The Official GPF Book Bug Hunt!
Last updated April 1, 2008
Want to make my life miserable? Well, here's your chance. I decided it would be fun to keep track of all the little errors (or "bugs" as we call them in the software world) that crept into the book. If you happen to find one, feel free to send me an e-mail to jeff@gpf-comics.com with the subject line "Bug Hunt." If you're the first to find the bug, I'll even give you credit! (Make sure to include your name/nickname, your location (city, state, and country will do), the location of the bug (page and strip number), and a brief description of it.) I will make all final decisions what are bugs and what are not. (Remember, some are not bugs, they're "features.") Please do not send in bugs that are already in the list; duplicates will be summarily ignored. And to make things even harder, I've already taken some of the easiest ones. So there. :)
I am pleased to announce that very soon all of the bugs listed on this page will be corrected in the second edition of "Mating Call of the North American Computer Geek". Watch the main book page for updates!
- Back cover, second paragraph: "...also know as..." should read "also known as..." (Found by Jeff)
- Page 5, second strip, first panel: Dwayne says, "I'm quite impressed by your resume." Technically, this should be "résumé," but I think it's obvious what was meant. Still, for you sticklers, here it is. (Found by Jeff)
- Page 6, second strip, first panel: Well, if the last one counted, then so does this one. The résumé "glitch" also appears in this strip. (Found by Jeff)
- Also on Page 6 in the second strip: The word "SUCCESS" does not appear in the poster on Dwayne's wall, as it does in all the previous strips. (Found by Jeff)
- Still on Page 6, but this time the first strip, second panel: Nick refers to a GPF, "the most dreaded of Microsoft Window's error messages." Since the operating system uses the word in the plural, that ought to be "Windows'" (apostrophe after the "S"). (Found by Jeff)
- Page 9, second strip, second panel: Nick says, "I need Visual C++, an ANSI C complier,...." This should be "compiler" instead of "complier." (Found by Jeff)
- Page 21, second strip, third panel: Trudy says, "I usually have that affect on puny, inferior lifeforms." Well, she can affect others, but in this case, she has an effect on Ki. (Found by the Indigo Wombat)
- Page 37, second strip, last panel: Fooker says, "Dudes, I think we seriously referenced a null pointed here..." This, of course, should be "pointer" instead of "pointed." How this one got by me is a huge mystery. (Found by Jeff)
- Also in the same strip on page 37, "referenced" should be more accurately "dereferenced". Since referencing a null pointer isn't necessarily a bad thing but dereferencing can be disasterous, you can see the difference. Several people pointed this out before, I believe, but since Chris Abbey is the guy who reminded me of it, he's the one who gets the credit. (Found by Chris Abbey)
- Page 39, second strip, third panel: Randall screams, "Ahk! The kernal dropped again!" This, of course, should be "kernel". Everywhere, Linux gurus ready their tomatoes to throw at me.... (Found by Pal Unanue-Zahl (and several others before, I think, but I don't remember who))
- Page 56, second strip, third panel: PAL 9000 refers to the "Human bodily waste receptical..." That should be "receptacle". (Found by the Indigo Wombat)
- Page 58, second strip, first panel: As PAL "dies," he says, "I'm afriad. I'm afriad, Nick." Of course, both should be afraid. (Found by Andy Crow)
- Page 67, second strip, third panel: Dr. Fredrick Physarum urges his students to ignore Tess of the d'Urbervilles and instead concentrate on the much more interesting Lady Chatterly's Lover. Although it's a highly common mistake, Chatterly should be spelled Chatterley. (Found by Bo Lindbergh)
- Page 81, first strip, second panel: Professor Wisebottom says, "Looks like you've got a real hot tomale here, Nicholas." The spelling of "tomale" has been hotly debated, and I'm still not 100% sure of it, since each source seems to say something different. I'm pretty sure there ought to be some sort of little accent thingie somewhere, but maybe I'm wrong. Maritza Campos of CRFH!!! claims it should be "tamale" and she speaks Spanish, so I'll trust her judgement. (Found by Jeff and several other Web cartoonists)
- Page 114, second strip, second panel: Fooker says, "And chasing her is like a fish chasing a work on a hook." This should read, "... a worm on a hook." (Found by Jeff)
- Pages 147 and 148: On some copies of the book, there are no page numbers on these pages, because they have been whited-out! :) Small goof on the publisher's part. Well, actually mine, because I'm the one who screwed up the numbering on the strips, which threw off his page count. So blame me instead of him. (Found by Jeff)
- Page 152, second panel: Absolutely Incredible Man thinks, "Good Knight!" One of my friends debated that this should be, "Good Night!" instead, but I think it could go either way. So count it as a bug if you want. (Found by Michael and/or David Pack)
- Page 150, third panel: Aboslutely Incredible Man refers to the Fooker-ish character as "Psychodelic Man," which spelled correctly should be "Psychedelic Man." (Found by Jeff)
The following aren't bugs, so don't send them in!!!
- Page 80, first strip, second panel: Nick says Professor Wisebottom is "fruity as a nutcake," which is a play on the popular phrase, "nutty as a fruitcake." This is not a bug; it's an intentional play on words. And, no, it carries no hidden meaning on Prof. Wisebottom's sexual orientation.
- There are numerous places throughout the book where characters use incorrect grammar or slang, such as "gotta," "ya," even "ain't." Also, there are places where they may leave the "G" sound off the end of a word ("sittin'"). All of these are intentional and are not mistakes. They're just colorful language, so to speak. :)
- Page 122, second strip, third panel: Fooker says, "Whoa! What a coinkidink!" This is not a bug; it's an intentional mispronunciation on Fooker's part.
- Page 81, second strip, first panel: Ki says, "What all things have you invented?" A couple Faulties have pointed out that this is incorrect grammar on Ki's part, but this is what was intended and is not considered a bug. (Yes, even the GPF crew make grammar mistakes every now and then. Get used to it.)