Recent Comments

1. about 7 hours ago on Luann

   Obviously it was designed by someone trying to resolve this argument. I wonder how it would respond to a cat waving its paws in front of the sensor?

2. about 7 hours ago on Luann

   No, Mort, I am a systems engineer. I analyze all sorts of things to understand how they work or don’t work, the consequences of the latter, and to consider how they might be fixed or improved. That’s my natural inclination, not a psychological syndrome for a therapist to critique; and it’s a very useful inclination.

3. about 8 hours ago on Luann

   Unless your cat discovers that bit of TP hanging down against the wall and ignores the roll in favor of the TP that can be pulled down against the wall and all over the floor.

4. about 8 hours ago on Luann

   I dunno. Coming to a first date prepared with a card game in case the conversation should lag is not such a terrible idea. It is an admission that it’s possible that two people who don’t yet know anything about each other might need a bit of assistance to find common ground and to identify topics that are likely to cause disagreement before any truce may be negotiated. It’s a pity, though, that the first card from the deck brought up a subject that demanded an agreement to disagree before the conversation could even get started. That Phil should even start this date with rules and conversation cards already doesn’t bode well for interaction with someone like Luann who seems more prone to go with the flow in a more natural manner. What’s more, the limitations of a comic strip prevent showing any more natural interaction such as Phil preceding his card trick by explaining that he had brought them in case he couldn’t think of something to say and asking Luann if she would mind playing that game with him. At least that way they would begin the conversation with some semblance of agreement before touching on any topic that might evoke disagreement (like the TP roll orientation or Phil’s insensitivity to it).

5. about 9 hours ago on Luann

   Well, panel 1 shows that free association trait in Luann once again: icebreaker > ice cream. Panel 3 is tempting yet another transition to: “I scream”. Someone pointed out to me that in a household with cats, turning the TP roll to feed from under prevented a playful cat from batting the roll to unroll the paper. Someone here insisted that tearing the paper has better leverage from under, but I disagree. It all depends on the shearing direction of the tear, upward or downward. Personally, I favor over the top, which allows visual inspection of the roll to ensure that the sheets are free and available - and not stuck together or inhibited by interference with the dispenser. Some dispensers eliminate the argument altogether by placing the spindle vertically through the roll.

6. 2 days ago on Luann

   Maybe you had a different idea of what may constitute an outline. Thats why I started with the idea of notes and a “book report” description. Perhaps Luann could “prime the pump” by asking Shannon to describe some things about the story in her head. For example, who is in the story? Are they animals, people, or animals that act like people? Do they have any pets? What are they all like? Do they have any special skills or abilities or superpowers? Where do they live, and do they go anyplace interesting in the story? What special things do they do when they get there? Do they do things by themselves or with other characters? What is the weather like? What other interesting things happen? After you have described these things, can you write numbers next to the things they do or other things that happen to show what happens first, second, third, etc.? Can you explain why any of them does any of the things they do or why any other events happen?

   After such notes have been recorded and enumerated in some sort of list, it may be possible to make an outline or perhaps no outline is needed. Perhaps a second or third draft of the list might be written to put the items in sequence or add any more items. At Shannon’s age, it is unlikely that the story will have any additional complexities that require telling the same events more than once to capture different points of view from different characters, including the distinction between an objective narrator and subjective character perspectives. An outline would be useful if the events should occur in different scenes or locales or time periods — again, a complexity likely beyond Shannon’s current vision.

7. 2 days ago on Luann

   Poor Shannon! At least she has a whole story in her head, so she says. That ought to give her the ability to write some notes about it, and maybe even turn them into an outline of sorts. Telling herself about (!) the story in her head, as if what she were writing was a book report to describe it to someone like Luann, could be a good way to start. Then she might elaborate the noted ideas. However, at her apparent age, it is unlikely that she has ever received any actual education about the tools and process of storytelling.

8. 2 days ago on Luann

   Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, A t 5, Scene 1: “The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not mov’d with concord of sweet sounds,Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils.”

   Could we not say the same for one who fails to appreciate rhyme — even childish types of the Dr. Seuss variety? Of course, I doubt that Phil is so afflicted, but rather he is preoccupied by other concerns such as his own anxiety about how he might open a conversation with Luann.

9. 3 days ago on Luann

   Pay individually? Didn’t Phil invite Luann; and doesn’t that obligate him as a host to pay? I do find this dating etiquette perplexing. While kissing is never an obligation, and therefore clarifying that it certainly is not so on a first date is potentially stress relieving, doesn’t raising it as a consideration merely postpone the stress?

10. 4 days ago on Baby Blues

    Gotcha. “y” not.