Coming Soon đ At the beginning of April, youâll be
introduced to a brand-new GoComics! See more information here. Subscribers, check your
email for more details.
Weâre getting to the point where we wonât even need cash any more. However, for some insane reason, stores still expect me to sign my credit-card receipts. Why? Does anybody ever look to make sure that thatâs my actual signature? What a waste of time!
Sometimes events overwhelm logic. About 5 yrs ago, I carelessly lost my big box store card on the way to car. By the time I got home a hour later, finder had driven 8 miles to another type of big box store and hit if for over $700 in lawn gear. When I called the card company to report the loss, the adjuster said that the charge would be cancelled. But he brightened up when I told him that, had the clerk checked purchaser against the photo on the back he âmightâ have noticed she did not even closely resemble me in any physical detail. So the loss fell on the store not the card company. Always wondered what manager said to the clerk.
Generally the one place I use cash is to save $.10+ a gallon on getting gas. In this state they charge more for credit or debit cards. It saves me about 3 or 4 dollars when I fill up. I save up the difference and use it annually for our anniversary.
Ray Bradbury was ahead of his time regarding booksâŠ.
What was Fahrenheit 451 mainly about?
Plot: Set in a future society where books are banned and âfiremenâ burn any that are discovered. Follows the protagonist, Guy Montag, a fireman who begins to question his duty to the state and ultimately has to choose between his personal beliefs and his loyalty to the government.
When you think about how long itâs been since this first came out in the paper and the way things are now⊠Makes you think for a minute⊠I hopeâŠ
And Bill was thinking about this 30 YEARS AGO! No wonder he wrapped up his strip earlier than most guys do. Too great a chance of living off of the grid and wearing tin foil hats.
Yesterday on âFred Bassetâ, I commented on comic strip animals being able to read. This was because Fred was reading a book his owner had been reading about dog illnesses and was starting to imagine he was ill. I then mentioned Hobbes as a strong example of a comic strip animal who is able to read. Besides reading Calvinâs comic books before Calvin, he also reads some of Dadâs books. One story arc had him borrowing a book from Calvinâs Dad â without his knowledge of course â about tigers so that he could teach Calvin to be like a tiger. Also, Hobbes seems familiar with the writing of both Orwell and Kafka:-
âWho would have thought Big Brother would go commercial?â
âWithout a good night kiss, you get Kafkaesque dreams.â
Now the âpowers-that-beâ want us to use digital currency, consume digital products, and abandon cash and physical media for some of the reasons Calvinâs Dad said. Not only do they want to exploit us for economic reasons, but those related to politics and social activism as well. Calvinâs Dad wasnât old fashioned, he was ahead of the curve. We all need to follow his example (at least in this instance since he also has traits that make him a pain in the neck).
He wants a hardcover book so he can âcarry it around and reread it later?â That makes no sense. Hardcover books are heavy and pointy, making them the most annoying sort for carrying. I never had much use for them. Even before e-books were a common thing, a mass-market paperback was lighter, softer and fits in the hand; and the cardboard of the covers, though thin, was durable enough that you could reread it as many times as you wanted, so long as you didnât stab it with a steak knife or leave it in a puddle of water (both of which would have adversely affected a hardcover book, too). Calvinâs dad isnât making a lot of sense here. At least, not until the third panel.
I never have understood why the pop-up ads are always for things I ALREADY purchased. Not items of similar interest, the exact same item. Like, how many pierogi presses do âtheyâ think I need?
Until they get federal banking upgraded for legalized weed, you sill need cash at that store, where your i.d. is entered to their computer before they let you in. Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.
KIRK: Yes. (Notices the piles of books everywhere) What is all this?
COGLEY: I figure weâll be spending some time together, so I moved in.
KIRK: I hope Iâm not crowding you.
COGLEY: Whatâs the matter? Donât you like books?
KIRK: Oh, I like them fine, but a computer takes less space.
COGLEY: A computer, huh? I got one of these in my office. Contains all the precedents. The synthesis of all the great legal decisions written throughout time. Bah! I never use it.
KIRK: Why not?
COGLEY: Iâve got my own system. Books, young man, books. Thousands of them. If time wasnât so important, Iâd show you something. My library. Thousands of books.
KIRK: And what would be the point?
COGLEY: This is where the law is. Not in that homogenised, pasteurised, synthesiser. Do you want to know the law, the ancient concepts in their own language, Learn the intent of the men who wrote them, from Moses to the tribunal of Alpha 3? Books.
KIRK: You have to be either an obsessive crackpot whoâs escaped from his keeper or Samuel T. Cogley, attorney at law.
If you want to terrorize a clerk, use cash. Even with the cash register doing the math for them, they still have to count out the change ⊠and some of them struggle with that.
Iâm afraid that many stores have sensors that read your phone when you walk in the store. They know who you are, how much time you spent in each section and can tie that to the store cameras. You have no privacy. Best to act as an average Joe. There is way too much data for anyone to look at. Even the algorithms can only pick out the unusual for further review.
I had to give up reading real books because, even with glasses, the print was getting too small. Thank goodness for Kindle where I can increase the font size, but I still miss actually turning real pages.
Few people ask you about what you are reading when you are reading on a device. I frequently get comments on the author or title when I read a book in public places. No batteries, readable in any light that I can see by and with a trade or resale value.
For those who have mentioned ads for the exact thing you searched for popping up, etc, I encourage you to check out DuckDuckGo. I also encourage you to check out the many articles on their website that explain why that happens and how to adjust various settings on your devices to stop it. Youâll be glad you did.
BE THIS GUY over 1 year ago
I hope Calvin doesnât report his Dad to the NSA.
codycab over 1 year ago
Dad sure has his secrets.
The Calvinosaurus That Calvin Wanted To Discover over 1 year ago
Hopefully Dad finds a good ad blocker.
Bilan over 1 year ago
Great, just what we need. Educated people voting.
baraktorvan over 1 year ago
Ummmm, cash? I donât think I have had cash in my possession since at least the Great Recession. I have used the debit card just about everywhere.
Richard S Russell Premium Member over 1 year ago
Weâre getting to the point where we wonât even need cash any more. However, for some insane reason, stores still expect me to sign my credit-card receipts. Why? Does anybody ever look to make sure that thatâs my actual signature? What a waste of time!
Concretionist over 1 year ago
Check the book out from a library with someone elseâs library card?
sandpiper over 1 year ago
Yea, Dad!! Iâm with him.
sandpiper over 1 year ago
Sometimes events overwhelm logic. About 5 yrs ago, I carelessly lost my big box store card on the way to car. By the time I got home a hour later, finder had driven 8 miles to another type of big box store and hit if for over $700 in lawn gear. When I called the card company to report the loss, the adjuster said that the charge would be cancelled. But he brightened up when I told him that, had the clerk checked purchaser against the photo on the back he âmightâ have noticed she did not even closely resemble me in any physical detail. So the loss fell on the store not the card company. Always wondered what manager said to the clerk.
leopoldenoch over 1 year ago
far right, indeed
Jeff0811 over 1 year ago
Generally the one place I use cash is to save $.10+ a gallon on getting gas. In this state they charge more for credit or debit cards. It saves me about 3 or 4 dollars when I fill up. I save up the difference and use it annually for our anniversary.
BigDaveGlass over 1 year ago
Ray Bradbury was ahead of his time regarding booksâŠ.
What was Fahrenheit 451 mainly about?
Plot: Set in a future society where books are banned and âfiremenâ burn any that are discovered. Follows the protagonist, Guy Montag, a fireman who begins to question his duty to the state and ultimately has to choose between his personal beliefs and his loyalty to the government.
mbakerbr549 over 1 year ago
When you think about how long itâs been since this first came out in the paper and the way things are now⊠Makes you think for a minute⊠I hopeâŠ
Zykoic over 1 year ago
He must be reported to ThinkPol.
admiree2 over 1 year ago
And Bill was thinking about this 30 YEARS AGO! No wonder he wrapped up his strip earlier than most guys do. Too great a chance of living off of the grid and wearing tin foil hats.
snsurone76 over 1 year ago
Maybe he should try âWar and Peaceâ or âMoby Dickâ. That ought to cure his âsubversivenessâ.
French Persons' Savvy Selection of Screaming Elly Premium Member over 1 year ago
Heretic? Or a witch?
Calvinist1966 over 1 year ago
Yesterday on âFred Bassetâ, I commented on comic strip animals being able to read. This was because Fred was reading a book his owner had been reading about dog illnesses and was starting to imagine he was ill. I then mentioned Hobbes as a strong example of a comic strip animal who is able to read. Besides reading Calvinâs comic books before Calvin, he also reads some of Dadâs books. One story arc had him borrowing a book from Calvinâs Dad â without his knowledge of course â about tigers so that he could teach Calvin to be like a tiger. Also, Hobbes seems familiar with the writing of both Orwell and Kafka:-
âWho would have thought Big Brother would go commercial?â
âWithout a good night kiss, you get Kafkaesque dreams.â
GreggW Premium Member over 1 year ago
Guessing heâs never going to go for e-books.
markkahler52 over 1 year ago
And now, Todayâs WorldâŠ.
Troglodyte over 1 year ago
Give up already, Dad. Itâs hopeless.
Felix Raven over 1 year ago
Wow, and this was in 1995. What would his dad do today?
cdward over 1 year ago
I think cash and offline pursuits are going to make a comeback specifically because theyâre harder to trace.
Dobby53 Premium Member over 1 year ago
Walk into a book store or grocery store and write a check if you what to see a clerkâs brain lock up.
Dobby53 Premium Member over 1 year ago
Over at Bloom County today âŠ..Oliver runs into his old slide rule. WhoaâŠtripping down Memory Lane there.
colddonkey over 1 year ago
That is the problem if youâre not government they look at you as a subversive.
Hamady Sack Premium Member over 1 year ago
Too bad about all the surveillance cameras, Dad.
tripwire45 over 1 year ago
Now the âpowers-that-beâ want us to use digital currency, consume digital products, and abandon cash and physical media for some of the reasons Calvinâs Dad said. Not only do they want to exploit us for economic reasons, but those related to politics and social activism as well. Calvinâs Dad wasnât old fashioned, he was ahead of the curve. We all need to follow his example (at least in this instance since he also has traits that make him a pain in the neck).
Twelve Badgers in a Suit Premium Member over 1 year ago
He wants a hardcover book so he can âcarry it around and reread it later?â That makes no sense. Hardcover books are heavy and pointy, making them the most annoying sort for carrying. I never had much use for them. Even before e-books were a common thing, a mass-market paperback was lighter, softer and fits in the hand; and the cardboard of the covers, though thin, was durable enough that you could reread it as many times as you wanted, so long as you didnât stab it with a steak knife or leave it in a puddle of water (both of which would have adversely affected a hardcover book, too). Calvinâs dad isnât making a lot of sense here. At least, not until the third panel.
DawnQuinn1 over 1 year ago
Republicans would have him arrested and his book burned. It is probably the book â1984ââŠand BTW Big Brother IS watching you,,,big time.
david_42 over 1 year ago
We have 22 book shelving units and a couple thousand books. My wife just bought me Neil deGrasse Tysonâs latest.
Just-me over 1 year ago
I like the tactile sense of holding a book as I read it.
ladykat Premium Member over 1 year ago
I love the feeling of reading a new book. I will be buying two for myself as Christmas gifts.
rossevrymn over 1 year ago
Mr. Calvin later found the Q Anon site.
old_geek over 1 year ago
Reading a book paid for with cash? No doubt full of misinformation and conspiracy theoriesâŠ
Redd Panda over 1 year ago
Perhaps Dad is weary of being surveilled night and day.
This is a 20 year old strip.
tbm3572 over 1 year ago
first time Calvin has ever made me google a word.
aerotica69 over 1 year ago
I never have understood why the pop-up ads are always for things I ALREADY purchased. Not items of similar interest, the exact same item. Like, how many pierogi presses do âtheyâ think I need?
sheilag over 1 year ago
Watterson saw the 21st Century clearly⊠;-)
BiggerNate91 over 1 year ago
Dad must really appreciate the invention of InPrivate browsing.
ChukLitl Premium Member over 1 year ago
Until they get federal banking upgraded for legalized weed, you sill need cash at that store, where your i.d. is entered to their computer before they let you in. Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.
Robert4170 over 1 year ago
Sounds like Calvinâs dad never bought a smartphone. Does he even use a credit card?
The Pro from Dover over 1 year ago
Iâm kicking
Iâm screaming
Weâre a couple of hippies transformed from the â60s
Weâre kicking
Weâre screaming
Zebrastripes over 1 year ago
My father never had a checking account and a CC.
Paid cash and his money he stashed!LOL
Sherlock5 over 1 year ago
I would think Calvin would think it was cool if his dad was subversive.
jrankin1959 over 1 year ago
This kind of subversive? Hey â count me in!
gantech over 1 year ago
COGLEY: You Kirk?
KIRK: Yes. (Notices the piles of books everywhere) What is all this?
COGLEY: I figure weâll be spending some time together, so I moved in.
KIRK: I hope Iâm not crowding you.
COGLEY: Whatâs the matter? Donât you like books?
KIRK: Oh, I like them fine, but a computer takes less space.
COGLEY: A computer, huh? I got one of these in my office. Contains all the precedents. The synthesis of all the great legal decisions written throughout time. Bah! I never use it.
KIRK: Why not?
COGLEY: Iâve got my own system. Books, young man, books. Thousands of them. If time wasnât so important, Iâd show you something. My library. Thousands of books.
KIRK: And what would be the point?
COGLEY: This is where the law is. Not in that homogenised, pasteurised, synthesiser. Do you want to know the law, the ancient concepts in their own language, Learn the intent of the men who wrote them, from Moses to the tribunal of Alpha 3? Books.
KIRK: You have to be either an obsessive crackpot whoâs escaped from his keeper or Samuel T. Cogley, attorney at law.
COGLEY: Right on both counts. Need a lawyer?
KIRK: Iâm afraid so.
Paul D Premium Member over 1 year ago
If you want to terrorize a clerk, use cash. Even with the cash register doing the math for them, they still have to count out the change ⊠and some of them struggle with that.
Guybrush Threepwood over 1 year ago
I might be Calvinâs dad.
g04922 over 1 year ago
Ahh.. Dad is a conservative values guy⊠and Calvin calls him a subversive. Cal is going to be a good left wing Dem.
Bruce1253 over 1 year ago
Iâm afraid that many stores have sensors that read your phone when you walk in the store. They know who you are, how much time you spent in each section and can tie that to the store cameras. You have no privacy. Best to act as an average Joe. There is way too much data for anyone to look at. Even the algorithms can only pick out the unusual for further review.
ssejhill over 1 year ago
Subversive??? Did he buy a copy of Fahrenheit 451?
Angry Indeed Premium Member over 1 year ago
His dad dreams of becoming the leader of a mob complete with torches and pitch forks.
Calvins Brother over 1 year ago
Thatâs how I bought the complete Calvin and Hobbes collection.
gigi20 over 1 year ago
I hope the library doesnât share my check-out list.
Bill The Nuke over 1 year ago
I have shelves and shelves filled with books.
dbradway1 over 1 year ago
And this was drawn, what, 30 years ago. Prescient.
SavannahJim Premium Member over 1 year ago
Really depends on the book he was buying. Was it, âThe Secretâ or âThe Anarchist Cookbookâ?
jdsven over 1 year ago
His dadâs kind of a head of the game on that, considering targeted adds you now get on-line based on your purchases or browsing history.
j.l.farmer over 1 year ago
His dad helped keep a bookstore open. He shouldnât be embarrassed and hide. I am sure the bookstore owner appreciated his business!!
John Jorgensen over 1 year ago
Was data mining already a thing back then? This strip seems so prophetic sometimes.
Lola85 Premium Member over 1 year ago
I had to give up reading real books because, even with glasses, the print was getting too small. Thank goodness for Kindle where I can increase the font size, but I still miss actually turning real pages.
Rick Smith Premium Member over 1 year ago
Watterson sure saw the future, didnât he?
James Lindley Premium Member over 1 year ago
His dad suddenly gained coolness points for being subversive.
Moore 1 over 1 year ago
Bet the book is 1984
willie_mctell over 1 year ago
Thatâs why you have to live in the present.
crazeekatlady over 1 year ago
Um, I think I am Calvinâs dad in the Witness Protection Program. Now theyâll have to move me, again.
rayloholdridge over 1 year ago
This is prescient for 1993.
mistercatworks over 1 year ago
Go, Dad.
Few people ask you about what you are reading when you are reading on a device. I frequently get comments on the author or title when I read a book in public places. No batteries, readable in any light that I can see by and with a trade or resale value.
Bradzilla over 1 year ago
For those who have mentioned ads for the exact thing you searched for popping up, etc, I encourage you to check out DuckDuckGo. I also encourage you to check out the many articles on their website that explain why that happens and how to adjust various settings on your devices to stop it. Youâll be glad you did.
TommyEfreeti over 1 year ago
Wattersonâs read the future well.