Terminal Lance #154 “Share-Drive Underground”

If you haven’t deployed you might not fully appreciate this strip. I can only speak from my own experiences, but when I was in Iraq we had this thing called the “Share Drive”. It’s a kind of magical digital place run by the data guys that houses up-to-date episodes of everyone’s favorite shows, movies and music. The catch? You have to have an account to access it. This, of course, leaves very few options for the standard infantry-type without NMCI-access.

The result of this was, usually, the company clerk or other HQ guys would act as a liaison for the regular grunts to access the sweet nectar of the network. People would go to the clerk with requests, he would get what he could and bring it back. The episodes would then slowly make their way through the company, everyone would have someone they would go to to get fresh episodes of their favorite shows. During my first deployment, The Office and Heroes were hot-commodity items passed around via the underground.

The whole thing drew up comical notions of it being some kind of prolific drug deal amongst the company, and in a way it shared some vague similarities. Whether you have share-drive access or not, there’s usually some underground traffic of movies, TV episodes and porn making its way around the battalions while overseas. If you need something, ask around–someone will have it.

In unrelated news, today is actually my 25th birthday. I dunno if I should be excited or not, but I think I get a discount on my car insurance, so that’s pretty cool. You know it’s lame when all you have to look forward to is being put in a new insurance bracket. From what I understand, it basically just gets worse from here on out.

My present to myself? A new iPhone 4S!

Speaking of, I added an iPhone 4 case to the Terminal Lance Store. Click on the “Store” tab at the top of the screen to check it out. A note, however, while CafePress lists the item as being iPhone 4S compatible, I recommend holding off for a week or so for me to test it (I ordered one). Once I know for sure, I’ll give you all the go-ahead.

No, there are no Android cases available. Nothing personal, but CafePress doesn’t have any in their selection, probably because a new one comes out every week so it’s hard for them to invest in cases for specific phones.

Also, and this is just a really random note, I love The Lion King. For some reason that’s confusing for people, because I’m a Marine or something. Apparently it’s a stretch to think that the guy that makes a comic (as in, something that is drawn and utilizes storytelling elements) would like a great animated movie from Disney. Oh, did I mention I’m also an animation major? Because I’m an animation major.

In other news, “KNIFE-HANDS!!!” has been doing great, and I definitely recommend getting a copy while it’s still in stock! Head over here to pick it up if you haven’t, it’s full of win, I promise. And, as I hear, it will get you laid. It’s hard to beat $20 for a book so full of awesome stuff, it also helps support the site and all its endeavors.