My Name Is Not Dave

Further adventures with automated phone agents. Mr. Rhooms has to deal with HAL-9000, who seems to have a malfunction. According to Wikipedia, in June 2003, HAL-9000 was listed thirteenth on the American Film Institutes's 100 list of worst 100 movie villains. HAL-9000's response in the last panel is out of character, and used here for a (hopefully possible) laugh.

58 Minute Wait

Inspiration for this strip came from a twenty minute phone call to an (un-named) government office. After five minutes of speaking to 'the machine', giving it my personal information, an actual person was connected, and of course, she knew nothing of that previously laboriously given personal information.

For those who are not familiar with the HAL 9000, it is the infamous computer in the famous Stanley Kubrick film, "2001: A Space Odyssey".

George Washington's Ghost

Today, we celebrate the birthday of George Washington, who has since given his name to thousands of people and things in the old US of A. As a matter of fact, my father was named George.

Living In The Future

I believe it will be a long time before cash is eliminated from our daily lives.  Just think how long it's been since we've started trying to eliminate the penny. No, I'm afraid there will be just that many more options in our option-filled world. Life just keeps getting more interesting.

Lucy's Patriotic Poem

The more I discovered about this U.S.Supreme Court case (Citizens United v Federal Election Commission 130 S.Ct. 876 (2010)), the more insidious it revealed itself to be. This successful attempt to ultimately provide yet more political power to the power brokers of wealthy corporations (and ironically, labor unions) was presented under the guise of free speech and assembly. Unbelievable, but all too sadly true, this ruling opens the doors for more expensive and nastier political campaigns, further setting back attempts to reign-in already out-of-control spending, and influence peddling.

Ivan and Black History Month

Ivan may be confused, but it's difficult to tell. Mr. Rhooms certainly is, as was Lou Costello. (See the "Who's On First" video on YouTube).

In the USA, during February, Black History Month celebrates African-American history.

While creating this strip, I thought it might be interesting to look up Martin Luther on the "Catholic Encyclopedia" at NewAdvent.com, since he broke with the Catholic Church to start the Protestant Reformation movement. The article and site are interesting, albeit densely packed.

Bedtime Story For Randy

Ennis tries his best to entertain Randy, but evidently Randy has had a full day, and shut down early.
Randy's action saves me from having to write an entire bedtime story, which could last several days or weeks in cartoon strip time. Hmm ... on second thought maybe that's a good idea. I could use the same panel drawing, and just change the text over and over.

Small Business Loan

Mr. Rhooms, being the astute businessman that he is, has analyzed Ivan's loan correctly. Ivan, forever the optimist, even in these uncertain economic times, is undeterred.

My 0.6mm pen is running out of ink, so I've switched to my 1.0 mm pen.  I run an expensive operation here, where no money is spared in the production of this strip.

Noah and the Snakes

Maybe it's best to be considerate of snakes, especially if they're right in front of your face.

For an unknown reason, God decided to allow seven each of 'clean animals' and two each of 'unclean animals' to board the ark. I didn't know this. Evidently the 'clean' animals are allowed to be eaten. The list is quite specific. Snakes are not to be eaten, nor are any crawling creatures, or creatures that have parts of their legs above their heads. That last one gets your imagination going, doesn't it.

Elephant Seal Passion

I'll admit, this blog is a bit of a digression from my usual blogs.

About a week ago, some friends and I went to see the yearly birthing and mating migration of elephant seals, on the beach just north of San Simeon, CA.

Now one wouldn't think that a two and a half ton male would make the best lover, but I was able to photograph one such Casanova flagrante delicto.

My caption: "I love it when you do that!"

What you don't see in this picture is the time spent in this activity, which is roughly five seconds.  I guess in the world of elephant seals, that's a pretty long time.

I hope I have inspired some of you to think seriously about Valentine's Day coming up.

Where's Bernard?

Lucy's pet snake, Bernard, has gotten loose. She can't ask Mr. Rhooms ... well, could it be that Bernard is trying to befriend Charlie, or is he just hungry? Or ... is he SATAN???!!!

Ivan's Painting Gets a Title

Ivan comes up blank, again, so the gang volunteers their suggestions. This is the first strip with a single panel. It took a longer time to fill in with colors, as I had to use the colors for all the characters. Every skin tone is different, just like in real life.

In time, I wonder if people will lose the meaning of Randy's Egyptian reference, as today's events fade into the past.

He's Really Not Able

Today I was in a very laid-back mood, and not inspired very much. And because I was wanting Lucy to write a poem, and had I no ideas, I decided to look up famous birthdays for today.  At first I couldn't decide between Clark Gable and Rick James. But after not coming up with anything decent that rhymed with 'funky', I went with Mr. Gable.