Myriad Bits of Random Shit

   Things have been a bit crappy health wise. I have a minor sore spot on my lower right leg just above the ankle. I told my primary doctor about it, and she set up an ultrasound. The lab tech did the ultrasound on my right leg and, for reference purposes, took some readings on my left leg. The results revealed that I had blood clots behind my right knee and more clots in the upper left groin area. Because of this, I'm now taking Eliquis, a blood thinner. The padding in my knees is largely gone and there's now some measure of bone-on-bone action going on. I've received three injections into each knee of a substance made from rooster combs. Whether or not I'll need to have one or both knees replaced has yet to be determined.

  My Dad ended up in the hospital because he was having a hard time urinating. About a liter of urine was backed up in his system and this put stress on his kidneys that led to an infection. He was transported to the hospital and spent time in the ICU. He's currently in a nursing home recuperating. Hopefully, he'll be home soon. 

  The Kickstarters I'm backing are progressing slowly. The Crit Effect and Fright Effect dice have arrived at the seller's location. I've got some new Kickstarters slowly moving towards completion. This includes the Cthulhu Mythos Tarot, Crossroads Inn, Wastelands Saga, When the Wolf Comes, Satanic Panic, FlipDice, Stokerverse, Game Space and Paranoia the Perfect Edition. The two Cthulhu Wars Kickstarters are getting closer to completion. Once The Game Steward gets their Kickstarter orders, I'll be getting my Cthulhu Wars orders. Petersen Games has added The Dunwich Horror expansion to their Cthulhu Wars expansions. They're being made along with the other Kickstarters. I contacted Petersen Games and found out that they'll be selling some of these expansions via their website as soon as they become available. Here's a video of the expansion.

  I'm really looking forward to getting The Dunwich Horror and my Cthulhu Wars orders. Once I get them, I'll have pretty much everything Cthulhu Wars related. Only a few minor upgrades remain unpurchased.

  Thanksgiving and SatursGiving were a bust. We didn't make a turkey on Thanksgiving because Dad was in the hospital, and I couldn't go to SatursGiving because I had to work. I'm hoping that I'll get New Year's Eve and New Year's Day off so I can play boardgames with my friends.

Have Some More Chop Suey

   The Era: Hitman v1.1 Kickstarter has concluded. The books arrived a few days ago. The Cthulhu Wars Kickstarters are progressing towards completion. I've traded in my Samsung Galaxy S8 and upgraded to a Galaxy S22+ (256 Gb). Like most flagship smartphones, the S22+ doesn't have a headphone jack or SD card slot. It also has a different charging setup. The charging cable has USB C connectors at both ends and I had to purchase the plugin block separately. The cable, plugin block and SD card for the S8 is now being used with the Galaxy Tab A7 SM-T307U (32 Gb) I purchased from a seller on eBay. The tablet was used and came with nothing else.

  I also purchased a screen and camera lenses protector for the S22+ and a tablet cover for the Tab A7. The Tab A6 SM-T280 (8 Gb) has become my RPG rulebook tablet. All the RPG documents I've acquired are stored on the 200 Gb SD card occupying the memory card slot along with my music files. The Tab A7 SM-T307U (32 Gb) tablet will have my GoDice app and other RPG apps loaded upon it. It will serve as my RPG gaming tablet. This will cut down on the amount of gear I take with me when I go gaming. 

The Tail End of Summer

   Another boring summer is heading towards its end. Gen Con has come and gone, and I wasn't there to enjoy it. Hopefully things will be different next year. I've been to the Bristol Renaissance Faire once this year and I'm hoping to go again before the season ends.

  I've backed a few more Kickstarters since my last post. The first one is The Big Conspiracy card game. Others include When the Wolf Comes, Era: Hitman v1.1, Gausahedron, Wasteland Sagas, Cthulhu Mythos Tarot and Crossroads Inn. The Cthulhu Wars: CATaclysm and Cthulhu Wars: The Daemon Sultan Kickstarters are progressing very slowly. According to the latest update, the pieces are being or have been molded. While I was unable to participate in these Kickstarters directly, The Game Steward has backed both projects. Over the past two years or so, I've placed orders with them for items from both of these Kickstarters as well as other Cthulhu Wars expansions. When all these orders arrive, I'll pretty much have everything Cthulhu Wars related. I've acquired an Eradication first player marker for the game recently on eBay.

The Rise of Contard Fascism

   The fascist contards on the Supreme Court have overturned Roe vs. Wade. Apparently, this is just the beginning. According to Clarence Thomas, gay marriage, the ability to purchase contraceptives and LGBTQ+ rights could be struck down. Here's the video.

This has sparked protests from pro-choice advocates. Here's that video.

  These contard assholes want to take away the rights of groups they want to oppress while making it as easy as possible for anyone to get high powered military grade weaponry. They want to shove their religion down everyone's throats. They go to extremes to protect the unborn while denying people health care, paid leave and other support programs. A "gun control" bill has passed in Congress, but it doesn't really do much. This watered-down piece of shit does very little when it comes to gun control. The only reason any GOP members signed on was because 2022 is an election year for some of its members and they don't want to be seen as pro mass shootings. Here's that video.

  So, there you have it. Guns have all kinds of protection while the citizens of the U.S. are slowly losing their rights. The contards go out of their way to protect the unborn only to abandon them after birth. The right wants to keep their followers credulous, angry and armed to the teeth just in case they feel the need to try another insurrection. I'm going to end this post with two more videos, one from Betty Bowers and the other from one of the greatest comedians of all time, George Carlin.

Health News & More

   My GoDice arrived a short while back. I got the 6 dice set that came with a charging base, dice tube and tablet/smartphone stand. Along with it, I ordered a set of D&D dice shells with bag, USB charging port, folding dice tray and dice cup. I've installed the GoDice app on my smartphone. Once I charge the dice, I can connect them to my phone via the app. Using the app and the D&D shells, I can create a set of RPG dice. The RPG calculator function allows me to roll attack, damage and saving throws with the necessary modifiers when I'm gaming. All the rolls are recorded on my phone and I can get the total damage rolled for spells like fireball etc.. 

  The GoDice have to be put into the shells in a specific orientation in order for them to function correctly. When separated, you'll see a number 5 on the inside of one shell half and a 2 on the inside of the other half. Below each of these numbers is a small number 1. You put the selected die into its shell by orienting the die so the 5 face is inserted into the shell half with the 5 in it and the 2 shell half covers the 2 face of the die. The 1 face of the die must be facing the edge with the 1. Each shell half has 4 small magnets in it. 3 are shiny and 1 is black. When you put the shell halves together, the black magnets are paired with each other. You then use the app to pair a particular die with the shell you put it in. The d4, d8 and d12 use a 24 sided shell while the d10, d% and d20 use a 20 sided shell. Each die has different colored pips in order to tell them apart. The app also has a function that allows you to light up a particular die by touching a button.

  I bought a large 9 compartment dice bag on eBay. I'm using it to organize some of my dice. About 7 complete sets of RPG dice are in one compartment. All of my odd sided dice (d5s, d7s etc.) are in another compartment. My random encounter dice set, Dice of Death of Death & Dismemberment, Dice Coins and my set of ability score, attack, defense and saving throw bonus/penalty marking cubes occupy most of the other compartments. When the second wave of my Death & Dismemberment dice arrive, they'll fill up the remaining two compartments.

  On the health front, I had a stress test on the 17th. The preliminary results indicate that I have a dilated aorta. It's at 4 cm right now. At this point, monitoring it via echocardiograms is necessary. If it doesn't dilate further, nothing needs to be done. However, should it dilate to 5 cm or more, surgery will have to be done. I wore a Holter monitor for 48 hours. It collected data that now has to be analyzed to determine how well my heart is functioning. I turned it in to the Aurora Cardiac Diagnostics Center this past Friday. It will take about a week to get the results back.

One Last Helping of Chop Suey

   This past Friday, I had two doctor's appointments. The first one was with an orthopedist regarding my knees. An earlier x-ray revealed that both knees are arthritic. The doctor told me that the cushions between my leg bones and between the kneecap and joint are worn thin and my bones are rubbing directly against each other. The term she used was remodeling. I got steroid injections in both knees, which she told me would elevate my blood glucose level. She wasn't kidding. When I checked my blood glucose level the next morning, the meter didn't give me a number, it just said HI. That put it over 500 mg/dl. I checked it again at around midnight and it was still around 475.

  While my eyes haven't suffered any damage as a result of my diabetes, the cataract in my right eye is slowly getting worse and affecting how well I see out of it. I have an appointment with another eye doctor in December where we're going to discuss the possibility of having cataract surgery. That will change the lens prescription for my right eye quite a bit, so I'll have to get new glasses.

  I've finally transferred all my gaming material onto the SD card of my Galaxy Tab a6. I've installed a PDF and document reading app on my tablet so I can read the files. Some of the files had to be modified because certain file types like rich text files and TIFFs aren't readable by the app. Now I can bring less books with me when I go gaming. I also have easy access to all my errata files. The internal storage space on the tablet is very low. I've moved what apps I could onto the SD card, and I periodically have to delete cached and unnecessary data from it in order to perform updates. Right now, I can use the tablet to access all my email accounts, listen to music, watch YouTube, look up information on Wikipedia and surf the net.

  I've placed my final Cthulhu Wars order with The Game Steward. This order consists of Dire Azathoth, Dire Cthulhu and all the remaining alternate game boards for Cthulhu Wars (Yuggoth, Dreamlands, Library of Celaeno, Primeval and Shaggai) in both 3-5 player and 6-8 player versions. With the exception of a few crossovers from other games, I'll eventually have everything currently available for Cthulhu Wars. In the course of about two years, I've spent over $1,000 putting all this together.

  I had to order a three pack of A to micro-B USB cables for my Tab a6. The original cable's micro-B plug has cracked in two places. I glued those pieces back on, but now the insulation by that plug has cracked revealing the wiring underneath. I couldn't risk further cable damage possibly damaging my tablet or battery. I've already replaced the battery twice.

  I've gone on eBay and ordered a military canteen cup stove, rubber style canteen cup lid and an American style mess kit to add to my military canteen, cup and pouch set. While I'm never been camping, I was contemplating creating a small portable cooking set up that I could occasionally use to cook a quick outdoor meal. I might add more to it over time.

The Financial Report

   The RAV 4 is finally sold. An inspector for the buyer came out a few days ago and looked over the vehicle. He checked the inside and outside of the car and took a bunch of pictures before he left. That coupled with the CarFax report lowered their initial offer of $11,400 to $9,000. The car has been involved in three accidents: one minor, one moderate and one severe. I accepted their offer and uploaded pics of the front and back of the title, registration and front and back of my license to them. They emailed a FedEx label to me so I could ship the signed title to their office in Georgia. The title should get to them sometime later today. Once they have the title in their possession, they will electronically transfer the $9,000 into my account. Arrangements will then be made to have them pick up the RAV 4.

  My federal refund will be in my account on the 13th. It dropped from $3,405 to $2,005. I think the reason for the drop had to do with the third stimulus payment. Hopefully, later this week, I'll have $11,005 in the bank. I'm going to shunt $1,000 into my Health Savings account and about $1,000 to $1,500 will be used to pay down my credit card. Other bills due this month will be paid as well. I do plan to indulge myself a little bit. I'm going to buy the equipment guide for Twilight 2013 and a bunch of additional expansions for Cthulhu Wars like Dire Azathoth, Dire Cthulhu, the other game maps like Shaggai, Library of Celaeno, Dreamlands etc. and the 6-8 player maps for each. The rest of the money will stay in the account. I'm hoping that the amount of money I make on a monthly basis will be more than what I pay out in bills per month. I want to keep paying down my credit card and building up my savings so I can go to Gen Con next year.

Chop Suey Part 2 (More Odds & Ends)

  I'm currently trying to sell my Rav 4. One place has offered a little over $11,000 for the car. Another place has offered around $4,600. If the first place wants the car and can come pick it up, I'll sell it to them. The Crit Effect & Fright Effect dice sets have achieved their funding goal. They have 14 more days to collect more money and unlock stretch goals. The GoDice Kickstarter orders are now locked.

  My federal refund is still being processed. This waiting is getting to be a pain in the ass. If I can get my refund plus sell the Rav 4 for $11,000, I'd have plenty of money to not only take care of some bills, but I could also shunt some money into my HSA, Simple and Serve accounts.

  I need to get my Tab A6 fixed again. The back has partially popped off and I can't get it fastened back in place. It looks like the new battery has swelled up just like the last one did. I want to use this tablet for gaming. I've installed a 200Gb mini-SD card in the unit and I want to copy all my gaming book PDFs onto it. That plus a program that can read PDFs and other types of text files will allow me access to my entire gaming book PDF collection without having to use my laptop. I'll have a small, portable and easy to access library that I can take with me when I game.

  They've hired some new people at work and another employee in my department is leaving. I'm hoping that if we get more people in my department, I'll start getting early shifts again. I'm getting tired of closing all the time. That's all for now.

Chop Suey (Odds & Ends)

   My parents bought a 2022 Subaru Outback and I've taken ownership of their previous vehicle, a 2015 Subaru Forester. The title, plates and insurance have been transferred to the new car. My taxes have been filed. My Wisconsin refund has already been deposited in my account. According to the TaxAct software, I'm due to get $3,405.00 as a federal refund. This is quite a bit higher than what I've received in the past and I can't help but wonder if I've done something wrong when I filled out the tax form. Last year, a program update altered the amount of my refunds after I'd already filed my taxes. This delayed my federal refund considerably. I'm worried this will happen again.

  The Backerkit survey for the GoDice Kickstarter has been filled out and returned. I've added a USB charging unit and collapsible dice tray to my order. If I've read their last update correctly, I should be getting a GoDice D&D dice bag added to my order as a free upgrade because I ordered the D&D dice shells for my GoDice. The dUltimate Kickstarter is now in the sample stage of production. If the samples pass muster, they'll be going into full production soon. The Crit Effect dice set Kickstarter has started up again and I've once again put in a pledge for a set. They've got 21 days to reach their $9,000 goal.

  The Game Steward has been sending me emails to let me know that they're keeping track of my orders. The Kickstarters these orders are based on are slowly nearing completion. Hopefully, my orders will be filled before the end of the year. I'm not sure if I will be adding any other orders to the list.

  I have a host of medical appointments coming up. A recent set of X-rays has revealed that I have bilateral arthritis in both knees. I'm due to see an orthopedist in order to determine a course of action. I've also scheduled an appointment with a cardiologist in regard to atrial fibrillation. I'm also going to see my nephrologist, endocrinologist and ophthalmologist in the near future. My knees are my biggest concern. My job puts a certain amount of stress on my knees, and they get stiff and painful when I stand or walk for extended periods of time. If the orthopedist recommends surgery, I'm going to ask him if it might be time for me to consider retirement. I'm 60 years old and I've had health issues for about 10 years now. I don't know how many good years I have left in me, and I want to enjoy the last part of my life.

Hastur has Risen!! Have you seen the Yellow Sign?

   My Hastur-The Risen One mini for Cthulhu Wars arrived yesterday. Here's the unboxing video.

The Contard Report

  Trump's new social media network, Truth Social, is off to a shitty start. This blatant Twitter rip off has suffered from long waiting line, pathetic security and other such problems. Here are some videos.

  This is laughable. These idiots completely fuck up the rollout, create fake accounts for various legitimate media sites in an effort to make themselves seem legitimate and cancel accounts of anyone that makes fun of them. When someone famous, like Joe Rogan, signs up, they import Joe's Twitter follower stats in order to make it seem like all those people are also on Truth Social. For all his talk about his new network, Trump isn't even using it. He's been making all of his recent announcements via other outlets. Given all the other contard based social media sites out there, what are the odds that this one won't crash and burn?

  On a slightly different note, 13 individual studies were done that established that people that follow Trump tend to be among the most bigoted people in the country. These studies simply give scientific credence to something we already knew. I mean, the Klan, Proud Boys and Neo-Nazis all adore that orange haired dipshit. A large chunk of the GOP can't wait to kiss Trump's ass and spread his lies and these people have been trying to legislate their bigotry and hate into law for some time now. For more information, let's go to the video.

  What can I say?

Further Updates

   I finally saw my new oncologist today. My cancer tests came back normal. Other tests were ordered by other doctors and the only one that came back bad was in regard to my kidneys. My primary care doctor suggested that I have the test done again in order to see if things were as bad as they seemed. The second test showed improvement but it still not exactly where it should be. She believes that I may not be sufficiently hydrated.

  I received my Covid-19 booster shot yesterday so now I have additional protection. I might have to get another shot in about 8 months because the doctors think I might still be immunocompromised. Given that my last cancer treatments were more than a year ago, I don't think this is likely. That being said, it looks like Covid-19 is becoming like the flu in that we'll need to get periodic booster shots in order to deal with all the various strains that exist.

  I've purchased the 3rd and 4th editions of Twilight 2000. The 3rd edition is technically called Twilight 2013. I've downloaded some Twilight 2013 PDFs from Scribd. I want to order the Equipment Guide for Twilight 2013 from Noble Knight Games, but the book is $125.00. I've also ordered the 2nd edition bundle pack for The One Ring game along with an extra set of One Ring game dice. I'm expecting that order to arrive sometime in March. I've also ordered a Hastur, The Risen One Cthulhu Wars miniature. Here's a video displaying the mini.

  This thing is huge. According to the rules, the mini is said to occupy any space its base touches for purposes of movement, attacks etc. It features Hastur in the center with The King in Yellow standing in front of it. The Pallid Mask is off to the one side and Hastur's tentacles form The Yellow Sign when you look at it from above. I didn't get to participate in the Kickstarter Petersen Games had to fund the mini's creation, but they received a limited number of them that they're selling to the public.

  The other Cthulhu Wars Kickstarters for the Bubastis and Daemon Sultan factions don't seem to be progressing. This is delaying the orders I have with the Game Stewards. 

Same Shit, Different Day

   Things have been a bit fucked up lately. First off, back in November, a notice was put at work regarding signing up for insurance. I mistakenly thought that this notice was for new people that were now qualified to get health insurance, so I ignored it. It turns out that said notice was meant for everyone and I was supposed to renew my insurance. The end result is my insurance came to an end on Jan. 1st, 2022. I can't get back on my employer's insurance again until November. Fortunately, I still had my account information for the HealthCare.gov website and I managed to secure health insurance from them. The insurance went into effect on Feb. 1st, 2022. My fuck up cost me an appointment with my new oncologist and has delayed refilling some of my prescriptions. I've also signed up for dental insurance, but I haven't yet received my information.

  I should be getting my copy of Dungeon Bitches soon. The tracking app places it in my hometown, but the Post Office hasn't accepted it yet. Other than that, not much has been happening on the Kickstarter front. A speaker fell off the basement wall and landed on my Cthulhu Horror Clix and some of my Mythos coins. Fortunately, other than the stand for my Cultist coin being destroyed, nothing else was badly damaged. I had to glue one of Cthulhu's wings back on and refasten it to its stand. The speaker wasn't remounted on the wall in order to prevent this from happening again. That's all for now.

The Contard Death March Continues

   Another QAnon anti-vaxxer has died from Covid. Cirsten Weldon, an antivax, QAnon worshiping conspiracy theory spewing nutjob died from a disease she swore until her dying breath was a hoax. We can add her name to the ever-lengthening list of contards posthumously collecting their Darwin Awards. While I'm very much in favor of these idiots thinning their ranks by catching Covid and dying, how many innocent people have been infected by this credulous cunt? I'm surprised she didn't try to cure herself by drinking chlorine dioxide, taking horse dewormer or shoving a UV light up her ass.

   And while we're on the subject of bogus Covid cures, let's take a look at Christopher Key. This self- proclaimed head of the 'Vaccine Police' is advocating drinking urine as a Covid cure. He doesn't seem to understand that urine is a waste product that the body is excreting because it doesn't need it. I wonder if this moronic twit eats his own shit as well. To make things even worse, this psychotic cocksucker also advocates drinking chlorine dioxide. This guy is dangerous. He's been threatening pharmacists over giving out the Covid vaccine. He wants them executed for crimes against humanity. I really wish this sponge brained asswipe would join his contard brethren and die already. 

  Another anti-vaxxer, right wing podcaster Douglas Kuzma, has also written himself into the Dead Book by dying of Covid. Here's the video.

 

  Other names that can be added to the Contard Death March list are Igor and Grichka, the Bogdanoff twins. Here's their video.

   

  So long as stupid, gullible and credulous people like these are running around loose in the world, the pandemic will continue. We already have a number of Covid variants mutating into existence. As the pandemic drags on, we'll get more. It's already being suggested that people that have received the initial vaccination shots get booster shots to upgrade their protection. We could put an end to this if we can achieve herd immunity status. Right now, it doesn't look like that's going to happen.

Dull Normality

     Things have once again settled into a dull routine. The cycle of work, home, work, home mindlessly marches on. I've seen a few new movies like Venom 2, Matrix: Resurrections, Eternals, Spiderman: No Way Home and Ghostbusters: Afterlife. I've purchased a set of Glow in the Dark Great Old Ones from Noble Knight Games. The set included Azathoth, Hastur, The King in Yellow, Nyarlathotep, Ithaqua, Rhan-Tegoth, Ubbo-Sathla, Tsathoggua, Shub-Niggurath and Yog-Sothoth. Cthulhu was purchased separately. All, except Azathoth, came with loyalty cards and spellbooks. Now the faction Great Old Ones can also be played as Independent Great Old Ones. I haven't heard much about the status of my orders from The Game Steward.

  I'm not sure how well the Farxiga is helping control my diabetes. I should be due to have my a1c checked so I'll get some insight then. Not much else to report health wise. I still have some paperwork to file in regard to my pension. Nothing much has been happening on the Kickstarter front.   

End of the Year Eant

   2021 will soon be over. I had hoped that I would be over at a friend's home tonight playing boardgames and enjoying the company of friends but the pandemic pretty much killed that. I blame the fucking anti-vaxxers. On that note, more anti-vax nutjobs are dying of Covid or trying to kill themselves in their fight to not get Covid. Here are some videos.

  These people are idiots. They won't take the vaccine which has been proven to be effective against Covid, but they'll drink a toxic mix of chemicals in their efforts to avoid catching Covid. Of course, some of these morons are still in Dallas waiting for JFK junior to rise from the dead and anoint Trump King of America. 

  Mike Lindell's grasp of reality is still quite tenuous and it's getting weaker as time progresses. Every time he fails to make his case that the election was rigged, it's not because he has no idea what he's doing or that his so called evidence is nothing but garbage. It's because everyone is part of a conspiracy against him or nothing more than a bot or troll.

Will Lindell ever wake up and realize he's wasting his time? I seriously doubt it. And the longer he keeps this up, the more likely it will be that Dominion will win their $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against him. Lindell stands to lose everything yet he continues to dig his grave deeper and deeper.