Favorite Penny Arcade Comic

Something reminded me of my favorite Penny Arcade comic, so I dug it up.

Claw Shrimp!

*sniff*

I almost played some Nethack this weekend. It just didn't seem right though. I'll wait until the 11th; give it at least a month.

*leaves flowers*

                       ----------
                      /          \
                     /    REST    \
                    /      IN      \
                   /     PEACE      \
                  /                  \
                  |      Velma       |
                  |       0 Au       |
                  | crushed to death |
                  | by an exploding  |
                  |    drawbridge    |
                  |                  |
                  |       2007       |
                 *|     *  *  *      | *
        _________)/\\_//(\/(/\)/\//\/|_)_______

SMS Service

Hmmm... It seems the SMS service I use in conjunction with my scripts was down or something. Sorry for not responding to your e-mails earlier!

Range Report; one-handed, weak handed, and jam testing.

Hit the range this weekend. I hadn't gone in quite a while (just haven't felt the drive for some reason), so I was a little worried that my 1911 groups would be teh sukk.

Managed to get my best grouping ever. 1" group of 6 shots, one flyer put the group at 2".

Not bad for me...

I also got to try my hand at some one-handed and weak hand shooting, and found I was... within tolerances... with my XD-9, but my shots with the 1911 were quite accurate.

I've been keeping my 1911 from being my go-to pistol because I'd had some jams with it. As with most 1911 jams, these probably can be attributed to the mag (cheapie springfield mag). The jams were kind of specific, so I started trying to get it to jam so I could find out what the situation was that was causing it. Turns out that if I have one in the pipe and one in the mag, and fire, 1/3 times it will jam feeding. It's less likely to do this if I fire off from a full mag (if that makes sense), but when loaded with just those two shots, it will jam very often. A rap on the back of the slide will bring it home, and to a full firing position. I've been keeping my eyes out for a good deal on some Wilson Combat mags, but I think I'll just have to bite the... bullet... (Sorry.) I'll be on the look out for them at the gun show next weekend.

I was also reminded of just how much I love how the 1911 feels and shoots.

The Internet is a Series of Tubes!

Give it a click, and discover why government needs to stay out of what it doesn't understand. (Which is just about everything.)

State of the Union

Is it just me, or is our President really "on" tonight?

My initial reaction is that this is a reach across the isle; not necessarily what he's always stood for, but he's showing that their issues are important to him too.

Browning's "Paradise Lost"

Josh recounts man's fall from grace.

A fun and a humorous read! Give him a click!

Of Course You Realize This Means War

David over at The War On Guns has a rundown of exactly how our unalienable rights became alienated.

"Became", not "Will become", "are sure to become", or "Will likely become"; "Became." It's already happening. If you don't believe me, give him a click.

He thinks it's time to get angry. I'm inclined to agree.

Read, link, e-mail, and forward. People need to know about this.

Maybe it's time to dust off that big R word.
The least we can do is prepare.

CountyComm Review

A friend of mine referred me to Botach Tactical to find a hard-to-find item. Once there, I looked around, and found a wide selection of cool stuff at great prices. After work I hit their site, and decided the time was right for a little bit of a late night/early morning spending! I began (as I usually do) by filling my e-cart with everything that piqued my interest, then realizing my total is $600, I get real and start whitling down the items. I was stricken with a sudden case of frugality, and most of the stuff I wanted wasn't an immediate necessity as it was for disaster preparedness (I know, I know...) and could stand a little triage. I knew I'd likely have plenty of time and paychecks to spread out my purchases out, so I took it easy and didn't spend too much.

After I completed my order with them, I was in the survival/tacticool kinda mood so I headed over to CountyComm, my favorite place for odd and seriously cool stuff. Their selection is not awe-inspiring, and their website leaves much to be desired; but these guys always have great products you can't find elsewhere, great prices, and great service. After a quick perusal I filled my cart (again), then after remembering that I'm supposed to feel frugal, and that I just spent a bit over at botach, I slim my cart down (again), and finish my order.

The next day I made my rounds catching up on e-mail, and realized that I hadn't gotten my confirmation e-mail from Botach. I sent them an e-mail letting them know I failed to save my order number to track my order, and that I hadn't gotten a confirmation e-mail. Then I opened up my e-reciept to countycomm, and realized that I must have accidentally chosen the wrong address for delivery (why do I even still have that address in there?). I drafted an e-mail to Nick giving him the proper address, and fired it off. A little concerned about the missing confirmation e-mail (which are usually automatic), I typed "botach review" into Google, and found an epinions page for them. Oh my. The only place they got high marks was in the process managed by their yahoo store. The reviews covered the gamut; losing orders, shipping wrong items, taking weeks for delivery, lying to customers, faulty products, the works. Just as I finished the last review and was in a state of minor shock at the bullet I dodged with my frugality, a message popped into one of my inboxes. I didn't recognize the name, so I thought to myself; "See? Nothing to worry about. That's probably Botach with my order number now." But it wasn't; it was CountyComm returning my e-mail. Now, this wasn't a; "YOUR REQUEST FOR HELP AND OR INFORMATION HAS BEEN RECEIVED AND PROCESSED BY ORDERBOT 3000. YOUR REQUEST FOR HELP AND OR INFORMATION WILL BE HANDLED IN THE ORDER RECEIVED. WE VALUE YOUR BUSINESS. DO NOT RESPOND TO THIS E-MAIL OR WE WILL BURN YOUR HOUSE DOWN." This was a friendly e-mail from a real person which briefly stated that my package almost went out to the wrong address, and it was sent 12 minutes after I sent my e-mail!

I thought about my previous dealings with CountyComm and remembered that they were always receptive to any inqueries I sent them, and that they always shipped very quickly. The only problem I almost had with them, was from them shipping my product TOO quickly! Ha! If only they all had that problem!

I knew CountyComm was really a military/commercial supplier, and that their website was likely only a small portion of their income, which usually spells poor service and speed of order. However any orders that I've sent to them have been processed and sent out quickly and efficiently. I just got so used to being treated well, that I just kind of forgot all those things the Botach customers experienced actually happened. Talk about good treatment.

I put CountyComm into the review website and found that it wasn't in there. It's a small shop, but it deserves at least one review! I signed up for epinions, and discovered that I couldn't "make" a new store to write a review. I sent an e-mail to them asking how I could get a store added (they haven't responded yet (HA!) ).

So, here I am, relating my experiences with CountyComm in the form of a review.

Ease of Ordering: 4/5 Space Pineapples
The ordering system works perfectly, and paying is a cinch, but the site can sometimes be convoluted, and has some broken links.

Customer Service: 5/5 Space Pineapples
You get small shop customer service, and attention to detail!

On-Time Delivery: 5/5 Space Pineapples
Never been a problem!

Selection: 4/5 Space Pineapples
They get a 3 for not having a huge selection of stuff, but they get a +1 because they carry a lot of unique items!

Overall: 6/5 Space Pineapples
That's right; six.

Give them a click, you won't be disappointed.

Book-By-Its-Cover moment

We had a bit of car trouble this weekend, and I called for a tow truck.

When the truck arrived, he pulled into the gas station across from us. "Uhh, that's the southeast corner, not the northwest corner, brain surgeon." After a bit of futzing, he made it to our spot and loaded the car onto the flatbed. He was a old, oddly dressed, white bearded man, with one of those knit hats that holds dreadlocks. After he was done, I signed the order, and my girlfriend and I packed into the cab of the truck.

As he started up the truck, I prepared myself for the small-talk that invariably accompanys a tow. I'm not really much of a talker anyways, and I'm even less of a talker when the talkee looks like a steriotype. For a while, he was quiet, and I noticed what was playing on the stereo; it was some kind of opera. As I listened to the beautiful music, I was tempted to ask him who he was listening to, but was afraid he would take that as an opportunity to strike up a conversation. The song ended, and a radio announcer called the song "Song to the Earth." Kinda hippyish, but still good. Why was this guy listening to his music? I eyed his headware and realized that it was very likely full of dreadlocks. Suprised, I tried to picture how he would look without the hat when he spoke.
"You listen to this station? KCRW? It's based in Santa Monica college I think."
KCRW was an independent station that played a very odd mix of music of different styles and genras, I rarely listened during the day but I used to listen to their late night electronica shows "Metropolis" and "Nocturna".
"Yeah, actually I do listen to KCRW."
"I listen during the day sometimes, but I usually listen to the music at night when they play trance."
Whoa. This guy's into trance? I love trance.
"Yeah, you listen to Metropolis? I love trance."

He talked for a while about some of the music from the seventies, and somehow got on Sci-Fi. He told us about an instrument called a Theremin (which is played without touching it) which made all those outer-limits UFO sounds. Interesting stuff!

We got back to music, and he told me that he picked up interest in trance after hearing it on an episode of Samurai Jack. (!!!) I LOVE Samurai Jack!

Crazy! This guy's awesome! It'll be quite some time before I judge a book by its cover again!

The space gun cometh...

Well, only 9 more days to go...
(guns; betcha can't buy just four!)


(cue Sci-Fi weapon sound) BZZZZOW! BZZZZOW, BZZZZOW!

Now Josh, before you get mad, you should know that there were extenuating circumstances...

102 of them...

I'd been keeping an eye on the G22 for a while, but couldn't see spending the money on something so bloody impractical. When I hit Turners yesterday, I checked out their lever guns (my latest fancy), then I noticed that they had a Kel-Tec SU-16CA. Somehow the guys on CalGuns are convinced that these were hard to find, and I was almost ready to pay a premium for it, but then I called up good old Ade's gun shop, and he told me that he had two new ones in stock, and for $100 less than Turners. Once I knew that I'd be able to find an SU-16CA, I was very relieved. I wasn't quite ready to buy a gun in the price range of the SU. I mean, I COULD buy it, but I would have prefered to prepare for the purchase.

I looked in the corner at where they kept the three G22s I'd been eyeballing for months. this time they were all laying out against the wall instead of crammed into the corner, and one of them had a red tag on it! Turns out that the G22 with woodland camo has been discontinued, and Turners through a brilliant marketing strategy (???) chopped $102 off of it. I could get the G22 easily.

Once I knew that I COULD, I tried to figure out if I SHOULD. Wanting a gun is one thing, but when it comes time to actually (fuck it, I'm going to say it) pull the trigger, you think more seriously about it. Which was particularly difficult in this instance, because this gun serves almost no purpose.

I mean, look at it. Should I ever need an expensive solution to engaging in close-quarters-combat with an elite force of varmints, I'd reach for the G22. Otherwise, it's purely for fun. Besides, my jaunts to the range lately have been lacking something. I wanted something to spice up my visits, and since I live so close to the (pistol calibers only) range, and so far from any wide open spaces I might shoot rifles at, I think the G22 presented itself at the right time. Even so, it still took me a while to convince myself to buy this completely impractical gun. Well, the bullpup design means I get the velocity of a 20" barrel without the extra space, and it can be switched from lefty to righty easily (important if you don't like bolts in the teeth!). The .22 round is useful only for varmits of various types, and killing paper. I guess it does have some points. (very few though)

As I was filling out the paperwork, (and being fingerprinted like a criminal) someone walked up and gestured toward the woodland camo'ed G22 on the counter between me and the clerk.
"Pickin' up a G22? Good choice. I've got one, and it's a lot of fun."
"Yeah... Kinda hard to rationalize though, right?"
"Oh yeah. But hey; fun's fun!"

Yeah. I guess fun is fun. This gun serves no practical purpose other than to go to the range and have fun killing paper. (maybe even with frikin' laz0rs!)

I'm happy with my purchase.

Introducing new shooters

JR was gracious enough to take some new shooters to the range to teach them important gun safety, and (as a bonus) an appreciation for firearms.

Learning to shoot can be one of the most important things you can teach someone else. The basics of firearm safety is something everyone should know, gun owner or not.

If you're a gun owner, it's your duty to keep your eyes and ears peeled for people who might be willing to go to the range with you. Teaching people (especially in blue states) that nothing bad happens when a gun goes off is an important lesson, and will bring fence-sitters to our side.

Could the S really HTF?

This is a favorite topic among gunnies, "When the Fit hits the Shan, where will you be? (and will you bring your towel?)" It refers to a total break down of social order and civilization, wrought with lawlessness and desperation. This situation is sometimes referred to as the Zombocalypse (though there are some who feel that word refers exclusively to the attack of the undead hoards), or TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It) which seems more final than a simple SHTF scenario. There aren't really clearly defined differences between these ideas, but that's not important.

Whenever a SHTF scenario or TEOTWAWKI warning is posted on a gunner board, I suspect a majority of people simply chuckle to themselves and roll their eyes. I think this is because they think poster is referring to an incredible, unrealistic, world changing event. This does not have to be the case.
Unlikely Examples:
Will the army of the undead rise from the Earth to feast of the flesh of the living?
Probably not.
Will a rival superpower rise, and incite WWIII, leaving America a ravaged post-apocalyptic warzone?
It's unlikely.
Will the Red Chinese overtake America with sheer numbers, and claim the land as its own, forcing gunnies to fight for their freedom from the commies?
All signs point to No. (Hmm, that's actually possible.)
Will you awake from a sushi-induced coma only to find the populace of the city you live in have been infected by a highly contagious diet cola, turning them into bloodthirsty animals and you; armed only with your boomstick, chainsaw hand, and spleen are the only thing standing between the fanatical hoard of Islamic terrorist jellyfish and the destruction of the world by giant invisible pirate ninjas??? Also, you have to fight Metal Gear.
Er- What?!

The fact of the matter is that there are far more plausible possibilities that would result in the S H'ing TF.
Likely Examples:
Will there be an earthquake/fire/flood which knocks out power for 3 weeks.
It's possible.
Will there be a attack/mistake which contaminates drinking water for a month?
Very possible.
Will a serious tax hike drive the American economy into a depression?
Likely.

It wouldn't take much to throw the citizenry into a panic. Loss of food, supplies, or water will breed desperation in honest people. Even a minor disaster will render the police useless, and allow rioting, looting and lawlessness. It's happened before, and it didn't start with a bad plot from a B movie.

Lets give it a shot, shall we?

Perhaps at the very moment you finish reading this post, an important water pipe juncture will burst and be closed off for repair. But once that juncture is closed off, other junctures, unsuited for the elevated pressure, will burst in a domino effect. Suddenly the county is without water for an undetermined period of time. The news reports start up and needlessly frighten people (because it's good ratings). Citizens will check their faucets; half will panic, half will relax and wait for salvation. The panicking populace will rush to the nearest store to begin hoarding water for their family. Shelves are emptied within 12 hours, at night, stores are broken into for their goods. Days later, the less than scrupulous of the populace realizes that the police are preoccupied, and begin robbing, raping, and attacking at will. The relaxed half of the populace who thought this would blow over quickly begin to become frightened after the end of first week sees reports of repair delays. Freeways out of the county are congested to closure and filled with abandoned vehicles. Local government will set up stations to dispense a far too little water to far too many people. Those who are denied government water will mob up on those who did get water, many people will be beaten, and little water will make to homes. A serial arsonist realizes he has the upper hand. The governor will declare a state of emergency, and send trucks of water, but the truck drivers will not deliver the water after being shot at by gangs. Friends, neighbors, and family turn on each other to take what they so desperately need to survive. The police force disintegrates as officers stay home in order to protect their families and find supplies. A week later, the governor will enforce the supply deliveries by calling on the national guard to defend the trucks. De facto martial law will be put into place. National Guard will hold off desperate citizens who mob the supply trucks to maintain order; a shot will be fired, then many. Supply truck massacres will cause a media feeding frenzy, and lead to retaliation against the National Guardsmen. Lawlessness will become so bad that repairs on the water pipes will be postponed indefinitely. Then things start to get bad...

(Whoops, you just finished reading this post! Care to check the news?)

Glock thoughts

UPDATED

Let me begin by saying that I don't much care for Glocks.

I don't like the way they feel.
I don't like the way they look.
I don't like the way everyone has one.
(I've got a weird thing about liking popular things)
I don't like their triggers.
I don't like their grip angle.
I don't like their non-safety "safety".
I don't like the way it's only half-cocked when it's cocked.
And I definitely don't like Glock fanboys.

For all those counts against Gaston's ugly little pistol, it still has one thing going for it. But that one thing just might be enough to overlook all the negatives.

• Reliability

I'm not even sure there is any argument about this point. Glock attackers will frequently start their arguments "Well it is reliable, but..." as if there was any trait or characteristic that would matter more than reliability.

----------------------

A bit ago I was watching Ronin, and at one point Robert DeNiro is asked what gun he'd like. He replies that he'd like a 1911. Which, to a gunny, is just a few notches above asking for "One that goes boom." I wondered what gun he would ask for if he were more specific. A Springfield Loaded? A Kimber Custom something-or-other? A classic Colt? This was going to be a pistol that was expected to work in tough situations, not a chrome-plated target shooter that could afford to jam if you didn't feed it properly. What ammo could he expect to get? Then I realized that if the gun was new, it might have to be broken in. I don't think they were in a location that they could fire off a couple thousand rounds to get a new automatic working smoothly and reliably.

I thought what I would want if I were in that position. The gun would have to be something I would have experience shooting, something that could expect to act consistently like the other guns of the same model I'd used, something with few safeties and few points of failure, and above all ultimate reliability. I'd (unfortunately) have to choose a Glock. No matter where I get the Glock from or what state of usage I get it in, I'd be confident that it would act consistently as any other Glock that I'd handled.

But hey, it's just a movie.

Why not choose an XD? It's basically a Glock right? Well, even if time earns the XD the decades of reliability that the Glock has, the features that the XD sports seems to lend it to being a carry gun for casual (if any) use. The Glock is as simple as getting hit in the head with a brick, and made to take thousands of rounds down the pipe without flinching.

For now I'm content with my XD, which (after a break-in period) has yet to fail to function. Even when I poured sand into the opened action, and put two mags through it, there was no issue. It continues to function flawlessly no matter what I feed it (though I don't feed it anything other than mid-grade and white box). Should it somehow manage to fail in some way though regular use, I will likely have no choice but to buy a Glock.

The simple fact is that if someone walked up to me when I required a gun, and asked me what gun I'd like;

I wouldn't ask for a Matte Black Kimber Pro X4 Uber-elite Ultra6 with Wolf aftermarket springs, StickyFingers grips, Thompkins McAwesomeshooter barrel and bushing, with a Shooty McShooterson super-duper-feather-lite trigger job, Ninja Nite-sytes, with a tan lucky rabbit's foot attached to the lanyard loop, and a rail-mounted Surefire weapon light and laz0r, pre-broken-in with baby powder hand-ground by Tibetan monks, with 6 Wilson Combat 10 round mags, and 1000 rounds of Winchester Ranger .45.

I'd simply ask for a Glock 23, and be confident that my choice was the correct one.

Enlightenment at work

Coworker: "It's ok to lie about sex; I mean, It's not like it was important to national security that we know that Bill was getting a BJ..."

Me: "That is wrong because of one word. Blackmail. You now have dirt on the most powerful man in the world. You don't think that has national security implications?"

Coworker: "... Never thought about it like that."

Me: "Neither did any reporter during that scandal. Why do you think that was?"

Coworker: "Hmm..."

ENLIGHTENMENT DISPENSED, DEPOSIT $1 FOR EACH ADDITIONAL MINUTE.

No guns in schools? Try terrorists in schools.

JR over at A Keyboard and a .45 has a very sobering post about the prospect and the likelyhood terrorists attacking our schools.

I knew they would make a good target, but I had no idea that terrorists were actively training takeover and control methodology of schools, and obtaining blueprints for American schools. Or that they had a history of doing just that. Jesus.

This is more serious that people think. Reading what they've done in Russia in the past is truly chilling.

I'd recommend holding on to this link to enlighten the ignorant. Guns don't just murder, they also defend.

Workout music

For anyone who's interested in workout music, I thought I'd share the following nugget of wisdom...

Listening to the iPod of Dragonforce gives plus 10 to heartrate.

(if only I could find the gauntlets of strength)




.. Ok, that might have been too geeky.

Truth from Stouty

Stouty reminds us of some basic economics very eloquently.

This would be a good thing to share with your nearest and dearest liberal non-friend. The idea that a minimum wage is a good idea is a really popular belief in lefty circles.

The deep-seated idea that if you force eeeevil profit-obsessed business owners to pay their poor employees more, and not cause any negative impact is a liberal favorite.

The simple, undisputed law of economics that There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch just doesn't seem to phase the liberal mind.

Why not strike up a conversation with your left-leaning coworker, and casually bring up the latest democrat attempt at a minimum wage hike, and once they start filling their balloon with hot air, pull out your logic pin, and give them a poke! (insert evil grin here)

Give him a click.

David Codrea, Talkin' to America

David Codrea of WarOnGuns was interviewed on the JPFO's Talkin' to America show.

Codrea is bang on as usual. It's completely worth your time, and touches on a range of subjects you might not be privy to. If you're interested in your 2nd Amendment rights (and retaining them) you are required under threat of Charlton Heston to listen to this interview.

Farvel Velma the Valkyrie...

I'd been playing my Valkyrie very carefully for a couple of weeks, and my caution had paid off with a fairly complete kit for going deeper into the dungeon. There had only been one near-death experience wherein I was saved by my faithful Red Dragon, Trogdor. I was doing better than I'd done before, and I owe that mainly to changing playing style. Once I stopped playing Nethack like a game, and more like real life, I started to do MUCH better.

My kit for continuing lower into the dungeon was almost complete, and I figured now would be a good time to complete my side quest, and hope to find the stuff I was missing among the goodies.

As I entered the final level of my quest, Lord Surtur's stronghold, I saw something I'd never seen before. It was one of the more dangerous things in the Nethack's dungeon; a lowered drawbridge. The funny thing was that I didn't know why it was dangerous.

I had read in a few places that one should always be careful of drawbridges. When I started reading the messages, I couldn't help but laugh at the idea of a player standing in the way of a drawbridge, and lowering it onto themselves. I couldn't imagine any other way they could be dangerous, but I still wondered why so many felt the need to mention being careful around drawbridges. This question rolled around in my head for some time; how many spaces would the drawbridge take up? Would you be able to lower it from a safe distance or at an angle? What about these drawbridges was tripping people up? I just couldn't figure out why drawbridges were so insidious.

So, I approached the stronghold (and drawbridge) carefully. I had no problem taking care of the monsters on this level, and felt brave. I stepped onto the drawbridge... I stepped further... And stepped off of it, into the stronghold. Ooooookay... I fought my way to Lord Surtur, who teleported away. I followed him outside (across the drawbridge), and dealt with him easily. Now my thoughts turned to the booty. I gathered most of the goodies from the level and left to complete my quest by returning the artifact, and resume my mission in the dungeon. After I got through identifying all my booty, I realized that I had somehow managed to leave 10 blessed +3 daggers on one of the quest levels! I was careful not to throw them in a direction where they could wind up in lava, so I figured I could find them easily.

I returned to the quest levels, and easily fought my way through to the lower levels with the help of Trogdor (who, by now, had been polymorphed from a Red Dragon into a Golden Naga by one of the dungeon's more malicious traps) and my Stone Giant. Both were quite strong, and very reliable. We made short work of the monsters who spawned more frequently here than in the dungeon. Easy experience, good chance of items; good times. We made our way to the bottom level with Lord Surtur's stronghold (and the drawbridge), and I spied what looked like my daggers inside the stronghold, next to two Fire Giants, who would be dispatched easily.

I stepped onto the draw bridge and looked through the opening into the stronghold, the fire giant was right in front of me, but with lava in front and behind him, I didn't want to risk losing any of my daggers. I took another step forward onto the base of the drawbridge within striking distance of another fire giant. "Come get a facefull of the Hammer of Thor!"

The fire giant zaps a wand of striking! --more--

"Go ahead." I say, "I'm magic resistant." and I hit the space bar for the rest of the messages.

The wand hits the drawbridge! --more--

"eh?"

You are blown apart by flying debris. --more--

Now on that last message, I got a little confused. You are blown apart??? Not, "Your shield is blown apart" or "Your bag is blown apart" It just says that I... was blown apart. What does that mean? How much damage does that do? That sounds dangerously final. If I land in the lava I can still teleport to safety... Will I get a chance to ask my god for help? Will my god help me automatically?
Slightly perplexed, I press the space bar.

Do you want your possessions identified? [ynq] (n)
(the message you get when you die)

*insert mild aneurysm here*

I stare at the message with furrowed eyebrows. I'm not mad or angry, just confused. It happened too fast. Surely my best character didn't just suffer an unknown insta-death. I stare at the screen for what must have been a few minutes. I'm in disbelief. I'm not sure what to think. I stare at the message for a bit longer, thinking that I must be misreading it, or it must be some kind of mistake. The cursor blinks back at me, waiting for my reply to the dreaded question.

Then, for some reason, I open up a text editor, and start saving my position, attributes, and score on the computer for future reference. I feel a bit numb as I record the dying qualities of my best character. I'd learned so much. I'd gotten so attached. Trogdor is masterless. Oh man. I can't believe it. Just like that. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200... Just dead.

I rifle through my accomplishments. Velma was a seriously tough bitch!... Obviously not tough enough. After 63371 turns... Brought down by an exploding drawbridge. Unbelievable.

I post the stats to my google notebook so I can pull them up later.






I don't think I'll be playing for a while...

                       ----------
                      /          \
                     /    REST    \
                    /      IN      \
                   /     PEACE      \
                  /                  \
                  |      Velma       |
                  |       0 Au       |
                  | crushed to death |
                  | by an exploding  |
                  |    drawbridge    |
                  |                  |
                  |       2007       |
                 *|     *  *  *      | *
        _________)/\\_//(\/(/\)/\//\/|_)_______

Farvel Velma the Valkyrie...

You were crushed in The Quest on dungeon level 6 with 362800 points,
and 0 pieces of gold, after 63371 moves.
You were level 14 with a maximum of 124 hit points when you were crushed.


Final Attributes:

You were the Hand of Elbereth.
You were piously aligned.
You were fire resistant.
You were cold resistant.
You were sleep resistant.
You were shock resistant.
You were poison resistant.
You were magic-protected.
You saw invisible.
You were telepathic.
You were warned.
You were displaced.
You were stealthy.
You could teleport.
You had teleport control.
You had slower digestion.
You were protected.
You were fast.
You had reflection.
You were extremely lucky.
You had extra luck.
Good luck did not time out for you.
You are dead.

1796 creatures vanquished.


The scene etched into my brain.