This. Fucking. Sucks.

My computer went down AGAIN. That's right, my new computer. My boss had to come over and install a brand spankin' new version of Windows XP to clean up the enormous diarrhitic mess Vista had become in just three short months, and I lost EVERYTHING. In case you were wondering the specifics, my file browser on Windows Vista would open, then immediately shut down on its own, then decide whether to restart or not (sometimes yes, sometimes no). This prevented me from accessing any files, uploading my work, backing up information, etc. Also, 50% of the time programs would stall out when I tried to start them, and would shit the bed without warning during use. What the hell happened? And what does this mean?

Right now, I have no access to any of the programs on my computer - Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, Flash, all the fancy layout and image editing tools my company paid such big bucks for. I had to go online and download Open Office, all my uploaders and downloaders, iTunes, numerous drivers, and everything else free I could find. All these little things you use daily and don't realize how much you rely upon until they're gone.

All my bookmarks and passwords on Firefox are gone. Not life-threatening, I know, but I'd just spent three months replacing and remembering them all.

I can't get my plug-in speakers to work, so no sound, music or video is available to me. This happened last time and I'll be damned if I can remember how I fixed it. This computer is THREE MONTHS OLD, mind you.

I think I can bring this issue out of my own personal kvetch files and chalk it up to the American desire, or should I say habit, of clamoring for the NEWEST, the LATEST, and Corporate America's desire to constantly stuff that maw with untested, unready and unusable NEW NEW NEW versions of everything it produces. Vista is unready for public consumption. I've heard the new Airbook is a rat king of problems. The last Harry Potter book was a complete abortion. Take the time, people! Take the fucking time and do it right!

Bits 'n Pieces.

When I woke up this morning, I was greeted with a cat puke explosion in my study. The culprit had managed to expel vomit on my office chair, my calendar, my space heater, my bag of bristol board purchased last evening, and the bag of cat food itself, not to mention approximately seven distinct masses on the rug. With four possible suspects, no one can be blamed.

However, while cleaning up I noticed a female flicker in my backyard. I haven't seen one of these since childhood.


I think today might be the day I take down the rotting Tibetan peace flags that came with the house and hang right outside my study window.

Three days ago I started turning the GoLite on my face the moment I awoke, before I got out of bed. I've woken up half an hour earlier each successive day.

Currently I have 14 pages of my new chapter completely inked and in the computer. Eleven more have been started. Fifteen left to start.

I will be headed to Mexico in two weeks to visit the tropical fish.

I have 200 copies of Ivy minicomics sitting in boxes to my right, all of which need to be hand-titled with a silver Sharpie.

There is a severely underused karaoke bar near my house on the trucking wasteland that is NE Columbia, and I need to round up a posse to bring some warm bodies to the place on weeknights. Chances are we'd be the only ones singing - that's how it's been the last two times I went. Plus the KJ is kind of a legend. Takers?

I've been dying to produce some color illustration, but for the life of me I can't pick a subject. They'll be coming, though. Maybe just some color sketchbook dailies?