UPDATING OCCASIONALLY (FOR NOW)
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12 thoughts on “540 – Trick Hello”

  1. Scarsdale

    Called it, she figured he’d do this, if by choice or by zombie voodoo. I’m sure the “friendlier” questioning will start soon, if she doesn’t just kill him out-right. Or just add him to the herd.

  2. Crazyman

    Gotcha! 😉

  3. Zombatar

    This turn of events is a surprise only to Eustace. And, maybe, Eustace’s subconscious. After all, this way he doesn’t have to actually risk actually attacking Suzie, which gives him a greater chance of survival than actually attacking her. I wonder what he was promised/threatened with?

  4. ConcordBob

    Not to nit-pick, but since sights are on target, finger should be on the trigger. Especially this close.
    The usual rule is “keep finger straight and off trigger until sights are on target”.

  5. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Not to nit-pick, but since that was current philosophies regarding trigger discipline have evolved.
    Of course, it will depend on who you get/got your training from.
    Experiments have determined that the fraction of a second to go from finger off the trigger to finger firing when appropriate is insignificant, and the risk of firing unintended is greatly reduced.

  6. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    I did the google thing and I believe I saw how you reached this conclusion … but there are two parts to it – One should not omit the second part.
    “Trigger Finger Discipline: · The practice of keeping your finger “off the trigger” until your sights are on target AND YOU ARE READY TO DISCHARGE THE FIREARM.” (Caps are my own)

  7. Crazyman

    She wants him alive so she can question him; otherwise, he’d already be dead. 💀

  8. ConcordBob

    Good discussion on trigger discipline!
    His skin is very pale / gray. Is this malnourishment, or has he been poisoned with a mind-control drug? I would have to go back and look a t all various of skin tone.

    1. TKG

      On a prior page we discussed what he’s likely got running in his system. I suggested that it’s probably Borrochero (Brugmansia arbora) which is already used by Colombian cartels to eradicate the free will of their victims.

  9. ConcordBob

    Oh, the gray is just the dim light. Here is McCarthy eating dinner, and has the typical white dude flesh tone.
    https://www.zombieranchcomic.com/comic/531-inquisitional-etiquette/

    1. Dawn

      Yeah, I was trying to show that it was dark. But went with the old Hollywood method of adding a blue grey tint over everything.

  10. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Now can we satisfy my curiosity? Colt, Smith & Wesson, Ruger, or other timeline variant?

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540 – Trick Hello
Posted on February 26, 2025 by Dawn

Suzie hearkening back to the last time Eustace was faked out. She probably regrets not being able to sneak the Lawn Ranger into the bedcovers to be the victim of the stabbing.

And with that, it's Episode 23 time! Welcome back to the Ranch, everyone!

Watch your language…

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Clint
When you’re a writer you tend to pay attention not just to words but the way people say them, and unless you’re some kind of filthy, futile prescriptivist you also should have a fascination with the way that such things evolve over time. Don’t get me wrong, Strunk and White have their place in terms of setting up some common protocols for communication, but outside of formal settings I think it’s an enormous mistake to get hung up on split infinitives and sentence-ending prepositions so long as the meaning remains clear. Writers can certainly benefit from editing, but they also need room to play. And use fragments. Sometimes. However, back to the subject of verbal evolution, of which one of my favorite examples is the English farewell term of “bye.” The meaning has not changed but the original form was “God be with ye,” which then eventually contracted to “God bye ye,” then “Godb(w)ye,” then our modern “goodbye,” and finally down to the monosyllable noted above. Similar to this, in Spanish there is still the phrase “vaya con Dios” (literally translated as “[you] go with God”) but that’s a mouthful and “adiós” is much more common. Some argue that the latter has never had anything to do with deities but considering the very similar French “adieu” and that the original Latin for “to God” or “by God” would have been “ad deus,” I don’t buy it. In any case, were I to try to invent my own language I would no doubt fail drastically, but it would be hard to go wrong by having my informal farewell be short, to the point, and either referencing or deriving from a reference to deity or some form of “until we meet again.” The latter is what “hasta luego” and “auf wiedersehen” basically translate to, in case you were wondering. This sort of “phrase archaeology” is a really good thing to practice if you’re coming up with slang, though. Spoken language is where evolution of language take place first, and in general spoken language likes to simplify for efficiency’s sake. Today’s slang then becomes tomorrow’s prescription. More on this topic next week.