Non Sequitur by Wiley Miller for June 17, 2024

If you don’t user precise language, you can’t expect people to do what you want.

Geek version of Who’s on First?

“20 year from now”

“Okay, I should have it ready by then”

This reminds me of the video tape scene in Space Balls.

Never DID find out where she ACTUALLY wanted to go .. ‘geeky science boys’ .. hate ’em!

This is a lot like a Spaceballs joke. No accusing, just saying.

Who’s on first? :O)

It’s a time machine. When could be you destination as well as your departure time. You need to be precise in your language.

Jeffrey’s not wrong… It DOES remind me of the “Who’s on First” sketch.

Well Danae, it is not the science boys you need to worry about. It’s the lawyers…(any gender).

When will then be now?

SOON!

That wasn’t a geeky science question, that was a geeky GRAMMAR question.

“When do you want to go?”

“Which do you mean? Departure or arrival?”

Wait until she reads Dr. Dan Streetmentioner’s book.

If you really want to be specific, it’s when and where

If you want to go to this point yesterday be sure to remember the whole planet has moved since then

Jeffrey is the guy to handle her. Dad just kinda tolerates her foibles. Kate also knows her weak spots. but then, sharp little sisters are very observant.

But with time travel you can leave tomorrow or next week, and still get to your destination on time.

And these aren’t the droids you’re looking for.

Love Danae’s face in the third panel.

Don’t go, Danae! You might end up being all your own ancestors, both male and female … even ending up a ‘geeky science boy’ yourself.

Just ask the Spaceball crew members Dark Helmet & Colonel Sandurz!

Some great time travel movies.

“Predestination” based on a Robert Heinlein story. One cool thing is that the film makers decided to make the movie look like the future Heinlein originally envisioned. It was originally written in about 1950, so the “1975” of the movie bears little relation to the 1975 we know.

“Time After Time.” Malcolm McDowell as HG Wells. Wells has invented a time machine but is afraid to use it himself. His good friend, Jack The Ripper, has no qualms. Wells is forced to follow him to 1979 San Francisco.

“Somewhere In Time.” Christopher Reeve as an author whofalls in love with a photograph of a woman who has been dead for decades…

Sorry, kid, you’re not prepared to deal with timey-wimey, wibbley-wobbley stuff.

If he’s going to be doing her a favor by letting her uze his time machine, I figure he’s entitled to make all the grammar jokes he wants.

Jeffrey should ask “What point in time, would you like to visit?” The confusion is caused by Jeff’s sloppy language.

Who’s on first?

It’s pretty clear, WHEN do you want to go? And she thinks she has all the answers.

Male or Female, sometimes it is easy.

Danae: What the he!! am I looking at? When does this happen in the strip?

Jeffrey: Now. You’re looking at now, sir. Everything that happens now is happening now.

Danae: What happened to then?

Jeffrey We passed it.

Danae: When?

Jeffrey : Just now. We’re in now now.

Danae: Go back to then!

Jeffrey : When?

Danae: Now!

Jeffrey : Now?

Danae: Now!

Jeffrey : I can’t!

Danae: Why?

Jeffrey : We missed it!

Danae: When?

Jeffrey : Just now!

Danae: When will then be now?

Jeffrey : Soon.

Good time travel nerd fun

Choose a time and place, Danae.

“How Can You Be in Two Places at Once When You’re Not Anywhere at All” (The Firesign Theatre)

I always wanted to go in a Time Machine so I could watch the snails race around the floor like that

All credit to Mel Brooks and Dark Helmet

It’s not the tenses. It’s the genders..

This is the best time travel strip I’ve ever seen. ;D

we can be friends —or --i can correct your diction.

The real joke would be Jeffrey actually loaning the time machine to Danae.

A note…time machines do not move. They slip through time.

Want to know how? I’ll explain later.

Who What Where When…Nah, let’s just leave it at “WHY?”!

“What happened to ‘then’?”

“We passed ‘then’.”

“When?”

“Just now!”

“When will ‘then’ be ‘now’?”

“Soon!”

One of my hard rules, say what you mean, mean what you say. Don’t ask how you look if you don’t want the answer.

Danae wants to meet Shirley Temple

Actually, time travel has been invented several times already by lone scientists working in secret. And of course they themselves are the first ones to try it out without telling anybody else. Only for a short test hop of a day or two, tho. And it works! And they find themselves floating around in open space several days before the Earth arrives there. And that’s the last anyone hears about it.

Are we then yet?

Time machines exist!!! Invented 5,793 years ago. By people from future!present has already been changed by time machines in the past: prove me wrong?

MY, that was satisfying! Thank you, Jeffrey!

One of the old saying about time travel is that if going to the past is possible, and the past can be changed, then time travelers will change it until time travel is no longer possible.

What do we want? Time travel! When do we want it? That’s irrelevant!

If it’s “not where… when”, then he should have said "but you’re already then ", not “there”.

The longer Jeffery delays the inevitable the happier he is.

Remember, we have a big tense party here. Unless you’d rather forget it.

She should go to the day before, the day after tomorrow.

Now try using “whence” on her. :)

@Rauderi: “And if you do use precise language… well, be prepared to agonize over every word.”

I use postcise language. Then it’s others who suffer the agony.

Jeffrey knows that she’ll feel much better after a good Rant, so he provokes a rant.

He’s thoughtful like that.