Your Volgi mocks the Czar, quite openly. One ingenious way he does it: he sends the Czar stories like this, in which a guy who has become an incredibly minor internet phenom for dressing something like a Tron character—except that he, himself, looks nothing like an actor—has evidently run into a bit of a financial shortfall and must now eBay his private plane.

Okay. Yes, the Czar has seen this guy’s pictures before, and rarely in a respectful context. The Czar finds it difficult to feel any sympathy for a computer programmer—not the best paid of technology fields and rarely salaried—who elects to spend chunks of money on making ill-fitting Tron costumes, touring the country extensively to show up at science fiction conventions, and (no small factor) purchasing and maintaining a private plane.

So the Czar agrees with his decision to sell the plane. He might further suggest toning down conference attedence (though he would be welcome at GormogoniCon 2010…or rather, his cash would), and maybe hanging on to last year’s Tron suit.

And that’s just the crap we know about.

The Czar of Muscovy

Божію Поспѣшествующею Милостію Мы, Дима Грозный Императоръ и Самодержецъ Всероссiйскiй, цѣсарь Московскiй. The Czar was born in the steppes of Russia in 1267, and was cheated out of total control of all Russia upon the death of Boris Mikhailovich, who replaced Alexander Yaroslav Nevsky in 1263. However, in 1283, our Czar was passed over due to a clerical error and the rule of all Russia went to his second cousin Daniil (Даниил Александрович), whom Czar still resents. As a half-hearted apology, the Czar was awarded control over Muscovy, inconveniently located 5,000 miles away just outside Chicago. He now spends his time seething about this and writing about other stuff that bothers him.