Cartoons
Political Oil
Posted February 22nd, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne with Comments Off
Remember when…
Posted February 21st, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne with Comments Off
Scary Fairy Tales
Posted February 20th, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne with Comments Off
A recent survey of parents revealed that many of them don’t want their children reading classic fairy tales as they think them too frightening, and we’re talking the tamed down Disney versions, too. Probably a good idea to keep them away from any stories about religion and world history, too. Should be easy since these bubble-wrapped kids will be living at home until they’re 40.
Canadians
Posted February 17th, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne with Comments Off
Looks good on paper
Posted February 16th, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne with Comments Off
The F-35 fighter is starting to look a lot like a real pain in the afterburner. In the past couple of years, it has been revealed that members of the Air Force don’t really like it because it has one engine, whereas the F-18 has two. One engine failure in the CF-18, and a pilot can still make it home. Another flaw is that the F-35 has serious communication issues north of the Arctic Circle. Take a look at Canada on a globe, and consider if that’s important or not.
Costs are rising significantly, deliveries continue to be plagued by delays, other countries are scaling back or cancelling their own orders outright, but Canada is pushing on, like constantly pushing on a door that clearly has a PULL sign on it.
Once again, stubborn determination is riding roughshod over common sense, pretty much par for the course for this government.
Taking Sides
Posted February 15th, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne with Comments Off
Conservative MP and Minister of Safety Vic Toews, by the last headline quote in the cartoon, has managed to once again cause Canadians to have serious questions regarding the overall agenda of this Conservative majority government.
The type of politician that offers up absolutes of this nature, sorting a nation into one side or the other, is the worst kind. By telling a constituent that their concerns over online privacy puts them into the same category as a child pornographer, it also implies that anyone who objects is guilty until proven innocent.
A Valentine for Seniors
Posted February 14th, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne with Comments Off
The things I cannot say
Posted February 14th, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne with 4 Comments
A recent chat with a colleague began with, “now promise me you won’t tell anybody about this.”
More and more of my discussions these days begin with a sentence very much like that. Often in the freelancing business, it’ll be referred to as ‘consider this under NDA’ as well, without actually having a document to sign. An NDA, for those who are unfamiliar, stands for Non-Disclosure Agreement, which is usually a legal document that basically says that if you sign it, you’re agreeing to keep your lips zipped about any information the client shares with you. In my experience, it usually refers to an upcoming book, project, app, software or hardware release, and anything else where the launch would be severely damaged if word got out to customers and competitors. NDAs are serious business and I’ve been asked to sign a few, even just to hear about a project that I either ultimately turned down, or it turned out that I was not right for.
As my time has worn on in this business, I’ve come to the conclusion that unless the person I am speaking with has specifically told me I can talk about it, whatever ‘it’ is, everything is under NDA, even if I haven’t signed anything. In any business, trust is an immeasurable asset when it comes to forging and maintaining long-term relationships. Work with people long enough, and show them that their confidence is not misplaced, and pretty soon, they won’t even bother to ask you to keep it confidential because they already know you will.
One of my biggest pet peeves is the excuse some will use for unethical behaviour, ‘it’s not personal, it’s just business.’ As long as you’re talking to a person, business IS personal, and if you tick that person off, you’ll likely never do business with them again.
Gossip is rampant. Always has been. With social media, however, people are sharing far too much information, far too often, simply to be popular and dish the dirt on anything and everything. If a company hires you to do a job, it can be tempting to spill the beans in order to inflate your image in the eyes of your colleagues, but if that company has taken a risk on you and finds out they can’t trust you to be discreet, it will be the last time they hire you. Popularity on social media doesn’t pay the bills, but a solid reputation as a professional certainly does.
Over the past year, I’ve worked on a number of projects that I couldn’t talk about while working on them. There have been paintings I couldn’t share for a month or more after delivery, because they were gifts and the risk of the recipient seeing them would irreparably damage my relationship with the clients who hired me. I’ve had illustration clients who’ve hired me for jobs where my contribution has long been finished, but their project is still in development and to this day, I can’t share even a sneak peek until they launch. Just recently, I wrote an article for Photoshop User magazine that was written, finished and submitted well over a month ago, but I was only allowed to talk about it last week. I made a point of asking early on, and was given the exact date after which I was allowed to reveal my involvement, and I even double-checked with the editor on that date to make sure.
The only way to gain a reputation for being trustworthy is to consistently prove it to every client and professional with whom you come in contact. This is beneficial in many ways. A client that trusts you will not only hire you again, but they”ll refer you. Just as important, people that trust you will share information with you, and in this industry, information is power. You can find out when new products, software, and projects are being launched, what advancements are coming soon from which companies, and most importantly, which people and companies are great to work with and which ones you want to avoid.
Trust is always a gamble, and sometimes those with whom you place your trust will abuse it and make you regret it. If you’re smart, you won’t allow them to do it twice. Word spreads fast and people don’t want to work with those who can’t keep their mouths shut.
To be trusted, you must be trustworthy.
Valentine Card
Posted February 14th, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne with Comments Off
Alberta Budget
Posted February 13th, 2012 by Patrick LaMontagne with Comments Off
It’s funny to hear all of the analysis leading up to and surrounding the announcement of any kind of budget that precedes an election. Just like election promises themselves, experience tells us that the budget shouldn’t be believed. And yet, we still go through the process, and pretend it’s relevant.