Saturday, November 29, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 10:38 AM
shout out to all my peeps
cheep.
this comic is another old one. perhaps you can tell i like wordplay.
sigh. as usual, i'm the only poster. again. no comments even on the thanksgiving comic.. but apparently people are voting.. i'm in the top 500! remember, you can vote every day. :)
Thursday, November 27, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 7:37 AM
a little quicky
okay, i managed to sneak in an update.
you can see what i meant by "guest comic." my brother drew this, with assembled clip-art, some years ago. when my family still had the old pentium 133 in use. i thought it was appropriate.
do you like the special voting gift comic?
Wednesday, November 26, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 5:24 PM
update
i'll be gone all day tomorrow.. so don't expect any updates aside from the comic. have a happy turkey day and pig out!
hehe.
and finally.. take the geek test!
// posted by Paul @ 11:02 AM
happy pre-turkey day
the comic is up. people are voting.. and i have a present for you.
man, this sucks. i'm working from a mac lab computer because the pc computer lab here at school is closed because of a water leak. a WATER LEAK! i have research to do. i hate macs.
alrighty. i made a special comic. you can only see it if you vote for my comic. (i am so evil, am i not?) i thought of making it a special weekend comic, but i didn't like that idea. and i am NOT gonna wait until next year. i didn't really want to have 2 comics on one day.. so it's a "voting gift." besides, it doesn't COST you anything. by the way, if you already voted for me today (like painquin), you have to wait until tomorrow. by the way, there will be a "regular" update tomorrow, specially for thanksgiving. i'm like mcdonald's. but it's kind of a guest strip. you'll see what i mean when you see the comic.
i'm hungry.
and james. surely you can think of something better than "this is my corner." give me a break. and the commenting thing? easy. follow the linkbar to "comic-related." find the one that says something about "comments." there's a good boy. and i would like it if you DID add a "comment" feature. i would say things.. such evil things.. nevermind.
// posted by Paul @ 7:55 AM
lack of update
i really do have a comic, i just forgot to put it up there. i'll get around to it later. after breakfast.
i was going to have the blog just have the current day's posts available to read, but i changed it to have the last 7 days' posts. more reading. tell me what you think. not that any of you ever do.
i also need, i think, to widen the window and reformat the blog page. i'll mess around with the css code on the blog later.
i also have to do a research paper (or part of one) today, so don't expect much right away except the comic, which should be up by noon at the latest.
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 9:21 PM
a review of waffle5, by: a moron
i hate idiots. anyhoo.
The art's not bad. Unique, and you seem to know what you're doing. Your shading can be off occasionally. At times I thought those guys had stripes at the bottom of their pants. I thought everything looked better in black and white, but y'know, I like black and white.
I didn't care much for the humor. Computer jokes just seem lame to me. You did well to eliminate the leet from your comic though. Either you have too many inside jokes (Why's that bag leaking? Why kill the paper clip? Who the blossom is Steker?) or I am just not your audience. Possibly both.
Too much filler. It's fine to do just gags and have no plot, but you need to have real gags. Some guy rolling around on a chair is not a successful strip. Maybe you should cut down on your updates. You don't need a strip everyday, and if your quality goes up, people would except fewer updates.
Your comic is well drawn and feels like something that might be sydicated. Whether you feel that's a good thing or not I'll leave to you.
i won't say who said this.. i will mention that it came from keenspace's forums.
okay.. should i make it clear to people that there is almost no plot? probably. but if you read past the first comic and still assume there's a plot? in the words of the architect.. "please." and color versus non-color.. that's opinion. but did i not! DID! I! NOT! state in my news (blog) WHY ian was rolling around! i said from the START that most comics need some sort of explanation, but these morons don't read. no, i am not angry. i just hate people.
yes. one other thing. is my quality NOT good?
oh, and by the way. the way the site works now is, every new comic has its days' posts to go with it.. but you cannot look up posts alongside archived comics. this is not php. so keep in mind, to look up a date's posts, look on the main page, down at the bottom of the frame for the blog archive link. click on that and find the day's date that you're looking for.
'kay?
// posted by Paul @ 5:07 PM
oh yeah
the site looks pretty in 1024x whatever resolution but looks like BUTT in 800x600. just thought i'd say that.
// posted by Paul @ 7:49 AM
whee
on today's comic
i guess it requires some explanation. some people may get it, most probably won't. i'm not gonna tell you yet. >:)
well?
i think i've succeeded in making the blog accessible on the main page AND making it pretty. tell me what you think.
Monday, November 24, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 10:58 PM
comic news
wow. it's been a while. let's get this over with.
on thursday's comic
the cloud was supposed to say "doom." oh well.
i do like how the cloud turned out, though. the strip is a tribute to the "trouble brewing" far side cartoons by gary larson.
on friday's comic
one of my stupid puns/play-on-words. i rather like this comic. it originally had just some old guy playing the fish.. on the final edit i made matt playing it. seems like the kind of crazy shanagan he'd be responsible for anyway.
maybe i should amend that. matt's not really "responsible" at all. i don't think any of us are.
on today's comic
this one was another of my early-stage mac comics. featuring bob, this time.
jason is a moron
but this time i'm not complaining. pete worked 5 hours for him and in return he gave us ddr max. woot. i played for 2 hours this morning before i had to go to class, and i am so happy. for those of you that care, i got my double A on sandstorm and a B on rythme and police. i am so awesome!
// posted by James W. @ 10:28 PM
Weekend Update ft. Shadow
Okay, it's Monday so "weekend update" isn't exactly accurate, but it's still interesting.
Thursday was a DDR Tournament for UW-Whitewater students. I registered for the 4-step tournament and ended up winning it, making it to a 5-step final round. The tournament was double elimination and the finals was the first time I was eliminated so we had to replay the Championship match... Which I then lost *again.* But it was okay, bottom line is that I took second in my division, and I'd expected to fail out right away.
But even better was the fact that I was flirted with for half the night. That was quite the refreshing change from my usual daily life. Said girl currently has a boyfriend, but apparently I'm really cute and hard to resist!! Of course I'm not as sexy as Jason, but then, who ever can be?
I fear Paul's wrath. It should be interesting to see what cartoon ideas he has up his sleeve...
Sunday, November 23, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 10:57 AM
on bended knee
doo dee doo..
so i've got some.. cartoon ideas.
for james.
hee hee. i am so evil.
Saturday, November 22, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 12:09 PM
dear sweet baby moses
that tears it. i'm going to kill him.
this is the last time he plays with my emotions.
Friday, November 21, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 1:43 PM
i am amused
blogger is cool. i found this and this on the main page. quite helpful, i'm sure. i came kinda close on one of those counts. jason and james know what i mean.
i got off of work today. well, to clarify: i got off of my office job at 12:00 or so, and i no longer work at all at mcdonald's tonight. i called them today to try to find SOMEONE who could cover my 7 to close shift.. only to find that tracy put my on today's schedule BY ACCIDENT. or something. and i don't REALLY work next saturday, even though the schedule says i do. or should. whatever.
anyhoo.
oh, yeah. i'm lovin' this (nothing to do with mcdonald's, and i'm NOT lovin' that). when i sign online at home, i have to use my mom's aol account.. and she gave me, how nice, my very own aol account. so i have YET ANOTHER email address. no, i will not tell you what it is. good grief. and to make matters worse, she has set up a little "security" for my account. how sweet. for any of you who understand web server security, it's a "deny, allow" permission system. that means, for the stupid (jason) of you, that any random site is denied, unless specifically allowed by mommy dearest. i can't even view my friend emily's blog. in the words of tracy, grr. (an "allow, deny" permission system, by the way, is the other way around - any site accessed is allowed, unless specifically denied by the server.)
i am hungry.
Thursday, November 20, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 11:58 PM
dork
what a moron.
by the way, you are quite sexy. i am WRITHING with pleasure.
yes, i did say "writhing."
i am greatly frightened, too.
// posted by Paul @ 12:46 AM
how many people can i offend today?
i'm sure james would be pissed off at me, except that he's a WUSS.
and jason? yes, jason is undoubtably plotting the demise of shantel right now. how did she get on the blog, anyway?
i think i've been HACKED.
these are not my pants.
Wednesday, November 19, 2003
// posted by James W. @ 10:27 PM
panicky coverup to follow
My lawyer has intructed me to make the following statement:
"Mr. Eiche does not represent me. The views, opinions, and speculations here are soley his own and are not necesarily the views and opinions held by me."
Okay, that should about cover it. Now let's just hope Jason comes out of the corner he is undoubtely cowering in while holding several varieties of deadly weapons.
// posted by Paul @ 9:46 AM
insert choking noise here
on tuesday's comic
the funny part is, he doesn't feign that ignorance.
ZING!
on today's comic
it seems that everyone i show this one to, loves it. as long as they've used microsoft office. ;)
on comics, comments, and a.j.
i get to mention someone "special" today. it has been brought to my attention by someone (but we won't say who, will we james?) that a certain friend of this person ("i loooooove you") complains about how i comment on the comics on the blog, not the main page.
the short response
tough. deal with it. my comic, my time, like it or leave it.
the long response
i understand why you'd want to have the comics and comments all on the main page. it makes for easy reading and less clicks. think of my comic as the reverse of penny arcade. there, you have to read the posts first, then you click to see the comic (well, you don't HAVE to read the posts, but you get my point). and similar to PA, sometimes you need to read my posts to understand where i'm coming from. or maybe i'm just insane and there is no explanation. bwahahahaha!
but seriously, folks.
when i first started the comic, i designed the site to kinda look like it was formatted in php, you know, with css. but i had no idea at the time how to do php or css, and keenspace didn't support php anyway. as i learned (read: taught myself) more about css, the more i liked it. it does have its disadvantages, but i was able, with css, to integrate not only a cool little sidebar but also the shoutbox (which i got free from active topic, by the way, very nice). it's very nice. but as i was saying. if keenspace supported php, i would use that, because then i could post right to the comic's main site. the way the blog works, though, i'd never be able to update the blog on a multi-daily schedule like i do and still have the comic page work properly. the other option was to have daily posts SEPARATE from the blog, and that's just stupid. the last great idea i had was to create a frame within the main comic page, that pointed to the blog. in essence, it would look like it was all one big spiffy-ness, instead of two separate pages. long story short (and james saw it when i was working on it), it looked like ASS. pure, unblemished SMELLY BUTT GOODNESS. or badness. anyhoo, it was awful. i hate frames anyway. so that's why we have a separate blog page. when/if i ever do get some hosting i can pay for (and my own domain name, hopefully), i do plan on finding one that supports php.
and sometimes i forget to post something about the comic, so it ends up getting posted all at once. stop complaining *cough* AJ! *cough* and appreciate my comic for what it is: a crappy free thing from me to you. that does NOT, however, pertain to jason's mom. she pays good money for that service.
Monday, November 17, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 4:08 PM
it's a ram diagram
on wednesday's comic
unless you're extremely familiar with mac error messages, you won't get it. sorry.
shut up. i like it.
on thursday's comic
hee hee. i like this one. it was fun to write, and best of all, it's just darned silly.
on friday's comic
apple actually did an ad playing on the "gee" factor. it was better coming from a mac toaster ("classic" mac) than from a fascinated lady. so there, stupid apple people.
on today's comic
i gave him too much hair.
another comic from the tech school days. the prof was drawing a diagram of ram and its use in a computer. he labeled a section "wasted space" to illustrate how no computer can efficiently use all of its memory.. when i was looking at him drawing it on the board, it looked like that. i thought it was funny.
shoosh. it's a good comic.
jason is a poo-poo head
all you do is make fun of me. i hate you.
// posted by James W. @ 1:08 PM
Jason is an idiot.
I think that says it all.
Sunday, November 16, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 4:53 PM
the cookie of power
i was going to post this matrix theory i have yesterday, but i got sidetracked. i've told james, jason, or jerod this theory (maybe more than one of them), but i don't remember who.
remember in reloaded, merv's "orgasm cake"? this makes it evident that a program in the matrix can embed code in objects, to achieve some sort of end.
well, i have a couple theories about the cookie the oracle gave neo in the first movie..
the cookie of choice
the oracle is, throughout the trilogy, teaching neo about choice. even though SHE knows what he's going to do, it's still HIS CHOICE. she's not TELLING him what he's going to do, while she may be INFLUENCING his choice(s). there's a difference there.
you'll remember in the matrix, the oracle offers neo a cookie, and he takes it. in reloaded, she offers him a piece of candy (one that looks like the red pill!) and he takes it.. but does not eat it. in revolutions, she offers him a piece of candy, and he refuses. (she also leaves the cookies, one for each smith, on the table, deliberately, purposefully, and smith knocks them away.)
the cookie of power
the cookie contains code, like merv's cake. it contains code to "reboot" neo after he is killed by smith. once he is resurrected, he realizes his true power in the matrix and becomes the one.
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 11:52 AM
insert stupid joke here
one of the first "tech" strips i ever wrote. pure craziness.
i guess i have nothing to say. i have to go to class at 6. i also have to have my paper done by 12 tonight.
and james? YOUR mom.
oh. more to say about revolutions.. it really does make me appreciate reloaded more. i still think some of the action sequences in it (that is, reloaded) are unnecessary and repetitive, but the plot is important. i have heard people say that it was pointless to have neo save trinity in reloaded only to see her die in revolutions.
not true.
in actuality, it makes all the more important. we see in reloaded that not only does neo love trinity to the extreme, but that he is unwilling to see her die. he bends the matrix to his will to bring her back from the dead. this is more important than neo's beating agents, upgraded agents, and 100 smiths, flying faster than should have been possible, any of that. it is in trinity's death scene in reloaded that we see neo come into what the power of the one really is.
so then in revolutions, when trinity dies, not saving neo, not sacrificing herself for a greater good, but because she couldn't get the engines to turn over, that makes it so tragic. and neo is helpless to stop it. he is all-powerful in the matrix, but here he is a mere man. he can do nothing but watch her die.
i'll post more later on the cookie of power.
Monday, November 10, 2003
// posted by James W. @ 9:32 PM
Oh yeah? Well YOUR mother was an 8086 with no coprocessor!
What an interesting weekend. Okay, well it wasn't. Saw the Matrix again with my dad... Liked it a whole lot better the second time. Still not a big fan of the ending, though. (SPOILER: Just because, as Paul stated, the humans will restart the war in time and the cycle will begin anew. END SPOILER).
I'm very very tired lately. I don't know why. But I am. Anyway. Not a whole lot of news...
Okay I'm done now.
// posted by Paul @ 7:51 PM
your mother was a 486
on thursday's comic
there were 2 parts to the hardware class i was in with ian, colin and susan (and brian, but he never made it into a strip): lecture and application. ian loved playing on the rolling spinning chairs.
i guess you had to be there.
on friday's comic
okay, so this one is a bit strange. at least it needs no explanation.
or does it?
on today's comic
in retrospect, the computer should be on a couch.
i am going to spoil you all, if you have not seen the matrix revolutions by now. and before i get emails about how "the matrix is just a movie, so calm down," let me say: i am very enthusiastic about anything i like, and i get into it. yes, i know it's fiction. but that does not preclude thought, discussion, and emotion. it's what makes us human. conversely, if you have some thoughts you'd like to share with me, please do. be it on the forums (follow the "waffle5" link on the left, then follow the "forums" link on the main page) or in email, i would love to discuss questions and answers.
duh, mr. anderson
my number one of two complaints with revolutions is the dialogue between neo and bane before neo realizes that bane is really smith. okay, i can understand that we, the audience, already know this, so it seems obvious to us. but come on! bane calls neo "mr. anderson" and he's got smith's inflection perfectly! (by the way, i loved the actor who played bane.. he was an awesome smith!)
you are my sunshine, my only sunshine
i loved the ending of revolutions with one exception. i didn't like the very last scene.. i understand its importance, but i see no purpose for it aside from setting things in order for the viewer. i am glad they clarified that the machines will not breach their side of the peace, and that they expect it from the humans. seems to me like the brothers understand human nature quite well.
an interesting side note: humans attacked first at the start of the first war too. gleaned from the second rennaissance in the animatrix.
and now for something different. my theories on why smith is afraid of neo/partially unwilling to continue after he speaks the oracle's words, fulfilling what he knew he would say, as well as why smith exploded.
smith afraid
1. smith saw that neo could not be killed. upon asking neo why he persisted - after all, he should have been dead countless times - he finds that neo, being the one, simply chooses to keep fighting. since neo cannot die in the matrix (being the one, his mind will not allow it), their fighting can/will go on forever. smith finally realizes that the only way to kill neo is to take him over (just as he tried from the start, in reloaded).
2. smith was confused. he knew what he knew; he had the eyes of the oracle, but did not completely know everything. we know this because he could not anticipate neo's every move, and while he did recognize that the crater was where neo was beaten, he did not know every detail accompanying it. he even had to ask neo-smith, "is it over?" smith did not know why he would call neo "neo," not "mr. anderson." the oracle foresaw it, but did she have control over smith? did she foresee it because she caused it, and thus merely predicted what would have already happened, or did the seeing it beforehand actually cause smith to say it? questions to ponder. this theory makes more sense to me.
smithy goes boom
1. mathematical equation. neo is the one; smith is his negative. to balance the equation, once smith and neo were one, they equaled zero, canceling both out, thus causing the eradication of every iteration of smith.
2. deus ex machina. once smith had taken over neo, deus ex machina (i'll call him d.e.m.), who had plugged neo in, possibly plugging in a bunch of little cables into his arms and legs, sent some extreme voltage through neo's body, effectively killing him and smith. some have said that if d.e.m. could do that, why would he not do that for any old person taken over? my answer is because neo is plugged directly into d.e.m. (and the source?)
3. the source. neo touched the source, seperating his mind from his body. if he retained the source in his code, then smith touched the source when he took over neo's body. every program slated for deletion went to the source to be deleted; once smith touched the source in neo (or in d.e.m.), he deleted. end of story. i like this theory best.
i'm such a sucker
if i was choked up upon neo's exchange with morpheus (and i was), i was near tears when trinity died. i went into a down cycle (i'm bipolar for those who don't know) when neo died. i think, though, that as far as words and chivalry are concerned, there is nothing better than this.
"It was an honor, sir."
"No. The honor is still mine."
i will miss having the matrix to look forward to. thank you, wachowski brothers, for an excellent trilogy, a great adventure in action, philosophy, anime, gaming, bravery, sacrifice, and heroism.
now for the negative.
what have they done??
some of you have heard of the new matrix game, the matrix online, which comes out next year. it is an mmorpg, which stands for massively multiplayer online role-playing game. it takes place after revolutions ends, but we don't know (yet) how long/short a time after. there are no details (that i've found) as of this moment, but the brothers are (supposedly) writing a script of sorts to go with it. all i know is that this is going to ruin the trilogy (i should actually call it a five-agy or something.. its more complete story is told with etm and animatrix) for me, unless there is one heck of a good story to go with it. if it's just an excuse for gamers to orgasm over, people will pay.
revolutions ends with neo's ultimate sacrifice. having lost trinity, he sees now that as the one he is not just the savior, but that he must, at last, give his life to start a peace between man and machine. of course we know the machines will not break their side of this new peace unless man attacks them first. how long it will last we do not know. the oracle tells us, "as long as it can." i would hope, though, that man can remember neo's sacrifice for a long time. this is a happy ending, more or less; it only ruins it for me to find out that the war is here again. goodness knows zion deserves a break, and a chance for a peaceful life. not to mention repopulating the earth.
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
// posted by James W. @ 10:54 PM
The Moment has Passed
Well, just got back from Matrix Revolutions. I don't know what I was expecting, but that was definitely not it. I'm still trying to make sense of what happened.
And I warned you I wouldn't post often! Didn't I warn you?! Nobody listens to me!!
*Runs off and cries*
// posted by Paul @ 1:51 PM
i'm like a little girl!
on today's comic
most of my strips originate from real life. perhaps you've noticed. come on, how many of you have wanted to do this?
once again i am the only person to post things.. ever. what happened to jason and james? they are nowhere to be found.. anyhoo, yeah.. i've been working on my paper some more. it's time to go home and maybe rake some leaves before my mom has a conniption.
oh man oh man oh man oh man
the matrix revolutions came out today! we're going at 6:15! i am so JAZZED!! okay, so i'm leaving my house at 4:00 to pick up matt from his girlfriend's place at 4:30, then going to mcdonald's to meet jerod so he can follow us to jason's mom's house. from there we're all going to the ridge to SEE THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS!!!!
so i'm a little hyper.
i wore my neo costume to school today. no one had to ask.
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 6:44 PM
what color is that?
on today's comic
i hope his pants are the right color. i didn't ask anyone before finishing this one.
i haven't done a real update in a while. i'm at school right now, about to work on my wi-fi paper some more. it's due next week tuesday. tomorrow evening i'm going to the matrix revolutions. WOO!
Monday, November 03, 2003
// posted by Paul @ 10:53 AM
what is a what?
on thursday's comic
art imitates life. or something.
my dad is not the most proficient in unix, and unfortunately, it was left up to him to fix a user's mac os x computer. what should have been a simple procedure led to him reformatting and reinstalling the system. when he told me about this, i couln't help but laugh and ask him if he minded me making a strip about it. it was just too good to pass up.
that awful blue shirt. he really does have a polo shirt that color (or close.. give me a break, i'm colorblind). i think it was grandpa's or something. i can't imagine ever wearing something like that.
on today's comic
this (like the os x strip) is one of those strips only a few people will get. if you have broadband (you know, like cable or dsl) and you actually take care of the bill every month (and you were the one who took care or the initial setup), then you might get this one. more specifically, this strip is for my group in my networking class. woo, go team 4! yeah! who is our group leader, anyhoo? ;)
Sunday, November 02, 2003
// posted by James W. @ 10:05 PM
Forward, Not Backward...Upward, Not Forward...And Always Twirling... TWIRLING...
Well, the weekend I was looking forward to is now behind us. And I must admit, that's depressing - it was driving me for over a week to have something to look forward to, and now it's done.
I was let down for awhile, until I realized there is something else coming up very soon which I've been looking forward to maybe not as much, but for a much longer time....
THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS COMES OUT WEDNESDAY!!