Hey everyone. I have a mixed plate of news. I’ll begin with some good: For the first time, this comic pushed past the 40 mark on TopWebComics.com, landing at 38 earlier this week! So a big mahalo to all of you who take the time to cast a vote!
Also in the good category (hopefully): I switched hosting companies, moving nikkisprite.com from bluehost to hostgator. I made the decision to move after I discovered that bluehost permanently banned another one of my domains, antispyguy.com. I registered that domain a few years ago to be able to share anti-spyware tips, particularly how to effectively use hijackthis to clean your computer. I never actually got around to setting the site up but I hung on to the domain. The only content on the site was a jpeg mockup I did of the homepage. There was nothing offensive or inappropriate, but Bluehost banned it without explanation or notice. After looking at Bluehost’s terms of use, I became worried that NikkiSprite.com might one day suffer the same fate. Bluehost does not permit nudity on any sites they host. Granted, Nikki is a comic, and I’m not sure whether the nudity clause would apply, but given what happened to antispyguy.com -for no good reason that I know of- I decided to be safe than sorry. So, I moved to hostgator, which permits adult content. I’m still trying to work out the glitch in the menu bar, but otherwise the move was painless. Hopefully the site will run faster and smoother. I’ve read mostly overwhelming praise for hostgator.
Now the bad: I came home on Thursday with the intention of setting up the renders for page 99. From what I can determine, while I was at work my PC became self aware, realized that it had been largely regulated to generating images for an inane, provocative online adventure comic rather than working to solve the problem of baryon asymmetry in the observable universe, and decided to end it all. Either that or evil Ashley became incarnate and sabotaged the drive before Flitter Pim could fully recharge… In any event, my C: drive lost bootmgr and would not load Windows.
My weekend was spent in PC hell, first trying to repair my Win 7 install, then trying to rescue my important documents, then trying to reformat and reinstall to the C: drive, and finally trying to install to a new 1.5TB drive that I bought a few months ago. After having no success I determined that my motherboard needs to be replaced and is causing Windows to fail. The PC was four years old so I elected to upgrade. I’m tracking down a new CPU, motherboard and ram.
Fortunately, the 3D objects and 2D images that I use to create this comic are on other drives, so my data should be fine. But those are sata drives, and I don’t have a sata-to-usb external housing that will enable me to connect them to my laptop and continue working while I rebuild my main PC. Add to this mess the fact that I will be out of town for 3 days in the coming week, and the result is that there will probably not be any update for a couple of weeks. Sorry about that!
In the meantime: any suggestions for a special image to celebrate page 100?
Cheers -TK
Sorry to hear about your computer and hosting woes! I’ve been with bluehost for the better part of a year and have had nothing but good luck with them. But then my blog’s just boring, pedantic stuff anyway.
Take the time to do the job right to get your machine up and running as well as to recharge your batteries. We’ll be here!
Hey, this comic is fun, isn’t it? So the creative process should be fun for you, too. There’s no need to stress the notebook while the PC is off. The more experienced readers amog us know very well the hardships that hit you by own experience, and we’re patiently and confidently waiting for the next page and sending the best wishes to you.
Looking at it all from the bright side: Imagine how swift your renders will go with the new PC equipment. Thus, I’ll send the best get-well wishes to your machine too so that it’s old and new components will make a good match!
Take your time. Love your work. Page 100, Naked Nikki !!!
Major bummer. But I agree with Weiser… just take your time getting your PC back up and running and setting it up so you can work comfortably on it. We can wait a couple of weeks for the next image (or however long you need for that). As for #100… how about Pita setting up a new PC… as I assume she has the knowledge for it (I’ll leave it up to your own imagination which other cast members you add and what they are doing there 😉 )
Sad about the computer…. I hope you get back quickly.
About page 100, I vote for a mix of Melissa and Strat. After all, hack safely, hack Nekkid 😉
Andro
Well, at least you have a good reason for once.
For the computer — hardware failures suck. 🙁
For page 100, I’d love to see a closeup of Pim with Nikki’s butterfly mark… }:)>
About the PC – I agree with everybody: Take your time, in the long run it will be more feasible to do it right. And, many thanks for telling us the story so we know that YOU are OK and most of the data is safe.
For page 100: Naked Flitter Pim! Oh wait… that’s already done, several times… Now what… that’s a difficult one… Oh well. I better admit that I have no idea before I get a taste of……
Backup, backup, backup. Preferably at least one copy off site.
Hard drives, like motorcycles, fall into two categories,
those that have crashed and those that will.
Remember, backups are offerings to the data gods so they don’t eat your data.
Anyway, here’s hoping your new system will come together smoothly.
I know once finished it will be better and faster (they always are).
Hmmmmmmmmmm page 100…..maybe Pim can show us how to make the butterfly bigger? Congrats on the 100 mark TKD!!! maybe soon another of the more sinister beings can show up raising havoc. Or we see what Ashlee’s promiscous self has been getting into
I stumbled across this comic a year ago, and quickly read every single page and became endeared to the story, plot, and characters. Excitedly checked for new pages a couple times a week… essentially until 2+ months of zilch, nada, nothing. Then, I read an online apology and promises to “get back” to updating and pursuing your passion for the story and characters, and that goes well… for a couple months. Eventually, a couple weeks go by and finally a new page… then 2.5 weeks… then 3 weeks… and then ????
Everyone has empathy for computer problems, and I know you probably get little out of this other than personal satisfaction and the adoration from the many of us who appreciate this comic so much. BUT, I don’t know how to say this other than “Poop or get off the pot!” I know this is your baby, your hobby, your passion, but the empty promises are maddening. If you say it, pleeeeeeeeease, just do what you say. Some people will probably disagree with this post thinking it will alienate you. I on the other hand simply hope you get where this post is coming from. I love this comic, but would love to see more! Come on TK, you do EXCELLENT work, but give us hungry fans some more! 🙂
page 100… hmmm how about every body naked
Why haven’t you posted anything else it has almost been a year since your last post
Will we still get Nikki as usual? or will we have to re-register?