0
Oh duh, yes, new chunks. I knew that... but since I really hate venturing out for hours and hours to GET to new chunks in old worlds, I'd trained my brain to think that it just doesn't happen.
So, in the new world I created yesterday (thanks to YOU, Golgot!), within about ten minutes I'd found a dungeon with cool stuff in it, including my first enchanted book (Bane of Arthopods, whatever that means -- wiki isn't clear). THEN I stumbled on a desert temple and THIS time I knew to dig down to the SIDE instead of accidentally jumping on the pressure plate and blowing myself up like I did the first time I found one. (Note: Yes, that's another way to die in Peaceful that I had forgotten.)
So this time I had the wiki open on the second monitor and carefully dug down behind the four chests ... which the wiki said would contain the BEST loot in the game ... only to find a bunch of gold ingots, two diamonds, and some rotten flesh.
SERIOUSLY?
After that it all went downhill. I filled up my inventory with a bunch of great stuff and was still looking for an NPC village to settle in HOURS later. I had decided not to stop and dig for redstone to make a compass, so I was meandering around aimlessly. (I tend to leave Hansel-and-Gretel torches on high spots along the way, to mark my way around until I get a compass... and I kept running into my own torches just when I was SURE I was in new territory.
I tried keeping the ocean to my right, but apparently something changed.
So I finally gave up, left myself in the middle of a desert biome with all my stuff and had dinner like a normal person.
But boy, I want to go find a village right now. LOL