Short-Sighted Plans

 

Happy New Years Eve! Wishing all the best for 2021. Maybe have some long-term plans, but also short-term ones are good. I haven't seriously considered Lasik, but it would be nice to not need glasses. I use to wear contacts most of the time, but since the Lockdowns started I have been sticking with my glasses. No sense putting in contacts if I'm just staying around the house? But contacts are nicer when wearing a mask since they don't fog up. 

Text:
A: Why did she tell me to Lasik my plans?
B: I'm guessing they're short-sighted.

Meeting Review

 

I misheard something like this at work and it fit. Normally called a recap, but after some meetings it's better said this way. I'm grateful for remote work where you can doodle without people watching you (and also you can do some code review when the topic isn't relevant to you specifically). But many meetings are good and helpful and it's nice to know what all the company is doing, even if they go to a level that's not specifically relevant to me. 

Text:
A: As we wrap up this three hour meeting, let's take the last fifteen minutes to recrap what we've covered so far.
B,C: *frustration*

Rhino Virus

 

Today I learned that rhinoviruses are named from the Greek 'rhinos' which means 'of the nose' and that makes sense. At least 'horn erupting from face' is not a common symptom of the common cold! I wonder if cases of colds have gone down this year since so many people are staying indoors, away from people and the weather. I'm sure someone has the data on that, but I don't know how it's calculated since so many people (many of them children) get colds and just tough it out, so there wouldn't be records of them.

Text:
A: I wasn't feeling well, then this horn erupted on my face!
B: Ah, classic rhino virus. 

Mary Knew

 

Merry Christmas Eve!

One of my friends on Facebook posted basically along the same lines, that yes she knew. She didn't know all the intricate details, but she wasn't going into this blind. The song being referenced is "Mary, Did You Know?" which asks that question many times. Also, new to me, someone re-wrote the lyrics borrowing phrases from the Magnificat to show that she did know, and I kinda like it. I get that the original song has its charm, but it does kinda paint Mary in a clueless light. She couldn't know everything that would happen, but she did know quite a bit. 

Text:
A: *singing* Mary, did you know -
M: YES! An angel literally appeared and told me! Also, I know my Messianic prophesies.

SCALE

 

The characters are Nestor the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey (not to be confused with Dominick the Donkey, who has average-sized ears), Jumbo Jr. (Dumbo), and Pascal.  Wow, how many hyperlinks can I include? The pun in there which I'm quite proud of is that the group's name has the initials 'SCALE' and is for cartoons with abnormally large ears, and Pascal has scales but no ears (since he's a chameleon). Will I make a follow-up about the group Pascal is headed to? No promises since I haven't thought up a proper pun for it yet. 

Text:
Banner: Society of Cartoons with Abnormally Large Ears
Nestor: Sorry Pascal - you're in the wrong group.

Silent Night on Percussion

 

I don't recall what sparked this one but now that I think of it, I have not heard such a rendition. I think the song is better fitted for a strings rendition, maybe a harp. Hand chimes would be nice - I played them in high school as part of the hand bells chorus. That was enjoyable. I played in college, too. Also, I am now imagining these characters are the announcers from Holey Moley.

Text:
JT: Our next contestant is a drummer who will play "Silent Night."
RR: Well, that's unexpected.

Jingle Bell Rock

Sometimes coming up with holiday themed comics is hard. Sometimes it's because I came up with them then put them in my holiday folder and didn't think to look there until after the holiday. Thankfully I didn't file this one away, so that's good. Hey I should check that folder and whaaaat I found some Christmas comics.
Wasn't sure the best way to draw a rock but it turned out more like a lump of coal and that's Christmas themed so that's good?

AAHAHHHHHHH Christmas is in a week and that is super close and I need to finish my crochet projects. And wrap them up. And probably make cookies. 

The song is Jingle Bell Rock, which is all about the secular side of Christmas and not the actual reason for the season. 

Text: The classic Christmas song
Image: Three jingle bells and a rock

Team Names: Beta

 

Another list of team names! To explain, "beta" is used in tech to signify a new feature that isn't fully ready to the public - usually just released to a small set of users to get a feel for how it works and get feedback to make it ready for general release. The fish names were picked because Beta fish are loners (have to be in a tank by themselves and yes they can live in small quarters but no they should not, give them space), Marlins have pointy noses (i.e. sharp, cutting-edge), and Goldfish are known for their short memory span. 

Text:
A: Would you like to join the Beta team?
B: I do like cutting-edge stuff.
A: Oh, that'd be the Marlin team. Beta is our solo projects. Goldfish is short-term projects. 

Team Names: Mobile

 ... We don't know what the Mobile team actually does. I realized as I'm scheduling this that I didn't explain what that team did, so I'm rolling with we just don't know.
To explain the pun, "Mobile" could be read as either "handheld computers and similar technology (i.e. Android/iOS)" or "a city in Alabama (i.e. Birmingham/Montgomery)". The other cities are all in Alabama, showing that the team names are just places in Alabama, not related to the technology handled by the teams. 

Text:
A: Would you like to join the Mobile team?
B: I do like Android development.
A: Oh, that's handled by the Birmingham team. Montgomery is the iOS team. 

Cloud Issues

 A classic what you say vs what they hear. I do think it's humorous to draw parallels between physical clouds and data clouds. If it's raining when you have a cloud issue, clearly the two are related. Also using the word 'nebulous' to describe cloud concepts is peak humor. Which reminds me of a word jumble game that we use to play (can't remember the title but it was on the original iPad) and we had the letters "bmnii" and could not figure it out - it was nimbi, the plural of nimbus. Well, I learned a new word that day and now maybe you did too!

Text:
What you say: The site is experiencing a cloud issue
What they hear: The data is out of alignment... due to the storm. 

Bicycle Built For Two

 I thought this one up a while ago but getting it down on paper (hah, rather on screen since I don't do the pencil-ink-erase-scan-crop-post anymore) took a while. Getting the bike to look like a bike was difficult until I gave up on free-handing and just used shapes. 
Down at my grandparent's beach house, there was a proper tandem bicycle and it was fun to ride as a kid because it was a free ride :) legs too short to contribute. 

Text:
Woman on man's shoulders: Who says this bicycle ISN'T built for two?
Man riding bike with woman on his shoulders: me. 

Probiotic vs Probionics

 

I think this comic was sparked by the probiotic vs antibiotic "debate" which has plenty of funny comics to it. I think bionics have come a long way and are an amazing advancement for all those who can use them. Probiotics are good too and you can get them from non-dairy yogurt! I know this because the labels say so. I don't know how they get the probiotics in there but apparently they do.

Text:
Title: Probiotics vs Probionics
Probiotics: Happy Tummy!
Probionics: Look at these legs! (holding bionic legs)

Sterile Environment

 

Happy early Birthday to my eldest sister! 
I feel like most people prefer seedless grapes but that could just be an assumption. Seedy grapes (that doesn't sound right) remind me of going to my Great-Grandmother's house because she liked them and I quickly learned to eat around the seeds but that's the only place I really remember having grapes with seeds. I liked going there and have many happy memories from my childhood with GG. Back to the comic, when thinking of hospital food only Jell-O comes to mind. I'm sure they have more food than that but it's the classic. I have not had Jell-O in a while - there is a family recipe for pretzel salad which is a 9x13 dessert and has Jell-O, strawberries, whipped cream, and a pretzel crust and is quite good. I also have a recipe for Dr. Pepper Jell-O salad which has Jell-O, fruit, and of course Dr. Pepper. I should make that again - it's quite good.

Text:
A: Why are all the grapes seedless in the hospital cafeteria?
B: It's a sterile environment! 

Vitals Taken

 

Happy December! Stay healthy out there. I thought this up after a doctor's appointment and thinking through the phrase 'taking your vitals' because yeah that'd be bad if taken (haha) literally. This comic layout is similar to one I drew a while ago about 'not dying on my watch' - oh here it is. Hah, a while ago is apparently eight years. That was near the beginning of my blog - it's interesting to see how my style has changed. And the layout between the two comics isn't overly similar but I guess it was the 'one person laying down' that triggered the link. Also not sure about the grammar in this one - should it be 'are' or 'is'? Neither seemed correct so I just picked 'are' since it's two items. Grammar is hard. 

Text:
A: Why are your blood pressure and temperature so low?!?
B: The nurse... took.... my vitals.