Original Commentary
Ok, it's a bit of a stretch, but it seemed like the best chance I'd get in a while to introduce Jake and Jane - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Nuggets! It's heavily inspired by Fry's Electronics, a big box computer parts store with a cafe inside. Not just a consumer electronics store that stocked a few computer parts in the back, but a full-on parts store. Each store had a fanciful theme, like the UFO above the entrance of the Burbank store or the giant gears on the front of the store in City of Industry.
If you needed a computer part, they probably had it. I've built a computer or two from parts I got there. They had a great selection, at least in the early 2000s. When my computer's heatsink retention bracket broke, I was able to just buy a new one and be back up and running the same day.
Towards the end, though, the stores got a bit more run-down and the shelves got emptier. The second time we had a heatsink retention bracket break in 2015 they didn't carry that part any more.
They went out of business in 2021. - Terrence

Original Commentary
You can't really tell, but the name of the place is "<script languge=java>", which is based on how you begin JavaScript in a webpage. Calling the place "<script languge=javascript>" would've been a bit much - Terrence

Modern Commentary
My initial notes for Jake are "So who is Jake? He used to work with Robert. Now he's a consultant. He doesn't like maintaining things, just fixing them. He's not on good terms with Ms Taylor and probably would hold that against Kimberly. He has no respect for authority figures. He may have been fired; he's a bit upset that Robert fixed things so well at Lemon Tech, but he would never admit it. He tells everyone he's better off like this, and probably believes it. He's heavier. Has a goatee. Species: your choice. He's very flippant; he's usually joking about things."

He came out more sarcastic than flippant and I think he's better off without the goatee.
Formatting is, in this context, completely erasing everything on the hard drive of the computer. You reinstall the operating system and software afterwards. Robert has been doing this for several years and still has a regular job. Jake is giving Robert the kind of advice that you give the new kid on the first day.
So Jake is being a flippant jerk there, which is the core of his character but I wish I had a better introduction for him. - Terrence

Original Commentary
Yes, we skipped forward ten seconds to avoid showing you exactly how Robert asked Jake about Internet addiction - Terrence

Modern Commentary
And in this comic, the video game in the initial script was City of Heroes - a now-defunct MMORPG of similar vintage - because I was full of "Hey, I'm mentioning the thing you like - pay attention to me" energy. I hadn't actually played it at that point. I was supposed to get a copy from my brother-in-law in exchange for my old car.
Carmax offered me $5 for the car, so a copy of City of Heroes was the best offer I got for it. It leaked oil and the muffler was missing, but it ran and I thought it would be worth more than that. I pointed out that there was at least $20 in gas there.
That did not change their offer. I figured it was best to help out family so I gave my brother-in-law the car.

Tried playing City of Heroes a few years later and bounced right off it so I guess it all balances out. - Terrence

Original Commentary
When Jake starts talking about Ms. Taylor, this is the only way to shut him up - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Jane's description - and I usually don't write these down - was "Jane is Jake's sister. Same species. Wears an work apron (not frilly). Slightly heavier than average, but considerably less so than Jake. She's friendly to Robert. Robert has a crush on her. Jake can be seen in the background, he's still going on"

I obviously hadn't worked out the whole Robert/Jane situation at this point.
Yep. Jake will insist that he left Lemon Technology on his own terms. But also he'll rant about Ms. Taylor any chance he can. So I feel comfortable saying that he was indeed fired. - Terrence

Modern Commentary
I really like the basic joke here - Jane tells Jake to stop bothering the customers. But someone points out that Robert and Brisbane don't count because they haven't bought anything. So Jane gives them free coffee. Then she tells Jake to - for real - stop bothering the customers.
I really like the bones of that joke but think I could have executed it better.

Anyhow, why Jake and Jane? Because You Say it First didn't have many characters and I felt it needed more. At this point, Emily was going to be gone for a while, Lola hadn't really been developed, and Robert was just Brisbane's friend who understood computers.
One of the advantages of having a large cast, when you have two writers, is that we can each work on different groups of characters so as to not interfere with each other's plans.
But also, Namir Deiter had a large cast and I wanted one too. - Terrence

Modern Commentary
Jake is a condescending jerk who's (maybe) better than you at one thing and won't shut up about it.
The older I get, the less I'm convinced that having the skills to back up the attitude is a justifiable thing. People aren't good enough to get away with being toxic. And Jake isn't that good. There's a reason why he's hanging out in a coffeeshop instead of on a job.
He's entirely unqualified to answer any kind of relationship question. I probably should have found a better hook to bring Jake into the comic, at least. Robert really came here to get Jane's opinion on things and couldn't just ignore his old friend/coworker Jake.

Don't be condescending. Whatever you do for a living, you probably interact with folks who know a lot less about that specific thing.
Sometimes, I catch myself doing that and remind myself "Don't be like Jake".- Terrence