Sketchbook: Rounding it up

This is another one that's drawn from real life experiences. I've mentioned before that I work with engineers. Accuracy is paramount with them. It gets a little uncomfortable when I tell them that it's OK to round numbers up or down so they make more sense to the public.

Look both ways!

OK, it's not a gag — it's a public service announcement. Every year at the end of summer, we discuss back to school safety messages. This one started out as a sketch in my meeting notes, and I kind of liked how it looked.

Let's be careful out there!

Conference leftovers: Plane speaking

Our family was worried when Pres. Uchtdorf spoke on Saturday morning. He didn't make a single mention of being a pilot, flight, planes, or anything to do with aviation! However, he more than made up for it with his Priesthood address. If you had any doubts about how Pres. Uchtdorf feels about flying, he answered those questions in the first five minutes.

Signs

I've seen the sign of Gandalf saying, "You shall not pass," but I wondered what other signs they might use in Middle Earth. Personally, I like the "no pedestrians" sign by the exit sign to Mordor. You can't just walk there!

My cart's better than your cart

I know the "My other vehicle is a..." gags are a bit over done, but I thought this one was kind of cute. The stereotype of a pioneer is a tough, hard working yet humble person. I'm sure there was a little one upsmanship on some of those wagon trains, however!

Blanket coverage

Under construction

May is Transportation Safety Awareness Month, so I figured we ought to at least have one mention of work zone safety.

By Jupiter!

Here's another side of my geekiness: I get excited around the 10th of May because it's the anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike at Promontory Summit, Utah, completing the transcontinental railroad. W00T!

So, yeah, this one's all about me.

Double têter?

We're winding down with the French stuff. Today's are both a little lame, so you get not one but TWO lame gags for the price of one!

First, despite all the cultural and historical sites all around us, the most popular thing to do was shop. I did mention it was a group consisting of 21 girls and one boy, right?. For the geeks among you (that would be me) there's also a vague Dr. Who reference in there, Alonzo.

At the Eiffel Tower, there's an elevator that takes you to the viewing platform. However, it doesn't go straight up and down. It goes at an angle. That was a little too freaky for a couple of our crowd. And once on the platform, it was very windy. Not a good combination if you're not a fan of heights.

Luckily, most of us made it back OK.

Hitchin' a ride

We had one boy on the trip, so you think that would give him pretty good odds. But sometimes, things don't work out.

Turning the tables

We have a guy in our ward who used to be a Pentecostal minister. His favorite thing to do is meet with the new missionaries and put them through the wringer.

Milestones in history

This is an old cartoon I found hiding behind a piece of furniture in my office. Perhaps it should have stayed there!

Tales from the road home

We had quite a conversation here at home about what the caption should be on this one, or even if it should have a caption. What do you think? Any suggestions?

Orange cone season!

Yesterday at the Oregon Department of Transportation we held a press conference to announce the beginning of the summer construction season -- between Memorial Day and Labor Day.

Our goal this year is zero fatalities in work zones. Last year in Oregon there were nine. The odd thing is, the people who get injured or killed the most in work zones aren't the workers. It's drivers. And the most common cause of work zone crashes? Inattention.

So, please, this construction be careful when you see the orange cones. Slow down, pay attention.

This has been a public service message from this comic strip. Thank you.

Signs in the heavens

You should hear the engine scream

Hood ornaments are cool. From the sighting target of a Mercedes to a leaping cat on a Jag, they offer a touch of style and distinction. So why wouldn't aliens want the same thing for their vehicles?

Fair warning

You've probably seen the banners or at least heard rumors about the group that says the world will end on May 21. I saw a couple holding one of their signs downtown the other day, and it reminded me of this Explore Provo cartoon.

The back story is this. We (the Utah Department of Transportation) had a project that was going to close down a major interchange on Interstate 15 in Salt Lake for several months. If some of the computer models were to be believed, traffic would be backed up to Levan if people didn't change their driving routes.

For part of the public information campaign, we mailed out fliers with this "end is near" guy to local residents and used him on some of our other materials. We thought it would be fun to do a little cross promotion down in Utah County, so we stuck the sign guy into one of the strips.

The end of the world never happened. On the day the project started, there was nary a car on I-15 around the work zone. People altered their routes or their driving times, and for the most part it was clear sailing.

Let's hope that it's also clear sailing on the 21st!

The answer is blowin' in the wind

You've got to wonder how they ever navigate their way through the desert!

Sixteen tons

With the advent of tools like Twitpic and Flickr this is less common nowadays, but it seems like any time the Department of Transportation closes a highway there complaints about why. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Monday sketchbook: Far, far away

Got some folks doing some traveling today -- by plane!