First, the New Stuff:

• New Testimonials and more Wunderland Boosters, plus a great new review of Aquarius
• Chapter 58 of the Empty City (in which Dave is summoned to a late night meeting with Doctor Cool and the Emperor of Mars)

Lots of people have been filling out the survey (thanks everyone!) and the feedback has been very interesting for us. People's biggest complaints have been about Daddy-O's Movie Reviews (hopefully this week's changes will resolve these). Votes are evenly split on whether Zoltar is a bad guy or trustworthy; I won't say what we think the answer is, but I will say that it's not an election - we were just curious what people thought. Also, there was a question about what kind of camera I use, so I added an equipment section to my photography page. (Eeyore, of course, wants to see more stuff about Icehouse Champions. Go figure.)

Sabbatical report: I've nearly completed the research phase on the calendar shirt (a bigger job than you might think) and will soon begin the actual artwork. Final art for Proton and 53 Spades has been sent to the printer, and the raw materials for Arthur's Buttons are in hand (we almost had it ready this week; it's going on sale next week for sure). Plus, many important website upgrades have been performed, the holiday letter is nearly complete, and I've updated the tuck box artwork for the second printing of Aquarius. So, while there's still lot to do, things are going extremely well.

I'm a night owl. I do my best work in the wee small hours of the night, when Kristin is sleeping and the house is quiet (except for the cats and the stereo). So during my sabbatical, I've been staying up as late as possible, often working straight through the night. As a result, I've started drinking sodas again. I gave 'em up a year or so ago, but during these late night sessions, I've been craving that nudge you get from the caffeine, and therefore went back to drinking Coke. And a few days ago, the headaches came back. Now I remember one of the reasons I gave up soft drinks.

(See this little cartoon I drew of myself getting a caffeine headache? I drew it in my logbook earlier in the week, and Kristin liked it enough that she suggested I use it here. I, however, thought it was a little too rough, and drew a second version, which is what you see here. But only now, after drawing it twice, scanning it, and adding it to this page, have I realized that I drew myself without a beard, even though I've sported a goatee for almost 2 years now. Despite what the mirror tells me, I guess I still see myself as a clean-shaven guy. But at least I accept my baldness.)

Wow, John Glenn is suddenly a hero again. You know, I'll bet that if he still wants the job, he could get himself elected president in Y2K. Sure, his campaign back in the eighties sank faster than the Titanic, but that was before he became a hero all over again to a country that's gotten excited about the space program for the first time in a decade, entirely because of him. And though he's getting old, if he's healthy enough to fly in outer space, he's clearly healthy enough to handle a desk job. And look who he's up against on the republican side: George Bush's son, Bob Dole's wife, and Dan Quayle. As a two-time space hero with an extensive political background and a squeaky-clean image that'll be just what the voters are looking for after this whole Monica thing, John Glenn simply needs to return successfully from his second flight and announce his candidacy, and he could be our next president. (Assuming he doesn't freak out when he lands and finds everyone wearing ape suits, that is.)

For those who are wondering how the votes fell but haven't heard anything about it on the news, I'm very happy to report that all 8 ballot initiatives were won by those who favor a change in our country's marijuana policies. Check the bottom of this page at marijuananews.com for the complete voting statistics. Now the question is, will the Clinton Administration continue to thwart the will of the people on this matter?

Happy Guy Fawkes Day!