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Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: Gyrre on 06 Aug 2017, 04:05

Title: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Gyrre on 06 Aug 2017, 04:05
Well, Winslow is getting a new body and wants to be helpful. He's been a great companion for Hanners, so who else might he be able to help?

EDIT: I'm not really sure what exactly he might go for, myself, so I listed as many jobs as I could think of off the top of my head. As for why he'd go police dispatcher instead of straight for a badge, I don't really see Winslow wanting to risk confrontation. From the way he's written, he seems to me to be a pacifist.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Gyrre on 06 Aug 2017, 06:32
Now that I think of it, I should probably explain what a 'peer support worker' is. I might have the title wrong as I only have passing knowledge of the position. But, as I understand it, basically they work with patients of their local mental health clinic and help individuals with special needs (usually those who can live on their own) and act as both a moral and social support. If memory serves, some peer support workers also work with recovering addicts.

EDIT: fixing tired typos
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: NemesisDancer on 06 Aug 2017, 09:38
I chose "crossing guard" as one of my options because the mental image of Winslow as a lollipop man is adorable :3 Retirement home volunteer also seems like it'd be interesting from an art point of view as we've not seen a lot of older characters in the comic.

As he's built around iPod-like technology, he's probably got a pretty good capacity for remembering lists of things, so maybe admin/secretarial work of some sort?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Magniras on 06 Aug 2017, 11:48
Duck Crossing Guard.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: NemesisDancer on 06 Aug 2017, 13:13
Duck Crossing Guard.

I may have to draw some fan-art of this.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 06 Aug 2017, 13:44
I think that Winslow considers being there for Hannelore his full-time job. That said, she is making a lot of progress and perhaps he might be interested in having a supplemental job. At random, why not an employment adviser at the AI career matching bureau? You could write endless stories about his role in matching an AI to their dream careers and the chaos that causes. Just because an AI wants to be a jet interceptor doesn't make her even remotely mentally or emotionally fit for the job!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: celticgeek on 06 Aug 2017, 19:32
So we're going with the deluxe cute-butt model?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: comicalArchitect on 06 Aug 2017, 19:46
I wonder: is Jeph planning some sort of romantic arc for Winslow, now that he has a humanoid body? Not that the strip needs another romantic subplot right now, what with Faye and Bubbles on top of the whole Secret Bakery gang mess, but it seems like a possibility that should be considered. Who do you think would be the most likely candidate? (This isn't shipping, just prediction.)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 06 Aug 2017, 19:53
No, I think it was just an excuse for at least one butt joke (but probably several more).
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 06 Aug 2017, 20:10
I wonder: is Jeph planning some sort of romantic arc for Winslow, now that he has a humanoid body? Not that the strip needs another romantic subplot right now, what with Faye and Bubbles on top of the whole Secret Bakery gang mess, but it seems like a possibility that should be considered. Who do you think would be the most likely candidate? (This isn't shipping, just prediction.)

Not every story has to have a romantic component to it. As it is, Winslow just hasn't offered much recently, so I imagine its a way for him to be in the comic more. After all, he's Hannelore's AnthroPC, but he's had less comic time than Pintsize the last year or so. I view more as a "headswap" as is sometimes done in television series.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ProvenNonsense on 06 Aug 2017, 20:12
No, I think it was just an excuse for at least one butt joke (but probably several more).

Jeph really loves butts (can you blame him?)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 06 Aug 2017, 20:23
Oh, if that sounded like criticism, it wasn't.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: tomveil on 06 Aug 2017, 20:25
I think Jeph is reconsidering some of the choices he made with AI bodies when the strip began.  Jeph has said that the introduction of Momo forced him to really think deeply for the first time about the social and societal implications of human-equal AI.  When the strip began, Pintsize and later Winslow were more like super intelligent dogs: they noticed that they were physically dependent on humans, but they didn't resent it.  Now that it's clear that AI have real hopes and dreams and inner lives, well, some are going to conclude that they need physical independence, not because they want to leave their humans, but because their sense of self respect calls for it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ProvenNonsense on 06 Aug 2017, 20:43
Oh, if that sounded like criticism, it wasn't.

Don't worry, I definitely did not take it that way, I'm sorry if my statement read as criticism of your statement :wink:, QC is a dramedy (not to be confused with a dromedary), we need the jokes and the deeper insights and examinations, and even at times when it seems like the jokes may detract from the drama (perhaps the Faye's dad's suicide revelation?) making light of the heavy is a coping mechanism and human nature.

And tomveil, I think you're right.  Pintsize and anthro-pcs seem like they were introduced as a quirky joke, Jeph had no way of knowing how far he would want to go with it in the future.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Undrneath on 06 Aug 2017, 21:07
Winslow's prospective new chassis does look a little like Ardent.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: hedgie on 06 Aug 2017, 21:08
I suspect that a delightful tail would be a pricey add-on (although I doubt that bit would worry Hanners).
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: shanejayell on 06 Aug 2017, 21:15
That was funny.

*whips off trousers*

"Fall to the HYPNO-BUTT!"

Or not.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: brasca on 06 Aug 2017, 22:26
I suspect that a delightful tail would be a pricey add-on (although I doubt that bit would worry Hanners).

Bodyguard sister sold separately

Regarding AI chassis being cuter and pet like in the beginning this could be attributed to author interpretation at the time, but maybe AIs just out of the cyber womb need a limited body until they absorb enough about the world to request a humanoid or more sophisticated chassis.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 06 Aug 2017, 22:30
Quote
confused with a dromedary

That would be the absolute perfect title for something but I have no clue what.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 06 Aug 2017, 23:26
Question: Do staff at the chassis shop routinely strip off for customers to demonstrate the attractiveness of various chassis models? You have to admit, it represents a whole new and unexpected level to the sale of items with a significant cosmetic aspect!

As for the chassis? Yeah... There is definitely a team up with Momo and May coming here: He looks about their presented 'age'.

What is interesting here is that Winslow really does seem to care about what most people would consider 'sexual' characteristics - Whether certain parts of the body are or are not attractive. That could just be personal aesthetics at work. After all, who'd want an ugly body if they had a choice? That said, this is a little detail that will get some fans thinking. The meta justification is obvious, of course. Winslow's iPod chassis is limited in its mobility and manipulation. Giving him a humanoid body would make it easier to utilise him in the strip. That said... I can't help but wonder if he's trying to impress someone.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: SmilingCat on 06 Aug 2017, 23:33
Jeph really loves butts (can you blame him?)

Butts disease.

Regarding AI chassis being cuter and pet like in the beginning this could be attributed to author interpretation at the time, but maybe AIs just out of the cyber womb need a limited body until they absorb enough about the world to request a humanoid or more sophisticated chassis.

Technical limitations might also be used as an excuse. Chronologically, the first humanoid chassis seen was the receptionist that handled Marten's companion application, and she showed a more mechanical appearance (visible seams and the like). The prototype "Robot Boyfriend" was also notably artificial in appearance, and, also, a prototype. Momo's chassis, when acquired, was pricey enough to induce nosebleeds, and the quality of her skin was sufficiently improved over prior models for Clinton to nerd out about it.

Basically small, mechanical constructs like pintsize doubtless have advantages in simplicity and power consumption over larger, human type models. It may simply be a question of larger humanoid/human-like chassis only recently becoming practical for widespread civilian use. The idea that Bubbles' chassis existed earlier actually supports this idea, as advancements in military technology inevitably impact the private sector. As military contractors got better at building robo-valkyries, they also learned techniques and developed technologies that applied to the civilian sector, driving down the price for everybody.

Also, it's been hinted a couple of times that some of the rights AIs enjoy in the current part of the timeline were earned during the course of the comic. Once AIs got rights more equivalent to humans, giving them reasonable availability of a practical and functional chassis becomes a civil rights issue.

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: pendrake on 07 Aug 2017, 01:33
For comic #3541... (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3541)

That was a pretty good selling point.   :roll:

On the other hand, so (humanoid) Winslow is going to be shorter than Hannelore?  Meaning probably on the same (short height) scale as Momo and May?

I was kind of hoping that (humanoid) Winslow would be more on the same height level as Hannelore, but not hard-set on that either.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Kugai on 07 Aug 2017, 04:33
The Deluxe Cutebutt Model it is  :claireface:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Mad Cat on 07 Aug 2017, 07:13
A) I looked for the dermal seams around her neck and joints and didn't see any, so I thought Hanners' sales girl was human.
B) What, exactly, is this store's policy on the help MOONING te customers?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 07 Aug 2017, 07:20
It’s not mooning, she is wearing underpants.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Mad Cat on 07 Aug 2017, 07:27
Is she? Or is she like Bubbles and her "intimate" parts are simply moulded in the different color of "skin"? And, you know, Ken doll-like in "correctness".

Another thought has occurred to me. Hanners and Winslow are not shopping for a "young MAN" chassis in which to install him. They're shopping for different models of "Regular BOY". These chassises are modelled on pre- and peri-pubescent children.  The last panels of this strip are essentially a young girl flashing her genitals at the customer. I wish I hadn't made this realization. This strip has taken creepy overtones for me now.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 07 Aug 2017, 07:34
Is she? Or is she like Bubbles and her "intimate" parts are simply moulded in the different color of "skin"? And, you know, Ken doll-like in "correctness".

Look at panel 3. There is a colour difference, a clear edge and shadowing to indicate clothing differentiated from the skin. So, yes, she's wearing something not dissimilar to gym shorts.

Ease down, MC. Take a few deep breaths.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 07 Aug 2017, 07:36
Also, “like Bubbles”? I would say that those are undergarments, too.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Neko_Ali on 07 Aug 2017, 08:21
Well, it is certainly an interesting and different sales technique... Not one that would work with a human sales person probably, but then again humans don't sell copies of their own body usually, so....
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Nepiophage on 07 Aug 2017, 09:11
Up to now Winslow has not had any strips where he is the main character. He did not seem to have a very interesting personality, unlike Momo for example, who even in her chibi chassis was someone to be reckoned with. I wonder where we will go from here?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 07 Aug 2017, 09:23
Why do AnthroPCs wear underwear?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 07 Aug 2017, 09:27
They have 'adopted' a lot of human social norms. It seems that, the more anthromimetic their chassis, the more they are likely to have internalised our near-universal cultural nudity taboo.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 07 Aug 2017, 09:43
Why do AnthroPCs wear underwear?
Because it’s comfy and easy to wear.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: flondrix on 07 Aug 2017, 11:00
Duck Crossing Guard.

I may have to draw some fan-art of this.

If you do, you should know (if you don't already) that McCloskey's seminal work in this genre, Make Way for Ducklings, is set to the east of Northampton in Boston Public Garden, where it has been immortalized in Bronze sculpture:

(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/44/Make_way_for_ducklings_statue.jpg)

It is very likely that at least one of the characters in the strip know this and would make reference to it if Winslow were to find work as a duck crossing guard.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: celticgeek on 07 Aug 2017, 11:07
Duck Crossings (http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM9JNM)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Neko_Ali on 07 Aug 2017, 12:44
Why do AnthroPCs wear underwear?

They have 'adopted' a lot of human social norms. It seems that, the more anthromimetic their chassis, the more they are likely to have internalised our near-universal cultural nudity taboo.

Melon was running around without pants after the butt launching incident, when they showed up at Union Robotics and nobody batted an eye at it. Though she does normally wear pants apparently. The default model antro PC that we are seeing here and other places only has the basic shape of the body but no details... As May puts it, smooth as a Barbie doll. So they could probably get away running around naked like less human robots do... Models like Arthur, Punchbot and Seven. But those who choose more human-like chassis seem more interested in fitting in with human norms, so they wear the same clothing, even if there is no need to. There might be a legal reason too as well. The sales lady here has skin tone close to human norm unlike the Regular Boy chassis. Seen from a distance without clothes on someone might mistake her for a streaking human if they weren't close enough to see the joint seams. While technically not indecent exposure it could lead to a disturbance of the peace.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: flondrix on 07 Aug 2017, 14:11
What is interesting here is that Winslow really does seem to care about what most people would consider 'sexual' characteristics - Whether certain parts of the body are or are not attractive.

We here in this forum may be constrained by the moderators to treat AIs as sexless, but in the strip robots are obsessed with butts and giant dongs and burning out USB cables.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: pwhodges on 07 Aug 2017, 14:24
We here in this forum may be constrained by the moderators to treat AIs as sexless,

No you aren't.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: SmilingCat on 07 Aug 2017, 14:42
We here in this forum may be constrained by the moderators to treat AIs as sexless, but in the strip robots are obsessed with butts and giant dongs and burning out USB cables.

Winslow has acknowledged looking at lesbian porn in the past. Though it is uncertain if he was entirely aware of what it was.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: JimC on 07 Aug 2017, 15:42
Why do AnthroPCs wear underwear?
Well maybe the tech is still a little imperfect, and they get the odd lubricant stain from those high load high mobility thigh joints, so it makes sense to waer something underneath to stop anything getting on the outer clothes.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Storel on 07 Aug 2017, 15:48
I suspect that a delightful tail would be a pricey add-on (although I doubt that bit would worry Hanners).

Salesgal: "To be honest, the higher tiers get you diminishing returns in terms of features. So unless you're looking for something extremely specific, you're probably going to be happy with the Deluxe." [emphasis added]

It is now my headcanon that the Extra-Special Super Deluxe Regular Boy Custom Unlimited* has the "blue skin" and "delightful tail" options, but the price is... astronomical. :wink:

__________
* Not present in the shop, but available by special order.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Mad Cat on 07 Aug 2017, 18:26
It is now my headcanon that the Extra-Special Super Deluxe Regular Boy Custom Unlimited* has the "blue skin" and "delightful tail" options, but the price is... astronomical. :wink:

__________
* Not present in the shop, but available by special order.
Astronomical or merely Pandoran?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 07 Aug 2017, 18:58
I think something we need to consider at the moment, and its something I think we have missed despite how important it would be toward AI rights. And that's regarding the concept of the Uncanny Valley (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncanny_valley).

If you look at the more human looking chassis, you'll notice that none of them look 100%, there's little differences that mark them as noticeably AI chassis. The vividly coloured hair, the esoteric skin tones, the neon eyes (proverbially speaking) - they're all key visual indicators that they are not human, but just different enough that they avoid the pit of the Uncanny Valley. Compare that to the AI who operated out of the Skate Park, many of whom fitted into the 1950s aesthetic similar to Forbidden Planet's Robby the Robot or the Robot from Lost In Space, in a way that the QC AI like Punchbot look almost cute in their mechanical kind of way.

It seems to me that Ellicott-Chatham Inc. must have realised what an effect the Uncanny Valley would have had on the emerging AI rights movement and introduced more advanced chassis that were realistic enough that people don't bat an eyelid, but distinct enough that people won't feel disturbed by them.

I mean, to take three real world examples and for the moment, endow them with real AI, which of them do you think would garner greater support for AI rights:
ASIMO (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ASIMO), the robot produced by Honda?
Or
The Actroid (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actroid), produced by Osaka University?
Or
Nadine (http://www.wired.co.uk/article/robot-receptionist), a robotic receptionist, designed and created by Nanyang Technical University in Singapore?

So it does seem that Jeph is subtly showing how AI may have gained their rights without intimidating Humanity.

Either that or I'm thinking way too much at 3am....

(Fixed Nadine's tag -Method)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 07 Aug 2017, 19:03
Fun fact, the original boyfriend chassis was how I learned the term "Uncanny Valley".
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: hedgie on 07 Aug 2017, 19:11
Well, I think that some chassis may pass as human more easily than others.  In strip 2009 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2009), Padma mistakes Momo for human, as did Sam a couple of strips later.  Also, IIRC, Jeph stated in a newspost that she would pass for human under casual inspection. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Tova on 07 Aug 2017, 19:21
Why do AnthroPCs wear underwear?

So she can whip off her skirt for impromptu model demonstrations, of course. ;)

And amusingly, I only just noticed where the skirt landed.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Geezergeek on 07 Aug 2017, 19:31
'Cmon, folks:  It's so obvious -- Winslow + Dr. Corinne.  (Where's she been, anyway?)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: DSL on 07 Aug 2017, 19:44
Why do AnthroPCs wear underwear?

Assimilation.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: SmilingCat on 07 Aug 2017, 19:55
Well, I think that some chassis may pass as human more easily than others.  In strip 2009 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2009), Padma mistakes Momo for human, as did Sam a couple of strips later.  Also, IIRC, Jeph stated in a newspost that she would pass for human under casual inspection.

With my natural inclination to overthink things, I have to wonder how many robots choose to look as human as possible, and how many consider it important to stand out.

(not in the sense of just liking to look different, but considering it an important part of their identity as a robot to look different from people).
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: DSL on 07 Aug 2017, 19:56
Comic.

Humaniform Winslow is going to take some getting used to for me; it's much more of a change than, say, Momo's. Pintsize is either going to chafe at or take advantage (or maybe both) of his new uniqueness among the principal QC AIs.

Also, the phrasing in Salesbot's last line is slightly creepy to me, given the attention the US media has been giving to human trafficking.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Redball on 07 Aug 2017, 20:06
No, I think it was just an excuse for at least one butt joke (but probably several more).

Jeph really loves butts (can you blame him?)

Many of us do.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 07 Aug 2017, 20:10
I think it's rather sweet, but I hadn't considered that.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: War Sparrow on 07 Aug 2017, 20:43
I'd hug Reggie.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ZoeB on 07 Aug 2017, 21:07
May there be at least one cephaloform who *gets* good hugs too.  That one looks like they need it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: SmilingCat on 07 Aug 2017, 21:23
Unfortunately for cephaloforms, their noodly little arm hugs only really work when they hug the head, and that triggers our primitive ancestral instincts to flee from mind flayers.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: fayelovesbubbles on 07 Aug 2017, 21:34
Even though Hanners doesn't do hugs, she reluctantly accepts one from Winslow. <3
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: QuestionableIntentions on 07 Aug 2017, 21:54
Ah yes, The "Facehugger Custom Deluxe", always a customer favourite.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Timemaster on 07 Aug 2017, 22:36
Facehugger?
Or do you mean a headcrab?  :-D

Good choice Winslow, not to take the model on display but another one with a different skincolour. This one looks much better.
Hannelore accepts Winslows embrace because she knows he´s a robot. She learned that from Momo´s embrace, remember? But she´s clearly uncomfortable with it. It is always difficult to overcome long-term anexities, even if the brain tells you that they don´t apply in a specific situation. Beautifully drawn by Jeph. :-)

TM
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 07 Aug 2017, 22:43
'Cmon, folks:  It's so obvious -- Winslow + Dr. Corinne.  (Where's she been, anyway?)

Global Moderator Comment That's not at all foreshadowed in the comic.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 07 Aug 2017, 23:26
Lots of interesting subtext in today's strip. Most importantly, what Winslow says in panel 3 suggests very strongly that he was in a reduced sensory environment in his previous chassis. Jeph being Jeph, this is brushed over but I can't help but wonder if some AIs are inadvertently being abused by being put in chassis that have limited sensory outfits and thus give them a reduced window on the world. So reduced that (like Momo before him) Winslow will do anything to keep this new life he's gained. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that Jeph is lightly touching on a possible civil rights issue beginning to emerge here.

We also now know why Iris has this job: She likes getting warm hugs from AIs who are on a sensory high from their new bodies and thus may not be as reserved as they would be normally!

Meanwhile... Reggie, old son, I do know where you're coming from. That said, can you conceive a possible reason why some people might be reluctant to get a hug from a flying robot octopus? This is the second or third time we've had it shown that AIs in really exotic chassis tend to be either in denial about or totally unable to perceive why some people might be nervous around them.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Bollthorn on 07 Aug 2017, 23:49
This issue was so sweet ^_^

And I'd hug Reggie

#hugsforreggie

XD
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: TinPenguin on 08 Aug 2017, 00:19
I don't know if I'm being insensitive to a fictional character, but there is something about those very pale hues of pink that is somehow more nauseating than the obnoxiously loud variants. You do you, Winslow, but right now it's physically hard to look at you with skin the colour of raw chicken.

Reggie is cute as hell, though.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: lawoot on 08 Aug 2017, 02:59
Something about Winslow's new chassis seemed familiar. Then I realized he reminds me of Jeph's drawing style back around #300.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: JimC on 08 Aug 2017, 04:16
I suspect Hanners is already regretting giving Winslow a body that can hug...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 08 Aug 2017, 04:26
Nah, the chassis would be nice and clean and utterly lacking in germs, especially if it's brand new.

But I do imagine the frames would have in-built limiters with pressure sensors to make sure a "Of Mice and Men" situation won't occur.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 08 Aug 2017, 05:05
I suspect Hanners is already regretting giving Winslow a body that can hug...

That's true. Hannelore intellectually knows that Winslow's new body is factory-fresh and largely germ-free. However, that doesn't stop her from instinctively flinching at the contact. I'm kind of worried that she might be developing a broader phobia against interpersonal contact altogether; that could really screw up her life.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: hedgie on 08 Aug 2017, 05:18
Good point.  She did end up freaking out at Momo hugging her until said AI pointed out that she was a robot.  I'm nowhere near as "bad" as Hanners when it comes to physical contact, but I still do have problems if it occurs without me knowing ahead of time, and having time to psych myself up for it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ChipNoir on 08 Aug 2017, 05:35
If anything, I think Hanners is getting better with each passing 'season', time being funky in this comic. She may never be entirely comfortable with it, but she seems to endure it on occasion, and may someday enjoy it. Hanners last freak out seems to shed a little more light on how her phobias work: She seems to be afraid of things that 'could' go wrong. And it makes sense. She grew up on a space station with a total lack of exposure to social trial-and-error, as well as living in an environment where catastrophes could and probably did happen with high stakes.  While I'm not anywhere near as bad as Hanners, I have huge anxieties about conflict and not being able to handle things when variables are out of my control. My phobias are especially centered around travel and driving. To this day I'm still struggling to learn how to drive. But the more I've done it, the more I realize that I can work with chaos, and handle conflict. I still get panicky, and I'm not exactly good when things go wrong. But I try. And Hanners is really trying too, and she's succeeding.

The more time she's spent experience things out of her comfort zone, the better she's gotten, and more she's come to understand that bad things may happen, but they often don't, and when they do, she can endure and move past them. She may never be completely comfortable, but she's learning to cope, and as someone who deals with his own phobias and anxiety, that's the life goal for me.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: TakDagon on 08 Aug 2017, 06:30
I've always been curious about this and I know that money isn't really a quantified thing in the QC universe (aside from the fact that everyone works to pay bills), but how much would a full humanoid anthroPC body actually cost? I'm guessing that the AnthroPC's aren't cheap to begin with but a full humaniod body has got to be a bit on the 'spensive side.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 08 Aug 2017, 06:33
Marigold could (barely) afford Momo's pretty high-end new chassis. Even assuming a generous credit agreement and payment-by-instalment, I can't see it being over four figures. Probably in the $5k range, similar to maximum-specification computers.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: MrNumbers on 08 Aug 2017, 06:43
Disagree.

Marigold could (barely) afford it, and makes good money from home with pretty minimal cost-of-living and transportation. She doesn't even have a car expenditure.

I'd put it at $5,000 minimum with a body like that probably going for closer to the $20K area.

Think about it; It's basically all the size and moving parts of a motorbike, with all the core internals of a high-end computer running the AI.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: dreed on 08 Aug 2017, 07:05
Disagree.

Marigold could (barely) afford it, and makes good money from home with pretty minimal cost-of-living and transportation. She doesn't even have a car expenditure.

I'd put it at $5,000 minimum with a body like that probably going for closer to the $20K area.

Think about it; It's basically all the size and moving parts of a motorbike, with all the core internals of a high-end computer running the AI.

This.

A robotic hand repair was 250.  After discount and all.  so just the hand had to be a couple grand.

I'm with Mr numbers on the cost.   The deluxe boy is close to 20k.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: shanejayell on 08 Aug 2017, 07:06
One wonders if there are subsidies & such for body upgrades from Hannelore's dad or the government.

Do AIs have a intrinsic 'right' to improved bodies & such?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 08 Aug 2017, 07:22
May couldn't even get repairs on a government-issued body. If there is such a right it's being violated all the time.

Wasn't the chassis that Momo asked for at first listed at $30K?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Mad Cat on 08 Aug 2017, 07:39
Unfortunately for cephaloforms, their noodly little arm hugs only really work when they hug the head, and that triggers our primitive ancestral instincts to flee from mind flayers.
If I had an cephaloform anthroPC like Reggie, I'd let him perch on top of my head and wear him like a hat, Maybe get some form of transcranial nerve-conduction MMI for him so we could communicate to one another silently. And try not to think about the origin of the word cephalopod as meaning stomach-foot, how those lifeforms ate their food.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: hedgie on 08 Aug 2017, 07:45
Actually, cephalopod is head-foot.  You're thinking gastropods.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Mad Cat on 08 Aug 2017, 07:48
Oh! Right. Well, that's just dandy then.

My bad.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: pendrake on 08 Aug 2017, 07:58
For Comic #3542...

1. Hmm...  Not sure if I like the pink-on-pink-on-pink for Winslow's chosen(?) Deluxe Regular Boy model.  :-\

2. I liked Hannelore's unsteady expression as Winslow is hugging her, trying not to reflexively react negatively since she understands the high emotions running though Winslow at the moment.

3. As a counter-point to all the hugging: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eufwf9V_rdg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eufwf9V_rdg)  8-)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: OldGoat on 08 Aug 2017, 08:13
Well, I think that some chassis may pass as human more easily than others.  In strip 2009 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2009), Padma mistakes Momo for human, as did Sam a couple of strips later.  Also, IIRC, Jeph stated in a newspost that she would pass for human under casual inspection.
Momo's always been presented as different from other AI with rounded rather than angular speech balloons.  I take this to mean her voice sounds like a human's, not a robot's.  I don't recall Jeph every addressing the reason for this in the strip narrative.  It could be a matter of hardware, software, or, since robots can experience and learn, it may be something she taught herself, like Faye deliberately dialing back her own Georgia accent.

On another topic, why is Winslow assumed to be qualified only for mostly apprentice-level or volunteer jobs?  (Presumably robots can achieve journeyman level competency by upload rather that a year or so apprenticeship.)  Does the Boy Job/Girl Job "glass ceiling" exist for short robots in the QCverse?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 08 Aug 2017, 08:50
So, thinking about the last time a cute Companion AnthroPC got an anthromimetic chassis, I'd be interested in the current forum's thoughts on this strip (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2008). If nothing else, I think that Winslow and Momo might have a lot to talk about over the next few strips to cover Winslow's arc.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ChipNoir on 08 Aug 2017, 09:24
Well, I think that some chassis may pass as human more easily than others.  In strip 2009 (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2009), Padma mistakes Momo for human, as did Sam a couple of strips later.  Also, IIRC, Jeph stated in a newspost that she would pass for human under casual inspection.
Momo's always been presented as different from other AI with rounded rather than angular speech balloons.  I take this to mean her voice sounds like a human's, not a robot's.  I don't recall Jeph every addressing the reason for this in the strip narrative.  It could be a matter of hardware, software, or, since robots can experience and learn, it may be something she taught herself, like Faye deliberately dialing back her own Georgia accent.

On another topic, why is Winslow assumed to be qualified only for mostly apprentice-level or volunteer jobs?  (Presumably robots can achieve journeyman level competency by upload rather that a year or so apprenticeship.)  Does the Boy Job/Girl Job "glass ceiling" exist for short robots in the QCverse?

I have a lot to ponder on this, and I'll have a big post later, but right now I'd like to point out that Momo has stated that AIs aren't specifically any smarter than humans. At least not civilian grade ones. Things like Space Station have a huge amount of access, but he still has human levels of judgement, which means he learns at a human level, despite having access to a massive amount of data. We've also had that joke where Claire threatened to overload Pintsize with a government sized databank.

So basically, I think an AI still has to have experiential education, and process it like a human does. They might be better able to organize than a human student, but they'd still have to put in the time and dedication that a human would. So I don't think Winslow can just jump into any field he wants.

My other big concern I wanna address is that Winslow is very sheltered. I kinda wish we've seen how he comforted Hanners during her past freak outs, as a gauge of what he does when faced with difficult social situations. Because frankly he's kinda prone to freaking out himself, and has been very easily bullied or manipulated by Pintsize more than a few times.  We've also never seen him have a social life without the protection of being with people Hanners already knows. Not that he doesn't, as clearly Pintsize has shown being able to go off on his own. But its just not info I can recall ever being shared with us.

I'd be very concerned about Winslow and the potential abuse he can face. He's got a humanoid body now, but it looks pretty short. Combine that with his naive personality, and the lurking undertones of prejudice against AI that some people have, and I can see a lot of potential for the little dude to get hurt. I really don't wanna see that, or at least, if it does, I wanna see that positively resolved.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 08 Aug 2017, 09:33
From what I can tell, Momo’s speech bubbles are as rectangular as anyone’s. I never interpreted this as how they sound, just a reminder to the reader who is human and who is an AI, like round/square pupils on Futurama.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: flondrix on 08 Aug 2017, 09:38
I suspect Hanners is already regretting giving Winslow a body that can hug...

That's true. Hannelore intellectually knows that Winslow's new body is factory-fresh and largely germ-free. However, that doesn't stop her from instinctively flinching at the contact. I'm kind of worried that she might be developing a broader phobia against interpersonal contact altogether; that could really screw up her life.

Nah.  She is merely grimacing instead of freaking out altogether.  Hanners has spontaneously hugged Marten (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1709) and more deliberately hugged Sven (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1769) and her dad. (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2146)  This time she is unexpectedly receiving a hug, albiet from a robot.  I can't find the comic where Momo hugged her for comparison, but I suspect that her reaction is much improved.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: A Duck on 08 Aug 2017, 10:01
Huh, I didn't imagine his body would end up being pink. I thought he would be fully white or blue, although blue is already taken by May.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: flondrix on 08 Aug 2017, 10:26
So basically, I think an AI still has to have experiential education, and process it like a human does. They might be better able to organize than a human student, but they'd still have to put in the time and dedication that a human would. So I don't think Winslow can just jump into any field he wants.

This overlaps with something I was wondering about...after downloading into the new body, Winslow can stand and walk and safely hug people without staggering about for a while first.  Shouldn't he have a learning curve?

If it were possible for AIs to acquire skills simply by downloading them, those skill files would have to have been created somehow, in a format compatible with the AI receiving them, been debugged, etc.  (For starters, we know that the PC/Mac/Linux divide extends to Anthro PCs.)  So, here is my theory...

Someone has gone to the trouble of creating some instantly downloadable skills and applets of limited scope, such as the "drivers" Winslow would have needed to use his new body fresh out of the stockroom.  But more generally, AIs have to learn things the hard way.  I do wonder, though, if it is possible to "copy" what one AI has learned to another AI, or if everything they have experienced is tangled up with their personality and self in a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, thinky-winky... stuff.  The fact that Corpse Witch was able to excise specific events from Bubbles' memory would imply that AI memory is a bit more organized than that, but the fact she screwed it up may imply that it isn't simple either.  The fact that Spookybot thought that those memories might be recoverable, and had to confirm that they were gone implies that such editing is possible for someone more competent than Corpse Witch.

A future plot possibility:  Union Robotics becomes popular, and an entrepeneur approaches Bubbles with an offer to open franchises where the mechanics would be using copies of Bubbles' experience and skills.  Bubbles is so averse to having anyone poke around in her head again that she refuses...emphatically.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Thrudd on 08 Aug 2017, 10:45
I would not go so far as saying that being able to walk about without issue is a higher level of learned skill set.
He already has the basics of locomotion and navigation from being in his ipod chassis.
Do you think about how you place your limbs and flex each muscle as you walk?
I like to hearken mack to Macross/Robotech with what was referred to as Reflex technology [muscle memory for the organic types] - that is that each subsystem had built-in dedicated control systems to look after basic repeatable operations with a high level of skill. A master control signal comes in saying "keep upright balance" and so you stand there as the individual subsystems interact, flexing and relaxing to compensate for environmental irregularities and personal shifts in weight due to upper body actions and yet maintain an upright stance. This also explains the old "ow - I just walked into a lamp post" scenario where the reflex system was doing its job just fine propelling you forward but the higher level functions did not do theirs, in this case collision avoidance.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ChipNoir on 08 Aug 2017, 11:51
So basically, I think an AI still has to have experiential education, and process it like a human does. They might be better able to organize than a human student, but they'd still have to put in the time and dedication that a human would. So I don't think Winslow can just jump into any field he wants.

This overlaps with something I was wondering about...after downloading into the new body, Winslow can stand and walk and safely hug people without staggering about for a while first.  Shouldn't he have a learning curve?

If it were possible for AIs to acquire skills simply by downloading them, those skill files would have to have been created somehow, in a format compatible with the AI receiving them, been debugged, etc.  (For starters, we know that the PC/Mac/Linux divide extends to Anthro PCs.)  So, here is my theory...

Someone has gone to the trouble of creating some instantly downloadable skills and applets of limited scope, such as the "drivers" Winslow would have needed to use his new body fresh out of the stockroom.  But more generally, AIs have to learn things the hard way.  I do wonder, though, if it is possible to "copy" what one AI has learned to another AI, or if everything they have experienced is tangled up with their personality and self in a big ball of wibbly-wobbly, thinky-winky... stuff.  The fact that Corpse Witch was able to excise specific events from Bubbles' memory would imply that AI memory is a bit more organized than that, but the fact she screwed it up may imply that it isn't simple either.  The fact that Spookybot thought that those memories might be recoverable, and had to confirm that they were gone implies that such editing is possible for someone more competent than Corpse Witch.

A future plot possibility:  Union Robotics becomes popular, and an entrepeneur approaches Bubbles with an offer to open franchises where the mechanics would be using copies of Bubbles' experience and skills.  Bubbles is so averse to having anyone poke around in her head again that she refuses...emphatically.

I think you can protocol autonomic functions, given how for us humans, things like walking aren't really something we have to think too hard about. We just do it. True, as infants we have to get a handle on it, but our intelligence is way more basic as infants as well.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: flondrix on 08 Aug 2017, 12:10
Do you think about how you place your limbs and flex each muscle as you walk?

Not anymore.  But it took time and practice to learn, many years ago.

I like to hearken mack to Macross/Robotech with what was referred to as Reflex technology [muscle memory for the organic types] - that is that each subsystem had built-in dedicated control systems to look after basic repeatable operations with a high level of skill.

What we organic types call "muscle memory" is in fact in the brain.  It just feels like your arms and legs know what to do.

So if the routines necessary to use the new arms and legs were already present on the drive in the new body, where did they come from?  Maybe some coder wrote them, from scratch, but I doubt it.  That doesn't seem to work too well in real life.  I think some AI "test pilot" stumbled around in a prototype body and learned the way humans do, and the routines were copied from s/he/it.

But regardless of where the routines to operate the arms and legs came from, basic repeatable actions can only take you so far.  You can tell your legs to walk, but not to tapdance or to knee an unwanted suitor in the groin (unless there's a downloadable app for that) or tell your hands to roll out filo dough without tearing it.  Practice, practice, practice.

On the gripping hand:  Momo was 2.7 years old when she got her new body, and she already had a variety of skills, especially social ones.  I guess that is proof that AIs can be "pre-loaded" with skills.


Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: flondrix on 08 Aug 2017, 12:19
I think you can protocol autonomic functions, given how for us humans, things like walking aren't really something we have to think too hard about. We just do it. True, as infants we have to get a handle on it, but our intelligence is way more basic as infants as well.

We "just do it" after learning the hard way as infants.  What we call "intuition" and "muscle memory" and "common sense" are just examples of being unaware of what your brain is actually doing.

As for the intelligence of infants, that is a profound question.  Are they less intelligent, or do they just have a lot to learn, starting with the fact that there are things they might want to learn?  The original definition of IQ compared a child's ability to do certain tasks with average ability of older and younger children to perform those same tasks; was that test comparing the size of the cup or how full the cup was?  Of course any IQ test applicable to adults must work on completely different principles.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: NemesisDancer on 08 Aug 2017, 12:34
Today's comic made me smile - cheery Winslow is adorable ^_^
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Nepiophage on 08 Aug 2017, 12:51

    A centipede was happy – quite!
    Until a toad in fun
    Said, "Pray, which leg comes after which?"
    Which threw her mind in such a pitch,
    She laid bewildered in the ditch
    Considering how to run.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Thrudd on 08 Aug 2017, 13:00
flondrix - Hmmm  :-\ Thats something to ruminate and then research a bit more on at a latter time on my part.

My memory is fuzzy on some of the self regulating systems in a human body but here goes;
Panaceas, Liver, and some other subsystems also run themselves with only limited, in any supervisory signals from the brain.
Heart runs on its own with only the increase/decrease of pulse rate signals from the medulla oblongata IIRC - Dammit flondrix I'm a Physicist, not a Medical Doctor.  :roll:

This is where some automated subsystems are right now and more are going that route.
Battery packs have built in charge and status monitors that are very sophisticated in some designs.
Doing charge and discharge control, cell health, fail safes, even switching out bad cells and load balancing between cells.
The Tesla power storage system does this on a large scale with their battery modules for automotive and household use.
Each component pack having it's own monitoring system that is integrated into the whole, which itself has a supervisory layer of control, only sending needed information to the main central control system when required.



I am not so sure that it was actual skills per se that Momo had early access to.
I am thinking a fully documented set of protocols and procedures in a heuristic database.
[someone better than I can find her exact wording on the subject]
For the uninitiated they are like fancy schmacy if-then statements.
Heck my industry lives and dies by the SOP [Standard Operating Procedure] and Protocols for the not so regular stuff.
These are tools outlining exactly what to do in a repeatable and verifiable manner, plus they make good training aids if designed well.
The caveat though, is that training under experienced supervision is still required to be able to follow what is written and what was intended and deal with the as yet undocumented surprises in the system.
They are documents that are rewritten and updated based on what was not covered but had to be dealt with when things go Klein.
(click to show/hide)

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: OldGoat on 08 Aug 2017, 13:01
From what I can tell, Momo’s speech bubbles are as rectangular as anyone’s. I never interpreted this as how they sound, just a reminder to the reader who is human and who is an AI, like round/square pupils on Futurama.
Browsing back, I see that Momo's speech balloons usually change depending on with whom she's conversing, 'droid-person or meat-person. I think she's the only one who does this. 

Regarding basic chassis functions like locomotion, it would make sense to implement those in hardware modules rather than place additional load on the cognitive CPU and software. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Stoutfellow on 08 Aug 2017, 13:24
The discussion of adapting to a new chassis brings to mind this classic strip from Skin Horse: http://skin-horse.com/comic/had-nothing/ (http://skin-horse.com/comic/had-nothing/) (The blond humaniform is a robot drone, which an emergent AI has just taken over. The previous driver has been returned to his own body.)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: JimC on 08 Aug 2017, 18:44
Shouldn't he have a learning curve?
I think you have to consider that each body component includes a great deal of local processing and interacts with the mind with a standard API, and possibly also contains auxiliary resource. Because otherwise when Winslow got in the new body, not only would he have to learn, but also a huge amount of CPU power would be needed to be diverted to handling all these new musxles and so on.

Mind you it probably doesn't pay to think too deeply about this stuff...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Kugai on 08 Aug 2017, 19:38
Winslow's so cute in this. :)

It doesn't surprise me that Hanners can easily afford the Chassis considering who she is
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: zisraelsen on 08 Aug 2017, 20:02
Shouldn't he have a learning curve?
I think you have to consider that each body component includes a great deal of local processing and interacts with the mind with a standard API, and possibly also contains auxiliary resource. Because otherwise when Winslow got in the new body, not only would he have to learn, but also a huge amount of CPU power would be needed to be diverted to handling all these new musxles and so on.

Mind you it probably doesn't pay to think too deeply about this stuff...

Plus, the fact that Clinton's hand has semi-autonomous mode (http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1911) means that having local processing handle movement is within the realm of possibility in-comic.

(This is my first post by the way. Hi all!)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ChipNoir on 08 Aug 2017, 20:43
Eeep. He is a LOT shorter than I thought. Yeah, I'm worrying about him now a bit.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: badbum61 on 08 Aug 2017, 20:44
Winslow's new chassis looks rather like a male counterpart to Momo's, no?

And now that I've put that thought in your mind, remember..... NO SHIPPING!

heheheheheheheh
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 08 Aug 2017, 20:45
Welcome, analytical new person!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ProvenNonsense on 08 Aug 2017, 21:35
I would imagine that even if the AIs could download knowledge like the matrix it wouldn't be immediately recallable.  If their "brains" at all mimic ours (an assumption that maybe I shouldn't be making) neural connections to the new info would be very weak or non existent.  It would be like me trying to recall things I learned in my freshman year college classes, possible with some effort, some writing, and a review of the material.  Information only stays for long when you use it, even hard drives get degraded.  AI minds would seem to have more potential than humans, and would probably learn faster, but processors would be a definite bottleneck.

Anyways, Winslow's new body is super cute.  I wonder how Pintsize will react to the change.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: DaiJB on 08 Aug 2017, 21:35
I put "other" in the poll basically because I had no idea what Winslow would like (or be good at) in a job :D

Now that I think about it, I reckon Winslow being Winslow, will want to learn what life is like in this new body first - I don't see him jumping in feet-first like Momo. (I still grin at Number 2002 where she gets her revenge on Pintsize!)

Maybe he will take time out, study, take care of Hanners (he really is devoted to her, after all) - and then somewhere down the line, find a job?

edit: I really don't like the floofy pink hair. I hope Winslow doesn't like the pink hair and gets it changed. (Maybe he has Momo's color-changing app? Or is that one of those "extremely specific" features of high-end models mentioned by Iris?)
Eh, it doesn't matter what I think, though - maybe he likes it   :-)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 08 Aug 2017, 23:19
So, new comic! It seems that Winslow had an ulterior motive for asking for a chassis and it's exactly the one may people predicted. Once again, Pintsize is the motivating force in the comic!

That aside, it must have been a long time since Dora spent any time with Pintsize. I say that because she actually thinks that being bigger than Pintsize stops him pushing you around. I mean, how much larger than Pntsize is Faye and he even gets away with manipulating her sometimes! Nothing in Dora's direct and personal experience of him should have made her think that this could be the case!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Gyrre on 08 Aug 2017, 23:34

On another topic, why is Winslow assumed to be qualified only for mostly apprentice-level or volunteer jobs?  (Presumably robots can achieve journeyman level competency by upload rather that a year or so apprenticeship.)  Does the Boy Job/Girl Job "glass ceiling" exist for short robots in the QCverse?

Nurse, EMS responder, teacher's assistant, and dispatcher all require training. At least 2 of those require degrees.
I'm guessing Winslow could download various language packs to be an interpreter, but that's another one that requires extensive training for humans.

I chose teacher's assistant as opposed to outright teacher based on which I assumed he'd likely be more comfortable doing.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Kugai on 08 Aug 2017, 23:38
Pintsize is going to want one now

This is gonna be interesting.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: gopher on 09 Aug 2017, 00:57
Liking Winslow's look, feels quite Fallout Boy to me.(https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwiZ_8X21cnVAhUBOhQKHfdtAcwQjRwIBw&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffallout.wikia.com%2Fwiki%2FVault_Boy&psig=AFQjCNHeILiIQCQWkIk_y0-ADm7Lb3vzVQ&ust=1502351580050686)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Gyrre on 09 Aug 2017, 01:45
I would not go so far as saying that being able to walk about without issue is a higher level of learned skill set.
He already has the basics of locomotion and navigation from being in his ipod chassis.
Do you think about how you place your limbs and flex each muscle as you walk?
I like to hearken mack to Macross/Robotech with what was referred to as Reflex technology [muscle memory for the organic types] - that is that each subsystem had built-in dedicated control systems to look after basic repeatable operations with a high level of skill. A master control signal comes in saying "keep upright balance" and so you stand there as the individual subsystems interact, flexing and relaxing to compensate for environmental irregularities and personal shifts in weight due to upper body actions and yet maintain an upright stance. This also explains the old "ow - I just walked into a lamp post" scenario where the reflex system was doing its job just fine propelling you forward but the higher level functions did not do theirs, in this case collision avoidance.
Humans learn fine motor skills over the course of 3 to 5 years. Some humans take even longer to grasp finer motion control.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 09 Aug 2017, 01:47
Of course, AIs have the advantage of having bodies with their own separate 'brains'. You could pre-load the chassis with basic motor control software (walking, grasping and the like) and all the AI algorithm has to do is trigger it. The AI can and will learn to do other things that it wants to do (Momo gave dancing or playing music as good examples) but it doesn't need to do it all.

The closest biological parallel I can think of is that the AI algorithm is only the Cerebrum; the brainstem is part of the chassis and that handles most if not all of the routine bodily operations.

Pintsize is going to want one now

Calling it now: gender-ambiguous hermaphrodite aesthetic. Actually having the parts will radically change his outlook though and maybe he might be less aggressive... Or possibly just as aggressive but isn't prepared for the occasional positive response.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: flondrix on 09 Aug 2017, 02:57
The AI can and will learn to do other things that it wants to do (Momo gave dancing or playing music as good examples) but it doesn't need to do it all.

I don't recall that discussion.  Any idea when it was?  I would like to read it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Case on 09 Aug 2017, 05:03
So basically, I think an AI still has to have experiential education, and process it like a human does. They might be better able to organize than a human student, but they'd still have to put in the time and dedication that a human would. So I don't think Winslow can just jump into any field he wants.

This overlaps with something I was wondering about...after downloading into the new body, Winslow can stand and walk and safely hug people without staggering about for a while first.  Shouldn't he have a learning curve?

We humans might be biased in that regard, since it takes us so very long to learn locomotion after birth, but I believe that we're rather the outliers here - in fact, a lot of mammal infants acquire basic locomotion within minutes (cute vid of baby elephant (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bhAj89D6CA), cute vid of baby Vikuna (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bhAj89D6CA)), whereas the first thing human babies learn in terms of locomotion is reaching.

Apparently, being 'a bit of a slowpoke' wrt. motoric learning is common for many species of primates (https://carta.anthropogeny.org/moca/topics/infant-locomotor-development):

Quote
There are obvious differences in adult locomotion for humans compared to the great apes, but there are additional differences related to the development of locomotion. Many mammals are able to locomote shortly after birth, and it is likely that most mammals are born with an innate locomotion circuit, but the time to reach mature, adult-like locomotion varies significantly.

Human infants display coordinated leg movements that seem to mimic walking movements at a very young age, but they do not reach typical, adult walking behavior until 6-7 years of age. Newborn infants supported stepping patterns do not match the plantigrade locomotion of adults.
[...]
Chimpanzee infants begin locomoting primarily with their upper limbs, with torso-orthograde suspensory locomotion as the most common mode. At about 3 years of age, they begin to transition to more quadrupedal locomotion. By 5 years of age, they begin to locomote completely independently. During this stage, they decrease clinging and torso-orthograde suspensory locomotion and increase quadrupedal locomotion. Locomotion finally reached the adult form by adolescence (10-13 years), when the majority of movement became quadrupedal walking.
[...]
Gorillas begin crawling on mother locomotion by about 3-4 months of age.
[...]
By 4 years of age, gorillas are locomoting much like an adult, with knuckle-walking quadrupedalism as the most common form.

True, human babies' bodies are simply not built for adult locomotion - think e.g. of that (relatively) huge head that the body cannot even support initially, or the fact that bipedal locomotion is mechanically less stable and therefore also harder to learn than quadrupedal locomotion. Primates in general appear to be built for "painfully slow learning", even those primates that primarily walk on four limbs. Maybe that's a function of the time that our bodies need to reach their adult form? Wouldn't make much sense to have hard-wired locomotion circuits for a body that cannot execute its commands for six to seven years?

Not that I have the first idea about neurology, but I vaguely recall that human natal learning is less developing connections than pruning them.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: piedough on 09 Aug 2017, 05:16
Be Amazing if pintsize turns out to already have a body and hes the dark AI that helped bubbles with her memory . oh poor Winslow then  :evil:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: pendrake on 09 Aug 2017, 07:23
For comic #3543... (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3543)

The problem is not Pintsize wanting a humanoid chassis.

The problem is affordability.

From the what we can guess from the attitude/reactions to the price(s) for them, a humanoid chassis is probably akin to purchasing a very high-end computer or possibly a small automobile.  In other words, a major financial cost/investment that one cannot easily undo.

Pintsize knows that Marten is (probably) not able to afford a humanoid chassis, not on Marten's librarian salary.

Likewise, whatever monetary source(s) Pintsize has himself (assuming he does not simply have an saved-up allowance from Marten), it probably is also unable to afford a humanoid chassis as well; otherwise Pintsize would have probably either approached Marten about it, or simply purchased it without informing Marten or Marten's consent.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: OldGoat on 09 Aug 2017, 07:58
Winslow's new chassis looks rather like a male counterpart to Momo's, no?

And now that I've put that thought in your mind, remember..... NO SHIPPING!

heheheheheheheh
It's a set-up for "Is this your brother/sister?" and "Do robots have siblings?" gags.  Instead of "Are they twins?" AI parents are asked, "Are their serial numbers sequential?"
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: OldGoat on 09 Aug 2017, 08:12
Be Amazing if pintsize turns out to already have a body and hes the dark AI that helped bubbles with her memory . oh poor Winslow then  :evil:
Welcome, doomsaying Stormcrow newcomer!

Don't say that too loudly.  It's just as well if Pintsize hasn't thought of it yet and the QCverse doesn't need him getting ideas.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Bollthorn on 09 Aug 2017, 10:09
That was my first thought when Winslow's eyes "bipped" open; Such a lil' cutey!! I just wanna sit him in my lap and smoosh up his little face!! ^.^

... Dammit I'm such a big softy.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 09 Aug 2017, 11:18
Be Amazing if pintsize turns out to already have a body and hes the dark AI that helped bubbles with her memory . oh poor Winslow then  :evil:

Welcome, new person with provocative thoughts!

Eminence Grise could be one of those immensely powerful creatures with a pathological need to play pranks, like Coyote. They could operate the epicene body for serious business and run Pintsize for messing with the heads of preschoolers.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: JimC on 09 Aug 2017, 11:27
Winslow's new chassis looks rather like a male counterpart to Momo's, no?
I thought it looks sub-adult - about the same height/age as Sam say, which would make any shipping distinctly creepy.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: OldGoat on 09 Aug 2017, 11:45
Winslow's new chassis looks rather like a male counterpart to Momo's, no?
I thought it looks sub-adult - about the same height/age as Sam....
And Sam assumed Momo was an age peer when they first met.  Winslow 2.0 does appear unquestionably younger in the current artwork - on the shelf the unanimated chassis was kind of age-ambiguous.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: hedgie on 09 Aug 2017, 12:01
As wrong is it is to jump to a conclusion based on a sample size of exactly two, I might as well, since what else is the WDCT for?  Winslow and Momo have both gone to "teen" chassis, as they move from a childlike form on their way to an "adult" one. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ChipNoir on 09 Aug 2017, 14:58
As wrong is it is to jump to a conclusion based on a sample size of exactly two, I might as well, since what else is the WDCT for?  Winslow and Momo have both gone to "teen" chassis, as they move from a childlike form on their way to an "adult" one.

Problem is Momo very much as a type, and it ain't shortstops, and I'm pretty sure Winslow was matched up with Hanners particularly for being asexual and aromantic even for an AI, at least if compared to May and Pintsize.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: osaka on 09 Aug 2017, 15:32
After the initial shock of Winslow not dolphin diving into the SoftBoy chassis, I must say that his new appearance is pretty nice.
But yeah Pintsize is going to completely push Winslow around even in his new, full sized humanoid form. Maybe not physically but when has Pintsize needed the use of physical force.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: MightionNY on 09 Aug 2017, 15:36
Here's a question if any one is putting together a Qc-based trivia game:

How many times have iPod-body-Winslow and Dora appeared in the same *frame*?

(click to show/hide)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: WareWolf on 09 Aug 2017, 18:09
I found  it interesting that one of the first things Winslow did was literally beg Hannelore not to send him back to his old chassis: "I'll do anything, I'll get a job, I'll disinfect the apartment every day." What struck me was the feeling of desperation and fear in the bargaining. I recall Momo doing the same thing when Marigold got her her new chassis, promising to work 24/7 because she didn't need sleep.

Now, neither owner/companion had shown any evidence of making them go back. In Marigold and Momo's case, insecurity was a little bit more understandable, because Marigold's not that well off financially, and it appears that a new chassis is pretty expensive. That's not the case with Hanners, and yet, Winslow seemed to feel a real fear that she'd use her ownership rights to stuff him back into his beige box. 

I just think that says something interesting about Human/AnthroPC relations. Even the most benevolent owner is still an owner, and the owned still experiences insecurity and fear. No one who's owned, though we're told they have rights that must be respected, can ever rest easy.

EDIT: I'm not getting you down at all, am I? I'd hate to think I was getting anybody down.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 09 Aug 2017, 18:22
If we've got the right picture of how the laws of the QC world have changed since the strip started, then if Winslow had had money of his own then Hannelore would have had no power over his choice.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: osaka on 09 Aug 2017, 18:23
COMIC

Well that was an interesting choice of companion AI by the test.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: War Sparrow on 09 Aug 2017, 18:25
And this, kids, is what we in the dropout Psych major community call "learned phobias."

Is Mass. even warm enough for gators?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Storel on 09 Aug 2017, 18:44
And this, kids, is what we in the dropout Psych major community call "learned phobias."

Is Mass. even warm enough for gators?

Maybe in the summers, definitely not in the winters.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Kugai on 09 Aug 2017, 18:45
Well, that really goes to  show that Winslow's Hanners Companion ;D
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 09 Aug 2017, 19:01
Dora's expression is priceless.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ZoeB on 09 Aug 2017, 19:03
I really hope that being dragged into an alleyway and being broken up and sold for parts isn't a real risk.

It does happen in nearly all parts of the world, but one in a million. Only in parts of Africa is it a significant risk, and then only to albino and intersex people.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 09 Aug 2017, 19:10
And Dora's expression in the last panel is the exact one people make when they realise "Damn it. Now I have to deal with 2 of them".

I made the same face when I used to train new staff.

Or when I had to deal with new clients.

Or old clients.

Or when I had to deal with new staff in my local coffeeshop.

And I suddenly realise that I had that face constantly.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 09 Aug 2017, 19:32
I really hope that being dragged into an alleyway and being broken up and sold for parts isn't a real risk.

I imagine it would be quite difficult to go chop shop with an AI chassis. Presumably every part would have an identification number on it, or at least some means of tracking the parts. I mean the cost of cleaning all those parts vs profit margin might not make it feasible to target AI. Plus what would they do with an AI? Delete it? EMP? Even a localised one would draw a lot of attention.

I kinda think most criminals would think it wasn't worth it.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: DaiJB on 09 Aug 2017, 19:52
WHAT IF ALLIGATORS  :laugh:

Oh dear - they're just going to reinforce each other's insecurities, aren't they?   :roll:
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 09 Aug 2017, 20:03
I think I'd enjoy being a beer support worker.
....
Oh. You meant peer support worker.
Dang.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Gyrre on 09 Aug 2017, 21:34
Here's where 'what if alligators' is a viable concern state-side.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Rangemapx.gif/220px-Rangemapx.gif)


Which begs the question; does Faye like gator meat?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: brasca on 09 Aug 2017, 21:51
Winslow is right to worry.  The subterranean species can strike at any time.  Several years ago one killed a practicing wiccan outside Boston and that's not far from Northampton.  Fortunately, they are notoriously snobby gourmands and would probably reject Winslow as soon as they taste plastic. 
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Tova on 09 Aug 2017, 22:37
WHAT IF DROP BEARS
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 09 Aug 2017, 23:13
Today, we learn that the reason that Winslow was paired with Hannelore is because, in his own way, he's as neurotic as she is! Seriously, he's just suffering the same anxiety that any child would have going out on his own for the first time. It's just that Winslow has a more adult way of interpreting and expressing that anxiety. Naturally, Hannelore being Hannelore, now she's going to be worried about alligators too!

Seriously, though, 'What if...?' is a real poisonous direction to take your thinking. Especially if you aren't ready to counter it with "How likely is it...?' Remember, folks: All things are possible but comparatively few things are likely.

Meanwhile, I think that Dora is thinking something like: "Oh god, now there are two of them!"
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: St.Clair on 10 Aug 2017, 00:05
"They're sweet, I like them both, but I am so done with this."
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: USS Martenclaire on 10 Aug 2017, 00:10
This looks like a job for Randall Munroe... (https://what-if.xkcd.com)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Gyrre on 10 Aug 2017, 01:47
Winslow is right to worry.  The subterranean species can strike at any time.  Several years ago one killed a practicing wiccan outside Boston and that's not far from Northampton.  Fortunately, they are notoriously snobby gourmands and would probably reject Winslow as soon as they taste plastic.
The Canadian trapdoor aligator is a wiley one. Be fareful, they're known to use mimicry to trick their prey.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Case on 10 Aug 2017, 02:49
WHAT IF DROP BEARS

I see your drop bear ... and raise you one WOLPERTINGER

(http://www.wochenanzeiger.de/images/redaktion/54201.jpg)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: JoeCovenant on 10 Aug 2017, 03:00

    A centipede was happy – quite!
    Until a toad in fun
    Said, "Pray, which leg comes after which?"
    Which threw her mind in such a pitch,
    She laid bewildered in the ditch
    Considering how to run.

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Akima on 10 Aug 2017, 03:45
I imagine it would be quite difficult to go chop shop with an AI chassis. Presumably every part would have an identification number on it, or at least some means of tracking the parts. I mean the cost of cleaning all those parts vs profit margin might not make it feasible to target AI. Plus what would they do with an AI?
1) People steal PCs, and the same is true of their compartments. Hands up anyone who has a complete list of all the serial numbers of their motherboard, PSU, disk, GPU etc. etc. I've met plenty of cyclists who haven't even bothered to write down their frame number.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: JimC on 10 Aug 2017, 04:02
Here's where 'what if alligators' is a viable concern state-side.
You can never be sure... Meanwhile in south west England...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/alligator-chew-valley-lake-bristol-water-somerset-rspca-a7878216.html (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/alligator-chew-valley-lake-bristol-water-somerset-rspca-a7878216.html)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ChipNoir on 10 Aug 2017, 05:45
Today, we learn that the reason that Winslow was paired with Hannelore is because, in his own way, he's as neurotic as she is! Seriously, he's just suffering the same anxiety that any child would have going out on his own for the first time. It's just that Winslow has a more adult way of interpreting and expressing that anxiety. Naturally, Hannelore being Hannelore, now she's going to be worried about alligators too!

Seriously, though, 'What if...?' is a real poisonous direction to take your thinking. Especially if you aren't ready to counter it with "How likely is it...?' Remember, folks: All things are possible but comparatively few things are likely.

Meanwhile, I think that Dora is thinking something like: "Oh god, now there are two of them!"

Yeah, I kinda predicted this earlier. We've seen Winslow freak out more than a few times in the past. They're both highly anxious people.

On the one hand, many AI's some with at least some sort of protective features. Momo had taser functions in her original body, and I can't recall if her current one also has those abilities. They also don't feel physical pain, so in a struggle, unless they're EMP'd or short circuited, they could defend themselves well past the point of human that would have to succumb to injury.

On the other hand it's worrying that there seems to be only one AI-protection officer looking out for the wellbeing of a small but substantial population in the city. I hope there's more, but its a big concern for how much consideration is given to the wellfair of AIs, especially given what happened with Bubbles, and the fact that many have turned to illegal means just to 'eat' as it were.

I'm a big ol Golden Girls fan, so I'll refer to an episode that stands out to me in this situation: There was an episode where burglars broke into their house, and Rose becomes paranoid and phobic of constant attacks. But when faced with what was a presumed threat, she actually manages to defend herself, even though said threat was really just a guy trying to return her car keys. But the result is she was able to overcome her fear.

I wonder if something similar will happen to Winslow where either his default chassis strength or any special functions will prove handy in an altercation, and he gains confidence from that.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 10 Aug 2017, 07:47
I imagine it would be quite difficult to go chop shop with an AI chassis. Presumably every part would have an identification number on it, or at least some means of tracking the parts. I mean the cost of cleaning all those parts vs profit margin might not make it feasible to target AI. Plus what would they do with an AI?
1) People steal PCs, and the same is true of their compartments. Hands up anyone who has a complete list of all the serial numbers of their motherboard, PSU, disk, GPU etc. etc. I've met plenty of cyclists who haven't even bothered to write down their frame number.

But the chassis for an AI isn't a PC.

Your PC gets stolen, its specifically for those components that make up the PC.

But stealing the chassis of an AI is a completely different prospect. You'd be kidnapping someone that is constantly connected to a wifi network, in turn connected to a vastly powerful AI (Station) or at least monitored, because lets face it, the chassis for an AI is still a highly valuable device, still relatively new. Its obvious that they would be a target, so presumably there will be multiple countertheft measures in place.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 10 Aug 2017, 08:59
Momo still has a taser. She used it when Clinton got creepy and was ready to demonstrate it for Emily.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Neko_Ali on 10 Aug 2017, 09:03
People do steal cars though, despite being valuable, monitored and all that. The first thing a successful thief would learn would be how to circumvent alarm systems. The same as the first thing a successful kidnapper would learn would be how to disable their victim and prevent them from calling for help. And I'm sure there's a black market out there for both robot slaves and spare parts. Where is an illegal underground robot fighting ring going to get replacements, after all? If May hadn't been lucky enough to know some people who could do her repair work, where else might she have had to turn to?

Jeph's comic and style being what they are I don't expect we'd ever go there. But logic dictates that there would be a market for kidnapped AIs and their parts. And where there is profit to be made, people will find a way around safeguards. The fact that Officer Roko's job exists means that there are those out there exploiting AIs.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: hedgie on 10 Aug 2017, 09:05
Momo still has a taser. She used it when Clinton got creepy and was ready to demonstrate it for Emily.

Not to mention zapping May for being well… May.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: themacnut on 10 Aug 2017, 10:00
Seriously, though, 'What if...?' is a real poisonous direction to take your thinking. Especially if you aren't ready to counter it with "How likely is it...?' Remember, folks: All things are possible but comparatively few things are likely.

Problem is people are generally lousy at gauging the likelihood of bad things happening. A good example are the people terrified of dying in a plane crash when the stats all say they are more likely to die in the car ride to or from the airport. Driving is actually far riskier than flying, yet every day millions get behind the wheels of their cars and drive off with nary a thought about the possibility of an accident.

Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: OldGoat on 10 Aug 2017, 12:53
Hanners and an anthropomorphic Winslow feeding off each other's anxieties could be a really bad non-comedic thing.  I'm calling it now - Momo will take charge of reality checks and do a pretty decent job of keeping the two of them grounded and centered.  She'll reel the lapses in while they're still funny and before any lasting damage can be done.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: brasca on 10 Aug 2017, 16:29
While AI abduction might be a problem in their universe anyone who grabs Winslow would get Bubbles going Liam Neeson on their asses.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 10 Aug 2017, 16:57
Bubbles: What I have is a very specific set of skills.
Kidnapper: Good l-
(loud crash as Bubbles smashes through the wall)
Kidnapper: What the hell? The door was open.
(Bubbles looks at the wide open door next to where the wall used to be, then looks back at the kidnappers who have sensibly handcuffed themselves to a table and are confessing to the police on speakerphone)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Stoon on 10 Aug 2017, 17:08
I thought it was unlikely for an alligator to be in Boston...and then I saw this:
Quote
When Walter Ertsinian's 11-year-old daughter saw an alligator in the yard of their Hamilton home, she thought it was a pool toy.

Then the creature moved, and she understandably "freaked out," he said.

The girl had just gotten out of the family's backyard pool when she spotted the 1.5-metre alligator at the side of the house on Tuesday.

Ertsinian was inside, getting ready for his 25th anniversary dinner when he heard his daughter shouting and ran outside.

When he saw the alligator, he was surprised. He did the only thing he could think to do — he called 911.

How the alligator ended up on Ertsinian's property on Webster Road, near Centennial Parkway, is anyone's guess, although Hamilton Animal Services says it is likely an escaped pet.

<snip>
Full article at:
Hamilton girl mistakes alligator in yard for a pool toy (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/alligator-hamilton-yard-1.4242045)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: cesium133 on 10 Aug 2017, 18:33
New comic.

Hey, occasionally a gator needs to be jerked off...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: St.Clair on 10 Aug 2017, 18:39
(http://cinetropolis.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/sw-r2-jawa.png)

Never mind the alligators, what about jawas?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: fayelovesbubbles on 10 Aug 2017, 19:30
I like that Hanners is more comfortable with touch. :)

With Winslow it's okay, because they have a special bond.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: sitnspin on 10 Aug 2017, 19:43
To be fair, she touched him in his previous chassis all the time.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Milayna on 10 Aug 2017, 19:56
IY'S BAARYYY!!!

sorry, for some reason minor character alays end up my favorites.~
maybe not favorities, but U always lie them.

Ging baxk a few comics...I was kinda surpsirsed when Winslow higed Hanners. It looks like....she didn't freak out, thoigh she was very uncomfortable? Winslow woild be gar cleaner than a human body, so she could keep it under control; but sill, being higged by a humaoid, would have been..pushing her, I bet. But she did, also, show signs of lesseing the impact of her neuroses.

So that's good! Tjough I was surprised that Winslow would jump to doing The Thing that frwaks Hanners out, so quickle. A bit weird, even f he gauged his cleanliness to be les sproblemtic. Ehhh. Maybe it wil, gove noth soe  latitude to reflect.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: War Sparrow on 10 Aug 2017, 19:56
I thought it was unlikely for an alligator to be in Boston...and then I saw this:
Quote
When Walter Ertsinian's 11-year-old daughter saw an alligator in the yard of their Hamilton home, she thought it was a pool toy.

Then the creature moved, and she understandably "freaked out," he said.

The girl had just gotten out of the family's backyard pool when she spotted the 1.5-metre alligator at the side of the house on Tuesday.

Ertsinian was inside, getting ready for his 25th anniversary dinner when he heard his daughter shouting and ran outside.

When he saw the alligator, he was surprised. He did the only thing he could think to do — he called 911.

How the alligator ended up on Ertsinian's property on Webster Road, near Centennial Parkway, is anyone's guess, although Hamilton Animal Services says it is likely an escaped pet.

<snip>
Full article at:
Hamilton girl mistakes alligator in yard for a pool toy (http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/alligator-hamilton-yard-1.4242045)

Of course, it would be Hamilton.

I kid, Hamilton is actually really pretty and I think the people might be alright.

Damn it Barry!  He certainly needs  better gator confinement strategies.   I hope he has a license.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: DaiJB on 10 Aug 2017, 19:57
Never mind the alligators, what about jawas?

Never mind the alligators and Jawas - what about the pandas??
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: zisraelsen on 10 Aug 2017, 20:25
Quote

When he saw the alligator, he was surprised.


This is understandable.

Also I think Barry is my favorite character now because of course he'd have a live croc in the back of his pickup.

edit: I just realized I called it a crocodile instead of an alligator and am now sad.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: OldGoat on 10 Aug 2017, 21:03

Quote

When he saw the alligator, he was surprised.


This is understandable.

Also I think Barry is my favorite character now because of course he'd have a live croc in the back of his pickup.
I wonder if Barry is Jimbo's nephew?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 10 Aug 2017, 23:18
Naturally, it would be Hannelore whose anxieties ignore probability. Still, she's sensible enough to know that, even if she is anxious, she cannot let herself and her friends be prisoners of statistically-unlikely outcomes.

Also naturally, it would be Barry who is the instrument of statistically-unlikely outcomes being slightly more likely.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: SmilingCat on 10 Aug 2017, 23:34
In this town, do statistics truly apply?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Storel on 11 Aug 2017, 00:04
In this town, do statistics truly apply?

Not much...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: NemesisDancer on 11 Aug 2017, 01:13
Yay, Barry! I'd been hoping he would turn up again at some point :')
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Akima on 11 Aug 2017, 02:54
If your roll enough dice, a sufficient number of times, you'll roll "alligators escape from truck" (esp. in Shadowrun). On the other hand, it's Barry, so this could be a hallucination-alligator.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Tova on 11 Aug 2017, 03:28
Please don't ship alligators.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Michael Chandra on 11 Aug 2017, 03:35
If your roll enough dice, a sufficient number of times, you'll roll "alligators escape from truck" (esp. in Shadowrun). On the other hand, it's Barry, so this could be a hallucination-alligator.
Been there, GMd that.

Well, not exactly. The trucks contained other critters that they had to capture. Another session had Ghost Gators, but those weren't from a truck.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Skewbrow on 11 Aug 2017, 05:14
Naturally, it would be Hannelore whose anxieties ignore probability. Still, she's sensible enough to know that, even if she is anxious, she cannot let herself and her friends be prisoners of statistically-unlikely outcomes.

Also naturally, it would be Barry who is the instrument of statistically-unlikely outcomes being slightly more likely.

Hmm. Hanners did take umpteen pregnancy tests after a single event of morninc sickness, so her anxieties can defy statistics (at least in the past). I do hope this is just another "two steps forward, one step backward" incident.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Thrudd on 11 Aug 2017, 06:02
If your roll enough dice, a sufficient number of times, you'll roll "alligators escape from truck" (esp. in Shadowrun). On the other hand, it's Barry, so this could be a hallucination-alligator.
Been there, GMd that.

Well, not exactly. The trucks contained other critters that they had to capture. Another session had Ghost Gators, but those weren't from a truck.
Were you using those Judges Guild encounter tables again?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Gyrre on 11 Aug 2017, 06:13
I just realized I called it a crocodile instead of an alligator and am now sad.[/size]

To be fair, there are a lot more extant species of Crocodylidae than there are of Alligatoridae. There's only the American alligator and the Chinese alligator.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Michael Chandra on 11 Aug 2017, 06:54
If your roll enough dice, a sufficient number of times, you'll roll "alligators escape from truck" (esp. in Shadowrun). On the other hand, it's Barry, so this could be a hallucination-alligator.
Been there, GMd that.

Well, not exactly. The trucks contained other critters that they had to capture. Another session had Ghost Gators, but those weren't from a truck.
Were you using those Judges Guild encounter tables again?
Nah, just a freak dm that likes pulling out the obscure nasties. =P In my defense, Ghost Gators were used in several official adventures in the Ork Underground as possible filler-enemy, all I did was upgrade them to SR5 to make them actually dangerous. Same with the Behemoth I used in the truck-session (they still downed it in a single combat-turn thanks to Illusion spells...).

But what if Gators is a nice phrase I need to remember though. :)
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: OldGoat on 11 Aug 2017, 10:00
On the other hand, it's Barry, so this could be a hallucination-alligator.
Specifically a DT (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_tremens) alligator.  We need to check with Brun.

Please don't ship alligators.
Does hungry creature/snack count as a relationship?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: flondrix on 11 Aug 2017, 10:31
I like that Hanners is more comfortable with touch. :)

With Winslow it's okay, because they have a special bond.

And he can be wiped down with Clorox if need be.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: comicalArchitect on 11 Aug 2017, 11:07
Please don't ship alligators.

Alligator 1 x Alligator 2 4eva
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Method of Madness on 11 Aug 2017, 11:28
Poor alligator 3 😭
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: cesium133 on 11 Aug 2017, 11:44
Please don't ship alligators.
They prefer to travel first class.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: NemesisDancer on 11 Aug 2017, 12:10
Please don't ship alligators.

Given Barry's past dalliances with dolphins, he most likely ships himself with alligators.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Neko_Ali on 11 Aug 2017, 12:24
Please don't ship alligators.

Pfft. It's clearly obvious that Jeph is starting a Winslow x alligator romance arc here.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: sitnspin on 11 Aug 2017, 12:37
Please don't ship alligators.
They prefer to travel first class.
Don't we all?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: TheEvilDog on 11 Aug 2017, 13:51
Please don't ship alligators.
They prefer to travel first class.
Don't we all?
All I care about is if the box has enough air holes for me to breathe.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Dust on 11 Aug 2017, 14:54
Please don't ship alligators.

Pfft. It's clearly obvious that Jeph is starting a Winslow x alligator romance arc here.

There's a possible impending 'meet cute', so maybe.

And Dora was technically right - it didn't fall off the truck.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Kugai on 11 Aug 2017, 15:04
Serendipity

Is a truckload of Alligators
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: hedgie on 11 Aug 2017, 15:41
Please don't ship alligators.
They prefer to travel first class.
Don't we all?
Unfortunately, most gators in first class tend to be the luggage bags.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Zog on 11 Aug 2017, 21:44

I wonder if Barry is Jimbo's nephew?

Jimbo's long lost son?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: OldGoat on 11 Aug 2017, 22:28

I wonder if Barry is Jimbo's nephew?

Jimbo's long lost son?
Both?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Kugai on 11 Aug 2017, 22:48
Or twins separated at birth
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Gyrre on 12 Aug 2017, 01:10

Please don't ship alligators.
Does hungry creature/snack count as a relationship?
A predator-prey relationship, yes. But, not a romantic one.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: hedgie on 12 Aug 2017, 06:37
Poor innocent Gyrre…  I shan't say more for the sake of your sanity.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: retrosteve on 12 Aug 2017, 09:22
In this town, do statistics truly apply?

Not sure reality truly applies.  http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1844
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Mr. Skawronska on 12 Aug 2017, 14:46
I don't understand what the big deal is with the alligators.

Of course...I AM in Florida.  Alligators are just another fixture here...you know, like sign posts or bad drivers from up north.  You know what they are, you recognize them, and you avoid interfacing with them in a manner which could impact you negatively.

So, a gator fell off a truck.  Someone get video.  Otherwise, I got work to do.  Let someone else have the fun wranglin' that critter.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: St.Clair on 12 Aug 2017, 18:52
Rather fewer gators in Mass than FL.

At least, one would think.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ProvenNonsense on 12 Aug 2017, 22:07
This series of comics is pretty good, because it irrationally irritates me.  I have a lot of anxiety, but all of my anxiety is because of rational issues (I tell myself), but anxiety for the most part is not rational, so the comical exaggeration really highlights that.  So, again, to reiterate, good comics.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 13 Aug 2017, 08:27
How do synthetics feel about damage to their bodies?

They don't have pain to fear the way organic people do. The repairs are faster. Is it more like the way organics feel when their car is damaged?
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: OldGoat on 13 Aug 2017, 08:46
How do synthetics feel about damage to their bodies?

They don't have pain to fear the way organic people do. The repairs are faster. Is it more like the way organics feel when their car is damaged?
Good simile.  The Spookybot arc demonstrated that violation of the mind is far more serious to AIs than violation of the chassis.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: flondrix on 13 Aug 2017, 14:04
How do synthetics feel about damage to their bodies?

They don't have pain to fear the way organic people do. The repairs are faster. Is it more like the way organics feel when their car is damaged?

Punchbot seems to have too little concern for chassis damage, and Pintsize is always ingesting substances that damage his innards.  Perhaps some analog to pain would be beneficial.  I would like to hear Faye's opinion on that matter, specifically with regards to Punchbot and Pintsize.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Stoutfellow on 13 Aug 2017, 14:15
On the other hand, Melon and May both seemed very upset about their, er, injuries. Two different types of injury there: dismemberment for Melon, disfigurement for May. May actually seemed to take hers harder, but then Melon seemed basically sanguine about things (with the possible exception of money).
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: BenRG on 13 Aug 2017, 15:40
However, neither Melon nor May were really upset in the terms of their bodies being damaged other than the inconvenience of lost function and difficulty interacting with humans. They didn't seem to suffer the trauma and disorientation that a human who had suffered a disfiguring injury or a traumatic amputation would.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: zisraelsen on 13 Aug 2017, 16:13
Yea, "not upset but worried about money" and "pissed at the person whose fault it is" are pretty much the only two reactions I've had to figuring out my car needs fixing.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: comicalArchitect on 13 Aug 2017, 19:50
New comic! I think Momo is the only character in QC history to turn down an opportunity for hangouts in favor of actually doing her job. She's coming off as a lot more responsible than the Coffee of Doom crew, or even Marten and Tai. Unless of course she just has some reason to want to ditch Winslow.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ChipNoir on 13 Aug 2017, 20:14
New comic! I think Momo is the only character in QC history to turn down an opportunity for hangouts in favor of actually doing her job. She's coming off as a lot more responsible than the Coffee of Doom crew, or even Marten and Tai. Unless of course she just has some reason to want to ditch Winslow.

It miiiight be a bit of reaction to his new body. I can't tell if that's just the shadow of her bangs, or if she's actually blushing. But the stutter kinda sells me that Momo is on the verge of a freak out. Which would be legit on a number of reasons: She's never interacted with Winslow in a new chassis, and she has to process how she feels about that. It may not culminate in anything (I really hope not anyways) but it's still something we humans deal with. I think we've all had that moment where someone who may not have been attractive before has a moment of change and you have to go "Wow, I never thought about that person this way before. What AM I think even?". It may not culminate in true attraction, but this is a new experience for her. Meanwhile little Winslow is so used to being asexual as an ipod chassis, he's probably not remotely aware that odd skin aside, he's perfectly attractive to other humanoids.

Edit: It's hard to read the intended age of Winslow's chassis. I'm gonna give QC's world the benefit of the doubt that they don't sell chasis specifically designed to emulate children or teenagers under the age of 16-18, since that opens a whole can of worms I don't wanna address.  I'm gonna guess both Momo and Winslow's body types as 18, albeit ridiculously slender and short compared to the average human. Getting strong Serah Fallon from FFXIII vibes off these two: Tiny body, but full mature adults. Given Momo's tendency to be interested in anime boy types, Winslow might be triggering some of that attraction.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: fayelovesbubbles on 13 Aug 2017, 20:23
Winslow looks cute in his new chassis. Is that creepy to say? Probably.

*hides*
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: ChipNoir on 13 Aug 2017, 20:29
Winslow looks cute in his new chassis. Is that creepy to say? Probably.

*hides*

Yeah, just a little. See above quandary. It's a little less problematic with Momo, since females can be shorter/sleighter naturally. But guys that are short/slender can read as way too young. It took till 23-24 till I started looking like an of-age adult, much to my frustration. Way to many stops by friendly police officers asking if I need back to my parent's house.
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: jwhouk on 13 Aug 2017, 20:31
New Thread/Poll is up!
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: JimC on 14 Aug 2017, 02:03
. I'm gonna give QC's world the benefit of the doubt that they don't sell chasis specifically designed to emulate children or teenagers under the age of 16-18, since that opens a whole can of worms I don't wanna address.
On the other hand, for bodies large enough to use adult human technology, in our society a roughly  12-14 aged male chassis would be for the majority have perhaps the very least sexual implications, with the possible exception of >85 female. So it might be a sensible choice for an asexual Ai who nevertheless wants a strictly humaniform chassis. Of course cultures vary- in5th century BC Athens for instsnce...
Title: Re: WCDT Strips 3541 to 3545 (7th August to 11th August 2017)
Post by: Gyrre on 14 Aug 2017, 02:10
Poor innocent Gyrre…  I shan't say more for the sake of your sanity.
I unfortunately already know abot that particular paraphilia. I don't understand how the hell someone develops it, but I know of it.

My own hypothesis is that at a certain point, people just need to take a break from porn, otherwise it starts getting mixed with things it oughten't. No, I'm not lumping all paraphilias under that. Just the ones that fall under the DSM V's hallmarks for damaging paraphilias.