Mar 062012
 

A couple of years ago or so, I subscribed to the Gevalia service. I make coffee every morning for someone close to me, and it’s nice to have a consistent supply of coffee. We had picked up some specialty coffee at one point, so I changed my subscription in late summer to deliver every six weeks or so. In August, Gevalia decided to upgrade their website; I received the following bulk note from Dana Vogel, a manager at Gevalia:

In October, we will be launching a brand new website and making it easier for you to
order any of the rich, always smooth and never bitter coffee you love.

Plus, our improved auto-delivery program is going to be simpler to manage and now
you’ll be able to get our most exclusive varieties year round.

Aannnddd when October rolled around, I stopped being able to manage my coffee orders. Of course, they have helpful links to contact customer support. I sent two email messages and heard nothing. Over the past couple of months I’ve tried to manage my account, but my email address and password do nothing.

I called up Gevalia today; I figured that I would try to fix the subscription. I chatted with a nice gentleman named Gary who was not able to help me with the account problems other than to say that it was a “system problem,” and I should try again in 30 minutes. He wasn’t able to say why I had never received a response from email; he was not able to troubleshoot the problem at all.

So goodbye, Gevalia. I’m not going to pay a premium for bad customer service. There are plenty of places in New York City to purchase high-quality coffee beans. I’m not sure why I should support roasters out of the city if you don’t offer convenience.

 Posted by at 8:23 pm
Jan 152012
 

NetHack is a computer game that was first released in 1987. I don’t remember the first time I ever played; I definitely remember playing the game that inspired it called Rogue in the late 80s. I’ve probably been playing NetHack for over 15 years. You can read a synopsis of the game at Wikipedia. It’s a role-playing game where you are an adventurer attempting to find the Amulet of Yendor. All of the elements of the game are represented by different characters. As an example, you, the adventurer, are represented by an “@” symbol. The “h” character can represent dwarves or mind flayers. You can zone out playing the game, but it’s never so addictive that you can’t walk away from a game. (It helps that the game is turn-based–there is no penalty for saving the game and coming back later.)

It’s not an easy game. To win NetHack, you need to defeat the Wizard of Yendor to get the Book of the Dead, finish a quest to get the Bell of Opening, and defeat Vlad the Impaler to get the Candelabrum of Invocation. From there you can descend into Moloch’s Sanctum to defeat the High Priest and take the Amulet of Yendor. Once you have the Amulet, you need to fight your way back up the levels to escape the dungeon. Finally, you need to defeat monsters on planes of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air before reaching the Astral plane. By sacrificing the Amulet you ascend to win the game.

If you’re still reading the blog post at this point, please note: yes, I know I’m a geek :-)

Today was the first day I ever won at NetHack.

I started playing on late Saturday night and went well past midnight. That evening, I completed all of the part of the game leading to the various planes. This afternoon, I dove in again. And in a couple of hours I had won.

Goodbye Firehawk the Demigod...

You went to your reward with 4735686 points,
Sting (worth 800 zorkmids and 2000 points)
The Eye of the Aethiopica (worth 4000 zorkmids and 10000 points)
Dragonbane (worth 500 zorkmids and 1250 points)
Magicbane (worth 3500 zorkmids and 8750 points)
The Bell of Opening (worth 5000 zorkmids and 12500 points)
The Candelabrum of Invocation (worth 5000 zorkmids and 12500 points)
Werebane (worth 1500 zorkmids and 3750 points)
Stormbringer (worth 8000 zorkmids and 20000 points)
The Book of the Dead (worth 10000 zorkmids and 25000 points)
      12 fluorite stones (worth 4800 zorkmids),
       7 diamonds (worth 28000 zorkmids),
       6 rubies (worth 21000 zorkmids),
       6 jacinth stones (worth 19500 zorkmids),
       5 jet stones (worth 4250 zorkmids),
       5 amethyst stones (worth 3000 zorkmids),
       5 jasper stones (worth 2500 zorkmids),
       4 chrysoberyl stones (worth 2800 zorkmids),
       3 sapphires (worth 9000 zorkmids),
       2 black opals (worth 5000 zorkmids),
       2 citrine stones (worth 3000 zorkmids),
       1 dilithium crystal (worth 4500 zorkmids),
       1 emerald (worth 2500 zorkmids),
       1 obsidian stone (worth 200 zorkmids),
       1 agate stone (worth 200 zorkmids),
       1 jade stone (worth 300 zorkmids),
       1 amulet of life saving (worth 150 zorkmids),
       1 amulet of unchanging (worth 150 zorkmids),
       1 amulet of magical breathing (worth 150 zorkmids),
and 138918 pieces of gold, after 74749 moves.
You were level 30 with a maximum of 223 hit points when you ascended.

You made the top ten list!

No Points Name Hp [max]
 1 4735686 Firehawk-Wiz-Elf-Mal-Cha ascended to demigod-hood. 143 [223]
 2 2202518 Firehawk-Wiz-Elf-Mal-Cha died on the Astral Plane.
           Killed by Death (with the Amulet). - [69]
 3 2010849 Firehawk-Wiz-Elf-Mal-Cha died on the Plane of Fire.
           Killed by an invisible Archon (with the Amulet). - [182]

As you can see by the top ten list, I played a Male Chaotic Elven Wizard named Firehawk.

For the NetHack fanatics among us, here are the details of my character at the end of the game:

Amulets
o - the blessed Eye of the Aethiopica
w - an uncursed amulet of life saving (being worn)
Weapons
u - the cursed rustproof +1 Dragonbane
v - the rustproof +1 Magicbane
J - the +1 Werebane (alternate weapon; not wielded)
O - the blessed rustproof +0 Stormbringer (weapon in hand)
Armor
e - a blessed fireproof +2 pair of gauntlets of dexterity (being worn)
g - a blessed rustproof +2 helm of brilliance (being worn)
C - an uncursed +0 Hawaiian shirt (being worn)
E - an uncursed +0 pair of levitation boots
T - a blessed fireproof +1 cloak of magic resistance (being worn)
U - an uncursed +1 silver dragon scale mail (being worn)
W - a blessed fireproof +4 pair of speed boots (being worn)
Comestibles
b - an uncursed tin of rock troll meat
Spellbooks
S - the uncursed Book of the Dead
Rings
d - an uncursed ring of regeneration
r - an uncursed ring of conflict
t - a cursed ring of warning
x - an uncursed ring of slow digestion (on right hand)
I - an uncursed ring of levitation
Wands
j - a wand of create monster (0:13)
l - a cursed wand of digging (0:4)
m - a wand of magic missile (0:6)
s - a wand of secret door detection (0:14)
z - a cursed wand of polymorph (0:3)
D - a wand of death (0:4)
H - a wand of digging (0:5)
L - a wand of enlightenment (0:8)
M - a wand of digging (0:3)
N - a wand of digging (0:4)
P - a cursed wand of cancellation (0:4)
V - a wand of cold (0:2)
X - a wand of teleportation (0:6)
Tools
f - a +0 unicorn horn
h - a blessed bag of holding
p - an uncursed blindfold
q - a +0 pick-axe
y - the cursed Bell of Opening (0:1)
A - a blessed magic marker (1:3)
B - the uncursed Candelabrum of Invocation (7 candles attached)
G - a cursed skeleton key
Gems
k - 4 cursed chrysoberyl stones
n - 3 uncursed jasper stones
F - an uncursed luckstone
Q - 3 uncursed sapphires
Y - 4 uncursed jet stones

Contents of the bag of holding:

a tinning kit (0:63)
an uncursed spellbook of cone of cold
a blessed potion of full healing
2 potions of holy water
an uncursed +0 pair of water walking boots
the fireproof +0 Sting
an uncursed amulet of unchanging
an uncursed spellbook of magic mapping
an uncursed black opal
an uncursed emerald
a cursed jet stone
2 cursed jacinth stones
an uncursed spellbook of identify
a blessed spellbook of finger of death
an uncursed spellbook of magic missile
a potion of unholy water
a blessed spellbook of force bolt
an uncursed scroll of food detection
an uncursed scroll of scare monster
a blessed scroll of taming
a cursed scroll of teleportation
an uncursed obsidian stone
an uncursed flint stone
4 uncursed jacinth stones
an uncursed bugle
a cursed scroll of fire
an uncursed spellbook of dig
a blessed spellbook of light
5 uncursed diamonds
12 uncursed fluorite stones
a rusty wand of secret door detection (0:12)
a wand of sleep (0:7)
2 uncursed jasper stones
an uncursed scroll of blank paper
a blessed +4 quarterstaff
5 uncursed amethyst stones
6 uncursed rubies
an uncursed scroll of stinking cloud
an uncursed agate stone
2 uncursed touchstones
an uncursed ring of searching
an uncursed amulet of magical breathing
an uncursed scroll of stinking cloud
134052 gold pieces
2 uncursed diamonds
2 uncursed citrine stones
an uncursed dilithium crystal
an uncursed jade stone
an uncursed black opal
an uncursed mirror
a wand of striking (0:6)
a wand of teleportation (0:8)
an uncursed scroll of light
an uncursed lizard corpse
4 uncursed food rations

Final Attributes:

You were piously aligned.
You were fire resistant.
You were cold resistant.
You were sleep resistant.
You were disintegration-resistant.
You were shock resistant.
You were poison resistant.
You were level-drain resistant.
You were magic-protected.
You saw invisible.
You were telepathic.
You were warned.
You had infravision.
You were invisible to others.
You could teleport.
You had teleport control.
You had slower digestion.
You were very fast.
You had reflection.
Your life would have been saved.
You were extremely lucky.
You had extra luck.
Bad luck did not time out for you.
Good luck did not time out for you.
You survived after being killed twice.

Vanquished creatures:

Asmodeus
Baalzebub
Orcus
Juiblex
The Wizard of Yendor (15 times)
Pestilence (4 times)
a high priest
a mastodon
Medusa
Croesus
9 krakens
4 iron golems
2 ki-rin
2 storm giants
a titan
7 glass golems
3 balrogs
6 purple worms
2 gray dragons
5 silver dragons
6 red dragons
6 white dragons
3 orange dragons
4 black dragons
6 blue dragons
2 green dragons
6 yellow dragons
9 minotaurs
4 jabberwocks
The Dark One
9 baluchitheria
5 Angels
a demilich
Vlad the Impaler
15 stone golems
8 master mind flayers
10 Olog-hai
3 Nazguls
10 pit fiends
3 sandestins
4 hell hounds
4 titanotheres
4 trappers
a baby silver dragon
a baby black dragon
a guardian naga
11 disenchanters
25 vampire lords
5 skeletons
10 shopkeepers
3 guards
18 aligned priests
7 captains
6 shades
5 liches
5 clay golems
12 nurses
6 ice devils
3 nalfeshnees
2 lurkers above
4 Aleaxes
a frost giant
5 ettins
2 golden nagas
13 black puddings
36 vampires
11 lieutenants
a watch captain
51 ghosts
2 wizards
3 queen bees
5 winged gargoyles
19 giant mimics
12 zruties
22 fire giants
11 ogre kings
11 ice trolls
29 rock trolls
8 umber hulks
6 flesh golems
4 Elvenkings
7 doppelgangers
14 hezrous
10 bone devils
9 large mimics
4 wumpuses
6 fire vortices
2 baby long worms
7 long worms
9 couatls
20 stalkers
16 air elementals
23 fire elementals
30 earth elementals
5 water elementals
2 hill giants
3 giant mummies
4 black nagas
23 xorns
21 giant zombies
5 elf-lords
17 sergeants
17 barbed devils
5 vrocks
8 salamanders
13 wargs
a winter wolf
4 hell hound pups
27 small mimics
a glass piercer
10 warhorses
14 steam vortices
20 xans
7 ettin mummies
5 ogre lords
13 quantum mechanics
27 trolls
7 sasquatches
7 wood golems
3 erinyes
4 mariliths
2 djinn
5 sharks
10 electric eels
5 gelatinous cubes
5 pyrolisks
6 large dogs
6 freezing spheres
8 flaming spheres
9 shocking spheres
10 large cats
7 tigers
12 gargoyles
2 dwarf kings
17 tengu
8 ochre jellies
13 leocrottas
9 energy vortices
2 mountain centaurs
16 stone giants
5 elf mummies
4 human mummies
3 red nagas
4 green slimes
9 pit vipers
5 pythons
13 cobras
59 wraiths
11 carnivorous apes
33 ettin zombies
8 leather golems
a Grey-elf
120 soldiers
4 watchmen
7 horned devils
5 succubi
13 incubi
8 chameleons
5 crocodiles
18 giant beetles
10 quivering blobs
19 cockatrices
6 wolves
7 winter wolf cubs
3 lynxes
4 panthers
13 gremlins
7 spotted jellies
90 leprechauns
4 orc-captains
2 iron piercers
7 mumakil
13 giant spiders
10 scorpions
8 horses
4 ice vortices
12 black lights
70 vampire bats
3 forest centaurs
5 gnome kings
9 orc mummies
9 dwarf mummies
3 ogres
5 brown puddings
10 rust monsters
10 owlbears
12 yetis
5 gold golems
5 werewolves
5 Green-elves
4 piranhas
23 giant eels
21 lizards
16 chickatrices
4 dogs
7 dingos
4 housecats
5 jaguars
4 dwarf lords
3 blue jellies
4 white unicorns
7 gray unicorns
a black unicorn
11 dust vortices
10 ravens
6 plains centaurs
4 gnome mummies
6 snakes
2 water moccasins
8 apes
19 human zombies
3 rope golems
2 Woodland-elves
15 soldier ants
6 fire ants
9 bugbears
6 imps
14 lemures
15 quasits
8 wood nymphs
5 water nymphs
6 mountain nymphs
18 Mordor orcs
34 Uruk-hai
3 orc shamans
7 rock piercers
3 rock moles
7 ponies
8 fog clouds
17 yellow lights
2 shriekers
5 violet fungi
26 gnome lords
14 gnomish wizards
a Kop Lieutenant
5 kobold mummies
4 red naga hatchlings
a black naga hatchling
3 golden naga hatchlings
2 guardian naga hatchlings
8 gray oozes
10 barrow wights
20 elf zombies
12 ghouls
4 straw golems
5 paper golems
2 jellyfish
2 baby crocodiles
17 giant ants
7 little dogs
12 floating eyes
4 kittens
31 dwarves
6 homunculi
6 kobold lords
3 kobold shamans
24 hill orcs
7 rothes
6 rabid rats
6 centipedes
19 giant bats
5 Kop Sergeants
3 monkeys
21 orc zombies
17 dwarf zombies
2 wererats
5 werejackals
7 iguanas
96 killer bees
5 acid blobs
9 coyotes
3 gas spores
16 hobbits
24 manes
3 large kobolds
16 hobgoblins
9 giant rats
15 cave spiders
4 brown molds
5 yellow molds
3 green molds
2 red molds
75 gnomes
15 Keystone Kops
14 garter snakes
18 gnome zombies
10 geckos
23 jackals
a fox
3 kobolds
11 goblins
5 sewer rats
13 grid bugs
14 bats
14 lichens
14 kobold zombies
13 newts

2998 creatures vanquished.

Genocided species:

mind flayers
liches
demiliches
master liches
arch-liches

5 species genocided.

Voluntary challenges:

You genocided 5 types of monsters.
You never changed form.
You used 6 wishes.
You did not wish for any artifacts.
 Posted by at 10:14 pm