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Return of The Crud
2006-10-27 17:30:01
Yeah, still coughing.  Man sakes, but it’s a wicked thing this chest cold. Monday I went to the doctor and got some cough syrup and antibiotics.  The cough syrup has codeine and is supposed to help you sleep.  The other part of it is supposed to shut down the part of your brain that makes you want to cough.  All this time I thought the active drugs in cough medicine were some kind of anti-inflammatory for your lungs which kept the irritation at bay and thus less coughing.  The idea that it actually turns off the “cough” button in your brain is unnervingly cool. At any rate, the codeine doesn’t put me to sleep either.  I get jittery around NyQuil and Tylenol PM so I knew this would be similar and it was.  I get restless and a bit hyper after I take it. The problem I’m having is the side-effects; specifically the ones listed that are the same reasons I’m taking the medicine in the first place.  I feel nauseous, feverish, dizzy, weak, dehydrated and ...
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Wes Craven?s: The Crud
2006-10-20 05:15:03
10 days ago I had my yearly puke. I got it out of the way so I wouldn’t have to have it hovering over me around the holidays when it would have been uncomfortable and untimely. I must have eaten some bad chicken at a local texmex eatery. Luckily I had the next day off thanks to AISD’s closing of schools for Columbus Day. It was sickeningly serendipitous. Believe it or not, I really don’t throw up much at all. I joke about it being a yearly thing because that’s about how often it happens, and it really has to be a bad case of food poisoning for me to allow myself the lizard brain reflex option. Some people throw up well; they’re quiet, quick and tactful. They can do it in between sips of wine or after a quick scurry to the loo to “powder their nose.” I’m not so fortunate. I’m nearly in need of leather restraints to keep my convulsing body from damaging itself or nearby parts of the house. I swear it comes out my ears. So...
More About: Rave , Wes Craven , Raven , Craven , Crave

Respective Respect
2006-10-19 05:12:02
Originally uploaded by Cheryl Rollman. Mrs. A has a new friend. She met this lady at a preferred vendor networking shindig about three weeks ago. She works at a catering company, but she’s a studied photographer working with traditional equipment and in B&W. Mrs. A is in love with her talent and has taken it upon herself to help her out by getting her photography seen by galleries and other places you would find photography for display/sale. Mrs. A has run into something I’ve known since the first time I put pencil to paper: There is always someone better than you. There is in fact a corollary to that rule: Only you know how much better they are than you. For example, there’s a guy I “know” on penciljack that is a top notch artist, but when I show a piece of work that he’s done to Mrs. A her reaction is always along the lines of “I’ve seen you do better.” Here’s his latest. I just know there’s a level ...
More About: Respect

Trying to draw more.
2006-10-09 10:57:01
550 Douglas, the Future of Hoboing Originally uploaded by xadrian. I’ve got 2 sequential pages to do and then I think that’s it for my productive endeavors with hoboes or pirates or zomies or robots or whatever distractions I can find. See the problem is, I’m easily distracted and when I can do pictures like the one above in 20 mins or so, it doesn’t make me want to do larger or more complex projects. I don’t know that I can get more complex without really stretching things out over several days and that just doesn’t work with my brain. However, looking at some things on this latest quicky like my line quality and the arms of my guy and the clothing wrinkles and the overall lack of “oomph” I see, I have to make some time to get back to basics. I’m going to move back to more pencil drawings and practice sheets. I think I mentioned this before, just a reiteration. I don’t like the way my work looks sloppy and hackish....
More About: More , Draw

Polaris Comics is down
2006-10-08 22:54:01
I don’t know that anyone who reads this is relying on images or anything posted on my Polar is Comic s site, but it’s currently having problems. I registered the domain with Pepperjack web hosting.  I’m guessing (since it’s that time of year for our domains) that it’s up for renewal, but I never received anything via email.  When I checked on my domain via whois I found it was put on hold by the registrar (ie Pepperjack.)  But when I tried contacting Pepperjack my emails bounced and my ID didn’t exist in the client login database.  So then I had to contact tucows to figure out what was going on.  I’m afraid something happened to Pepperjack and they went under or something and they didn’t update people or couldn’t update people. Anyway, this may be the opportunity I’ve been looking for to move all of that stuff over to this domain.  I don’t use Polaris Comics for anything special, just hosting images I link on boards and...
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The Best Lighting Bolt I?ve Ever Seen
2006-10-07 04:45:02
Oh, and… How White and Nerdy Are You?
More About: Lighting , Best , Light , Ever , Bolt

Swallowed up
2006-10-06 16:42:09
Here’s a neat little tool that was bought by Microsoft and then left to die. Basically it indexes all your email in Outlook and makes searching faster and more in depth. Apparently Microsoft has nothing planned to implement something like this. So it was probably pigeonholed because it worked too well.
More About: Wall , Lowe , Swallow , Allo

Foibles
2006-10-05 16:39:04
Foibles 1 Originally uploaded by xadrian. Mike Peterson (aka halcyonsnow) started a little strip project using hobo drawings. A couple other people have taken up the challenge and this is my attempt. Mrs. A just got me some more drawing materials. After I get two more ASJ pages done I want to get back to some good old fashioned pencil drawings. Not super heroes, not sci-fi robots and spaceships, but maybe drawings from photos of my family or do some gesture drawings. I need to get back to basics. I sat down with my sketch pad and a pencil today and realized how timid I was as my hand quivered above the paper. At some point I’ve lost my drive to be a good artist and replaced it with a desire to just have something to show people and quickly. So, I think I’m gonna be off the funny book type stuff for a while (unless it pays) and go back to learning about the craft and filling up my new sketch books with experiments and self tutoring rather than trying to make everyt...

Moo Cards
2006-10-05 16:39:04
Moo.com cards Originally uploaded by xadrian. Found this on Boing Boing last month. Company is moo.com and they print up mini business cards. The trick is, they also have a Flickr tie in which allows you to pick images right from your photostream, crop to fit and then edit information for the back. Unfortunately the promotion for the 10 free cards is over, so I’m glad I got it on it. But at $20 for 100 high quality cards, each with a different image, it’s not a bad price at all. I don’t know what I’ll do with my cards, I’ve only got 10 and it’s not like I’m gonna drop these in free lunch fishbowls or anything. I might hang them up in my office.
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Minimum Wage
2006-10-05 16:39:04
This and this are why artists aren’t retiring to a mansion in upstate New York. Not like anyone will ever see the results of these projects, but it just infuriates me to see people who think $25 equals a full weeks worth of work or $50 can get you 5 mins of animation. The problem is, someone will take them up on the offer and of course that leads to two catasrofucks: 1) The gig poster will get a really crappy piece of work because they’re going to get someone who needs a quick buck or a student with no experience to do it. 2) The person who takes the job will spend a heartbreaking amount of time working on these and then getting what amounts to a nice dinner’s worth of payment. Artists should stand up more for themselves.  I emailed both these futtlenucks and told them just how assclowny they were being for even proposing such outlandishly meager compensation for such in depth projects.  I of course will not hear back from them, but at least they know the community...
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Oh joy.
2006-10-02 16:33:02
So, I tried upgrading to WordPress 2.0.4 and was unable to do it successfully.  I’ll have to read the in depth instructions, but as usual the “5 min upgrade” didn’t do the trick.  I backed up my files and my database, shut down my plugins, stopped my IIS, unzipped the new package and moved them in.  Right? After doing all that and firing up the IIS again, it shows the site fine, but no posts or pages or anything.  Really weird.  I’m sure there’s a few files I’m not supposed to overwrite or something.  Anyway, fun as usual with that.  I’m back on 2.0.1 right now. Whether this is related or not I have no idea, but since then I’ve been getting an inordinate amount of spam in my comments and it’s not being picked up by Askimet.  It’s on v1.15 and I have 1.12 so I’m sure I’ll have to update that as well. Long and short of it, if you comment and you don’t see it within about a day, just email me and I̵...

Continued Obsessions
2006-09-27 16:24:01
Hello people. So, here are 200 zombie names. You know, for no real reason, other than give people on the Zombie Army group something to do. I don’t even think I posted this here yet either.  (Checking back…and…nope, I’m an idiot. Jawbone Radio show 128 featuring a core group of hobo artists including yours truly. Um, what else have I missed so far. Oh yeah, the latest bridal expo wasn’t great for Mrs. A, but I’m hopeful she’ll get some bites soon. I haven’t done any drawing lately thanks to my two non-sleeping children.  It’s just kind of hard getting anything done lately, I don’t know what’s going on. I have to upgrade this site to v.2.0.4 I think, and I’m scared.  I have to do some research on web design for big, thousands of users sites, but I can’t say why.  Soon, grasshoppers. Colorado Avalanche opening game is home against the Stars and yes I won’t be able to see it. Battlestar: Galactica, Lost...
More About: Obsession , Sion , Sessions , Conti

For Better or For Worse
2006-09-22 16:18:01
Just flipped through an interesting process tour from the creators of the syndicated strip “For Bett er or For Worse.”  I don’t read the strip, in fact I haven’t read a newspaper cartoon strip in many, many years.  I only read a handful of online strips as it is. Several things fought for my attention while reading.  First, there were 3 of them.  There’s the writer artist, the letterer background artist and the colorist.  Finally there’s the web guru and the editor at the syndicate.  I know a few people who do their own strips and I gotta say, if I never had to worry about backgrounds and lettering, I’d be doing more strips. Next I picked up a few ideas for how to approach my art, my workspace, my creative process.  It was a good read. Finally, I realized that on the eve of Mrs. A and my 9th anniversary, we might grow old and become Henry and Muriel Rush from Too Close for Comfort.  And that wouldn’t be all that bad, other than I’...

Barenaked Remix
2006-09-17 16:09:01
For those living under a media rock (like me) you should read this story about the Bare naked Ladies releasing their master tracks from their newest album to fans who want to mix them.  It’s apparently the band’s response to the record companies’ views on what fans should or should not hear and how they can listen. I’ve no opinion of it anymore, the whole music sharing thing.  I just don’t care.  I haven’t downloaded a song in a while, couple years maybe.  Mrs. A loves doing it.  She’ll download the album, decide if she likes it, and then if she does, she’ll go buy the album.  I used to rationalize by saying I would only download songs I’ve purchased in the past.  Then I just stopped altogether.  Legally it’s all stealing, but legally the speed limit is 65 and legally I’m sure some people shouldn’t be in this country, but honestly I just don’t care right now. I’m just ticked that Boing Boing ran an ar...
More About: Remix , Arena , Remi

Tale of two Wikis
2006-09-12 16:00:13
Heard on NPR this morning about Wiki pedia and its viability and how the online encyclopedia is open for misuse.  Critics, including some experts, say it’s only a matter of time before the interest in the site fades and users are drawn to another fad, leaving the repository to collapse in on itself. Someone should have told founder Jimmy Wales.  Apparently he feels his little unknown, quiet and tenuous little site is more important that the critics do. Good for you, Jimmy. It’s also interesting to spotlight the discord among the media and how differing outlets, biases notwithstanding, can find just what nuggets they need in order to tell their own story. At which point savvy readers say, ‘Yeah, and?” Carry on.
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Remembered
2006-09-12 16:00:13
I was trying to find a nice image with which to head this post; something tactful yet powerful.  Turns out that’s really hard to find.  I don’t want to turn this into a schlock piece, so I will let you fine readers remember what you will. On a milder note, please listen to this week’s Jawbone Radio podcast.  With the 700 Hoboes project reaching its main goal, host Len Peralta interviewed a majority of the creators (including yours truly.) Carry on.

The empty spaces in between.
2006-09-09 15:54:01
John Hodgman Mosaic Originally uploaded by xadrian. So the big push to get the 700 Hobo project got us all finished by the time the paperback version of the book came out. It was all done in circular fashion and everyone was very excited about it. Now there’s a yawning gap where there once was progress. True, there are another 100 names to do, but that’s a prologue and it doesn’t feel as rushed as the previous group. So what I’m doing now is revisiting those neglected projects from the past six months. I’m looking to do more sequential pages, more designs, more lettering, more work on my book and moreover, something besides hoboes. I’ve only done about forty plus drawings for the group, not even half of what the top poster did, but when you only have thirty minutes to a couple hours a day to do any kind of creative work, it’s hard to crank out what the other guys did. I’m in a group with guys who do this kind of work for a livi...
More About: Space , Between , Pace , Paces , Spaces

Top Ten Video Games
2006-09-09 15:54:01
I wrote this over on my nearly defunct Live Journal, so I thought I’d do it here as well. I like this idea, so I’m stealing it from other people. When I think about my top ten favorite video games, I really have to go very far back into the nearly vanished stores of memory that is my childhood. The games we had as kids were little more than calculators on TV. When PONG hit Atari in 1974 and then sold by Sears in 1975, I was two. Our family didn’t get PONG until a few years later, then after that an Atari 2600. My early gaming memories include such archaic classics as Combat, Yars’ Revenge, Tempest, Missle Command and yes, Space Invaders. The first game my dad brought home was Pac-Man. (My wife is going to hate this post.) So, over the past 25 years I’ve played a lot of games, and yet if I were to be ranked worldwide in percentage of time or number of game titles played, I’m sure I’d be in the low teens. So, my top ten picks for my favori...
More About: Video , Video Games , Games , Top Ten , Game

700 Done
2006-09-06 03:48:01
It is finally finished.  Six months and 45 drawings and doctored photos later, the 700 Hobo project has reached its ultimate milestone. The first man to draw a hobo based on the Boing Boing challenge back in October of 2005 was the one to draw the 700th. This by no means is a sign that the project is finished.  I’m sure it will die off now that we’ve done 700 completely, but there are an additional 100 now and I’d be very surprised to see that take longer than a month to finish.  There are also many other plans for e-hobo.com as well as within the group we’ve formed. These are exciting times.
More About: Done

Hold your breath?
2006-09-05 03:45:03
384 Teatime BB Stiles Originally uploaded by xadrian. We’re down to about 15 hoboes as of this posting. A handful of guys and girls are going to do a few more, and then we’re going to have th 700th officially drawn and uploaded by the same guy who did the very first one that launched the project back in October of 05. It’s been a grand ride and now with the addition of 100 more names and my desire to someday have all 700 drawn myself, it’s not one that will end any time soon. Carry on.
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More photos for the Leader
2006-09-01 15:36:02
Rock Paper Scissors Originally uploaded by Cheryl Rollman. The second of hopefully thousands of photos Mrs. A took for the Round Rock Lead er. This appeared in Tuesday’s edition so it’s not online anymore, but we did get a few copies. Very proud of my little cabbage, she’s keen.
More About: Photo , Photos , More , Leader

Had to be there II
2006-09-01 15:36:02
Mrs. A and I were watching TV (as we do, ritualistically, each night, until midnight, it’s sad) and a sleep aid commercial comes on.  It’s one we’ve seen before.  It’s a good one too.  Guy can’t sleep and he comes into his kitchen were Abe Lincoln, a beaver and a guy in a deep sea diving suit are waiting with a chess set. Mrs. A makes some comment about the “groundhog” and I said it was a beaver.  She said, “It’s not Punxsutawney Phil?”  I said I didn’t think so.  There ’s a pause and she says, “Man, I just pulled ‘Punxsutawney Phil’ outta my ass.”  Another pause and I start giggling and say, “Does that mean there’s six more weeks of winter?” Carry on.
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Don?t Mess with Texas.
2006-09-01 15:36:02
Vote for your favorite slogan. If you’re a Texan, like Texans or Texas , or just like the slogan, please stop by the link and vote now.  The winner will get the slogan put on the Madison Avenue “Advertising Walk of Fame” and get a permanent place at the Advertising Icon Museum in Kansas City. Personally, I think it’s a fine choice, but there is some stiff competition.  I also noticed that a large minority is not in fact commercial but municipal or non-profit.  It would be most noble to have a slogan inspiring Texans to keep our state clean and litter free in a position of prominence. So, vote for your favorites.  Texans, you know how you have to vote. Carry on.
More About: With , Mess

Filler
2006-08-25 15:30:22
Not a lot going on, but still a lot happening.  Hard to explain.  Will update later.
More About: Fill

Zombie Outfitters
2006-08-23 15:27:03
The beginnings of another viral illustration campaign. If you haven’t hit e-zombie.com yet, well, I’m sad for you. At least to say you’ve seen it. Eventually it will resemble e-hoboes.com but this time since we’re not working against Mr. Hodgman’s copyrighted hobo names, we can sell shirts. Plus zombies are the new 40. Or is it, 40 is the new black. Either way, a black zombie shirt should cover all the bases, especially if you’re over 40. ZMBY by xadrian Get this custom t-shirt at Zazzle
More About: Zombie , Outfit

Mrs. Austin Published!
2006-08-23 15:27:03
Gabriella Originally uploaded by Cheryl Rollman. Photo by Cheryl P. Rollman for the Leader (08/19/06) Round Rock’s Gabriella Heath (22 months old) pauses at a stop sign and watches her sister Angelika (not shown - 4 years old) learn about helmet saftey at the Big Wheel Rodeo. The Big Wheel Rodeo was sponsored by the Williamson County and Cities Health District. This is running (on the front page, i think) on Tuesday’s Round Rock paper. Congratulations, hon.
More About: Austin , Published , Publish

Thank you.
2006-08-23 15:27:03
To all those who helped us out over the passed week, we offer our sincere thanks.  We’re all ok and continuing to do what we can.  We appreciate the kindess more than simple words can say.
More About: Thank You , Hank

First day of School
2006-08-23 15:27:03
Apple of Our Eye Originally uploaded by xadrian. So LMA started kindergarten yesterday. Mrs. A cried a lot, but Lil Miss A seemed ok with the whole thing. She didn’t have any seperation problems. In fact, when I went to pick her up, she started crying because she wanted to stay and play games. The teachers all said she had a great first day and will be a wonderful student. Yogi, on the other hand, has noticed that his sister and I aren’t taking him to school anymore and I think he’s a little distraught. With everything going on lately it’s easy to forget that these little people still need us to be parents and friends. They’re going through a lot of change right now as it is, hopefully the grownups can figure out a way not to add to the chaos. Carry on.
More About: School , First

Humble Request
2006-08-23 15:27:03
Greetings viewers. A little bad news for the LIA crew.  We’ve run into some financial waters that we’ve been unable to navigate.  I won’t say it’s not our fault, but we’ve done everything we can short of serious and drastic debt restructuring.  At this point, if we don’t come up with X amount by this weekend, we could very well lose our house. We’ve asked our family for help, we’ve talked with the banks and lending institutions and have sold some items and have started looking at quick evening jobs, but we’re stretched pretty thin as it is, so I’m going to do something I hate doing. Asking for help. If you like this site, if you’re a fan of the photography and the artwork and the stories, please make a donation.  I’ve set up a button on the sidebar that will point you the right way.  I can’t stress this enough, every little bit helps. To that end, anyone who donates in the next 5 days, regardless of amount...
More About: Request , Quest , Humble

Odds and Endings
2006-08-23 15:27:03
Mini Cheryl Originally uploaded by Cheryl Rollman. Today is Lil Miss Austin’s last day at her Montessori school. She’s been going there since she was 18 months old. She started in December of 2002. I’m taking the next week off so I can give her some kind of summer vacation. We’re going to go places, sleep late, play games, watch cartoons and be simultaneously lazy and adventurous. I’m excited about it, I hope she is. LMA learned a lot from this school. Yes we’ve had our differences with them, but aside from a few weird incidents, the school has been a really great place for both kids. LMA especially has learned a lot and it’s a testament to both her latent super powers and the ciriculum of the school. I can’t say it’ll be a completely tearful departure, but there’s enough history to make it bittersweet. She’s moving away, moving on, but she’s growing and that’s exciting. She also has purple hair,...
More About: Ending , Endings , Odds