Friday, October 19th marks the 2,000 Sheldon toon, which is kinda neat...and worth noting.

I absolutely love drawing this strip, and based on the little snippets I get from your daily e-mails, it seems to bring an awful lot of folks an awful lot of joy as well.

There is nothing I'd rather do, creatively, than cartoon on a daily basis...so allow me to make this public pledge: I'm gonna keep drawing Sheldon for decades and decades and decades more to come. I may, in time, create a second (...or third?) strip, or experiment with other stuff...but Sheldon is here for good. You have my word on that.

That would not be possible, though, without your kind support. The e-mails I get, the nice posts on the forums, the kind words said to me at conventions or book signings -- that stuff buoys me along for months. You have no idea. So thank you for your kindness: it really does mean the world to me.

And thanks also, for your support at the Sheldon Store -- as that's what keeps the lights on around here. (...I still take a unique kinda joy any time someone picks up a Sheldon book.)

So today, we mark strip #2,000! And here's to the next 2,000 strips!

OK, yes, granted, I *was* looking at the Star Wars online encyclopedia for a big chunk of my day today. And yes, granted, that *does* make me a huge nerd.

But there comes a time in every nerd's life when an invisible line is suddenly crossed. It's a moment of sudden illumination that causes a previously fun activity -- such as looking at an online Star Wars encyclopedia -- to instantly become the lamest possible way you could be spending your day.

Ladies and gentlemen, that invisible line, that moment of illumination....came for me today in the form of THIS RIDICULOUS STAR WARS ENCYCLOPEDIA ENTRY.

...and here's my followup thought, since I now have to comment on this: The duck's homeworld is "Naboo"? Really? Is this really what we're shooting for here? I mean, c'mon...I'm all for suspension of disbelief and immersion in a sci-fi universe, but isn't that kinda ruined when you start listing "Ducks" as being from "Naboo"? What's next?

"Species: Chihuahua. Homeworld: "The Ice Planet Hoth."

"Species: Cute Baby Otter. Homeworld: Tattoine."

"Species: Rare White Tiger. Homeworld: That weird lava planet where Anakin got served."