Surgery=$$$ & Comics

Hey, just wanted to note that my appendicitis surgery would cost me about 20 grand if I wasn't getting some charitable assistance. Surgery is really expensive.

So, I recently was shown this Punisher/Kingpin comic. I am reminded that the Punisher is an asshole. It's not the comic for me because I can't root for a guy who can't see the full spectrum of morality and has no mercy for anyone. Meanwhile the Kingpin is equally ruthless and takes his own vengeance. The difference is, for Kingpin, despite causing a lot of collateral damage trying to attain his goals, revenge is more personal for him. He has some flashbacks where he goes to great lengths to exact vengeance and it is satisfying. The writers do a good job of convincing you that his vengeance is totally just which is much harder to do for Frank when his revenge isn't limited to those responsible for his origins but for every criminal ever. A lot of "superheroes" share this, but Frank almost always takes his methods further than he should.

I will say the Punisher reminds me of Batman. Both have no superpowers when they live in a world filled with super powered folks. Because of this, their stories shine most when you IGNORE the rest of their world. When they get thrown into stories with folks that have actual superpowers they just feel out of place, and those are the stories that end up not being entertaining to me. I feel like the only reason this happens is because of their popularity.

Basically they should stick to their own mythos, and keep their noses out of other hero's business.

Surrender Freeman

Recently, I've been playing the original Half-Life. This is a game I have never played before, actually, despite it's age (Mostly due to being a console gamer and not having a PC). I've played Half-Life 2 and it's associated bits, but it wasn't until my friend gave me a copy of the unreleased Dreamcast version of Half-Life that I've played the original.

This is a game that does not fuck around. What I mean by this is that it is a challenging game. This is okay though, because the challenge is legitimate so far. I've recently launched the Lambda satellite (DECADE OLD SPOILERS EVERYONE) and I'm still enjoying my stay in the WORLD OF HALF-LIFE.

END POST

Best Christmas Ever

Hey Kids,

I just wanted to tell you all about the wonderful Christmas I had.

Thursday - Christmas Eve:
I begin experiencing severe stomach pain about mid-day. The pain does not stop. I resolve to go to the hospital if it does not go away by morning. I barely sleep.

Friday - Christmas Morning:
Pain is still going strong. My girlfriend and I decide not to wait till mid-day to go get diagnosed. We head to a local diagnostic place that if I did not have something terrible, would be cheaper than going to the ER. Turns out my appendix was mutinying. We go to a real emergency room. Diagnostic place charges us nothing (Sweet).

Painkillers are given. I am unable to give a urine sample due probably to dehydration for several hours. I do manage to eventually pee in a bottle.

There is a surgery which, for those of you who aren't familiar with anesthetics, happens without me realizing it. I am down 1 appendix.

I sleep in the hospital.

Saturday:
I wake up in the hospital. I eat hospital food. I am constantly checked on. I am discharged and given instructions on how to best recover from the surgery.

Best Christmas Ever

Merry Christmas

This is a post about the tiny Christmas tree I have constructed. It is made from a grocery bag, a jarritos soda bottle, some contruction paper, and wrapping paper. Clearly, this is the most glorious thing to ever grace humanity. You weep in wake of this wondrous creation, yes? It's certainly not something you'd expect out of a kindergarten craft project. Certainly and positively not. Perish the thought, if that though even crosses your mind in the first place.

In other news, have I mentioned MSPA on this blog? If I haven't, please do direct your favored browser over to http://www.MSPaintAdventures.com/ .

This end today's broadcast. See you after some pleasant holidays.

Battle Tubes, Apartment Times, DreamCast Woes

Greetings. A lot has happened since last I wrote. Since I live a slow boring life, that means it's been a while. But all you need to do is look at the dates to see that.

------------STEP 1: BATTLE TUBE------------

A while back I wanted to make a document tube to carry my vinyl battle mat to and from tabletop sessions.

The tube was a labor of love. Constructed from 1/4" think, 3" wide PVC pipe painted dark blue with Rustoleum spray paint, and the pipe fittings put permanently into place using PVC cement. Here it is with the battle mat contained within it.

The screw on lid to the pipe, with a 4" threaded rod run through it with coupling hex nuts and acorn nuts attached to form a handle that won't be hard on my hand should I need the extra torque to open it. Acorn nuts are hot glued in place, and there are three nuts stabilizing the handle inside the lid.

And finally the binding posts, brackets taken from 2 door locks (there's another bracket at the bottom of the tube), quick links (again, this same setup is at the bottom of the tube), and the
carrying strap.

Originally I purchased the PVC and metal hardware and had the pieces primed and drilled by my girlfriend's dad. Then I made sure the metal bits fit, took 'em out, and painted the thing. My project was a rousing success.

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------------STEP 2: APARTMENT------------

I moved into a new cheap apartment. It looks pretty good. I pay very little. Pictures coming eventually.

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------------STEP 3: DREAMCAST------------

My DreamCast died while playing Worms World Party. I gutted it and want to do something with the case. I have a new DreamCast I purchased from Craigslist.

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THAT IS ALL.

SuperChill: SuperValu

Recently I found myself at Albertson's and I wanted to grab some soda before playing some D&D. I mistakenly picked up "Mt. Chill" flavored "SuperChill" thinking it was a generic "Sprite" when it was actually a generic "Mountain Dew". I don't consume things with caffeine in them aside from chocolate so this was an unfortunate mistake.

Caffeine aside, "SuperChill" comes in many varieties and is produced by a company called SuperValu. After purchasing the drink I decided to see what flavors they had so I wouldn't make the same mistake again. I did a web search for "SuperChill" hoping to find useful results, and found mentions of the brand as well as beverage chilling devices, but not a list of flavors. I decided to consult the bottle after the web search turned up the "SuperValu" company name I hadn't known before and found where it was on the label of the bottle. They had a different web address on their bottle than the one that came up in the search engine, and I found the address to in fact be not in service. Then they had a customer service number.

I call the number and get a fairly standard set of automated voice command options, none of which are relevant to me, but I am given an option for "More Options". From here I am allowed to summon a customer service representative, although the option for doing so assumed I'm doing something more serious than trying to get a list of flavors.

The rep answers immediately. I get the impression that this number is called very rarely. I was impressed that they were open though, on Saturday at 5pm. The following is a paraphrasing of the conversation to the best of my recollection:

Customer Service Rep (CSR): Hello, SuperValu Customer Care, how may I help you.
Me: I wanted to get a list of the different flavors in your 'SuperChill' beverage brand
CSR: Ok sir, I can look that up for you. You want me to tell you the different flavors of SuperChill, correct?
Me: Correct.
CSR: Ok, first can I get your zip code so we can locate the store nearest you.

I'd like to stop this transcript for a second, just to note that this is already weird now. I don't see why they have to locate a store at this point, but my zip code alone isn't going to hurt me so I give it and they tell me an address of a store and ask me if I shop there frequently. They do not name the store, by the way, and there's a brief exchange about there being a Safeway and some other stores on that street.

She then asks for my name. I give her just my first. She asks for me last, I ask if just the initial is okay, she says yes and I give it. She asks for my addresses, both physical and e-mail. I politely decline to do so.

CSR: Okay. We will contact the store and ask them.

We're pausing again. They put me on hold. My main question at this point?

You have to contact the local store? You don't even know your own brand's flavors, SuperValu? I could've called the local store myself!

Anyway, after a couple minutes the hold music ends and she lists off the flavors of SuperChill available. I find out the variety I want is just called "Lemon-Lime".

Looking back on this whole story, what have we learned?

1. We have learned that SuperValu is an extremely sketchy company that wants my personal information.
2. We've learned that their representatives are not given any information booklets about their own products.
3. We've learned that sometimes when you try to go straight to the source for information you end up getting it from someone lower on the grape vine anyway.

It was a super weird experience, and now I've documented it. Good day.

Allergies, Campaigns, and Moving

I have got seasonal allergies. Having them is like being sick all the time. Yesterday I took a Zyrtec because Claritin does nothing for me. The Zyrtec did not seem to do anything yesterday when I took it, but I felt really good this morning. That may be due to the pill, or maybe I really was sick and am getting better. I do know I can breath a bit again.

Want to have a convenient place to make notes and store information on your role-playing campaign? Try ObsidianPortal.com. It's good stuff.

Moving month is coming closer. Today I will put in my time off request for the last half of August.

Inter-tubes. YEAH!