Twisted Idiom

I was out walking the dog last night when he barked at another dog being walked. So, I thought of the idiom, "His bark is worse than his bite." However, it was dark and my mind considered that bark and dark are close, so could I change the idiom to use dark? I did, but I fear some people may not make the intuitive leap. I debated calling today's comic strip Twisted Idiom Bark Worse Than Bite, but decided that is too obvious.

Apple a Day

The other day, when I thought of the BSOD comic, I wanted one for Apple computers, too. This came to mind. The only variation I considered was, instead of thinking about Steve Jobs' illness, they think of not being able to afford buying an Apple a day because they are about $1000 each.

Wills R Us

I cannot say where this came from. I wrote it down just last night while watching the AZ Cardinals game and decided it would be a good single panel cartoon.

Can I Get Fries With That?

The new management structure at work believes that everyone working from cubicles, even management, will better bond us as an organization. That might be true, but we still need places for private meetings. And there is a McDonald's around the corner....

It's What My Sponsor Asked For

I decided one good ninja comic strip deserves another. The challenge here was how to show you what was in my head about Ninja PM throwing the stars. I decided to switch views a couple of times. Did it work? I think so.

Yes, we do have project review committees at work. I chose Project Evaluation Team in case I ever want to make a PET joke in the future.

Return of Ninja PM

I thought about having ninja PM return (he last appeared in January of 2010), but I was not sure I could write a series to support him. I'm still not sure where we will go, but isn't it nice to see him again?

The Boss In Concert

I was thinking this morning that I wanted to do something about the boss in the comic strip. Once I thought of the words "The Boss," I knew I would key off the expectation of Springsteen, but I did not know how to differentiate a boss vs the regular characters in my strip. Then, I remembered the boss from Dilbert.

It's All In The Name

We had a discussion about new popular names this weekend. One of them is, as you might have guessed, Cannon. From there, my mind started playing with how to present this in today's CoV. Then, as I was writing it, I decided to use an older idea I thought of years ago to end it.

Stay Away From My Cube

It seems the company is playing musical desks again, so a number of groups have walked through our building looking at cubicles and asking when we are moving. What? We are moving? So, I decided to trace backwards through how this type of decision might ultimately be made.

Real Fantasy Football

We do have a pick-the-games activity going on at work in our organization. So far, I am tied for third after the first week. However, I felt that, if people really want to play Fantasy Football, let's really use fantasy. The definition says "Noun: The faculty or activity of imagining things that are impossible or improbable." Yeah, so why not Spiderman or The Hulk.

Baggage at Work

This came up somehow during the news last night. I cannot remember, though, if they actually said emotional baggage or just something about airlines and baggage. Whichever, I had to capture this idea and share it with you. The only thing I did not decide last night was how to end the comic strip.

Colocation Woes

They are moving our organization at work and the discussion is whether or not to keep the team in one place, or colocate us with our customer teams. Colocation means putting related teams near each other to improve team interaction and speed up solution delivery. What if it were taken to the extreme? That is the point of panel 3.

Not That Kind of 911

I was trying to find a way to cover 9-11 in a comic and decided the best way would be to have a 9-1-1 call talk about 9-11. Then, I needed a clever ending and decided the caller could be someone famous. Who might be silly enough to call 9-1-1 for 9-11? Sure, why not the ex-president.

O.R.T.V.

Usually, this description is about what the inspiration was for the day's comic strip. I don't really know. I woke up with the concept, but I do not know what generated the seedling idea. I wish I did know. I do have at least one followup cartoon already in mind where they have the wrong channel on during an operation.

Achoo Achoo

I was talking to a coworker this morning and I leaned down behind the cubicle wall when I sneezed. When I stood back up, I said "That wasn't really me. You did not see me sneeze." That led me to think about making that a ring tone....

Fixing the Jobs Problem

No, this is not meant as an Obama bashing. He just happens to be president at the same time that I want to make fun of a president (and it could be any president) not really addressing the problem with unemployment. This cartoon started as a take-off on Steve Martin's comedy routine of how to become a millionaire. "First, get a million dollars...." Then, I altered it to say a similarly silly idea about jobs. "First, hire a bunch of people...."

Retirement Woes

I know retirement is coming for all of us, but there are certainly things I want to do, even if I am over 65. The same for my folks. Sure, the money needs to last us throughout our retirement years, but I hope to have something remaining for the kids. Hopefully, this type of talk won't ruin their weekends.

Annual Review Match

The name is supposed to bring a back-and-forth game like tennis to mind. This one goes back and forth until the final panel, when the manager has to yield. I debated having some final parting shot from the boss, but I wanted the hidden porn to be the deal breaker.

Jobs Speech

Nothing magic here. Just a simple idea of mixing jobs with Jobs. It just happens that the President will speak about jobs next week, so I went ahead with the misunderstanding concept.