Yeah, I just issued a successful site reboot while I was out and about walking around shopping.

HippieVan wrote:
Jennifer Roggeveen wrote:

I am not sure where to post this but the thread did say we could rant here so,this is kind of a rant.
I post three pages a week and like to get ahead of the game, so I am almost readyto start posting pages for January but we cant post pages for 2016 yet, sodoes anyone know how I can get in contact with someone to add 2016 to the addpage section.

I don't know how to fix this particular issue unfortunately! But in the future, you can always contact either myself, ozoneocean, or kawaiidaigakusei via PQ or email. We also have this handy-dandy guide that covers most of our known issues on the site.

Thanks for the info, I hope you can fix it! Good luck!

This Saturday for the Quackcast we interview the creator of Barbarian Adventure! a pretty great comic here on DD ^_^
Then for the NEXT Quackcast after that the topic will be “Bad Drawing Advice” - Banes and I will be stuffy professors giving people all the worst advice about how to draw good. I look forward to that one. D'ya think it'd be good for contributions? I might make a thread…
Anyway, for some reason I am once again interested in the music playing on my headphones and it is actually able to keep me distracted and interested enough to sit for ages focussed and working on my artwork… What magic is this? Very strange. That hasn't happened for years.

@Oz-

I am happy that you were able to find a song and artist that has inspired you to draw for longer periods. That mental cave of creativity that you have been mining all these years has loads of hidden gems yet to be discovered!!

And at last I got reception. Here I am in San Juan Puerto Rico on board a cruise ship! Thinking of everyone there and hoping for those who celebrate the holiday you had a great Thanksgiving. Now off to find my sister in law to tell her her sister has an upset tummy and is on an IV in the infirmary. I love adventure.

That is so awesome Bravo!!

I miss you Mr Bravo! Have a great time on the ship and I hope your wife will too. :D

I love ships and yachts and things, always have since I was a little bitty boy. They look so cool and being on them is pretty fun too. I mean, there's a lot of dull time onboard too, but it's still like an adventure playground.

When I graduated from highschool I went for two short voyages (just a few weeks each time), on a sail training ship. I didn't really want to, but my dad sent me off because HE always wanted to do it so I was doing it for him I suppose…

I had a fantastic time! Living in cramped, stinking, hot quarters with five other guys in the bow of the ship, while the poorly secured anchor WHAMMED against the hull when we went over every wave, trying to sleep… Still amazing.
Climbing those high masts every day and working to exhaustion trying to secure a topsail before a storm and then coming down too late for dinner and going hungry that night: I would relive that in a second.
Even lying out on a hot deck under baking sun feeling so seasick I seriously contemplated just jumping over the side and ending it was STILL pretty awesome in it's own way.

Ships are amazing. If I wasn't so apathetic back then I probably would have joined the navy… Maybe not, I was gradually catching a creeping pacifisim from my left-wing, arty background so that was confusing me too. Ah well. :)

If anyone is looking for a game maker to build games with, Clickteam Fusion (Standard Edition) is now selling for $15 'til December 1. I suggest getting the standalone version though.

https://shop.clickteam.com/usa/

Today I learned that “Bravo” can mean the term for dressing out of uniform when training off base. It is supposedly not allowed to walk around in military uniforms in public, in fact, they can only buy food if it is at a drive-through. Getting caught in uniform can result in getting written up or having their pay docked.

You know how the first thing we ever learn in grade school is to not accept candy from strangers? Well, today, some dude with a bag of candy walked up to me and asked if I wanted some. I had one piece and it was not poison! It was actually quite good.

I am rewatching Home Alone because it was on TV and it is still as good as when I first saw it in the 1990s. The two crooks are the most persistent people ever. I also wonder why the kid did not just call the cops as soon as the burglars entered his home. M. Caulkin was such a promising child actor, it is too bad he fell off the radar after The Good Son.

@Oz-

That is so interesting that your father sent you to the open waters, twice, after high school. It is also intriguing that your father wished to live vicariously through your experiences (then again, I think this might be common with family members). I get seasick when a small boat rocks too much during rainstorms that I need to take Dramamine before boarding. I totally get the left-wing, arty background thing.

While serving at El Paso I was told to never walk around outside Fort Bliss in uniform. I always had to be in civvies.

I'm starting to wonder if all those stories I heard about men being kidnapped in Mexico (which was pretty close to where I was at) are true…

I got some advice from the Clickteam forums. I was feeling quite discouraged because I keep seeing 2D games that were beautifully designed… such as this one…

Pulstar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHkRiKPhito

The advice? This wikipedia page.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubber_duck_debugging

It's essentially talking your problems out to someone as you're working. Since I don't have a rubber ducky on hand to talk to, Whirl is gonna have to do despite being borderline insane (he's my Transfomers Helicopter Autobot who likes crashing into things)…

That stuff about being off-base in uniform reminds me of all those silly fake stories about soldiers in full uniform going into fast-food joints and being “refused service” because “the military isn't welcome in this establishment”.
I love it that going off-base in uniform is frowned on, making those stories even less likley.

- Every single time they've been proven to be fakes made with the same formula.
The closest one to reality was at a service station (gas station for you yanks): the attendent and the solder knew each other and a personal beef AND the guy wasn't in uniform either anyway, so it doesn't count.

—–

I hope your game turns out wel lonne!

Only two days left to sign up for Secret Santa! This year I've extended the amount of time you have to finish your gift art, so hopefully everyone will have time to join in. :) Sign-up thread is here: theduckwebcomics.com/forum/topic/177384/

Anyone have any suggestions on either free or cheap webhosting? Apparently I need an actual website to host an HTML5 game (which is what my first game is going to be made with). I made something as a test, but my browser refuses to run it. Something about security measures…

I checked out a few free webhosting sites, but for every recommendation I've seen, I've seen more saying to stay away from it. I'm going to assume that's the way it is for cheap webhosting as well which means I may have to go the expensive route, or try my hand at Windows PC games (which is what Standard Clickteam Fusion comes with without any limitations). At least with a PC version I won't need a web host…

HTML5 is a better way to go because that can help you port it over to android or iOS devices I think…?
I don't know. :(
Maybe you need to write it especially for those platforms? Either way they'd be good to aim for.
Webhosts aren't that expensive. :)

————

So, I have hired a programmer to look at the bugs with our server. :)
I really, really, really wish someone else was in my position right now. As time goes on I feel less and less qualified to handle managing DD.

ozoneocean wrote:
HTML5 is a better way to go because that can help you port it over to android or iOS devices I think…?
I don't know. :(
Maybe you need to write it especially for those platforms? Either way they'd be good to aim for.

Actually, HTML5 runs on most (if not all) of today's browsers. The only constraints a game maker has to worry about is with mobile devices. Most don't have a lot of internal RAM or storage space so the game can't have things like large file sizes and large resolutions.

The programmer I have looking at the site found that Volte6's old account that was friends with EVERYONE was causing most of the slowdowns on the site.
So now I've deleted the profile of our Creator :(

Things do run better though it seems.

There have been times when the military wants to show the uniform and encourage troops to wear it around. It was like that for a while since 9/11 and the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq . Good to see that we'really back to normal.

The stories of military personnel in uniform not being served really goes back to the Vietnam era with the returning vets and active duty soldiers quelling riots and campus stuff. After Kent state especially. Reagan changed all that.

Thanks again for sending on the swords Bravo. I can't tell you how much I appreciate it! You did a fantastic job with your packing.

Lonne, have you considered sites like Kongregate?

kawaiidaigakusei wrote:
Today I learned that “Bravo” can mean the term for dressing out of uniform when training off base. It is supposedly not allowed to walk around in military uniforms in public, in fact, they can only buy food if it is at a drive-through. Getting caught in uniform can result in getting written up or having their pay docked.

In the Army there are a few layers controlling when and where and how the uniform is worn. There is the AR 670-1 the wear and care of the uniform. Then there are technical pamplets and bulletins with updates and then some things are left to the post commander's descretion. Everyone is supposed to enfroce these things. But the guy often responsible in barracks is the Charge of Quarters NCO who signs people out for going off post when off duty. When someone goes off-post on duty it's up to their superior who releases them to run off post. What is often done was keeping a civilian jacket in the car, quickly unblouse the boots and putting on a baseball cap. Quick and effective disguise. There is no insignia on the pants and though technically against regs to wear any part of the uniform off-duty off-post it's recognizing the spirit of the regs while not following them to the letter. And showing intiative and creativity. Of course certain commanders on different posts have different standign orders, so some places used to always look the other way. One example was Fort monmouth which was right in the middle of a residential area in the Middle of Monmouth County in NJ. It wasn't realistic to restrict personnel from wearing uniform off post to go eat. The same is true at Fort Dix (now a combined post with former McGuire AFB) It was such a spread out training area in a fairly built up area that is was just a simple turn onto County 537 or 527 to zip off post to eat. So you avoided any gate and any enforcement. Also there are lots of visitors to Dix who traveled to post in uniform so everybody was accustomed to uniformed personnel running around.

Then there if you are under orders traveling between posts. You're technically on duty so you can wear the uniform so long as you don't disgrace the uniform. Anyone says anything you show them the orders which often say “wear of military uniform authorized”. i did that when coming home from various training just because I didn't want to be bothered packing civilian clothing for a few weeks of intensive training on another post when there would be no down time. Gosh you'd almost think like i was charged with enforcing this stuff or something. By the way this can help you if you are writing a comic with military personnel to give you an idea of standard practices.

I got back fromthe cruise 3 December. The wife was indeed sick for two days and restricted to the stateroom. It was coming form both ends and she had to go to the infirmary where she was put on an IV to rehydrate. I showed no symptoms so I got a couple of days without the wife. They had a nice Irish pub kind of place right down the hall from my stateroom with complimenatry fare though you paid for the drinks so I sat there with a bear having hot wings or a burger.

The weather was cloudy and the seas were rough and I don't do pools anyway. I did go to some trivia and did better at Name that Tune than Thanksgiving history! I had purposely tried to memorize the captian of the Mayflower when reading recent books on the Plymouth colony. And I drew a blank. Yeech. The last trivia was me walking in late to Name that Tune: TV Dramas and adopting a team and helping them to first place. I got a tee-shirt.

Tons of great shows like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjKZg3SbeH0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE4BVlRyt20
http://www.rubenanthonymusic.com/
And on port days they played the movies Singing in the Rain and Gone with the Windon the big screen. So I finally got to see two of finest Technicolor masterprices on the big screen. Wow.

Wow! That is a thorough explanation on uniforms, Brav. I read through all of it and it is an interesting topic because it reminds me of how I had to remove three pieces of my old work uniform and cover any logos whenever I was off the clock. I do think all my recent experiences are going to translate into a webcomic in some shape or form.

It is a little after 2025 (8:25 PM) on a Friday night and I am in bed trying to get to sleep since I need to be awake really early Saturday morning. I just finished a six day work week with Friday being my only day off. My lack of a weekend social life is a glaring sign that I am no longer a kid.

I have had more exposure to other humans this past week than usual and I have had to face the brunt of all the germs people carried from their relatives at Thanksgiving. This has left me in a semi-cloudy state and I have been trying to aid my immune system in every way possible. I really do not like feeling sick!

So this afternoon, I went to the market to buy one bunch of curly kale and dinosaur kale. Instead, the bagged leafy greens section was having a sale and I ended up purchasing over twenty-five pounds of collard greens, flat mustard greens, turnip greens, and watercress. I spent two hours sauteing five mason jars full of mixed greens for this weekend's lunch, but I had no other place to store the rest of my greens except my freezing cold room. I hope they stay fresh overnight.

Reminds me a bit of the uniforms for miners I had a part in putting together. They were very military in their organisation… All with special insignia related to where they were based out of and their level of seniority etc- on their shirts, jackets, helmets.
They have a full uniform from boots to caps, shirts, skirts, trousers, jackets… everything apart from underthings.
For some companies it even extends to socks and ties. XD

The mining companies are really QUITE military in a lot of ways… but the work is MUCH harder, the pay is way higher, about the same level of danger all things considered (thinking about active serice in the military AND training), better medical, way less job security, and more personal freedom every 3rd or 4rth week when they fly back from the site.

It's a shit line of work but it pays well while they have it.

Well… I'm reading this page and my brain starts turning into mush…

https://aws.amazon.com/free/

Have I grown so old that I can't read through all of that anymore, much less understand it immediately? Or maybe it's just one of my meds (my Allorpurinol pill bottle says the med could cause drowsiness). And it's also very VERY hot outside…

Time to lie down and recover from that one ordeal…

It's boring but you can get through it.

OMG, this morning, just now man, just now- this Somali guy glommed onto me and would NOT leave me alone- from my station all the way into work almost. He WOULD have come into work if I hadn't talked him out of it.
Dammit. In the morning my brain his half asleep and I like to relax and draw on the train, not have to deal with a guy high on Khat leaves (he passed me a whole lot), who's trying to scam the hell out of me. UGH!!!!
And apparently I look very Jewish.

Not really a fan of hanging out with high people.
That guy on khat was pretty musch exactly like someone on meth, speed, or cocaine: talking a LOT of crap very fast. Not interesting crap, just crap. Pure crap.
People on acid or mushrooms are as BORING as hell. Gaaaaahhhh…
People on pot are either slightly dull, or very dull depending on how high they are.

Alcohol is probably the only drug that really does make people more interesting a fun- but only a small amount unless they're used to it. Too much and they become the absoloute worst. Worse than all the other drugs.

people on pot can be interesting, as long as they aren't full on pot heads. It's a fine line with most drugs to be fair, but the people on them never have clue one when they steam roller over it. One type of online post that pisses me off is the canabis wonder drug is so much better than legal drugs. Well in some ways it maybe but it isn't without it's downsides either. That stuff stinks for a start, and don't get me started on the mental effect it has on some people. I know way more people who have turned into paranoid muppets from that stuff than I do who have become full on alcoholics. I won't deny I know a few people who use it a lot with no apparent ill effects, but they are in the minority and are generally more focused people to begin with.

My experiences with alcohol and other substances have been similar. When you are intoxicated you usually don't notice how you are being affected. I agree that moderation is better, but when you are consuming it is hard to meassure yourself.
I also discovered that my videogames abilities (some) improve while under the influence.
Happy Hanukkah, to whoever celebrate it…

Back when I was a young warthooooog… I mean back when I was a young lad and learning to drive I was also often out discovering nightclubs, women and binge drinking. Anyway a number of times I cancelled driving lessons as I was still drunk the next day. One time I didn't as I had cancelled a lot and I felt okay ish… so I had the lesson and at the end my instructor said I had come on leaps and bounds and was driving much more confidently. I didn't dare tell him I was still half cut. But it was that which made the difference, call it Dutch courage or whatever, but a little alcohol took away the nerves and let me just get on with it. I also found being in a similar state helped me study, but it's a fine line to balance. Often after a heavy nights drinking and four hours sleep my brain is like a sponge. I would not recommend this a a way to make it through university though.

Makes one think that it would be possible to use alcohol in some kind of holistic anxiety treatment.