The Ghost Party

The Ghost Party published on 22 Comments on The Ghost Party

Oh Man! This party looks totally dead!

Sorry, I had to put a lame joke in here. This comic kind of calls for it.
Ghosts are a pretty popular topic in comics and many, many bad jokes exist where they are the main focus of the gag.

I like drawing ghosts and decided that I would just make a comic with a whole heap of them.
It is a very safe bet that this is probably not the last time you will see ghosts in a comic from me, either.
This comic has some well-known ghosts in it, and some “pretenders” who still kind fit the theme.
Think you can name them all?

OK then smart-arse, tell me their names. Just put them into the comments below and I send the first five correct people a ghost sketch.
Five more random people will also get one, but only if they get all the names right.

You can also get extra bonus points (equivalent to 700 internetz) if you tell me who is missing from this comic.

Wayback Machine

Wayback Machine published on 7 Comments on Wayback Machine

Don’t you love when grandparents re-invent history?

But it won’t be long until some of us start reminiscing about the good old days and creating stories about how life worked before everything was online.

I know some people that even do it now.
They sit around and tell us about how good things were before everyone was distracted by facebook, twitter and iphones.
Yup, in the good old days all they had to keep them amused were video games, IRC chats, Rubiks cubes, messageboards and web-rings…..

Poor treatment

Poor treatment published on 15 Comments on Poor treatment

Can you imagine treating your doctor this way?

Unfortunately, this is how many web developers and software developers are treated regularly by clients.
Due to website development being a pretty new occupation, there are still a lot of people out there that do not understand what goes in to making that cool website, or that awesome online application.

I have personally been on the receiving end of some pretty ridiculous and outright stupid requests by clients.
It is so common, that sites like Clients From Hell are able to exist and be filled with stories which at first seem totally fictional. But they are not.
But go and speak to someone who works in web development and ask them about horror clients. Every one of them will have a story to tell you.

My theory is that because the average person only sees the front end of websites, they have no idea of the coding work and time it takes to create a good web product. They do not get to “look under the hood” and see all the scripts, calls, CSS styles, etc.
If they did, there would be more understanding that this is REAL work, not just a hobby people do on computers in their spare time.
(Also, many “discount” operators such as outsourced development teams & unqualified designers help to perpetuate a myth that this work is cheap & easy to do)

Think about industries where customers have a better understanding of who the end result is produced:
– Customers would not tell a mechanic to throw in free extras just because they are in the engine anyway.
– Clients would not ask an architect to totally redesign a building plan once it is done, by 9am the next day, because their 6yr old son did not like it.
– House painters are not asked to re-paint a house for free, because the colour now looks different when viewed in the morning sun.
– Lawyers are not asked to work on a case for free, just because it may look good in their resume later.

Sadly, elements of all these things exist within the current client-web developer dynamic.
I, for one, hope this changes soon.


Unfollowing family

Unfollowing family published on 1 Comment on Unfollowing family

There is nothing more lame than following your parents on social media.

At least, that is what many people think. (mainly teenagers and full on hipsters).
Sure, when you are at an impressionable age, most things to do with parents are perceived as lame and uncool.

But there are also many people who have embraced social media or online communications, as a way to reconnect with their parents and other family members. Now you can reach out and share all things good and bad,  faster and with more details than you could via the phone or letters.
Twitter, Skype, Facebook and emails have replaced the regular call home to mum, or a letter packed with photos of the kids.
Holiday photos are shared almost immediately via Flickr or Picasa.
Family gatherings are organised through Facebook events, Google calendars or email.
Overseas calls can be accompanied with vision, via webcams and Skype.

Technology is giving us ways to share and bring our families together, even as it simultaneously provides avenues to tear things apart.

Now, if I could just create an app to allow Mum to remotely do my washing.
(What? That is not callous.She misses doing it. I just know she does….)