Being sick at Penguicon was frustrating. I managed to discharge my critical responsibilities (wrangle chaos, do panels, be “visible”) with flair, but I didn’t get a stitch of drawing done. I brought a week’s worth of scripts in the hope of at least pencilling on them, but I just didn’t have the energy.

I got home and realized that I’d been running on fumes. Monday and Tuesday were almost total write-offs. Lots of naps, lots of lounging around, lots of coughing… very little drawing.

Tuesday morning the colored-and-uploaded buffer stood at 4. I managed to pencil and ink two strips. Today I’m on target to ink the rest of next week, but the colored-and-uploaded buffer is at three — Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

Hopefully by tomorrow I’ll have a full week inked, colored, and uploaded. I can feel my strength returning slowly, and I need it all back, because having 9 strips ready to go isn’t nearly enough. I need a month in the can so I can dig in on some other projects without having to worry about what’s airing next at schlockmercenary.com.

–Howard

Monday I dropped off the net for a few days. It’s been nice for a number of reasons. Unplugging is important because it demonstrates that being plugged in is NOT. Oh, and apparently while I was gone there were people saying unkind things about me over in Keenspot Central. By the time I found out about it they’d moved on to saying unkind things about each other.

I haven’t bothered to go read it, mind you. By the time I got a connection back I had more important things to do, like play with Sal’s dogs, visit a disc golf course I’d never played before, and read some Ringo.

Quick travelogue: Monday I flew into Detroit, and spent the evening in Dexter, Michigan with Sal Sanfratello and the Aegis crew. Tuesday I slept in and played a round of disc golf at the Hudson Metro Park. It’s easily the best course I’ve played. The grooming is nice, and there is lots of variation from pin to pin.

The course was so nice I went back on Wednesday. It’s a good thing, too, because there’ll be no opportunity to play again this weekend. The weather system that slammed Utah and Idaho earlier this week is going to sock Detroit with rain and perhaps snow this weekend.

Thursday Sandra flew out here to join me, and today (Friday) we kick off Penguicon 3.0. My principal project while here — wrangling Evil Stevie’s Convention Chaos Machine — hasn’t begun yet because the machine hasn’t arrived. It’s due to show up “any minute now,” in Rob Landley’s vehicle, and then I’m going to be suddenly, suddenly busy.

I’m looking forward to it. Vacationing has been nice, and being “off the net” has been nice, but it’s convention time, and that means Game == ON.

–Howard

So I’m out at delta.com checking my itinerary, and wondering why Tuesday the 18th is showing up as a Monday. Then it hits me. I’m flying TOMORROW.

I guess it’s a good thing I’m all packed and ready.

Oh. Wait. I was going to do that MONDAY.

WHEEE!

If you followed the news last spring you probably heard that Mark Hacking of Salt Lake City lied to his wife and family, and then (allegedly) shot and killed his wife and dumped her body.

I have no sympathy for men who harm women — especially the women who love and trust them. And I believe that a just God will judge them more harshly than I ever could.

I also believe in a merciful God, however. I believe in repentance. I believe that Christ can change your heart. And I believe that the first step in the process of obtaining mercy from a God who is both just and merciful, the first paving stone on the high road of repentance if you will, is confession.

Well, Mark Hacking confessed. He plead guilty in court, and told the court just what he did.

I’m not going to suggest for a moment that EARTHLY judges need to show any special mercy upon him. There are other stones on that high road, and they have burdensome words on them like “restitution” and “repayment.” When you take a human life there is NOTHING you can do to fully restore what you have taken. He hasn’t been sentenced yet, and I’ll be disappointed if his crime gets him less than 15 years behind bars.

But I’m pleased that he confessed.

I’m pleased because Mark Hacking is still a person, still has an eternal soul, and is still worth saving. I believe his confession means that he may find forgiveness in the next life. He decided not to lie anymore, nor to pay others to lie on his behalf, in an effort to further cover the horrible sins he committed. He still has a lifetime of pain, shame, and guilt ahead of him, but perhaps in the eternal world he can find the mercy I believe he is seeking.

–Howard