Holiday Wishes

Hi all:

Just wanted to wish all of our Working Daze readers a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and a happy all those other holidays.

Hopefully it will be more relaxing than crazy.

I know I myself am planning on doing as much shopping online as possible.

As for the Working Daze crew, I know Dana is done with her shopping but the others are still plugging away.

Ho Ho Ho.

I really like my iPad..

I really like my iPad. I find it to be a great communication device. It's easy to carry. You don't need to even take it out of your bag to go through airport security. The email is great. The web browser is nice. It lets me play angry birds or update my calander or even take notes about a new story or idea no matter where I am. I can watch movies on a plane. I love reading books on the iPad. It's both a kindle and an iBook reader. I can enlarge the text, skip back and forth easily, look up the meaning of words.

But here's my dilemma. Lots of my reading time is during, to put it in World of Warcraft terms, during "bio breaks." I feel a little uncomfortable with taking a $499 "book" into the bathroom with me.

Any thoughts out there?

Computers and why they don't allow us to relax more

Hi all:

I remember way back in college in the ‘70’s, reading how computers were going to give us so much more leisure time. There was talk that everybody would work 30 hour weeks by the early 2000’s. Well it's now 2011, and while computers have brought tons and tons of change, I don't see anybody actually doing less work. In fact, most people I know seem to be more overworked than ever. I'm interested in finding out why people think this is.

I have a few thoughts. One: computers make us all "experts" at everything. Back in the day, we'd rely on typists and secretaries to do typing, graphic people to design our graphics, and accountants to do the bookkeeping and number crunching. Now, thanks to the ease of word processors, graphics packages and spreadsheets, we can all do much of this ourselves. Our work, therefore, becomes much less specific.

Electronic communication is great. We can now talk instantly to associates and clients and find out what they need from us. On the one hand this is great; we know pretty much instantly what our clients and associates need us to do. On the other hand, this instant ability to be able to assign tasks, or to ask questions, means that, often, many tasks are put into our "queues" before we can finish them, or before the next task. It's easy to become overwhelmed.


Also, email, texting, blogging and Facebook give us instant gratification, and we tend to become addicted to this gratification, wanting more and more of it. Therefore, we spend more time seeking that instant gratification. This is time that could be spent working on a longer range project that would also give gratification, but not nearly as quickly.

I'm just spitballing here. As I say, I’m interested in what others think...

Just touching base...

Not much really going on in the Working Daze writer's world this week. One thing that struck me as odd this week has been the "I'm a PC" advertising campaign. You know the one where they build a "pc store" in a persons home to show how a new PC is better than their old PC. The people are then amazed that computers have improved over the last years. To which I simple say "Duh". Sorry but I think that campaign is pretty lame.

For those of you following Working Daze, you probably have noticed Roy is on Weight Watchers. Well in real life I am the one doing the weight watchers. I am trying to get back to my fighting weight of 200. It's a slow decline but it's been mostly tolerable.

I have become Rita..

Wow, I have become one of the characters I created: Rita. Last week I gave our intrepid artist Scott a series of gags to draw. I thought they were quite funny, which they probably were. It was one of Rita's crazy ideas. I liked the idea. Sadly I didn't remember that Rita had already had this idea last year. Yikes. So the gags are being rewritten to reflect Rita's and mine memory lapse.

Dudes and Chicks

Hi:

Do you consider Dude and Chick derogatory words? I think of them as terms of endearment. If somebody called me a "writer dude" I would take it as a compliment. Well I tell my wife she's a cool chick I mean it was a compliment.

Of course I proudly call myself geek so granted I may not be the best judge...

More Maria

Hi all:

Another sneak peak at mine and Scott's newsiest comic. Maria's Day...

A rough:

So Much For Weekly

Okay so much for updating weekly. Two weeks in Costa Rica and a week with my co writer Elena working on project, time really flied.

First off we have a free mug winner: Leslie J Kearney. I will get a mug off to her next time I venture to the post office.

As for other news, a tip of my cap to Japan for winning the woman's world cup. The US team played really well though. Japan just happened to be the team of destiny this year.

As for movies I want to see: Captain America and Cowboys and Aliens. I will wait for Harry Potter to come out on DVD. This way I can watch the last two back to back at home nice and comfy.

Speaking for DVD, not a fan of the new Netflix price hike. They are basically raising the price because they can. It is a business. But they won't be getting my DVD business.

So, thoughts on the new Starz based Torchwood?

Okay not exactly working daze but from the writer of working daze...

Find "Stormy" and get a free ebook!!

From recent reports, "Stormy Knight: Prom Queen of the Undead"--the coolest new vampire teen on the market--is currently 'appearing' in the following Wegman's grocery stores in western New York state (see list below).

And if you take a pic of "Stormy" on the shelves (or you holding the book next to the display) and email it to staff@blueleafpub.com you can get a free Kindle ebook download of the BLP title of your choice fromAmazon.com. (Kindle ebooks can be read on your handheld device or your computer.)

Locations:

345 Eastern Blvd. Canandaigua, NY 14424
745 Calkins Rd. Rochester, NY 14623
6600 Pittsford-Palmyra Road Fairport, NY 14450
3195 Monroe Avenue Rochester, NY 14618
4276 Lakeville Road Geneseo, NY 14454
24 Bridge Street Corning, NY 14830
2157 Penfield Road, Penfield, NY 14526
3177 Latta Road Rochester, NY 14612
6660 Fourth Section Road Brockport, NY 14420
3175 Chili Avenue Rochester, NY 14624
500 South Meadow Street Ithaca, NY 14850
650 Harry L. Drive Johnson City, Ny 13790
300 Hamilton St. Geneva, NY 14456
675 Alberta Drive Amherst, NY 14226
5725 Sheridan Drive Williamsville, NY 14221
945 Fairmount Avenue West Jamestown, NY 14701

Note: No cash value. Void where prohibited. Offer good to those who have an Amazon.com account, valid email, and can accept US-based digitial gifts through Amazon.com. A total of 15 ebooks to be awarded. Offer expires July 5, 2011.

[ - - - end - - - ]

For the Poll

Hi:

For the poll I thought I would post a cartoon of Elena and Carolina in action.

Updating...

Hi:

Now that Universal links to the blog I plan to update on a weekly basis. Plus we will run polls giving readers some say into how Working Daze develops and grows. :)

My thoughts for this week. When will politicians learn that internet and Twitter is not their own private playground. It is very very very public. You would think if your name was Wiener you would be extra careful about showing your wiener.

Maria's Day

Hello:

This is a feature Scott and I developed a little while ago that we hope will find the new life it deserves at Universal.

More Power For Our Readers

Hi:

We'll be having some monthly polls from now on to give our readers more feedback and say to help shape Working Daze.

Universal

Hey all,

Working Daze has a new home with universal and gocomics. Hopefully the new neighborhood will suit us.

Intelligent Political debate

Do you believe intelligent political debate is possible?

I'm starting to think it may not be as these days both parties speak in phrases (or memes) meant to stir emotions instead of thoughts...

My Song Mondays

Monday

Words by John Zakour (It's meant to be bad...)

Meant to sort of be song to the tune of Fridays…

Oh Oh Oohhh

No No No

Say it isn’t so so so

[VERSE 1]

7am, drag myself out of bed.

Kick myself in the head.

Grab a cup of morning Jo.

Still ain’t nearly ready enough to go.

Got to eat something nah never mind…

I don’t really got the time…

Well at least I’m good at making lousy rhymes

Oh man in such a rut

My boss is sure to kick me in the butt…

Waiting in line for the bus…

Why do I make such a fuss?

It’s Monday Monday

Oh NOT a fun day.

Nobody’s looking forward to the work week, work week…

Monday, Monday

If you’re looking forward to this you’re a geek.

Working, working, working (NO!)

Working, working, working (NO!)

Yuck, yuck, yuck

Just makes me want to say….

[Verse 2]

9:45, stuck at work…

Time moves slow my boss is a jerk

Toil, toil, toil…

Make my blood want to boil…

Man I got this so wrong…

My coworker sits on my right…

I’m pretty sure he smokes a bong.

Man this day just goes on and on….

Sitting at my desk…

Still sitting at my desk…

Looking up at the clock…

I feel like a big dumb rock.

[Bridge]

Yesterday was Sunday, Sunday

It’s a more fun than Monday

I’m so bored…

We’re all so bored…

Wow what a lousy day…

Tomorrow is Tuesday, Tuesday…

Wednesday follows after that...

I gotta work those too…

So I don’t really give a hoo…

[RAP VERSE]

J-Z, not the famous one…

He makes this song up on the run…

Sitting at his desk every Monday

Typing, Typing, Typing away

Typing, Typing, More and More

He makes words and words galore. (Woo!)

(C’mon) Still just sitting at his desk

Making words all in jest.

Sure enough it’s Monday now.

I’ll get through I don’t know how…

[CHORUS]

It’s Monday Monday

Oh NOT a fun day.

Nobody’s looking forward to the work week, work week…

Monday, Monday

If you’re looking forward to this you’re a freak.

Working, working, working (NO!)

Working, working, working (NO!)

Yuck, yuck, yuck

Just makes me want to say….

Maria's Day

A comic from Scott Roberts and I that we hope will find like at Universal Syndicate.

Yo

Hi all:

Just thought I'd check in.

We're trying to get more papers and readers for Working Daze so there will be some changes coming in the near future.

There will be a company name change and the company will change the focus of the group we pay so much attention too. We also may cut the geek jokes ever so slightly. It will still be the same the Working Daze just a bit more focused.

Oh, please write your local papers asking them to consider adding working daze.

OOOPPPPS

I messed up in the last two Working Daze cartoons. Bad me. I somehow either forget that the month of October exists and or that it is a binary month being the 10th month. Silly me. No defense I just messed up.

This will be addressed in future cartoons.

Happy new year

Hi all:

Happy new year. The folks at working daze will be changing a bit in the coming year. They'll still be the same folks only now their company will be focusing on games and entertainment software. Why? Well, they say "write what you know." And now the time I spend playing World of Warcraft can be seen as research.

Let's make 2011 a good year! Hopefully I will have two or three books coming....