The Argyle Sweater by Scott Hilburn for April 11, 2024

Dad must love that set of clothes. The shirt has gotten dirty and yet he’s still wearing it.

in the words of Dr Evil… "technically that’s true "

Admiral Ackbar tried to warn you

Is he getting paid still though? Streamers can make bank.

Who would thought years ago that designing games would become so lucrative? Except for Milton Bradley and the Parker Bros, of course.

Boy is that the truth, I know 2 “kids” like that right now!

It would be fine if he were making money at it. Maybe he’s inventing a new video game.

Words of Wisdom, greatly spoken…and lived!!

There was a ‘Far Side’ cartoon from the 1980s where a kid is playing video games, and his parents are imagining the great career he’ll have. The joke is that esports actually became a thing and people do get paid to play video games.

And the worst part is that he’s making more money than you on his Youtube channel.

If I’d tried to make a living doing what I love, I’d never have earned a cent in my life.

More like 30 years later these days

Words later regretted in real life.

That gamer money allowed him to finally buy those pepperoni pizza shorts he always dreamed of owning.

Our son came home from college with ideas of earning his living creating video games. He had a pretty good idea of what his first one would look like, so we agreed to support him for a year while he developed and implemented it (pretty much singlehanded). He put the first release out on the ‘net, to unenthusiastic reviews, and so gave up the idea. He’s been doing software development for other companies ever since (and earning more than I ever did), so I think it was good experience.

The other day, I commented that when AT&T downsized, I had to enslave my computer to get work done … and the kickback was that we can no longer use the word slave. It’s a booming business in parts of the world … I wonder what word they use?

He’s doing pretty well as a couch tester.

He must be a video game influencer.

It worked for the guy in “Gran Turismo.”

It can go a number of ways. I have a nephew for whom it brought only isolation and disengagement with the world. Another makes six figures as a YouTuber.

One time I was 21 years old.

This is good. Sad but good

Channeling “Dustin” today.

Note the mother smiling approvingly in the background.

I remember a whole slew of PSAs and ads in kids magazines and comic books showing teens doing things like playing games and watching movies, with the theme, “What sort of a job do you think that will get him(or her)?” With an explanation that made it seem like doing those things was just the first step to studying this and that and winding up with all sorts of great possibilities. Maybe they should have emphasized that you need to stop spending time playing around so much and buckle down in those serious college courses.

I have a job I love. It’s still work.