You didn't see this

Here's another fun thing I've been doing at work. We're hosting a national conference next month — for auditors. And not just any auditors: these are auditors from departments of transportation across the United States!

Word is that auditors have a bad rap. They're actually a fun bunch. When they get together they really let their hair down — they not only look at each other's shoes, occasionally they make eye contact!

Our audit folks thought it would be interesting to add a little bit of fun to the conference. Being in the Pacific Northwest, they came up with the idea of having Sasquatch make a few appearances! These are a few drawings and illustrations that we're using in the program (which goes to the printer on Tuesday).

See? Auditors can be fun!

Bonus!

In case you needed the answers, here they are!

Something completely different

As I was going through some of my old files, I came across this old game I made a few years ago for a national conference. The idea is to match the state with the picture that depicts its motto.

I'll post the answers a little later, although it really isn't that hard.

Celebrating the light

I figure I might as well get all the Rudolph 'toons out there. I almost want to apologize for having so many DOT and Rudolph-themed cartoons, but it seems like such a natural fit!

I hate to do this, but I have to throw in something for the ol' Gee-Whiz File here. Several years ago when I worked for the Utah Department of Transportation, I wrote an article for AASHTO Quaarterly about Lester Farnsworth Wire. Wire was a policeman in Salt Lake City who is credited with inventing the first electric traffic light. One version of his story says that he chose red and green for the color of the lights because he used Christmas lights to illuminate the prototype -- which was made out of an old birdhouse. So that line from the song: "even street lights blink a bright red and green" is right on the mark.

Now you know the rest of the story!

AASHTO VI

Tiguana's taxi rides again! So as you travel this Memorial Day weekend, watch out for goods being shipped by rail. And remember to be safe in work zones, too...after all, May is still Transportation Safety Awareness Month.

• ODOT PSA Featuring the voice talents of Ben, Gary and Shelley. (MP3)
  

AASHTO V

This might be a little on the strange side, but I still like it. In the second panel, I borrowed a trick from The Beatles in Shirley's mantra -- backtracking.

AASHTO IV

As seems to be consistent with these highway cartoons, the numbers have changed but the issues remain. As was widely reported last August, for example, the number of deficient bridges is way up.

Here's a little side note about this one: the songs on the radio may seem to date the strip, but they were chosen to enhance the message.

Second side note: at the time I drew this, 96.1 was a top 40 station on the Wasatch Front; when I moved to Oregon, 96.1 was an oldies station in the Willamette Valley. The tunes stayed true to the cartoon even though I moved.

Third side note: as an odd coincidence, it's lyricist Bernie Taupin's birthday, so it's interesting that "Goodbye, Yellow Brick Road" would show up today. Who knew?

AASHTO III

This was supposed to contain a little wink and nudge in-joke, but the subtlety wasn't quite so subtle.

AASHTO, the sequel

We're a lot closer to having smart cars. Not so much on the smarter drivers.

More transportation issues

My former boss, Hannah, was hired by AASHTO (the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) where she was asked to do some marketing around future transportation needs. She, in turn, asked me to do a series of cartoons to illustrate some of their key talking points.

Although the material may not be hilarious, It’s interesting that although some of the numbers are a little outdated, we still have many of the same concerns more than a decade later.

The series was published in AASHTO Quarterly.