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LATE AGAIN I KNOW
01:30 PST 9 MAY 1999
I know I'm late again with the update, but this time it's Ciannait's fault. She and her significant other came up from Seattle to meet with me, Celt, Iambe, KhensU and Arcterex. It was a pleasure to finally meet our friendly neighbourhood Linkbrarian. So, blame it on her if you had any bad symptoms from having to wait for an hour and a half longer for your fix. ;)

THEY'RE JUST GAMES
00:06 PST 9 MAY 1999
I'm constantly amazed at how people (politicians and the media in particular) continually attack the apparent symptoms of a problem instead of the root cause. People who go berserk don't go berserk because they play computer games -- they're deeply disturbed. Using the spurious logic that the media does, one could say that walking to school causes homicidal behaviour, since the killers in the Colorado tragedy may have walked to school every day. I guess we'll have to ban walking too. But to the point: http://www.gamersunited.org/ is a site dedicated to combatting the ridiculous laws that the US government is trying to pass. Drop by, fill in the petition and lend your support. At this rate, the US is going to legislate everything into oblivion before the turn of the century (which is Jan 1, 2001 -- the media got something wrong again). Thanks to Andy Johnson for pointing me at the site.

ALWAYS LOVED THAT BLITTER CHIP
00:03 PST 9 MAY 1999
The cartoon from May 8 featured a calendar on the wall with the word 'Amiga' on it. In response to a bunch of e-mails, yes, I went out and bought myself an Amiga 1000 (upped to 512k RAM of course) when it first came out. I followed that up with an Amiga 500 that had a 20 MB hard drive (woo!). I wish I was still immersed in the Amiga world like I used to be, but I do keep tabs on it from time to time. One day I'll pick up a couple of Amigas and get back into the spiff multimedia that they were capable of. I bow to the machines that were ahead of their time.

JUDGING A BOOK BY ITS CONTENTS
00:01 PST 9 MAY 1999
Several people have written in asking what to expect in the upcoming User Friendly book to be published by O'Reilly. It'll be a compilation starting from the beginning archives. We haven't figured out how many cartoons we can fit in the book just yet, but we're working on it. I'll be posting monthly reports on how the process is going.

REVIEW OF 'THE MUMMY'
01:28 PST 8 MAY 1999
Sorry for the late update folks, but Zoid and company dragged me off to go see The Mummy, the latest foray by Stephen Sommers. No spoilers here; the movie has a thin plot, and what it does have you can drive trucks through the holes. But the film's strength isn't in its story, which is simplistic; rather, the movie boasts some remarkably attractive eye-candy and superbly cool special effects. The movie has implied violence -- you don't actually see any blood, but you do see silhouettes of people getting munched, and of course there's plenty of hacking. Going back to the visuals, but DAMN if it isn't a beautiful movie. The scenes of ancient Egypt at the beginning are some of the coolest I've ever seen. I doubt there's much in the way of historical accuracy, but who cares? The movie doesnt take itself seriously ever, which is a good thing since the acting is mostly mediocre and average at best. You'll get quite a few guffaws out of the flick, and some of the visual humour is actually quite good. In a nutshell, The Mummy is a high-production value Army of Darkness, with loads of interesting effects and visuals. This is a fun movie, and gets 3.5 Dust Puppies out of 5. Go see it on cheap night and you'll get much more than your money's worth, but see it on the big screen with great sound.

GUESS I'LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THE VIDEO
00:04 PST 8 MAY 1999
Well. I've been told in no uncertain terms that I am not permitted to take the 19th and 20th of May off just to "...watch some stupid movie..." Ahem. A few of you did suggest that all I had to do was draw enough cartoons to cover the days that I take off; I understand that in such a case I would be permitted to go see the Phantom Menace. You guys are too kind. :-)

A LITTLE MORE HELP FOR THE BULLIED
00:01 PST 8 MAY 1999
Meredith Dixon sent in a link to Raven Days, a site that focuses on people who are bullied; it has a mailing list, details are on the site. Also, don't forget that Outcast is up and running, filled with UFies the world over concerned with the way society and the media is handling the mess of which the Colorado tragedy is but one symptom. Recap: The website is under construction, and much organization is underway, but you can get in on the Outcast mailing list by sending mail to majordomo@got.net with subscribe outcast in the body. You can communicate with the list by mailing outcast@got.net.

MOVIE MANIA
00:16 PST 7 MAY 1999
If you're a film freak like me, you'll love mymovies.net. They have all of the latest trailers, and the manner in which they display them is really quite charming, on the screen of a small theatre. I went through half a dozen trailers last time I was there. The site is still expanding, so there's some construction going on, but the meaty content is there. Caveat: the site requires Shockwave/Flash. Definitely worth a visit. I also heard through the grapevine that the site has received an exclusive deal with a major studio for all of the trailers.

UF BOOK DISTRIBUTION QUESTION
00:14 PST 7 MAY 1999
A few dozen people have written me asking about what sort of distribution the first User Friendly book will have. As far as I know, distribution will be worldwide. Wherever you can get an O'Reilly book, you'll be able to get the UF book. This means amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com for those who are out of luck in their local bookstores.

ORDER FORM BURPED
00:12 PST 7 MAY 1999
Arrrrgh, not again. A nasty problem we thought was licked has resurfaced, although with fewer casualties. Anyone who ordered after about 13:30 PST on Monday afternoon (May 3) until this afternoon (May 6) would have gotten a blank screen and no completion message for the order. If you are uncertain, please send mail to Josette and ask. Otherwise, please resubmit your order. Sorry gang, we're still ironing out the bubbles. I know it's irritating.

THE BIGGER PICTURE
00:09 PST 7 MAY 1999
Anthony Lanni wrote in a thoughtful piece on AIDS and, despite it being a horrific disease, really doesn't deserve all of the limelight. There are 160,000 deaths per year from diabetes and its complications, more that ten times as many as AIDS - like AIDS there is no cure, like AIDS you can live with it for years if you are careful about your lifestyle and take the proper medicines. Unlike AIDS, you can't prevent it with a little piece of latex that costs only a couple of bucks...There are 564,800 deaths per year in the US alone, more than 33 times as much as AIDS...I am not opposed to AIDS research, and fervently hope that there is a cure forthcoming - I just want to put the problem of AIDS in perspective to some of the other diseases out there that get less publicity, funding, and other attention and yet are far worse problems. Point well taken. Thanks for pulling back on the scope for us, Anthony.

MAY 19TH A NORTH AMERICAN HOLIDAY?
00:07 PST 7 MAY 1999
Kevin Gould who works in a TV newsroom (at a station local to me -- I watch it for news all of the time) sent this in as a benefit to having access to the newswire: Some workers don't have to worry about calling in sick to see the premiere of the new ``Star Wars'' movie. The head of a small Internet consulting firm in Boston has decided to give his employees May 19th off. Seth Miller says there's nothing so important that the staff can't skip a day's work to see ``The Phantom Menace.'' Okay, that does it. No cartoon on the 19th or the 20th this month. You guys'll give me the time off, right?

SITE OF THE MONTH IN PC POWERPLAY MAGAZINE
00:04 PST 7 MAY 1999
Astroboy has informed me that User Friendly made it as Site of the Month in Australia's PC PowerPlay magazine. No online version of the magazine currently exists, but here's the review that Astroboy cribbed for us: If you were into comic books when you were a kid, or still are now, this site will bring back great memories. User Friendly is all based around Columbia Internet and its people that work there as well as a "Mischievous" Artificial Intelligence and a "Dust Puppy." User Friendly is fantastic, just about every single strip is funny and even though they are text only the writing brings it to life. Another nice feature is that they have all the episodes they've done on the site so that you aren't missing any of the action if you've never heard about it. Very Tasty Comedy. Site Design: 4 Stars Content: 4.5 Stars Text only? Have I been doing something wrong? :-) Thanks Astroboy.

ALPHA CENTAURI REVIEW IN GEEKSTUFF
00:01 PST 7 MAY 1999
Once again we have a new software review for y'all to peruse in the Geekstuff section. This time we feature Firaxis Games' mega-hit, Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, the game the continues the story originally told in Civilization.

A DAY FOR PEOPLE WHO DRAW STUFF?
00:10 PST 6 MAY 1999
My thanks to everyone who wrote in to wish me a Happy Cartoonists Day! The National Cartoonist Association has been promoting May 5 as they day you get to express your appreciation for your favourite cartoonists. Apparently May 3 to May 9 is Cartoon Appreciation Week as well. Details.

A DIFFERENT KIND OF ANIMAL
00:07 PST 6 MAY 1999
In the wake of the book deal signing with O'Reilly & Associates, Bruce sent in this very amusing suggestion for the cover of the upcoming User Friendly book. Heh. Imagine that in a woodcut.

HEALTHY CYNICISM
00:03 PST 6 MAY 1999
A word of advice from Bearpaw, spurred on by the Do It For Life news item I ran yesterday: As someone who has been donating time and cash to the fight against AIDS for many years, I was heartened to see you mention this worthy cause. However...people may want to pick a different fund-raising activity or contribute directly to AIDS organizations, as approximately *half* of the money contributed to AIDS Rides never makes it past the company that runs the rides. (In comparison, the (US) National Charities Information Bureau frowns on any org whose cost of fundraising (aka COF) is over 30%.)

See http://www.thebody.com/poz/survival/10_98/aidsride.html for details.

Also, unless you personally know and trust the person you're sponsoring (for an AIDS Ride or any other -athon), pay with a check made out to the central fundraiser -- do *not* pay in cash, or even worse, by credit card. There are no few truly twisted con artists out there quite happy to make a buck off of your generosity. Thanks for the word of caution, Bearpaw. Having said that, I can personally vouch for Rakesh, the chap involved in the AIDS ride mentioned in yesterday's news.

GOTHS PAY RESPECTS
00:01 PST 6 MAY 1999
Subucni sent this in: Ever since the media had their knee-jerk reaction to the shooting [in Colorado] and denigrated the 'gothic' subculture, we've been doing everything possible to belay the damage to our collective image. We've put together a benefit for victims of violence. The site can be found at http://www.gothic.net/benefit/

BOOK DEAL AND THE ARCHIVES
00:10 PST 5 MAY 1999
I've been getting quite a few letters in response to the O'Reilly book deal announcement. Most are congratulatory (thanks gang) but some are concerned that this might mean I'll be taking down the cartoon archives. The quick answer: No, the archives will not be removed. The long answer: I don't have the energy for a long answer right now. :)

GET WELL IAMBE!
00:08 PST 5 MAY 1999
If you're one of the many who have turned to our very own dear Garden Variety Goddess for much-needed advice or just an ear, or even if you just read her column every day, you might have heard that Iambe has been feeling quite ill this past while and I don't mean from the flu or some pedestrian cold. She'll be fine, but in the meantime she isn't doing great. Arcterex has set up a page where you can write some good wishes to Iambe, in hopes of speeding her recovery. And it'll only take a moment.

FOR THE LUG NUTS
00:06 PST 5 MAY 1999
This one in from Joseph Carnes: Cal Poly Pomona now has an unofficial (for now) Linux/Unix User's group. CPLUUG (pronounced as 'see-plug') has a mailing list for relevant (Note: ONLY RELAVANT MATERIAL AND/OR INFORMATION REQUESTS PLEASE) Linux and Unix information. If you are interested in joining (APU students welcome too.) please email majordomo@shaz.dhs.org with "subscribe cpluug" in the body of the letter.

DO IT FOR LIFE
00:04 PST 5 MAY 1999
This came in from Rakesh, a really kind fellow I met while down in San Jose at Linux World Expo: I will be participating in California Aids Ride 6 (www.aidsride.org) this June. This event has raised a considerable sum of money for AIDS related charaties, and although new drugs are helping people live longer, there is still no cure. Which is why nearly three thousand people will be biking from San Francisco to Los Angeles over a five day period, supported by six hundred AIDS ride crew (of which I am one).

User Friendly readers have shown a willingness to help out in the communities where they live. By donating to this cause, you know your money will be going directly to work to help those with HIV/AIDS through an organization that has raised over $55 million.

Please email densaer@employees.org if you'd like to contribute. And if you can't contribute, please get involved somewhere - AIDS claimed 17,000 lives alone last year, and entire societies (especially in Asia and Africa) are at grave risk with terrifyingly high infection rates.

OUTCAST LAUNCHED
00:01 PST 5 MAY 1999
With the help of got.net, Outcast has been launched, headed by David J. Hebbe, one of many UFies who have volunteered their time and skills to this worthy cause. The website is under construction, and much organization is underway, but you can get in on the Outcast mailing list by sending mail to majordomo@got.net with subscribe outcast in the body. You can communicate with the list by mailing outcast@got.net. Thanks go to Godmoma, got.net's webmistress, to the prez of got.net himself, and to all of the other UFies who offered web hosting and mail support for the cause. [If you're coming into the middle of this and want more info on Outcast, check out the recent Archived News]

A WEE BIT BUSY
00:17 PST 4 MAY 1999
Just so no one thinks I've become a hermit, I'm letting everyone know I'm even busier than normal these days -- I'm painting and carpeting my home in an effort to help sell it and move on to a different abode. It may take a few days longer than normal for me to get back to you if you have a question. (Yes I promise to try very hard not to demolish my hands while I rip up the old carpet.)

FOCUSING THE MAELSTROM
00:13 PST 4 MAY 1999
All of this anti-gaming and anti-geek propoganda now has a challenger: OUTCAST, a web site devoted to disseminating the misinformation propogated by knee-jerk reactionaries and the mass media. The mandate for OUTCAST will revolve around educating the general public and media about what really goes on in the geek community. The organization's co-ordinator is David J. Hebbe, someone I feel is both qualified and driven. I've forwarded all of the volunteer e-mails to him, so you can expect to hear from him sometime in the next few days. Today I'm organizing web space and a mailing list for the site, so things should be fully operational by Wednesday or Thursday.

USER FRIENDLY IS A JOB REQUIREMENT
00:11 PST 4 MAY 1999
This one had me chuckling for quite a few minutes. Sent in by Nevok: Now if this ain't praise, I don't know what else there is...User Friendly as criteria for a job...Hail to thee ;) http://jobs.web.de/jobs/html/d/jobs/admin_guru.htm Heh. I can see it now. A UFie checkbox on application forms. :)

MATRIX LINUX BINARY
00:06 PST 4 MAY 1999
Okay, this is pretty cool. Many of you have probably seen the Windows version of the Matrix screen saver. If you're running Linux, however, your wait is over. Check out this site for a spiff addition to your Linux box. This one was from Timothy Musson. Thanks Timothy!

USER FRIENDLY SIGNS BOOK DEAL WITH O'REILLY & ASSOCIATES
00:01 PST 4 MAY 1999
It is with great pleasure that I announce a book deal has been inked between User Friendly and O'Reilly & Associates, publishers of some of the finest technical and reference books in the computer industry! This deal has been a long time in coming, and actually started last year around September when publishing giant Simon & Schuster approached me about doing a book. Recently, O'Reilly stepped in and made an offer that was more fitting the User Friendly philosophy (placing the book in the Computer section instead of the General Humor section for example), so we closed the deal with them. My thanks to Scott, the editor at Simon & Schuster who approached me and went to bat for me initially, David Fugate, my literary agent, and Simon Hayes, my editor at O'Reilly & Associates. Details: the manuscript/collection should be in their hands this summer, which means we'll likely see publication some time in October. I'll keep everyone advised of any changes. And thank you to everyone who supported me in securing the book deal!

RC5 TEAM UFIE STATUS
00:07 PST 3 MAY 1999
A report came in from Dave Easterly on Team UFie's Status: Membership keeps growing! We're at over 400 members now! We also moved up to #143 overall, and are steady at #16 for the day. Not bad at all.

UFIES IN N'ORLEANS?
00:04 PST 3 MAY 1999
I'm sure the UFie network reaches many corners of the globe, so maybe we can put that to use. One of our number is moving from the Northeastern US down to New Orleans, and would like some info on accommodations. Thing is, the move is happening rather quickly, so timely information and a helping hand would be much appreciated by the movin' UFie as well as myself (gotta watch out for all the UFies out there ;)). If you're from the land of Blue Bayous, please drop Silvrbear a friendly note.

WINDING UP THE MAELSTROM
00:01 PST 3 MAY 1999
So here's the scoop. I have a long-time UFie offering both his already-established website and his leadership for the cause of educating the general public, school administrations and the media about computer games, geeks, and our lifestyle and how our choices really are harmless. I also have a mittful of volunteers offering to help out (although we're always interested in more help, write me if you can devote some time to this worthy cause), and once I have things geared up, I'll announce it here and make sure the volunteers are e-mailed. Myself, I'll remain in an advisory role. I'm a pacifist and a moderate, and I've had experience talking to the media, so I'll offer to guide instead of lead.