The name I've chosen for myself is Phantom Zero, and I am part of the ever growing Real-Life Superhero subculture. I have no super powers, no fancy superhero gadgets, or any unusual special abilities.
I wear a costume to conceal and protect my real identity. I've created a new, anonymous, but still recognizable identity, a representation of my individualistic expression, to interact with other members of this online community. I'm a relatively normal citizen who wants to increase the amount of good in the world in response to some terrible things I've personally witnessed or learned of.
For a while now I had gone on regular patrols around my old neighborhood at least a few times a week. I used live in a highly urbanized densely populated town right across from New York City. While there is crime there, the police force does an excellent job trying to keep on top of things.
I've recently moved to a smaller, quieter town, so the future of my patrols are limited in scope.
As a Real-Life Superhero I always try to do a bit of good. I've dealt with people in crisis situations. I've been told I can make others feel safe and secure. I've helped random individuals though personal crises. I've often helped find help or resources from organizations or professionals better suited to their particular needs. On some occasions when I've done follow-up work, in some cases I've asked permission to post what happened here (and I wouldn't do so otherwise). Most other times I've erred on the side of discretion and kept most incidents confidential out of respect for those who I've helped. I have also started to do some other pro-social things, like donate books, furniture, clothes, and food to local organizations or disenfranchised people. In the future, hope to explore different aspects what a Real Life Super Hero is and what it means to be one.
The Real-Life Superhero community has a number of interesting aspects. Common topics deal with self-improvement, physical conditioning, mental conditioning, self-preserving and life-saving skills, community service and other social services, the knowledge of use of various types of equipment, nourishing creativity in one's self and in others, inspiring hope in one's self and in others, hero aesthetics, and so on--all of which I am interested in.
The number 0 is neither negative or positive. Zero is a number which quantifies a count or an amount of null size. The number 0 can become anything. Zero plus anything equals the same thing. Zero times anything equals zero. The sum of a positive and a negative is their difference; or, if they are equal, zero. Zero divided by zero is zero, and dividing by zero allows you to prove, mathematically, anything in the universe. Zero is nothing. The perfect circle. An empty space waiting to be filled. The snake which swallows its own tail.
"The point about zero is that we do not need to use it in the operations of daily life. No one goes out to buy zero fish. It is in a way the most civilized of all the cardinals, and its use is only forced on us by the needs of cultivated modes of thought." --Alfred North Whitehead
"Our lives are given life from the midst of nothingness. Existing where there is nothing is the meaning of the phrase, "Form is emptiness." That all things are provided for by nothingness is the meaning of the phrase, "Emptiness is form." One should not think that these are two separate things." --Hagakure: The Way of the Samurai, by Yamamoto