J155 – Live A Little

[7/31/2007]

This update has suffered one setback after another. First, I was unable to contact the guy with the scanner before we had to leave for a field trip to Houston, so I wasn’t able to scan the comic until today. Then, I scanned the file in the wrong format and didn’t realize it until some time later when I actually started to work on assembling the comic, at which point I had to run out and re-scan it. Then, before I could start on assembly, I got called away to work on a project. Ah well. It’s done now.

The big first panel is actually a combination of three drawings: D-san standing, J sitting, and the spell circle from the last comic. I was originally going to cut it into two panels in such a way that it would be one drawing interrupted by the panel break (see this comic for an example). But I couldn’t figure out a good way to cut it, so I just left it as one piece. I actually like this effect better.

Well, anyway, until next week! No idea what I’ll draw next..

dcomic 431

[070730]

Here’s a review I wrote for the D830 for a computer site.

J154 – Sandstorm 05

[7/23/2007]

Well, I thought I had just broken my pattern of 4Koma-Manga-Blog, Sandstorm, “normal”, but it turns out I had already messed it up, so there wasn’t any real pattern to begin with. So, you get Sandstorm this week. And just for D-san, we have another old person! (See D’s rant here.)

I really like D’s 4koma. There’s a distinctly D-san flavor to them. Also a tint of typically “Japanese” 4koma.

Today, I tried using the .png format. It’s about the same size as a good-quality .jpg, and plus, it’s non-lossy, so I can go back and edit it later if I need to. I also drew in the speech bubbles by hand today, which I think produces better results. Still have to work on getting the pencil work clean and scannable without inking, which can distort the original sketch in the translation.

That policeman is really fun to draw.

C070707

[070722]

Well, no comic ultimately, but here’s for 2000 pageviews on my DA.

I’m pretty annoyed these days that nothing ever seems to work on the first try. Starting with the SATA drivers and XP on my D830, I’ve had to troubleshoot so much crap over the past week… the worst of which has been a burnt out fan on my desktop. And not to mention I think I’m going to replace the CPU fan as well which has been running very loud recently. Whadda pain. This is what happens when you mooch hardware from folks named generalachoo.

J153 – Sandstorm 04

[7/17/2007] (At least on the East Coast).

So, here we finally have pictures of my HP nc 8430, as talked about here. Finally, huh?

1
2

Anyway, it’s a really nice computer, though it didn’t come with Vista. I have the upgrade, though. Might install it sometime.

LOL @ D-san’s XP-tan desktop. I need to get one for mine…

So, for some reason, today’s comic’s template was printed out on semi-glossy paper. So some of the pencil lines really didn’t hold at all. Inking destroyed some of the detail that was there in pencil … still trying to strike a balance here.

The policeman in the last panel looked really familiar to me for some reason. I think it’s because he’s some sort of cross between D-san and Senator Käska.

Well, that was incoherent. Trombone.

dcomic 430

[070715]

(This week’s entry largely copy pasta from my DA)

… but I got my new computer on Monday!

Dell Latitude D830

Centrino Duo 2.0GHz
2GB DDR2 RAM
80GB 7200RPM HDD
And plenty of other stuff…

[100613: Three dead links]

Quite the ironic wallpaper if you ask me…

My first impression taking the thing out of the box was that the build quality was much nicer than that of my 500m. I believe the entire chassis exterior is some sort of metal alloy as opposed to the plastic casing of the 500m. Furthermore there’s no flex in the screen, palmrest, or anywhere. The keyboard has slightly superior feedback to the 500m, but it’s a bit bigger and might take a bit of getting used to. People say that the screen is a bit dim, but I haven’t had a problem with brightness.

Vista wasn’t as terrible as I envisioned. Not externally, at least. Yes, it’s very pretty to look at. No, there was no lag after I updated Dell’s default video driver nor were there as many security prompts as I had expected. Just as much as XP SP2. The folder structures are actually quite similar to those of XP so it’s not that hard to get used to. Regardless I’m still not too happy about all the supposed DRM stuff under that shiny cover and have subsequently upgraded to XP.

I bought the machine with Vista so I could get a Vista OEM disk XD

As it stands, XP was a hassle to install. Either that or Murphy’s Law was particularly strong with me that day. All I can say is that it took me a full morning to get it running correctly, though I can probably do it in less now that I know what I’m doing. Hopefully I’ll remember when reformatting time comes around.

[100613: Three dead links]

Among other computer related stuff, I reorganized the workspace in my room which involves reorganizing the wires and stuff surrounding my custom box and subsequently creating the oddity in picture five. Basically I’ll need to be able to work in my room since my parents are kicking me out of my upstairs workspace when I leave for college. Previously the switch in picture five was meant to have a monitor sit ontop of it, but a newer flatscreen eliminated that monitor. Subsequently the switch had to move to less obtrusive position: under the desk.

Finally, I took apart that 500m and cleaned out 3 years worth of dropped food; until I get some protective covering for my D830, it will still be my main computer. Besides the physical wear of some of the keys and palmrest it almost looks like new.

J152 – J @ Nasa, Part 3 and 4

[07/07/07]

Something interesting with the date today. I liked the same effect we got last year a bit better though…

Anyhow, the second (3rd and 4th?) installment of the 4koma Manga Blogs. For the authentic experience of material, I suggest reading the original, un-retexted version. All this stuff really did happen at my apartment. And there are further things to talk about, so you guys will probably be seeing further installments of this stuff.

Right now, I’m listening to the They Might Be Giants Clock Radio. It’s a nice little program, which lets me hear TMBG songs streamed for free. Unfortunately, it’s also a bit glitchy. Every now and then it’ll just crash for no particular particular reason, or start playing two songs at once, and some of it’s songs are broken into random garbles of sound or are slowed down by a factor of something ridiculous. (It can even execute all of the aforementioned errors at once!) Today, I discovered a new glitch, where it starts making random screaming modem noises. But despite all this, it’s still really nice. If you don’t like the song being streamed, you can simply click the channel button again to change it. Fun stuff …

So, until next week, when you probably will get something different, to keep up the variety. Because variety is the spice of life. And the spice must flow …

dcomic 429

[070707]

You know, at one point I thought the src’s in the img tag was an scr and I’d always get these failed image links. But anyways.

I left off on the last entry saying sometimes this period changes constitute style changes and sometimes they constitute tune ups. To tack a comment onto that entry, I’m apt to say that this counts as a style change, whether it be good, bad, intentional or unintentional. Regardless of how little I’m probably changing, I have to say the end result is… different. Or I thought it was. Maybe it’s just the pencil lineart.

Refer to C070703. Now refer to C070211.

Whatever the case, 070211 was previously my “definitive” piece, but I’m tempted to bestow that honor upon 070703. It’s got more things wrong with it, but it’s shiny and has more “energy” if you will.

My new computer finally shipped. It’s in Nevada. I should have it within the next week. Man I’m excited.

J151 – Interior Decorating

[7/1/07]

Hi Everyone! Early update again. Today’s comic was inspired by an incident where D-san drew a spellcircle on his palm, which I interpreted as reading “You are an eggbeater”. If I knew what the original spellcircle spellcirlcle looked like, I would have drawn that one. Instead, I made a new one up, shown here undistorted. I know that this is an unconventional spellcircle, what with the rampant asymmetry and points sticking out, but I’m an unconventional guy. (For another spellcircle, see this episode.)

We’ll see where this goes. Hopefully somewhere interesting.