gdp's Comments

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Snatch The Pebble From My Hand

Thu, 21 Nov 2013 16:51:10 +0000

This is why I'm one of the few people who lists Calvin's DAD as my favorite character from the strip. Because there's no question why Calvin is as screwed up as he is.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : DDS Attack

Thu, 7 Nov 2013 16:30:50 +0000

Hmm. MMA dentists? Pretty cool. Still not as cool as pay-per-view nun fights, though.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : And They're Certainly Not Showing Any Signs That They Are Slowing

Tue, 29 Oct 2013 13:06:23 +0000

I feel that way about spas. Spas totally creep me out. From the ridiculous array of totally organic chemicals designed to make you naturally look like nothing nature intended to a bevy of people who get paid to touch you in ways that make you feel good but totally aren't borderline prostitutes. I have tried to do the spa thing a few times. If other people are willing to spend goo gobs of money on this stuff, it must have some redeeming value, right? I mean, I have learned that expensive suits are worth the money, if you put value on looks and comfort. But I still can't get comfortable with anything resembling a spa.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Waiting For My Real Life To Begin

Wed, 2 Oct 2013 15:59:06 +0000

In 2002, I was fired. It was a complicated situation, but basically my boss was a terrible bully who had already run two other people out of the department (of four). He used the system to find a reason to fire me. At the time, I had recently finished my education to change fields, but was having issues finding a position that a) would accept education without relevant experience and b) would pay a decent wage. My mother-in-law happened to need a database built (my new field). She agreed to pay relo costs to move us and put me in for a security clearance. I agreed to accept about 80% of the going rate (which was still a raise for me). Ten years later, I'm an in-demand professional with an excellent resume and a great salary. And it probably wouldn't have happened without that initial boot to the rear.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Highway To The Danger Zone

Tue, 17 Sep 2013 14:51:08 +0000

If you read the note at the end of the commentary section, it mentions that that button is currently borked, but will return to service soon.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Open Your Eyes

Mon, 9 Sep 2013 15:07:57 +0000

When my wife was a small child, she apparently straight up convinced the babysitter that she had a brother and a sister. But that her mother didn't trust the sitter with the other children. The sitter confronted her mother about it. Hilarious!

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : The Birds And The... Sometimes It's Just Birds

Fri, 6 Sep 2013 15:59:03 +0000

So, the alt text means that Dr. Robot is exactly like Rudolph, except where Santa never asked him to guide the sleigh.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Sometimes When We Touch

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:34:23 +0000

To me, Nick Fury will always be portrayed by David Hasselhoff, as God intended.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Into Dickness

Wed, 22 May 2013 14:12:54 +0000

I was so wanting Wesley Crusher to show up on the bridge of the Killerprise, put his hands on his hips, and say "Robocop!" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLyY_aOh4bM This movie so actively avoids making sense, that I wonder if Lindelof did it on purpose. Or, was his carefully crafted script hacked apart and stitched back together specifically to service the action/effects scenes? Based on Lost, I'm guessing the former. And yet, I enjoyed the movie. Part of this is that I LONG ago gave up on Star Trek making sense. There have been precious few tightly scripted Trek episodes, and no movies. The whole damn premise is a plot hole. So, I went in expecting big effects, a difficult moral choice, a bunch of fan service, and some awesome Cumberbatch. That's pretty much exactly what I got, plus some really good Kirk/Spock moments.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Coming Of Age

Thu, 9 May 2013 16:20:36 +0000

I'm in pretty much the same boat as Conrado. I got on the college network (a VAX system) in 1990, which had an internal forum. It was either 91 or 92 when I ventured out into the wider Bitnet world (we thought those "internet" people were in a ghetto, because they didn't have utilities like "finger"). I got on a bunch of email lists. Then, in late 92, I discovered Usenet. If you young'uns don't know what Usenet is, go search Google Groups. Go WAY back in the archives. That's Usenet. Fortunately, I graduated and got out of Usenet just before the Eternal September. I was off the internet for a bit, until I went to work at an ISP in late 94. That was my first experience with the three Ws. I also learned about MUDs and shit. It's been all downhill ever since.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Reading Comprehension

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:35:52 +0000

Oddly, no. I was fine with that change. Both because it was easier to tell in ~2 hours, and because it fit better with today's zeitgeist. ***SPOILER ALERT*** I was pissed off that Dan witnessed Rorschach's death. It was needless. It undermined the simplicity of the scene. It undermined the end of Dan's character arc. It added nothing to the story, and subtracted so much. ***SPOILER ALERT***

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Reading Comprehension

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:59:56 +0000

I did the "I've read the book" thing for Hunger Games. I loved the movie. My wife didn't get it. That's when I realized how much of the book takes place inside Katniss' head, and how hard that was to translate to the screen. I loved the adaptation work of Watchmen. It was a tough job, but done well. There's only one (super spoiler-y) scene at the end that pissed me off.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Reading Comprehension

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:55:14 +0000

Dresden Files is a bit different. This had two issues. First, the screenwriter recognized pretty quickly that many of the book elements wouldn't translate into good TV (the best example being Bob). Second, the original treatment was a made-for-TV movie, which then got optioned as a pilot, then as a series, then the series was cut, then maybe back to a movie, then back to a series. All executive produced by that wizard of quality projects, Nicolas Cage. As such, they made several decisions early on to very deliberately diverge from the books. I get the impression that Butcher saw this as a chance to play "what if" with some of the characters (most notably the relationship with Bianca). I was very sad to see the series die so soon, because I was fascinated by what they were doing with Justin Morningway.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Reading Comprehension

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:54:58 +0000

I was actually going to note both of these. Primarily because both started from the same general premise as the books, but diverged RADICALLY. The differences in Legend of the Seeker are hard to list and categorize. It's pretty close to, oh, the differences between Merlin and L'Morte d'Artur. It's a radical retelling of the same basic plot, using the same basic main characters, but with entirely different subplots and actual events. It's more "inspired by" than "based on".

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Method Man

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 13:39:20 +0000

Patton Oswalt for Oscars 2014!

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : JoCo Cruise Crazy 3 Guest Comic By David Willis Of Dumbing Of Age

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:27:35 +0000

Because it is now necessary... #sexparty

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Outward Bound

Tue, 15 Jan 2013 18:14:19 +0000

You know who I really feel sorry for in all this hooplah? John Hinckley, Jr. I mean, damn.

Geeks are Sexy Technology News : Geeky Parents Are (Probably) More Likely to Have Children with Autism

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 20:20:20 +0000

For me, this reinforces my personal (totally non-academic and barely properly informed) theory that the rise in people on the spectrum is actually caused by having the children later in life. Keep in mind that only 100 years ago, it would have been unusual for a woman to have children after the age of about 25. Today, it's very unusual for a professional woman to have a child before 25. The number of women getting pregnant after the age of 35 has skyrocketed in the past couple of decades. The people most likely to postpone having children? Highly motivated professionals, particularly ones where both spouses have active careers.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Yippee Ki-Yay Younger Looper

Fri, 5 Oct 2012 13:14:09 +0000

Bruce is going to be playing the younger version of George Carlin's character. They are already working on the makeup.

HijiNKS ENSUE - A Geek Comic : Yippee Ki-Yay Younger Looper

Thu, 4 Oct 2012 19:58:22 +0000

One of my favorite things about Looper was that it explicitly avoided technobabble. They never attempt to explain the mechanics of time travel (or anything else). So, my geek brain was never engaged to pick it apart. My suspenders of disbelief stayed well intact, and I could just enjoy the hell out of the story.