*packs up and prepares for the move* As someone said, I'm sure they'll be some adjustments, and the new old place will take some getting used to, but I'm sure it'll feel just as cozy as Exhile has been soon enough.

Wow. Welcome back home, Wil. *sniffle* I've enjoyed my time in Exhile with you, but I suspect going home will be just fine, too. ;)

Amen.

Isn't it great when it works? Of course, it hurts when it doesn't, but the payoff is worth the pain. Glad you're writing again!

I got my first dog twenty-four years ago. Since then, I've had as many as five dogs and as few as one, and I can honestly say that the biggest difference in a household is between two and three dogs. Something about the number of dogs being more than the number of hands on one person. ;) That said, I have three largeish-sized dogs now, and I walk all three of them together easily. I'm sure you'll manage, too, and you'll wonder how you ever lived without the new girl! I know my hard player was glad when the younger one was added, and I'm sure Seamus will appreciate it, too. Congrats on the new addition! Also, thanks for recognizing and responding appropriately to a correction from an older dog to a pup. It's great to see someone rescuing a dog (a Bully breed at that) and being smart about it. Well done!

On a related note, I have a cold. In the past three years at Dragon*Con, I've gotten con crud twice. The year I didn't? I was sick just before the con. Hoping for a repeat of that this time. If I have to have a cold in August, might as well make it have some positives, right? Don't let the haters get you down, man. Not touching is perfectly legit, and, um, also your personal prerogative. I'm not keen on strangers touching me. Why would I expect that in others? Silly internet. Have fun, Wil, and enjoy the new dice!

Personally, I think the blocking of markets is BS, too. That goes too far. That said, Brattleboro, VT* put the issue of big box stores to a public vote. There was one Home Depot in town at that time, and the citizens didn't want any more big business. They preferred smaller stores. The vote overwhelmingly said so. No box stores allowed. So, maybe we should vote on such things? People do have a right to decide what business is conducted in their town. Look at communities who ban liquor sales or strip clubs. Is that right? I don't know. Probably not from a strictly constitutional view, but from a public opinion standpoint, it is. But it should not be up to government to decide such things, but the people. If someone opens a business that is contrary to the will of the people in that area, the people will not support it, and the business will fail, so this takes care of itself. Government should not intervene. I don't know the "right" answer here. All I know is that there is no easy answer to things like this, and I'm glad I'm not the one who has to decide such things. It's got to be one tough job. *Of course, it was legal to be nude there until 2007, so take that for what you will. ;)

Freedom of speech means anyone can have and voice their opinion. It does not mean their opinion is valid or fair. I'm all for the Chik-fil-A guy voicing his opinion. I'll never argue that he's wrong for doing so. He can scream until he turns blue for all I care. However, because he puts his money where is mouth is and I do not agree with his opinion, I will not buy his product and thus support him. That's been the case for years, when Chik-fil-A first came out as homophobic. There's no change for me now. (In fact, I'm not sure I've ever eaten there, though there are a few around me - it's just not my thing, so admittedly, it's not a huge sacrifice for me.) I will continue to avoid anything that supports Chik-fil-A because I will continue to voice my opinion that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right that should be granted. (Unless one takes away all associations with marriage in the eyes of the law, but that won't happens, so...) As Chik-fil-A man can scream, so can I, and I scream for equality. As he puts his money where his mouth is, so do I. That's it in a nutshell for me. As for eating there being about freedom of speech? I call BS, or at least a lack of understanding. Opposing an opinion does not mean that one wants to silence that opinion. As I said, he can scream all he wants, but when one screams, one has to accept the consequences of one's actions. If one screams hate, one gets punished for it. I'm all for standing up for one's beliefs, and even admire that, but if your belief is outdated and hateful, well, stand up all you want. I support your right to do so. But I won't support your cause. This post is diplomatic, Wil, and for those misguided souls who truly believe they were supporting freedom of speech by eating chicken, well, I guess your apology is valid, but like others here, I think your first statement was closer to the truth.

I think I got something in both of my eyes. :)

That is wonderful! Do you know what issue it was/will be in? (Because yes, as someone above said, you've totally made this the first collectable issue of Highlights.)

We just got new couches for our living room. It's nice, but we have an elderly cat. Those two things do not go well together. Therefore, we currently fight the "keep the blankets over as much of the couch as possible" battle. And yes, we're losing that one, too.

Oh, that is truly special. Congratulations, Wil!

Oh, that's just brilliant. Well done, Ryan!

Another high five sent to your some from me. That's classic. Well done.

Bwahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaa! What a lovely bit to do with (not) Carl, for both of you, and for those of us who appreciate this type of humor, too. So, thanks a lot for the fun! I got called in to work today and everyone went off to the July 4 shindig without me, but this helps ease the pain. Quite a lot, actually. One internet to whoever thought it up!

To do my own paraphrasing: Sesame Street is brought to you today by the letter "T" and the verb "ROLL." Annnnnd...moving on: Thanks for this vid. I enjoyed it a lot. I've been feeling the need to visit my people (aka attend a con), but I won't get that chance until Dragon*Con, so this helped ease my homesickness a bit. Thanks!

I tried The Great Gatsby again some time ago, as I remembered it as the worst book I'd ever had to read. It was still awful for me. Because of that I haven't tried Wuthering Heights again, which is still in a photo finish for that worst title and caused me to skip the only assigned book I didn't read in high school (one Bronte was enough-after Wuthering Heights, I could not force myself to read Jane Eyre, the only book I Cliff noted and faked my way through). Seriously, I would have rather chewed off my arm than read that book, but I did it. And it never got good. I simply don't get that one. As for your post and symbolism, I see both sides of this coin. Like Deepgame above, I think learning the craft is important, but I think shoving the lesson down our throats can be handled better.

Congrats, Wil! I'm so glad you can enjoy this. As a Cleveland native, well, I feel your recent pain. Maybe, one day, that mistake on the lake will get a sports championship. Of any kind. Maybe. 'Til then, I'll just keep watching the opening of Major League and remembering a simpler time long gone...when my dad took me to the stadium he worked in as a boy and taught me both stickball and sportball and I wandered downtown and the flats with only my siblings for company. Different world, that. Different world. PS: I do understand and have played hockey, but I don't follow the NHL much. That said, I do have an old Crusaders pennant. Oh, Cleveland, you can't even keep your hockey team. Sigh...

I don't drink beer, much less brew it, but if that ever changes, I would be happy to support this company purely because of this. I'm all for anything that brings a little creativity and joy into this world! Way to go, Austin Homebrew Supply!

Congrats on the gig, Wil!

Glad you had a good time, Wil. I hope to join you in PHX next year!

Congratulations, sir. My copy will come with my next comics shipment (I recently moved and am still supporting my old local shop until I find a new local shop). Can't wait to enjoy it!

Mine? I'm in surgery. I'm closing an incision and I get called out of surgery for some reason (which is odd in and of itself). And no matter what I do, I can't get back in there and finish closing. And no one can help me (again, that doesn't make sense, but that's dreams for you) and I'm stressing out that the patient has been under anesthesia too long and every time I try to get back there, something waylays me and won't let me. I get other patients thrown at me. I have to talk to a specialist. Whatever. I had this dream many times until I told a colleague about it. She promised she'd finish for me if that ever happened. Haven't had the dream since. Weird. I did have one just last night, though, where I left work for some reason in the middle of my shift and then couldn't get back on time, so I guess it's sort of similar. Then again, I have a patient I'm worried about, so...hm. :-/

What a perfectly useful gif indeed!

I'm still on the like/dislike system, too, even logged into my YouTube account. So I must not be the 1%, but I so already knew that. ;) I hope this goes away, rather than gets rolled out to everyone, because like others have said, I don't need another social media platform and don't want to join G+ just to like vids. Sigh. Le stupid.