Topic: WCDT Strips 3656-3660 (15th to 19th January 2018) (Read 51051 times)

TheEvilDog · « **on:** 14 Jan 2018, 18:35 »

Wow, early comic this evening.

And it looks like Evie might need someone to have a word with her about making people feel uncomfortable.

RUN BUBBLES! RUN!

Near Lurker · « **Reply #1 on:** 14 Jan 2018, 19:18 »

...never send Evie to Israel.

Shjade · « **Reply #2 on:** 14 Jan 2018, 19:37 »

Huh.

Today's comic makes me oddly nostalgic for freshman year in college, in which I wrote a tiny research project/essay on American fascination with Japanese culture. Not actual Japanese culture, just the parts of it exaggerated/fetishized in America and looking into why those things and in what way etc.

You can fall into a deep hole fast with this kind of thing.

War Sparrow · « **Reply #3 on:** 14 Jan 2018, 20:27 »

As a former Psych major, I see where Evie is coming from. Near the end, I had some freinds have to gently remind me that people were not test subjects and I needed to poke less.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #4 on:** 14 Jan 2018, 20:29 »

I like Evie.

Notice that she studies fear of AIs and does not show even a second of being intimidated by Bubbles.

Thrudd · « **Reply #5 on:** 14 Jan 2018, 20:39 »

Would that be the 50's Rock'n'Roll Greasers or maybe the Disco Dudes? Elvisies's? Ann of Green Gables ... oh wait a sec, that's Canadian. I have no idea what I am talking about .... except maybe sleep ... it is an addiction but I just can't seem to break the habit / need and withdrawal is horribly debilitating.

War Sparrow · « **Reply #6 on:** 14 Jan 2018, 20:42 »

He hem. Anne with an E, thank you. ( it's a crucial part of her identity!)

Also on a serious note, are you okay?

shanejayell · « **Reply #7 on:** 14 Jan 2018, 21:10 »

Heh. Nice!

BenRG · « **Reply #8 on:** 14 Jan 2018, 23:03 »

"All of the Above" is the obvious and only answer for the poll, at least to me. The four people in Union Robotics right now have such a lot of high-stacked neuroses and inadequate social instincts that someone offending someone else is almost inevitable and all of them accidentally saying something offensive/stupid at least once is just as much so.

In some ways, I'm smiling and nodding at Bubbles' reaction here. She isn't happy with Evie's approach to her and is showing it in panel 4 but Evie clearly isn't getting the non-verbal message! Once, this would have sent Bubbles into a rage but, after being steadily inoculated to this mindset by long association with Emily and, to a lesser extent, Faye, she's only feeling annoyance and maybe a little amazed by this conversation... Well, lecture actually.

The big take-away? Whilst distrust and suspicion are instinctive reactions to something different, it takes time and effort to put energy into something as complex and sustained as hate.

anahata · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 00:51 »

Quote from: Is it cold in here? on 14 Jan 2018, 20:29

I like Evie.

Notice that she studies fear of AIs and does not show even a second of being intimidated by Bubbles.

The barrage of lecturing and not listening could be a smoke screen to cover her fear of Bubbles. I wonder how many AI's she has actually met, as opposed to theorizing distantly about them...

Edit: typo

Case · « **Reply #10 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 01:44 »

Actually, getting a PhD feels like being pregnant, in your head.

P.S.: This coming from a cis male, so YMMV.

P.P.S.: The old dude at the top of the hill is a mere eight years your senior and you spend most hours psyching yourself up to make an appointment where he can tell you it needs to be a bit more roundish, but other wise not half bad, and please not to forget that in the end, it's totally your responsibility to decide when it's finished.

P.P.P.S.: You take until after the graduation ceremony to realize that this meant he trusted you and your work and wasn't a sign of him DGAFing and that you were getting on everybodies' nerves with your freaking out and shanghaiing them into reading your drafts again and again because "ZOMG, old dude DGAF!" and THAT THEY HAD BEEN TELLING YOU SO FOR WEEKS but it didn't register ...

Tremayne · « **Reply #11 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 01:49 »

Quote from: Case on 15 Jan 2018, 01:44

Actually, getting a PhD feels like being pregnant, in your head.

"It's not a Doctoral Thesis - it's a MIND BABY!"

Akima · « **Reply #12 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 03:49 »

"It feels rather unpleasant to have my lived experience treated as a sociological case study."
Ain't that the truth!

Quote from: Case on 15 Jan 2018, 01:44

P.P.P.S.: You take until after the graduation ceremony to realize that this meant he trusted you and your work and wasn't a sign of him DGAFing

Hahahahaha! And I thought I was the only one! Not that I have a PhD, but I had much the same experience with my final year honours thesis.

anahata · « **Reply #13 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 04:33 »

Quote from: Tremayne on 15 Jan 2018, 01:49

"It's not a Doctoral Thesis - it's a MIND BABY!"

Not to be confused with a brainchild....

Cornelius · « **Reply #14 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 04:39 »

Quote from: Case on 15 Jan 2018, 01:44

P.P.S.: The old dude at the top of the hill is a mere eight years your senior and you spend most hours psyching yourself up to make an appointment where he can tell you it needs to be a bit more roundish, but other wise not half bad, and please not to forget that in the end, it's totally your responsibility to decide when it's finished.

P.P.P.S.: You take until after the graduation ceremony to realize that this meant he trusted you and your work and wasn't a sign of him DGAFing and that you were getting on everybodies' nerves with your freaking out and shanghaiing them into reading your drafts again and again because "ZOMG, old dude DGAF!" and THAT THEY HAD BEEN TELLING YOU SO FOR WEEKS but it didn't register ...[/size]

Well, it's better than continually getting stood up when you make an appointment, and then being blamed for not involving them enough... that's when I abandoned my PhD ambition.

Neko_Ali · « **Reply #15 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 07:14 »

Quote from: Akima on 15 Jan 2018, 03:49

"It feels rather unpleasant to have my lived experience treated as a sociological case study."
Ain't that the truth!

It sure does feel familiar, and not in a good way.

Pennepasta · « **Reply #16 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 07:14 »

Quote from: Cornelius on 15 Jan 2018, 04:39

Well, it's better than continually getting stood up when you make an appointment, and then being blamed for not involving them enough... that's when I abandoned my PhD ambition.

Welcome to Academia! Some supervisors are excellent (or so I hear), some are abysmal, some are just taking people on when they have no time, because funding. Enjoy. Also, not everyone fits in with academia, and you can't find out if you do until you've actually started going for research degrees, which means many wasted years where you could have been starting on the min wage tripe job treadmill earlier to possibly have some prospects.

OldGoat · « **Reply #17 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 16:00 »

Bubbles is clearly thinking, "If I produced solid waste, I could tear her head off and ~~shi~~ deposit some in her lungs."

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #18 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 17:36 »

Bubbles is doing a commendable job of communicating.

Penquin47 · « **Reply #19 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 19:20 »

MELON. MELON IS ADORABLE.

Poor Faye though.

SomeCanadianWeirdo · « **Reply #20 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 19:28 »

You'd think Melon would have some sort of subroutine going that would instantly do an image search for new to her objects, and tell her what they were. Then again maybe she does, but she has Safe Search mode on as default.

Perfectly Reasonable · « **Reply #21 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 19:46 »

IIRC, Pintsize was working on an animate dildo once. If it escaped, it would -definitely- be angry.

Is it cold in here? · « **Reply #22 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 20:31 »

Straight from philosophical exposition to pure wackiness. I really enjoy the variety QC provides.

Bad Superman · « **Reply #23 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 20:55 »

Quote from: Perfectly Reasonable on 15 Jan 2018, 19:46

IIRC, Pintsize was working on an animate dildo once. If it escaped, it would -definitely- be angry.

So this is how the Skynet-scenario really started…

brasca · « **Reply #24 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 21:55 »

As soon as I read this I thought of this.

Better call King Missile

OldGoat · « **Reply #25 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 22:05 »

Quote from: brasca on 15 Jan 2018, 21:55

As soon as I read this I thought of this.

Better call King Missile

In at least a few Native American cultures Coyote had a terrible time keeping track of his. (I think that might have saying the things have minds of their own.)

Timemaster · « **Reply #26 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 22:07 »

Yay, a german title.
"Der Arschersetzer" means "The ass-replacer".

Now i wonder if Jeph spent some time in Germany when he was in Europe.

Also: Fayes expression in panel four is priceless.

TM

Cornelius · « **Reply #27 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 22:37 »

Quote from: Perfectly Reasonable on 15 Jan 2018, 19:46

IIRC, Pintsize was working on an animate dildo once. If it escaped, it would -definitely- be angry.

I believe he did commission one with Union Robotics, but I'm not sure it was animated.

In Melon's defence, it seems just about any appliance can have AI in universe.

BenRG · « **Reply #28 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 23:02 »

Wow! Talk about coincidence! I'm almost ready to accuse Amanda of having hired Melon and asked her to come in at this very moment with this very problem! However, I think that Melon has got the impression that Faye is the 'nice repair lady' with whom she can be random and bizarre because random and bizarre are most of the products of her intelligence algorithm. Faye, meanwhile, appears to have come to accept Melon's weirdness as just being the price of having a reliable repeat customer.

IRL, you can find some weird stuff just thrown aside because people are done with it but an activated sex toy? Northampton is clearly a very, very strange place!

Quote from: Cornelius on 15 Jan 2018, 22:37

Quote from: Perfectly Reasonable on 15 Jan 2018, 19:46
IIRC, Pintsize was working on an animate dildo once. If it escaped, it would -definitely- be angry.

I believe he did commission one with Union Robotics, but I'm not sure it was animated.

No, PR was referring to a much older arc (from about two years ago) when Pintsize built a self-ambulatory singing dildo that escaped whilst he and Winslow were filming an infomercial for the product. It is unlikely to be angry because Pintsize programmed it to always be happy.

Shjade · « **Reply #29 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 23:17 »

Quote from: Timemaster on 15 Jan 2018, 22:07

Also: Fayes expression in panel four is priceless.

I rather like the "oh, gross, where has this been NEVERMIND BRAIN DON'T THINK ABOUT IT I DON'T WANT TO KNOW" tension under her eyes in panel 5, myself.

Gyrre · « **Reply #30 on:** 15 Jan 2018, 23:34 »

Quote from: SomeCanadianWeirdo on 15 Jan 2018, 19:28

You'd think Melon would have some sort of subroutine going that would instantly do an image search for new to her objects, and tell her what they were. Then again maybe she does, but she has Safe Search mode on as default.

I'm going to be honest, I'd have 'Safe Search' on too in that situation.
EDIT: I wonder if QC AIs can opt for a V-chip type filter for their mind's eye.

oeoek · « **Reply #31 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 00:11 »

Quote from: BenRG on 15 Jan 2018, 23:02

...
IRL, you can find some weird stuff just thrown aside because people are done with it but an activated sex toy? Northampton is clearly a very, very strange place!
...

It was not thrown away, it escaped under it's own power, desperately rattling down the streets of the city.

Doc · « **Reply #32 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 00:57 »

Sex Toy is angry because it's stranded on planet.
ST phone home.
brzzzzzt brzzt

JoeCovenant · « **Reply #33 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 02:32 »

Quote from: anahata on 15 Jan 2018, 04:33

Quote from: Tremayne on 15 Jan 2018, 01:49
"It's not a Doctoral Thesis - it's a MIND BABY!"

Not to be confused with a brainchild....

Great ZEUS! What a concept!

traroth · « **Reply #34 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 05:49 »

Quote from: Perfectly Reasonable on 15 Jan 2018, 19:46

IIRC, Pintsize was working on an animate dildo once. If it escaped, it would -definitely- be angry.

Speaking of Pintsize, wasn't Union Robotics doint some kind of... work for him?

Now, I'm scared. What will he look like next time we see him?

cesium133 · « **Reply #35 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 05:59 »

Quote from: Tremayne on 15 Jan 2018, 01:49

Quote from: Case on 15 Jan 2018, 01:44
Actually, getting a PhD feels like being pregnant, in your head.

"It's not a Doctoral Thesis - it's a MIND BABY!"

*looks at own doctoral thesis*
"Mamas, don't let your mind babies grow up to be atomic physics"

Thrudd · « **Reply #36 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 06:06 »

Quote from: Doc on 16 Jan 2018, 00:57

Sex Toy is angry because it's stranded on planet.
ST phone home.
brzzzzzt brzzt

For some reason that made me think of this

(click to show/hide)

Quote from: cesium133 on 16 Jan 2018, 05:59

Quote from: Tremayne on 15 Jan 2018, 01:49
Quote from: Case on 15 Jan 2018, 01:44
Actually, getting a PhD feels like being pregnant, in your head.
"It's not a Doctoral Thesis - it's a MIND BABY!"
*looks at own doctoral thesis*
"Mamas, don't let your mind babies grow up to be atomic physics"

They will just end up entangled with all sorts of weird strange particles, playing with glueballs and end up dating one named Branon.

Case · « **Reply #37 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 06:15 »

Quote from: Timemaster on 15 Jan 2018, 22:07

Yay, a german title.
"Der Arschersetzer" means "The ass-replacer".
Now i wonder if Jeph spent some time in Germany when he was in Europe.

Also: Fayes expression in panel four is priceless.

TM

He did mention studying German in school; however, conjuring up a neologism, and such a magnificent one like Arschersetzer (showcases all those nice fricatives & splosives German has! (*)), points toward a native speaker. And imo not just any old Kraut - a songwriter or poet, methinks.

(*) Best 'German sentence being awkwardbeautifulgerman': Mein Herz tanzt (My heart is dancing - refrain in 'Tanz der Moleküle' by MIA)

(click to show/hide)

shanejayell · « **Reply #38 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 07:07 »

Considering that we have blutooth wireless enabled sex toys NOW, a AI equipped one would not shock me...

TinPenguin · « **Reply #39 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 07:20 »

"I am D-3PO, human-cyborg relations. I am fluent in over six million forms of stimulation."

Thrudd · « **Reply #40 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 10:26 »

Quote from: shanejayell on 16 Jan 2018, 07:07

Considering that we have blutooth wireless enabled sex toys NOW, a AI equipped one would not shock me...

With a faulty ground it would .... unless you were into that sort of thing

Perfectly Reasonable · « **Reply #41 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 16:17 »

I asked the Internet to pronounce 'Arschersetzer' for me. Didn't work.
But it did find me a Hell Orbs youtube video....
It was actually ... relevant..

Penquin47 · « **Reply #42 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 19:48 »

Poor Mandy!

shanejayell · « **Reply #43 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 20:11 »

I sorta feel bad for Melon, really.

Still, buyer beware and all that....

TheEvilDog · « **Reply #44 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 20:18 »

Melon must have been screaming at the insects that day when they were handing out a modicum of sense...

SomeCanadianWeirdo · « **Reply #45 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 20:23 »

Cluelessness, thy name is Melon.

shanejayell · « **Reply #46 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 20:30 »

It would be interesting if Bubbles scolded Faye on being mean to Melon...

St.Clair · « **Reply #47 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 21:48 »

Quote from: OldGoat on 15 Jan 2018, 22:05

Quote from: brasca on 15 Jan 2018, 21:55
As soon as I read this I thought of this.

Better call King Missile
In at least a few Native American cultures Coyote had a terrible time keeping track of his. (I think that might have saying the things have minds of their own.)

Don't think that has ever come up in Gunnerkrigg Court.
Wonder why.

(no I don't)

Shjade · « **Reply #48 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 22:17 »

Quote from: cucumber error on 16 Jan 2018, 20:12

Hopefully someone will advise Melon to give her new pet a bath. Meanwhile, two full days away from Bubbles and Evie has me concerned that that conversation may have deteriorated...

It can't have gone TOO badly, or they'd have heard it from outside by now. And/or Evie would have been escorted out, most likely.

I think they're doing fine. Awkward, maybe, but fine.

BenRG · « **Reply #49 on:** 16 Jan 2018, 23:12 »

I think that Jeph wants to make Melon his ultra-Emily. Sweet, unworldly and with no real concept of 'reality' but ultimately with a kindly soul.

I suppose that you could accuse Faye of abusing a trusting soul to get $100 for no real work on her part. However, when you look at the smile on Melon's face in panel 4, you realise that the objective truth would be a terrible cruelty to inflict on her. Instead, Faye has reduced the littering problem in Northampton and effectively got Melon and Arthur a pet. She's earned a consultancy fee if nothing else!

Meanwhile, poor Amanda realises that, when one visits Union Robotics, one must check in one's sense of normality at the door!

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Poll

Who is going to put their foot in it this week?

Author Topic: WCDT Strips 3656-3660 (15th to 19th January 2018) (Read 51051 times)

TheEvilDog

TheEvilDog