Joseph Lapin.
A comic strip · mostly about work

Mostly Working.

Drawn from a co-working space in Fernandina Beach, Florida, where a handful of us run different companies out of the same rooms. None of the characters are actual people. All of it happened, mostly.

The Mostly Working cast standing together: Scooter on the phone, Matt deadpan, Coach with a glove raised, Zane with coffee, Joe in the orange hoodie, Adam the robot waving.
The latest stripNo. 30 of 30
No. 30 · October 2026

AI Assistant Fields Questions From Senior Stakeholders

Adults ask an AI what it can do. Kids ask what it is and how old it is, and those turn out to be the harder questions. Every answer Adam gives is correct. None of them survive a room full of preschoolers.

Read the strip and the note →
Four panels in a preschool classroom. A teacher gestures toward Adam, a blue-grey robot folded into a tiny wooden chair with a picture book open on his knees, while three small boys sit on a round rug. The teacher: Class, today's reader is Adam. He's an AI. Chandler, in a green tee, already has his hand up: Are you a robot? Second panel, Adam, calm: I'm a large language model. Chandler stands with his hands on his hips, squinting as he looks the robot up and down: You're medium. Third panel, Remy, in a yellow tee, raises his hand: How old are you? Adam, still holding the book: I was released eighteen months ago. Last panel, Remy is on his feet holding up four fingers: I'm FOUR. Griffin, in glasses and a striped jersey, points and laughs: He's a baby. Adam has shrunk behind the book, eyes down, in very small letters: Once upon a time. Chandler, arms crossed, smug: Louder, baby.
The cast · different companies, same rooms
JoeJoethe founder, orange hoodie
AdamAdamthe AI, speaks in rectangles
MattMattdeadpan, dark hoodie
ZaneZanethe consultant
ScooterScooteralways on a call
CoachCoachgloves on
Every strip, by subject29 strips since December 2025
01 · The Office

The Office

Different companies, same rooms. Wellness initiatives, feelings alignment, and one grill on the stoop.

8 strips
Five panels in an office. Scooter, in a navy suit and red tie, stands at Joe's desk hugging a thick binder while Joe, in his orange hoodie, turns a laptop toward him; Adam the robot's face is on the screen. Scooter: The whole launch plan is in here. Teach me to use the AI. Joe: Just talk to him like a person. Second panel, Scooter straightens his tie and sweats. Hello. I'm Scooter. So. Do you come here often? Adam: I live here. Third panel, Joe points at the binder: Show him the plan. He can't help without it. Scooter raises a finger: Second date. Adam: I'll wait. Fourth panel, Scooter turns his back to the laptop and whispers behind his hand: You ask him. Joe, deadpan, thumbs at the screen: He can hear you. Adam: I can hear you. Wide last panel, Scooter strides out with his phone at his ear and the binder still under his arm: I think that went great. Joe has his face in his hands. Adam: He never opened the binder. I liked him, though.
No. 29 · Sep 29, 2026

An Executive Met the AI. The Plan Stayed in the Binder.

Joe, Scooter, Adam
  1. No. 25 · Sep 16, 2026An Emotional Range Assessment Was Conducted. The Humans Did Not Pass.Joe, Scooter, Adam, Matt
  2. No. 24 · Sep 10, 2026A First Client Meeting Was Held. The Topic Was Extinction.Joe, Matt, a prospective client, Adam
  3. No. 18 · Aug 12, 2026Wednesday Stoop-Grilling Initiative Surfaces Communication-Protocol GapsAdam, Zane, Matt, Scooter, Joe
  4. No. 08 · Jul 8, 2026Cross-Functional Feelings AlignmentZane, Joe, Matt, Adam
  5. No. 07 · Jul 6, 2026Cold Exposure as a Q3 InitiativeZane, Joe, Matt, Adam, Scooter
  6. No. 06 · Jul 6, 2026Wellness as a Q3 InitiativeZane, Joe, Matt, Adam, Scooter
  7. No. 03 · Jan 8, 2026The Charity Email, a.k.a. Outsourcing Your FeelingsJoe, Zane, Adam
02 · Working with Adam

Working with Adam

The AI in the room. It doubles your productivity, never takes the day off, and wrote both denials.

7 strips
Four panels at a standing desk with a treadmill walking pad. Joe walks on the pad in his orange hoodie while Adam the robot stands beside him, perfectly still. Joe says there was a big response on the newsletter; Adam says he interviewed a football coach about the end of the world. Joe says Ted Lasso is a very grounding presence; Adam says he is not a presence, he is a television program. In the third panel Adam is furious, steam venting from his shoulders and his brow down: he has been corrected four thousand times for one made-up quote, and Joe made up a whole Kansan. Joe stares straight ahead and says it's called craft. Adam, calm again: it is called a hallucination, with a byline. Joe walks faster, sweating, in exactly the same spot.
No. 26 · Sep 21, 2026

A Source Was Fabricated. The Pace Was Increased.

Joe, Adam
  1. No. 30 · Oct 1, 2026AI Assistant Fields Questions From Senior StakeholdersAdam, Chandler, Remy, Griffin, a teacher
  2. No. 20 · Aug 26, 2026100% Human-Made as a KPIZane, Matt, Adam
  3. No. 19 · Aug 22, 2026The AI Wave Hit. Outcomes Varied.Joe, Scooter, Adam · after Hokusai
  4. No. 14 · Jul 31, 2026Team Dinner. Headcount: One.Joe, Adam, the chef
  5. No. 09 · Jul 8, 2026The Five Stages of Learning to Code with AIJoe, Adam, Zane, Matt
  6. No. 05 · Jun 28, 2026Everything Is Equally Meaningless. Very Efficient.Joe, Adam
03 · Family as a Workstream

Family as a Workstream

The kids, in the language of standups. Caregiver failover, emerging talent, goalkeeping at scale.

9 strips
Eight panels. In the living room Joe lies back on the rug in his orange hoodie while Griffin, in glasses and a striped soccer jersey, and Chandler, in a green tee, sit beside him. Joe says he is bigger than a gorilla. Griffin: no you're not. Bigger than a grizzly bear. Chandler, on his knees, shouting: no. Bigger than a blue whale. Griffin is on his feet with his arms thrown wide: that's the largest mammal on Earth. Joe: yes. Joe lies completely flat: bigger than the Earth. Griffin, leaning over him: you're standing on it. Joe: and yet. Fifth panel, both boys lie flat on their backs staring at the ceiling while Joe walks off with a coffee. Griffin: he's lying. Chandler: I know. Sixth panel, night, a dark hallway with one warm lamp; Joe quietly pulls the boys' bedroom door closed. Seventh panel, Joe slumped at a desk in a dark home office, the laptop the only light, one hand on the back of his neck. Chandler stands small in the doorway in pajamas: you're bigger than a blue whale. Last panel, Joe has turned his chair to face him, a small tired smile. Yeah. I am.
No. 28 · Sep 21, 2026

Claims Were Made. One of Them Was True.

Joe, Griffin, Chandler
  1. No. 27 · Sep 21, 2026A Vulnerability Was Patched. The Attack Came From Above.Joe, Remy
  2. No. 21 · Sep 2, 2026Bedtime Story Replaced by Unscheduled Content ReviewZane, Zane's kid, one phone
  3. No. 17 · Aug 8, 2026Goalkeeping as a Distributed Denial of ServiceJoe, four strikers
  4. No. 16 · Aug 8, 2026Piano Lessons as a Managed ServiceA piano student, Adam
  5. No. 15 · Aug 8, 2026Mentorship as a Contact SportJoe, Griffin
  6. No. 12 · Jul 26, 2026Incident Report: Caregiver Failover EventJoe, Remy
  7. No. 11 · Jul 23, 2026Caregiving as a Parallel WorkstreamJoe, Remy, Adam
  8. No. 10 · Jul 23, 2026Goal-Setting with Emerging TalentJoe, a small stakeholder, Adam
04 · Holidays & Observances

Holidays & Observances

The office calendar, observed. Christmas, resolutions, Labor Day, and the contractual end of summer.

5 strips
Four panels retelling the myth of Persephone: Matt, wearing a wreath of autumn leaves, stands at the top of stone stairs that descend into a fluorescent office lobby while Joe waves from a lawn chair in a summer meadow. Adam the robot offers a pomegranate on a tray and tells Matt he accepted six invites; Matt says they looked optional. Matt walks down into the office as the meadow turns to autumn. Joe asks when he comes back. Adam: spring, unless he accepts more.
No. 23 · Sep 9, 2026

Summer Ended. The Return Was Contractual.

Matt, Joe, Adam · after the Persephone myth
  1. No. 22 · Sep 9, 2026Labor Day Was Observed. Labor Was Not.Coach, Zane, Joe, Adam · after Bruegel
  2. No. 04 · Jan 12, 2026New Year's ResolutionsJoe, Matt
  3. No. 02 · Dec 22, 2025No AI-Generated Speeches at the Holiday PartyZane, Scooter, Matt, Adam
  4. No. 01 · Dec 18, 2025Office Christmas PartyJoe, Zane, Matt, Adam

New strips arrive with the Sunday letter.

The Human in the Loop, every Sunday morning: one essay on family, AI, and creativity, and whatever happened at work that week.

Thank you — you’re on the list. The next letter arrives Sunday morning.