrying crowds will descend on those with stored food. First of all, hungry people are lethargic. A hungry person or crowd will not walk for miles and miles to search out remotely located homesteads.
• Goodreads review excerpt: In 2015, Randall wrote: "This is a 'bible' of books for me. I loved it. Purchased in the early 1980's it was the telling of what we all felt in the intuitive community that earth changes 'were a coming'. Of course only a completely detached person could deny this phenomena today (2015). I have referred to this treasured book so many times through the years that it has become like an old teddy bear, tattered and worn, pages falling out, but well-loved."
• Rating on Amazon: 5 stars (out of 5)
• 
  Amazon review excerpt: In 2014, Ms. Janicke wrote: "This is an excellent book. One of Bryant's best works, I think. Ties in well with Bryant's book on the Bermuda Triangle. Book contains discussion of Sedona, gardening tips, list of things to have on hand, star travel, direction finding, edible plant testing, and more."
• More reading: For more insights on this topic, there's a 1991 column by the Los Angeles Times' Russell Chandler headlined "Bad Vibes Rock New Age Mecca: Modern mystics seeking psychic energy in Sedona, Ariz., are clashing with conservative churches, American Indians and the U.S. Forest Service." Meanwhile, the history of Sedona, Bryant and vortexes is discussed in this 2024 blog post by Belén Tavares.
• Coming up in the next related post: Orson Welles. Can you guess how he fits in? 

Peeking inside 1942's "Handbook of Civilian Protection"

Piggybacking on the topic of today's earlier post, here's a brief look at the 1942 Handbook of Civilian Protection, published on the heels of the United States' entrance into World War II.

It was prepared by the Civilian Defense Council of the College of the City of New York (which received all royalties), published by Whittlesey House (a division of McGraw-Hill) and printed at The Maple Press Company of York, Pennsylvania, because of course there's almost always a York connection. 

Topics addressed include:

• Total War and the Civilian
• Organization of the Citizens' Defense Corps in Each Community
• How the Air Raid Alarm System Works
• The Work of the Air Raid Wardens
• What to Do in Your Home
• The Problem of Glass
• Blackouts and Lighting Restrictions
• The Work of Fire Watchers
• Incendiary Bombs and High Explosives
• Use of Garden Hose
• How to Protect Yourself against High Explosives
• How to Protect Records, Rare Books, and Art Treasures¹
• Illegality of Poison Gas
• Reducing Your Consumption of Rubber
• Nutrition in the Wartime Emergency

This was early in World War II. Much of the information seems to be informed by a combination of knowledge from World War I that was still relevant, plus insights gained from the Battle of Britain and The Blitz. All of this is, of course, pre-Cold War and atomic worries. Standard first aid, how to be safe in your home during an air attack and wartime conservation are large portions of the guide.

Here are some images from the book:

Footnote

1. Three pages are devoted to this! I love my books. But if my house is under attack, my only concern is the human beings and animals. (And living in the desert, where basements are extremely rare, means we're kind of screwed.) The book notes: "During the panic of May, 1940, caused by the news of the break in the French front, employees of the Quai d'Orsay lighted huge bonfires along the Seine with great bundles of secret documents and other archives hurled out of windows of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Valuable libraries, notably those of Louvain, London, and Bristol universities and the university library at Manila have already been destroyed in this war. ... The imprudence of concentrating records in one central location, however protected from bombardment, has been amply demonstrated in the present war. Hence, evacuation, particularly in the case of rare books and art treasures, to places of emergency storage is urged."

"That belongs in a museum"

I've been trying, on and off, for more than a decade to find a new home for this behemoth Emergency Resource Management Plan. Joan and I acquired it in a bulk lot of used books circa 2010.

As I wrote 13 years ago on this blog:

In 1967, two years after the end of his second (nonconsecutive) term as Delaware's governor and less than five years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Elbert Nostrand Carvel received this 2½-inch-thick, six-pound blue binder from the state's Office of Emergency Planning. It begins with a letter indicating: "The State of Delaware has developed a plan for the assessment and management of its resources in the event of an emergency caused by a nuclear attack on this country." 

There are tabbed sections on Construction and Housing; Economic Stabilization; Food; Health and Water; Industrial Production; Manpower; Petroleum, Gas and Solid Fuels; Transportation; and Electric Power.

I'm dubious about how helpful all of this planning would have been following a full-scale nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union. And now it's just a relic. A six-pound doorstop that encapsulates a moment of state-level planning during the Cold War. A monument to the folly of believing there would be survivability in armageddon.

But an important monument. It's history, and I think it's crucial that it be preserved. So I hauled it from house to house during two different moves. We had it in our Dover Antique Mall vending space at one point, but there were no takers. And I've listed it online several times without getting any bites. Finally, I gave it another go on eBay — and there was a taker.

It's going to a museum!

This is the greatest possible outcome. The historic blue behemoth now belongs to the National Museum of Civil Defense, located at Randolph Air Force Base in central Texas. 

The nonprofit museum was formed in 2020 and, in the short time since then, according to its website, it "has grown into an organization with the largest known Collection of related artifacts and archival materials. The NMCD connects with the public through online and social media presence, related conferences, oral history interviews, and artifact preservation." The museum does not have a permanent brick-and-mortar location yet, but is planning toward that end. In the meantime, interested researchers can make arrangements to view the collection.

This is how those who operate the museum describe U.S. civil defense history:

"Civil Defense is defined as 'plans or activities organized by civilians and civilian authorities for the protection of civilian population and property in times of such disasters or emergencies as war or floods.' The United States has had some form of a Civil Defense program since the formation of the Office of Civilian Defense in 1941. Since then, the focus, size, scope, and visibility of the program has ebbed and flowed with the changing geopolitical tides.  Tied to developments in strategic nuclear weapons, missiles, and even spy satellites ​— it endured name changes to 'Civil Preparedness' and later 'Emergency Management.' Throughout this time, thousands of men and women (both paid employees and volunteers) at the federal, state, and local government dedicated themselves to the goal of protecting the public against catastrophe.

​"Today, Civil Defense is often seen in the public eye as a curiosity — generally associated with the early Cold War. Too often, the prevailing historical perspective on Civil Defense is less than a superficial footnote. It is the utmost goal of our organization to preserve this history in a way that reflects the dignity and urgency of the program, and the people who created and dedicated their lives to it. The Museum believes that there are many stories remaining to be told."

And now the story of Delaware's state-level emergency planning in the late 1960s can be told with more detail, too. I'm thrilled to have helped in a tiny way to make this possible. 

1924 advertisement: "Heaney's Great Milk Can Escape"

From 101 years ago, here's a catalog entry for Heaney's Great Milk Can Escape from 1924's Heaney Magic Company Catalogue No. 25. Per Wikipedia, Gerald Heaney (1899-1974) was a stage musician and magic props supplier from Berlin, Wisconsin. He started a mail-order business for tricks, props and other magician supplies in the early 1920s. 

A profile of Heaney by Pat Fitzpatrick in the October 31, 1965, issue of The Post-Crescent of Appleton, Wisconsin, states: "In the early years Heaney built numerous escapes used by himself and his wife in the shows. Many times during the past four decades, Princess Aloiv [his wife, Viola McCarthy] has floated through the air, under the showman's hypnotic powers. An accomplished musician, she plays the organ during performances, and records music for playback in the course of the show. Heaney has had many assistants over the years. The principal requirement for girls working in mysteries is that they must be small enough to fit into the Chinese torture wheel and the vivisection illusion."

Heaney's Great Milk Can Escape states, in part: "Looks impossible and it seems as if the performer will meet his fate in the padlocked can. The large can is filled with water and the performer enters in a bathing sit, a screen is drawn and the assistants stand outside with hatchets and watches in their hands, knowing the over four or five minutes in the water filled can would mean a drowning death. The escape is made in a very short space of time and the can is found to be as secure as before the escape. Our Milk Cans are of the best material and labor. They cannot be duplicated. ... Can be performed by anyone."

The cost was $30.

That's more than $560 today! Being a magician was costly, and the secrets were expensive!

Cathy's Little Free Libraries in Globe, Arizona

Last week, we were in Globe, Arizona, and the surrounding area and found two delightful Little Free Libraries, both of which were dedicated to the life and memory of Cathy Sanchez-Cañez (also listed as Catherine "Cathy" Eileen Cañez). She died at age 52 on July 22, 2019, during a flash flood in Globe. 

Cathy was a special education teacher who spent most of her career working with students in the Globe/Miami area. There is now a Cathy Sanchez-Cañez Foundation and other regular community efforts in her memory. This past April saw the publication of Teacher from Heaven. Its description states: "Aubrey is a kind and thoughtful girl who loves her hometown of Globe, Arizona. From learning to read with her teacher to spending time with the people she loves, Aubrey knows that in her small town, little moments matter. Teacher from Heaven is a warm and loving story about family, friends, and loss. ... This story shows how one person’s kindness can live on, even after they are gone."

And there are the Little Free Libraries. According to an article in the March 31, 2021, edition of the Copper Country News, there are four of them, including one at Miami Veterans Memorial Park. (We visited the locations at Leonard Paul's Pizza and Globe City Hall.) What a wonderful way to keep her memory alive with the sharing of books!

The Copper Country News article states: "The mission of Cathy’s Little Free Library is to promote literacy and the love of reading, foster a sense of community and connection, and create a lasting memorial to Cathy Sanchez-Cañez. The campaign began as an idea last year and with the overwhelming amount of love and support from so many, it has now become four unique libraries that have circulated more than 400 books into the community. ... Each library was constructed by family and friends who donated all materials and time to build them with love. [Globe] Mayor Al Gameros hand painted each library specifically for the area they are placed. He said the Miami one was special to him; born and raised in Miami, Mayor Gameros is a Vandal and Cathy Sanchez-Cañez spent the last few years teaching at [Miami Unified School District]."

Here are some more photos I took.

We left many more books than we took at the two libraries last weekend, helping in a small way to keep them freshly stocked (and to keep Resimplify Me going strong). We did snag an old Encyclopedia Brown paperback for nostalgia's seek and, oddly, a DVD of Them! an old science-fiction film I'd been thinking about lately. I'm looking forward to returning to Globe and Miami to continue restocking Cathy's and other Little Free Libraries.

Recent related post: Little Free Library in the Catalina Foothills