The Webcomic
The comic is updated every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, with occasional extras added as the mood strikes me.
Clay Carsbie
Clay is an electronics technician at the AceDev plant. He's got a Master's degree in Electronic Engineering, with an emphasis in Instrumentation and Controls Systems.
After a year of getting turned down for every job he applied to as "overqualified", he settled on this technician job in the hopes that it'll give him a chance to use his education someday, and pay the bills in the meanwhile. His friends and family mostly have no clue what he does for a living, except that it seems very science-y and space-y. They all think he works for NASA, hobnobbing with astronauts all day.
Andria Wright
Andria is a design engineer at Acedev, specializing in rockets and the parts that make them up. Her abilities have allowed her to be successful in an old-line male dominated business environment, and amid the resentment of some of the other female employees in less skilled positions.
After several disastrous personal affairs, she's decided to focus on her career and her financial security. As a result her life has achieved a level of stability that she enjoys, though her old friend Abbie tries to draw Andria back into the dating scene.
Goddard
Goddard is Andria's cat and primary confidante. He watches out over the house and everything he can see from its windows, as it is his domain.
The head with the crown rests uneasy, however, as it is his responsibility to care for all the things in his domain, including his minion, the dog Suzy, and the household itself. Mostly he is able to use telepathic control through his powers of will, but when that is not enough, he has to turn his paw to correcting matters more forcefully.
Suzy
Suzy is a lovable red fluffball of a dog. She's a mixed breed called a "comfort retriever", a mix of golden retriever and something smaller that makes her energy and playfulness a bit easier to manage.
She belongs to Clay. She gave him something to do other than feel glum for the many months he was out of work, and now that he has a paycheck he likes to spoil her just a bit. She likes fetch, long walks on trails, and playing with Goddard even though he's stuck behind a window at the house that backs onto her yard.
AceDev
The fictional AceDev is a company formed of the rump ends of a dozen science and technology companies that merged to try to stave off bankruptcy. As a result, the company has a number of businesses mashed together including the design and manufacture of rockets, power plants, space launch vehicle construction and launch, space communications and satellite tracking, and a minor business in industrial and commercial electronics.
Nobody in charge is especially good at turning any of these activities into money, so the many people who work there are under constant threat of layoffs and the business teeters on the edge of bankruptcy at all time because of deeply ingrained practices that undermine its ability to do what it claims to be doing.
Still, for most technical people in the area, it's the only game in town, so they tough it out and hope for better days.
AceDev is created by Mark Graybill. I am an aerospace engineer with experience in propulsion and avionics systems for aircraft, spacecraft, and launch vehicles. I've also designed power plants, worked in information technology (who hasn't, these days?) and been a complete failure in retail. Three decades ago, I managed to pay part of my way through college with art--calligraphy, illumination, and illustration. More recently I have taught art classes to middle and high school students.