The Quest for Content!

Another page in the book of "the more things change, the more they stay the same."

The Quest for Content! Kev and Kell

Note that the year on this is 1996. Wonder how many zeros we should add to the end now?

Hmmm... This New Management Fad is Crazy Enough That it Just Might Work

I've been searching the intertubes looking for the cartoonist who drew this delightful cartoon about the "Just Do Your Fricking Job" management methodology. I love this cartoon and it captures a phrase that I have used often at work. (Wouldn't the whole world just run better if everyone would do their frickin' jobs?) Some have accused me of drawing it myself, but if I had I definitely wouldn't have signed it "Nick."

So where are you, Nick? Soogle must find you. At the very least you deserve credit and praise. And perhaps you have drawn other witty cartoons for me to frame and hang at my desk.

10/24/08 Update: Winterwolf has beat Soogle at her own game and found Nick's website! You can find more Nick Kim goodness at Lab initio. Does this mean that Winterwolf can now be called Woogle?

Well, That's Just Brilliant

I've been burning my way through the archive of an online comic called "Sheldon." It's been a SERIOUSLY enjoyable read, especially for those of us who embrace the geekier things in life (plenty of references to science fiction, computers, etc.) and I highly recommend it.

Tonight I came across my favorite thus far, May 25, 2007, which is surprisingly non-geeky. But in that one strip he manages to invoke classic Berke Breathed (mimes everywhere beware!) and the Brent Staples essay "Just Walk on By: A Black Man Ponders His Power to Alter Public Space." Deep.

The only "main" character in the 5-25-07 strip is Sheldon's grandfather, so it doesn't give you a very good feel for the way the strip usually comes off. For instance, my favorite character is the talking duck Arthur who is wonderfully snarky and I think always gets the best lines. When he tried coffee he said "...it takes like bitter, boiled phone book." In this strip he remarks, "I thought the traditional Scottish birthday gift was loathing, wrapped up in grudging tolerance?" It almost makes me wish my heritage were Scottish instead of Irish.

Sheldon himself is very endearing, especially when something geeky sends him over the edge. Like the time that he documented the Star Wars plot holes, decided to fix the problem himself, and ran into problems.

The Doodlist

One time when I did an assessment of my talents, interests, and abilities I came to the conclusion that the perfect job for me was "doodlist." Not cartoonist, because that sounded too formal.

So I was intrigued when I saw that someone had stumbled upon TTGSiMH by using the search terms "doodle test patterns personality." I thought 'Yes! What about doodling and personality?' So I went hunting. The BBC has some advice on Doodle Analysis, including symbolism. There is also Anna Koren's Graphology page for Doodles. And About.com has a page on Doodle Interpretation.

Personally I mostly doodle across the top and down the left hand side of the page. According to the links, that means that I am "an energetic, free-thinking, spiritual person" (top) but also affected by "the past, nostalgia or regret. It may indicate apprehensiveness for the future" (left). Fortunately they point out what I was thinking about the left side of the page, "separated by a margin, or with punched holes waiting to be decorated - is also prime doodling real estate." If you have any sense of space it is just the easier place to doodle.

My most common doodle when at work is of repeating geometric patterns, especially triangles. "Regular patterns from geometric shapes tend to indicate an organised and efficient mind. Triangles are a geometrically stable shape but also suggest direction and sense of purpose."

I also like to doodle vines and flowers. Anna Koren tells me that means I'm "friendly, sociable (motifs used extensively by social workers), sensitive, humane, warm, open."

I couldn't find any references to tell me what it means when I doodle Garfield and have him say something sarcastic about the meeting topic.