The Bad Boys of Computer Science
A sporadically updated web comic from your friends at HotZP.
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Sporadic Rant:
Wow, sorry for the four day delay, but I've been on Spring Break. Not that that's any excuse, because I've had more free time, not less; but hey, I need to justify the hiatus somehow. What I've really been doing is watching the anime DVDs I just bought (Fushigi Yuugi and BubbleGum Crisis if you care) and playing a mixture of The Sims, Unreal: Tournament, and Age of Empires II. So yeah, I've been keeping busy. :)
Today's comic is a semi-response to a piece of fanmail I received from a Mr. Tony Lin. He praised BBoCS highly but he talked about it being a haven for "nerdish freaks" and so forth. That's exactly the wrong attitude to take, my friend. Right now, being good at computers is "cool," and so is being in a field with a secure job future. Also, Newsweek even branded Asians as being cool; but then again, they derided video and computer games as being incapable of producing art, so what do they know?
Anyways, back to the topic at hand: Being a computer geek does not preclude being a wild and crazy guy. A lot of CS people I know would be a lot more fun if they would go out to a bar and hang out every now and then. And going out to a bar and hanging out doesn't even mean that you have to drink. I personally don't drink very much (if at all) and I loathe the taste of beer, but I still enjoy going out to the bars with my CS homies and busting a groove on the dance floor with some fly skimmies. I'm engaged to a fabulously sexy (IMHO) and caring woman, I enjoy playing and watching sports, but I also happen to have some mad coding skillz. The worlds of computers and the mainstream culture are not mutually exclusive. In fact, the so-called computer geeks are taking over the world, if current trends mean anything (but they usually don't). The key to happiness is to be a well-rounded individual. Personally, I let out my creative side when doodling (for this strip, and I played violin for 10+ years) and it even comes out when you code. :) Play some sports, get in shape, shave off that stubble for God's sake, pick up some sort of creative hobby, and definitely go out and mix socially. You'll be a much happier and well-rounded person.