What kind of Undead is this

What kind of undead is this? At first glance, I thought it was a skeleton. But look at the hands... not very skeletal. And check the teeth... extremely pointy.

Data privacy - vehicles

Could tesla still sell data if u turn off no data sharing? Hard to trust em. 

Seems that 25+ car dealers are all guilty of selling data to car insurance co.s.  Half of the data is BS… like near misses when u stop,formyour pet in the driveway.  See video on it.  Lexisnexis is a place to check for ur bs score.  

*** Consumers who are interested in what driving data has been collected about them can request their LexisNexis reports.)

Request here

https://consumer.risk.lexisnexis.com/request

Acknowledgment Message

Your request has been received. You will receive a message via US Mail within the timeframe allowed by law. We will verify the information you provided with information in our records. We may not be able to comply with your request if we are unable to confirm your identity or to connect the information you submit in your request with personal information in our possession. If you do not receive a message via US Mail within 10 days, please contact the LexisNexis Consumer Center at 888-497-0011.

• The not so nice phone apps that also sell to insurance co.s https://financebuzz.com/apps-selling-driver-insurance-data
• Life360, used by parents to track kids' locations.
• MyRadar
• GasBuddy
• Probably others
• Gas Buddy, which helps drivers find gas stations that offer the cheapest fuel; and MyRadar, which tracks storms and inclement weather, all have opt-in driving analysis features that rely on sensor and motion data transmitted by smartphones, according to the report.      The opt-in feature for Gas Buddy gives users information on the fuel efficiency for their drives — a technology that is “powered by Arity.”
• A GasBuddy spokesperson said that Arity offers “enhanced services” and “personalized offerings” to users “who choose to opt in.”
• Life360.. opt-in function which collects drivers’ geolocation and mobile device sensor data ... shares it with Arity “so they can work with participating insurance companies to better understand how you behave behind the wheel and make offers based on how you drive.” Via NYTimes. 
• LexisNexis DEFINITELY CARES about acceleration. 
• From NYTimes: "During that same trip, the LexisNexis report recorded two instances of rapid acceleration and two incidents of hard braking." Got it from GM ONstar. 
• Lexus the car company... OPT OUT is a call in? WTF?
• If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Notice, or would like to request deactivation of data transmission, update your Account Information, or opt-in or opt-out from particular features, please contact us.
• 
  
• Phone:(800) 255-3987 Link:https://www.lexus.com/contact Support Request Link:https://support.lexus.com/s/questions-comments Address:Lexus P.O. Box 259001 - Mail Drop E1-5A Plano, TX 75025-9001
• **** BUT THEN... The other day I went to renew my remote start service. It gave me the option to not have them collect my data. When I selected that option, they said that I couldn’t have remote start. So basically if you subscribe to any of their services you have give them your data.
• Honda, etc. via NYTimes...
• Ford will only share driver behavior data with an insurance company if the driver gives explicit consent via an in-vehicle touch screen, according to a company spokesperson.
• Kia, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Honda and Acura enable drivers to turn off data collection relating to on-road behavior in their apps.
• Telsa... watch out
• Here is how they can say they don't share your data; they share a "Driving Score" calculated from your driving data. Of course this "Driving Score" shared with insurance companies will drive up your costs (or in theory down if you drive safely). So I think it's a bit disingenuous of Tesla when they do share a proxy for your driving data with insurance companies. The issue is do they make this very obvious to you when you opt in. From what I've seen, I think Tesla may be better at making this clear to us than other car companies that bury it in the fine print.
• Stop cars from stealing data maybe: https://www.consumerreports.org/electronics/personal-information/how-to-stop-your-car-from-collecting-sharing-driving-data-a1233378612/
• 2024 info on it https://insurancenewsnet.com/innarticle/lawsuits-target-use-of-driver-data-by-insurers-automakers
• Disable GM onstar (reminds me, I read one guy had the hardware disabled or ripped out, and GM warranty was voided, he was totally fine with it) https://www.silveradosierra.com/threads/disable-onstar-completely-22-24-1500.760765/
• Yt documentary on car company's stealing your data, incr insurance costs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAfjQKT3vBU&list=LL&index=2&t=17s&pp=gAQBiAQB

UPDATE: Read Tesla's safety score rules they use (supposedly only if you buy Tesla insurance, not sure I believe it): https://www.tesla.com/support/insurance/safety-score#version-2.2   and see https://www.makeuseof.com/see-tesla-safety-score/

1. Things like, hard braking, counts a little I think. 
1. Funny b/c autopilot will slam on its brakes at the last minute when ppl are stopped far ahead. 
2. Close following, counts for way more I think. 
1. And says, if following 1 second behind or worse, that counts. Something about compared to your 3 second or better following. ONLY at speeds 50 mph or more. Funny, b/c their autopilot drives way closer than 2 seconds very frequently. 
3. No seatbelt, counts for a good chunk. 
4. Excessive speeding it weird:
1. Excessive Speeding is defined as the proportion of time spent driving in excess of 85 mph or driving 20% faster than the vehicle in front of you, when that vehicle is going over 25 mph and is within 100 meters of your vehicle. This value is expressed as a percentage of total driving time and is capped at 10.0% in the Safety Score Beta formula. Speeding while on Autopilot is not factored into the Safety Score Beta formula.
5. Late night driving, 11PM-4AM.
6. "forced autopilot disengage" 
1. The Autopilot system disengages for the remainder of a trip after the driver has received three audio and visual warnings. These warnings occur when your Tesla vehicle has determined that the driver has not applied sufficient resistance to the steering wheel or has become inattentive. Forced Autopilot Disengagement is introduced into the Safety Score Beta formula as a 1 or 0 indicator. The value is 1 if the Autopilot system is forcibly disengaged during a trip, and 0 otherwise.
7. Interesting... Tesla doesn't count fast acceleration as a thing, so they say at least. 

Note these things in Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/personalfinance/comments/nax9mu/why_you_might_want_to_order_your_lexisnexis/

pteridoid

4y ago

Used to work at LexisNexis Risk Solutions. This does not surprise me. For years, their MO was quantity over quality. They got paid per record collected, and there was almost zero oversight to make sure their records were accurate.

G3 prep for next time (tonight?)

 Once party leaves… on way back in, the Drow have…

• 1. Set an alarm spell or tripwires around perimeter to alert guards, new guards, near entrance.  
• 2. Guards yell out “ we r rdy for u!”
• .. what kinda guards? Maybe more than just giants.  Something cool. 
• .. so how party get back in if front door wellguarded?
• .. 

Jest Duh Eat. Some music. Polish Moonheadface.

 Just Do it? 

Maromaro1337 the guitar dude from poland on yt. I like the moonface comedy one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4k1t1Misrk

Wizardry ASCII art (not that kinda ASCII) is awesome

 See https://x.com/PanelPerDay/status/1620971510235295745 

The artist's name is Jun Suemi, she works for Nintendo still a lot it seems.

Art by - Phillipe Druillet and Mariusz Lewardowski

Art by Phillip Druillet, mostly from 1970s apparently. He did the Métal Hurlant (think Heavy Metal in USA) super cool (but probably overly se xed) comics to book anthology with Moebius and maybe one other main guy.

Careful, some fake A I art on p i n terest and crap (like the fake Darth Vader one, it was in two youtube vids about this guy, also). But here's some real stuff from archive [dot] org: 

 

Art by - Mariusz Lewardowski. 1960-2022, a Polish Surreal Artist. 

Some great surreal fantasy stuff.  https://surrealismtoday.com/mariusz-lewandowski/

Inspiration, the giant snakelike tree-vines in old vid game

 Flashback on the Amiga… see al82 retrogaming longplay. 

I want to use descriptions or pictures of those giant vine things. Describe as “looks like the unmoving body of a giant green snake, twisting and turning…. But completely still” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNTnRM77XuE

Beginning but not best part..https://thecompany.pl/res/gra/1289002319-Flashback-2.png

Whole maps: http://www.amiga.lychesis.net/games/Flashback.html

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,

Also see SHADOW OF THE BEAST, 1989 on Amiga. Music great. But beginning, text description / story parts are great. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9BltSvKMlQ

• * idea for entering a tree giant tree with insect theme. Plus maybe some fire salamanders ot things in wall shooting at you.
• Giant snails slugs. Eyestalks on walls. Giant floating eyes bobbing up and down  (puzzle how to pass) . 
• Giant wasps    More dire breathing things (that eat giant  insects)  
• A ghost?
• Giant creepy (bigsby) hands come out of ground to grab you  many  black purple and red, clawed. Make mysterious  .

Here's the original, it has a billion different monsters and cool backgrounds. The animation might be old and clunky, but it has some great visual ideas, too:

Backgrounds look so good. 

The giant hands out of the ground... can do it in D&D with Bigby's Hand, etc. and just change the "look" to this creepy style. 

,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.

NEWER inspired by/similar to Shadow of the Beast game [demo], EON: https://youtu.be/XHWA4swXBG4?t=86 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtUYe1G-1P4

Sidenote, what is the much better looking Castlevania for the Amiga? I never knew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdT3hj0jReQ

Inspiring visuals, castle, U2 album

 The unforgettable Fire. U2. https://genius.com/albums/U2/The-unforgettable-fire

I love the ancientness of it. Abandoned. Vines growing all over it. But the picture is B&W, giving it a somber tone. Is that a beautiful sunset in the sky above and behind it or an evil fume from Mordor? 

LoTR, artist Alan Lee and John Howe

https://cvltnation.com/john-howes-tolkien-artwork/

https://alan-and-john.tumblr.com/post/53438235994/jrrtolkiennerd-a-long-tilted-valley-a-deep

• Yes, and many more to see  great stuff!
• Winged fell beast with Nazgul..

https://alan-and-john.tumblr.com/image/28699909997

• They helped do concepts for Peter Jacksons lotr movies. 
• See yt by “the art of storytelling” .. “the artwork that imagined middle earth” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjYtOCKIbp4

Reduce PFAS in blood by donating blood regularly

 Firefighters get high PFAS exposure and leading death for firefighters is cancer.  They have found out that donating blood reduces levels a lot.  And while the toxins seem to bind to some proteins in the blood, they say it's still OK to donate b/c ppl who need blood have zero time to spare usually. 

So, us normal ppl who keep getting exposed by doing things like drinking clean water and eating food from anywhere... yeah we better be careful. There was a thing about a milk farmer up north who had PFAS on his land, he didn't know, and the cows/milk got contaminated. The gov't somehow found out and shut him down. But how often does that stuff get to us anyway? 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8994130/

https://theconversation.com/new-evidence-shows-blood-or-plasma-donations-can-reduce-the-pfas-forever-chemicals-in-our-bodies-178771

https://www.sciencealert.com/regular-blood-donations-can-reduce-the-levels-of-forever-chemicals-in-the-blood

Funny D&D T Shirts

They've got some good ones... ordered a few, why not. 

 https://wizardlytees.store/products/you-can-certainly-try?variant=42580410728536

I like several, like some of these:

The Monty Python reference... yeah. 

Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans - Cool Shield Designs

Jason and the Argonauts had cool shields - I love the designs on them. 

Trivia, the shields of the skellies in Jason' had some cool ones including the giant octopus and the 20M miles to Earth on 'em:

https://www.ranker.com/list/action-movie-mythological-details-/abeswaves Among the emblems on the skeleton warriors’ shields in Jason and the Argonauts are monsters from two earlier Ray Harryhausen films: the Kraken from It Came From Beneath The Sea and Ymir from 20 Million Miles To Earth.

Clash of the Titans 1981:

Apparently the shield above this text is from 2010. 

Is the one above from the 2010 movie?

The 2010 movie for this one above.

PyroHydra, LevelUp's version is great - RESULTS after fight

 https://a5e.tools/node/1694

Jason and the Argonauts. This hydra's heads are similar to the figure we have. BTW, thx https://monsterzone.org/2021/12/19/posters-for-jason-and-the-argonauts-1963/

This one is perfect for what I'm looking for, after reading up on others. I own the PDF, and it had a few more important tidbits that are left out on the website, funky. CR13. The party is like level 13 still (going to be 14 after this). 

Highlights:

• 15 ft reach
• 30 dmg kills a head, instead of 25. 
• Legendary Actions
• Wrap (grapple), typically one enemy. DC 17
• Rush, DC17 str, can bowl over enemies and get in their space, push them out. 
• Knowledge check tells you to Cauterize the wound of a hydra (oops, pyrohydras not the same, but lore won't tell you)
• Can't flank it (unless only 1 head)
• Reactive Heads. For each head it has, the hydra can take one reaction per round, but not more than one per turn.

UPDATE: The actual run I did with it:

• One weird thing, it wasn't clear after reading like 5 versions of Hydras, if their bodies were always invulnerable or if only sometimes. I played it 50/50, described it as the first attack on the body seemed to halfway heal up, so then he technically just went for heads/necks. 
• Had to up HP to 300ish b/c the party just does too much single target dmg. Fighter, even worse with action surge. Barbarian with 3 attacks during frenzy, and "Amulet of Hacking". Etc. 
• Probably should have let the nearby fire spouts from wall hit the 
• players
• or hydra
• and if hit hydra, shoulda let it "help him" from being hurt by cold, aka, let him regen a pair of heads. 
• Still only lasted 2 rounds. Well a surprise round + 2 rounds... if it could have survived one big hit at the end, would have gotten its turn again. 
• Was pretty fun, though wasn't that scary. Only the fire attack was scary, but 3 outta 4 of the PCs have fire resist. And the kid guessed right and had a dern frost brand to whip out on round 1, plus used all cold spells. So I let it regen two heads (just so we could see it happen) but it never did after that. 
• Legendary RUSH was cool one time to avoid an AOE plus get next to all 4 PCs (woulda been nice if had fire recharged). Nice that no AoO when using (kinda a major deal), b/c you only want to challenge one non-strength character to get a decent chance of it working... certainly don't want to try to rush down 3 guys and have 3 chances for them to stop you. 
• The Wrap Grapple thing seemed cool but was ineffective. Casters can still cast. And soon someone would do 30+ dmg and knock off a head (that head). 

Foo Creatures (Lion/Dog) for D&D

The kid got the Wondrous Figurine, think Guenhwyvar of Drizzt. It's an oriental east Asian style Foo monster (might be more Thai styled). We'll say he can ride it or just use it for attacks. I'm now realizing the cover of Oriental Adventures shows a Kirin, not a Foo Lion-dog. 

Sidenote, (I love my tangents), the word "foo" is very very likely from Cantonese/ Hong Kong tradition... as it was pretty prevalent in the US and UK in the 1970s (well I'm thinking from a D&D perspective, but those names are probably way the heck older, so what am I talking about?). But these cool statues in real life are all over East Asia apparently. Definitely in China, Korea(?), and Japan. And I suspect versions also in Vietnam, Thailand, Burmese myth, etc. Here, let's see what they say here: https://theartofzen.org/are-foo-dogs-chinese-or-japanese/ Even better, check out what Nippon.com has to say: 

The ultimate origins of these lionlike figures probably extend back to ancient India or even Egypt, but the more immediate source would appear to be Chinese. Guardian lions and other divine beasts were probably imported from Tang China, along with Buddhism, via the Korean Peninsula, accounting for their alternate name, kōrai-inu, or Korean dogs. (No extant prototypes have been found in Korea.)

However, this site says the lion-like statues (with big scales... and kinda different looking, UPDATE they are said to be Goatlike with Scales so nevermind) have existed in some places in South Korea: http://www.favekorea.com/haechi/?ckattempt=1   and 

Haechi is a stone statue that sits on the left and the right in front of Gwanghwamun Gate. It is an imaginary animal that punishes a person who tells a lie with a horn when judging a quarrel. It has many different names such as Haetae, Sinyang, Sikjae, and Haeta. In Korea, two kinds of Haechi are found: one with horns on the top of the head and the other one with no horns. ... ... In the diary of Seungjeongwon(the Diaries of the Royal Secretariat), there is a record of Haechi in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace. 

 

Other site: In Korean folklore, the haetae is a scaled goat-like creature that was believed to know right from wrong, and helped pass judgement on guilty and innocent parties. It may sometimes be known as haitai or haechi.... It is called kaichi (獬豸) in Japanese mythology

BACK TO D&D STATS, ETC.

Here's a nice 5e home brew statblock, really nice: https://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/Foo_Lion_(5e_Creature) 

REAL LIFE: 

• Yokai[dot]com says a lot about them being guardians to shrines (mistakenly says temples also) and plenty more: https://yokai.com/komainu/ , wikipedia seems to have more accurate info. 
• The ones in Japan have only been at Shrines. When walking through Torii, you enter another dimension~~~.

Oh, that's a Kirin on the front... just now re-realized. Anyway, funnily enough, the Oriental Adventures doesn't have the foo creatures, but it tells you to go to the MM2.

Torii, gate to another realm. As in, really, that's what people say... you go into a different world when you step through. If it was European, you'd say you were stepping into the faery realm or something.  

Foo Creature, the AD&D 1e MM2 pg. 65 says:

Foo Lion (5e Creature) (via the Homebrew site)

Foo Lion

Large celestial, chaotic good Armor Class 13 (natural armor) Hit Points 52 (8d10 + 8) Speed 50 ft. STR DEX CON INT WIS CHA 17 (+3) 15 (+2) 13 (+1) 11 (+0) 12 (+1) 16 (+3) Skills Insight +3, Perception +3, Stealth +4 Senses passive Perception 13 Languages Celestial, Common Challenge 2 (450 XP) Keen Smell. The foo lion has advantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell. Pack Tactics. The foo lion has advantage on an attack roll against a creature if at least one of the foo lion's allies is within 5 feet of the creature and the ally isn't incapacitated. Pounce. If the foo lion moves at least 20 feet straight towards a creature and then hits it with a claw attack on the same turn, that target must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be knocked prone. If the target is prone, the foo lion can make one bite attack against it as a bonus action. Running Leap. With a 10-foot running start, the foo lion can long jump up to 25 feet. Magic Resistance. The foo lion has advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects. Magic Weapons. The foo lion's weapon attacks are magical. Divine Fang. The foo lion's weapon attacks deal an extra 1d8 radiant damage against fiends. Innate Spellcasting. The foo lion's innate spellcasting ability is Charisma. It can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components: At will: detect evil and good, invisibility 1/day each: etherealness, plane shift (self only) ACTIONS Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 12 (2d8 + 3) piercing damage. Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 10 (2d6 + 3) slashing damage. Celestial Summoning (1/Day). The foo lion can begin roaring to summon another foo animal. At the beginning of the foo lion's next turn there is a 40 percent chance that a foo animal of CR 2 or less will be summoned. The summoned foo animal appears in an unoccupied space within 60 feet of its summoner, acts as an ally of its summoner, and can't summon other foo animals. It remains for 1 minute, until it or its summoner dies, or until its summoner dismisses it as an action.

White Plume Moth (real life) vs. White Plume Mountain (D&D)

 Could it be that these crazy moths with impossible wings were the inspiration for the [name of] the White Plume Mountain module in D&D in the 1970s? I saw a white one on the outside of our window the other day, and noticed what crazy a55 wings it has. Looks like some have equally crazy leg spikes. Interesting little dudes. 

Recap - sites w/ a million tv cartoons and comic art picts to review

 http://capnscomics.blogspot.com/2025/08/

https://atomic-chronoscaph.tumblr.com/tagged/cw%20flashing

https://www.wingnuttoons.com/cartoons.html

https://www.blackgate.com/2020/06/02/jetpacks-and-bazookas-jonny-quest/

Mightor (1967-1969) influenced He-Man (1980s)

 Check out this clip of the old cartoon Mightor, that I need to watch... probably saw a clip of it once when I was a kid... where he holds up a magic weapon (club) and turns into a stronger super hero type muscle guy. Exact same pose, flash, and metamorphosis as Adam to He-Man in the cartoon in the 1980s. Also reminds me of Captain Caveman (also made by Hanna-Barbera), with the magic club that lets you fly(?). Speaking of "Barbera"... a lot like Barbarians... no wonder the guy liked Conan and cavemen and such. 

And btw, Mightor's wife was named Sheera. Yeah, kinda just like the She-ra associated with He-Man, so I guess it's no secret.

[side note, see blog https://www.writeups.org/mighty-mightor-cartoon/ ]

https://youtu.be/WaBebziwN5c?t=64  vs He-Man at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zIoElk3r2c

UPDATE: well I wasn't the first to notice. Here's a fun reddit about the whole thing. And they say, as Conan was a big inspiration for He-Man, Thulsa Doom was called "Skull Face" in some old books.  Skull Face as in Skeletor, hah. Forgot that! https://www.reddit.com/r/MastersOfTheUniverse/comments/12hj0kj/is_he_man_a_rip_off_of_mightor/

"The interesting thing about this is that the origin of Mightor ties with both the early minicomics origin of He-Man (here with an old hermit instead of the Goddess) AND the later Prince Adam/transformation version."

UPDATE2: and this guy saw it 

UPDATE3: "Tor's pet dinosaur Tog even transforms into a mighty fire-breathing dragon." https://www.cbr.com/cartoon-characters-he-man-would-be-friends-with/

UPDATE4: get them here??? https://www.wingnuttoons.com/cartoons.html ... ??? I know nothing of this site, though.