scarfman | Crossposted from tomorrow's AKOTAS newspost

I always said that it'd be the single-panel rule that'd do me in.

The Daily Grind rules disallow single-panel cartoons more often than once in two weeks. I drew a single-panel gag for Monday 6/16 and failed, as has been my practice, to make note of it in my reminders spreadsheet. I don't remember that I even thought of it - I guess, since I was drawing on a Sunday, maybe I forgot that this cartoon was a weekday, Grind cartoon.

I drew another single-panel gag two days ago, Tuesday 6/24, a week and a day after the other one. (This one I did enter into my reminders spreadsheet.) It was noted on the Daily Grind message board, three hours before the 6/24 deadline, that I was in danger. But lately I only check that message board on Fridays. I was sent a private message on the subject by one of the message board members. But it didn't come until about an hour and a half before the deadline. So I didn't see notice of the private message till the morning of the 25th, too late to throw together a rescue panel.

At this writing, as of the last time I looked at the message board the judges haven't ruled. There was some talk on the message board that I may still be all right, on the grounds that I uploaded my cartoon for the 25th before the deadline for the 24th. But I recall that the judges recently set a rule that all panels for a given day's Grind cartoon must be the same image file, so they can tell which portions of a multiple-day upload are to be counted for which days. Or perhaps that ruling only applies to multiple-day uploads; but I still don't think that that hairsplitting is going to save me.

I feel a little stupid, but I'll also feel relieved if I no longer have to contrive extra panels out of gags whose delivery is naturally single-paneled if they fall on weekdays.

Of course I'm still committed to putting up a cartoon every day, just as I already was before the Daily Grind.