FC 80 - Please Hold Your Applause

It feels good to be back behind the pixels again after a reprieve provided by a great bunch of guest artists this past month. That said, I am remembering how these comics don't just pop out in a few minutes. This one esp. with all it's people* and speech bubbles...oy! I was all set to do a comic with a different joke (that included stink lines!) this week, but was inspired this morning while listening to NPR. I apologize about the pseudo op-ed nature of this comic. Hopefully no one is offended, etc. etc. I'll have to do the stink lines comic another week. Maybe next week!

Thursday September 10 2009

File under: comic

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on Fri 11th Sep, 2009 09:24 am PDT Wren said: Typo in the first draft caught by the ever vigilant Saxtor. The version now posted should make a little more sense. ************************

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Family Reunion in Des Moines

Interchallenge virtuouso Sara totally nailed it. Des Moines, Iowa was the secret location of the last blog post. Why was I in Des Moines, Iowa you ask. For the not even close to annual* Studer Family Reunion. As you all probably know, my mom's family isn't small. Oodles of aunts, uncles, cousins, cousins-once-removed, and even a couple cousins-twice-removed necessitates some organizational efforts: color coded shirts, name tags, and an elaborate family tree. But in addition to spending some great times with rarely seen but dearly loved relatives, we had a little bit of nuclear time as well. Family reunions sometimes get a bad rap. And I'll admit I was a little reticent heading into this one myself. But there was no need. I had a great time and look forward to a little less hectic time with such great people in the not as far away future.

Monday September 7 2009

File under: travel, misc

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on Tue 08th Sep, 2009 10:46 am PDT Andrew said: Your family really went wild with the shirt color! Woo! Beige! ************************ on Wed 09th Sep, 2009 03:31 pm PDT Dave said: give us a close-up of your shirt! what does it say? ************************ on Wed 09th Sep, 2009 06:54 pm PDT Elmo said: Nice to see everyone from the great northwest . Had a great time,in purple, back to the humidity ************************ on Tue 15th Sep, 2009 01:00 pm PDT Cousin Tim said: Thanks for entertaining my kids and others with your rope tricks at the reunion. You were a BIG hit. And your crosswords are wonderful. Keep it up, success will be on your way. ************************ on Mon 28th Sep, 2009 01:11 pm PDT Karen said: Wren, I am waiting for the reunion pictures to be emailed to me-----love ya cuz ************************ on Wed 30th Sep, 2009 10:27 pm PDT Jake said: I'm glad you did come Wren. I was really glad I could finally meet you. I might be getting an internship out in CA in the next year or so with an alternative energy/construction engineering company. I'd love to come visit you if I do. Enjoy yourself bro montana ************************

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Where Am I

Ever since Andrew made that awesome "Where am I?" post* from some podunk South Dakotan town, I've always wanted to make one similar. I got close with that giant Paul Bunyan post earlier this year. Good times. Anyway, while I realize my visual clues aren't nearly as good as Andrew's were, I thought I might still throw it out there for anyone looking for a good time waster (or immediately recognizes anything specific). Where am I? I'm only looking for city and state because these 4 photos were not taken at the exact same location (but all in the same city). Oh, and if I told you where I was headed beforehand, no fair "guessing".

Saturday September 5 2009

File under: travel

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on Sat 05th Sep, 2009 11:30 pm PDT Sean said: Shelbyville? ************************ on Mon 07th Sep, 2009 07:50 am PDT Sara said: Couldn't pass this up - Andy Goldsworthy just came up yesterday too. http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=2nd ave and ct, des moines, ia&sll=41.585581,-93.61918&sspn=0.007591,0.01929&ie=UTF8&t=h&layer=c&cbll=41.585576,-93.619178&panoid=oQgKzimnJurFqQ09pw3C-A&cbp=12,271.51,,0,0.69&ll=41.589561,-93.619223&spn=0,359.980752&z=16&iwloc=A ************************ on Mon 07th Sep, 2009 09:19 am PDT Saxtor said: Wow, Sara, strong work! I was excluded from playing, but I am very impressed with your interchallenge skills! With a picture like that, there's no mistaking the location, that's for sure! ************************

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FC 79 - Please Place in the Overhead Bin

As promised, this week's comic again comes from a far away land. Sean took time from his push-ups and jogging (and probably some sort of military stuff) to put together this comic (both art and concept.) Along with the comic came this explanation: The military charters civilian aircraft from airlines and stuff like that to fly us to the Middle East. We have our rifles, and senior enlisted and officers also have pistols. But we have no ammo. It just seems kind of weird that they freak out over multi-tools and pocket knives and make us pack them in our checked baggage considering we're carrying rifles and pistols onto the plane. In addition to the explanation, there was an invitation to make a few artistic tweaks. Since it has been almost 2 months since I've done any comicking, I couldn't help myself. See the untweaked comic here. A big thanks to all four comic contributors from this past month. It has been fun seeing what ya'll come up with. If any royalties ever find their way to me*, I'll be sure to share.

Thursday September 3 2009

File under: comic

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on Fri 04th Sep, 2009 12:50 am PDT Horge said: That is a very silly airline policy. On the other hand, I once flew from Germany bringing a Zippo as a gift, but was told that I shouldn't have packed it in my check-in. Considering the "Shoe-Bomber", logic tells me it's strange they should want lighters inside the cabin... ************************ on Sat 05th Sep, 2009 05:14 am PDT Sean said: Thanks for the touch ups! And allowing this guest post. ************************

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Upcoming! - Soapbox Derby

You all remember last year's Lookout Arts Center's Off-road Soapbox Derby, right? Of course you don't, because you weren't there. Well, don't let that happen again this year. Mark your calendars, set a blackberry reminder, train your dog to remind you: SEPTEMBER 12th, 2009. Besides the races (and I use that term lightly, judging from last year's competition), there will be circus-y stuff, swimming (at the best swimming hole in the county), and more. Get all the info here. While I haven't technically started on my entry for this year, I've started gathering parts and working on ideas. Using the lessons learned from last year combined with a [hopefully] larger number of entries, I figure I've got a fighting change to not come in last place. And even if I do get last place, there are prizes for best style, spectaular crash, and there is even rumored to be a prize for "most sustainable materials used" or something (which I think means people who build their cars out of wood because they don't really know how to weld or anything, so it is obvious that their car won't win any speed competition.) Anyway, I hope to see you there!

Tuesday September 1 2009

File under: events

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on Tue 01st Sep, 2009 04:12 pm PDT Saxtor said: "Best swimming hole in the county" is missing the 'r' in that last word. ************************ on Tue 01st Sep, 2009 11:30 pm PDT Horge said: You should try to build one like from that Simpson's episode. That would win best style if any of them recognize it from having seen it maybe... ************************

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Custom Crosswords

On my last crossword post a couple of months ago, I mentioned the idea of custom crosswords. At the time, the idea was not so solid. Now, I'm pleased to say, it has come to fruition. I've done 3 custom crosswords for specific occasions and/or people. Some of them are generic enough that you don't need to be "in" to do them. Other ones might have a few clues that leave you stumped, but a good puzzler would be able to figure them out using the cross clues. Making a custom crossword for a person or occasion makes me happy. It is a way of honoring something with my own twist. I wouldn't, of course, go and make a crossword puzzle for a crossword hater. Most of the fun for me is in seeing the person get excited about doing it. And since there are so few people in my life that are crossword lovers, I don't imagine I will be making too many custom crosswords again. But if you are among those crossword lovers, give some of my creations a try. Then, when I am a famous published crossword puzzle creator*, you can say "I knew his puzzles back when he was doing them for free on his dinky little blog."

Monday August 31 2009

File under: games

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FC 78 - Fashioning an Excuse

Third guest comic artist in as many comics, a big thanks to Horge (all the way from post-communism Bosnia) for this week's comic. He took my idea and did it up right. I did a little color tweaking and added a caption and what we've got is a top notch comic. (Horge, the color tweaks aren't a commentary on your creation. I just wanted to bring the man into focus a little more.) Now that the Friday Comic ball is up and rolling again, I'm already getting ready for next week's. It's going to be ANOTHER(!) guest comic artist, again from a far far away land. (Had I know outsourcing overseas was going to be so successful, I might have started pursuing that road earlier.) But don't worry (or possibly be worried, depending on how you look at it), I will be back behind the pixels soon enough. I'm excited to try out my new computer-ette in the realm of image manipulation on a few new ideas that have struck me in my summer adventures. Yay for Friday Comics!

Thursday August 27 2009

File under: comic

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on Fri 28th Aug, 2009 07:26 am PDT Sean said: I like it. Especially his hat. ************************ on Fri 28th Aug, 2009 07:00 pm PDT Dave said: this is great! ************************ on Sat 29th Aug, 2009 08:01 am PDT Horge said: The hats cost only $29.99! (though when I explained it to my friend here, he thought it was a rip-off, because someone makes off with the beer before you get your hat)...For those who want to make their own fashion statement: http://www.ehow.com/how_2217958_beer-box-cowboy-hat.html ************************

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Compost Experiment Results

About a year ago, I put together a little experiment testing the claim of a plastic cup to be "compostable" (see original post here). From what I had heard and read, I suspected this claim to be misleading in that it takes more than a home compost bin to break down the corn-plastic, but I didn't want to start spreading disinformation without having looked into it myself. Well, after digging around through soil, worms, eggs shells, and more soil*, the results are in: the plastic of the cup is in just as good shape as it was the day it was served to me. If it wasn't for being crushed with additional compost material, it would still be able to be drank from. (And for the record, our compost bin is awesome and gets really hot and breaks down everything else just fine.) The moral of this story? If your gut tells you an advertising claim might be a little too good to be true, look into it. I see green claims thrown around these days that are a blatant misstating of the truth*. Now I've got a little empirical evidence to back me up, at least on this one. (Thanks to everyone who has kept asking about this. Knowing that the things that make me curious make you curious as well is great inspiration to keep on posting!)

Wednesday August 26 2009

File under: environment, misc

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on Wed 26th Aug, 2009 12:07 pm PDT Sean said: I like the how all the green commercials say they're "good" for the environment. I guess it does sound better than "less bad," if you're trying to sell things. ************************ on Wed 26th Aug, 2009 01:48 pm PDT Andrew said: Why do you hate America? ************************ on Wed 26th Aug, 2009 03:14 pm PDT gretchen said: i think what's even more frustrating is that many people are under the perception that even if they don't compost these types of products they'll bread down in landfills - clearly not going to happen if you can't even do it in your compost. bummer, dude. ************************ on Wed 26th Aug, 2009 10:54 pm PDT Saxtor said: I'm disappointed, Wren. Perhaps you should try harder next time. ************************ on Thu 27th Aug, 2009 05:04 am PDT Sean said: When will people learn that we have a limited amount of space for our ever growing landfills. But if we'd just dump everything into the ocean it's out of sight out of mind. Until the dolphins attack... ************************ on Fri 28th Aug, 2009 06:58 pm PDT Dave said: Don't worry, Sean, China and Korea have caught onto your dumping idea. The beaches on my island are their landfills. ************************ on Fri 28th Aug, 2009 06:59 pm PDT Dave said: Oh, and thanks for the update, Wren. I wonder about that cup from time-to-time. Are you going to write to the company? ************************

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Local Food Party 2009

This year's Local Foods Party* was again a great success. Like in years past, there was homemade salt, garden grown veggies, and oodles of fresh berries. Like in years past, there were new and creative additions to the menu (some of which worked and some of which did not.) And like in years past, we had a great group of people gathered together to celebrate the bounty and abundance of northwest Washington's local foodscape. Some highlights for me (besides being surrounded with good people): smoked bison, pizza*, a gorgeous nicoise salad, crab(!), and peaches and cream. As with the first year, there was also a little entertainment (esp. enjoyed by the kids) A couple of the foodie experiments that I was hoping to contribute didn't turn out as well as I hoped (but were still lots of fun to do). An attempt to make sugar from beets ended up as taffy so instead went to sweeten blackberry popsicles. The critics commented "I like the first taste, but not the last one that it leaves in your mouth". Also, I made another attempt at tortillas, which I was sure I had pegged. After rendering some fat into lard, finding a local flour source, and drying, storing, and grinding corn into cornmeal, I thought I had all the ingredients, but something just wasn't right. They turned out more like tostadas rather than tortillas. Alas. Thinking, planning, and talking about the challenges* and rewards of local foods is always a great way to remind me of what we as a culture so often take for granted. Having a meal dedicated to not taking that stuff for granted makes me very happy. Having good friends around to share it with makes it that much better.

Sunday August 23 2009

File under: food, events

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on Sun 23rd Aug, 2009 01:00 pm PDT Andrew said: My god man! It looks like a good time! Sorry we were unable to attend. Next year! And we'll bring local strippers from Portland! ************************ on Sun 23rd Aug, 2009 02:31 pm PDT Sean said: Goodness gracious, that's a sweet shirt! ************************ on Sun 23rd Aug, 2009 03:31 pm PDT Jule said: Ditto what andrew said. Minus the stripper part. ************************ on Tue 25th Aug, 2009 07:08 am PDT Deneva said: Looks soooo good! I completely agree with Sean about your shirt ************************ on Tue 25th Aug, 2009 08:07 am PDT Horge said: That's what I wondered about one time when you mentioned your corn tortillas once. As far as I know it's a specially lime-processed corn flour, masa de harina... Yep. Wikipedia agrees, and says it's also a different kind of corn... In any case, your food party always looks fun. That smoked bison sounds pretty tasty, especially since I'm fasting and still have a few hours to go today :( ************************ on Tue 25th Aug, 2009 12:30 pm PDT maggie said: yay! what a great turnout! what became of the oats? the nicoise salad is gorgeous! what all is in it? participating vicariously ~m ************************ on Tue 25th Aug, 2009 04:32 pm PDT Sean said: I thought Jule was the stripper? ************************ on Wed 26th Aug, 2009 06:11 am PDT Dave said: i'll come next year if Jule is the stripper. (cool party, Wren, thanks for the writeup!) ************************

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FC 77 - The Devil Is In the Details

Huzzah huzzah for adding another to the list of Friday Comic contributors. Chris from over at IHJ found time between ferreting out military secrets and reading his kids 34 books per night to heed my call for new comic submissions. Not only did he take on the role of drawing, he also conceived of and wrote this one himself. All I did was clean up a little artifacting caused by a filetype error (example) and it was ready to go. It should be noted that the comic has somewhat nerdier leanings, but we are all nerds here . Anyhoo, enjoy and Happy Friday! (Next week I've got another new guest contributor to Friday Comics that I am really excited about. More people, more styles, more funny, more fun!0

Thursday August 20 2009

File under: comic

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on Sat 22nd Aug, 2009 08:23 am PDT Chris said: For the less nerdy, EULA is the End User License Agreement contract that you have to click "I agree" on every time you install software. ************************ on Sat 22nd Aug, 2009 01:15 pm PDT Sean said: Hehehe, mule... ************************ on Sat 22nd Aug, 2009 02:24 pm PDT Sean said: Wren, what's your email address? i have a submission for you. ************************ on Sun 23rd Aug, 2009 12:32 pm PDT Wren said: Sean, my e-mail address is my first and last name (with no space or dot or anything) at either yahoo or gmail. Whee!!!! More submissions! ************************ on Sun 23rd Aug, 2009 01:23 pm PDT Nesbitt said: I may not be a geek. But I am certainly a nerd. ************************ on Sun 23rd Aug, 2009 02:28 pm PDT Sean said: it definitely will need you to touch up. or redo entirely. ************************ on Sun 23rd Aug, 2009 03:29 pm PDT Jule said: I am not a nerd? I will work harder at it from now on ************************ on Tue 25th Aug, 2009 03:42 pm PDT Sean said: Never Ending Radical Dude. What's the problem? ************************ on Tue 25th Aug, 2009 05:28 pm PDT steve said: chiffonade?????????Looks like a great time!See you at the Studer party. ************************

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