The last time that expression appeared on her face it was bad news, but the reason for this one is a complete mystery. Another minor puzzle is why this strip took nine months before it showed up here.
I think she’s upset because Arlo hasn’t said anything after she asked him to promise.
Kilby, why is it a mystery that the comic showed up here nine months after it was published? That’s not at all uncommon: unless a CIDU is sent to me by somebody else, or it’s seasonal, it generally goes to the back of the queue.
@ Bill – The mystery was because there have been plenty of other CIDUs that appeared much sooner after they were published. I never realized that you gave reader submissions priority over your own discoveries.
Kilby, when somebody sends me one I can’t explain, it seems only polite to post it as quickly as possible.
Of course this also means the comic scheduled for that date gets kicked to the end of the queue (which is what probably happened with this one).
Bill, I’m selfish enough that I want you to be happy continuing to do all the work necessary to keep CIDU alive. So, whatever makes you happy makes me happy.
Both Arlo and Janis look upset, I think: disagreement over the meteorite story; Arlo just sees the cool side of it (a rock from outer space!) while Janis just sees its earthbound/monetary value.
I don’t know about the expression, but the reason Arlo hasn’t replied is he’s deep in thought. He’s thinking “What is going on here? It used to be all she wanted was the D, but now it’s all about the cheddar.”
This fundamental change in her character is calling to mind the passage of time and his own mortality (as he is in his 70s).
If I found a freaking meteorite I would never sell it. Way too cool. I think Arlo is of a similar mind.
He’s making no promises. She’s upset.
I guess my pattern-seeking brain is creating the false synchronicity between this and the other recent A&Js here.
Would a meteorite set off the motion detector for the outdoor alarm lights?
Would the cat expect credit for it?
If I found a meteor I’d be donating it to a museum. I’m a scientist wannabe.
How would you know it’s a meteorite? It’s just a rock.
@Terrence Feenstra has parsed it correctly. Arlo, being a guy, would think owning a meteorite would be cool; it never occurred to him that he could sell it for lots of money. Janis, being practical, knows that Arlo would keep such a trophy lying around the house and sees a way to make sure he would get rid of it.
Personally I think Janis is appalled at the tackiness of having a meteorite on the floor stopping the door. She mentions the value of a potential one as an extra incentive to Arlo to get rid of it. If it was all about how much it’s worth, why be in a hurry to sell it? It will likely only go up in value.
” It will likely only go up in value.”
NOT if moon walks start again, and I’m not talkin’ the Michael Jackson kind.)
*I* think she just doesn’t want another thing in the house to dust.
By the way and topic drifting: you’re all aware of the famous expensive doorstop Richard Feynman wrote about?
Here’s the missing open parenthesis for my comment before carlfink’s . . . (
For those who lack the patience to sift through Feynman’s rambling anecdotes, the doorstop that Carlfink mentioned was a gold hemisphere posted at the door of a room at Los Alamos (during the Manhattan Project); the room contained a plutonium sphere (of significantly greater value).
Here’s an article about meteorite value. The answer is, as is often the case, “it depends.”
Comics I Don't Understand 
Something’s missing. Is Janice upset? Why?
The last time that expression appeared on her face it was bad news, but the reason for this one is a complete mystery. Another minor puzzle is why this strip took nine months before it showed up here.
I think she’s upset because Arlo hasn’t said anything after she asked him to promise.
Kilby, why is it a mystery that the comic showed up here nine months after it was published? That’s not at all uncommon: unless a CIDU is sent to me by somebody else, or it’s seasonal, it generally goes to the back of the queue.
@ Bill – The mystery was because there have been plenty of other CIDUs that appeared much sooner after they were published. I never realized that you gave reader submissions priority over your own discoveries.
Kilby, when somebody sends me one I can’t explain, it seems only polite to post it as quickly as possible.
Of course this also means the comic scheduled for that date gets kicked to the end of the queue (which is what probably happened with this one).
Bill, I’m selfish enough that I want you to be happy continuing to do all the work necessary to keep CIDU alive. So, whatever makes you happy makes me happy.
Both Arlo and Janis look upset, I think: disagreement over the meteorite story; Arlo just sees the cool side of it (a rock from outer space!) while Janis just sees its earthbound/monetary value.
I don’t know about the expression, but the reason Arlo hasn’t replied is he’s deep in thought. He’s thinking “What is going on here? It used to be all she wanted was the D, but now it’s all about the cheddar.”
This fundamental change in her character is calling to mind the passage of time and his own mortality (as he is in his 70s).
If I found a freaking meteorite I would never sell it. Way too cool. I think Arlo is of a similar mind.
He’s making no promises. She’s upset.
I guess my pattern-seeking brain is creating the false synchronicity between this and the other recent A&Js here.
Would a meteorite set off the motion detector for the outdoor alarm lights?
Would the cat expect credit for it?
If I found a meteor I’d be donating it to a museum. I’m a scientist wannabe.
How would you know it’s a meteorite? It’s just a rock.
@Terrence Feenstra has parsed it correctly. Arlo, being a guy, would think owning a meteorite would be cool; it never occurred to him that he could sell it for lots of money. Janis, being practical, knows that Arlo would keep such a trophy lying around the house and sees a way to make sure he would get rid of it.
Perhaps Arlo has been to the Washington University’s Meteorite or meteorwrong? Self-Test Check list website and knows how unlikely it that they’ll actually find a meteorite.
Personally I think Janis is appalled at the tackiness of having a meteorite on the floor stopping the door. She mentions the value of a potential one as an extra incentive to Arlo to get rid of it. If it was all about how much it’s worth, why be in a hurry to sell it? It will likely only go up in value.
” It will likely only go up in value.”
NOT if moon walks start again, and I’m not talkin’ the Michael Jackson kind.)
*I* think she just doesn’t want another thing in the house to dust.
By the way and topic drifting: you’re all aware of the famous expensive doorstop Richard Feynman wrote about?
Here’s the missing open parenthesis for my comment before carlfink’s . . . (
For those who lack the patience to sift through Feynman’s rambling anecdotes, the doorstop that Carlfink mentioned was a gold hemisphere posted at the door of a room at Los Alamos (during the Manhattan Project); the room contained a plutonium sphere (of significantly greater value).
Here’s an article about meteorite value. The answer is, as is often the case, “it depends.”
https://geology.com/meteorites/value-of-meteorites.shtml