THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: jwhouk on 21 Jan 2012, 16:33
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Early start to the thread due to Jeph returning from NZ and me probably unable to start the thread tomorrow afternoon.
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I found picking just one of those really hard. =(
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I wonder if they have a space elevator or if we'll see them riding on a rocket/space shuttle.
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I really should have made it a multiple-choice poll, but clicked it before I could change it.
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count me in the half of Jeph's readers who think that this silly story line is going to TOTALLY ROCK ASS!~
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I wonder if the first couple of strips will involve just the trip up to the space station.
Fun times with zero gravity! Woo!
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I wonder if they have a space elevator or if we'll see them riding on a rocket/space shuttle.
Ring Transporter
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I can make the poll multiple choice, but I don't know what will happen to the existing votes. Want me to go ahead? How many options would you like per voter?
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I voted for the mandatory view of Earth. As the station is on a low orbit you would only see a tiny fraction of the Earth's surface from a window. Of course, HannerDad may have a panoramic view from his living room, but even then you would need a fish-eye lense to fit all of Earth into a single pic. This image (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Orbitalaltitudes.jpg) gives an idea of the scale.
But some toon physics will probably also be seen. Doesn't matter (much).
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I changed it to 3 votes, with the option to change your vote for the people who'd already voted while it was single vote. The votes were not reset. Sound good?
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Very, Voted the 1st, 3rd and 4th option :X
Anyway, I think Padma will be at the airport. OFCOURSE SHE WILL BE AT THE AIRPORT!
It's gonna be a scene!
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I have to wonder if Hanners might be embellishing the truth abit.
Lemme throw this curve ball: HannerDad does live in a "space station." However, it's a special mockup of a "space station" in some warehouse in New Jersey. It would sorta explain why Hanners is OCD in cleaning; a "space station' would offer a clean environment to a serious OCD person, with heavy filtration systems, orderly organization, and so forth.
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I have to wonder if Hanners might be embellishing the truth abit.
Lemme throw this curve ball: HannerDad does live in a "space station." However, it's a special mockup of a "space station" in some warehouse in New Jersey. It would sorta explain why Hanners is OCD in cleaning; a "space station' would offer a clean environment to a serious OCD person, with heavy filtration systems, orderly organization, and so forth.
Honestly this is pretty rational in thought, even in QCs alternate universe it would still be quite expensive to send 2 people who have no experience or training into space. The special mockup would make a whole bunch of sense, however I'm sure if they are going to space than I'm sure Jeph will have a good explanation as to how it will work.
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What we haven't been told is that by "short notice", Hanners means they'll only have to do 12 months of intensive training first, for his birthday NEXT year... :-D
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Couldn't they just hitch a ride on the space owls?
Or take a leaf out of Doctor Dolittle's book and fly there on the back of a giant moth (http://gutenberg.ca/ebooks-australia/lofting-garden/0603431h-images/illus-073.png).
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Owls are only good for light strike missions on federal agents who are afraid of coffee shop owners. They don't have the heavy-lift capacity.
We had some fun in an earlier thread talking about space elevators, I think.
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Experience is an issue for everyone who hasn't been to space before and the only way to get it is to go so it's kind of a wash. Training, though, is an interesting issue; most astronaut training is in spacecraft operations so you can skip a hell of a lot of it if you expect people to just be passengers and not push buttons. Still, though, they will need to know what to expect from low or microgravity and especially how to move and more importantly stop in freefall.
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Marigold will want to invite Momo, who would invite herself except for the social protocol database.
In which case, it will be very difficult to stop Marten from bring his own AnthroPC.
I don't want to think about that too much.
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It would be very difficult if Marten wanted to bring Pintsize.
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I have to wonder if Hanners might be embellishing the truth abit.
Lemme throw this curve ball: HannerDad does live in a "space station." However, it's a special mockup of a "space station" in some warehouse in New Jersey. It would sorta explain why Hanners is OCD in cleaning; a "space station' would offer a clean environment to a serious OCD person, with heavy filtration systems, orderly organization, and so forth.
Honestly this is pretty rational in thought, even in QCs alternate universe it would still be quite expensive to send 2 people who have no experience or training into space. The special mockup would make a whole bunch of sense, however I'm sure if they are going to space than I'm sure Jeph will have a good explanation as to how it will work.
I base my speculation on the fact that we have several analogues here on earth already.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MARS-500
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere_2
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I don't think cost would be an issue, actually. From what's to be understood, Hanner's dad is wealthy as all getout, if he can afford to have his own space station.
On the suggestion of it being in a warehouse somewhere, Hanners would have to be unaware of it. She points the station out overhead to Sven on their date here: http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1768
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Didn't Jeph say something about Hannelore being in space and being crazy instead of going to college? I can't find it in his Tumblr.
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He owns a Raptor
The Station is actually the Galactica.
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So would HannerDad be Adama, Lee, Tigh, Doc Cottle or "No more Mr.Nice Gaius" Baltar?
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That's "Doctor Nice Gaius".
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I changed it to 3 votes, with the option to change your vote for the people who'd already voted while it was single vote. The votes were not reset. Sound good?
Sounds good.
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They do sound fun! Also, I love when Jeph draws someone mid-drop. I'm not quite sure why, it just gets to me.
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I picked the never-seeing-Hannerdad angle. Cause so far this storyline is sorely missing a pitfall. And in QC, there's always about two pitfalls.
In the Tai's Party arc, Dora went on a date (before showing up to the party anyway), and then Tai was too shy (or perhaps wise) to be as forward as she might have been.
When Steve started going out with Cosette, they got interrupted at inopportune moments, twice. On the same night.
Doing battle with the VespAvenger, Marten tried and rather comically failed to do anything useful, despite his efforts.
Sven did manage to take Hannelore on a date without anything untoward happening... unless you count managing to say the exact wrong thing to her, twice.
When Dora and Marten first got together, Dora spent much of the next day worrying about how she had hurt Faye.
Marigold trying to deal with her feelings for Angus took a very long time, with many a faux-pas and awkward situation along the way.
What I'm trying to say here is that I think deliberately making things not that easy is a large part of Jeph's writing style, and I'm kind of nervous about what the pitfalls will be here. Especially if it leads to disappointment regarding the whole "Spaaaaaaaace!!" aspect of the arc, which I wouldn't put past him. :psy:
EDIT- Oh, and I can guess from the comic that just appeared that this week will not actually be about going to space: it'll be about everyone talking about how lucky Marten and Marigold are for having the opportunity to go to space. :P
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The book Packing For Mars (http://www.amazon.com/Packing-Mars-Curious-Science-Life/dp/0393339912/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327296217&sr=1-1) has some material on sex in zero gravity conditions.
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Hmmmmm
If this keeps up, they'll need a Federation Shuttle to take everyone up. :D
@Jeph, I don't think any of the current and previous Astronauts being able to answer your question in either the positive or negative as NASA, ESA and the Russian Space Agency actively discourage such 'Experimentation' in that direction.
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Really? Spoilsports. Though I'm sure there's actually a good reason for it. :-P
I'm kinda surprised Tai just believes Marten's excuse. I guess in the QC-verse space travel is much easier than it is for us. I mean, obviously since Hannerdad lives there, but I thought he was just an exception for being a filthy-rich genius.
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I wonder how many of the Apollo Command Module Pilots experimented with zero-g self gratification while orbiting the far side of the Moon all by themselves, completely cut off from all of humanity...
It's really the only way to be sure you won't be interrupted!
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"Commander, this is Houston... what the hell...??"
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Well the 'trajectory' (pun intended) of this conversation sent me scrambling to find out all I could about having sex in space.
If you're curious too, these are the best two articles I could come up with *cough* HERE (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14002908/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/outer-space-sex-carries-complications/#.Tx0Or2-iGLJ)and HERE (http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2007/02/has-it-been-done-in-space-before/).
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I'm guessing HannerDad might be a cross between Christopher Lloyd and Richard Branson.
No, not 'Back to the Future' Christopher Lloyd, more along the lines of 'Suburban Commando' ("I WAS FROZEN TODAY!") Christopher Lloyd. Doc Brown had some light hearted moments, and had a soft spots for friends and loved ones deep down. HannerDad has shown to be more focused on his work more than much else in his life.
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Really? Spoilsports. Though I'm sure there's actually a good reason for it. :-P
Zero-G sperm. It would get everywhere.
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Two words: Flesh. Light.
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Based on Tai's reaction, maybe space travel is readily available to civilians, just not common.
I'm curious about zero-g sexy shenanigans now. I was before but even more so now.
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So would HannerDad be Adama, Lee, Tigh, Doc Cottle or "No more Mr.Nice Gaius" Baltar?
Of the characters, Baltar. I mean Hannerdad is a scientist, the others are military men.
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Is it just me or is Marten's shirt gradually turning less blue and more light greyish? Maybe a good example of how old it is and how much it has been washed?
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So would HannerDad be Adama, Lee, Tigh, Doc Cottle or "No more Mr.Nice Gaius" Baltar?
Of the characters, Baltar. I mean Hannerdad is a scientist, the others are military men.
And Doc Cottle wouldn't abandon a daughter, I think.
Imagining the kind of dad Baltar would be would make me respect Hanners considerably and maybe have a little sympathy for Beatrice. Unless she's a Six.
QCSix?
"Are you alive? Not that I give a sh!t."
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Well the 'trajectory' (pun intended) of this conversation sent me scrambling to find out all I could about having sex in space.
If you're curious too, these are the best two articles I could come up with *cough* HERE (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14002908/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/outer-space-sex-carries-complications/#.Tx0Or2-iGLJ)and HERE (http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2007/02/has-it-been-done-in-space-before/).
There's this (http://www.michaelbehar.com/outside/sexinspace.html) as well.
Also, I highly recommend astronaut Mike Mullane's book "Riding Rockets." His idea of The Right Stuff is much different from that of Tom Wolfe. Mullane's book and Mike Collins's "Carrying the Fire" are, for my money, the best of the astronaut memoirs. (Collins was one of the guys all by his lonesome on the far side of the moon. He addresses the topic at, er, hand in another book, "Liftoff!")
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Is it just me or is Marten's shirt gradually turning less blue and more light greyish? Maybe a good example of how old it is and how much it has been washed?
Well, it is approximately six to eight years old, depending on how long you believe has elapsed since strip #1.
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As for preparation/training Virgin Galactic say they will be doing 3 days of training for anyone on their flights.
http://www.virgingalactic.com/overview/training/
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Our space travellers are tweeting about their packing.
In which we learn:
Marten has only one pair of shoes
Marigold has only one pair of socks (j/k)
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I love the title of today's comic.
I bet there are some astronauts who can confirm it. I mean, sure, NASA claims that no one has ever had sex in space, but even if they are telling the truth, surely someone has made out in space. I mean, you're in incredibly close quarters for weeks at a time -- you're either gonna make out or kill each other. And, so far, no one has been murdered in space (that we know of).
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Tai probably knows that Hannelore's dad lives in space, so you can't really judge how common space travel is for the common citizen based on her reaction.
I'm excited about this story arc. Even if there are "pitfalls," I think it will have a lot of fun moments! And it's good to see Marten not being too mopey. Plus more Hannelore. It's been a while since we've really focused on characters other than Marten and Padma. Yay!
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Well the 'trajectory' (pun intended) of this conversation sent me scrambling to find out all I could about having sex in space.
If you're curious too, these are the best two articles I could come up with *cough* HERE (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14002908/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/outer-space-sex-carries-complications/#.Tx0Or2-iGLJ)and HERE (http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2007/02/has-it-been-done-in-space-before/).
There's this (http://www.michaelbehar.com/outside/sexinspace.html) as well.
And this filk song (http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/docking-maneuvers.html).
(EDIT:) And this one (http://www.songworm.com/lyrics/songworm-parody/MakingLoveWeighingNothingA.html).
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I'm guessing HannerDad might be a cross between Christopher Lloyd and Richard Branson.
No, not 'Back to the Future' Christopher Lloyd, more along the lines of 'Suburban Commando' ("I WAS FROZEN TODAY!") Christopher Lloyd. Doc Brown had some light hearted moments, and had a soft spots for friends and loved ones deep down. HannerDad has shown to be more focused on his work more than much else in his life.
For some reason I'm thinking Dr. Lizardo from Buckaroo Banzai (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RmdAlaOiMw)...
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Our space travellers are tweeting about their packing.
In which we learn:
Marten has only one pair of shoes
Marigold has only one pair of socks (j/k)
It's always hilarious reading the character tweets, but slightly odd because it is so easy to forget they aren't real and it's all just Jeph. Either Jeph is amazing at creating realistic characters and interaction, or he's a raving schizo.
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I just wonder if, by breaking up with Marten when she did, Dora screwed herself out of a free trip to SPAAAACE. :-P
EDIT: But then, who would Dora leave in charge of CoD?? :laugh:
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If anyone wants to try zero-G makeouts, all you need is a significant other and $9900 plus tax. I wish I had both of those.
http://www.gozerog.com/ (http://www.gozerog.com/)
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Doh! I've only just twigged that Socks, Drugs, and Rock and Roll is a Buffalo Daughter track and EP...
(http://s.dsimg.com/image/R-519965-1171731936.jpeg)
Well, isn't Twitter educational!
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SWEEEET!!!!!!!!
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I hope Dr. Ellicott-Chatham had some sharks to move the lasers to. Maybe he made a gift of them to his ex, who is known to have a shark tank.
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You're thinking of friggin' lasters. Dr. Elicott-Chatham only takes those out on Wednesdays (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1548), so the government didn't find them.
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Seems to be something similar to an X-30 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockwell_X-30) or X-33 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-33).
Aww man, now I just bummed myself out, we (the whole of humanity, not just 'merica/NASA) should be beyond this LEO shit by now ...
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*nitpick* The wings are FAR too large, and the massive upsweep makes no sense.
EDIT: okay, assuming massive improvements in materials science by ECT, fine, the wings could be that big, but the upsweep still makes no sense.
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And it has no place to store enough fuel to reach orbit.
That is, assuming it doesn't dock with a rotavator, and assuming it's not nuclear-powered.
And assuming that it has to follow rules of physics and engineering despite being a prop in a comedy.
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Wow, I just....please tell me this isn't deja vu. I've SEEN this comic before! This exact one!
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I'm highly confident we haven't seen this one before.
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In much the same way winglets help increase lift, the upsweep helps keep the awesome from sliding down of the edge of the wing and spilling off into reality resulting in boredom. This configuration results in massive win generation while reducing suck.
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I'd have thought Dr. E-C was powerful enough that he didn't have to listen to the government's demands.
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I'd have thought Dr. E-C was powerful enough that he didn't have to listen to the government's demands.
One holds the patents on all sorts of interesting new technologies...
...the other issues the patents. :wink:
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It might just be my imagination, but isn't Marten's shirt supposed to say Gary ****ing Numan (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1947) or something? :P
Also, the expression on Marigold's face in panel's 2 and 3 is absolutely spot on. Bravo Jeph. :)
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So they're going into space...
In a giant mechanical Snoopy head?
I love this story arc!
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Notice how she didn't say anything about it "not" turning into a mecha.
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I'd have thought Dr. E-C was powerful enough that he didn't have to listen to the government's demands.
And the Government doesn't have to give him (or his representatives) permission to enter American airspace.
I doubt Dr E-C would want his daughter to have to fly halfway across the world to pick the space transport up.
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The wings are FAR too large, and the massive upsweep makes no sense.
EDIT: okay, assuming massive improvements in materials science by ECT, fine, the wings could be that big, but the upsweep still makes no sense.
Many proposed "lifting body" designs have had sharply up-swept wings,
(http://www.astronautix.com/graphics/x/x24all.jpg)
as have some more modern blended-wing aircraft (http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10204/296_read-1445/) and re-entry vehicle (http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/images/x38.jpg) proposals, so I'll give Jeph the benefit of the doubt. Personally, rather than a woosy space-plane, I was hoping for a reuseable vertical take-off SSTO using a closed-cycle gaseous-core nuclear rocket (GCNR) (http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/enginelist.php#ntrgasclosed)! I mean, come on, this is the man who invented the robot hamster (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1902)! A little thing like safely containing a blazing plasma of fissioning uranium hexaflouride should be child's play! Then he'd be able to throw roughly a thousand tonnes into LEO per launch on something like this (http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/surfaceorbit.php#libertyship). :-D But perhaps that would be too blue-collar for his daughter, so he's sent the executive jet.
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The wings are FAR too large, and the massive upsweep makes no sense.
EDIT: okay, assuming massive improvements in materials science by ECT, fine, the wings could be that big, but the upsweep still makes no sense.
Many proposed "lifting body" designs have had sharply up-swept wings,
(http://www.astronautix.com/graphics/x/x24all.jpg)
as have some more modern blended-wing aircraft (http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10204/296_read-1445/) and re-entry vehicle (http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/images/x38.jpg) proposals, so I'll give Jeph the benefit of the doubt. Personally, rather than a woosy space-plane, I was hoping for a reuseable vertical take-off SSTO using a closed-cycle gaseous-core nuclear rocket (GCNR) (http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/enginelist.php#ntrgasclosed)! I mean, come on, this is the man who invented the robot hamster (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1902)! A little thing like safely containing a blazing plasma of fissioning uranium hexaflouride should be child's play! Then he'd be able to throw roughly a thousand tonnes into LEO per launch on something like this (http://www.projectrho.com/rocket/surfaceorbit.php#libertyship). :-D But perhaps that would be too blue-collar for his daughter, so he's sent the executive jet.
Cool looking prototype!
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I like hyper happy Marigold. Also Martens comment and expression amuses me. I am oddly optimistic about this storyline..and that worries me.
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Is this Hartford, or Boston Logan? Or would Earthport Ellicott-Chatham be in New "Screw the Feds" Hampshire? (Robot Hampshire?)
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Innovation fatigue, my foot. =P
She's lucky Clinton (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2071) doesn't see her right now.
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Notice how she didn't say anything about it "not" turning into a mecha.
Damn, I thought I'd be one of the first to notice that little omission.
All the best Battle Titan kit out use projectiles and powerfists any way.
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Panel 1 made me very nervouse!
Where does the pilot see out from?
If this is a fully robot controlled craft, I'm not getting on it. Heinline's "Friday" taught me better than to trust flight to non-humans.
I did laugh heartily at the callback punchline!
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Where does the pilot see out from?
Concorde had the pilot's window covered by a panel in flight; maybe there is such a panel, but not currently in take-off position (though admittedly the seam isn't showing).
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BRICK JOKE (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=62) INCOMMMINNGGGGGG!!!!!! (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=147)
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Many proposed "lifting body" designs have had sharply up-swept wings
They've got tiny little winglets, not GIGANTIC up-swept wings. I thought the same thing as others here, and while it's a nitpick to kick at an artist's impression of a '50's-style lifting body, that thing looks positively cartoonish! Which, uh, I guess kinda makes sense in a comic...
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Panel 1 made me very nervous!
Where does the pilot see out from?
...What pilot? This is a drone. ;)
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They've got tiny little winglets, not GIGANTIC up-swept wings. I thought the same thing as others here, and while it's a nitpick to kick at an artist's impression of a '50's-style lifting body, that thing looks positively cartoonish! Which, uh, I guess kinda makes sense in a comic...
Maybe the wings themselves move, and we don't see the joints because the wing is covered in a flexible proprietary polymer designed to wick away heat and space radiation?
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Maybe the wings themselves move, and we don't see the joints because the wing is covered in a flexible proprietary polymer designed to wick away heat and space radiation?
So, basically, a bird mech?
@Comic:
Why is no one striking an Armageddon pose? WHY IS NOBODY STRIKING ANY POSE AT ALL?!
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You know, it's kind of a double-brick joke there... But Momo isn't there to answer the question. (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2012)
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Where does the pilot see out from?
Concorde had the pilot's window covered by a panel in flight; maybe there is such a panel, but not currently in take-off position (though admittedly the seam isn't showing).
The Spirit of St. Louis had a Periscope that Lindy looked through for taxi, takeoff, approach and landing.
The EC-101 probably has fully redundant NSAI (Non-Sentient Artificial Intelligence, the QC equivalent of an imbedded system) control. The Safest Way to Travel
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The new backgrounds and new art are pretty cool.
New poll idea: who will show up at Dr. Ellicott-Chatham's birthday party or make a guest appearance on the station?
- Agent Turing (the Agent Coulson of the QCverse)
- Sara
- An allosaurus
- Vespavenger (now under contract to the gov't)
- Hanners' boyfriendbot
- Randy
- Sweet-Tits
- a prototype Shame Orb
- hordes of robot hamsters
- random anime references (a tachikoma, etc)
- the teleporting cappucino maker
/fanboy
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The new backgrounds and new art are pretty cool.
New poll idea: who will show up at Dr. Ellicott-Chatham's birthday party or make a guest appearance on the station?
- Agent Turing (the Agent Coulson of the QCverse)
- Sara
- An allosaurus
- Vespavenger (now under contract to the gov't)
- Hanners' boyfriendbot
- Randy
- Sweet-Tits
- a prototype Shame Orb
- hordes of robot hamsters
- random anime references (a tachikoma, etc)
- the teleporting cappucino maker
/fanboy
Hmmm... not sure if this would be a winner. Anyone else?
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They've got tiny little winglets, not GIGANTIC up-swept wings. I thought the same thing as others here, and while it's a nitpick to kick at an artist's impression of a '50's-style lifting body, that thing looks positively cartoonish! Which, uh, I guess kinda makes sense in a comic...
Maybe the wings themselves move, and we don't see the joints because the wing is covered in a flexible proprietary polymer designed to wick away heat and space radiation?
I've read things about "memory metals" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shape-memory_alloy#Aircraft) that can be caused to change their shape by an electric charge or other control input, reverting to their "programmed" or molded shape when the input is ended. One of the possibilities mentioned was a return to the Wright Brothers (Wright Bros! Bros! Bros! in the QCVerse) wing warping system as opposed to movable mechanical control surfaces.
Also, view screens for the pilot. Better than trying to make a window and window frame that can withstand reentry stresses.
Also, the good ship EC101 made me think more than a little of the work Mr. Rutan has done with Mr. Branson.
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Now married and trying for children?
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The new backgrounds and new art are pretty cool.
New poll idea: who will show up at Dr. Ellicott-Chatham's birthday party or make a guest appearance on the station?
- Agent Turing (the Agent Coulson of the QCverse)
- Sara
- An allosaurus
- Vespavenger (now under contract to the gov't)
- Hanners' boyfriendbot
- Randy
- Sweet-Tits
- a prototype Shame Orb
- hordes of robot hamsters
- random anime references (a tachikoma, etc)
- the teleporting cappucino maker
/fanboy
ALL of the above. At once.
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The new backgrounds and new art are pretty cool.
New poll idea: who will show up at Dr. Ellicott-Chatham's birthday party or make a guest appearance on the station?
- Agent Turing (the Agent Coulson of the QCverse)
- Sara
- An allosaurus
- Vespavenger (now under contract to the gov't)
- Hanners' boyfriendbot
- Randy
- Sweet-Tits
- a prototype Shame Orb
- hordes of robot hamsters
- random anime references (a tachikoma, etc)
- the teleporting cappucino maker
/fanboy
ALL of the above. At once.
Add Tortura and HannerClone.
Maybe even Meena and Dave.
Padma. She got on the wrong plane.
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BTW - Nice shorts for Marigold.
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"@mcnellyd: you're going to kill off Marten, Marigold, and Hanners in a tragic, Challenger-esque plot twist, aren't you?” YEP
:evil:
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I look forward to meeting Hannerdad's friends! We have no reason to believe they're human, but there's something special about interesting robot characters.
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I look forward to meeting Hannerdad's friends! We have no reason to believe they're human, but there's something special about interesting robot characters.
Just as long as they're not SECRET robot characters.
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Jeph has hinted at another project he'd like to get started. I wonder if we're about to see the start of the spinoff.
Or, you know, the world blows up and all that's left are Marten, Marigold, Hanners, HannerDad and the others on HannerDad Station. :-o
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Panel 1 made me very nervous!
Where does the pilot see out from?
...What pilot? This is a drone. ;)
Hopefully not driven by this batshit insane AntroPc. (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1997)
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Jeph has hinted at another project he'd like to get started. I wonder if we're about to see the start of the spinoff.
Or, you know, the world blows up and all that's left are Marten, Marigold, Hanners, HannerDad and the others on HannerDad Station. :-o
Shh! That's something that would be a fevered dream fanfic material for shippers! :psyduck:
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Well the 'trajectory' (pun intended) of this conversation sent me scrambling to find out all I could about having sex in space.
If you're curious too, these are the best two articles I could come up with *cough* HERE (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14002908/ns/technology_and_science-space/t/outer-space-sex-carries-complications/#.Tx0Or2-iGLJ)and HERE (http://blog.chron.com/sciguy/2007/02/has-it-been-done-in-space-before/).
There's this (http://www.michaelbehar.com/outside/sexinspace.html) as well.
And this filk song (http://www.ovff.org/pegasus/songs/docking-maneuvers.html).
(EDIT:) And this one (http://www.songworm.com/lyrics/songworm-parody/MakingLoveWeighingNothingA.html).
You don't want to mess with Air Supply in space.
-
A Birthday Party at Hannerdad's Space Station! What WILL we see?
Defense satellites. LOTS of Defense Satellites. - 20 (8.9%)
The 21st Century version of Castle Heterodyne. (Google it.) - 13 (5.8%)
The mandatory "view of earth" panel. - 54 (24.1%)
2001: An OCD Odyssey - 23 (10.3%)
Babylon 2 3/4ths. - 5 (2.2%)
Someplace a little smaller than the ISS. - 4 (1.8%)
PSYCHE! It's actually a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific. - 5 (2.2%)
Marigold will mess something up. - 21 (9.4%)
All the robots look like Pintsize. - 5 (2.2%)
All the robots ARE Pintsize. - 7 (3.1%)
Richard Branson. - 8 (3.6%)
We never see Hannerdad's face. - 40 (17.9%)
Waffles don't taste as good in space. - 1 (0.4%)
Cookies do, though. - 1 (0.4%)
Mandatory "Something completely different" option. - 17 (7.6%)
Total Voters: 90
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Heh, I can't describe how happy the last snarky history reference by Marten made me.
Also, blended-wing body space aircraft drawing contest?
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Nice Blended Wing Scramjet Lifting Body
The Maglev Launch Rail is probably just out of shot this way --------->
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Or, you know, the world blows up and all that's left are Marten, Marigold, Hanners, HannerDad and the others on HannerDad Station. :-o
Don't Panic! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rOMGIbY-9s)
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I don't get Martin's comment "You too?" Is he talking to Hannelore or marigold? What's he mean?
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He was also forced by the government to remove a laser. It was linked earlier in the thread.
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Look along the wall to the left. There's an opportunity here for another QC character.
(http://davidszondy.com/future/space/Station%20V%2001.jpg)
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He was also forced by the government to remove a laser. It was linked earlier in the thread.
link agaiiiin...ok I'll scroll.
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Momo's not coming along. We're sure about this, because she's no longer small enough to pack.
...
Dear God, tell me that Pintsize isn't stowing away.
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Momo's not coming along. We're sure about this, because she's no longer small enough to pack.
...
Dear God, tell me that Pintsize isn't stowing away.
They might not need to travel with them, there's no reason they couldn't upload later...
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Good lord. :psyduck: Wasn't expecting that.
-
... oh boy.
I can't wait for the explanation of how that particular mistake is even possible.
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OMG!!!!!
You can see the hologram's dingus!!!!!
Why does a hologram have a dingus?
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Think Pintsize. Maybe he's not entirely an original, but a (hopefully extreme) representative of a certain pattern of behaviour not uncommon in some types of AI. You have my permission to panic.
-
oh my god their spaceship is piloted by dr. manhattan
... oh boy.
I can't wait for the explanation of how that particular mistake is even possible.
Mistake? I'm guessing this is Pintsize's brother or something. :P
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I know I could have done without the holodong.
-
oh my god their spaceship is piloted by dr. manhattan
Damn you I totally had a Dr. Manhattan joke ready for next week's caption game and you beat me :x
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For some reason, the thing I love the most about this comic is Hannelore saying "Hello, Spaceship!" like it's the most nautral thing in the world. Which, for her, probably is. ;D
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So I was sorta right it'll be piloted by a batshit insane AnthroPC.....
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Oh good lord, how long til someone asks "we saw cyberdong, what about cyberboobs"
/cuetrolls
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Oh good lord, how long til someone asks "we saw cyberdong, what about cyberboobs"
/cuetrolls
Cyberboobs please.
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It would only be fair if Jeph believes in making QC 'Equal Opportunity'
I definitely think the AI's related to Pintsize
-
"Could you, uh, put on some pants?"
"I'm sorry, Marten... I'm afraid I can't do that." "This atmosphere is to awkward for me to allow you to jeopardize it."
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Did anyone else sit there staring at the holo-dong before reading the comic's comment trying to figure out what it was while in your mind saying "Nah, that's not a holo-penis, that's like...something on the chair behind him, right?"
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I can't stop giggling like a schoolgirl at this. Well played, Jeph, well hung... errrh... played!
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Does anyone else think it's kind of hypocritical of Marten to ask the hologram to put on pants? I mean jeez, I was starting to wonder for a while if Marten was ever going to wear pants again. :-P
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Oh good lord, how long til someone asks "we saw cyberdong, what about cyberboobs"
/cuetrolls
He'll hide it somehow, very slyly. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4POpE501s4M)
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When Hannelore was a curious adolescent, did she tinker with the display programming for the pilot?
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What I'm trying to work out is if the system forgot to CREATE the pants or if the AI was busy doing...something else and forgot its pants.
-
Pretty sure he was just hanging out pantsless before they arrived. I see no reason a man can't lean back, crack open a holo-brew and tune into the game with no pants on when nobody's home without it being something dirty.
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For some reason, the thing I love the most about this comic is Hannelore saying "Hello, Spaceship!" like it's the most nautral thing in the world. Which, for her, probably is. ;D
Yes, me too! As for the avatar materialising half-naked, perhaps they bought the rendering code from Linden Labs... :-D
-
I don't recall that being a problem in Secondlife - but it's years since I went there.
-
Could it be the QCverse's AI is just THAT good that it is actually capable of genuinely "forgetting" things the way humans sometimes forget to put on antiperspirant even though they've gone through the exact same morning routine a couple thousand times?
I like that thought. Because it means that aside from material decay and a non-near-lightspeed-thought-process the AIs in the QCverse are basically people. :-D
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For some reason, the thing I love the most about this comic is Hannelore saying "Hello, Spaceship!" like it's the most nautral thing in the world. Which, for her, probably is. ;D
It's probably the equivalent of talking to your appliances, which would be even more common in the QC world when there is talking appliances.
~~
I've just thought that there must have been someone who designed that robodong. It could be a stock hologram image now (the whole body, not just the dong) but at first there would have been a committee and discussion, with a brief, production plan and negotiations until they all agreed upon that design. This idea amuses me.
I'm studying media production. Does it show?
-
This doesn't quite hang together, but I'll try, anything other than admit that it was just a funny joke.
Accurately rendering fabric is CPU-intensive. What if the holo-pilot were in an optimized mode where he only expected to be seen from the waist up and skipped the CPU cycles for rendering pants?
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I've just thought that there must have been someone who designed that robodong. It could be a stock hologram image now (the whole body, not just the dong) but at first there would have been a committee and discussion, with a brief, production plan and negotiations until they all agreed upon that design. This idea amuses me.
Not necessarily.
Since the Holographic Avatar isn't actually a physical object, it (he?) can take any form that's convenient.
In this case, the Hologram is a visual representation of the AI's self image. It's possible that the image is created by the AI. If the AI sees himself with a dong, the Hologram would have a dong.
-
This doesn't quite hang together, but I'll try, anything other than admit that it was just a funny joke.
Oh cock, now I can't read this site without looking for penis undertones in them.
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I've just thought that there must have been someone who designed that robodong. It could be a stock hologram image now (the whole body, not just the dong) but at first there would have been a committee and discussion, with a brief, production plan and negotiations until they all agreed upon that design. This idea amuses me.
Not necessarily.
Since the Holographic Avatar isn't actually a physical object, it (he?) can take any form that's convenient.
In this case, the Hologram is a visual representation of the AI's self image. It's possible that the image is created by the AI. If the AI sees himself with a dong, the Hologram would have a dong.
You're most likely right but can I choose to be amused by thought any way? :psyduck:
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Oh man I would totally ask the pilot to take the form and voice of some celebrity or musician... I'm too excited about the thought so I haven't come up with any ideas yet.
-
It's notmy thing to criticize Jeph on his artistic choices, but if I was him I wouldn' have actually drawn the dong. I think it woul dhave been better to just draw them from the waist up. Why? Because a joke like this is funnier if we aren't shown such things, as no drawing could ever be a funny as what our own minds come up with. In this situation, Less is more. Truthfully, actually seeing the Dong kind of killed the joke for me.
-
Oh man I would totally ask the pilot to take the form and voice of some celebrity or musician... I'm too excited about the thought so I haven't come up with any ideas yet.
My obvious choice: Christopher Walken. Dancing. IN SPAAAAAACE.
~~
Considering how low the t-shirt is and the way the hologram is standing facing everyone (so butts-disease couldn't manifest), I'm not sure waist up would have actually got the joke across as snappy and clearly as the dong did. Waist up would just have the dialogue without the visual punchline.
Maybe we can put this down to some sleep madness if he's jetlagged from the vacation.
I'm also enjoying how "dong" has become a main word in my vocabulary today thanks to the comic.
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The joke is that drawing a dong (Yes, Welu, there it is) as clearly as this is not something you usually do in a webcomic. Jeph has pushed some internet-etiquette borders here... and in some ways has not because its just a holographic one.
The paradox implications made it funny for me. °O
Oh man I would totally ask the pilot to take the form and voice of some celebrity or musician... I'm too excited about the thought so I haven't come up with any ideas yet.
Natalie Portman. And then make her act like its Star Wars. Wouldn't be able to help myself.
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internet-etiquette
I just want to thank you for not saying "netiquette".
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Think Pintsize. Maybe he's not entirely an original, but a (hopefully extreme) representative of a certain pattern of behaviour not uncommon in some types of AI. You have my permission to panic.
Thanks, we needed that.
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internet-etiquette
I just want to thank you for not saying "netiquette".
Don't thank me. If I'd know that abomination of a word existed I might have actually been tempted to use it. I am not that good a person, you know.
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The real explaination is that Pintsize hacked into the AI, and as a result THEY'RE ALL GONNA DIE A FLAMING DEATH!!!!!!
Or end up in Cleveland, whichever is funnier.
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What's wrong with the word "netiquette"?
-
It implies that etiquette on the Internet is different than that elsewhere. Which it isn't; but then again, actually it is, because of the need to recognise the absence of physical cues modifying nuance and meaning.
I use the word when dealing with matters of etiquette that are specific to the environment.
Incidentally, like netizen, the word is older than the web - it is not a recent coinage.
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...why would an AI even NEED that equipment? :psyduck:
-
...why would an AI even NEED that equipment? :psyduck:
Because AI has to be fully functional, natch ... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHcN4Gm8tzM)
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...why would an AI even NEED that equipment? :psyduck:
Docking.
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I wonder who guessed right in the poll. Holographic WHAT indeed. Although "And now for something completely different" also applies.
Cyber-holo BUTTS disease (from Hannelore's perspective, anyway) -- in SPACE!
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I love how the girls are ashamed but still keep looking at it. I thought the holographic image was previously engaged in an activity, which also simulated all his senses.
-
I think you mean stimulated?
Actually, I hope you don't...
:grin:
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This doesn't quite hang together, but I'll try, anything other than admit that it was just a funny joke.
Accurately rendering fabric is CPU-intensive. What if the holo-pilot were in an optimized mode where he only expected to be seen from the waist up and skipped the CPU cycles for rendering pants?
This is plausible. It's like those jokes about TV newscasters not wearing pants because you never see under the desk.
-
Holographic avatar? Did anyone see Resident Evil? (who am I kidding, you've all seen it) : "you're all going to die down here!"
-
Incidentally, like netizen, the word is older than the web - it is not a recent coinage.
I don't get it...did it used to refer to tennis or basketball (or any sport involving nets?)
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I had assumed he meant it referred to networks of people, not computers.
-
"Netiquette" is a perfectly cromulent word.
It goes back at least to the days of Usenet, well before Sir Tim Berners-Lee even thought of the Web.
-
...why would an AI even NEED that equipment? :psyduck:
Docking.
(moderator)
Requesting that there be no further elaboration of this thought.
I actually got a PM from someone who wanted to say that but was sure it would be inappropriate to post it.
Anyway, if you propose a liaison between two ships, isn't that shipping?
(/moderator)
-
"Netiquette" is a perfectly cromulent word.
I'm not saying it's not or that it's new, it just irks me for some reason. It's weird, I enjoy some portmanteaus, and others just bug me.
-
...why would an AI even NEED that equipment? :psyduck:
Docking.
(moderator)
Anyway, if you propose a liaison between two ships, isn't that shipping?
(/moderator)
If we were permitted I'd totally hook up the Hannershuttle with the Star Trek 2009 Enterprise. I'm sure Hannershuttle would LOVE to get his hands on her ample nacelles if you know what I mean and I thinkUSER HAS BEEN ULTRA-BANNED. AND MURDERED WITH FIRE.
-
Incidentally, like netizen, the word is older than the web - it is not a recent coinage.
I don't get it...did it used to refer to tennis or basketball (or any sport involving nets?)
No, just referring to the Internet - but that went back way before the Worldwide Web emerged as one of its key applications. I was already using the Internet - email, usenet, ftp, archie (yes!) - before the first publicly available browsers appeared (they were Mosaic and Cello).
-
The OED traces "netiquette" to 1982.
-
Ah, the days of Mosaic and Lynx and waiting five minutes for the one or two useful pages to load. Like some page at Stanford.edu that had a "guide to the web".
-
I guess I always forget that "Internet" and "the Web" aren't synonymous.
-
So I guess no-one else thought the AI looked a lot like Marten? That was my first thought, and wondering why that would be (Hanelore's doing, no doubt...).
My second was even worse. (Namely, "why isn't he better hung?")
Accurately rendering fabric is CPU-intensive. What if the holo-pilot were in an optimized mode where he only expected to be seen from the waist up and skipped the CPU cycles for rendering pants?
Then why render the bottom half at all? Or is that why it doesn't quite hang together?
-
The OED traces "netiquette" to 1982.
I read that as Netrunner.
-
So I guess no-one else thought the AI looked a lot like Marten? That was my first thought, and wondering why that would be (Hanelore's doing, no doubt...).
I thought he looked like a character we'd seen before in the comic, I first thought of Clinton but that's not him either.
-
Then why render the bottom half at all? Or is that why it doesn't quite hang together?
Yes, that's the key flaw in my attempt at explaining away a joke. It's hard to make up a good reason why the rendering from the waist down wouldn't be either always on or always off.
-
Aww, he knew her favorite cause of death.
-
I'm not sure whether she's a cutey or a creeper. Maybe both.
-
Huh. I didn't notice before, but this shuttle is clearly built for commercial flights, isn't it?
-
So I guess no-one else thought the AI looked a lot like Marten? That was my first thought, and wondering why that would be (Hanelore's doing, no doubt...).
I thought he looked like a character we'd seen before in the comic, I first thought of Clinton but that's not him either.
He looks vaguely like the robot boyfriend Hanner's dad sent her way back, though Jeph's drawing has since improved from that stretch of comics.
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1012
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I. Love. Hanners.
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He looks vaguely like the robot boyfriend Hanner's dad sent her way back, though Jeph's drawing has since improved from that stretch of comics.
http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1012
That reminds me... we haven't seen Winslow in QUITE a while... wouldn't he come with on something like this?
And I love the thought that for a holo-projection to lean on something casually, an unbelievable array of mathematic equasions has to be run through the tech first, kind of rendering the term "casual" really incongruous. :-D
I. Love. Hanners.
We. All. Do.
-
so, is this the first time hannelore has had to deal with someone more nervous than she is? it would amuse me if up in space she was the calm and collected one, while marten was the nervous wreak afraid of everything.
-
More nervous? No, but she has been the pillar of strength during a Marigold depressive episode.
This is the first time we've seen Hannelore with home court advantage. This is going to be interesting!
-
Am I the only one who's thinking of Iain M. Banks' Culture novels when I see autonomous ships with holographic avatars?
I wonder what this ship's name is? If it's had the weapons removed, that could make it a VFP, so perhaps "If you catch me, you can have me" would work. ;)
-
Andromeda Ascendant, the starship with the fanservice AI avatar -- available in both hologram and droid form, if I recall correctly.
Also, assuming you don't have a Columbia-style breakup, I doubt you'd even get a fraction of a second. And if I'd just had an adventure, or even a fairly interesting time, in space -- I don't think I'd mind going that way, either. Especially in a Boeing Business Class seat.
-
Huh. I didn't notice before, but this shuttle is clearly built for commercial flights, isn't it?
It's pretty large and well-appointed isn't it? If it's not commercial, Ellicott-Chatham must have a large staff on the High Frontier, and find it cost-effective to pamper them. The fancy seats might, of course, be there to cushion the acceleration, or seal themselves into escape-pods in the event of depressurisation, making space-suits unnecessary, or... I need an hand-waving smiley...
And Hannelore... "You're not NERVOUS are you?" If it were anyone else, I'd suspect she was winding Marten up.
-
Ah, the days of Mosaic and Lynx and waiting five minutes for the one or two useful pages to load. Like some page at Stanford.edu that had a "guide to the web".
What kind of yahoo would have something like that? :lol:
-
Although I realize that Marty's being just a little sarcastic, I prefer Tyrion's response to a favourite way to go.
-
Ok so the holographic eyes are really creeping me out.
It seems to only be able to create its avatar in different shades of blue, so then why are the eyes white? It doesn't make any sense, unless it elimintates all of its head behind its eyes (assuming of course that it is in 3d
and not just a flat projection) and lets you see the white of the ship as its pupils, and that doesn't even make sense because we are seeing the whites of the eyes and so none of the characters would be able to.
The only solution, Spaceship (and by extension all A.I.s) know they are in a comic and are letting us see things! Brilliant!
-
Also, assuming you don't have a Columbia-style breakup, I doubt you'd even get a fraction of a second.
I dunno. Unless the burn-through was right in front of your face you'd more likely die from lack of air than too much heat, so several seconds is more likely. Since most of the heat of re-entry is dumped into the underside and leading edges of the lifting body the odds are burn-through wouldn't happen in the passenger cabin, so I'd say the ship has the right estimate.
-
This doesn't quite hang together, but I'll try, anything other than admit that it was just a funny joke.
Accurately rendering fabric is CPU-intensive. What if the holo-pilot were in an optimized mode where he only expected to be seen from the waist up and skipped the CPU cycles for rendering pants?
This is plausible. It's like those jokes about TV newscasters not wearing pants because you never see under the desk.
According to the Far Side, the truth is much worse. The desks aren't there so they can sit there without pants but to hide the fact that the newscasters are hideous aliens with tentacles instead of legs.
-
Huh. I didn't notice before, but this shuttle is clearly built for commercial flights, isn't it?
Well, occasionally he does have to have the rest of the board of directors of ECT come up to the station, so...
-
Huh. I didn't notice before, but this shuttle is clearly built for commercial flights, isn't it?
An inventor can save a lot of trouble by using off-the-shelf parts for stuff that doesn't matter.
Also, a tweet from Jeph:
Just got an email from an interior-parts designer for Boeing, thanking me for using their 777 first-class seats in the comic :3
-
Ah, the days of Mosaic and Lynx and waiting five minutes for the one or two useful pages to load. Like some page at Stanford.edu that had a "guide to the web".
What kind of yahoo would have something like that? :lol:
Someone who wanted yet another highly officious oracle.
-
Also, a tweet from Jeph:
Just got an email from an interior-parts designer for Boeing, thanking me for using their 777 first-class seats in the comic :3
I thought they looked a lot like the photo Jeph tweeted of the seats on his flight to NZ. https://twitter.com/#!/jephjacques/status/154797932485414912 (https://twitter.com/#!/jephjacques/status/154797932485414912)
-
I'm thinking after Marten's hard time recently he's just going to end up space-crazy and murder everyone.
Everyone will just be surprised it wasn't Hanners.
(That's some crazy awesome plane seat.)
-
Jeph flew first class to Australia / NZ? Damn skippy.
If Spaceship has enough RAM to run a holograph with body language (leaning on a seat, making gestures) then it damn well had enough memory to render pants the first time. I call shenanigans. There can be only one explanation: it was FLIRTING.
(no no that's not shipping put down the banhammer put it down please)
-
Also, assuming you don't have a Columbia-style breakup, I doubt you'd even get a fraction of a second.
I dunno. Unless the burn-through was right in front of your face you'd more likely die from lack of air than too much heat, so several seconds is more likely. Since most of the heat of re-entry is dumped into the underside and leading edges of the lifting body the odds are burn-through wouldn't happen in the passenger cabin, so I'd say the ship has the right estimate.
We've all negleted the delay between when the catostrophic failure occurs and actually realizing that you are feeling terror.
The idea of "You'll never know what killed you" is probably a little closer.
-
(no no that's not shipping put down the banhammer put it down please)
Kitty has mercy on you.
(http://cassland.org/images/KittyHammer.jpg)
Amazingly, that hammer with the orange fibreglass handle in the picture is the exact model that I bought when I got my first house to maintain in 1969; I still use it.
-
A Birthday Party at Hannerdad's Space Station! What WILL we see?
Defense satellites. LOTS of Defense Satellites. - 28 (9.3%)
The 21st Century version of Castle Heterodyne. (Google it.) - 21 (7%)
The mandatory "view of earth" panel. - 64 (21.3%)
2001: An OCD Odyssey - 35 (11.7%)
Babylon 2 3/4ths. - 6 (2%)
Someplace a little smaller than the ISS. - 6 (2%)
PSYCHE! It's actually a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific. - 6 (2%)
Marigold will mess something up. - 30 (10%)
All the robots look like Pintsize. - 6 (2%)
All the robots ARE Pintsize. - 11 (3.7%)
Richard Branson. - 9 (3%)
We never see Hannerdad's face. - 48 (16%)
Waffles don't taste as good in space. - 3 (1%)
Cookies do, though. - 4 (1.3%)
Mandatory "Something completely different" option. - 21 (7%)
Holographic WHAT? - 2 (0.7%)
Total Voters: 119
-
If the AI's name is Ted Stryker, you're in good hands :-D
Definitely a nice setup in the seating Dept. Nothing like being comfortable while you're being squished backwards at Mach 3
-
I had to change the poll to something... well, what would YOU expect in First Class on HannerDad Aerospaceways?
-
Surprised to see that I was the only one so far who voted for great food. Maybe I'm the only on that hates airplane food so I expect that they have at least something ok/good. :P
-
I hope Marten gets the souvenir T-shirt. (http://www.tarfly.com/zero-gravity-toilet-1.html) He should find it helpful. (http://stupidpussens.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/screen-shot-2011-06-17-at-2-06-06-pm.png)
-
Surprised to see that I was the only one so far who voted for great food.
Not true. There are a few votes for waffles.
-
Has to be Richard Branson sitting next to you. I assume he will be at the party.
-
Why am I hearing this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3qGnOnfNEc) in my head? :-D
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More nervous? No, but she has been the pillar of strength during a Marigold depressive episode.
This is the first time we've seen Hannelore with home court advantage. This is going to be interesting!
will the home-field advantage change her behavior? will nervous little hannelore become the apotheosis of cool (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9-C1KZH0EA&&playnext=1&list=PLBE9235FEA5CAE26A)?
-
this is sorta old news but did anyone find the ships ding dong to be kind of
small?
I dont want to jump to any conclusions just because I've only ever seen ones bigger than that when flacid but guys help me out
is this a normal "sleeping" penis size
-
The Flaccid Penis varies greatly in size based on a number of factors.
Holodong is well within design parameters for a holographic penis.
-
Maybe Captain just got out of the pool (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEnKLhi83J8)
-
Its a normal flacid size for a standard caucasian male holographic penis.
(That was weird.)
-
Poor Marigold - I hope they have sick bags to hand (a bit tricky with weightless sick, I suppose)...
-
The lens flare was added because lens flares are awesome and if you disagree you are dumb.
I had a quote for this, but Youtube deleted the vids.
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This comic is why I hate 8 bit dithering... srsly Jeph, pngs can have full 24 bit lens flare goodyness!
Do it!
Also, now I can't help QC has gone the josie and the Pussycats route.. IN OUTER SPACE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28e2glaTayY)
-
Jeph still cares about bandwidth - 24-bit png is three times bigger. He has put up a jpg a couple of times when the dithering bothered him: 504 (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=504) (because of the blur), 1719 (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1719) (because of Faye's blush, I presume).
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Based on Jeph's comments about the star field, I was staring at the first panel thinking 'what's he talking about, they're faint but definitely there'. I then realized that i don't clean my screen as much as i should. :oops:
also
OMG THERES NO STARS THEYRE NOT REALLY IN SPACE THE HOLE THINGS A FAKE ITS ALL DONE BY STANLEY KUBRIC!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!
Sorry, I couldn't resist the temptation.
-
And the soundtrack for today's strip is...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVcrfsXRN_A
You're welcome. :psyduck: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vifqXeITcvE)
-
Wait, is she just about to puke, or did she just finish puking?
/puke
-
Wait, is she just about to puke, or did she just finish puking?
/puke
Open to interpretation.
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Jeph still cares about bandwidth - 24-bit png is three times bigger. He has put up a jpg a couple of times when the dithering bothered him
I remember him complaining about having to do the comic in png because of a script... guess he had some exceptions put in since. This one deserves it :D
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Some kind of suction system would be best for cleaning up barf.
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That's what they used on Apollo, there are some fantastic stories of Frank Borman firing out of both ends on Apollo 8 and Jim Lovell's description of the way vomit behaves in 0g are fantastic. indeed the toilet on the ISS is basically a vacuum cleaner attached to a seat.
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so, is this the first time hannelore has had to deal with someone more nervous than she is? it would amuse me if up in space she was the calm and collected one, while marten was the nervous wreak afraid of everything.
Not gonna happen. This is quickly deteriorating into the usual patterns. Much to my joy. I've never seen any comic of work of fiction in general pull off a zero-G throwing-up bit. ^^
I am a bit disappointed, though, that the starting maneuver wasn't given its own strip. It must have been one hell of a pushback when it was anything like regular space-flight starts.
Or is it more like a regular plane start only it keeps an upward trajectory until it reaches LEO? Wouldn't - in that case - the flight take a very long time and bring the ship around the earth at least once? (I can't deliver any math on this right now, sitting in da office.)
And also, from a frequent PSCS4 user point of view:
OOOOOH! YEAH! LENS FLARE!
Some kind of suction system would be best for cleaning up barf.
I call emergency vent!
Open to interpretation.
Not really. Had she already barfed, it would be VERY VERY visible... and everywhere. And Hanners wouldn't be.
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I am a bit disappointed, though, that the starting maneuver wasn't given its own strip. It must have been one hell of a pushback when it was anything like regular space-flight starts.
Or is it more like a regular plane start only it keeps an upward trajectory until it reaches LEO? Wouldn't - in that case - the flight take a very long time and bring the ship around the earth at least once? (I can't deliver any math on this right now, sitting in da office.)
The flight profile for the EC-101 would be as follows:
1: Takeoff from a runway like a normal airplane and climb to an altitude above normal air traffic (about 50,000 ft)
2: Accelerate to supersonic and pitch up to climb out of the dense part of the atmosphere.
3: Pitch down and accelerate to orbital velocity (about 17,500 miles per hour)
4: MECO (Main Engine Cut Off) once a safe orbit is achieved.
The Space Shuttle took about 8 minutes to get to achieve orbit, but it began climbing and accelerating from liftoff. For a spaceplane, it would be much easier and safer to get to high altitude before going full throttle. Think X-15 or Space Ship One not Apollo or STS.
All together, orbit insertion could be achieved in about an hour from wheels up.
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The flight profile for the EC-101 would be as follows:
[ ... ]
All together, orbit insertion could be achieved in about an hour from wheels up.
I love science. Thanks. :)
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Well, the second-panel quote sums up this entire arc pretty nicely. ;D
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WAYF, you are right.
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Poor Marigold. I've mostly grown out of motion sickness but I highly doubt I'd be fit for commercial space travel. :(
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I wonder how the commercial spaceflight companies are going to handle zero-G vomit? Sedate the nausea prone? Or put in an enclosure around each seat? Or a face-mask that vacuums it up the moment you hurl? It's going to have to be a one size fits all solution once you try to market spaceflight as commercial transport.
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Maybe artificial gravity? Could that actually be a thing?
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The "glamor" (heh) of space travel aside, I would so have Hanners's reaction to the idea of Zero G barf. :psyduck:
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Maybe artificial gravity? Could that actually be a thing?
Only of the rotating the vehicle kind, and I don't think you could rotate a small spacecraft fast enough for it to work. The general consensus seems to be that artificial gravity of the classic sci fi kind, where there's some sort of gravity generator generating gravity waves or what have you, isn't possible. It certainly isn't possible with our current tech.
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This arc is freaking awesome.
And also, from a frequent PSCS4 user point of view:
OOOOOH! YEAH! LENS FLARE!
Yesssssssss. For being so easy to do, lens flares are ridiculously fun. This strip also got me thinking about Jeph's process a bit. Does he start in Illustrator and then move to Photoshop? Or.....something completely different? I'm positive someone's asked about this before, but I can't remember it despite reading a bunch of his Q&A dumps.
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As I recall he draws in Photoshop, but uses Illustrator for the dialogue boxes. You could try to catch his Ustream one day and watch him do it (he tweets when he's starting).
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As I recall he draws in Photoshop, but uses Illustrator for the dialogue boxes. You could try to catch his Ustream one day and watch him do it (he tweets when he's starting).
You are correct, sir.
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Once you can't use wings for lift any more, you're subject to the tyranny of the rocket equation, which greatly simplified tells you not to waste your fuel hovering (and the fuel to lift the fuel you wasted, and the fuel to lift the extra weight of fuel tanks for the fuel you wasted...).
You'll want to accelerate as fast as the vehicle structure and the meatsacks within can survive.
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Surprised no one's started quoting the Space Core from Portal 2 yet.
And I think I'd keep my seat-belt buckled in such a situation. Call me provincial, but I'd prefer to remain tethered to the spacecraft at all times.
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As I recall he draws in Photoshop, but uses Illustrator for the dialogue boxes. You could try to catch his Ustream one day and watch him do it (he tweets when he's starting).
Hmmm...Interesting. I really have to start using twitter more. I'll check the Ustream every once in a while, but I never seem to catch it at the right time.
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Marigold's situation reminds me of thing from Mad Magazine back in the '70's when one astronaut says to the other, "I think I'm gonna throw up."
"You can't throw up. We're in zero-g."
"OK, then I think I'm gonna throw OUT."
Not particularly funny without the look on the guy's face, but for some reason has stuck with me for decades.
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Based on Jeph's comments about the star field, I was staring at the first panel thinking 'what's he talking about, they're faint but definitely there'. I then realized that i don't clean my screen as much as i should. :oops:
The same thing happened to me. xD
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Poor Marigold. I've mostly grown out of motion sickness but I highly doubt I'd be fit for commercial space travel. :(
I'm led to believe that space sickness isn't anything to do with motion sickness: instead, it's due to that stomach clenching feeling you might have had going over a hump on a rollercoaster or going horizontal on a swingset -- imagine that, but you can't stop it.
(Sorry if I made anyone feel ill.)
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Mostly it's when the visual cues around you don't tally with what your inner ear -- your balance mechanism -- tells you. So the swing set can do it -- anything that causes the balance and the visual cues to not line up. It can be induced, too, say if I tell you to imagine the sight outside your window going UUUUP and DOWWWWWNNNN, all ARRRROOOOUUUNNNNNDDDD ... hey, where are you going?
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Poor Marigold. I've mostly grown out of motion sickness but I highly doubt I'd be fit for commercial space travel. :(
I'm led to believe that space sickness isn't anything to do with motion sickness: instead, it's due to that stomach clenching feeling you might have had going over a hump on a rollercoaster or going horizontal on a swingset -- imagine that, but you can't stop it.
(Sorry if I made anyone feel ill.)
I get motion sickness thinking about motion sickness, maybe Marigold has that too. Or holowang makes her queasy and she's still stuck on that.
Considering all the yaoi that girl consumes, I doubt that's the case :laugh:
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What would YOU expect in ECT-101's first class cabin?
Personal video screens. - 10 (6%)
Lay-flat seats. - 9 (5.4%)
Mini wet-bar. - 6 (3.6%)
Wi-Fi/Internet Connection. - 19 (11.3%)
Great Food. - 7 (4.2%)
Wait, this flight will last what, 30 minutes? - 21 (12.5%)
Barf bags. - 8 (4.8%)
COOKIES! - 2 (1.2%)
WAFFLES! - 11 (6.5%)
Emergency EVA suits. - 14 (8.3%)
Space Toilets. - 8 (4.8%)
Space Sleeping Bags. - 1 (0.6%)
Space Pillows. - 4 (2.4%)
Space Space! - 5 (3%)
Tethers for Null-G "bumps". - 6 (3.6%)
Duct Tape for AnthroPC's. - 9 (5.4%)
Richard Branson sitting next to you. - 6 (3.6%)
Winslow sitting next to you. - 5 (3%)
Something COMPLETELY Different. - 9 (5.4%)
Gravity Dampeners. - 8 (4.8%)
Total Voters: 59
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There was a poll??
Yes. - 1 (5%)
No. - 0 (0%)
Waffles. - 19 (95%)
Total Voters: 20
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Presumably; it's happened before.
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To be annoyingly technical, a scramjet engine cannot move an object at rest. :)
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True. Presumably, a practical scramjet engine would be incorporated into a hybrid design with a low bypass turbofan, much like the J-58 (the engine used on the SR-71) was a hybrid tubojet/ramjet.
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Lens Flare? FUCK YAAA!!!
Star washout? naaahhhh....who cares if it's unreal? The whole fantasy of spaceflight being that easy PLUS a spacestation people live in is also out there.
Add the stars I say.
Hope the space station will be an intelligent rotation design (see Kubrick's 2001) with hydroponics bays.
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Hydroponics would explain why it's 60% plumbing.
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I'm having way too much fun with the poll as it exists to do any "moment of the week" polls. Heck, the entire WEEK was "moment of the week", arguably.
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Computer! Tom Collins (http://questionablecontent.net./view.php?comic=1148) in a squeeze bulb, stat!
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Funny, I thought it would be Marten upchucking first.
EC101 probably has a Bot for that.
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Computer! Tom Collins (http://questionablecontent.net./view.php?comic=1148) in a squeeze bulb, stat!
Perfect!
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You know, it's the strip a few after (http://questionablecontent.net./view.php?comic=1152) the Tom Collins appearance that does cement the idea that Hannelore would say Marten is one of her "best friends".
I mean, she saw him throw up, managed to recover (albeit with assistance from alcohol) to help clean it up, then decided to do something so it wouldn't happen again.
If that ain't friendship, I don't know what is.
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And I think I'd keep my seat-belt buckled in such a situation. Call me provincial, but I'd prefer to remain tethered to the spacecraft at all times.
Heh, I think you'd just miss out on all the zero-g fun. Because unless you're afraid you'll waft into a vacuum chamber and get ejected accidentally, there's pretty much no situation in which being "tethered" to a spacecraft will stop you from dying in the event of a malfunction.
Being seatbelted into a car = you'll probably survive a crash. Being seatbelted into a spaceship = who cares, all the air whooshed out when you hit that asteroid, and you're a popsicle to boot :P (or maybe you explode? Any sciencey-types able to verify?)
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General consensus among sciencey types is that 2001 had it mostly right (but EXHALE and keep your mouth open) and dreckfests like Outland had it wrong. Still, you want to get back into pressure pretty quick. Clarke, quoting someone whose name I forget: "The skin makes a pretty good spacesuit." Also, check out "Space Activity Suit" for current thinking on what the well-dressed spacefarer will be wearing in the future. This 1950s sci-fi again covers weren't that far off.
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NASA accidentally exposed a worker to vacuum once. He didn't explode. The last thing he remembered before passing out was the feeling of his tongue fizzing as his saliva boiled.
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And I think I'd keep my seat-belt buckled in such a situation. Call me provincial, but I'd prefer to remain tethered to the spacecraft at all times.
Heh, I think you'd just miss out on all the zero-g fun. Because unless you're afraid you'll waft into a vacuum chamber and get ejected accidentally, there's pretty much no situation in which being "tethered" to a spacecraft will stop you from dying in the event of a malfunction.
Being seatbelted into a car = you'll probably survive a crash. Being seatbelted into a spaceship = who cares, all the air whooshed out when you hit that asteroid, and you're a popsicle to boot :P (or maybe you explode? Any sciencey-types able to verify?)
So totally not the point. I agree with the AI's assessment of less than a second of terror. The issue with staying tethered to the spacecraft at all times is two fold. One, while tethered, I'd retain a frame of reference with which to combat the vertigo. Two, it's one thing to use my own power to thrust myself accidentally into a bulkhead. It's quite another thing for the spacecraft to use its maneuvering thrusters to thrust its bulkhead into me.
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In Soviet Russia, spaceship thrusts you! :mrgreen:
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a.) Shuttle, Mir, ISS and Skylab crews seemed to spend plenty of untethered time (all craft had maneuvering thrusters).
b.) A good reason for the spaceship to keep it's holopants on.
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NASA accidentally exposed a worker to vacuum once. He didn't explode. The last thing he remembered before passing out was the feeling of his tongue fizzing as his saliva boiled.
Nothing about pooping? That's good.
Well, nothing they were willing to report...
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I remember reading something about Apollo 8's CM smelling ... interesting ... when the frogmen opened the hatch.
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I remember reading something about Apollo 8's CM smelling ... interesting ... when the frogmen opened the hatch.
That was more due to sickness than decompression.
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USD4,950 (http://www.gozerog.com/).
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USD4,950 (http://www.gozerog.com/).
Antiemetics not included. :-D