Okay, NOW I can quit playing nethack.

 Garote the Master St:18/** Dx:22 Co:18 In:16 Wi:22 Ch:12 Neutral S:5953423
Astral Plane $:2929 HP:526(526) Pw:134(337) AC:-29 Xp:30/106959514 T:114913

You offer the Amulet of Yendor to Chih Sung-tzu...--More--
An invisible choir sings, and you are bathed in radiance...--More--
The voice of Chih Sung-tzu booms out: "Congratulations, mortal!"--More--
"In return for thy service, I grant thee the gift of Immortality!"--More--

                                +-------------+
                                |.............|
                                |..+-------+..|
                                |..|.......|./|
  +-------------+               |..|.......|..|               +-------------+
  |.......?.....|               |..|..._...|..|               |.......*.....|
  |..+-------+..++   +-------+  |..|.......|..|  +-------+   ++.`+-------+*.|
  |..|.......|...++ ++   *%  ++ |..|.......|..| ++       ++ ++..*|.*....+|..|
  |.[|...D..`|....+-+ *) )    ++|..+---.---+..|++         +-+..*.|...`...|.*|
  |..|...@@..|.=./%%/_*)*%)   /||.(......(....||        0` %[...*_*.._.0.|..|
  |)[|.*..(..|....+-+*%/  *   +++-+.........+-+++   ) **  +-+_..`|*...%..|..|
  |).|.......|...++ ++    (  ++   +----0----+   ++  )%%%%++ ++`..|.......|..|
  |..+-------+..++   +---*---+    ++   )   ++    +---)---+   ++..+-------+..|
  |............/|      |   +------+    !    +------+ % |      |.............|
  +-------------+      |0)_)     | 0 %%  [   |      [) |      +-------------+
                       +-----+)  ++   *  %  ++ % +-----+
                             |= 0)++    [  ++    |
                             +-+   +---.---+ ( +-+
                               | // /     /0  %|
                               +---------------+

( You ascend to the status of Demigod...--More-- )

You reached the 136th place on the top 2000 list.

 No  Points     Name                                                   Hp [max]

133   12508267  ike-Mon-Hum-Mal-Law turned to stone in Gehennom on
                level 41 [max 51].  Petrified by a cockatrice corpse. 922 [928]
134   12325128  mercury5-Hea-Gno-Mal-Neu ascended to demigod-hood.    605 [605]
135   12310833  firemonkey-Tou-Hum-Mal-Neu ascended to demigod-hood.  343 [343]
136   12233755  Garote-Mon-Hum-Mal-Neu ascended to demigod-hood.      526 [526]
137   11786554  Miregal-Val-Dwa-Fem-Law ascended to demigoddess-hood. 748 [748]
138   11775294  ydoc-Wiz-Elf-Mal-Cha ascended to demigod-hood.        212 [212]
139   11447030  perspire-Kni-Hum-Mal-Law ascended to demigod-hood.    704 [749]

Well, actually there's one more nethack-related thing to do. I've written a very long story, retelling my first nethack ascesion (this here is my second). After I correct a few details, I'll post that in a more permanent location, and then I'll really be done with this nethack business. Whew!

hooray for greed?

If you think family values are screwy where you live, you should check out this News of the Weird blurb:

Last year, in order to soften the transition from an agrarian economy, the rural village of Renhe, China, offered to give farmers apartments in town -- one-bedroom flats for single people and two-bedroom units for married couples. But in a fit of greed, hundreds of couples promptly divorced for no other reason than to qualify for two apartments so that they could rent one out. When officials learned of the scams, they modified the rules, according to a May dispatch in the Los Angeles Times, and turmoil resulted, as newly divorced couples failed to reconcile, leaving children in broken homes while husbands ran off with younger women. [Los Angeles Times, 5-8-06]