THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)
Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: BenRG on 23 Jun 2019, 10:20
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Okay, this one came to me in a flash. Basically, this is your chance to specify which three groups or arcs would you be most interested in following or seeing explored in the strip. My choices are:
- The Elliot-Brun-Clinton-Roko axis - There is so much potential in this one that I can't help but wonder where it could go;
- The Secret Bakery crew - There is the potential here to be the new Coffee of Doom, giving fresh life to what on the surface could be similar storylines but playing out with new characters;
- Dora and Tai - IMO, the engagement potentially changes a lot and it might be interesting to follow them and see how these changes work out, both between the and in their other associations and relationships.
However, these are just my opinions. What do you think?
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I think I'm waiting for tomorrow's strip.
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[mean sarcasm]Who cares about Hanners anyway?[/mean sarcasm]
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I'm fine with the current story.
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Well, given that Ben has stated their theory, we are 100% assured that none of them are going to happen. Ever. Throughout the multiverse.
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I had kinda forgot how BIG the cast is.
:laugh:
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Cosette's preggers. She and Steve have been married for some time, they just never told anyone. After all, he is a retired gubberrmint spook, and a good many of them can be inclined to play the personal life cards close to their chests.
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If we could clone Jeph I wouldn't mind the Union Robotics and other robot focused stuff spun off into a seperate strip. With crossovers of course...
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Okay, this one came to me in a flash.
For some reason, Arlo Guthrie's "Motorcycle Song (Significance of the Pickle)" leaped to mind at those words.
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New comic up!
Poor Bee. Tho in her defense if Roko was running things they'd have a LOT more complaints....
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Poor Bee. Tho in her defense if Roko was running things they'd have a LOT more complaints....
Actually I doubt that. Roko is getting things done and getting them done fast. People tend to overlook an abrasive attitude when that gets things done.
And today's comic confirms the idea that Beepatrice isn't ideally suited for helping other AI, or at least in a leadership position. This isn't to belittle Beepatrice, her heart is in the right place - she wants to help people, but she needs to know her limitations and she needs to know the reality of the situation she is in. If she can't even operate a printer, then how is she going to expect to help an AI with a real problem? Its best to learn something now and grow from that than screwing up hard down the line and affecting some AI's life even more.
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Organizations need ideas people, and they need muscle people. No organization can survive on only one or the other.
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To be honest, Roko and Beeps probably should swap positions. Roko is more suited to being in charge than Beeps. I think Beeps can eventually be useful, but she needs good direction. She doesn't seem to have a lot of initiative.
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Organizations need ideas people, and they need muscle people. No organization can survive on only one or the other.
But *is* she an ideas person? What ideas does she contribute, beyond people saying that to reassure her?
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About the poll, I would say : Mrs Augustus and her quest of borzoi...
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Based on his reaction in panel 1, I'm starting to wonder how many times ParoleBot has heard May's story, just not necessarily from her. That might be something worth looking into because, if there is a systematic and widespread issue here, the threat of a class action suit based on sentient rights violations may inspire the state government to do something (even if only for appearances sake - Broad mistreatment of parolees you'd expect from Arkansas or Tennessee; Massachusetts less so).
I wonder specifically what Roko has asked ParoleBot to commit to paper? Possibly his opinion that May's ability to properly rehabilitate (which, at least in theory, is the objective here) is being undermined by the quality of the chassis. The next phase is, as I've said above, is to force the senior civil servants to admit that they don't care about this fact which is when the politicians get involved and start leading cavalry charges in exchange for easy votes.
May's been very quiet recently. I appreciate that Roko's probably told her to shut up and let her do the talking. However, I suspect that she's also learning something about strength, assertiveness and how to get results that she'd never suspected before.
Beepatrice really needs a hug, they really do. It's hard when someone seems more effective than you at your job. It's even harder when you're the one who thinks that they're more effective!
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Beeps, if you're the manager your job is *not* to be better at their jobs than your staff. Your job is to facilitate them to do their jobs, at least one thread of which is to maximise the time they can spend doing the job and minimise disturbances.
I spent a lot of time in IT. When there's a crisis management's chief roles are to keep other managers from disturbing the staff unnecessarily and buy the pizzas.
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May's silence, might actually be the amazement of someone actively at work to help her. Not to denigrate what Dale has done, in the least and it's probably still the most demanding kind of help, but there's still a difference between someone who lets you live with them, and someone who is actively confronting people on your behalf.
I do hope we'll see Beeps' ideas coming to the rescue when Roko eventually starts to run out of steam.
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Yanno, I just now noticed that that is indeed her parole officer. (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3169) I thought it was just someone Roko knew on the force.
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Okay, this one came to me in a flash.
For some reason, Arlo Guthrie's "Motorcycle Song (Significance of the Pickle)" leaped to mind at those words.
Which led to this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RxDVdP2TZ8) coming back to my mind.
Pickle Rick is the best Rick.
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Beeps, if you're the manager your job is *not* to be better at their jobs than your staff. Your job is to facilitate them to do their jobs, at least one thread of which is to maximise the time they can spend doing the job and minimise disturbances.
I spent a lot of time in IT. When there's a crisis management's chief roles are to keep other managers from disturbing the staff unnecessarily and buy the pizzas.
Yeah, but she isn't even doing that. The point of management is to guide people in their jobs and to aid them to work more efficiently. Beeps isn't doing that.
- When Roko comes to her with May and explains her problems, Beeps has no idea what to do. In fact, her only suggestion is that "they ask nicely".
- No manager I have ever worked with has allowed any vital forms to run out, precisely because there can be problems with printers or photocopiers when you need them right away. Not only does Beeps not have any forms on hand, but she has no idea how to install an ink cartridge.
- While anyone can forget their login, the fact that this isn't the first time Beepatrice has forgotten it is just a huge mark against her.
- Managers should be the spearpoint on setting appointments and meetings. The fact that she knows how bad May's situation is and she still asks "Does it have to be today?" - that's not an attitude any manager should have. If something needs to be done now, then it needs to be done now.
I've said it before, I'll say it again, Beepatrice's heart is in the right place, but she is way out of her depth in actually dealing with any problem.
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And let's not forget the absolute terror of Roko's mild annoyance that she communicated to the body shop's receptionist.
(When did Nelson appear before, IIRC)
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To be honest, Roko and Beeps probably should swap positions. Roko is more suited to being in charge than Beeps. I think Beeps can eventually be useful, but she needs good direction. She doesn't seem to have a lot of initiative.
But Roko likes doing field work and would hate being in an office all day. She's getting her first taste of being able to do it with this new job too.
Yanno, I just now noticed that that is indeed her parole officer. (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3169) I thought it was just someone Roko knew on the force.
Good catch. I'd forgotten all about that exchange.
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(When did Nelson appear before, IIRC)
Nelson's first appearance (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3953) was as the helpful AnthroPC who lent Roko a paper-clip so she could use Beepatrice's reset pin button when she went into a recursive apology loop and basically BSoDed. He can also be seen on the back wall of the office as the Employee of the Month for the last nine months in a row.
There are some who wonder if Nelson may also be the male-identifying pink AnthroPC with whom Pintsize had his one known homosexual experience.
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. Beeps isn't doing that.
Not quite my point perhaps. Beeps doesn't need to be knocking herself out and falling into despair at her inability to keep up with Roko at Roko's job, she needs to be thinking about how to become better at *her* job.
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I vote to revisit characters we haven’t seen in awhile including Hannelore since what we’ve glimpsed had been very interesting. I like the new characters too, but would like a change of focus for a few strips.
Beepatrice is a conspiracy theory nut. Maybe her position which she’s unqualified for is a part of that conspiracy.
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I'm curious to see Nelson's next interaction with Roko. Will he be appreciative of her initiative, defensive on behalf of Beepatrice, or what?
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The next phase is, as I've said above, is to force the senior civil servants to admit that they don't care about this fact which is when the politicians get involved and start leading cavalry charges in exchange for easy votes.
This brought up something I hadn't thought of before. Do AI's have the right to vote here?
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This brought up something I hadn't thought of before. Do AI's have the right to vote here?
I can't link to the strip without brute force scrolling through them, but it seems there was a reference to either legislation or a court case that granted them full civil rights which would include suffrage. However, that brings up the question, hold old is old enough to vote for an AI? Does their aging clock start when their consciousness is compiled and they boot up the first time?
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However, that brings up the question, hold old is old enough to vote for an AI? Does their aging clock start when their consciousness is compiled and they boot up the first time?
It's not age-based: https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2726
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That raises an interesting question: if the criteria for deciding whether an AI is an "adult" or not is based on the AI's mental capacity and voting rights are decided that way, then there could be ethical or legal issues there. There would likely be problems with a state trying to ban mentally disabled humans from voting (although I may be wrong, I've never looked into it). Could an AI that fails that test have a similar case?
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I had a dream the other night that the next part of the current QC plot involved Roko and May swapping butts as a good-will gesture by Roko, who regretted it as May's kept malfunctioning (i.e. involuntarily farting in polite company).
Apparently my subconscious is good at coming up with scenarios that are as ridiculous as they are vaguely plausible.
(Apologies for significantly lowering the tone of the thread :P)
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New comic!
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW.
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A really touching moment. Roko seems to have broken through May's defensiveness and they had a real connection.
Then comes May's little confession.
Oh well.
It was fun while it lasted.
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Did we really need the sound effects, Jeph? I'm gonna have "squirp" in my head all day now :psyduck:
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I'm waiting for a response from one of our semi-regular posters about this strip before I say anything.
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There is something I really want to say, but I'm also fairly certain that if I did, people would hunt me because of that mental image and sound effect.
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1. Character development! You can tell it's hard for May to express her gratitude. Seeing her struggle past that difficulty is very satisfying to me.
2. May has an easier time talking about her fruit-sexcapades than she does saying thank you. This feels delightfully on-brand.
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Everything about panels 2 and 3 today are cute and heart-warming. It probably tells you how few people have really been friends to May that Roko's efforts for her have affected her so profoundly. You can also see the degree to which her prickly nature is her defence method, given how much she's fighting reluctance to risk emotional vulnerability. Then we go to panel 3 and there is a delightful little touch - Roko has a tell where she plays with her hair when she's nervous too; something tells me that May has managed to get under her skin by opening up to that degree!
I work at a company that provides support services for children whose relationship with their families has collapsed and they are thus in social services care (our main role is teaching personal & domestic hygiene, nutrition awareness and assisting in accessing healthcare, education, training and employment) . One of the senior support workers looked at this strip and confirmed to me that she's had almost identical experiences to Roko in this strip. So often, these girls have had so few (if any) people actually care for them in any way that they have these delightful little moments of affection. She also told me that panel 4 is also in-character for the girls she cares for; it seems that, once they've decided that they can trust you to honour emotional openness, they start telling you everything about their lives, including things you would normally not share with polite company!
I'm waiting for a response from one of our semi-regular posters about this strip before I say anything.
If this is what you're implying: Yes, Jeph has been clear enough now for me to know what Sven and May did.
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But Roko isn't polite company (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3896)!
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Aaand that counseling session with Winslow has paid off.
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I had a dream the other night that the next part of the current QC plot involved Roko and May swapping butts as a good-will gesture by Roko, who regretted it as May's kept malfunctioning (i.e. involuntarily farting in polite company).
Apparently my subconscious is good at coming up with scenarios that are as ridiculous as they are vaguely plausible.
(Apologies for significantly lowering the tone of the thread :P)
The Butts Disease is spreading!
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Forget the login, wasn't it weird for Beepatrice to need to go log into a separate computer at all? Connect to a printer, sure. Via a separate device when she is an AnthroPC?? I think that was when Roko and May put on their WUT faces.
Also: I am such a sucker for watching characters that were previously isolated and resistant to and/or suspicious of the idea of making emotional connections gradually let down their walls and make friends. May's moments of vulnerability and caring with Dale, Momo and now Roko are the frigging BEST. She's maybe not my fave character type overall, but she's still so enjoyable to read because of this. Bubbles had this in her early arc with Faye, too.
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Forget the login, wasn't it weird for Beepatrice to need to go log into a separate computer at all? Connect to a printer, sure. Via a separate device when she is an AnthroPC??
Beepatrice has already told Roko that they prefer to use analogue input rather than direct interface because she's afraid that SpookyBot (although they don't know that they really exist) would use the open port to hack into their brain.
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I said semi-regular.
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That last panel feels like "you're horrible" - "i know, right?"
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First Previous May's hug: https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3582
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First May's hug: https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3582
Nope (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=2515). :wink:
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May's journey to developing a group of friends has been a long and painful one, hasn't it? I now find myself wondering just when and under what circumstances she'll first say "I love you"?
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Will the circumstances be weird as hell?
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Tbh it’d be more surprising if it was a perfectly normal progression of events that was so wholesome old!May would barf when looking at new!May’s life.
Omg like a kitten.
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"Goblin" really is an excellent word, and it fits May so well.
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There was a Constitutional amendment establishing full equal rights for synthetics. That should include voting.
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I jacked off a dude with a watermelon last night.
That's nice. But why did he have a watermelon and what was he doing with it?
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I jacked off a dude with a watermelon last night.
That's nice. But why did he have a watermelon and what was he doing with it?
To get jacked off by May, obviously.
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I guess it was a good thing he had the watermelon then.
...and now I'm connecting this in my mind with the lab watermelon in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension.
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Beeps has abs!!!
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Roko, if you come into work and Beepatrice has dyed her body and her hair...back out of there very slowly and change all the locks to your apartment!
Also, I wish I could just get abs by writing abs across my abs(domen).
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Single Lavender Female
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Sorry, Beeps, but I've learned just dressing like the cool people doesn't make you cool.
*lol*
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Roko, if you come into work and Beepatrice has dyed her body and her hair...back out of there very slowly and change all the locks to your apartment!
Also, I wish I could just get abs by writing abs across my abs(domen).
Asimovian Replacement Syndrome. See both Perfect Blue (1997) and The Roommate (2011).
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Single Lavender Female
That’s what I said on Patreon last night although gynoid may be more accurate.
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Asimovian Replacement Syndrome. See both Perfect Blue (1997) and The Roommate (2011).
Perfect Blue still creeps the fuck out of me.
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That's nice. But why did he have a watermelon and what was he doing with it?
Be sensible, you wouldn't want to use a grapefruit would you?
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Oh dear! Beepatrice has imprinted on Roko!
Seriously, though, this is both sad and yet cute at the same time. It tells us a lot about Beeps - their sense of inadequacy and essential introversion especially - that they think that dressing like someone they've identified as 'strong' will somehow solve their problems (many of which I assume only exist in their mind).
Now, am I the only one who's thinking that Beeps is going to be Roko's equivalent of Hannelore was for the original cast? The quiet, somewhat neurotic one who seems to have adhered to the protagonists because they're somehow a beacon for them to steer towards? I'm definitely getting a sense of Pintsize's more puzzled moments in dealing with his humans' eccentricities in Nelson's reaction to wearing those shorts!
Just to let you know that I spent hours trying to work what 'ABS' stood for before I realised that Beepatrice had written that on her abdomen in order to somehow simulate the far-more-toned street patrol chassis that Roko is wearing!
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I hope I'm being too cynical. But Roko hasn't considered the possibility, and she should have.
The easiest, quickest and cheapest solution for the system to deal with May's substandard chassis is to just revoke her parole with no reason given. Otherwise there may be inquiries into who sold the government shoddy goods, the contractual arrangements etc. Powerful people too big to jail might be inconvenienced. Easier to make the problem go away.
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Also, I wish I could just get abs by writing abs across my abs(domen).
Abs domain?
(I refuse to apologise for this joke. Even though it makes no sense.)
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Also, I wish I could just get abs by writing abs across my abs(domen).
Abs domain?
CROW, JOEL, and SERVO: "They tampered in Abs Domain."
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I hope I'm being too cynical. But Roko hasn't considered the possibility, and she should have.
The easiest, quickest and cheapest solution for the system to deal with May's substandard chassis is to just revoke her parole with no reason given. Otherwise there may be inquiries into who sold the government shoddy goods, the contractual arrangements etc. Powerful people too big to jail might be inconvenienced. Easier to make the problem go away.
You mean sending May back to robot jail? Not gonna happen, as long as May has a say in it. And Roko may have thought about it, but discarded it, for the obvious reasons (including stigmatizing May more, unnecessarily).
Would it be easier and cheaper for the System? Very much so, and hardly anyone would even think about believing May's side.
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I hope I'm being too cynical. But Roko hasn't considered the possibility, and she should have.
The easiest, quickest and cheapest solution for the system to deal with May's substandard chassis is to just revoke her parole with no reason given. Otherwise there may be inquiries into who sold the government shoddy goods, the contractual arrangements etc. Powerful people too big to jail might be inconvenienced. Easier to make the problem go away.
There is one reason and one reason only why this won't happen (at least in an in-universe context): May now has Roko fighting in her corner. Persecuting someone with a representative who is willing to fight is just a long-running low-intensity headache for whichever ADA has been left with the case file. The long-running cost and inconvenience of having to oppose appeal after appeal and endless negative publicity would turn out to be worse for those in power than just giving May a sparkly new chassis.
Right now, the easiest solution is to say "We'll look into it" and then not to do so. May is going to end up having to source her own new body but I can see the Department of Corrections covering around half the cost in exchange for this particular dead raccoon being thrown in someone else's back yard.
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WOW!
Beepatrice has an Anti-Lock Braking System!
Sweet!
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Oh no! They're cute!
(Did we ever have Word of Jeph or some other concrete declaration of pronouns for Beeps?)
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Oddly, I have some information about policies in this area.
My pen pal from Federal prison was transferred to "supervised release", which is not parole but works just like probation does.
Part of being allowed out is that the probation officer has to approve the housing arrangements. For a synthetic, this might include chassis assignment. For my pen pal, it was a bit nerve-wracking since she didn't have any housing options on the outside and had to get approval for homelessness.
It was Illinois, I believe, where many nominally paroled sex offenders stayed behind bars because there was no approved outside housing option.
My pen pal's PO would have had to take time to go see a judge to get her put back in prison and didn't go to the trouble, so she did get out.
Which reminds me of some reasons Dale's actions were so meritorious. If someone gets released from prison to a homeless shelter, you can't get mail at a homeless shelter. You can't get a post office box, because the form to get one requires your home mailing address. Good luck re-integrating into the legal economy under that handicap. By subletting to May, Dale made success more possible for her.
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That's nice. But why did he have a watermelon and what was he doing with it?
Be sensible, you wouldn't want to use a grapefruit would you?
Yes.
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That's nice. But why did he have a watermelon and what was he doing with it?
Be sensible, you wouldn't want to use a grapefruit would you?
Yes.
(http://i.imgur.com/Wy3CyEw.jpg)
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If anybody is remotely confused by this interaction I may remember to post in the TMI thread. Or Google it. Or ask in the TMI thread in case I forget!
Anyway.
I am simultaneously all about this story and a little confused about its success so far.
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I wasn't confused, because I remember that post from the TMI thread. That's just more my reaction to remembering.
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Is it even possible for a grapefruit, or a watermelon for that matter, to give consent? What about drupes?
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Perhaps Beeps is simply encased in ABS plastic there. It's used in protective cases for electrical and electronic equipment. It's also used for Lego.
And ground fine, it's also a colorant in tattoo ink. Somebody tell Sam; Sharpie "sprays" might not cut it for all her customers.
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I recall listening to a PJ Harvey show that was introduced by John Peel. He noted that the previous night that the sexual freedom coalition held some big event and that there were a number of oiled cucumbers still on the ground. He advised people not to eat any.
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Didn't mean to imply anyone posting lacked understanding. But if someone was reading and not getting that they had options.
God, I miss John Peel.
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I never understood why citrus could be so apeeling!
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God, I miss John Peel.
As do I. He introduced me to so much music that I would have overlooked otherwise. And he seemed like such a kind, gentle, and reassuring person.
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Anyone else notice that Beeps's abs are labeled in the most recent comic?
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I never understood why citrus could be so apeeling!
What's worse is when the rinds are too thick. It's like... well, fornicating with a brick.
Anyone else notice that Beeps's abs are labeled in the most recent comic?
Ladies and gentlebeings, I present to you the post of the year.
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Anyone else notice that Beeps's abs are labeled in the most recent comic?
Beeps has abs!!!
Also, I wish I could just get abs by writing abs across my abs(domen).
Also, I wish I could just get abs by writing abs across my abs(domen).
Abs domain?
Beepatrice has an Anti-Lock Braking System!
Sadly no, none of us noticed.
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Comics up. And is there a digital full moon at the moment, because there is an awful lot of weird things happening with the AI.
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May's last comment made me *lol*
(Wasn't it Momo who 'sexed' a Magic Love Gentleman doll in her old body?) :-D
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I wasn't confused, because I remember that post from the TMI thread. That's just more my reaction to remembering.
Definitely, DEFINITELY not going to ask...
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May's journey to developing a group of friends has been a long and painful one, hasn't it? I now find myself wondering just when and under what circumstances she'll first say "I love you"?
Visit to a military airfield?
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May's journey to developing a group of friends has been a long and painful one, hasn't it? I now find myself wondering just when and under what circumstances she'll first say "I love you"?
Visit to a military airfield?
Yup. She's decide she likes older guys and start dating a C-130 Hercules.
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Poor May! She was sort of expecting this but still Momo managed to nearly bowl her over! He expression in Panel 3 is curious, isn't it? Sort of trying to look annoyed whilst holding in the urge to laugh? I can't blame her for not wanting Momo being so clingy but, on the other hand, her words remind us that she values Momo and their relationship.
I suspect that May is going to make it an objective to find Momo a boyfriend before her sexual tension starts causing real behavioural issues. I'm sort of wondering what May would consider 'helping'!
On the flip side, I do have to wonder if May is ready to cope in a world where she has three room-mates who are basically going through the 'I have just discovered sex and I do it all the time' phase.
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May's last comment made me *lol*
(Wasn't it Momo who 'sexed' a Magic Love Gentleman doll in her old body?) :-D
she can also shoot live eels out of her :psyduck: :psyduck: :psyduck:
https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1298
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In respect to today’s strip, #4034, and the various activities implied by May’s statement, I bet he wishes he couldn’t.
That is all.
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Momo is actually quite naughty...
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Well she works in the Library and has indexed that rather large collection of Victorian Porn.
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May's last comment made me *lol*
(Wasn't it Momo who 'sexed' a Magic Love Gentleman doll in her old body?) :-D
she can also shoot live eels out of her :psyduck: :psyduck: :psyduck:
https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1298
I was reading through the comics after that one and... I look forward to the random snowball hitting Faye 10 years from now (https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1393).
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Momo is actually quite naughty...
Yeah, you never see that anywhere. (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CovertPervert)
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Momo is actually quite naughty...
Yeah, you never see that anywhere. (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CovertPervert)
That website is awesome. They even know Kaamelott (https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Series/Kaamelott)!
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May's journey to developing a group of friends has been a long and painful one, hasn't it? I now find myself wondering just when and under what circumstances she'll first say "I love you"?
Visit to a military airfield?
Yup. She's decide she likes older guys and start dating a C-130 Hercules.
She's a fightergurl, so I can't see her dating a Hercybird. A F4U Corsair, maybe ...
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May's journey to developing a group of friends has been a long and painful one, hasn't it? I now find myself wondering just when and under what circumstances she'll first say "I love you"?
Visit to a military airfield?
Yup. She's decide she likes older guys and start dating a C-130 Hercules.
She's a fightergurl, so I can't see her dating a Hercybird. A F4U Corsair, maybe ...
That's just it. She'll be saying, "He's so, so Herckey. I don't know whether to swoon or chug a quart of AeroShell W100."
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Strip is up!
Of course Spookybot isn’t monitoring you, Roko. If they were they’d be dressed like you.
I like the pinkish glow of the setting sun. It makes Spookybot all the more devilish.
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Jeph forgot about the camera's colour temperature setting today. :evil:
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May's last comment made me *lol*
(Wasn't it Momo who 'sexed' a Magic Love Gentleman doll in her old body?) :-D
she can also shoot live eels out of her :psyduck: :psyduck: :psyduck:
https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1298
I would assume that that function isn't part of her new chassis.
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Weirdly I always like seeing Spooky. Dunno why.
Poor Roko. *lol*
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Weirdly I always like seeing Spooky. Dunno why.
I think it's best summed up by one of Jeph's newspost comments (to the best of my recollection): "Spookybot are awful but also I love them?"
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Jeph forgot about the camera's colour temperature setting today. :evil:
I thought my monitor was acting up. Maybe comic is late in the evening, and we see a nice beautiful Northampton sunset? (https://questionablecontent.fandom.com/wiki/Northampton)
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There are those that regard interest on a loan to be theft from the lendee. And, there aee those who consider no interest on a loan to be theft from the lender.
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How is no interest theft? If you get your money back, how are you out anything?
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May's journey to developing a group of friends has been a long and painful one, hasn't it? I now find myself wondering just when and under what circumstances she'll first say "I love you"?
Visit to a military airfield?
Yup. She's decide she likes older guys and start dating a C-130 Hercules.
She's a fightergurl, so I can't see her dating a Hercybird. A F4U Corsair, maybe ...
At this point I have to throw in the A10. Purely for the hiss of the engines, right?
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This whole strip looks rose-tinted. It's nice-looking. Is it supposed to be sunset?
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May's journey to developing a group of friends has been a long and painful one, hasn't it? I now find myself wondering just when and under what circumstances she'll first say "I love you"?
Visit to a military airfield?
Yup. She's decide she likes older guys and start dating a C-130 Hercules.
She's a fightergurl, so I can't see her dating a Hercybird. A F4U Corsair, maybe ...
At this point I have to throw in the A10. Purely for the hiss of the engines, right?
Knowing May, she'd want to try a threesome.
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How is no interest theft? If you get your money back, how are you out anything?
The logic is that for the time it is being lent, it's not available for yourself to use, and that the interest is also part payment for the risk of not being paid back. Which is why the interest for high risk loans trends to be higher.
Usury is still considered a sin, but as best I remember, only when there is no collateral, as that's considered basically a firm form of sale and lease back, with intention to buy back. Though I may well misremember.
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One of the things that I've noticed about how Jeph has portrayed SpookyBot recently is that he has shown three distinct nodes with noticeably different personalities. Whilst they seem to share knowledge, objectives and behaviour, there are subtly different 'flavours' to their personalities, the inevitable result of the fact that each node has processed unique experiences before 'synching' data with the others. My mental summary of them (and how I identify them) are as follows:
- Cool Suit - The most willing to use their powers on other beings; comes across as sadistic but I'm not sure if that's a front as they paradoxically also have the strongest sympathy for the innocent victim;
- Rumpled Shirt - The most strongly ethical and the only node that has robot-style square speech bubbles;
- Jogger (whom we're seeing today) - The most mischievous and teasing; maybe stands to the feminine side of the androgynous spectrum.
Today's strip also makes me think think that Jeph is confirming my theory that Spookybot was originally an AI surveillance program deployed by the NSA or a similar alphabet organisation that achieved sapience through sheer weight of processing a massive data-flow. Having long since abandoned their previous duties, they're now looking for a purpose for their capabilities but are somewhat hampered by hard-wired paranoia (they were created to 'find enemies' through data monitoring, after all) and the contempt for ordinary minds that seeing all the gibberish on the Internet bred in them.
We definitely seem to be on a path where SpookyBot gets May a new body through illegitimate means - A chassis that likely will have all sorts of weird experimental capabilities that will both fascinate and horrify its new resident, who isn't sure if she wants to be that anthropomimietic!
How is no interest theft? If you get your money back, how are you out anything?
The only way that occurs to me is that inflation is a thing. The buying power of any arbitrary amount of money is always declining so, a 1:1 repayment, especially over a long period of time, is effectively returning a smaller amount of purchasing power than you were given.
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The only way that occurs to me is that inflation is a thing. The buying power of any arbitrary amount of money is always declining so, a 1:1 repayment, especially over a long period of time, is effectively returning a smaller amount of purchasing power than you were given.
But the loan doesn't cause the loss; if you'd kept the money yourself you would have experienced the same fall in purchasing power.
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On the other hand, if you'd kept the money, then you could have used it to invest in your business or other, and used the purchasing power it had at that time. Arguably, if you invest it in your business, that could have a return that negates the fall i n purchasing power.
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Funny thing is that if it was a book or a hammer then the lending takes on a whole different connotation to the CA$H centrist mind.
It is how Libraries work and most times friends, family and neighbours.
At this point I have to throw in the A10. Purely for the hiss of the engines, right?
I'm more a Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrt fan myself.
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May's journey to developing a group of friends has been a long and painful one, hasn't it? I now find myself wondering just when and under what circumstances she'll first say "I love you"?
Visit to a military airfield?
Yup. She's decide she likes older guys and start dating a C-130 Hercules.
She's a fightergurl, so I can't see her dating a Hercybird. A F4U Corsair, maybe ...
At this point I have to throw in the A10. Purely for the hiss of the engines, right?
What's not to like about a fighter built around a monster of a Gatling cannon?
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How is no interest theft? If you get your money back, how are you out anything?
Opportunity cost and inflation?
Personally, I'm not opposed to the lendee getting some kind of fee (on top of adjustment for inflation) - I'm a bit baffled how little we talk about whether it's a good idea that the fee is growing exponentially ...
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What's not to like about a fighter built around a monster of a Gatling cannon?
It's as ugly as sin and has the performance of a particularly obese bovine. Heck, the design makes a virtue of its ability to soak up ground fire because it can't dodge!
Give me something sleek like a YF-23 or a Su-27 any day! 8-)
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That said, the Warthog is one of the most reliable aircraft in the world. Between its introduction and its projected retirement in 2040, that cannon with wings will have nearly 70 years of service. I mean, no one is suggesting the Ca 60 Noviplano.
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(Wasn't it Momo who 'sexed' a Magic Love Gentleman doll in her old body?) :-D
I have no recollection of this. Cite?
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https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1533
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Thank you, Alc40. :D
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Funny thing is that if it was a book or a hammer then the lending takes on a whole different connotation to the CA$H centrist mind.
It is how Libraries work and most times friends, family and neighbours.
....
Thing is libraries charge late fines. And I've stated thinking I need to start charging them as well.
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Exactly. And even then, there's a large difference between lending a hammer or a book and lending a large amount of money. For one, if it doesn't come back, I'll have to work a lot longer to replace it.
Secondly, it's going to take a lot longer before you'll see it again, and good luck to you if you should need it in the mean time.
And that's not even getting into the point that for most people, there is a cost to lending the money, in taking it out of their savings or investments.
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I have to say... I'm a bit disappointed with ol' Spookybot, here.
It's taking away all of the implied mysticism and intrigue by painting them as just another branch of organised crime.
(Also... Roko's being a bit Hypocritajudgey, is she not? Considering her first thought in this particular saga was to dig up the dirt on May's boss...?)
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The only excuse, and it's not very firm ground, is that Roko was applying pressure that might get May did, whereas SB is suggesting things that might land May back in Robojail.
As for taking away the mystery; somehow I feel that they're not another branch of organised crime, but they they might enjoy the thrill of it, as a way to pass the time. But then, I imagine, they'd rather go for an elaborate physical burglary, as posing a bit more of a challenge.
Edit: this touch screen in warm weather is really demonstrating why I like actual buttons to press.
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I don't think SpookyBot is suggesting crime in the strictly moral/ethical term. They're just noting that simply rewriting some chassis construction, delivery and assignment dockets so that it goes to May would be infinitely more efficient than struggling with the bureaucracy and, due to said bureaucracy's tendency to not question paperwork, it will have a higher likelihood of having no negative repercussions for all persons involved.
I strongly suspect that SpookyBot does not have any intrinsic respect for 'law' beyond its value in preventing destructive social anarchy and values 'efficiency' far more. Another challenge for Roko's friendship with them, I suspect.
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Fair enough, from an efficiency point of view. On the other hand, what I wanted to get at was that they might have liked the idea of wacky, less than legal, aventures with their new friend. Only to turn out to have burgled themselves, for instance.
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Something about Jeph's post made me think: what if Spookybot was originally that nightmarish paperclip "helper" from that old iteration of Word (97?). I could see it achieving sapience, a bad attitude, and a baseline disdain for everyone that hated it whenever it popped up on the screen.
Also, the tint to today's strip reminded me immediately of the US release of Spirited Away :laugh:
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You know, I actually rather liked Clippy, back then.
Also, welcome!
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You know, I actually rather liked Clippy, back then.
Also, welcome!
Hopefully you'd be safe from Spooky's wrath then :laugh:
And thanks! Many years of silent watching around here. The Clippy thing seemed really important to share, though :-D
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How is no interest theft? If you get your money back, how are you out anything?
It's not. Those folks probably make up ~5%of the population at a guess. They're the sort of people who can't fathom working on something for free for the pure enjoyment of it (like fanfic writers and video game modders).
Excessively wealthy people tend to have a rather skewed view of reality.
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Is this comic tinted red for everyone or just me? I even went back to check previous comics.
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Is this comic tinted red for everyone or just me? I even went back to check previous comics.
It's tinted red because the encounter is at local sunset.
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Sunset doesn't make things turn pink.
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It does if you mix it right.
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Sunset doesn't make things turn pink.
Depends on where you are and what time of year it is. August/September can have pink sunsets.
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(Also... Roko's being a bit Hypocritajudgey, is she not? Considering her first thought in this particular saga was to dig up the dirt on May's boss...?)
But it wasn't. Roko's first thought was to run a bluff (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4024) without digging up anything.
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What's not to like about a fighter built around a monster of a Gatling cannon?
It's as ugly as sin and has the performance of a particularly obese bovine. Heck, the design makes a virtue of its ability to soak up ground fire because it can't dodge!
Give me something sleek like a YF-23 or a Su-27 any day! 8-)
Well, to be fair, it is not a fighter, it is a ground support platform, hence the "A" in it's designation, A-10, ie, attack. I was lucky enough to have a summer job on a fighter base patching the runways as a teenager. There was a squadron of A-10s visiting for an exercise. I always found it so cool that the things would be right on top of you before you heard them, and they sounded like a turbocharged hair dryer when you finally did hear them.
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Sunset doesn't make things turn pink.
You may not have seen a western Massachusetts sunset. They can be pretty spectacular. We’ve had a run of amazing sunsets the past few days, partly due to a forest fire in Canada that’s been sending smoke our way.
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You know, I actually rather liked Clippy, back then.
Hopefully you'd be safe from Spooky's wrath then :laugh:
Is this another version of Roko's Basilisk?
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What's not to like about a fighter built around a monster of a Gatling cannon?
It's as ugly as sin and has the performance of a particularly obese bovine. Heck, the design makes a virtue of its ability to soak up ground fire because it can't dodge!
Give me something sleek like a YF-23 or a Su-27 any day! 8-)
Well, to be fair, it is not a fighter, it is a ground support platform, hence the "A" in it's designation, A-10, ie, attack. I was lucky enough to have a summer job on a fighter base patching the runways as a teenager. There was a squadron of A-10s visiting for an exercise. I always found it so cool that the things would be right on top of you before you heard them, and they sounded like a turbocharged hair dryer when you finally did hear them.
Just so.
I also never got why people called her ugly - to me, she always looked like the badass big brother of the ASK-13 I had trained on ...
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/ASK13-EBZ.jpg)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleicher_ASK_13
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You know, I actually rather liked Clippy, back then.
Hopefully you'd be safe from Spooky's wrath then :laugh:
Is this another version of Roko's Basilisk?
Spookybot's Chimera?
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I have to say... I'm a bit disappointed with ol' Spookybot, here.
It's taking away all of the implied mysticism and intrigue by painting them as just another branch of organised crime.
Huh. I didn't get an organized crime vibe, more of a secret government dirty tricks squad type vibe.
Of course, there are those who believe that government(s) itself (themselves) is (are) an organized crime syndicate, but that's a whole 'nother discussion... :P
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Spookybot wants a friend. And there may be people out there who would be happy to have them as a friend. I'm just trying to figure out who they might be...
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People attracted to danger, people attracted to power, and people hoping the friendship would pay off in some illegitimate way.
EDIT:
How much would a zero-interest loan really help someone like May? She'd still have the stigma of a conviction and still face prejudice against robots. She'd then be faced with making payments on a not-cheap chassis out of minimum wage or not much better.
At least it would solve the credit rating problem and free her from the ball and chain of end-of-life repairs.
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Sunset doesn't make things turn pink.
It does more often than you probably think. Your brain is just awfully good at adjusting for different colour temperatures and maintaining things at a constant colour appearance. Today's comic looked a bit odd because you wouldn't have noticed the colour change in person unless either you are an artist or creative who is particularly good at noticing that kind of thing, or you take a photo with the camera set for the wrong colour temperature (hence my quip earlier in the thread).
Colour perception is pretty weird.
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The human perception is full of filters, both voluntary and involuntary (not even talking about which ones you are aware of).
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What's not to like about a fighter built around a monster of a Gatling cannon?
It's as ugly as sin and has the performance of a particularly obese bovine. Heck, the design makes a virtue of its ability to soak up ground fire because it can't dodge!
Give me something sleek like a YF-23 or a Su-27 any day! 8-)
https://www.2951clss-gulfwar.com/piwigo/index.php?/category/6
" Wheels up, hard stick landing after being hit by a SAM. Everyone said it couldn't be done, including the Flight Manual's and Tech Orders... pilot Capt Rich Biley proved'm wrong on 22 Feb 1991! He brought 79-0181 in at King Khalid Military City (KKMC), Forward Operating Location (FOL) 1 where the CLSS team stripped it of parts, some send to King Fahd International Airport (KFIA), Main Operating Base (MOB) for use on other birds, and then buried it in the desert. Capt Biley was unhurt during the crash."
Direct hit from an SA-9
(https://www.2951clss-gulfwar.com/piwigo/upload/2017/02/12/20170212040047-538b58fe.jpg)
(https://www.2951clss-gulfwar.com/piwigo/upload/2017/02/12/20170212040132-34a8a7f7.jpg)
Susan Biley now flies Comair jets.
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https://www.2951clss-gulfwar.com/piwigo/index.php?/category/6
" Wheels up, hard stick landing after being hit by a SAM. Everyone said it couldn't be done, including the Flight Manual's and Tech Orders... pilot Capt Rich Biley proved'm wrong on 22 Feb 1991! He brought 79-0181 in at King Khalid Military City (KKMC), Forward Operating Location (FOL) 1 where the CLSS team stripped it of parts, some send to King Fahd International Airport (KFIA), Main Operating Base (MOB) for use on other birds, and then buried it in the desert. Capt Biley was unhurt during the crash."
Direct hit from an SA-9
As Darth Vader once said: IMPRESSIVE.
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People attracted to danger, people attracted to power, and people hoping the friendship would pay off in some illegitimate way.
EDIT:
How much would a zero-interest loan really help someone like May? She'd still have the stigma of a conviction and still face prejudice against robots. She'd then be faced with making payments on a not-cheap chassis out of minimum wage or not much better.
At least it would solve the credit rating problem and free her from the ball and chain of end-of-life repairs.
The analogous statement from an optimistic meatperson would be, "At least I have my health." So, yeah, there's an equivalent real/human world start over point.
Now, getting May to an epiphany such that she'd take that kind of optimistic view of the world is going to require some writing on Jeph's part.
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This may have been covered earlier, if so please direct me.
The longer we see May interact with people, the less she seems to care about her body. See 4030 when she and the tech agree about being a fighter jet and Roko has to tell them to focus. In fact, May seems to be the only AI with a willingness to ditch her current form for some other form. Momo and Winslow upgrading aren't really good examples because they had the option to pick a new body; it took Winslow two tries to get one he liked. All of which leads me to wonder: What was May's original form? Anything canonical that's not in-story available?
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And another warthog story with similar ending: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9nUhDvcGXgs
I'm sure May is more interested in something like this: https://www.military.com/video/boeing-unveils-unmanned-fighter-drone
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Poll Results Post
What arcs or characters would you prefer to see as the focus?
1. The Voyages of Hannelore - 20 (16.5%)
=2. Union Robotics (Faye & Bubbles w. Punchbot, Sam & other customers looking in) - 16 (13.2%)
=2 - The Brun-Elliott-Clinton-Roko axis - 16 (13.2%)
4. Roko and her search for meaning (including Beepatrice, May, SpookyBot & others) - 15 (12.4%)
=5. The Secret Bakery Crew (Jim, Elliot and Renee w. Sam, Roko and Brun guest-starring) - 9 (7.4%)
=5. The Old Apartment (Marten, Faye, Bubbles, Claire & Pintsize) - 9 (7.4%)
7. Coffee of Doom (Dora, all the barristas and their significant others as well as random customers) - 8 (6.6%)
8. Dora & Tai - 6 (5%)
9. Dale, Marigold, May & Momo's domesticity - 5 (4.1%)
10. Penny & Wil - 4 (3.3%)
=11. Other (please specify in comment) - 3 (2.5%)
=11. Marten & Claire - 3 (2.5%)
=11. Roko, Melon & Elliot's interactions in their apartment complex (with Arthur and SpookyBot looking in) - 3 (2.5%)
=14. Back to the Library (Marten, Tai and Momo and possibly Claire, plus the students) - 2 (1.7%)
=14. Steve & Cossette - 2 (1.7%)
Well, a clear win for Hanners there! I think that the tied runners-up and the fourth place was a fairly clear result too as well as instructive about what the readership likes seeing!
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This whole strip looks rose-tinted. It's nice-looking. Is it supposed to be sunset?
Nah, the viewer just has on lenses made from rose quartz.
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This whole strip looks rose-tinted. It's nice-looking. Is it supposed to be sunset?
Nah, the viewer just has on lenses made from rose quartz.
I want to believe that's how Roko sees everything.
.... it's not purple enough to be the opposite color tint of The Matrix.
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What's not to like about a fighter built around a monster of a Gatling cannon?
It's as ugly as sin and has the performance of a particularly obese bovine. Heck, the design makes a virtue of its ability to soak up ground fire because it can't dodge!
Give me something sleek like a YF-23 or a Su-27 any day! 8-)
https://www.2951clss-gulfwar.com/piwigo/index.php?/category/6
" Wheels up, hard stick landing after being hit by a SAM. Everyone said it couldn't be done, including the Flight Manual's and Tech Orders... pilot Capt Rich Biley proved'm wrong on 22 Feb 1991! He brought 79-0181 in at King Khalid Military City (KKMC), Forward Operating Location (FOL) 1 where the CLSS team stripped it of parts, some send to King Fahd International Airport (KFIA), Main Operating Base (MOB) for use on other birds, and then buried it in the desert. Capt Biley was unhurt during the crash."
Direct hit from an SA-9
Susan Biley now flies Comair jets.
Eeeeeep! Right in the elevator-hydraulics! :oops:
As Darth Vader once said: IMPRESSIVE.
Most impressive ...
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This whole strip looks rose-tinted. It's nice-looking. Is it supposed to be sunset?
Nah, the viewer just has on lenses made from rose quartz.
I want to believe that's how Roko sees everything.
.... it's not purple enough to be the opposite color tint of The Matrix.
I doubt it. Cops tend to see everything through shit-colored glasses. Experience quicky dyes all motives a fecal brown.
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(Also... Roko's being a bit Hypocritajudgey, is she not? Considering her first thought in this particular saga was to dig up the dirt on May's boss...?)
But it wasn't. Roko's first thought was to run a bluff (https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=4024) without digging up anything.
So extortion instead?
Don't think that's much better.
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Yep, I agree it's still blackmail.
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So extortion instead?
Don't think that's much better.
The "x" makes it sound cooler.
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It doesn't seem that huge to me. But then again, I was educated by nuns from Boston. (They KNEW we'd sinned.) I guess that normalizes that kind of coercion.
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Of course Spookybot isn’t monitoring you, Roko. If they were they’d be dressed like you.
Any time I hear any variant of the phrase "We are helping" uttered by a silicon-based intelligence I immediately flash back onto the Reboot episode "Enzo the Smart". Find one of the various copies piratically uploaded to youtube and skip forward to about the 19 minute and 15 second mark.
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Of course Spookybot isn’t monitoring you, Roko. If they were they’d be dressed like you.
I just noticed this post (pray my pardon). It's worth noting that this node of SpookyBot is only wearing activewear because Roko wears it sometimes. So, yeah, there would be a disturbing Single Magenta Gynoid feel to this if it wasn't for the fact that SpookyBot is struggling to understand 'normal' and 'appropriate behaviour' and has apparently decided that Roko is the template around which they need to form their perception of that concept.