RICETOONS

Rehash of an oldie...

2008-11-04T15:58:00.001-05:00

Delivery

2008-08-05T22:43:00.001-04:00

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T22:48:00.001-04:00

Fine

2008-04-28T22:01:00.003-04:00

Bigger?

2008-04-06T20:45:00.001-04:00

Alien

2008-03-24T23:15:00.002-04:00

Grain of Rice

2008-03-18T00:24:00.005-04:00

For those that don't know already, we are expecting in late August. It has been a fantastic ride that I will be sharing through Ricetoons...

Recycled Vets Day

2007-11-13T09:54:00.001-05:00

YES... I know I am recycling... but I do like this one...

Never Forget

2007-09-11T00:10:00.001-04:00

Deja Vu

2007-08-20T03:36:00.000-04:00

Could this be happening again?

CFD 9 Firefighters

2007-06-20T17:49:00.001-04:00

Spider

2007-06-18T22:31:00.000-04:00

28 Candles

2007-06-12T09:32:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to my wife and her twin sister Kristy...

You guys are getting up there...!

Happy Birthday Kimee!

2007-06-12T09:24:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday to my wife...

I hope she had a great weekend... and I am looking forward to continuing the celebration tonight and this coming weekend.

Another Penguin Movie

2007-06-08T00:45:00.000-04:00

Pull

2007-06-03T00:24:00.000-04:00

So my Memorial Day was dealing with a crack in my root canal tooth from Christmas. I should've just got it pulled then.

But since I am getting that one extracted, I might as well get those top wisdom teeth which were never taken out.

What is up with Holidays...?

Take a Number

2007-06-01T17:10:00.000-04:00

Great to be busy... I haven't posted in a while because I am working on a lot of different projects. I want to do everything... I think I need to prioritize better.

L.B.I.

2007-05-11T23:35:00.000-04:00

Taxi

2007-04-29T22:47:00.000-04:00

Pollen Count

2007-04-27T01:44:00.000-04:00

Allergies

2007-04-25T09:10:00.000-04:00

Allergy season is here...

whoop de do...

Firefighter Fatality in Prince William County

2007-04-22T22:10:00.000-04:00

The Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue has completed a preliminary review of the Monday morning fire that damaged a house on Marsh Overlook Drive in Woodbridge and killed firefighter Kyle Wilson. Here is a synopsis of events:

On April 16, 2007 at 6:03 a.m., the initial alarm was dispatched for a single family house fire at 15474 Marsh Overlook Drive. Engine 512, Tower 512 and Medic 512 from OWL Station 12 in Woodbridge responded and arrived on the scene at 6:09 a.m. They discovered fire on the exterior of the structure involving the side and back of the house. Vehicles were in the driveway and garage. Believing that occupants might still be inside the home, an aggressive interior search was initiated with Lieutenant Jason Reese and Technician I Kyle Wilson going to the second floor to begin search and rescue efforts.

Conditions inside the home were initially clear, with full visibility and little smoke. Lt. Reese and Technician Wilson were able to search the large master bedroom suite standing up and walking through the area. During the search, the bedroom door suddenly slammed shut. Not finding any occupants in the master bedroom, they opened the door to search the remainder of the second floor and found conditions in the hallway had dramatically changed to zero visibility and extraordinary intense heat. Lt. Reese and Technician Wilson were together and attempted to exit the structure immediately.

At this point a catastrophic fire event occurred. Conditions inside the home quickly deteriorated from a light haze to heavy fire with thick black smoke and intense heat. At almost the same time, the roof and ceiling collapsed into the second floor. The force of this event separated Lt. Reese and Technician Wilson, resulting in Lt. Reese falling down the stairs. Technician Wilson was forced in a different direction.

A MAYDAY, which indicates a life-threatening situation to a firefighter, was declared at 6:15 a.m. Technician Wilson activated his emergency button and provided an emergency radio report.
Lt. Reese and several other crews made several valiant attempts to respond to the MAYDAY calls and locate Technician Wilson. Lt. Reese suffered second degree burns to both ears and one finger in those attempts.
The initial reports demonstrate that Fire and Rescue crews were following procedure by working in pairs and maintaining physical contact until the catastrophic fire event forcibly separated them. The severe wind conditions also had an effect on the intensity and rapid spread of the fire.

Officials have estimated the fire loss for the building and contents at $650,000. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Prince William County Fire Marshal’s Office and is still undetermined.

More details, information and findings will be discovered as this investigation continues, and will be released as they become available. It will be many months before the investigation is complete and a final report is released.

The services for Technician Wilson are scheduled for Saturday, April 21, 2007, beginning at 4 p.m. at Nissan Pavilion.

Again, the Department of Fire and Rescue is very appreciative and grateful for the overwhelming outpouring of support and sympathy our community has expressed.

I attended the funeral services for Technician I Kyle Wilson yesterday. Still a member of the Nokesville Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department in Prince William County, I returned to my old firehouse--I would've preferred happier circumstances, but I was greeted with open arms from my second family...my brothers and sisters of fire and rescue. Together we all went to the servicesThere wasn't a dry eye during the service... Once the bagpipes started up, even the hardest firefighter couldn't hold the tears back.

From the moment I started volunteering, I loved it. Looking around, there were fire departments represented from all over the country there to pay their respects. I always knew I was part of something, but I think this was the first time I realized how big it was...

I can only hope to never have to attend a ceremony like that again... My thoughts and prayers go out to the family.

We're all Hokies today...

2007-04-20T10:33:00.001-04:00

Having lived Virginia for most of my life, I have witnessed the in state rivalry between all the colleges and universities. Both of my sisters went to Virginia universities--UVa and JMU. My brother-in-law and many of my friends went to Tech. My wife went to American University and I went to the Maryland Institute, College of Art.

Today we are Hokies...

Graduation

2007-04-20T08:34:00.000-04:00

Still trying to make sense of the events at Va. Tech. I don't think it will ever make sense. Their commencement ceremonies are on May 11, 2007. Several of the victims would've been graduating. I did this one to try and help me make sense of it.

They should've been there to pick up their diplomas--instead I hope they are in the 'better place' we all believe they should be.

Patience

2007-03-19T21:43:00.000-04:00

House Calls

2007-03-12T23:37:00.000-04:00

Fault

2007-03-12T23:36:00.000-04:00

Cell Phone

2007-03-05T22:26:00.001-05:00

Knowledge

2007-03-05T22:25:00.000-05:00

Reality Check

2007-03-05T22:24:00.000-05:00

Out of My Mind

2007-03-05T22:23:00.000-05:00

Yaris Rocks

2007-02-28T09:46:00.000-05:00

Life

2007-02-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

2007 Yaris Liftback

2007-02-27T00:00:00.000-05:00

We got a new car last Thursday...

One Day At A Time

2007-02-20T23:07:00.000-05:00

Volunteer

2007-02-20T23:04:00.000-05:00

Job

2007-02-15T23:11:00.000-05:00

Executive Ability

2007-02-13T23:00:00.000-05:00

Impossible

2007-02-12T10:52:00.000-05:00

Credibility

2007-02-09T09:27:00.000-05:00

More Than Meets the Eye...

2007-02-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

This going back to my last job where there were still discussing the 'reorg' when I was there...

Still hasn't happened...

sorry... will get a new one up tonight...

2007-02-06T15:47:00.000-05:00

Sorry... been busy!!!

Chili

2007-02-04T22:08:00.000-05:00

Coffee II

2007-02-02T08:55:00.000-05:00

Coffee

2007-01-31T22:19:00.000-05:00

Idiots and Maniacs

2007-01-31T11:01:00.000-05:00

Finger

2007-01-29T23:42:00.000-05:00

Snow Drive

2007-01-29T00:20:00.000-05:00

Wife

2007-01-26T00:12:00.000-05:00

Enemy

2007-01-25T06:54:00.000-05:00

Cartoon

2007-01-23T23:29:00.000-05:00

Corporate Ladder

2007-01-22T22:07:00.000-05:00

8 Hours

2007-01-21T22:21:00.000-05:00

Unique

2007-01-18T23:34:00.000-05:00

Work Station

2007-01-17T22:32:00.000-05:00

Stupid

2007-01-16T22:41:00.000-05:00

Skiing

2007-01-15T23:37:00.000-05:00

Man Law

2007-01-11T05:29:00.000-05:00

Manager

2007-01-11T05:28:00.000-05:00

Talk

2007-01-10T00:40:00.000-05:00

IM

2007-01-09T00:00:00.000-05:00

There are just some folks that don't cope well with speaking face to face...

Undo

2007-01-08T00:13:00.000-05:00

Resize

2007-01-05T00:03:00.000-05:00

This was actually said by a web designer... go figure!

Door Number One

2007-01-04T00:20:00.000-05:00

Your Highness

2007-01-03T09:07:00.000-05:00

Flexibility

2007-01-02T07:20:00.000-05:00

Paychecks

2006-12-29T00:52:00.000-05:00

Transformer Trailer

2006-12-28T00:43:00.000-05:00

Root Canal

2006-12-26T21:36:00.000-05:00

This is what Santa brought me for Christmas... Ooooh! I was definitely surprised...

Merry Christmas

2006-12-21T22:28:00.000-05:00

This was a comic I created to be used as our Christmas card. We went with another, but I figure we can change up the look for the holidays. Merry Christmas!

Time Out

2006-12-20T23:26:00.000-05:00

Naughty or Nice?

2006-12-20T00:02:00.000-05:00

TSA

2006-12-18T23:25:00.000-05:00

Pimple

2006-12-18T00:33:00.000-05:00

Gift Registry

2006-12-15T10:48:00.000-05:00

Seen Older...

2006-12-14T00:27:00.000-05:00

Oxford

2006-12-13T00:02:00.000-05:00

Point and Click

2006-12-12T00:06:00.000-05:00

Irish Traffic

2006-12-11T00:24:00.000-05:00

There were moments of traffic in Ireland. The funny thing was... we would turn the corner... and it was gone...

My Work is Done!

2006-12-08T00:21:00.000-05:00

Remember Pearl Harbor

2006-12-07T00:22:00.000-05:00

2335 soldiers were killed, 68 civilians killed: 2403 Total killed
1143 soldiers wounded, 35 civilians wounded: 1178 Total wounded

Lost

2006-12-06T00:17:00.000-05:00

The great thing about Ireland was that we really never got lost. There were plenty of times when we second guessed ourselves, but we always got to our destination without getting lost. However, street signs were horrendous. Some streets weren't even sign posted, and ones that were had too many to read without stopping traffic.

I think this cartoon is fitting from the day I had on Tuesday. Even though I am leaving, I am still worry about the friends that I am leaving behind. They do have a destination, and there are plenty of bumps on the road and obstacles in their way. Somebody needs a GPS before they get LOST!?!

Spidey Sense

2006-12-05T00:19:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you can just tell something is going on at the office. It takes some folks longer to figure out...

Out of Office

2006-12-04T00:26:00.000-05:00

Funny thing is that I do have the day off today...

Sign?

2006-12-01T00:14:00.000-05:00

Just A Rock

2006-11-30T01:10:00.000-05:00

While in Ireland, some things were old. Some things were new. Some things looked like ruins! Some ruins looked like rocks...

Stressful

2006-11-29T00:12:00.000-05:00

Microsite

2006-11-28T08:31:00.000-05:00

Reality TV

2006-11-27T00:08:00.000-05:00

Offended

2006-11-22T13:43:00.000-05:00

Since it's the Thanksgiving weekend, I won't be posting daily comics. I figured I would post Thursday and Friday's comics today, and resume again on Monday.

Thanksgiving Day

2006-11-22T13:42:00.000-05:00

A Better Option

2006-11-22T08:24:00.000-05:00

Nobody actually said this to me, but you get the idea.

Auf Wiedersehen

2006-11-21T11:51:00.000-05:00

"...I have decided that it is time to move on and I have accepted a position elsewhere. This was not an easy decision and took a lot of consideration. However, I am confident that my new role will help me to move towards some of my goals I have for my career. "

"Please be assured that I will do all I can to assist in the smooth transfer of my responsibilities before leaving..."

Team

2006-11-21T00:35:00.000-05:00

Blank Page

2006-11-20T07:03:00.000-05:00

Viva San Clemente

2006-11-19T17:12:00.000-05:00

Feast of San Clemente (Higantes Festival) (Angono, Rizal)
This is the festival in honor of San Clemente, the patron saint of the fishermen. On the actual feast day, the image of San Clemente is carried on a barge on the lake with a fluvial procession participated in by most of the residents of the town.

Little children of every barangay (neigborhood) called "parehadoras" are dressed in local costumes, wooden shoes, and carry boat paddles. Then the townfolk and the "higantes" (giant wooden figures made from papier mache and bamboo) accompany the image back to the church through a joyful parade with a brass band and "parehadoras."

I was in Virginia Beach this weekend to take part in the celebration--where several families from Angono, including my family, continue to celebrate the 'Feast of San Clemente.' I created the heads of two of the "higantes" over a decade ago and they still are holding up. We had such a blast with a small indoor parade; plenty of filipino food; line dancing; and games for young and old. We have been so busy that we haven't been to the 'Fiesta' for several years. I am glad we were able to attend this year; eventhough, everyone kept asking my wife and I when we were having children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angono,_Rizal

Angono is known for its giants and its painters... fitting since I am 6'3" (tall for a filipino) and an artist.

Emerald Isles

2006-11-18T00:36:00.000-05:00

Ireland was truly green!

Transparency

2006-11-17T14:15:00.000-05:00

So this comments on the state of how information is being passed down and division within my department. Who are the 'transformers' and who are robots in disguise?

Five Minute Conversation

2006-11-16T00:15:00.000-05:00

Ok, so this happened a couple of days ago. No faces! No names!

A short five minute conversation would've solved this problem. Instead, I found myself wasting my time responding to multiple e-mails, listening to the designers vent, and nobody wanting to do anything other than cover their own asses.

People kept coming to me with problems and no one had any solutions. It was just one of those days I can look back and laugh! We can IM, e-mail and talk on the phone or face to face, yet some folks will do their best to use all of these instruments and still can't properly communicate!

Forgot The Keys

2006-11-15T08:20:00.000-05:00

This conversation actually happened. We almost left without the keys. The sad part was that we had to think about whether it was worth it to spend the extra minute to unlock the door to the house, reach in, grab the keys, and lock up again. It was such a trek from car to house--what a time waster.