"Aluminum" should totally be an option in this poll.
May really should've gone with the orange dermal covering. Now every time she shows up in the strip I'm going to think Jeph forgot to color in her face.
That eulogy sounded improvised, especially since I don't think that kind of phrasing came from the social protocol database.What if it actually *did* come from Momo's social protocol database? She does tend to be unfailingly polite, but she had also previously threatened to have May's HD incinerated.
May really should've gone with the orange dermal covering. Now every time she shows up in the strip I'm going to think Jeph forgot to color in her face.
May really should've gone with the orange dermal covering. Now every time she shows up in the strip I'm going to think Jeph forgot to color in her face.She does look kind of weird when not blue.
That eulogy sounded improvised, especially since I don't think that kind of phrasing came from the social protocol database.What if it actually *did* come from Momo's social protocol database? She does tend to be unfailingly polite, but she had also previously threatened to have May's HD incinerated.
Why is Momo wearing a coat?
Wait, wait, wait... everyone is ignoring the real question that this strip raises;
Why is Momo wearing a coat?
If it weren't for the blue hair, she'd look almost like a live teenager.You think the blue hair makes her look less like a teenager? :mrgreen:
Wait, wait, wait... everyone is ignoring the real question that this strip raises;
Why is Momo wearing a coat?
Some of her systems only work optimally in a given temperature range - a bit of insulation helps maintain that temperature using the waste heat she produces.
Just like anybody else, I suppose.
One could argue a unwanted software patch of that variety would be tantamount to mind control slash brainwashing. That's a serious violation of a sapient being's rights, far more do than incarceration.
Part of their friendship is probably proximity and a lack of other AI friends. With Dale and Marigold dating, they probably see each other fairly often. And also going to the same support group. But other than that... May doesn't have many friends in the first place, and Momo doesn't have many AI friends that we've seen. Pintsize really irritates her it seems, and Winslow for a lack of a better term seems to be of a more primitive generator of AI, or so he seems. I doubt Momo feels much in common with either of them.
You might want to ask one of the not-insignificant number of people who refuse medication.
Chaospersonified's last sentence is key: Many folks would welcome a "patch" that would relieve them of a mental condition and it's be great if that was available. But some folks would not want that, for reasons that are varied and understandable. Forcing it as an across-the-board remedy, ESPECIALLY in cases where there is no harm done and maybe even some.benefit (exceptional artistic ability or other savantry, for just a couple of examples) is the unacceptable part. (Plrase note I will refuse to take seriously any responses along the lines of "so what you're really saying is ...")
I was thinking that narratively it could easily be a part of the "Bubbles is increasingly disenchanted with Corpse Witch and the Fight Club" arc instead.
I was expecting (and still haven't ruled out) friction between Corpse Witch and Bubbles/Faye over May's repair. People were talking about the police raiding the place and May getting in parole trouble, but I was thinking that narratively it could easily be a part of the "Bubbles is increasingly disenchanted with Corpse Witch and the Fight Club" arc instead.
Bubbles had made a pretty good case that it was a training opportunity for Faye.
Bubbles did not make that point to Corpse Witch.
Intimidated somehow?
I was expecting (and still haven't ruled out) friction between Corpse Witch and Bubbles/Faye over May's repair. People were talking about the police raiding the place and May getting in parole trouble, but I was thinking that narratively it could easily be a part of the "Bubbles is increasingly disenchanted with Corpse Witch and the Fight Club" arc instead.Anybody else notice her eyes switching from brown to red between the last two panels? This is not something that presages continued peace.
Bubbles' eye color changing in the last panel is certainly telling.
I was expecting (and still haven't ruled out) friction between Corpse Witch and Bubbles/Faye over May's repair.Well, you definitely called it. Kudos.
It's strange how those eyes become even creepier as the comic goes on despite the fact that they never change.Jeph taking advantage of the uncanny valley?
(mod)Just a reminder that women here whose judgement we trust have said that gender-based insults make them feel less welcome(/)
When running an illegal business, you have little to gain from making unnecessary enemies.
Appearances can be deceiving and Corpse Witch may not be as frail as she appears.Corpse Witch is Hank the Dismemberer. His core is in a frail looking chassis. :wink:
Meanwhile... I wonder if this deduction may leave Faye with problems making the rent this month?
Meanwhile... I wonder if this deduction may leave Faye with problems making the rent this month?
It's not explicit, but I'm going to guess that the money itself is a pittance. At no point is Faye looking worried (as when losing a lot of money); the moment CW starts criticizing her she looks annoyed (as she would when a penny-pinching manager goes after her over something inconsequential). It sounds as if the main issue here is the principle.
the Fubbles repair charity.
the Fubbles repair charity.
I think I'd prefer "Fayebles"....
I suppose it's not entirely surprising that the person (yes, AIs are people), who runs an illegal operation turns out to be not very nice.
The argument I made about this being a matter of programs, not biological brain systems is that it would be a matter of allowing certain aspects of the system to still function as they did before while changing the malfunctioning bits. There could be as many exceptions applied to the patch as the AI wishes there to be, and the patch would only be applied to specific areas of the AI's personality. A common complaint with people who start taking psych medication is that it changes larger parts of the personality, but a world that has created artificial intelligence could likely find ways to stop that from happening INSIDE the artificial intelligence.
(mod)Just a reminder that women here whose judgement we trust have said that gender-based insults make them feel less welcome(/)
Seriously? It's a dog based insult and Jeff makes corpse jokes and stuff all the time in the strip but an obvious nameplay is forbidden?
Of course, if CW had a bit more intelligence, she'd realise that the likes of May visiting could help legitimise her business.
"An illegal fight club? Why officer, I don't know what you mean. All we have here is a facility to help disadvantaged AIs get the chassis repair they need but can't afford."
Acting as a charity group would allow here to garner sympathy from other AI and supporters of AI rights, especially with stories like May. As well as that, she could hide her fighters among the AIs getting repaired.
Instead, CW is looking at the start of an extremely long stay in Robot Jail precisely because she's messing around with her employees without seeing the bigger picture.
People are complicated. This can be a bother at times, even (especially?) when the person is us... but attempts to change that essential truth have given us some of the great horrors of society and/or the medical and psychiatric profession, and will probably continue to do so.
Have you not heard of the "(S)he needed killin'" defense?She had it coming
the Fubbles repair charity.
I think I'd prefer "Fayebles"....
But that's liable to get cancelled not long before opening.
You forget Vespavenger.
Welcome, new person!
Hannermom might count as an antagonist.
The Pugnacious Peach spent all the beginning of the strip and most of the time since being frenemies with everyone in her life.
I think you're too quick to judge CORPSEWITCH. Underground businesses need to stay underground. If she gets more shipments from her part suppliers, that's more people she has to pay to look the other way. This would put a limit on how far her business can grow.
I think it'd have to be an obscene amount of money for CW to walk away, especially if her returns are as good as they seem to be. It doesn't appear that the fighters pay for their own repairs, or at least we've never seen them do it - which means that those costs are quite possibly easily absorbed by the club itself.Yeah, I think when CW airs a fight, she probably makes enough to make any minor expenses a pittance. This isn't your average pay per view fight, this is probably the kind of thing where you pay your money through a third party and then sent on a link to the fight. That's not your $20-here's-your-fight, thats the kinda thing where you could easily pay a couple of hundred. And if the fights are as popular as May and Pintsize make out, CW is raking it in.
Wasn't CW the one who justified the fight club as a way for AI who otherwise would have difficulty making a living the legal way, a way to do so via her organization? I think that this last strip pretty much revealed her true colors, as far as any altruism she truly possesses - or doesn't, in this case.
Wasn't CW the one who justified the fight club as a way for AI who otherwise would have difficulty making a living the legal way, a way to do so via her organization? I think that this last strip pretty much revealed her true colors, as far as any altruism she truly possesses - or doesn't, in this case.
We all love Faye for her rudeness and unwillingness to include many kinds of people.
Also, they entire forum hated on people wearing man buns. But whatever.
I'll go ahead and mention that Jeph is apparently comfortable with at least some gendered slurs making it into the comic, specifically today's "cumboy".
Also, they entire forum hated on people wearing man buns. But whatever.I would never hate on man-buns. (https://forums.questionablecontent.net/index.php/topic,33150.msg1339972.html#msg1339972)
CW's name bugs me though - maybe Bubbles isn't the most traumatised one there.
The only thing that smells better than WD-40 is Hoppes No. 9.and now I need a range day so I have an excuse to use some.
And not sure if fan of May's new hairstyle.
If you want to lubricate delicate machinery, or replenish self-lubricating gears, use kerosene or a very light machine oil. Marvel Mystery Oil is a great product.
Let's not forget that May apparently wasn't originally in a chassis, so the need for physical maintenance is a new thing to her. And she loathes this particular chassis so she isn't all that inclined to take care of it. If the parole board even bothered giving May a user manual for this chassis when they assigned it to her, it wouldn't surprise me if she deleted it without reading it.
Let's not forget that May apparently wasn't originally in a chassis, so the need for physical maintenance is a new thing to her. And she loathes this particular chassis so she isn't all that inclined to take care of it. If the parole board even bothered giving May a user manual for this chassis when they assigned it to her, it wouldn't surprise me if she deleted it without reading it.
Bear in mind as well that the chassis is more than likely owned by the parole board, which is probably lacking a bit in funds so its probably the cheapest chassis on the market. Who knows how many AIs used it as a shell before May, is it any wonder the thing is falling apart now.
Let's not forget that May apparently wasn't originally in a chassis, so the need for physical maintenance is a new thing to her. And she loathes this particular chassis so she isn't all that inclined to take care of it. If the parole board even bothered giving May a user manual for this chassis when they assigned it to her, it wouldn't surprise me if she deleted it without reading it.
Bear in mind as well that the chassis is more than likely owned by the parole board, which is probably lacking a bit in funds so its probably the cheapest chassis on the market. Who knows how many AIs used it as a shell before May, is it any wonder the thing is falling apart now.
When you call someone a dildo is that like calling them a tool? Cept, like, a sex tool? The real questions.
Warning - while you were typing 4 dildos put in their two cents.
Is a dildo that got all messed up a dildon't? Fuck, I didn't want to spend all night thinking about phallic objects.
Nah, this is a dildon't
(Jeph, can we get an official name for the place?)
I'm wondering how common it is that AI's can't afford necessary repairs. If Momo had a damaging accident, who would pay to fix her? Are there clinics that do that? Can she buy repair insurance? When Pintsize got beat up, Martin brought him to Marigold. Is this sort of informal repair the only AI option?
I gather that the robot fight club (Jeph, can we get an official name for the place?) caters to a subculture of semi-economically-attached AI's, many of whom have no decent prospects in the aboveground economy (May being a good example of how bleak prospects there would be). It could be that their best bet for repairs is to get beat up in a fight and then come to Bubbles and Faye. May was afraid to do this, as her parole could be revoked if she tried it.
As for the insult... Isn't it literally like calling a biological a 'dickhead' or something? Both in intent and in comparison, too! If it's offensive, I would argue that it's meant to be!
I always wondered why "dildo" is an insult. Dildos are pretty awesome and make people happy.
It's like calling them a dick, only it's suggesting they aren't real enough for such classification
A lot of repair work seems to be dependent on the chassis. Simple ones like what Pintsize or Winslow inhabit can be fixed via home repair. Marten seems to handle most of Pintsize's frequent repair work. For more complex stuff he turned to an expert with Marigold. May and Momo's chassis seems more complex, enough that it's a specialized skill and toolset to work on them. But not so much that you need extensive schooling for. To wit: The repairs were apparently more than Marigold could do. But Faye is learning them on the job. So we're probably talking automotive or robotics level skill set here, as opposed to a doctor's skill set. Something you can go to a school to learn and get accredited for, but you could also learn via an apprenticeship. Where as a doctor requires pretty extensive, multi year and multi discipline training before they get to start working on people.
Huh, second Homestar Runner reference in two weeks.
I wonder if the government considered confiscating *this* Emily Project?
.. Is anyone else worried that thing is gonna turn out like the Tribbles.
I mean, they may have already looked into the military potential of theoretical knitting: http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1267Imagine an invisibility cloak the size of an M1A2 Abrams.
Actually, Hanners even mentions 2 panels later that the scarf she knitted was woven from unique fibers, which had the softness and heat retention of angora, and the strength and density of kevlar. So the knitting/military connections may already be there. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a whole subcommittee investigating possible applications for unique fabric materials and weaving techniques. I can just see it now: 50% young scientists looking to push the bounds of theoretical knitting, 50% ancient grannies with 50 years knitting experience.
Ah! But you're forgetting, they can't vent the tribbles into space if your on a planet... Is anyone else worried that thing is gonna turn out like the Tribbles.
Worried?
I'm HOPING it has similar troubles to those with tribbles! Imagine the hilarity!
.. Is anyone else worried that thing is gonna turn out like the Tribbles.
Worried?
I'm HOPING it has similar troubles to those with tribbles! Imagine the hilarity!
Ah! But you're forgetting, they can't vent the tribbles into space if your on a planet... Is anyone else worried that thing is gonna turn out like the Tribbles.
Worried?
I'm HOPING it has similar troubles to those with tribbles! Imagine the hilarity!
Everyone will be dead in a week and the planet will be a giant furry puff ball.
I think Bubbles is realising that being a combat droid makes her maybe the third most dangerous individual in the coffee shop.Is the sweater cube one of those three? Cause it scares the hell out of me.
Look at my sweater / My sweater's amazing
Tug on its corner, and then you'll feel warmer
Stretch it over a frame / It turns into a plane
And then it turns back again / When you tug on its winky
In normal interaction, she hovers above 'barely functional'.
In normal interaction, she hovers above 'barely functional'.
I don't see that. She seems quite happy and quite functional. Just not normal. Like many occupants of the QCniverse.
I'm not talking Emily down. She's a perfectly nice, sweet and good-hearted young woman. All I'm saying is that, on a certain level, she'll always have this childlike aspect in which she fails to consider or even fully understand the social consequences of her whims.
I dunno; I think her rant with Clinton showed that there's a lot of depth and self-awareness there. She's maybe a bit off-beat, but it's not because of some disorder; it's who she is. She knows it, she owns it, and she refuses to apologize to society for it. Between that and her demonstrated intelligence, Emily's kind of just the "eccentric genius" type, which I think is badass.
I think Emily and Dr. Ellicott-Chatham are kindred spirits. Honestly, I can see her being one of the top contributors on Station, but even more than that I can see her and Dr. Ellicott-Chatham truly and deeply understanding each other in ways that nobody else there does.
No shipping, please; he's old enough to be her dad and then some. But a mentor/protoge relationship would be absolutely grand for them (and quite possibly terrifying for the rest of the human race).
Why are those two mutually exclusive? I want to be eccentric AND acceptable!
You know there's a term for that kind of thing because it's not unheard of, right? It's called a May-December relationship.
What's next? Day wear for Veronica that, when activated, turns into 'work wear'? In the Marvel universe, 'unstable molecules' have long been the explanation for how super-suits do what they do. Emily seems on the verge of making it a reality!
I'm increasing sure that coding is a borderline-savant talent for Emily. In normal interaction, she hovers above 'barely functional'. Put her in charge of computer-controlled machinery and she's a miracle worker!Azuma Particles! :3
What's next? Day wear for Veronica that, when activated, turns into 'work wear'? In the Marvel universe, 'unstable molecules' have long been the explanation for how super-suits do what they do. Emily seems on the verge of making it a reality!
Also, Faye changes Dora's 'robot' to 'AI' when she shouts to Bubbles. (We already know that May dislikes the word.) Perhaps working around them on a daily basis has made Faye more sensitive to their views?
Also, Faye changes Dora's 'robot' to 'AI' when she shouts to Bubbles. (We already know that May dislikes the word.) Perhaps working around them on a daily basis has made Faye more sensitive to their views?
We've never seen that May dislikes being called a robot, and she's used it as a descriptor several times. The only time she ever mentioned it was in a conversation with Dale in which she was comparing QC-style advanced AI androids to real-life 'can barely walk over and pick up a box' robots vis a vis the latter being capable of running a convenience store.
I want Emily to take the basic ideas of the Sweater Cube, and use it to make that awesome armor from the Star Trek Voyager finale. Or Alice's armor.
I'd be a bit worried about wearing that cardigan, because:
1) What if it reverts to cube while I'm wearing it?
2) If I catch it on a nail, will it unravel the fabric of reality?
WD-40 IS NOT A LUBRICANT. It is a hygroscopic antioxidant.
WD-40 IS NOT A LUBRICANT. It is a hygroscopic antioxidant.
It is? In my long distant industrial chemistry days I always thought of it as a dewatering agent - the very opposite to hygroscopic. Not really what I would describe as an antioxidant either. Sure it leaves a corrosion inhibiting film, but that's not really the same thing. And while its certainly not formulated as a high performance lubricant, it has a moderate lubrication capability.
(not at all my idea of a suitable first post. Hey Ho. Sorry)
But then the Borg would be very different. "We are the Borg. We will bonk you with a rubber mallet. Resistance is futile."
WD-40 IS NOT A LUBRICANT. It is a hygroscopic antioxidant.
It is? In my long distant industrial chemistry days I always thought of it as a dewatering agent - the very opposite to hygroscopic.
It's absolutely the truth about the damn stuff ruining oil-impregnated gears, though.Agreed, putting an impermeable film on top of oil impregnated pores will not end well.