[ 
Mood: Amused ]
I ran across this entertaining site with cartoons that make references to Linux and Unix. LinuxToon reprints selections from Doonesbury, Dilbert, Robotman, Foxtrot, Dr. Fun, and even some Norwegian strips!
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Linux/Unix Cartoons was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon
[ 
Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: Breastfeeding my son – Situation Normal ]
Daniel H. Wilson looks at the technologies offered to us by Sci-Fi and wonders why some of them have yet to appear. In the case of others, he examines how we already have those technologies, but that they are different from those portrayed on Star Trek.
This book is funny. I mean laugh out loud funny. May even buy a copy funny. Each entry is about three pages long, so it is a perfect bathroom book. Go get it and make your calls of nature more enjoyable.
[ Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: Listinening to My Cat Snore ]
So I had never read the Watchmen until I borrowed a copy from the library.
Yes, I know, leave my geek card at the door on the way out.
The impact of this collection is different on me today then it would have been had I picked it up back in the day. Much of Moore’s innovations have been picked up by comics and the rest of mainstream media. Would we have a Heroes if the Watchmen had never been published? Probably not.
What I mean by this statement is that what was innovative and shocking when this first came out had so permeated our culture that it seems almost normal now. This might explain the reaction of some who see the trailer but have never read the comic.
So while I enjoyed the book and am glad I have read it, I did not find it as shocking or breathtaking as those who may have read it in 1986-87.
Editor Steve Bissette‘s seminal late-20th century anthology Taboo, perhaps the finest horror anthology of all time and a model for my own horror anthology Weird Business, offered over 100 pages of visceral, no-holds-barred horror from the finest cutting edging creators of the late eighties and early nineties. Initially self-published under Bissette’s Spiderbaby Grafix imprint (and later continued by Kitchen Sink), each Taboo volume presented contributions from the likes of Alan Moore, Neil Gaiman, Clive Barker, Eddie Campbell, Chester Brown, Charles Burns, John Totleben, Tom Veitch, Bernie Mireault, Michael Zulli, Richard Sala, Paul Chadwick, Moebius, Phil Hester, Dave Sim, D’Israeli, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Spain Rodriguez, S. Clay Wilson, Charles Vess, Jeff Jones, Matt Howarth, Mark Bode, Scott McCloud, Paul Grist, Joe Coleman, Jim Woodring, Tim Truman, and Bissette. Running for nine amazing books (1988-1995), Taboo contained some of these creators’ finest works.
Some 13 years later and horror comics are once again all the rage, isn’t it high time for someone to produce a 200 page best of compilation? Even without From Hell, which started in those pages, the books offer enough incredible talent that it’s sure to be a much sought after item.
Best of Taboo? was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon
[ 
Mood: Confused ]
[ 
Currently: Listening to Husband Unit Put My Son to Bed ]
In my constant attempt to get decent service out of retailers, I present to you my letter of complaint to Canadian Tire.
| Quote: |
| Yesterday, I went to Canadian Tire at Coventry Road here in Ottawa. While there, I wanted to get two lengths of chain. I looked around for someone to help me cut the chain. I looked for awhile, to no avail. No biggie, I thought, I can cut it myself.
It took me a few minutes to figure it out, but I succesfully cut two one meter lengths of chain. I then headed to the cash. I decided to try the self check-out. When I was ready to scan the chains, I had to call for help. The attendent informed me that she needed a code in order to ring the order through. She then called for someone from hardware to come and price the chain. Five minutes later, she had to use a phone to call for someone to come price the price as no one answered her radio call. Five minutes after that someone came to the cash to help out. When the situation was explained to this person, their reaction was "we sell those by the foot". I was so taken aback by this that I didn’t respond. Another five minutes went by until we got the answer. And even then, it was not satisfactory. The person came back with my chain, laid both pieces on the ground and measured them with her arms. I was charged based on that precise method. I chose to say nothing about this at the time due to the fact that I had a fussy five month-old who needed to go home for lunch. I have several concerns about what transpired. First, the difficulty in finding help. This is not an isolated event. Getting someone to help borders on ridiculous in your stores. My husband and I have experienced it so much that we joke about it. It appears that even your workers have difficulty finding help. Second, given the first problem, it is ridiculous to expect a customer to find someone to cut chain or rope. You should make this a self serve, like the bulk aisle in the grocery store. Customers could then cut and label their own, based on the code on the bucket. You wouldn’t even have to worry about measuring. If you programmed the weight of the chain into your computer, then that computer could calculate the length using the weight the scale in the self-check out registered. In other words, one link weighs one gram and is one cm long, than one hundred links would weigh one hundred grams and be one hundred cm long. Finally, why are you selling chain in lengths based on a foot? Canada went metric thirty years ago. You should be selling it in meters. You trade on your "Canadian" identity in your advertising, admonishing consumers like me to be patriotic. Why are you then using imperial? Does Industry Canada know about this? It is my understanding that Canadian Law says that wieghts and measures are to be in metric. This is not supposed to be optional. Not that measurement was very important given that that your employee estimated based on the width of her armspan, a system that imperial itself was based on. Which is why metric was invented, to standardize measurement and avoid confusinon. She could have simply converted my two meters to two yards and a bit, given how exacting she wasn’t being. Really, quite a disappointing experience that is making me rethink shopping at your store, especially when I can easily get most things you offer from another Canadian retailer. |
Now you know why we call it Crappy Tire,
Last night, I had this long, complex dream about Jeff and Ann Vandermeer. The gist of the dream was that they took a group of diner-goers hostage in order to explain their latest literary theory. Not surprisingly, no one understood it. Frustrated, the duo planned on killing a hostage an hour until someone comprehended it.
Vandermeers hard at work on what I can only assume is a new literary theory!
Since I seemingly grok Jeff’s books (and presumably the only one in the vicinity stupid enough to help), the cops called me in to decipher the theory. Problem was that it was complete unintelligible, When it became obvious that I had no idea what the hell they were talking about, the couple kissed and similar to the beginning of Pulp Fiction, Ann stood on the table pointing her gun at people. Before she could scream “Any of you fucking pricks move, and I’ll execute every motherfucking last one of ya!’”, I woke up.
Some weird ass shit there.
A Dream of Vandermeers! was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon
[ 
Mood: Cool ]
[ Currently: Breastfeeding my son – Situation Normal ]
Fearless Forteen is, as the title implies, the forteenth installment of the Stephanie Plum mystery series. This one is actually better than the last one.
Yes, Stephanie is still waffling between Joe and Ranger, but the humour is bang on in this book. Thedre were more laugh out loud moments here than the last three books combined.
Plot wise, Fearless Forteen has Stephanie working security with Ranger for a washed out singer and trying to track down a skip, whose son may or may not be Morelli’s. Stephaie has to look after until said son until the skip can be found. Given that he is a MMORG player and spray painter, hillarity ensues. Add to that Lula somehow getting Tank to agree to marry her and you have some very funny situations.
Still the book is short on character development, but that is a hallmark of Evanovitch’s writing. I stillfound the book enjoyable as it was a quick read that will left me smiling.
[ Mood: Happy ]
[ Currently: Listening to CBC Radio One ]
Yup – it’s that time of year. Time to pull in the plants and kiss the tomatoes goodbye. Winter is heading my way.
See you in April.
I’m just glad that Eisner isn’t around to see this. He deserves better.
New Spirit images was originally published on The Geek Curmudgeon
[ Mood: Happy ]
Silas Heap is a seventh son. He is also a wizard. On his way home one night, he finds a baby girl in the snow. At this point the ExtraOrdinary Wizard appears to him and tells him not to tell anyone and raise the child as his own. His wife had just given birth to a seventh son, who died just before Silas got home with the baby girl.
The couple went onto raise the little girl as if she was their own. Then one day, the ExtraOrdinary Wizard appears and warns them to flee, that evil wizard DomDaniel has returned and is after their daughter Jenna.
And so begins a rolicking good read that takes the reader through an imaginative fantasy world. Part cyber-punk, part questing fantasy, I couldn’t put the book down. The ending of the book opens the book up to sequels, which I have already requested from the biblio. Another one for the next "What to Read After Harry".