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More Dale/Marigold awkwardness (with optional snogging)

Yenta Momo

Frazzled Dora (with optional silly grin)

Angus and Faye eating Cereal

Claire and Emily all week

PINTSIZE all week (with optional Yelling Bird)

Even more A-game

Clinton and Emily (with optional weirdness)

Pizza Girl at CoD being served by Penelope

Hannelore  (with optional squeeing and icking)

Cinnamon Lattes

Spathe Ham in Waffles

Friday the 13th references on Friday the 13th

A room full of Purple Monkey Dishwashers reading Hamlet

[Satan]

Why is Marten so tiny.

Hanners is a nerd, but not a fucking one. 

Dammit, couldn't resist [NSFW] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7giRak6yMAs

I think a different TISM song is appropriate for Marten at the moment, however

[pwhodges]

Why is Marten so tiny.

Perspective, and the fact that he's cut off at the edge of the strip.

a different TISM song is appropriate for Marten at the moment, however

At this instant, perhaps; but he's been sexually active for about half the life of QC (across 1200 strips with Dora, and a bit with Padma), so he's not really seriously deprived.

[GarandMarine]

Hanners is a nerd, but not a fucking one. 

Wow, I didn't even catch this possible meaning at first.  So do fucking nerds do things (pun intended) like memorize half of Urban Dictionary, or know exactly who every extra in every porno is?

Nah Fucking Nerds tend to study Quantum Fetish Mechanics extensively.

[ankhtahr]

Is YB's advice directed to the Joyce in a Certain Other Webcomic?

Pretty sure yes:

https://twitter.com/damnyouwillis/status/408652196289343488

So does this mean, that the Dumbiverse is the universe which also contains Yelling Bird, Harriet, Randy etc.? I mean, we already know that the ordinary QCverse seems to be connected to the Walkyverse, with the crossover appearing here and here.

[RightInTheSquishyParts]

Jacques Frost ‏@jephjacques 1h

Okay that is as close to a hissy fit as I will allow myself to get.
----
Jacques Frost ‏@jephjacques 1h

Considering the stuff that's been going on behind the scenes these last few months I'm surprised there haven't been MORE shaky punchlines.
----
    Jacques Frost ‏@jephjacques 1h

    "You should consult Randall or Aaron before you do science comics" a great email to start my day

I hope we're not headed for a meltdown like when he cut his hand.   

[KOK]

Science comic? What science comic? Two of the characters know just about nothing about science, and Hannelore's science is so far ahead that it is incomprehensible to us anyway.

[Thrudd]

Science comic? There was as much science in that comic as there was in the whole Star Trek - Next Generation franchise onwards.

As for a Nerd-scale, I am more inclined to go with a model where general topics/foci of nerd interest form axis in a space of n dimensions.
Based on the Schrodinger model (Electron Cloud ) the 1s and 2s shells would cover general social and language knowledge levels (those would cover all axis to a specific value) and we would go on from there by differentiating the various p & d & other types of knowledge distributions.

[cesium133]

So you're saying nerds are fermions, and that multiple nerds cannot be in the same state of nerdiness. Eh, sure, why not? Does put a damper on any plans to create a Bose-Einstein nerdensate, though.

[Kugai]

I wonder if it's a geometric progression.

[Is it cold in here?]

Why is Marten so tiny.

He is shrinking from Faye.

Everyone's missing the key point about considering the characters as wave functions. Amplitudes are complex: they have both a real and an imaginary part.

[Case]

I'm more curious as to how nerdiness calculations would be more like quantum mechanics.

The famous thought-experiment Schrödinger's Nerd suggests that everybody is both a nerd and not a nerd at the same time in quantum superposition. The wave form collapses when you ask if it was the right move to leave Tom Bombadil and the barrow-wights out of the film based on Fellowship Of The Ring...

So you're saying nerds are fermions, and that multiple nerds cannot be in the same state of nerdiness. Eh, sure, why not? Does put a damper on any plans to create a Bose-Einstein nerdensate, though.

Hmmmmh, the quasi-particle exitations of the Dirac-Weyl Nerd-field theory are fermionic, obeying a Munroe-Zumino-Clifford algebra (MZC-CAR). The bulk "Having A Life" - field (HAV) opens a gap in the spectrum and the quasi-nerdon decays into a human, a verboseon (commonly dubbed "hipster-geek") and a nerdino.

However, it has recently been found that in theories with broken Tom-Bombadil-symmetry (see above) there is sign-change in the HAV field across an embedded hyper-plane and a corresponding sign change in the first nerd chern number (a topological invariant related to the Pontryagin winding number, defined as the integral of the Berry-curvature over the first Brillouin zone in Library space). Within this hyperplane, topological subgap states, dubbed protonerdons, can exist - the effect is related to the integer quantum hall effect found by von Klitzing in 1980 and the effective field theory is a modification of the Thouless-Kohmoto-Nightingale-den Nijs description of the latter. The protonerdon is topologically protected against impurities - it can even marry, or have kids, without being scattered - as long as it is kept in close proximity to a physics or math department.
The nerd conductance is quantised and it's conductance quantum has been named a Munroe. Half a Munroe equates to roughly a PhD in physics, four Munroes get you tenure, Edward Witten had to be his usual showy self clocking out at twenty Munroes (or six and a half Sagans) and Stephen Hawking is estimated at around 15 to 17 Munroes, but withdrew consent to the measurement upon hearing of Wittens 20, and chased the interviewer down the hallway instead.

[draiden]

My favorite funny unit of measure is the "millihelen", an amount of beauty sufficient to launch one ship.

A Janet is less than a millihelen. A janet is an account of beauty to launch a few canoes.

[Tova]

That was a rare moment where Faye actually annoyed me.

Rare?

Confusing bitchiness for wit is one of her consistent character traits.

My annoyed reaction was rare, not her behaviour. Normally it doesn't bother me.

[Method of Madness]

Most adorable Marigold ever in panel 4...pre-realization, of course.

[Shjade]

I'm thinking Marten's going to hook up with someone soon or he and Faye will both be single when Angus gets the job and moves to the big city.

Not unless Faye breaks up with Angus before he leaves they won't. Not living in the same area isn't the same as becoming single.

[Method of Madness]

I can say from experience that it isn't much better, but the distinction is still important.

[snubnose]

So you're saying nerds are fermions, and that multiple nerds cannot be in the same state of nerdiness. Eh, sure, why not? Does put a damper on any plans to create a Bose-Einstein nerdensate, though.

...

Okay, time to read up on particle physics again.

In the meantime, my physics nerdiness just got a -1 skill hit. 

[ZoeB]

My favorite funny unit of measure is the "millihelen", an amount of beauty sufficient to launch one ship.

A Janet is less than a millihelen. A janet is an account of beauty to launch a few canoes.

Given a byzantine dromon bireme was 25 tons dwt, a plausible estimate of the average displacement of a mycenean ship is about 20 tons.

1 helen is therefore sufficient beauty to launch 20,000 tons of ship.
1 millihelen would launch 20 tons of ship, a decent sized yacht.
1 microhellen would launch a 20kg inflatable dinghy.

A janet is thus about 5 microhellens, enough for a couple of 40kg canoes.

A picohelen would launch a 20g small rubber duck, or half a dozen boats made of 115 gsm paper.

[Method of Madness]

Who is Janet and why is she only 5 microhelens? Also wouldn't a nanohelen be required for that 20g rubber duck? A picohelen would launch 20mg, or a grain of rice.

[Sidhekin]

A [nanohelen] would launch a 20g small rubber duck, or half a dozen boats made of 115 gsm paper.

... assuming A5 paper?

[specter177]

So we'd need 5 helens to launch a new aircraft carrier?

[marsman57]

Oh please go on a date Marigold. I want this to be resolved.

[Is it cold in here?]

I bet a date would create more issues than it resolved.

[marsman57]

I don't know. I was hoping they'd settle into a slightly awkward romance.

[Kugai]

It worked for Wil and Penelope.

Keep pluggin' away there Momo.  And lets hope you don't have to use 'Threat Social Protocol' again.

[DSL]

... 1 helen is therefore sufficient beauty to launch 20,000 tons of ship.

So a laker, about 30,000 tons deadweight, would require roughly 1.5 helens, or one helen highwater.

[draiden]

Who is Janet and why is she only 5 microhelens? Also wouldn't a nanohelen be required for that 20g rubber duck? A picohelen would launch 20mg, or a grain of rice.

The unit of measures "Helen" was named after Helen Troy. Janet was her sister. She wasn't as pretty.

... 1 helen is therefore sufficient beauty to launch 20,000 tons of ship.

So a laker, about 30,000 tons deadweight, would require roughly 1.5 helens, or one helen highwater.

is "helen highwater" a new unit of measurement equal to 1.5 helens, or is "highwater" somewhere used to describe one half of something?

But anyway, I think this is being measured incorrectly. Beauty as a force only works against weight indirectly. Beauty causes one man to gather enough men to man the ships and sail after her. Depending on the efficiency of the ships, more or less men will be needed. So one ship could take three men to crew, or an older vessel that does the same job could take twice that many, meaning a girl would have to be twice as beautiful to have that ship manned. Or, say she wasn't so beautiful, but all the ships that came after her weighed more, but took less people to operate. She gets to have more weight moved for less beauty!

[Method of Madness]

I know who Helen of Troy was...but her sister was Clytemnestra. So I ask again. Who the hell is Janet?

[draiden]

I know who Helen of Troy was...but her sister was Clytemnestra. So I ask again. Who the hell is Janet?

I'm trying to find you a link to the joke itself, but it's a joke from Mel Brooks' 2000 year old man skit.

Also, DAMN her actual sister got the shit end of the name straw.

[pwhodges]

So we'd need 5 helens to launch a new aircraft carrier?

Or one Queen.  The Queen has infinitely adjustable launching powers, and so one Queen (abbreviation: QE-II) is the correct amount for any ship or boat whatever.

[Schmorgluck]

The Queen is even able to launch a Bohemian Rhapsody, which is saying a lot.

[celticgeek]

And what does the Social Protocol say about this?

[Method of Madness]

Damn, Marigold, that was seriously fucked up.

[SageJiraiya]

Yeah, I know Mar's nervous about the whole thing, but expecting a sentient being to compensate her for their current existence is a bit harsh.

[mustang6172]

Seems fine to me (provided Marigold takes $100 bucks or so off of Momo's debt).

[Penquin47]

No, "fine" would be Momo saying "I'll do it, but only if you take X off my debt."   Or Marigold offering it as a compromise.  Marigold does not get to hold Momo's debt over her to make her do whatever Marigold wants and expect Momo to remain her friend.

[ElvisRevenge]

Yo, fuck Marigold, that is messed up. I don't care how immaturely distressed she is, that's bullshit.

[Jazzmaster]

If this is the way Mar acts to her friends, you gotta wonder how she'll be as a girlfriend.

Regarding whether it's fine or not: it depends on who you're dealing with, but I think it's not so much about the debt as it is about actually guilting your best friend into asking a guy out for you. 

Still, I couldn't help but smirk at the last line, "well you'd better ask Dale out on the way!".  Not sure if that was meant to be funny or not, but it seems way too silly to be a serious comment.

[LookingIn]

Geeze, I could have sworn that Momo is working at the library to pay Marigold back despite Marigold telling her she didn't have to.

[Sidhekin]

Momo should go to Sven's instead.  They could compare notes.

[Is it cold in here?]

Momo is right not to back down.

[blacksinow]

There comes a point in time when things like this become unacceptable no matter the reason. Marigold has just entered that territory and has proven once again why I despise her with all my being. One day, Marigold's immature tantrums are going to cross that line that will inevitably force Momo to quit socializing with her. This sort of behavior is disgusting to a point that if Momo were human, it would be considered unacceptable and slavery at that.

[Rghfrgl]

 Damn, Marigold, just when I forgot all about the LAST time you were a horrible person.

[RyanW1019]

There comes a point in time when things like this become unacceptable no matter the reason. Marigold has just entered that territory and has proven once again why I despise her with all my being. One day, Marigold's immature tantrums are going to cross that line that will inevitably force Momo to quit socializing with her. This sort of behavior is disgusting to a point that if Momo were human, it would be considered unacceptable and slavery at that.

You forget that this is a "happy" comic. Just about all of the characters have undergone positive development over the course of the strip, and despite the occasional rocky parts, everybody is usually extremely nice/forgiving to each other. I would bet money that by the next morning (however many strips away that is), Momo will have forgiven Marigold for her outburst/actions and all will be well between them again (hopefully after she comes to her senses and apologizes, but possibly even if she doesn't). I do agree, though; if this were a real conversation, Marigold would have just crossed a line. To be honest, she probably would have alienated some or all of her friends by now anyway.

Not that I'm complaining. Real life sucks enough without the comic going out of its way to remind us and it's one of the reasons why I like the strip so much.

Of course, I could be wrong, and this is the start of a breakup on the Dora-Marten scale. But my money is against it. Again, though, I am not excusing Marigold at all; I'm just making the point that in this comic, her friends have been much more forgiving of her mistakes than they've had any right to be. (Which is great of them as people.)

[Delator]

It's like Faye and Marigold are competing this week to see which one gets to be my least favorite character.

"Two girls enter, one girl leaves!"

[Is it cold in here?]

It's both misconduct in itself, and it's bad for Marigold. Just when she's dealing with awkwardness and an unfamiliar situation, she goes and picks a fight with her best friend.

What happens when Hannelore asks why Momo is showing up at her door? We've seen how Hannelore can get when two of her friends are fighting. In fact, that was the trigger for her first incident of Hulking out.

[snubnose]

...

Whats going on here ? 

Marigold is of low social skills. Are there really still people around who really havent noticed that yet ? 

She'll get better.

[anahata]

Some of you are being very hard on Marigold.
She may be a grown woman, but she's clearly very inexperienced and frightened. I know that feeling well, and I knew it for far too many years. Yes, she's being pathetic and childish, but whatever she says to Momo, really she knows she's got to ask Dale out herself.

My hopeful expectation is that after much agonizing (which should provide some more entertainment for us) she'll screw up her courage and do the deed, and it will be a liberation for her. Dale is a good guy and obviously likes her:  he won't let her down.

[Dr. ROFLPWN]

UNPOPULAR OPINION HOUR~

Let me establish that yes, that was absolutely a fucked-up thing for Marigold to do, in terms of that you don't give a friend a gift and then hold it over their head later when you want something from them

BUT comparing to slavery: um what no, and even saying that she's trying to make Momo indebted for her current existence is...just not true? Because QC's AIs, as far as I understand it, are full infomorphs. They don't need their chassis to exist; at any time they can reupload to their network of personalities and select a new mode of interaction with the physical world at will. Honestly, Momo could have just retrieved her old chassis, reuploaded into it, and snapped "There. I don't owe you shit" if she really wanted to make a point. Hell, if and when she well and truly has had it with Marigold, she's fully within rights to break contract, take her expensive chassis that Marigold may still be obligated to make payments on if it happens, and start anew doing whatever. She could even feasibly sell the chassis, which Marigold would STILL have to make payments on, out of an income that I don't know where the fuck it comes from already, Social Security??? and apply for a job as a library AI in Boston, if the library work has given her a taste for it, or upload herself into a Keurig hyperbrewer and make gourmet coffee all day, and upload a free orientation routine that makes making coffee feel better than sex. And she still gets paid for it, of course, because Robot Civil Rights.

I...this drama feels manufactured and silly to me, I guess. It's outta nowhere and it relies on buying into a narrative of "alas poor robot" that I just cannot get, not when we've established that QC's AI population is freer than most humans.

[Squiddlywinx]

...

Whats going on here ? 

Marigold is of low social skills. Are there really still people around who really havent noticed that yet ? 

She'll get better.

There are a couple steps between not knowing how to deal with social situations and being a villain in a Frank Capra flick and Marigold just went beyond being uncertain and shy straight to malevolently self-centered.