Variations on a Theme

by Jimmy Johnson

March 21, 2005


Last Thursday, I posted a whimsical old A&J comic about rearranging the furniture. Today, I’m returning to the subject, and if you click on the date above, it will lead you to a series of (slightly) less-whimsical cartoons on the same subject.


19 responses to “Variations on a Theme”

  1. emb Avatar
    emb

    Still 2 eggs in Baltimore, no Peregrines attending them. Incubation M & T seemed desultory. Don’t know if there are 2 adults anymore. Sad

    https://explore.org/livecams/birds/peregrine-falcon-chesapeake-conservancy

    Peace,

  2. Steve From Royal Oak, MI Avatar

    I don’t do a lot of drafting, but if I have a project, I will probably draw it out on paper and then use excel to help me “draw” it so that I have the right dimensions. When we moved, it helped me decide where the furniture should go and what size of cabinet to store the TV on. My previous house had 10′ ceilings so I had to alter the nice cabinet that my Father-in-Law built for us to fit the large screen TV and have shelves above it. When we moved, we couldn’t have the shelves, but he had made them detachable so that I ended up putting them in the basement as separate items. I think that my wife wanted me to throw the shelves out, but they were so beautiful and were made by her Dad, I did not have the heart to throw them out. Funny thing is that for years he kept saying that he was going to make us a cabinet with nice wood, but he never got the chance. I think that he would have agreed with my wife. What can I say, I love wood.

    1. Ruth Anne in Winter Park Avatar
      Ruth Anne in Winter Park

      We would have kept them too – because of who made them and because you can’t have enough shelves, no matter where you put them.

  3. David in Granbury Avatar
    David in Granbury

    Everything is better with graph paper!

  4. Old Bear Avatar
    Old Bear

    The sofa kept changing color

    1. Mark in TTown Avatar
      Mark in TTown

      Slipcovers! Perfect when you want a new look but can’t afford a new couch or chairs.

  5. emb Avatar
    emb

    Like Walt Kelly’s boat names.
    Peace,

  6. hc Avatar
    hc

    my feng shui is all messed up too

  7. Blinky the Wonder Wombat Avatar
    Blinky the Wonder Wombat

    The week after this arc is one of my favorites. (For whatever reason, my posts with links are not getting through, so go to the GoCom8cs archive and start with March 28, 2005)

    1. Neil of Norman and Rockford Avatar

      The one flaw with clicking on the date beneath the strip here is that it becomes nearly impossible to stop after reading just one week’s worth of strips. I rarely read less than a month’s worth, it’s just that dang compelling to me. Personally, I need more book collections of A&J in any format!

    2. Ruth Anne in Winter Park Avatar
      Ruth Anne in Winter Park

      Glad to know I’m not the only one with that posting problem. Sometimes I can’t post at all!

  8. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    The March 29, 2005, cartoon was the inspiration for my “pokie” jokes.

  9. Steve From Royal Oak, MI Avatar

    Today’s strip (March 12, 2020) reminds me of my marathon several years ago that was warm, but windy. Most of the competitors had finished. We were going around a 1 mile loop when starting about mile 18 for me, the wind started to pick up. 20,30, 40, 50, gusting up to 63 MPH in the last two miles.

    Like Janis, heading into the wind was difficult, but it was when the wind was at my back that nearly killed me. My legs were so stiff and cramped that having them move that fast was like walking on broken glass….It was the infamous race where 4 of the five porta-potties were blown over! :-O

  10. emb Avatar
    emb

    We’re in S Afr. Just as the cam zoomed in on this Blacksmith Plover, it settled down between 2 rocks near the pond’s edge as though to incubate eggs. https://explore.org/livecams/african-wildlife/nkorho-bush-lodge
    Afr. Explore cams don’t pay as much attn to birds as I’d like [though I am a mammologist(stoopid speelczech)], but if it’s a nest, expect it will stop by often. Plovers [e.g., our Killdeers (note plural)] have precocial young who can run around just after they hatch. They disperse after hatching, but follow mom or parents around to learn their trade.
    Peace,

  11. emb Avatar
    emb

    3rd egg in Baltimore! Just as I got there, an adult arr. at entry, hopped in, went straight to eggs & settled in. Peregrines are known to sometimes ignore a first egg until a second arr., but these seemed not this eager to incubate ’til #3 showed. We’ll see. Hope they stop at 3.
    https://explore.org/livecams/birds/peregrine-falcon-chesapeake-conservancy
    Peace,

  12. TruckerRon Avatar

    It’s official: Everyone is going insane over a virus that has only infected 5 people that we know about in Utah. The stores are emptied of toilet paper, churches are canceling meetings, colleges are trying to do everything online… even my astronomy club has canceled its monthly meeting. Yet all 5 known victims are recovering and all of them either traveled in China (or other high-infectious areas) or played pro-basketball with those who had.

    I give up!
    https://pbs.twimg.com/media/ESxfAw2WAAETEhi?format=jpg&name=large

  13. Ghost Avatar
    Ghost

    Seen on the InterWebNet: “Don’t all you soap and hand-sanitizer hoarders realize it’s in your own self-interest that other people be able to wash their hands?”

  14. Jerry in Fl Avatar
    Jerry in Fl

    Well Tom, I guess that life is like a box of chocolates. It’s summer in Australia so there goes that theory.

  15. TruckerRon Avatar

    The real issue is many viruses depend on person-to-person transmission. Outside of human/animal hosts they cannot survive forever; most are killed by direct exposure to sunlight, certain chemicals, and other environmental factors. So, once all the susceptible individuals in its path are infected and either die or become immune to it (survive it, are successfully vaccinated, etc.), it disappears. That’s why we don’t have 100 or more strains of influenza running rampant.

    So the key to this one is to contain it until it quits spreading to those it can until it dies off. That’s why quarantines work.