Adam@Home by Rob Harrell for January 18, 2010

Tell Clayton to take out the garbage.

Doctor Toon - you could do as Jimbo does in Rose is Rose, and have a “Garbage Moment” where you stare at the sky, while holding the bag at chest level. haha

More men should take after you Doctor Toon. Now Adam I heard in her voice when she said, “Please!” that this isn’t the first time she asked. So get off yer duff and do it.

It would be better if she did not have to ask.

Why do men always act like they’re doing us such a favor when they do anything around the house?? It IS their house, too!!!!

Adam, if you listen, Laura WILL be happy!

but laura didn’t make that vocal inflection to stress that she had already asked.

Timing is everything, right Adam?

I don’t have to tell/ask mine to take out the garbage. He just does it! ;)

The lettering of this strip is becoming illegible again.

“Take out the garbage” is an example of the imperative mood.

“Would you take out the garbage?” is the interrogative mood.

“Please take out the garbage” is grammatically imperative, but the “please” functionally softens it into an interrogative.

“Would you please take out the garbage!?” is grammatically interrogative, but the speaker’s MOOD makes the listener’s compliance IMPERATIVE.

I’m not an English teacher, but I know enough grammar to parse out interrogatives, imperatives, and declaratives…

Grammatically, “Would you please take out the garbage?” is a question and not a command, whatever inflection or urgency is given by the speaker. It calls for an answer (although if Adam knows what’s good for him, the answer will be “Yes”).

Interrogatives: (a) “Adam, would you take out the garbage?” (b) “Adam, have you taken out the garbage?” (c) “Adam, when are you going to take out the garbage?” (d) “Adam, why haven’t you taken out the garbage?”

Imperative: “Adam, TAKE OUT THE GODDAM GARBAGE!”

Declarative: “Laura darling sweetie light-of-my-life, I am now taking out the garbage.”

fritzoid,

I thought the first one was pretty funny. But if you’re not an English teacher, maybe it wasn’t. I just never know.

“I’m not an English teacher, but I play one on TV.”

If you have to ask, then it wasn’t as funny as I’d hoped, I guess…

JAD = never funny.

Fritzoid = funny.

I appreciate learning new things (and even being reminded of things I know already) while enjoying the humor of the comics and comments. Thank you to those of you who share your knowledge.

fritzoid - I thought your comments were funny. I smiled, I laughed. I read it again.

Mr. Doty as a former teacher, I thought you would encourage people to look things up on the internet (or in books) and continue to expand their knowledge.

When a man with no demonstrable sense of humor finds me unfunny, I see no reason to be concerned.

As for the charge of stalking, I plead not guilty. I take Mr. Doty where I find him, and know nothing of him other than what he has posted here (too often in lengthy and minute detail) himself. But when he looked up “fritzoid” in the Urban Dictionary site and posted an erroneous definition therefrom on this site (he had confused the word being defined with the contributor – also calling himself “Fritzoid” but not in truth myself – who offered the definition), I thought it would be amusing to look up “doty” in the same site and post a link to the results, ”for ‘tis the sport to have the enginer hoist with his own petard…” Alas, someone thought that this was mean of me (even though ONE of the three definitions given could be considered highly complimentary), and my post was removed.

So I BY NO MEANS suggest that anyone look up the word “doty” in the Urban Dictionary…

I hardly think that I am in the minority by not disclosing my real name in an online forum. You chose to do so, and that is your business.

We both frequent the same site. That hardly constitutes cyber-stalking. I believe that I have been posting here longer than you, so you cannot claim that I followed you here. We two comment on some of the same strips, but not all. I don’t seek out your posts on strips that I do not regularly read, just so I can harass you. The nature of forums such as this is that comments often refer to other comments, as well as to the strip at the top of the page. When you post ridiculous things, it should not be a surprise when they are ridiculed.

Also, when I don’t find your posts objectionable, I don’t object to them. But the pattern of your comments - the pedantry, the cluelessness, the inanity - is such that you produce FAR more bloviation on a daily basis than I could keep up with anyway, were I disposed to do so.

If you want to record every little puff of half-thought that the wind blows into your ears for all eternity, might I suggest you start a blog. I promise I would keep far, far away. Until then, it is no easier for ME to ignore everything YOU post than it is for YOU to ignore ME.