Greed

Wow, last night while surfing through the tv channels looking for geek ideas for my next batch of Working Daze cartoons I ran into a message basically telling me as it stands now Time Warner (my cable provider) will be eliminating 19 Viacom channels from their lineup as of Midnight tonight. The channel list includes such family favorites as Comedy Central and Nick. It seems the two media giants can not agree on the worth of these stations. So two of the biggest companies in the US are bickering pretty much at the expense of the customers.

Out of the entire list the only one I really watch is Comedy Central for the Daily Show and the Colbert report. Those can both be seen online if needed. So truthfully my life won't be altered much at all by TWC eliminating 19 channels. But and this is a big but, it's the thought that counts. It kind of bugs me that TWC would so readily just dispose of 19 channels many of their customers enjoy just because they and Viacom are basically having a big company "peeing contest". I know companies have to put profits and the bottom line first, but at some point I would think somebody high up on the food chain of these companies would say, "you know we make enough money, let's find a nice medium ground where we can both be happy and also give our customers what they want."

Yes I am naive. You can tell I write comics and science fiction for a living. Still hopefully customers will complain enough and common ground will be found. This way we can all watch the Daily Show on our TVs with our DVRs instead of our computers.

Man, I can't wait for the arrival of "cable ala carte" where we can just pick and pay for the stations we want!

And yes this will show up in Working Daze!

Happy New Year all!

Merry Christmas and stuff

Hi all:

I just wanted to say Merry Christmas and all that stuff today.

Hopefully you'll all get lots of cool neat gadgets.   

My fav or the week

This was my favorite WD toon this week, something about the wackiness of meeting combined with the fact that I've been in sooooo many staff meetings that seemed to go this way.

And the winner is...

I figured it was time to pick a winner of the "why I've been a good geek and deserve a mug" contest. WIBAGGADAM. I liked all of the entries. So I took the names of all the people who sent entries put them in an excel spreadsheet in the order that their entries came in. Then I generated a random number to pick the winner based on that order. The winner is: Stephanie.

Stephanie now if you email us at Workingdazecomic@gmail.com with your address we will send you a mug.

There will be more contests soon!

Archer snub

Hi all:

One good thing about writing a daily comic is if you have a "brain fart" and say you forget to include a fairly important star trek captain in a monthly poll you can sort of make up for this by having that captain in a cartoon down the road.  So sure enough in the coming weeks forgotten captain Archer will be mentioned in a Working Daze cartoon.  Thanks to those of you who have pointed out he was forgotten.  I guess because the show didn't run the typical trek seven seasons he slipped my mind.  My apologies to Mr. Bakula.  

Don't forget you can still post your entries to entry below and maybe win a new mug.  We are trying to update the mug to have Scott's art on it.  He's been drawing WD for a while now so I think it's high time he gets represented.  :)

Holiday Giveaway

Hi all,

Just tell us, how you've been a good geek (or regular person) this year by either emailing from the web site or leaving a comment here.  Scott and I will pick one lucky person to receive a free Working Daze mug.

So?

Hi all:

Scott and I are doing our best to make Working Daze as fun and interesting to read as we can.  Sure it's only a little comic, it won't ever change the world but hopefully it will give readers a few smiles throughout the week.

We are also interested in the types of gags and situations you want to see.  In  the coming weeks (after the holidays) there will be Steven Colbert run (as Rita's crush) and we will be bringing in a cute female hypnotist to try to improve productivity.  We may even have some of gang go to our new president's inauguration.  They are just as exited about it as I am.  Funny it's like we share the same mind or something.

Let us know what you like and what you don't like.

START RANT:

Ok I have a new pet peeve, people talking on their cell phones in the supermarket and just standing there clogging up the isle as if they are the only people shopping.  It's happened to me a lot lately.  Minor I know.  I just find it weird that people have the need to talk on the phone while they are shopping for milk and stuff.

END RANT;

Colbert it is

Well the people have spoken and it looks like Steven Cobert will once again be the object of Rita's affection. Ah that lucky Steven. First a new Christmas special and now this!

The only rule surprise was Simon Cowel finishing second. Of course I was little surprised Ben Bernanke did so well in the post. I guess people feel he hasn't suffered enough already. :)

Sorry about the Sisko misspelling I knew it didn't look right.  Blogger won't let me change it now.  :(  Silly me.

Pet Peeves

Since this is the start of the holiday season I thought I'd ramble a bit on some of my pet peeves. I am only mentioning them because I will draw on these peeves to give me inspiration in future Working Daze toons.

1) People not shoveling their sidewalks. Yes it's minor, but annoying. Just because you may not walk on your sidewalk others (like me and my dog) do. It would really make you a much nicer neighbor if you took a couple of minutes and at least shoveled out a little walking path.

2) Not washing hands after using the bathroom. If you happen to be one of these people (which you probably aren't) I have one very simple question: Why? What possible reason could you have about not taking 30 seconds to wash off your hands after using the bathroom? (Okay so that's two questions.) When you think about it the gain (not interacting with bad bacteria) from taking 30 seconds out of your busy schedule really outweighs the downside (getting sick or spreading something). If you have any doubts please find the book, The Secret Life of Germs and read it. I am a firm believer that if washed our hands more often we would get less sick.

3) Talking on cell phones while driving especially when turning. This just is way dangerous. Humans survived for the first fifty plus years of driving without talking on cell phones every minute, there is no reason you have to be constantly be chatting on one now while you drive. If a matter really is that urgent pull over.

4) People behind me in line asking the clerk at the register to help them while the clerk is waiting on me. These people clearly need to refresh their concepts about standing in lines and the entire reason we have lines. Yes lines are a pain in the butt but without them there would be anarchy. Yes we know it's a busy but the people in line in front of you are also just as busy as you are.

5) Men being idiots on beer commercials. If an alien race is learning about humanity from watching beer commercials they would conclude that beer is the most important thing to human men. Not just good beer, but any beer. According to these commercials these average (at best) looking men would ignore beautiful women in favor of beer. I am sorry but that's just wrong from an evolutionary point of view.

New Website

So what are all of your thoughts on the new website?

I am finally getting use to it.  

Like they say, "change it good."  It just takes time to get use to.

Quanity or Quality

Now that UM has implemented a voting and rating option into the website it has posed another dilemma for me. What means more a cartoon "works" better: one that gets a higher number of votes but a lower rating or simply one that gets a strong rating?

At first glance it would appear that the rating means the most after all a 4 star cartoon was enjoyed more than 3 star cartoon. But if the 4 star cartoon only gets 5 votes and the 3 star cartoon gets 10 votes that may mean the 3 star cartoon actually "inspired" more people.

I thought about this for a while, then figured I'm reading way too much into this. I'll just keep writing cartoons and hope people keep reading and enjoying them.

(Still try to vote and rate if you can cause if something does score low or high it does help me determine what works and what may not work.)

Rating the ratings

I have to say I really like the voting feature added to the UM web site. Seeing the cartoons that score well allows me to take the readerships pulse to help figure out what works and what doesn't work on Working Daze.

Between the ratings, the polls and user comments we should be able to make working daze better.

Start Rant:

You know I'm actually starting to feel a bit sorry for Sarah Palin. Somebody somewhere is really raking her over the coals. Now the "facts" are being leaked letting us know how less than qualified she was. The same people who picked her out, tossed her into the national spotlight and defended her as the choice are now saying she wasn't ready for the light to shine on her, yet it's her fault not theirs. In other words, Palin = Scapegoat.

End Rant;

Polling Crush

I not surprised that Steven Colbert is leading the poll to become Rita's next crush. He is her type. I am surprised that the vote is actually so close. Hopefully Steven will win as it will help cheer him up since he is so depressed over that other election.

OMG

For the first time in my life I am OLDER than our president elect. I am sure this will be reflected some how in Working Daze.

New site is up

Hi all,

The new site is up and just in case you need it the address is a little different it is now:

http://www.comics.com/working_daze/

All in all I like the changes. More cartoons available. Able to rate and leave comments so I can see what works and what doesn't.

Update: the new site now appears to be not up and the url is back to old one:

http://www.comics.com/comics/workingdaze/index.html

Stay tooned.

Changes a coming

Wow big changes coming in November. (No not a new president but I guess that is important too.) United Media will be revamping the web site to hopefully make it more interact and more fun. I am assuming the change will take place on Monday but don't quote me on that.

Also the new World of Warcraft comes out in mid-November. I am so exited I accidentally gave this cartoon to Scott to draw twice. Luckily, Scott being sharper than I am figured it out before he drew it twice.

Why I am voting for Obama

If you are interested my thoughts on election are on my other blog.

Vote!

Poll Position

Hi All,

It looks like Roy is going to win the popularity contest, big surprise. I was happy to see Dana passing Rita for third. I am sure Rita will try harder in the future.

Also this week, Scott is experimenting a bit with Working Daze. Anybody notice what he's doing? HINT: You'd have to be long time fan.

Plus we've started a NEW POLL giving you some direction over the course of Working Daze. You get to pick Rita's next crush. We know she likes powerful men with clout.

My next zuda entry sneak peak

Hi all:

Here's a sneak peak at my next zuda entry: Lasers Dragons and Lies, drawn by the very talented John Dallaire. This is a fun, fantasy / sf adventure. About a techno / medieval world called Aqua, where magic and technology co-exist but just barely as the two sides don't really trust each other. Knights exist but they are much more like pro-wrestlers.

This entry is a complete mini-story mean to be a promo / introduction to the main characters and to a much bigger main story.

Geeked out

Man, I really like today's toon. (And tomorrow's too.) Yes it's way geeky, but I think it's also a lot of fun. I know people like Roy and I do have a lot of Jay's tendencies. (Yes my poor wife.)

I hope you all liked it too!

Winning entry

Hi:

We got a lot of real fun entries into the fill-in the blank contest but the winning entry is....

Wendell Wittler: "I get the feeling I'm not going to like this teams progress report..."

Wendell, contact us and let us know where to send your mug.

Thanks to all who read and played.  We will be doing this monthly.

Texting while Driving

Today's cartoon featured Carolina texting while driving which I understand is becoming more and more common. While Carolina managed to get away with it the rest of us who don't live in a cartoon world should realize how dangerous texting while driving is and avoid doing it. Of course all Working Daze readers are highly intelligent and have exquisite taste so I am sure none of you are guilty of this. :) Just try to keep your non-working-daze-reading-friends informed.

If you must text pull over to the side... (Then turn of your communications device because you are using it too much.)

Fan Video on YouTube

Just for fun there are a couple fan videos on youtube. (These are back from when Kyle was still drawing.) Maybe if Scott and I get some time we'll pump out our own video or two.

Start Rant:

Man, I don't know about the rest of you, but I will be SO GLAD (sorry for shouting) when this election is over. I am so tired of candidates and pundits from both sides always insisting their side is absolutely right and the other is wrong... What ever happened to finding common ground and working towards that? What ever happened to telling us what good you would do for the country not the bad things your opponent will do?

End Rant;

Our Blog is Your Blog

Part of the idea behind having a blog for Working Daze is to increase our interaction with our readers.  So we want to know what you think.  What do you like about Working Daze?  What don't you like?  Do you have any suggestions for future topics you'd like to see covered?

Scott and I are flexible.  (Okay I'm not that physically flexible these days but still mentally.)

HaGD!   (Have a Good Day!)

Poll sitting

Wow, Dana is gaining ground on Roy in the poll.  Are you people afraid if you don't vote for her she will turn you into dirt?  ;-)

BTW, the "real Dana" can just turn people to dirt with a glance.  (Okay she actually just makes them feel like dirt but it's effective nonetheless.)

Strange Daze

A quick note, today's comic originally featured a reproduction of the actual cover of The Art of War. But we changed it when our good buddies at UM legal informed us that would leave us open to liable lawsuits. Chances are very good the folks who publish The Art of War wouldn't sue us but being poor cartoonists we didn't want to take that chance!

Don't forget to go below and leave your caption for the contest. You could win a cool mug!

contest

Yes, we are having another fill in blank contest. You can leave your entries here if you like....

Or you can email us....

There is a typo in the blog address on the toon, glad you managed to find us.

Of course Dana wins in the end

Rita, is a fun character who is more misunderstood than evil as in her mind she really thinks she's doing a great job. But of course Dana had to put a stop to this.

Glad to see people seem to like the mix of fantasy / geekness and the office interactions.

As to the question of how do people end up turning back into people after being dirt? It's a comic... The great thing about writing a comic is every day is a new day with a new restart if that's what we want. Unlike us real people what comic characters do in the past doesn't have to effect their future.

The flow and feel

My thoughts on Working Daze is that it works best when it touches on the aspects of geek life, fantasy and how these all interact or clash with the working world or for that matter the world in general.

For instance I think the series we are running now where Rita learns that anything she touches turns to dirt is a fun one. Rita decides to take her new found talent and make the best of it.

Your thoughts?

Meatloaf says "two out of three ain't bad"

Well after a 2nd place and a 3rd place finish on Zuda I just got my first reject for this one: Dman:

Poor Jay

Wow Jay gets now respect. First he's near the bottom of the poll. Now this from Medusa. It's not easy be average.

Now for Something Kindof Different

Just thought I'd share Scott's and mine Sam 3.14, PI with our readers. We will be pitching this as Ipod comic.

As for WD I am sure some of the economy's woes will be hitting our characters too.

Poll Sitting (well reading)

So far after looking at the general results of the poll is seems that Roy is by far the strips most popular character. Well I guess that makes sense. So I better keep the geek material coming. I'm glad to see Dana holding her own though in second place. Nice to know people still appreciate hard work, being under-appreciated and a glare that could melt steel.

Speaking of things that are geek, how many of you caught Heroes last night? Was anybody else thinking, "man this reminds me a lot of The 4400." Though ironically two actors (Summer Glau and Garret Dilahunt) from the The 4400 are now on The Sarah Conner Chronicles.

Weird and circular world.

The Politics of Dancing (well writing a comic)

Being human and being inundated with political "news" it's only natural that on occasion a bit of politics will creep into Working Daze. I will try to keep it mostly to a minimum. I will also try to be mostly balanced. I believe it is time for a change for the country (look at the economy) but I also feel both sides are way too partisan putting the good of the few above the needs of the many. (Spock would be so upset.) Plus everybody tends to get greedy. I guess power really can corrupt. (Hey all those comic books can't be wrong.)

Plus no matter who wins at least we will have a new president come mid-January 09. That has to be good. Right?

Blogging Gifts

Hi all,

Part of the reason for the blog is for us to have more of an open relationship between us and our readers.

Along those lines each month we will send one Working Daze mug to the reader who asks the best question or gives us the most interesting feedback. How will we decide what is "the best"? Whatever Scott and I like the most.

We will also be having other contests and things throughout the months. We want this to be an interactive experience for those who want an interactive experience.

The above cartoon was certainly one of my favorite this month. Why? I'm not totally sure. I guess it shows Roy using his geekness to his full advantage.

Random Rants / Thoughts (such as they are)

Man, that Bill Gates / Seinfeld commercial has already been canned. Too bad I kind of thought it was cool in weird sort of mean nothing way.

I still wouldn't rule out a Bill Gates run at president someday.

I'm actually getting tired of both sides in this upcoming election. Both sides have this we're right and you're wrong attitude. Can you say partisan?

I miss Dr. Who....

Early Poll Results

The early poll results are surprising (no not the ones that say Obama and Palin are close for this year's presidential election) the REALLY important poll on: Who's Your Favorite Working Daze character. I am surprised that at this early date Dana is polling even with Roy.

Of course it's still really early and we haven't publicized the blog our poll in the cartoon yet so I expect numbers to grow and maybe change. We'll see if these early poll results are indicative of overall popularity.

BTW, if you pick other it would be nice if you left a comment telling us who that other is. Is it Jay's computer? Roy's robo-dog pet? Andrew the graphics guy (who is due to make a come back...)?

Spot for our Readers

Hi:

Part of the reason behind this blog is to give our readers a chance to sound off on what they live and don't like about Working Daze. Scott and I really want to make Working Daze as fun and interesting as possible. So at the risk of sounding like one of those automatized voices you get when you are on hold: Your Business is important to us so please stay on the line. Except replace "stay on the line" with "keep reading Working Daze."



For those who are interested I do play WoW. I have a Lvl 70 Mage called Zapperz on the Rexar server. Yes I am a geek.

Working Daze Blog

Hi All,

The Working Daze cartoon blog is back.

Here is where we will at times talk about the process that goes into creating Working Daze.

Here is also where at times we will sponsor contests or make announcements.

This will also be the spot where you can leave you complaints or kudos. Hopefully we will get more kudos.

The first thing I would like to address is the change of cartoonists to Scott Roberts. Scott's been doing it for a while now and I feel he's really gotten the hang of it. Yes, he's not Kyle Miller as Kyle wasn't Andre Noel who came before him. But each of the cartoonists who have drawn Working Daze have had their own separate skill sets. Once they catch on they really add a piece of themselves to the final product. I was sad to see Kyle go (but I realize his day job and busy family life have to take priorities.) I was just glad that Scott so ready and able to step in.

Don't forget to check vote in our poll to vote for your favorite Working Daze character.