#FollowFriday - @howardtayler: Cartoonist, gamer, geek.

Ever want to know the visceral thrill of riding a stream of focused plasma across the sky?Then you need to talk to @howardtayler, the creator of the Schlock Mercenary web-comic, this year's Artist Guest of Honor at Balticon 44, and this week's #FollowFriday pick! Howard has managed to turn his tales of the adventures of an amoral amorph mercenary in the far future from a hobby into a full time career. And through the power of his buffer-fu, he hasn't missed a day of posting comics in almost 10 years (it'll be 10 years on June 12th). His art has progressed in this time from pretty bad up to pretty decent, with occasional forays into amazing. Among the web-comics set, Howard is truly living the dream.

One of the great things about reading @howardtayler's feed is that he really comes across as a regular person. And that is pretty much because he is a regular person. We tend to look at people who create entertainments that we enjoy as celebrities. And Howard's achievements should be celebrated. It isn't everyone who has made a living with comics without being nationally syndicated in the newspapers. But Howard also loves to meet his fans. His Schlock Troops. His feed reflects all that. He talks to his fans, gives us a special insight into what is coming up with Schlock Mercenary, and arranges Tweetups at the events he attends. Sometimes he just chats about life with his wife Sandra and their kids. Basically, you should follow Howard because he's a good guy.

So, if you're at Balticon this weekend, look for Howard. And look for me, as I'll be at Balticon as well. It should be a great weekend. Next week, I'm taking some vacation... and writing up a bunch of new reviews. So this is a great time to let me know if there is a particular product you'd like to see reviewed, or a particular problem you could use a solution to. Just send an e-mail to niftytech@niftytechblog.com, tweet to @niftytechblog, or just tweet using #TechSearch. As always, I look forward to seeing your comments and voice mails. The next review will be up on June 7th. Until then, everyone have a good week.