Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

... it's a newer model from the same line

... it's a model meant to compete with the original Philomena chassis

... it turns out she sucks at flying

... it can turn into a mini-car and she's offered a job as a racer

... it turns into a small boat or jetski

... it's the same model as CorpseWitch's old chassis

... it's the same model as Milli's

... it's modeled after Sven due to a comedic misunderstanding

... she's now called 'Swearberry' (same chassis as Melon's)

... it's a drider/Jorōgumo style

Sven is not a mooch

[BenRG]

Somehow, I like the idea that Pintsize is 'old school' enough to have a hidden stash or two in cash. He's actually a fairly middle-of-the-road persona but he really enjoys pretending to be edgy and, at best, semi-legal doesn't he? I kind of wonder how much cash in unlikely denominations he's salted away over the years, just in case his humans need it or maybe that nice girl who he's been trying to help out for a while now (even thought he attempts to turn it into self-interest)?

I'm looking forward to the outcome when whoever it is goes to see Sven about this (probably Momo). I suspect that, if Sven donates big, May will reflexively want to reject it, afraid what it might mean for her independence and their own relationship. "I don't wan to be his 'bought woman'!" she will say (or words to that effect).

Of course, Sven would never see it like that but it would be May's fear. It might take Sven a while to convince her that she isn't 'his sexbot' and that she still has agency and a right to make her own choices. That said, the two may ultimately find it cute/funny to roleplay it out on occasion.

[awkwardness]

...hey, they're bills so it's not chump change he's giving you! That's gotta be maybe $50 CAD or more there($37 USD)

[awkwardness]

It's simple: it's going from one bank account into a different bank account.

I do get the whole concept of transferring money from one bank account to another.

You ignored the rest of my response to snipe at me. Excuse me for answering your question as someone who actually experienced what you were asking about as both a witness to this kind of transaction from a similar small-sized nonprofit organization and as a recipient of a check from a nonprofit organization.

[Tova]

It's simple: it's going from one bank account into a different bank account.

I do get the whole concept of transferring money from one bank account to another.

You ignored the rest of my response to snipe at me. Excuse me for answering your question as someone who actually experienced what you were asking about as both a witness to this kind of transaction from a similar small-sized nonprofit organization and as a recipient of a check from a nonprofit organization.

I wasn't trying to snipe - sorry if it came across that way. What I'm trying to say is that I understand the aspect that you're explaining to me. I've used nothing but purely electronic bank transfers in one form or another for many, many years now. It's the concept of conducting the transfer via a scanned piece of paper that is unusual to me. If you've got the tech to scan the cheque in, you've probably got the tech to skip the piece of paper entirely and lose literally nothing except a bit of extra headache.

[Oh dear]

...hey, they're bills so it's not chump change he's giving you! That's gotta be maybe $50 CAD or more there($37 USD)

More. Those are green bills, so they're twenties. Gotta be 60-100 for a stack that thick at least.

[Tova]

In fact, I think you can make out the '20' in panel three.

[zisraelsen]

Yea, but only the top and bottom bills are legit. The rest is Canadian Tire money.

[dutchrvl]

Obviously Jeph is celebrating 850 strips since this one.

(click to show/hide)

Not to mention 822 strips since this one:

(click to show/hide)

[cybersmurf]

Dang, you were faster.

Obviously Jeph is celebrating 850 strips since this one.

(click to show/hide)

Not to mention 822 strips since this one:

(click to show/hide)

[Gyrre]

I guess now we know why it was damp.

[Case]

It's simple: it's going from one bank account into a different bank account.

I do get the whole concept of transferring money from one bank account to another.

You ignored the rest of my response to snipe at me. Excuse me for answering your question as someone who actually experienced what you were asking about as both a witness to this kind of transaction from a similar small-sized nonprofit organization and as a recipient of a check from a nonprofit organization.

I wasn't trying to snipe - sorry if it came across that way. What I'm trying to say is that I understand the aspect that you're explaining to me. I've used nothing but purely electronic bank transfers in one form or another for many, many years now. It's the concept of conducting the transfer via a scanned piece of paper that is unusual to me. If you've got the tech to scan the cheque in, you've probably got the tech to skip the piece of paper entirely and lose literally nothing except a bit of extra headache.

I have a hunch that those aspects of the US financial system that are surprising & unfamiliar to non-USnians are maybe not the things USnians would assume to be uncommon & surprising to ppl outside the US?

I wouldn't be surprised to learn that differences in common practises wrt money transfer may have much more to do e.g. with differences in ID laws, and the practises & workarounds that result from those differences. I do admit that this is not what you'd call an informed opion, though!

Edit: I'm thinking about stuff like eg the fact that credit cards never took off in Germany the way they did in the US - IIRC that was not due a supply-side lack (ie German banks not offering them), but rather ppl not finding the product attractive or useful enough against the backdrop of the already existing ecosystem in Germany. Afaics, this factoid has vexed a lot of banking execs for something like three decades.

EditEdit: Also, IIRC, there's a difference between a check and a simple transfer in that in order to transfer, the issuer has to have advance information about the account information of the recipient. In countries where that situation is the norm wrt the most basic needed transfers (salary and/or transfers from government institutiona) checks would satisfy a need that doesn't exist, or isn't as pressing.

Like - I've never been in the situation wheregovernment, employer and insurers did not have my account details, so there was never any need to write me a check in order to get money into my hands.

[Mr_Rose]

EditEdit: Also, IIRC, there's a difference between a check and a simple transfer in that in order to transfer, the issuer has to have advance information about the account information of the recipient. In countries where that situation is the norm wrt the most basic needed transfers (salary and/or transfers from government institutiona) checks would satisfy a need that doesn't exist, or isn't as pressing.

This is probably what is troubling people about the concept of someone writing themselves a cheque to transfer money between two accounts they hold.    What purpose is served by using a slip of paper as an intermediary?


On the topic of cheque use, my bank (in common with all consumer banks here) has recently stopped issuing chequebooks at all, having long since dropped down to on request only.

[Case]

EditEdit: Also, IIRC, there's a difference between a check and a simple transfer in that in order to transfer, the issuer has to have advance information about the account information of the recipient. In countries where that situation is the norm wrt the most basic needed transfers (salary and/or transfers from government institutiona) checks would satisfy a need that doesn't exist, or isn't as pressing.

This is probably what is troubling people about the concept of someone writing themselves a cheque to transfer money between two accounts they hold.    What purpose is served by using a slip of paper as an intermediary?

I have to admit that I was ... blessedly ignorant ... of the very existence of the practise until this very moment? 

Edit: And I've just now groked that this was the very example of Awkward's that confused Tova.

[theMarc]

Pintsize is a Concern Hydra: every time you ask him a question, two more are raised by the answer.

[Zebediah]

The real question is: How is Pintsize still allowed to enter Canada?

I suppose it’s possible that he isn’t any more, which is why he’s so willing to part with his CAD.

[Case]

The real question is: How is Pintsize still allowed to enter Canada?

They've had him sign an affadavit that he will not apply for asylum, citzenship or any other legal way of failing to return to the US?

Other possible explanation is that it's part of a secret annexe in NAFTA/USAMC added at the behest of the Adult Entertainment Association of Canada? (apparently there is no 'Canadian Strippers Association' - just mentioning this so you don't have to have that on your Google Search History, too ...)

[Zebediah]

Comic’s up.

I’m not a hentai fan, so I have no way of judging just how bad Colo-Rectal Mecha Dorm Room truly is. But I’ll take Marigold’s word for it.

[DaiJB]

"...It's the horniest anime ever made but it's also terrible."

Well, that's not really surprising - hentai is essentially just porn, a genre which is not exactly renowned for its production values 

[shanejayell]

I'd say Jeph's underestimating the resale value. I belong to a anime collectors group, and some sealed, out of print anime go for up to $500. Plus they say the print runs were destroyed? Then who knows how high it'd go.

Collectors are WEIRD.

[Case]

UhmmmmmmmmmOkaaaaay? 

[Farideh]

Ah, Marigold and Dale. Yours is a wondrous relationship

I can imagine May finding it both hilarious and touching that the proceeds of the sale of 'Colo-Rectal Mecha Dorm Room' will go towards her fundraiser. It would appeal to her sense of humor.

[Tova]

What would appeal to my own sense of humour would be if May ended up buying it herself.

[shanejayell]

What would appeal to my own sense of humour would be if May ended up buying it herself.

Nah. Pintsize!

[Tova]

I mean, that would miss the humour of May paying money into her own fundraiser, but it could happen I guess...

[Gnabberwocky]

Rather than selling it straight up, they should hold an auction for it. Die-hard collectors can be willing to pay through the nose, so if they could get a few people desperate to get their hands on it to bid, that could ratchet the price into the hundreds or thousands.

[Gus_Smedstad]

I'd say Jeph's underestimating the resale value. I belong to a anime collectors group, and some sealed, out of print anime go for up to $500.

A realistic value would ruin the joke. I really enjoyed all that build up, like it was the Treasure of the Sierra Madre, and then he deflates it with the real value being maybe $90.

$500 isn't mega-millions, but it's enough that the joke wouldn't work. $90 is just enough so worrying about the value is halfway plausible without being too much.

I do agree with you, though. There are copies of E.T. for the Atari 2600 on eBay for $1000. I imagine there's more enjoyment to be had from Colo Rectal Mecha Dorm Room than that game.

[Scarlet Manuka]

There are copies of E.T. for the Atari 2600 on eBay for $1000.

While I take your point, that's not evidence of anything much unless they're actually selling at that price.

[Tova]

Rather than selling it straight up, they should hold an auction for it. Die-hard collectors can be willing to pay through the nose, so if they could get a few people desperate to get their hands on it to bid, that could ratchet the price into the hundreds or thousands.

I hope that is, in fact, their plan.

[Gyrre]

Rather than selling it straight up, they should hold an auction for it. Die-hard collectors can be willing to pay through the nose, so if they could get a few people desperate to get their hands on it to bid, that could ratchet the price into the hundreds or thousands.

As an attendee of several cons, just don't get w/o about 10 to 20ft (~3.33m to ~6.67m) of them.
Granted, I'm told con-goers have gotten better about personal hygiene (for the most part) over the past couple of years. It's nice to know the whole 'soap-and-deoderant-exist-please-use-them' thing is being pushed in more places to help battle con-funk.

[Cheetaur]

Not quite sure I understand today's strip. Sometimes Im thick headed....but what does her having a sealed copy of an Anime (even pron one) have to deal with May getting a new body or fundraising. I could see if it was worth thousands of dollars...and she was going to use it for retirement....and then wanted to share the decision with Dale...but still not sure what it all means. 

[Tova]

Not quite sure I understand today's strip. Sometimes Im thick headed....but what does her having a sealed copy of an Anime (even pron one) have to deal with May getting a new body or fundraising. I could see if it was worth thousands of dollars...and she was going to use it for retirement....and then wanted to share the decision with Dale...but still not sure what it all means. 

Okay. So I can explain in story terms and in joke terms.

In story terms, this is another instance of May's friends finding ways to chip a bit of cash into her fundraiser. They plan to sell the anime and donate the proceeds. Every bit helps, basically, and all of her friends are chipping a bit in.

In joke terms, the strip sets up joke by creating an expectation that Marigold has unveiled a way to raise a significant amount of money, as it appears that the unsealed copy would be extremely valuable. And then delivers the punchline by subverting that expectation in explaining that the anime is not really worth all that much.

That's all, hope it helps.

[Sorflakne]

Art shift...Dale and Marigold look way different, as if they're several years younger than their last appearance.

Not quite sure I understand today's strip. Sometimes Im thick headed....but what does her having a sealed copy of an Anime (even pron one) have to deal with May getting a new body or fundraising. I could see if it was worth thousands of dollars...and she was going to use it for retirement....and then wanted to share the decision with Dale...but still not sure what it all means. 

That's the joke.  It's built up as being a super rare anime that is impossible to get and worth a lot of money, only for it to be like $90.  Still a nice sum they can use for a donation, but not the thousands of dollars the comic builds our expectations to be.  Also serves as an example of a Shaggy Dog story.

[Cheetaur]

Thanks Sorflakne and Tova, I see now...I appreciate the answers. Be well all

[Gus_Smedstad]

While I take your point, that's not evidence of anything much unless they're actually selling at that price.

True. I didn't do any in-depth research, I just did a quick search. ET being the canonical example of something horrible that is still a collector's item.

If you search on sold listings on eBay, it runs from a high of $965 to a low of $90 for a new, sealed copy, to $5 for a working cartridge with no box or manual.

Why the price range for sealed copies is so wide is beyond me. Four copies sold for $400 or more, and there are dozens in the $150-$200 range.

Also serves as an example of a Shaggy Dog story.

Links to TVTropes should probably come with some sort of warning that you're about to disappear down a rabbit hole and may be following tangential links for hours.

[Tova]

ET being the canonical example of something horrible that is still a collector's item.

The way you say "still a collector's item" would, if I didn't know better, lead me to think you believed it is collectible in spite of being famously horrible, rather than because.

BTW its infamy is one of those truthy things that everyone says because every says it, though, right? There are a ton of YouTube videos claiming it's not as bad as people say. Just putting that on record.

Disclaimer: I've never played it myself. I do recall watching a YouTube video of someone who decided to try and play through it. It was pretty amusing, I'll grant you that.

[Romanticide]

What would appeal to my own sense of humour would be if May ended up buying it herself.

Maybe they could even add to the fundraiser audio of May comenting the rip to every person that donates and asks for it XD XD

And oh well 90 bucks may not be much considering how out of print anime can get... but it's a step closer.

[awkwardness]

Is it weird that I now want to see that?

OK I'm weird...no need to blame it on an anime

[awkwardness]

The real question is: How is Pintsize still allowed to enter Canada?

I suppose it’s possible that he isn’t any more, which is why he’s so willing to part with his CAD.

Maybe he hasn't been caught breaking the law in a way the prevents his crossing the border? He's shifty enough to know the laws, a lot of criminal masterminds are

Then again, wooded areas are easy to cross the border if you know the routes of the border patrols...or so i've seen(seriously, on TV)

[awkwardness]

There are copies of E.T. for the Atari 2600 on eBay for $1000.

While I take your point, that's not evidence of anything much unless they're actually selling at that price.

...oddly, it actually is

[awkwardness]

ET being the canonical example of something horrible that is still a collector's item.

The way you say "still a collector's item" would, if I didn't know better, lead me to think you believed it is collectible in spite of being famously horrible, rather than because.

BTW its infamy is one of those truthy things that everyone says because every says it, though, right? There are a ton of YouTube videos claiming it's not as bad as people say. Just putting that on record.

Disclaimer: I've never played it myself. I do recall watching a YouTube video of someone who decided to try and play through it. It was pretty amusing, I'll grant you that.

The bigger thing about the game was that it came at the worst possible time: Atari fell flat as the videogame market bottomed out and they lost millions. It was infamous as it was highly touted but in reality it didn't do to well, alongside a lot of other games that came out then. Its gameplay wasn't that good(not bad, but not good either), and within two years it was overshadowed by Nintendo exploding onto the scene. It wasn't hte only game buried in the infamous landfill in New Mexico, thousands of other copies of other games were buried alongside it but it's the most remembered because it's ET.

[citizenfive]

Links to TVTropes should probably come with some sort of warning that you're about to disappear down a rabbit hole and may be following tangential links for hours.

I second this; I just fell down the aforementioned rabbit hole. TVTropes links are dangerous.

[Geographus]

I'd say Jeph's underestimating the resale value. I belong to a anime collectors group, and some sealed, out of print anime go for up to $500. Plus they say the print runs were destroyed? Then who knows how high it'd go.

Collectors are WEIRD.

Definitely. (Yes I know the low value is part of the joke.)

I once got a promo-CD from some obscure metal-band out of such a blind bag at a fundraiser for a local metal/rock pub. Looked up their music
on Youtube, it wasn't my taste so I put the sealed CD up on eBay.

Apparently it was one of the bands first ever promos which had like 200 copies and they became quite famous since then (for their genre of music)
so it ended up selling for way over 100€.

[BenRG]

I'm guessing that CRMDR is a good example of entertainment media that one owns to own, not to actually consume because no-one would actually want to consume something written and produced that badly. The film's rep probably adds to its market value but the question remains whether or not it was withdrawn and mostly eradicated because it was so explicit or because it was so bad that everyone, including the producers and distributors, wanted it gone!

Given what Marigold says about its actual money value, I assume that the real value comes from bragging rights. "Oh yeah, I got a pristine never-opened one!" However, not strong enough bragging rights that people would be willing to part with money for it.

Meanwhile, we are reminded that Dale and Marigold are May's friends. She might not admit it to herself but it is a fact and Marigold proved it by giving up her emergency secret trade stash! Actually from what Momo says in panel 1, it's obvious that this group has been waiting for a while for a sign that May will accept their help, which is a wonderful thing, really!

Prediction: Pintsize was the vendor of the blind bag in which Marigold got that disc. Even he has standards!

[Gyrre]

ET being the canonical example of something horrible that is still a collector's item.

The way you say "still a collector's item" would, if I didn't know better, lead me to think you believed it is collectible in spite of being famously horrible, rather than because.

BTW its infamy is one of those truthy things that everyone says because every says it, though, right? There are a ton of YouTube videos claiming it's not as bad as people say. Just putting that on record.

Disclaimer: I've never played it myself. I do recall watching a YouTube video of someone who decided to try and play through it. It was pretty amusing, I'll grant you that.

They found the legendary Atari dump site in New Mexico.

[Tova]

Ah, now I remember! I watched the documentary about that. Atari: Game Over. It was enjoyable.

[JoeCovenant]

There are copies of E.T. for the Atari 2600 on eBay for $1000.

While I take your point, that's not evidence of anything much unless they're actually selling at that price.

...oddly, it actually is

"plus $306 'additional costs'..." !??!?!??!

[Perfectly Reasonable]

A new poll topic suddenly appears!

[Case]

Ah, now I remember! I watched the documentary about that. Atari: Game Over. It was enjoyable.

Ummh - from what I remember of the time (which is just slightly after the videogame-industry crisis proper - got my C64 in '86, by which time the crisis was pretty much history), a lot of it was Jack Tramiel repeatedly being so far ahead of the curve he ended up out-competing himself (and a lot of other folk to boot). Pushed the C64 at Commodore, coined the nifty 'Home Computer' label for rigs that were basically the common ancestor of both the contemporary PC (Commodore C64/128, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, Commodore Amiga and a few others, iirc) and almost pushed consoles of the market for half a decade - and just when his baby started taking off, he acquired Atari and the 2600 he'd just made forever obsolete?

Similar story with the Amiga/Atari ST competition in the latter half of the decade, I think I recall?

I have to admit I'm a bit peeved at accounts that appear to pretend that kids in the 80s and 90s only used consoles for gaming until the Intel-clone PCs entered peoples' living rooms. Far as I recall it, the 80s were very much the decade of the Home Computer.

[BenRG]

Yes, my mother owned one of those 'kit computers', the Sinclair ZX81 with a whopping 16kb of memory (thanks to an expansion pack), a keyboard augmentation that made the touch-sensitive keypad go from about 20% to 50% functional and a thermal printer that smelled awful. Still, she could program in BASIC fairly well!

[SmilingCat]

Panel three reminds me of buying anime at the local store in the late nineties. The store owners didn't know the difference, so anything anime was all mixed together regardless of... content.

Somewhere, among my circle of friends, there's a VHS tape of a Hentai that one friend picked up with only a cursory glance, thinking it was some sort of vampire anime. It has circulated amongst my friends ever since, nobody really knowing where it ended up.

Some say it will return again one day, to once again create a really awkward viewing experience among the unaware.