1202 Blackmail.
Back when I lived in Garden after it would rain thousands of snails would crawl up my apartment door. Only mine. I have no idea why. This is what inspired Thomas’s snail observations though. Snails are neat. As I said in the link to the previous page, they’re like boogers that have their lives in order. I always thought it would be handy if we could find a low cost way to make snail shells for homeless people. So they could carry them around easily and then crawl inside for shelter at night. Those one kind of crabs do a similar thing, but as they grow they get a new shell. Maybe that would be a more analogous model, but I still think the snail styling would look coolest. Really though the spiral point shell would make a nice tent kind of thing. I know youre thinking this is a joke but I think there’s actual merit in the idea. Because the shell is a strong shape and with some light lamination they could stand up to the elements. Some kind of pressed cardboard would make a decent shelter. You’d have to stick some rocks in for wind, but they’d be prettier than just boxes. I also feel like having an animal theme might make the homeless seem less surly.
That was a weird train of thought…
They have these Batman Arkham City figures at the store. The box is labeled specifically “Adult Collector”, which I’m kind of conflicted about. On the one hand I’m glad that Mattel has embraced the neck bearded manchild faction, on the other I’m sad that we are an accepted part of the culture now. On many levels it was right to call us out for our obsession. That said, the world is ever changing. My generation is the first to grow up with video games and many of us have continued playing them into adulthood. Some of my friends have, of course, brought their children into the fold. So a time will come when the idea of adults playing games won’t even be a thing. It’ll just be the way things have always been. It’s like living in a house on the outskirts of town when you’re little, but as the years go by the town grows around you. One day you’re suddenly a part of everything.
27 Comments
My gf hates when we have quiet moments. I’m the same as Thomas, we can enjoy each other silently. We don’t need to recycle the same topic for the fiftieth time.
What usually happens when things get quiet is this: “Whatcha thinkin’ about?”
Most women don’t realise that most males are able to think about nothing at all for minutes at a time.
I actually had to learn how not to think about things because I’ve always been such an intense person. I dint learn how until a few years ago. It’s still not easy for me.
I fully admit and own up to the fact that I do NOT understand this. How the hell do you just…turn your brain off? Mine is like a browser window with a bajillion tabs open at once. I usually only focus on 4-5 of those tabs, but I like having the rest there in case I need them.
I can’t imagine shutting down my browser-of-a-brain. I…don’t…know what I’d do at that point.
Probably nothing. Maybe grab a beer? Maybe grab a bear, like I started to type?
That’s pretty much what meditation is all about: learning how to turn off your thoughts and just veg. Meditation’s supposed to have some pretty good effects on your health, too.
If someone’s thoughts are going too many ways at once, all the time, I suppose they might need medication to get to a point where meditation is possible for them… or normal life, for that matter.
Sitting together and reading is always enjoyable; sometimes with classical music playing at low volume. You are totally comfortable with one another and conversation isn’t necessary. That, to me, is an ideal relationship.
Wise move girl. Wise move.
If Thomas wanted to blackmail her, he’d have done it by now.
That IS an awesome snail… can he keep it?
He should have a pet… other than his cat… who likes the rain.
That cat probably likes snails, too. I doubt you’d even need to cook it.
A cowboy’s bedroll is pretty close to what you’re looking for. Carry it around (well, make your horse or pickup truck carry it) and sleep in it at night.
Well, now you’re getting into my personal area of interest. I volunteer with a local Atlanta charity called The Mad Housers, and we build little individual shelters for the homeless and give them away for free. We have been doing this for over 25 years now, so it’s not just a group of hippies and a website. The shelters aren’t that portable, for a number of reasons, but there is a plan for a portable shelter that is vaguely modeled on a beetle.
A good initiative. Personally I would prefer a society where people didn’t fall through the cracks. But as we don’t live in the best of worlds, one has to do the best of the situation.
Once, a new (well, at the time she was) girlfriend gave me her address and directions to get there. Since GPS was still rare and expensive at the time (this was around Y2K) I plugged the address into Yahoo Maps and printed out the map. She saw the map and remarked that it took all the challenge out of stalking…
The shellter is a neat idea. The homeless persons could keep some of their belongings in the curl at the top.
Yes, now even Social Outcasts can be different — just like the rest of us.
I can’t be quiet. Its just too boring for me. I blame my ADHD.
May I suggest taking a class on meditation – I found the zen approach fit me but something else might be a bitter fit for you – explore, research, ask questions, even socks are not one size fits all.
My boy and I don’t have a lot of quiet moments, Possibly because he lives across the country and we don’t see each other much, so we cram in a lot of words that can’t be discussed over text.
Wow, quit reading this comic for awhile, lost track of where I was. Welp, might as well start at the beginning. :]
Oh, I take it you’ve gotten rid of the .net site, by the way? Was there ever a .net address or am I just remembering imaginary websites?? :( Oh well
Various wordpress changes ruined both sites, but my new host helped me fix the original. The dotnet is just a redirect at the moment.
Some time back when I still went ice fishing I remember they had just gotten these small one man ice houses that set up instantly. You just sat in them and yanked the roof and walls up and over yourself to click in place and then zipped up the door. Instant ice tent. They slid them across the ice but no reason they couldn’t be put on lockable wheels for travel. Work just like those shopping carts you sometime see homeless folk use in movies. Probably need a some more collapsable flooring added to the modern models I found.
Your snail shelter made me think of it because it looked like a clam (another molusk) and may have been called such. Having trouble finding the original but the Clam Outdoors company makes something similar though oddly enough it looks more like a snail…
http://clamoutdoors.com/ice_fishing/http-clamcorp-com-ice-fishing-shelters/fish-trap/trapper/trapper.html
Since humans aren’t as flexible as snails to suck up into any shaped little shell making the “shell” collapsible might be the solution.
Sorry for two posts but I don’t really want to make a twitter account.
Arrows, and therefore their heads, can spin in flight depending on how angled (helical fletching) the fletching is and this does add stability and therefore accuracy to its flight.
Or did you mean to replace or augment the effect of the fletching by having the arrowhead somehow spin separate from the arrow? Suppose that would help but I have no idea how you would make such a thing work well enough for use in the field. o.0′
I like those quiet moments where you can just sit and do your own thing. I’m usually the one who breaks the silence though. I’m a very needy person, I guess.
Just don’t touch me with those snail hands
oh my god you made me remember a manga called uzumaki, by junji ito
holy crap im scared now hehehe