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Shebly

Movie sign

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RANDY IS ETERNAL

Robot Hamster

[snubnose]

Err... that has already been said ... nothing to see here ! Move along, move along !

Whoops, my bad.

Yelling bird is only holiding the bottle rockets there.

I remembered it as much more foul (fowl?)

Sorry.

It was originally different ... Jeph switched places.

[Somnus Eternus]

Every single thing about today's comic is awesome.

Every.

Single.

Thing.

[raoullefere]

A) I wonder if Jeph occasionally envisions too-enthusiastic fans at conventions as being enveloped in flames.

B) Interesting that the robot hamster seem to be Hanner-dad's crowning achievement as far as RaD (Clinton) is concerned.

[Tergon]

I think creating a robot that realistically behaved like a hamster would actually be a challenge!  I mean, programming a computer to think like a human is complicated, but the behavioural patterns of human beings is well-understood and well-studied.  Programming a robot hamster would be at least as difficult, but you'd have to know how a hamster's brain works as intricately as a human brain.  So that's impressive!

[Antario]

aw i was just beginning to like this storyline, finally some details on hannersdad....and then jeph seems to be cutting it off....with a broadsword

[J]

aw i was just beginning to like this storyline, finally some details on hannersdad....and then jeph seems to be cutting it off....with a broadsword

you really think a hardcore transhumanist like clinton is about to be caught defenseless?

shit is about to get epic.

[nonethousand]

hi everybody!

"long-time lurker, first-time writer,... bla bla bla" ...so much for my introduction

just wanted to point out that John Elliot-Chatham is probably the QC-verse analog of William Bell (Fringe-verse)... isn't he?

PS: wow! my first post and my first psyduck too!!

[akronnick]

I think creating a robot that realistically behaved like a hamster would actually be a challenge!  I mean, programming a computer to think like a human is complicated, but the behavioural patterns of human beings is well-understood and well-studied.  Programming a robot hamster would be at least as difficult, but you'd have to know how a hamster's brain works as intricately as a human brain.  So that's impressive!

It would be, if the internal processes where being emulated, but, as I understand the actual implimentation, they just simulate the behavior, so the wee beastie divides its time prtty much equally between running on a wheel, chewing on a stick, sipping the water bottle, sleeping in one corner of its cage and shitting in the other.

It just repeats those actions at random until the battery dies.

The bad part about them is your kid always makes you replace the battery. At least with a real hamster you can bury it in a shoebox in the flower bed when it dies.

[LeeC]

Marten to the rescue!

[Odal]

I thiought Clinton had a metal arm.  It's just a hand though

[snubnose]

Uuuuuh ... "just a hand" ?

The hand is about the most complex thing of the human body when it comes to mechanical finesse ... the arm part would be pretty trivial in comparison.

[SJCrew]

Hanners' instinctive urge to call on Marten for help as well as his to protect her gave off this sort of bf/gf vibe in that last panel...

Cue the passionate hug once Clinton leaves.

[Tergon]

I saw it as more of a Big Brother thing.  Hanners isn't saying, "I need my man to protect me from the unwanted advances of this interloper!"  She's saying, "This guy is creeping me the fuck out and I NEED SOMEONE TO HELP ME."  Marten's just responding to that in a perfectly straightforward manner, not being possessive or anything, just making sure Clinton backs the hell off right now.

I really am pleased to see Marten's reaction, though.  As I've said in other threads in the past, I think we're seeing him becoming more and more assertive and confident over the course of the comic.  Now he's not hesitating to threaten an obsessive cyborg with a broadsword to protect Hannelore.  The man is growing a pair. 

[Odal]

Uuuuuh ... "just a hand" ?

The hand is about the most complex thing of the human body when it comes to mechanical finesse ... the arm part would be pretty trivial in comparison.

But it's just a hand.  I use my arm for more things than I use my hand for.

As for the rest, yes, it's nice to see Marten grow some man parts.  A Year-Ago-Marten would've just facepalmed and said, "Goddamn it, Clinton."

[akronnick]

It's easy to show spine when your brandishing a deadly weapon.



Just sayin'.

[Afakaz]

It's easy to show spine when your brandishing a deadly weapon.



Just sayin'.

Especially someone else's.

[TheEvilDog]

Looks like Clinton is going to end up with a matching cybernetic hand sooner rather than later.

And who said chivalry is dead?

[El_Flesh]

"It's movie sign"??? what the heck does that mean???

[mike837go]

Look up Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K) in the Urban Dictionary

[mike837go]

Did anyone else bother to check out the content Clinton's rants?

It's all scientifically plausable stuff.

When I first read it, I thought Jeph was making up words. Nope. It's all legit in a very absurd way.

Why would we want to manage how much light is being reflected off our planet?

-----
In the last panel Marten has NOT shown steel. Yet.

[El_Flesh]

looked it up. dont find anything except a def of each separate word.

[mike837go]

looked it up. dont find anything except a def of each separate word.

Exactly! Each word is real. But Jeph put them together to show how technically advanced Hannerdad is.
"microsatelites to keep Earth's albito stable"
That's $million$ just to make sure that the amout of light being reflected back into space stays the same. How silly is that?

Photovoltaic melanocyts: Solar powered pigment changes in the skin? Hel-lo! We already got that. Suntan anyone?

Our hero, Mr. Jacques has humor on many levels. Three cheers!

[akronnick]

Why would we want to manage how much light is being reflected off our planet?

To manage global climate of course.

Not only could you mitigate anthropogenic global climate change, you could control climate on a local basis.

Imagine an 8 month growing season in Siberia and Northern Canada (a very large fraction of Earth's dry land) while maintaining comfortable climates in other parts of the world.

[El_Flesh]

I'm sorry. I still don't understand why he calls him a 'movie sign'.
If it's supposed to reference bizarre technologies that would only appear on 3K,
then it doesn't make sense. It would be counter to the established universe and
thus Marten is self-referencing the strip's 3K universe?

[Skewbrow]

Exactly! Each word is real. But Jeph put them together to show how technically advanced Hannerdad is.
"microsatelites to keep Earth's albito stable"
That's $million$ just to make sure that the amout of light being reflected back into space stays the same. How silly is that?

That could be a way to control the global climate. By controlling the amount of reflected light we might be able to cool off (or warm up) the planet somewhat. The scale of such an operation would be massive, but it may be an engineering solution to global warming.  I am too ignorant about the planet scale physics to judge, whether albedo control alone would make enough of a difference to Earths temperature, or whether it might have some kind of unwanted side effects. May be in QCverse that was the chosen path, and JEC's AI played a key role?

I would prefer to keep politics out of this, so I will not discuss global warming on this forum.

[Carl-E]

Photovoltaic melanocyts: Solar powered pigment changes in the skin? Hel-lo! We already got that. Suntan anyone?

Except photovoltaic  would use electricity - so it would be an android's solar powered pigment change, making them appear to tan like a person. 

So the man is able to make incredible devices with uses that run from the sublime to the ridiculous! 

Also, this. 

Edit:  I imagine MST3K was as popular a show in QCverse as it was here, and so the phrase is perfectly consistant! 

[akronnick]

I didn't know either.

Now I do.

[mike837go]

Why would we want to manage how much light is being reflected off our planet?

To manage global climate of course.
Not only could you mitigate anthropogenic global climate change, you could control climate on a local basis.
Imagine an 8 month growing season in Siberia and Northern Canada (a very large fraction of Earth's dry land) while maintaining comfortable climates in other parts of the world.

We'd really be buying a new chassis if we tried that!
Besides, it can't work for extending a growing season. The amount of incoming light is limited by the output of The Sun. The maximum temperature is limited by the angle of the light rays striking the ground.
Getting backto Clinton's rant, he said "...keep the earth's albito stable" (emphasis mine). I used the word 'manage'. So the humorist used big words to be funny!

[El_Flesh]

I would prefer to keep politics out of this, so I will not discuss global warming on this forum.

*sigh*

Politics is the response to GW.
Any scientist worth his salt (i.e. not on the take or compromising ethics with self-interest) will prove to you GW is a fact.
We knew it was so in the late 70's; only nobody listened.

It makes me sick to my stomach every time uneducated idiot politicians think they can hem and haw about what science facts are.

There's my 2 cents, sorry to do what Skewbrow didn't want, any responses should be in a new thread...

And i STILL don't get why Marten says "OK movie sign"; although I do understand it's supposed to mean robot hand guy is weird...

OK thanx for the direct link - I got it now!

[mike837go]

Except photovoltaic  would use electricity - so it would be an android's solar powered pigment change, making them appear to tan like a person.

There's Jeph's sillyness. Why would that be an enhancement to a human?

That last rant has the flavor of Murder, arson and jaywalking. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking

[El_Flesh]

Well, bionic legs and reinforced joints I could really really use right now. Gimme a hacksaw.

[kent_eh]

And i STILL don't get why Marten says "OK movie sign"; although I do understand it's supposed to mean robot hand guy is weird...

Me too.
Having never actually seen MST3K, since it seems to have only been shown on networks that don't exist in Canada.

I mean, I see in the thoughtfully provided links what the reference is, but not having lived the experience, I don't get it

[Border Reiver]

Go Marten! 

Remember as you swing, get you hips behind it to increase power, and aim for the gut.  The neck (with the spine) is actually remarkably difficult to cut through, needing a hit in just the right spot to avoid getting the blade caught and possibly broken, the ribcage is just asking to catch and hold the blade, while the gut is remarkably unprotected and very vulnerable.  The other option is to try and hit the inside of the thigh to cut the femoral artery, or go go for the calf and try to get the tendons.

What?  I man has to have some form of hobby.

[DSL]

Oh, OK ... When the warning lights and alarms went off in the control center of the Satellite O'Love, the characters had to flee the bridge and head for the bad-movie screening room in a panic, to the cry of "We've got Movie Sign!" Hence, "Get the hell out. Now." And,  of the robots, Tom Servo (the name here a reference to Clinton's mech. hand) was the stupid, obnoxious one.
Lately I've been imagining Hannerdad's space station as less like the double-wheel of "2001" (I want that one for myself) and more like the SO'L.

[Skewbrow]

What?  I man has to have some form of hobby.

But? Isn't hockey an option? Or bridge?

[mike837go]

... and more like the SO'L.

Don't know that design. Which political faction installed it?

[mike837go]

What?  I man has to have some form of hobby.

But? Isn't hockey an option? Or bridge?

Hockey would only be an option after they get rid of all of that stupid padding.

Where can I sign up for Full Contact Bridge? Yeah. You're permitted to Gibbs-slap your partner for trumping your ace lead.

[Black Sword]

Go Marten! Going for violence first is such a positive developmeny for you, I completely approve! Now all you have to do is...

Go Marten! 

Remember as you swing, get you hips behind it to increase power, and aim for the gut.  The neck (with the spine) is actually remarkably difficult to cut through, needing a hit in just the right spot to avoid getting the blade caught and possibly broken, the ribcage is just asking to catch and hold the blade, while the gut is remarkably unprotected and very vulnerable.  The other option is to try and hit the inside of the thigh to cut the femoral artery, or go go for the calf and try to get the tendons.

What?  I man has to have some form of hobby.

...huh. I didn't expect the neck to be able to catch a good blade. Admittedly, bone is very tough, but it doesn't take that much relative force to snap or break a neck. I would think the force to separate it completely would not be too high.

[rje]

I really thought i could find a clip of just the movie sign line, but apparently not
however! http://youtu.be/LuIlJad4Etk if you skip to 5:52 you can see the actual movie sign and hear the line
(...okay so this isn't really relevant but this is like one of my absolute favorite MST3Ks EVAR and I'm totally not trying to pull more unawares people into the cult |D;; )

And now I'm picturing Hanners growing up on her dad's space station with some robot friends like that >u>

edit: totally ninja'd

[Carl-E]

What?  I man has to have some form of hobby.

But? Isn't hockey an option? Or bridge?

Hockey would only be an option after they get rid of all of that stupid padding.

Where can I sign up for Full Contact Bridge? Yeah. You're permitted to Gibbs-slap your partner for trumping your ace lead.

I thought that was when you body-checked. 

[Border Reiver]

...huh. I didn't expect the neck to be able to catch a good blade. Admittedly, bone is very tough, but it doesn't take that much relative force to snap or break a neck. I would think the force to separate it completely would not be too high.

Breaking the neck is easy, severing it is quite another.  Take a look at skeletons of persons who were killed in battle in eras where edged weapons were quite common, and you'll notice that decapitations were quite rare.  Movies make it look easy, but then it also looks better for the folks in the theatre.

As another way of checking this out, look at Tony Robinson's series "Worst Jobs in History"  I think it was the Tudor period episode where he looks at the job of Executioner.  There he uses a headsman's axe to attempt to cut through a pig neck - and even given ideal conditions it took more than one hack.

[TheEvilDog]

Just to add a little bit of horror to Border Reiver's like fact pile, when she was being executed it took several hacks to decapitate Mary Queens of Scots....and she was alive for every single hack.....

[gprimr1]

Hannerdad could be the great grandfather of Pintsize....

I think the satellite thing is a neat little reminder that the world of QC is not real life.

[Schmorgluck]

EDIT 2: Shouldn't there be a "PantPantPantPant" coming from ol' Clint's mouth in panel 3?

Well, there defintely are panting noises in panel 4.
[\smartass]

Where can I sign up for Full Contact Bridge? Yeah. You're permitted to Gibbs-slap your partner for trumping your ace lead.

How about Chess boxing?

[SJCrew]

I saw it as more of a Big Brother thing.  Hanners isn't saying, "I need my man to protect me from the unwanted advances of this interloper!"  She's saying, "This guy is creeping me the fuck out and I NEED SOMEONE TO HELP ME."  Marten's just responding to that in a perfectly straightforward manner, not being possessive or anything, just making sure Clinton backs the hell off right now.

Well, Marten and Hanners certainly do not have a brother and sister kind of relationship. In fact, they're about as close as close friends can be. And then there's the fact that she called him pretty clearly by name in a time of desperation...

Valiant effort, but I'm pretty convinced that was a not a platonic moment between the two.

[Somnus Eternus]

Where can I sign up for Full Contact Bridge? Yeah. You're permitted to Gibbs-slap your partner for trumping your ace lead.

Shit just got real at the old folks' home.

[Kalygirl]

Well, Marten and Hanners certainly do not have a brother and sister kind of relationship. In fact, they're about as close as close friends can be. And then there's the fact that she called him pretty clearly by name in a time of desperation...

Valiant effort, but I'm pretty convinced that was a not a platonic moment between the two.
[/quote]


Well, yeah she would call him clearly by name, seeing as he was the only one available to help her in that moment! Unless you think Pintsize would have been useful?

[SirDudley]

Why do I have the suspicion that Clinton will think the sword is fake, only to find out the hard way it's real?

Nah, Jeph would do that, would he?

[mike837go]

Why do I have the suspicion that Clinton will think the sword is fake, only to find out the hard way it's real?
Nah, Jeph would do that, would he?

Other than the obligitory booty dance, when has Jeph done the expected thing?

Keeping us guessing and having the characters to the improbable is what this strip is about.

I will cite strips 696 & 697. Improbable story of why they were late and the proof!

[Skewbrow]

Where can I sign up for Full Contact Bridge? Yeah. You're permitted to Gibbs-slap your partner for trumping your ace lead.

So brutal! However, asking the butler (or a waiter) to bring a set of thumbscrews is quite the accepted response to such atrocities committed at the green baize.