Scott Meyer posts
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How to Optimize the Process
One could describe Ric’s kitchen as “a hotbed of unfettered culinary experimentation” and not be wrong. One could also refer to it as “a gastronomic Island of Doctor Moreau, where innocent edibles are subjected to wrong-headed, inhuman experiments at the whims of a madman who doesn’t know what he’s doing....
How to Choose a Souvenir
This was one of those cases where, inorder to make the comic work, I needed one of the characters do something silly. The most logical options were me and Rick. I had a choice to make, but be reasonable. It wasn’t going to be me.The act of buying souvenirs often leads to buying things we don’t need, for questionabl...
How to Empathize With Other People
This comic was inspired by a situation in real life, but I took some liberties. No, nobody asked Ric for advice. The truth is that a third person told someone who was having problems that they should ask Ric for advice. I think we’ll all agree, that’s even more confounding.If you think I’m being needlessly mean, ...
How to Try Something New
While the real Rick and I were discussing hats (he recently gave into his destiny as a jazz fan and bought a porkpie hat) it occurred to me that if Rocket Hat were a real comic book superhero, he would probably have had a precursor in the Golden Age of comics. “Propeller Hat.”You think Rocket Hat brutalizes the Emp...
How to Accept Reality
It seems my years, growing up in an irrigated desert, followed by years as a front-line cast member at Walt Disney World, followed by several years living in a paved desert, did my skin no favors.Now, deep in my middle age, it has dawned on me that skin is good, and worth taking care of.Also, when I was a child, they u...
How to Watch the Cycle Repeat
There was a time when pay-per-impression banner ads on a blog or a webcomic were a profitable way to support your creative endeavors. For a long time, I didn’t have any ads on Basic Instructions. I had dinner with a popular blogger and their spouse, (Good, good people. Not greedy at all. They just knew how much money...
How to Discuss Movies You Haven’t Seen
As I write this, I have not yet seen Godzilla x Kong. It takes a lot to lure me into a theater, but a film that promises King Kong swinging an ax while riding into a fight on Godzilla’s back nicely fits my definition of “a lot.”They’ve made Godzilla vs. Kong, and now Godzilla x Kong. Where can they go from ther...
How to Laugh at Yourself
It didn’t help that Dad’s primary use for the accordion was to wake me and my brothers up early on Saturday mornings.We’d all be sound asleep, and he’s stroll in, big grin on his face, blasting “The Clarinet Polka.” Nobody enjoys getting woken up abruptly, few people are fond of accordion music to begin wit...
How to Respect Innovation
I often write the phrase, “This comic was based on a real conversation with the real Ric,” or something to that effect. You could be excused for wondering just how directly I pattern these conversations on the real events, and how accurately I describe my, Ric’s, and Missy’s behavior. In general, the cartoon ve...
How to Buy Something Ridiculous While Keeping Your Dignity Intact
This comic is based, even more-so than most, on a true story. Heroic Man cologne exists. (See the attached photo for proof!). I bought it for someone as a gift. I tried to ship it to them, and DHL refused to transport it. When I realized that I was about to have to explain to Missy why I was keeping the bottle of Heroi...
Patreon Q&A! Seeking your Qs to A!
Hi, everyone! Missy here. I'm going to be refreshing my video editing skills, and I figured what better test project than interviewing Scott with your pressing questions!SO, if there's anything you've wanted to know about Scott, the comic, his books, our life abroad, the cats, me, or anything else, let...
How to Explain to Your Boss That You Can’t Come to Work Because You Are Sick
I know I talk more than one might expect about my time as a cast member at Walt Disney World. I have always found the place interesting, and working there only made it more fascinating to me.What does that have to do with this comic about calling in sick? There are two things about calling in sick that remind me of my ...
How to Explain Your Unusual Tastes
Just FYI, I will be taking next week off. There will be no Out Of Context comic Thursday, or fresh comic the following Monday, but after that we'll be back to normal. Thanks! Now, on to the commentary.WARNING: Spoilers ahead, for a 50 year old movie that you would have a hard time finding somewhere to watch, even i...
How to Understand Economics
I feel a little bad about the fourth panel. George Lucas created something that millions of people, myself included, love. In return, we’ve all given him a bucket-load of crap because that thing we love isn’t totally perfect. I’m just as guilty as anyone of this, but I don’t feel good about it. I’m going to h...
How to Recover From a Mistake
This strip is based, loosely, on an actual event. I impulse-purchased a bag of what I thought were mixed nuts. That might be the only way anyone ever buys a bag of mixed nuts. I doubt many people ever make a special trip to the store just because they’re running low on mixed nuts. You never hear anybody complain that...
