With Winter's Veil behind us, it is not too long until Valentine's Day is here. Between these two holidays, I'm frequently left pondering the best gifts available for our loved ones . . . in game. There's a subtle art to simulating gift-giving between characters, since there's obviously a few factors to be considered.

First, it's difficult to be creative. Everyone has the same access to the items and gifts in-game, so you're going to be incredibly challenged to pull off something "no one else has considered." Second, it can be difficult to pick out just the right gift, since it can be a little hard to get excited over a trade window. Still, when it comes time for one character to give something a little special to his or her in-character spouse, it's good to have some ideas ready to go.

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When writing this Breakfast Topic I noticed in the comments a certain disconnect between how I approach running heroics and how other people seem to. So I thought I'd try and encapsulate the differences and try and help explain why sometimes tanks seem a little touchy or off in runs. It's not just the blows to the head, guys.

For starters, I don't run heroics because I want anything. Aside from a few DPS drops (trinkets, mostly) that I want as alternatives to trying to take them from a main spec DPS raider, there's literally nothing in these instances I actually want. I don't even really want the Emblems of Triumph. I blow those on gems because I can't think of anything else to do with them. No, I generally run random heroics for one of two reasons.

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Zach is a Battlegrounds junkie. Even when he's hocking up asthma-generated globules of radioactive phlegm, he still manages to squeeze in a little slaughtering time.

Happy New Year, folks. I hope all of you had a good 2009 and are reading this without a lingering hangover or, like me, some form of bronchial complication stemming from the smog generated by all the festivities' firecrackers. We're kicking off 2010 with a quick look at the year that just passed, and boy, was it ever a good one.

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Reader comments -- ahh, yes, the juicy goodness following a meaty post. [1.Local] ducks past the swinging doors to see what readers have been chatting about in the back room over the past week.

Think you've got what it takes to make it through another year in the company of the denizens of [1.Local]? Work your way through the comments on these recent favorite posts at WoW.com -- not only the comments listed here from the "Best of" roundups, but the comments on the original posts, too -- and we'll talk.

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This week's list is compact, but don't let that fool you; many of the usual suspects have delivered despite the holidays. You can bet that next week's list will be massive!

• Torment of the Week: Frozen Investments.
• Check out Guilded Age's 2010 Preview.
• Teh Gladiators: Enter the Eerily Familiar King.
• Daily Quests: In the Spirit of Giving. Daily Quests: Resolution: Impossible.
• NPC: Of Avatar and Avatars. NPC: A New Service. NPC: 2010 Predictions. That last line got me laughing! For the history behind it, see an earlier Sunday Morning Funnies published in May of 2009.
• Beyond the Tree: What We Need Is More Noise.
• LFG #317 and #318.
• Cru the Dwarf: All Choked Up.


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While venturing into Icecrown Citadel, death knight Joanus of <Inner Circle> on Kilrogg-EU discovered this disturbing message spelled out on the ground with well-placed fish feasts. "The biggest questions to be asked here are who put this there? Why?" asked Joanus. "Is this a message from Jaina to Arthas? What does the Lich King think of this? How long has it been there? I guess the only way to find out is to head to the top of the Citadel and ask him personally." Yeah, good luck with that.

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Ah, Winter Veil -- the sights, the sounds, the jingling bells from the reindeer mounts, the curses emanating from players trying to tag the Abominable Greench mob, and the massively inflated prices for Small Eggs on the auction house. While this may not rank on the level of Great Auntie Marge's annual fruitcake for the family party, WoW has its own set of holiday traditions -- some more respected than others -- and all of them were out in full force over Winter Veil. Moreover, this is only the second year that the achievement system has been active for the holiday, and lots of people are still putting time in on What A Long, Strange Trip It's Been for both mains and alts. This year, a new achievement popped up to take advantage of the 2009 Winter Veil gift (a genuine Red Rider Air Rifle!), although players seemed unenthusiastic about the rifle's inaccuracy and cast time.

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