Been in head-down working mode the past few weeks trying to get special editions of book 2 out the door. The last of the Extreme Underwater Basket Weaving editions were picked up by the post-people yesterday :) God speed my precious little kilograms! May you find your way swiftly to the ends of the earth.

Hey everyone, my second book launched today! YEAHH!!! Click here to get your copy :)

https://www.wastedtalent.ca/info/welcome-real-world-here

Mech was the only one I was really interested in, actually. I was immediately drawn to it. I love physics (but not enough to become an Eng. Fizz), and I wanted to make things that moved. (So, not CIVIL). I liked programming, but I had decided before that I didn’t want to go into comp sci (didn’t want to live at a computer terminal.) I never liked chemistry or electrical, just not my bag. Or bio for that matter. 

Looking back, the only other engineering that might have suited me is Materials engineering! I really liked those courses a lot, but I’m satisfied being a mech.

Anon asked:

Do Canadian Colleges have major sports programs like in the USA?

We have sports programs, sure, but I think by “major” you mean like the NCAA or College Football. We have teams in those sports, and they compete, but it’s not really at the same magnitude. 

Really, the closest equivalent I can think of is the world juniors of hockey. It’s not university-affiliated but it’s a *big* *deal*. But yeah, sports is not a big deal in Canadian universities. 

funkytuba asked:

Do you plan to get any pets furrier than the frog and fish you had?

I came very close to getting one last year but my career uncertainty kind of stopped that. Now I want to get these books out. But then……Jeph’s cat pictures make my heart hurt :(

Anonymous asked:

I am making plans to Viste Vancouver in about a year, any good resturants or places to hang out?

I get asked this a lot! Maybe I should make a guide or something. Vancouver’s a really small city, it doesn’t take very long to explore. Best things to do are nature-oriented. Rent a bike and ride around the seawall, and take the bus to Lynn Canyon. My favourite hoods are Granville Island, Gastown, Main, West 4th (Kitsilano) and Robsom (downtown core). There are LOTS of good restaurants. Anyplace that looks respectable is worth trying, and you’ll even be surprised by some of the hole-in-the-wall places. My only rule is that I refuse to wait in line for food in Vancouver. I’m always disappointed.

OK THAT’S IT, I’ve closed the ask box. Thanks for distracting me everyone :) THE BOOK LAUNCHES TOMORROW OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH!!!!!!!

Thanks, I’m glad you think so! I was actually thinking about it earlier today. I really felt like I was getting some traction in July and I was really enjoying myself! And then… BAM! My career situation got rather pressing and I also went through a rough illness that knocked me out for Sept-November. Having recovered in November, I had to go into BOOK MODE (which involves some major nose-to-grindstone action, hermitdom and stress) and at the exact same time I was working things out with this new position. I finished the book and quit my job at about the same time.

So, yeah! Haha… those three things kind of stole my life and now that I’m emerging on the other side I really need to think about my next steps. I am hoping BDP can be a part of it. :)

I wanted my job to be in some way related to sustainability. That’s an issue that’s very important to me. Energy is one side of that issue - if we can’t meet our energy demands in a sustainable way we’re going to be in serious trouble. That was how I wound up at EnergyWise.

Anon asks:

What do your engineering co-workers have to say about your comic?

I don’t talk much about my comics at work, but I don’t deliberately keep it a secret, either. A few of my coworkers found out eventually through conversation, and nobody ever had a problem with it. Some of my closest coworkers have shown enthusiastic support for it :) Most people didn’t really care. It’s difficult to convey the… scope of what I do with Wasted Talent. 

Anon asks:

How does the recent change in employment put your drawing talents to work?

What? uh, it doesn’t? It’s an engineering job.

It’s gotten to the point where if we’re watching a movie, we get distracted if it’s NOT filmed in Vancouver, because we spend the whole time trying to figure out what part of Vancouver the scene is in. It is a bit sad that it doesn’t get to be featured as itself, but unfortunately we’re still a small city and “nothing ever happens here”. Oh also, I think there’s still this perception that American audiences will think a Canadian location is “too foreign” to hold their interest? As in- that’s the perception marketing people have, I think, I doubt it’s actually true. 

Related:

Anon asked:

What’s your favourite neighbourhood to visit in Vancouver?

I’ll use any excuse I can get to hang out in Granville Island :)

Wasted Talent is 100% analogue, but that’s not the only thing I can do and it’s not the only project I’ve worked on! I can work with photoshop/tablets, in fact I’m working with one RIGHT NOW!

Related: anon asks:

Are you still a cheese soup?

We still talk like that, but I don’t write about it as much because people seemed to think it was gross? whatever

(this is all Trevor’s, I personally don’t care, I don’t really drink pop that much)

WHAT indeed

It’s actually a really difficult question to answer because we do so many things! Definitely harder to explain than a doctor or a lawyer. We go to school and we learn a lot of math and science and are basically taught a method for solving problems. Then we go into the world and design things, fix things, plan things, expedite things, explain things… sometimes we’re hired just to be a responsible person you can trust. 

Here’s an ask an engineer that we wrote on the subject!

http://www.wastedtalent.ca/blog/jam/ask-engineer-%E2%80%93-what-do-engineers-do-day-day