gdp's Comments

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Recommended Daily Allowance

Tue, 10 Feb 2015 08:06:35 +0000

No... but they're better than going through withdrawal for most of the year. ;)

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Recommended Daily Allowance

Mon, 9 Feb 2015 07:42:02 +0000

I possibly shouldn't tell you this, Joel - but Keebler's "Coconut Dreams" are almost identical to Girl Scout Samoas. (The chocolate is a bit lighter - more semi-sweet than dark - and the actual cookie's texture is a little different, but in total very similar.) Turns out this is because one of the official Girl Scout Cookie bakers is corporately related to Keebler.... As for myself... JiF creamy peanut butter. Either in a peanut butter sandwich, or on a spoon, used to eat Cheerios. The latter because when I was a wee cub at the finger-foods stage, mama bear actually had the patience to make me platefuls of tiny sandwiches consisting of 2 Cheerios and a dab of PB; when my coordination was up to it, we switched to the less labor intensive expedient of the spoon and a bowl of cereal. I've had people seriously wig out over this, and I've never been able to understand why. If it were a strongly flavored/sweetened cereal (especially something like Apple Jacks or Froot Loops) maybe - but Cheerios are like crunchy oat bread. I adore both chocolate and peanut butter, but can't stand them together - I guess the people who like that combination might want to try this with Cocoa Puffs instead. ;) A day without peanut butter is like a day without oxygen.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : A Day In The Life Of A Cartoonist

Fri, 19 Dec 2014 20:30:01 +0000

The slur on Google+ is dreadfully misinformed, and rather offensive. Just because it doesn't work like FarceBORG doesn't mean it's "deserted".

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Not All Menswear

Fri, 16 May 2014 02:46:22 +0000

Frankly - that particular example would probably go over well at certain street fairs in San Francisco... but not at any of the conventions where one usually expects to see cosplay. I can understand why the artist went there - there really is no male equivalent to the sexualization of women's breasts. Men go shirtless in public all the time and no one thinks twice about it; a woman tries to breastfeed her infant (biologically speaking, the reason she HAS breasts) and some people utterly wig out.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Not All Menswear

Thu, 15 May 2014 22:31:36 +0000

As far as costumes go - over at Burly Press they have a wonderful tableau illustrating the rather sexist nature of female superhero costumes. To quote, "This print is a tableau of 8 comic book heroines that have been gender swapped, mostly into big burly bears: Storm (X-Men), Death (Sandman), Jubilee (X-Men), Catwoman, Wonder Woman, Psylocke (X-Men), Power Girl, & Vampirella." Go to http://burlypress.com/store.html and scroll to the bottom; it's in a section along with a tableau of gender-swapped science fiction heroines and of cartoon bears in real life. ;)

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : There's Got To Be A Morning After

Mon, 24 Mar 2014 18:00:02 +0000

No coffee; love the aroma but can't stand the taste. For me it's either Coke Zero or black tea with sucralose.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : In The Not Too Distant Future

Tue, 19 Nov 2013 16:31:36 +0000

I've never been a MST-ie, but as for what geekery I want to pass along... http://freebabylon5.com/ - right there.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Breaking Bye

Sun, 6 Oct 2013 07:10:28 +0000

I'd have to say the endings that never got a chance to take place leave the biggest holes - e.g., Crusade, where we got part of a season of what should have been another 5-season story. And while it invariably leaves me an emotional disaster area for several days afterward, "Sleeping in Light" from Babylon 5 is an incredible series ender.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Teenage Angst Has Payed Off Well

Fri, 27 Sep 2013 01:36:58 +0000

It happened in 2002, when I realized that Quarterflash's debut album was old enough to drink legally. It was one of the first albums I bought right near the time of its release in 1981 (I was in high school at the time), so that had an impact. For myself, Nirvana was part of the reason I stopped listening to new music in the '90s - the entire "grunge" thing was a complete musical turn-off for me and as the only other genre getting a lot of attention at the time didn't appeal to me either (various kinds of hip-hop/rap) I just tuned out.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Slumber Partly

Wed, 21 Aug 2013 08:12:56 +0000

I'm not privy to the latest in combat pharmaceuticals, but I have heard that the military is really fond of Provigil (modafinil) because it's a lot safer and vastly less likely to cause dependency problems than amphetamine. (There's also the fact there's some tantalizing evidence that it increases attention span instead of fracturing it.) As for sleeping... something I find helpful for "Brain Chasing Its Own Tail Syndrome" is L-Theanine, the calmative amino acid naturally found in green tea. A friend of mine who was going through a great deal of stress described it as "nearly as effective as Xanax - and since I don't have to worry about getting hooked, on balance it's better".

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : The Scenic Route

Wed, 21 Aug 2013 08:04:20 +0000

There are a few places on the road from LA to Sturgis, SD that make me nervous... and I'm a 6'2 big-bearded biker dude. I stopped for gas in a small Utah town (but along I-15, so not exactly isolated) once and the cashier was a skinhead with plainly visible white power tattoos, one of which was on the side of his neck. (And my parents always told me not to get tattoos or I'd never find work!) Not to mention that it seems like a huge fraction of the population of Wyoming are scary looking rednecks who drive mud-covered pickup trucks. [Redneck B.M.W. - Big Mud Wagon] As someone who's lived in Southern California for several decades - to be more specific, the Greater Los Angeles Metro Sprawl [yes, that's right - the G.L.A.M.S.] - I don't put up with much attitude from people who live places that are flat and boring. If I feel like it, I can go to the beach and a ski resort in the same day ... and weather that makes them both pleasant is not exactly uncommon.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Absolution Fabulous

Fri, 2 Aug 2013 00:47:57 +0000

No, I've never read the book; it's never sounded interesting to me and since finding out how hateful OSC is - now even less so.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Absolution Fabulous

Thu, 1 Aug 2013 23:35:58 +0000

I would point out that the idea some have promoted that _Ender's Game_ is a near-universally lauded "classic" is rather seriously overstated. To quote one of my favorite authors (David Brin) on the book - "Boy genius Ender Wiggin trains to save the world from alien Buggers. A blatant 'chosen one' fantasy that appeals to the Harry Potter 'I'm a demigod' reflex." And for anyone who claims there's no anti-gay content to the book - it's mentioned right there: BUGGERS. Interesting that he chose a term that could apply to an insectoid species - or to a kind of sex that people who loathe gay folk fixate on. Want to send the right message to Hollywood? Skip Ender's Game and go see Europa Report.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : An Object In Motion

Thu, 1 Aug 2013 01:24:41 +0000

Every year around Labor Day weekend when I go on a motorcycle run in the high Sierras. No cell phone reception up there - and while the odd bit of news can filter back from someone who drives down the mountain to the nearest little store, it's not much. I actually kinda dread the day one or all of the major carriers find a reason to extend cell coverage in that area.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : The 5 Days Of SDCC: Day 5

Thu, 25 Jul 2013 20:40:18 +0000

I used to go to SDCC as a guest of a pro, but that was like a decade ago - I can only imagine what it's like now, and I'm only going back once I develop the ability to teleport*. No waiting for panels! And con security can take a flying leap trying to do anything about someone who can teleport, right? And being able to teleport anywhere I want for sleep and/or food - no problems with personal maintenance! *Think the original Tomorrow People - yay low-budget '70s UK SF!

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Jaeger Bomb

Thu, 11 Jul 2013 06:57:03 +0000

When Legally Blonde first came out, I thought "Oh, great, a movie about a rich ditzy blonde - PASS!" And then much later I saw the film described in ways that made me think "wait - WHAT?" and I rented it... and discovered how dreadfully wrong I'd been. I don't know if the advertising was misleading or if it was my own internal biases or a little of both, but it's now one of my favorite films. (The sequel... not so much; the main reason to see that is for Bob Newhart.)

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : What We Leave Behind

Fri, 5 Jul 2013 04:53:44 +0000

I honestly don't understand SF fans who don't get it, but....

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : What We Leave Behind

Fri, 5 Jul 2013 04:52:19 +0000

I own all 5 seasons on DVD and when I do a re-watch I'm just amazed at their collective brilliance. Not every sketch worked, but the ones that did - O. M. G., the laughing and the sides hurting!

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : What We Leave Behind

Wed, 3 Jul 2013 17:06:29 +0000

Movies: Bedazzled, Blade Runner, Ready To Rumble TV: Babylon 5, The Kids in the Hall, The Tomorrow People Music: ...I just can't decide, and there's simply nothing in the third category. Books: The complete Bloom County, Calvin and Hobbes and Girl Genius. (Hey, you didn't say they had to be non-illustrated books.... ;)

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Scientific Progress Goes "Drunk"

Thu, 20 Jun 2013 20:36:33 +0000

Um... DISNEY. "Imagineer" has been an actual job title there for ages.