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Comic Discussion => QUESTIONABLE CONTENT => Topic started by: BenRG on 26 Apr 2020, 03:55

Title: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 26 Apr 2020, 03:55
As we're all pretty much trapped at home these days except for a fortune few of us who have community-critical jobs that require us to be in the office at least some of the time, I thought that the time was good for an indoors poll.

It's remarkable, for a slice of life strip, how few pets we've met in Questionable Content. I think that it is, at least in part, because AnthroPC Companions were functionally the pets most of the characters had in the early- to mid-phases of the strip. Actual animal companions, with the exception of Mieville (who fitted in with Pintsize and Winslow in a scary way), were rare. That has changed of late, so I'd be interested in learning: What is the community's favourite animal pet?

Not all of them have much 'screen time' so you might have quirky reasons for liking them. Maybe it's just the bizarre disconnect between their person's personality and their choice of pet?

i had to think about this one. There are so many cute pets we've seen one-off and whom I'd love to hug or pet. However, I have to say that in terms of being completely out-of-the-blue and unexpected possibilities for the future, I'd have to go for Princess. Sven, the outgoing, extrovert womaniser who seems to care for no-one but himself sometimes owns a cat, with whom he clearly has one of the few lasting emotional connections in his life. I guess I'd love to see Mieville and Princess silently (but oh-so obviously) exchanging thoughts on their humans. Or May realising that she's enjoying having that scratch-happy furball on her lap. I just think that we could use her to be an interesting insight into what Sven's life really is like behind his front.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 26 Apr 2020, 04:54
Arthur the potted plant.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Thrillho on 26 Apr 2020, 07:16
Cosmo, at least 50% because of the name.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 26 Apr 2020, 15:42
HERCULES!
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Thrillho on 26 Apr 2020, 15:46
HERCULES!

Does he put the glad in gladiator?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: thErgonomic on 26 Apr 2020, 18:18
Hah! The red colour should have given it up! I knew Bubbles was a- Communication terminated. This has been done for the prevetion of a firestorm.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Autistic Vulture on 26 Apr 2020, 18:27
I voted for Mieville, just for pulling off the exceedingly difficult task of flustering Pintsize.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: St.Clair on 26 Apr 2020, 18:48
Comic's up.

Good on Faye, for taking a firmer (but still quite reasonable) stance on being paid for labor and services.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 26 Apr 2020, 21:58
Also some good advice that far too few people seem to heed these days; don't rush, take the time to figure things out.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 26 Apr 2020, 23:24
I think that today's strip basically carries on from the character arc Jeph has been pursuing for Milliefeulle since her first comedy drunk appearance - That she doesn't really know how to do interaction with people, especially with those she wants to be friend. The most she knows is how to be class clown. She certainly wouldn't know how to act to someone to whom she's romantically attracted... or even know what that is!

Good on Faye, for taking a firmer (but still quite reasonable) stance on being paid for labor and services.

As Jeph pointed out, good advice is cheaper at Union Robotics than it is a Coffee of Doom!
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Timemaster on 26 Apr 2020, 23:46
I noticed that Jeph was using a thinner brush in the latest strips. Especially in Fayes face it was obvious. I like the thicker brush better. What are your oppinions?

Plus breaking a Wacom pen is a hard piece of work.  :laugh:
My daughter wears out a lot of tips because of pressing down too hard. But cracking the pen?

TM
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 27 Apr 2020, 06:54
Bad Faye! No charging for romantic advice!  :laugh:
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 27 Apr 2020, 08:20
I am still wondering who in Yay's household demanded mealworms at 4 AM.

And professional advice is always worth it. It saves you money in the long run.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 27 Apr 2020, 08:26
I am still wondering who in Yay's household demanded mealworms at 4 AM.

Melon wrongly thought that Anthony Jones would find them delicious whilst she was brooding.

And professional advice is always worth it. It saves you money in the long run.

As an old Peanuts fan, I can see Faye in a wooden booth outside the shop. Over the booth is a sign: "Romantic Advice: $15/session" Below her window is a sliding sign: "The Luuurve Doctor is IN/OUT"
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Zebediah on 27 Apr 2020, 08:29
If anything, Faye is undercharging. Millefeuille came to her for service - that should be a minimum $100 fee right there.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Thrudd on 27 Apr 2020, 08:50
Still a better deal than what Clinton was charged.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Wingy on 27 Apr 2020, 11:01
Clinton was robbed.

I wonder how Millie is going to manage in any real-world relationship with a flat face drawn to order.  Maybe it's more expressive, but for any dissimilar partner, it's... flat.

Edit to fix forum code.  Gads.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Tova on 27 Apr 2020, 15:58
What exactly is the deal with the forumites who are insisting that Faye and Bubbles' relationship with Millie be strictly professional? I honestly can't tell if they are just having a chuckle or being serious.

If they weren't already friends, and/or Faye and Bubbles were professional therapists, I could understand it.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 27 Apr 2020, 19:58
Does anyone else feel Renee is a bit of a dick? She knows there's stuff that Brun doesn't 'get' but instead of saying anything she just 'mm hmm's.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Wagimawr on 27 Apr 2020, 20:01
Does anyone else feel Renee is a bit of a dick? She knows there's stuff that Brun doesn't 'get' but instead of saying anything she just 'mm hmm's.

It's entirely possible we'll see the second, more helpful part of that conversation in tomorrow's strip. I feel like Jeph has done that before.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Tova on 27 Apr 2020, 20:14
She knows there's stuff that Brun doesn't 'get' but instead of saying anything she just 'mm hmm's.

mm hmm
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 27 Apr 2020, 22:13
Does anyone else feel Renee is a bit of a dick? She knows there's stuff that Brun doesn't 'get' but instead of saying anything she just 'mm hmm's.
I suspect this may be more of a 'you said something that can be taken in a more sexual way than was initially meant' sort of thing. Either that or Renee legit misunderstood.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 27 Apr 2020, 22:27
I'ts mm h'mms all the way down.

Does anyone else feel Renee is a bit of a dick?

My observation from past behavior is that being a bit of a dick is kind of Renee's thing. She clearly regularly gives Brun "how to live with humans" advice, but the immediate gratification of enjoying herself teasing Brun trumps that.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Tova on 27 Apr 2020, 22:35
I honestly thought teasing between friends was normal everywhere.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 27 Apr 2020, 23:12
I find myself wondering just how much Brun doesn't understand about her relationships with her various friends because Renee won't come out and say it explicitly. The answer? Very little because she gets it in her own way. She might not express it in neurotypical terms but she knows her own mind. She might not go to the same conclusions but I'm sure she knows what she's feeling nonetheless.

Therein likes the real reason for what Renee is doing. She's pretty sure that Brun is crushing on Millifeulle but she knows that, if she says it, it will influence Brun's response to her own feelings ("I need to do this because Renee says this is what my feelings mean"). So, she's got to let Brun work it out on her own or the outcome will be false (this is especially the case given that Brun very obviously has issues with letting people get to close to her in many ways).

Does anyone else feel Renee is a bit of a dick? She knows there's stuff that Brun doesn't 'get' but instead of saying anything she just 'mm hmm's.

She could do with being less teasing about it and I think that she could also do with not being so obviously confused by the fact Brun is not immediately aware of the implications of her feelings. However, I do think that it comes from a good place - Not wanting to influence Brun's decision-making on such an important matter.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 27 Apr 2020, 23:55
I honestly thought teasing between friends was normal everywhere.
Whether it’s “normal” or not, it’s established than Renee and Brun do this to each other. With Brun it appears to be about licorice burps.

Personally, I don’t tease, and I don’t much appreciate being teased. Probably too much exposure to “ha ha only serious” people who are genuinely being nasty while pretending it’s only a joke.

Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 28 Apr 2020, 06:24
Who uses 'recursive' besides computer nerds?
I don't see computer science in Brün's background.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Thrudd on 28 Apr 2020, 07:27
Who uses 'recursive' besides computer nerds?
I don't see computer science in Brün's background.

re·cur·sive - adjective
    characterized by recurrence or repetition.
        Mathematics•Linguistics
        relating to or involving the repeated application of a rule, definition, or procedure to successive results.

Her background or education may not include computer science but mathematical basics should be in there somewhere.
Mind I have no idea just how good or bad the particular brand of US education she was given.

As has been demonstrated with respect to her thought processes, she is very logical and concise in her reasoning even though she doesn't implicitly "get" things that the average person would take as a given and doesn't notice things she isn't directly looking for. The algorithm for processing such information and nuances in the background just isn't there so she has to make a conscious workaround by building a database and then using logical reasoning based on that data to come to a conclusion. This was illustrated in the series of panels where she decided to go for brunch with her new neighbour.

Our esteemed author seems to have captured the process quite well in this instance.
Well this is how I am able to fool the outside world that I am a functioning adult a majority of the time.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: oddtail on 28 Apr 2020, 08:55
Who uses 'recursive' besides computer nerds?
I don't see computer science in Brün's background.

I don't think I count as a "computer nerd", nor do all that many of my friends, and both I and people are know have used the word in casual conversation, in a similar manner that Brun does, too.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 28 Apr 2020, 10:41
I honestly thought teasing between friends was normal everywhere.

I think it's something of a cultural thing?
Probably has to do with a person's temperament and general disposition, too.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 28 Apr 2020, 12:25
Who uses 'recursive' besides computer nerds?
I am unable to answer this question, because I'm an old school computer nerd. As in, I built my first computer in 1977. At this point I'm so deeply immersed in computer nerdom I have no idea what's normal.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Wingy on 28 Apr 2020, 12:50
As in, I built my first computer in 1977. At this point I'm so deeply immersed in computer nerdom I have no idea what's normal.
1983 for me, but yeah...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: SeaWoodStage on 28 Apr 2020, 12:52
I refuse to vote, because I can't choose between Mieville and Hercules.

On another note, Faye's joking "fifteen bucks please" brought to mind something that's bugged me for a litte while. I forget how long ago it was (real time) a few months maybe? And I also forget the AI in question, except that it wasn't May. Someone came to Union Robotics for something, Faye and Bubbles fixed it (mainly Bubbles I think), the AI offered payment, and Bubbles said something like "No charge, it was an easy fix."

Which bothered me, because while it may have been an easy fix, and used no pricey parts, isn't the fact that it was an easy fix for Bubbles part of the value of their business? People do (and should) charge for their expertise, not just parts and labour. If my car needs fixing, and it turns out to be something very simple, I don't expect them to say "it took five minutes and we had the parts lying around, no charge." I expect them to charge me a reasonable amount, because they had the knowledge and skill to do something that I couldn't do myself.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Wingy on 28 Apr 2020, 12:55
That was Roko getting her popups turned off.
4175 - 4178.  4178 is the one with the wording you remember.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: SeaWoodStage on 28 Apr 2020, 13:07
Thank you Wingy, yes that's the one I was thinking of.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Autistic Vulture on 28 Apr 2020, 13:30
Remember that Faye and Bubbles are walking about freely due to what Roko chose to ignore.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: SeaWoodStage on 28 Apr 2020, 14:01
Agreed, but I think Roko chose to ignore that because she was making a moral choice. If you decide that something is the right thing to do, you shouldn't then set parameters on it.
(I don't think Roko was doing that btw, I just don't like the idea of genuinely moral decisions coming with a price for those it affects.)
 
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Tova on 28 Apr 2020, 15:35
The goodwill, potential return business, and word of mouth business that this simple gesture likely generated is far more valuable than the small amount of cash they would have earned by charging.

If my car needs fixing, and it turns out to be something very simple, I don't expect them to say "it took five minutes and we had the parts lying around, no charge." I expect them to charge me a reasonable amount, because they had the knowledge and skill to do something that I couldn't do myself.

I never expect it, obviously.

But I have personally experienced that very thing precisely.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: SeaWoodStage on 28 Apr 2020, 16:06
I agree with you on the goodwill, return business, and word of mouth Tova, but Faye and Bubs aren't running with months of spare capital. I should just stick with the cardinal rule probably "not everything happens on-screen", so I'm going to assume they've got enough business from unseen characters to stay afloat.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Tova on 28 Apr 2020, 17:13
Whether they do or not (presumably they do), charging for a five minute job is not going to make or break their business. Failure to drum up new and much more significant business will.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: SeaWoodStage on 28 Apr 2020, 17:39
I think I'm being too literal about it tbh. We've seen a lot of the business they've got from friends and acquaintances, so I'm assuming they also got some off-screen business from other folks.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 28 Apr 2020, 18:42
Hey, I had completely forgot about the exam thing.

(Wouldn't they email the results, now?)
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: St.Clair on 28 Apr 2020, 18:56
Claire did not take off her glasses first.  They are now somewhere in her shirt.   :meh:
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: SmilingCat on 28 Apr 2020, 19:29
I voted Hercules, but then there was no way I wouldn't vote for a cat, and my own fluffy girl imposes an inherent bias in his favor.

As for Claire, good idea, the endorphine rush might calm down her anxieties enough to actually look at her results.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 28 Apr 2020, 23:54
Wow! Anxiety, thy name is Claire Augustus! Still, at least she's not completely disabled by it and has a decisive plan for moving forwards. That said, we do see why she needs someone with the level of calm zen that Marten generally displays in her life! More importantly, that he believes in her.

Meanwhile... Am I the only one who thinks that frazzled!Claire is extra cute? Something about the extra floof it puts into her hair, I think!
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: pwhodges on 29 Apr 2020, 02:06
Claire did not take off her glasses first.  They are now somewhere in her shirt.   :meh:

BTDT
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 29 Apr 2020, 02:27
Claire did not take off her glasses first.  They are now somewhere in her shirt.   :meh:

BTDT

Haven't we all?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: NemesisDancer on 29 Apr 2020, 05:35
Just noticed Marten is reading Magical Love Gentleman. Nice callback xD
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Autistic Vulture on 29 Apr 2020, 06:28
(I don't think Roko was doing that btw, I just don't like the idea of genuinely moral decisions coming with a price for those it affects.)

No, she wasn't, but rather Bubbles likely made the decision not to charge based on previous events.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: jwhouk on 29 Apr 2020, 06:38
I like the alternative version Jeph drew of this one, but this one's probably more understandable.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 29 Apr 2020, 08:51
I was going to say 'frazzled Claire needs a hug', but...


So what will they do when they see she passed?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: zisraelsen on 29 Apr 2020, 08:58
The same thing, minus the anxiety?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Zebediah on 29 Apr 2020, 08:58
More sex, of course. They’re young.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Raptorofwar on 29 Apr 2020, 11:52
Kids these days...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 29 Apr 2020, 18:56

So what will they do when they see she passed?

Now she gets to angst about what she will no next. (Job, etc etc etc)

Plus moar sex. :D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 29 Apr 2020, 19:25
I was going to say 'frazzled Claire needs a hug', but...
Intercourse is a kind of hugging. Best kind, really.

RE: perfect test scores

I had an experience like that in high school. It was a math competition, and I turned the test in early. Afterward, I realized I'd made some really dumb mistakes. In one case because I didn't understand the question as well as I thought I did. I was pretty ticked at myself for quite a while afterward.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Theta9 on 29 Apr 2020, 20:30
Good thing for Marten they had sex already. Gonna be a while before the next one  :-D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 29 Apr 2020, 23:27
There is so much that's lovely about this strip. I love how Claire jumps into Marten's arms: Its all so unreserved and they're both so open with each other that you know that they're in love and that this is long-term. It also proves that Claire must be real wisp of a girl not to knock the hipster-boy stick figure that is Marten flat with that glomp!

Meanwhile, it is entirely in-character that Claire would be a perfectionist. Being able to access your transcript on line and see where you went wrong is a great idea in theory but, as we see here, it's a bit enabling to the worst excesses of students who have obsessive-compulsive or perfectionist characteristics in their personality!

Good thing for Marten they had sex already. Gonna be a while before the next one  :-D

Actually, maybe they can have another party and, this time, Millie can observe Elliot and Clinton's interactions with Brun in the background. "Faye... How do I know if I'm jealous?"
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: TinPenguin on 30 Apr 2020, 03:46
He must have been lifting some heavy books at that library, because the Marten I know should have just snapped like a twig.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Perfectly Reasonable on 30 Apr 2020, 05:13
Anticlimactic celebratory sex would be ... anticlimactic.

Ice cream and cuddles!
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Thrudd on 30 Apr 2020, 06:18
The same thing, minus the anxiety?
We know her better then that. She will invariably find something else to be anxious about. :psyduck:
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 30 Apr 2020, 07:06
He must have been lifting some heavy books at that library, because the Marten I know should have just snapped like a twig.

Especially considering that earlier on, he was struggling to lift up Hanners.  Then again, Claire is shorter, just as slender, and the whole square-cube law applies.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: gprimr1 on 30 Apr 2020, 10:09
As a site supervisor for a standardized exam, I rolled my eyes hard at the last panel.

They NEVER release the specific questions you got wrong.

I've never seen a standardized test where they told you the specific questions you got wrong.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: cesium133 on 30 Apr 2020, 10:11
Is it a standardized exam? I was under the impression it was just the final for one of her classes.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Pilchard123 on 30 Apr 2020, 12:21
More re. perfect exam scores: for one subject I took for GCSE, I dropped one mark over all three papers for that subject, and as soon as I left the exam hall after sitting that paper, I knew which mark it was that I would not get. It still irritates me even now, because it was a stupid (almost literally 1+1=3 stupid) mistake.

I also wrote an essay for another class (first-year university this time) and got full marks for it, but was still told that I didn't write enough. I'm not sure how that works...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 30 Apr 2020, 16:32
I also wrote an essay for another class (first-year university this time) and got full marks for it, but was still told that I didn't write enough. I'm not sure how that works...
Impossible to say without knowing your professor (or teaching assistant, or whoever was grading it) and what they meant. BUT. I can imagine, for example, having a minimum standard for an "A," but an internal standard for what a really good paper should be that's higher than that. It depends on how that person views grades and what they mean.

For example, a paper could answer the question, but not go into as much detail in the answer as a really good paper would. Some professors might give a "right answer, not enough supporting argument" paper a B even though it's correct. Some might consider "right answer" to be enough to justify an A.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Tova on 30 Apr 2020, 17:55
I also wrote an essay for another class (first-year university this time) and got full marks for it, but was still told that I didn't write enough. I'm not sure how that works...

I obviously cannot say whether this applies to you at all. But I went though this situation at high school. I was frequently told that I wrote essays that were clear, grammatically correct, and factually correct.

The only problem, I was told, was that I wasn't writing enough words.

I didn't understand why my teachers were getting hung up on the word count. Was I supposed to pad my essays out, I asked? "Well... no....," they would reply, unconvincingly. I never got a satisfying answer.

It was only years later, as I realised just how much better my writing could be, that I began to understand what my teachers were trying to get at.

At the time, I had seen the goal as merely proving to the teacher that I had absorbed the subject material. In truth, in asking you to write an essay, the teacher is testing whether you have the ability to successfully convey that information to someone who didn't already understand the material.

Merely laying the facts out in the most concise and grammatically correct fashion is only half the battle. I was submitting first drafts without getting even re-reading them myself let along getting someone else to proofread them for me. I wasn't putting effort into truly engaging the reader. I wasn't introducing the material in an accessible way. I wasn't telling a story.

I am not going to claim that my writing is brilliant now. But it is better than it used to be because I have a better idea of what I am trying to achieve. And unlike those days, my writing goes through at least a couple of drafts. If I don't have someone handy to proofread for me, I will at least put it down for 24 hours to separate myself a little from the writing before rereading. This will inevitably result in numerous corrections.

I would suggest finding an article from a writer that you admire on a similar topic to one you've written. Read that article a couple of times. Then go back and read yours. And ask yourself whether there is something that writer is doing that separates their work from yours.

Don't get too hung up on word counts, but you will probably find that your attempts to elevate your essay writing in that way will mean that instead of working to try and pad your essays out, you will be putting effort into trimming them before submitting.

TLDR You have to write a lot of words before you can arrive at truly great concise writing. Maybe your teacher sees writing that meets the standards for an A, but also sees its untapped potential.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Zebediah on 30 Apr 2020, 18:07
Comic’s up.

Yeah, we know how it is.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: cesium133 on 30 Apr 2020, 18:15
The cannon is, of course, full of dildos. Why else would Pintsize need to decock it?  :psyduck:
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Mordhaus on 30 Apr 2020, 18:18
I'd be a lot more careful about asking Pintsize to decock anything.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: shanejayell on 30 Apr 2020, 18:29
Plot twist: the cannon is in fact the giant phallus Pintsize had Faye make for him....  :-D
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 30 Apr 2020, 19:28
I'd be a lot more careful about asking Pintsize to decock anything.
Decocking? Encocking seems like more of Pintsize's thing.

Pros of a condom cannon: A lot less mess to clean up than confetti.

Cons: Kind gross to be showered with condoms.

Pros of a dildo cannon: Same as the condom cannon.

Cons: Somebody's going to lose an eye.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Tova on 30 Apr 2020, 20:00
I'd be a lot more careful about asking Pintsize to decock anything.
Decocking? Encocking seems like more of Pintsize's thing.

That would be "cocking," right? Tova asked, with cocked eyebrow.

Anyway, you can't cock unless you're decocked.

I'm going to stop now.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Mojo on 30 Apr 2020, 21:00
Well, naturally if it's COCKED, it would need condoms.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: BenRG on 30 Apr 2020, 23:08
It seems inevitable that Pintsize would be the proud owner of a model P1NK13-P1E Party Cannon. It likely fires just about anything, up to and including cake, which lands in perfectly edible form right in front of the guests. It was the work of a genius in ECI's weapons division who wanted to have at least one positive impact on society! No party is complete without it!
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 30 Apr 2020, 23:18
He must have been lifting some heavy books at that library, because the Marten I know should have just snapped like a twig.

Especially considering that earlier on, he was struggling to lift up Hanners.  Then again, Claire is shorter, just as slender, and the whole square-cube law applies.
Having to lug around an unabridged dictionary (the really big ones) could do it. Dropping one of those on your foot could easily break bones.

(http://www.threepanelsoul.com/comics/2010-03-09-156.png)

EDIT: Hopefully that fixed the pic. If not, http://www.threepanelsoul.com/comic/on-shaky-physics
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gus_Smedstad on 30 Apr 2020, 23:22
That would be "cocking," right? Tova asked, with cocked eyebrow.
In a conversation like this, the correct word is the silliest one.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Cornelius on 30 Apr 2020, 23:59
He must have been lifting some heavy books at that library, because the Marten I know should have just snapped like a twig.

Especially considering that earlier on, he was struggling to lift up Hanners.  Then again, Claire is shorter, just as slender, and the whole square-cube law applies.
Having to lug around an unabridged dictionary (the really big ones) could do it. Dropping one of those on your foot could easily break bones.

(http://www.threepanelsoul.com/comics/2010-03-09-156.png)

EDIT: Hopefully that fixed the pic. If not, http://www.threepanelsoul.com/comic/on-shaky-physics
May I present the WNT, the most complete dictionary of the Dutch language?
(click to show/hide)

The companion for middle Dutch is slightly smaller.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Thrudd on 01 May 2020, 06:15
So 400.000 words with extensive descriptions and the full etymology for each.
Websters third is at 470,000 but is much more limited in its verbiage.
Looking at the wiki, those dictionaries with higher word counts are more comprehensive and online.

Crossword Puzzle and Scrabble Dictionaries are a whole different existence and something to be avoided by the layperson.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: SploofMasterJ on 01 May 2020, 21:24
Who is this guy in the gray shirt? Did Jeph just add a new character without introducing them? I guess he's dating Clinton's sister?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Tova on 01 May 2020, 21:40
Days since someone joked about not recognising Marten: 0
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Thrillho on 02 May 2020, 00:42
Registering just to make said joke is quite enthusiastic.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Is it cold in here? on 02 May 2020, 15:03
Welcome, new person with a sense of humor!
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Tova on 02 May 2020, 20:42
Welcome to the forums. Please forgive my snark.  :angel:
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Scarlet Manuka on 04 May 2020, 18:12
I had an experience like that in high school. It was a math competition, and I turned the test in early. Afterward, I realized I'd made some really dumb mistakes. In one case because I didn't understand the question as well as I thought I did. I was pretty ticked at myself for quite a while afterward.
I did the same thing in one of my university exams. Finished early, went over everything again to check, left the exam an hour early. And then realised that I'd made a stupid mistake interpreting one of the questions and had answered something much easier than the real problem.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Thrillho on 05 May 2020, 05:32
I hate exams so much that when I went to university, I only did three times exams, two of which I could have avoided if I took a different route on the degree (broadcast rather than print).

I also paid very close attention to the percentages my assignments were worth and put calculated effort into specific things.

By the time I walked into that third exam, I didn't need to pass it.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Thrudd on 05 May 2020, 06:43
You must have had a very interesting college / program.

Every course and program at the colleges and universities I had attended [both side of the lectern] had very strict marking schemes and if you failed the exam then that was your final mark no matter how exemplary your reports and such were up to that point.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 05 May 2020, 11:14
You must have had a very interesting college / program.

Every course and program at the colleges and universities I had attended [both side of the lectern] had very strict marking schemes and if you failed the exam then that was your final mark no matter how exemplary your reports and such were up to that point.

Finals and midterms were such a pain the ass.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 05 May 2020, 11:26
Absolutely.  I had to take public transit 2 hours each way, and there were a few finals where I'd have passed the course with a solid "B", based upon points alone if I didn't take them, but the policy was that if you didn't show, it was an automatic fail.  So I had to waste four hours in transit to basically just sign my name and hand in a blank paper.  Of course, once I was there, I just took the damned exam, since why not?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Thrillho on 05 May 2020, 13:13
My university was an ex polytechnic, and my degree was vocational journalism. It made no sense to examine things like 'how well you write' under timed conditions. Or more accurately, our timed exams were over multiple days, because they were live exercises like working in the industry.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Mr_Rose on 05 May 2020, 14:32
My university was an ex polytechnic, and my degree was vocational journalism. It made no sense to examine things like 'how well you write' under timed conditions. Or more accurately, our timed exams were over multiple days, because they were live exercises like working in the industry.
Oh, right, they actually assessed your competence in your chosen field, instead of your ability to memorise and regurgitate facts. :psyduck: 
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 05 May 2020, 16:23
Absolutely.  I had to take public transit 2 hours each way, and there were a few finals where I'd have passed the course with a solid "B", based upon points alone if I didn't take them, but the policy was that if you didn't show, it was an automatic fail.  So I had to waste four hours in transit to basically just sign my name and hand in a blank paper.  Of course, once I was there, I just took the damned exam, since why not?
That's just terrible.

Professors need to be more understanding of extenuating circumstances.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Autistic Vulture on 05 May 2020, 18:46
In case anyone's wondering, a cheap theremin kit runs about $100.  To get one that looks the part, you're looking around quadruple that.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: hedgie on 05 May 2020, 19:46
That's just terrible.

Professors need to be more understanding of extenuating circumstances.

It was the institution's policy, not the profs.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 05 May 2020, 22:56
That's just terrible.

Professors need to be more understanding of extenuating circumstances.

It was the institution's policy, not the profs.
That's worse.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: JoeCovenant on 06 May 2020, 06:11
In case anyone's wondering, a cheap theremin kit runs about $100.  To get one that looks the part, you're looking around quadruple that.

I'm sure I remember Theremin's being cheap as chips.. until they became a little cooler in recent years?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Cornelius on 06 May 2020, 06:38
I gave my brother one for his birthday, last year; came at about € 50.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Mr_Rose on 06 May 2020, 09:59
In case anyone's wondering, a cheap theremin kit runs about $100.  To get one that looks the part, you're looking around quadruple that.

I'm sure I remember Theremin's being cheap as chips.. until they became a little cooler in recent years?
It’s the same with any musical instrument; there is a range from absurdly cheap to outrageously expensive and everything in between. Just be glad there are no 400 year-old Stradivarius theremins… yet.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: cesium133 on 06 May 2020, 10:05
Now I'm tempted to find the parts I'd need for a theremin on Digikey... I think before I buy more stuff based on a comic, I should probably actually open that bottle of ouzo...
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: cesium133 on 06 May 2020, 21:59
Looking up the parts for a relatively simple pitch-only theremin design, it looks like it can be done for about $10, not including the amplifier and speaker.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: Gyrre on 07 May 2020, 05:37
You three know you're posting on last week's thread, right?
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: cesium133 on 07 May 2020, 06:40
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It's where people were talking about theremins.
Title: Re: WCDT strips 4251-4255 (27th to 1st May 2020)
Post by: SinusPi on 07 May 2020, 08:39
Ah, now I get it. There was a surplus sale. Every kid in the neighbourhood now has a Theremin kit. It's going to be fun, I'm sure. Weeeeooooooooo!