Someplace someone is ranting about launching a jihad against Yelling Bird for profaning the sacred name of the Goddess Hannelore.
At least, I assume it was Jeph.
(click to show/hide)
So, who wants it?
(click to show/hide)
So, who wants it?
THAT IS A RIVER OTTER, NOT A SEA OTTER, GET THAT TRASH OUT OF HERE >:(
Fucking river otter sluts giving a bad name to sea otter purity >:(
Hanners blowing a hologram?
That is truly outrageous.
:lol:
Hanners blowing a hologram?
That is truly outrageous.
:lol:
Oh, that was a gem, that was.
Hanners blowing a hologram?
That is truly outrageous.
:lol:
Oh, that was a gem, that was.
Are otters related to martens?
If not the pine marten, maybe the reed marten?
4. Poor Station, whatever he had desired, I am fairly certain it is not quite turning out as he envisioned. But then, when does wooing a girllike Hanneloreever does...?
...why is the wine brown?
Fixed your post. Initially, the only thing I could think of that FYP might mean was five year plan; this is why, outside of texting, using acronyms for common language phrases is bad.4. Poor Station, whatever he had desired, I am fairly certain it is not quite turning out as he envisioned. But then, when does wooing a girllike Hanneloreever does...?
FYP (Fixed Your Post)
So... what would happen if Jeph decided to keep Hannelore up on the station?
I'm 100% one of the regulars predicted this would happen, but given how long the space arc has dragged on, I can't tell you who it was. Probably one of the wise old sages.
I think J^2 aims to provide more details to Hanners' backstory before he disarms the tactical nuke he set up. It'd be a massive undertaking to successfully write Hanners out of the story for the foreseeable future, and I think he only writes someone out when he has nothing interesting for them to do. That's what happened to Raven, who then popped back up for the quantum dino before she once again faded away, still available for physics jokes.
Of course, the possibility remains that I'm so wrong I accidentally destroyed an advanced civilization on the other side of the galaxy. If so.... my bad.
[I think the comic just lacks depth.
@ Skewbrow: I think the comic just lacks depth. Her thumb is a few inches from the candle, we just can't tell due to the view.Possibly. On second thought I get perspective dizziness from trying to figure it out. The bases of the candle and the hologlass are next to each other on the tablecloth, so they are at the same distance from the camera. Unless Hannelore is twisting her forearm into an unnatural position, her hand should be further away (than the hologlass) from the camera. Meaning that her hand should be behind the candle.
Might need to take Shebly to the conventions.Angry fans would pet Shebly and then forget why they were angry because dogs are fuzzy.
I don't see Hannelore disappearing, but it would be a bold move that would avoid the danger of a rut and allow more airtime for the rest of the ensemble.A weak, wimpy move would be OK too: writing her mostly out of a few story arcs.
Might need to take Shebly to the conventions.Angry fans would pet Shebly and then forget why they were angry because dogs are fuzzy.
But the use of acronyms, like FYP, was established usage in email and on bulletin boards (as forums were once called) well before texting even came along. (Also note what I've done to the acronym using BBCode.)IMHO Westrim is just a GOM. WRT texting, tweeting and other low-bandwidth systems, English is just so verbose, though many other languages are worse (http://www.economist.com/node/21551466).
I think Akima might have some art for that.DSL probably means this (http://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,4954.msg1038485.html#msg1038485).
Interesting that instead of a "yes" or a "no" Hannelore went for being flustered.
But then, we don't really know all her reasons for moving to Earth.
I always thought it was either "in regard to" or "with respect to", not "with regard to".
Alternative A: a spin-off webcomic
I just realized. I think Station might have convinced Hannerdad to have a party entirely because of this.
Do Isaac Asimov's laws of robotics apply in QC?
Regardless of what Jeph said, I'm pretty sure Station's openly disobeyed the Lieutenant, thus violating the Second Law.
Regardless of what Jeph said, I'm pretty sure Station's openly disobeyed the Lieutenant, thus violating the Second Law.
Would Pintsize be, well, Pintsize if those laws were actually in effect? He must have broken rule 2 on several occasions.
I always thought it was either "in regard to" or "with respect to", not "with regard to".Don't blame me; take it up with my English teachers.
I'm still convinced that Hannelore should leave, particularly because a life in space is so isolated, but Station makes his argument as convincing as reasonably possible.Station's "argument" seems selfish to me. It's all about him, isn't it? Hannelore's needs don't really come into it.
So... what would happen if Jeph decided to keep Hannelore up on the station?
Like...I dunno. His backstory with Hanners here was sweet? But he seems too fawning. Too eager to get back to when she depended on him, despite professing to approve of her independence.
I feel like it would be less creepy if he hadn't specifically avoided contacting her through the means she'd provided when she was on earth. If he misses her that much then calling once a week would be a good place to start. Send an e-mail her way once in a while. All that good stuff.How do you know he doesn't call? If the interactions aren't funny, why would they appear "on camera"?
I can certainly appreciate his dilemma as a stationary being, but the part where he never calls is the part where it all seems to fall apart to me.
It is exactly like Akima said above why I'm still a little creeped out by Station.I'm still convinced that Hannelore should leave, particularly because a life in space is so isolated, but Station makes his argument as convincing as reasonably possible.Station's "argument" seems selfish to me. It's all about him, isn't it? Hannelore's needs don't really come into it.
It was mentioned here (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2125)I feel like it would be less creepy if he hadn't specifically avoided contacting her through the means she'd provided when she was on earth. If he misses her that much then calling once a week would be a good place to start. Send an e-mail her way once in a while. All that good stuff.How do you know he doesn't call? If the interactions aren't funny, why would they appear "on camera"?
I can certainly appreciate his dilemma as a stationary being, but the part where he never calls is the part where it all seems to fall apart to me.
If Hanners stays, she'll keep in touch, and we can focus on other characters. She'll miss her friends too much and be sad and probably get sent back for her own health. Plus, it would waste a lot of fuel, because I bet powering a space ship twice can't be cheap. It would be extravagant at best. Yes, I know her family has money, but that would be wasteful.Umm, spaceship probably does supply runs back and forth to earth at least on a monthly basis. Do they have a chicken coop somewhere on the station? Where would the get fresh eggs from if there weren't monthly supply runs?
[ ... ]... hm... Station is so "Edward'ing out" in panel 4, I classify it as creepy enough. °O
Creepy, not really.
[ ... ]
A rejected Station could go all HAL on people.
So... what would happen if Jeph decided to keep Hannelore up on the station?
If she goes there will be trouble,
But if she stays it will be double.
>A question about AnthroPC rights in your latest QA Dump got me wondering about their level of free will. Do they have some sort of rules guiding what they can and can’t do, like the three laws of robotics, or do they have complete free will and could disobey and leave their owners, and even try and take over the world or something if they wanted?
Complete free will. Like I’ve said before, it’s a good thing they seem to like us.
stationary beingI see what you did there.
Umm, spaceship probably does supply runs back and forth to earth at least on a monthly basis. Do they have a chicken coop somewhere on the station? Where would the get fresh eggs from if there weren't monthly supply runs?They have space rabbits, why not space chickens? But with a hundred people, even if each one stays for a year without a break, Spaceship would be making regular runs.
As a side note, am I the only one who's wondering if Station DID somehow make it down to Earth in "android/robot boyfriend" mode and meet Winslow or Momo-tan - what kind of interactions would occur? Or worse...Station meets Pint-size?
Umm, spaceship probably does supply runs back and forth to earth at least on a monthly basis. Do they have a chicken coop somewhere on the station? Where would the get fresh eggs from if there weren't monthly supply runs?
I'm still not sure what DSL and IOK are.
Jeez, he is acting the clingy parent, isn't he?
Umm, spaceship probably does supply runs back and forth to earth at least on a monthly basis. Do they have a chicken coop somewhere on the station? Where would the get fresh eggs from if there weren't monthly supply runs?Even if the station needs some supplies now and then, and it probably does, using a habitable spaceship for doing so would be an absurdly tremendous waste of resources.
Jeez, he is acting the clingy parent, isn't he?
If he is, that brings Hannelore's total of clingy parental figures to a whopping one.
This makes me think; Station explicitly said he loves her like a daughter; he might consider himself a rightful parent, especially given her mothers coldness and her fathers inadvertent neglect. Since he was apparently the only one who could get through to Hanners, Station might feel like he's entitled to her company, or at least has the right to ask her to return. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually felt a little resentment towards her real parents for failing her.
Regardless of what Jeph said, I'm pretty sure Station's openly disobeyed the Lieutenant, thus violating the Second Law.
Would Pintsize be, well, Pintsize if those laws were actually in effect? He must have broken rule 2 on several occasions.
I feel Pintsize is the epitomy of all that can go wrong with the Zeroth Law.
Hi, everyone. Just made a profile. It was my reward for reading every strip in the past few days. The missus introduced me to the series.
With a crew of over 100 people, I'm sure shore leave alone would require at least monthly habitable transportation. And you are forgetting, there is a HUGE space station in orbit with artificial gravity and it is so spacious, guestrooms with just 2 beds exist. There's not overcrowding. Hanners hasn't been there in 10 years and her spacious room is INTACT. Ground to Space lift costs can't be even close to what they are in our world. I'm thinking TWO orders of magnitude cheaper if not THREE. Stop thinking about it in terms of what it costs in real life to get cargo into space. Those costs just do not apply.Jeez, he is acting the clingy parent, isn't he?
If he is, that brings Hannelore's total of clingy parental figures to a whopping one.
This makes me think; Station explicitly said he loves her like a daughter; he might consider himself a rightful parent, especially given her mothers coldness and her fathers inadvertent neglect. Since he was apparently the only one who could get through to Hanners, Station might feel like he's entitled to her company, or at least has the right to ask her to return. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually felt a little resentment towards her real parents for failing her.
Which is really slightly upsetting when you think about it, in terms of HannerDad's unintentional neglect. I get the feeling that he really is a loving, caring father...he just never had time. I honestly expected him to be a lot colder, especially after the strip before they went to space where she called to say hi, he was busy, then called back, thinking she was pregnant.
I was honestly slightly surprised at how warm and personable he seemed when we met him in the strip. Which makes me wonder how he would feel if you were right, and Station did resent him for ignoring Hannelore?
Here comes another reference to HAL with HannerDad having to swim through a thin to nonexistent atmosphere in the Station so that he can unplug all of Station's systems, listening to "Daisy, daisy..." because Station wouldn't let him back in the door.
Regardless of what Jeph said, I'm pretty sure Station's openly disobeyed the Lieutenant, thus violating the Second Law.
Would Pintsize be, well, Pintsize if those laws were actually in effect? He must have broken rule 2 on several occasions.
I feel Pintsize is the epitomy of all that can go wrong with the Zeroth Law.
Hi, everyone. Just made a profile. It was my reward for reading every strip in the past few days. The missus introduced me to the series.
Isn't he the epitomy of everything that goes wrong because of the LACK of the Zeroth law?
With a crew of over 100 people, I'm sure shore leave alone would require at least monthly habitable transportation. And you are forgetting, there is a HUGE space station in orbit with artificial gravity and it is so spacious, guestrooms with just 2 beds exist. There's not overcrowding. Hanners hasn't been there in 10 years and her spacious room is INTACT. Ground to Space lift costs can't be even close to what they are in our world. I'm thinking TWO orders of magnitude cheaper if not THREE. Stop thinking about it in terms of what it costs in real life to get cargo into space. Those costs just do not apply.
With a crew of over 100 people, I'm sure shore leave alone would require at least monthly habitable transportation. And you are forgetting, there is a HUGE space station in orbit with artificial gravity and it is so spacious, guestrooms with just 2 beds exist. There's not overcrowding. Hanners hasn't been there in 10 years and her spacious room is INTACT. Ground to Space lift costs can't be even close to what they are in our world. I'm thinking TWO orders of magnitude cheaper if not THREE. Stop thinking about it in terms of what it costs in real life to get cargo into space. Those costs just do not apply.Jeez, he is acting the clingy parent, isn't he?
If he is, that brings Hannelore's total of clingy parental figures to a whopping one.
This makes me think; Station explicitly said he loves her like a daughter; he might consider himself a rightful parent, especially given her mothers coldness and her fathers inadvertent neglect. Since he was apparently the only one who could get through to Hanners, Station might feel like he's entitled to her company, or at least has the right to ask her to return. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually felt a little resentment towards her real parents for failing her.
Which is really slightly upsetting when you think about it, in terms of HannerDad's unintentional neglect. I get the feeling that he really is a loving, caring father...he just never had time. I honestly expected him to be a lot colder, especially after the strip before they went to space where she called to say hi, he was busy, then called back, thinking she was pregnant.
I was honestly slightly surprised at how warm and personable he seemed when we met him in the strip. Which makes me wonder how he would feel if you were right, and Station did resent him for ignoring Hannelore?
Here comes another reference to HAL with HannerDad having to swim through a thin to nonexistent atmosphere in the Station so that he can unplug all of Station's systems, listening to "Daisy, daisy..." because Station wouldn't let him back in the door.
As for the mechanics of coyotes using mail order to (attempt to) kill roadrunners, it's simple: Failure is always an option.
I think I just got banned from ustream for drawing a cat with a boner
If she gets written out of the strip, Jeph WILL be hunted down by the angry mob!I've already sent out a petition/ sign up sheet to the rest of Minnesota. If Mr. J does remove Hanners, he will find out first hand what "Minnesota Nice" really stands for. :x
Station might find an APC body a bit confining, though.
Spathe ham and waffles.
Wait, I thought Hannelore had left the station far more recently than ten years. Like, more like 2 or 3. She hadn't been off the station all that long when she met Marten, had she?
My little Hannelore is all grown up!
Wait, I thought Hannelore had left the station far more recently than ten years. Like, more like 2 or 3. She hadn't been off the station all that long when she met Marten, had she?
Where did she say it had been ten years? I was guessing more like 4 or 5.
My first read through and opinion is this...
Station being relatively selfish and callous to ask such a thing of Hanners. Station was no doubt a help to Hanners growing up and set her on the path of establishing herself and getting to as close to "normal" whatever it really means in the long run.
I think it'd be a bit of stalling in her development to stay. Space is nice and all but...You got your cooky scientists, AIs, and robots.
She's made leaps and bounds living together with normal folk. She's as central to the QC Earthlings and they are to her. She learns how to cope and deal with issues by being around them. And them being around her and her innocence and her own issues, make themselves better peeps.
And that doesn't even get into the Hanners/Marten dynamic. I dunno bout the rest of you, but one of my favorite moments so far in this comic has been Marten's creation of the "worry hat" and those two or three strips that dealt with it. Hell, Marten makes her better a better person but hell, she's probably had a bigger hand in making ole' Marty a better bloke. You really see his sensitive and caring side and heck, his passivity drops a little round her.
At any rate. Don't think it's fair for Station to ask this of her, what do I know? :psyduck:
And as sweet as ole' Station is, still find it kinda creepy. And if he returned with her in the bot, even creepier. Just can't get past the whole most likely created to deal with Hanners' mental issues and being that intimate from a psychological aspect to go from therapist friend to anything more than just a close friend. Too strange for me, even given the QC universe.
Station's not going to go HAL on everyone, is he?
Stupid space dust in the air again :'(Yeah, I found some of that, too. :-) Jeph's got really good at making me go all "D'awwwww". :-)
Once again, Hannelore demonstrates her firm grasp on common sense.My guess: Station will console himself by being proud of her for that.
These are all great drawings of Hannelore, but I especially love her expression in panel three. So much going on; you can tell she really doesn't want to hurt Station. But she's doing what has to be done.Yes, very much so, and the drawing is superb. But I find Hannelore's eyebrow-on-top-of-her-hair distracting. I know it's a manga convention, and Jeph often does it, but it's extra-obvious in this strip.
TOMORROW: The mechanics of how coyotes use mail order to kill roadrunners.C'mon, that was fully documented throughout the 40s and 50s.
I think you quoted the wrong section. We were discussing parental neglect and what Station may or may not have thought of it. You're looking for a couple of other different people. Read it all beforehand, I suppose?The person I meant to quote was hung up on the expense of space travel and how frequently could the station (little s) be resupplied. I have no idea how I missed so badly.
"Don't you see, Station? If I were to stay here with you, who would people inappropriately ship Marten with? Who would the bear-hat fanboys lust after? Who would be in those terrible fanfictions with Marigold? And Jeph's readership, Station. It would drop by half. Maybe more. I just...I can't afford to stay."And assuming I didn't screw this up, Dr. ROFLPWN wins the thread!
But I find Hannelore's eyebrow-on-top-of-her-hair distracting. I know it's a manga convention, and Jeph often does it, but it's extra-obvious in this strip.
We don't know much about Marigold's parents. That could also be a really interesting development story.
I think you quoted the wrong section. We were discussing parental neglect and what Station may or may not have thought of it. You're looking for a couple of other different people. Read it all beforehand, I suppose?The person I meant to quote was hung up on the expense of space travel and how frequently could the station (little s) be resupplied. I have no idea how I missed so badly. [/quote]
We've already pretty much gotten the backstory, between what Mom said in her visit to Northampton and what we got in the flashbacks (thanks to Dr. Case AND Station).
How did Station manage to be such a good parent without having any role models?
Did he provision some virtual machines in which to run test simulations of Hanners to see what approaches would work?
I grant Garfield being unrelatable to most people. It was specifically a comic of its time, the overindulged, selfish 80s culture where greed ruled and really, one Monday joke and one lasagna joke and the comic was done. But Peanuts ran for 50 years; even if discounting the last tired 15 years of it, many people had to have identified with it personally.
Comparing QC, with characters having a depth of personality and internal conflicts, to Peanuts, with its superficial one identifying trait per character, is like comparing a fine Cabernet with grape Koolaid. It's not even wrong.
Argh, me too.But I find Hannelore's eyebrow-on-top-of-her-hair distracting. I know it's a manga convention, and Jeph often does it, but it's extra-obvious in this strip.
Aaaaaaaaaah shit, now you ruined it for me. I didn't noticed it before.
You've become sensitized. Take a Benadryl before reading.Argh, me too.But I find Hannelore's eyebrow-on-top-of-her-hair distracting. I know it's a manga convention, and Jeph often does it, but it's extra-obvious in this strip.
Aaaaaaaaaah shit, now you ruined it for me. I didn't noticed it before.
To me, it often points out the insecurity and/or selfishness of the one staying behind.Or, you know, different cultural values. The traditional Chinese ideal is "Four Generations Under One Roof (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siheyuan)"*, and the strength of the family "team" is regarded as the crucial priority. Individuals are expected to subordinate themselves to the team. Like many other aspects of traditional Chinese attitudes, this is under great strain in China and in our diaspora, but it remains a very influential ideal. It has weaknesses as well as strengths, and exploring them is a significant theme in Chinese literature.
Would a culture that practices filial piety say that Hannelore is obliged to say yes?I had to think about this one. If once one accepted that a filial relationship exists between Station and Hanners, the Confucian view would be that she was obliged to accept. However, a Confucian would probably not agree that such a relationship did exist, or that Station did the right thing in asking Hanners to stay in the first place. The principles of ren (altruism and humanity), li (adherence to custom), zhong (both personal loyalty and respecting your place in the social order), and xiao (filial piety) apply to both. Station's relationship with Hanners would be regarded as that of a deeply respected teacher rather than a father (It would be a breach of Station's own li, zhong, and xiao duties to Hannerdad to usurp his position), and Confucianism is profoundly disapproving of any personal relationship between teacher and student (it is a common theme in wuxia literature, films etc. for example, that personal relationships between master and student are immoral regardless of their age).
To me, comparing QC and peanuts is just... I dunno. To me it's just wrong because it doesn't do justice to either of the comics imo.
To me, it often points out the insecurity and/or selfishness of the one staying behind.Or, you know, different cultural values. The traditional Chinese ideal is "Four Generations Under One Roof (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siheyuan)"*, and the strength of the family "team" is regarded as the crucial priority. Individuals are expected to subordinate themselves to the team. Like many other aspects of traditional Chinese attitudes, this is under great strain in China and in our diaspora, but it remains a very influential ideal. It has weaknesses as well as strengths, and exploring them is a significant theme in Chinese literature.
*Originally given as five generations, then four, now sometimes three, as generations grow longer and people have children later.
Presenting a Confucian perspective on QC, an American web-comic... Does this represent a new low for this forum?
Presenting a Confucian perspective on QC, an American web-comic... Does this represent a new low for this forum? :psyduck:
Lean on me
when you're not strong
and I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on...
And do I need to guess what the MOTW was this week?It would have been "very well, missiles away!" but apparently missiles are too phallic for ustream.
Presenting a Confucian perspective on QC, an American web-comic... Does this represent a new low for this forum? :psyduck:I found it very interesting as well. Most of the (little) knowledge I had of Confucian values came from Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age, and what's in it seems consistent with what you say. Then again, Neal Stephenson is known for actually researching the stuff he uses in his novels (and showing his work (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ShownTheirWork/Literature)).
On a complete aside note - I actually saw an otter earlier this week.
That, or it's a consequence of the station rotating...
So from the view of Earth in panels six and seven, we can deduce that Station is in a sub-geosynchronous orbit, thus travelling faster than the Earth's rotation and "overtaking" the Gulf of Mexico. This ties in with the way the Earth fills the viewport, which implies a low, close orbit.
Hmmm. "Down" is out through the bottom of the comic panel so the plane of the ring must be parallel to the Earth's surface and its axis of rotation is pointing towards the Earth's centre (an orientation pretty much as drawn in panel one of this comic (http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2111)). So the station's spin should have rotated the Gulf, not just shifted it to the left. When I hold the edges of two envelopes on the screen passing through the same pairs of cloud-dots on the two panels, they are parallel, so I'm still going with a low, fast orbit and... I'm really over-thinking this now, aren't I?
Presenting a Confucian perspective on QC, an American web-comic... Does this represent a new low for this forum? :psyduck:
Ouch! Those are some hard floors to fall on. On the bright side, this rules out fanfic holosexings, right? My psyche demands that I assume I am right.
(looks up at the MOTW poll)
We're having one of those "the most recent is the best" things going on here, aren't we?
Does this mean anything beyond the bond developed as teacher and student, or does it imply that even that bond is immoral, and it should only exist as teacher teaches, student learns and moves on?The former. The relationship between teacher and student is fine, and Confucianism teaches that continuing respect and gratitude from student to teacher is admirable. It is any relation beyond that involved in teaching that is condemned. Confucianism is not unique in this of course, but takes it perhaps further than many other systems. Romantic or sexual relationships between teacher and student are regarded as tantamount to incest, even when both are adult and not biologically related. This is a major theme in Jin Yong's wuxia novel 《神雕侠侣》(English title "Return Of The Condor Heroes") and its several adaptions to television, in which the protagonist Yang Guo and his teacher Xiaolongnü fall in love in defiance of Confucian ethics. Similarly in the recent film《剑雨》(Reign Of Assassins), a professional murderer condemns the characters of a teacher and student who have married, and this is played completely straight without a hint of irony.
But that's just it - I have a life. And it's down there, on Earth.This was just a really touching moment and it showed Hanner's development to this point. I'm going to miss the space arc... there is just so much that they can do there! And for all his faults I'm going to miss Station, Hanners and him seem to be close still and I think that they will miss each other for a while... going to miss Potter more though. I mean, come on... "FUCK YEAH HUG THE SHIT OUT OF HIM!" Potter is crazy. And I will miss Spathe ham/ Francis (who is a rather nice guy, really!) because stuff. Marigold and Francis would be cute together... :-P
I don't know about Lt. Potter.. she seems kind of harder to write in since Marten has been the main person to actually hang out with her and we haven't had a link quite strong enough to bring her into the normal comic. She could just turn up one day and go "I needed a drinking partner and I'm a security officer on a space station: how hard do you think it would be for me to find you?" but it's all ifs and buts and maybe's.And then she meets Elliot...