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Angus

Padma

Sarah

Vicky

Delilah

The "Transvestite" AnthroPC (I'm not sure if that character was ever named)

Lt Abbie Potter

Station

[chaospersonified]

And so, the military had its first call over collapsible cardigans. So long as Emily continues her particular brand of being, the chances are low it will be the last.

[RyanW1019]

I mean, they may have already looked into the military potential of theoretical knitting: http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1267

Actually, Hanners even mentions 2 panels later that the scarf she knitted was woven from unique fibers, which had the softness and heat retention of angora, and the strength and density of kevlar. So the knitting/military connections may already be there. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a whole subcommittee investigating possible applications for unique fabric materials and weaving techniques. I can just see it now: 50% young scientists looking to push the bounds of theoretical knitting, 50% ancient grannies with 50 years knitting experience.

[TheCollector]

.. Is anyone else worried that thing is gonna turn out like the Tribbles.

[chaospersonified]

Huh, second Homestar Runner reference in two weeks.

I wonder if the government considered confiscating *this* Emily Project?

Man, I GOT to check that out one of these days. Everyone I follow, or read, or watch on youtube includes more than a few references that I do not get. I wanna be included in the group!

[chaospersonified]

.. Is anyone else worried that thing is gonna turn out like the Tribbles.

Worried?

I'm HOPING it has similar troubles to those with tribbles! Imagine the hilarity!

[Mad Cat]

At least this one doesn't summon an Eldritch horror when activated.

Or does it? Could it be the Cardigan of Cthuluh?

[Mad Cat]

I mean, they may have already looked into the military potential of theoretical knitting: http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1267

Actually, Hanners even mentions 2 panels later that the scarf she knitted was woven from unique fibers, which had the softness and heat retention of angora, and the strength and density of kevlar. So the knitting/military connections may already be there. Wouldn't be surprised if there's a whole subcommittee investigating possible applications for unique fabric materials and weaving techniques. I can just see it now: 50% young scientists looking to push the bounds of theoretical knitting, 50% ancient grannies with 50 years knitting experience.

Imagine an invisibility cloak the size of an M1A2 Abrams.

[Kugai]

This is why the NSA, CIA and Military Intelligence are running a joint watch operation on Emily

[TheCollector]

.. Is anyone else worried that thing is gonna turn out like the Tribbles.

Worried?

I'm HOPING it has similar troubles to those with tribbles! Imagine the hilarity!

Ah! But you're forgetting, they can't vent the tribbles into space if your on a planet.

Everyone will be dead in a week and the planet will be a giant furry puff ball.

[TheEvilDog]

.. Is anyone else worried that thing is gonna turn out like the Tribbles.

Worried?

I'm HOPING it has similar troubles to those with tribbles! Imagine the hilarity!

I call going back in time and throwing dead tribbles at William Shatner!

[chaospersonified]

.. Is anyone else worried that thing is gonna turn out like the Tribbles.

Worried?

I'm HOPING it has similar troubles to those with tribbles! Imagine the hilarity!

Ah! But you're forgetting, they can't vent the tribbles into space if your on a planet.

Everyone will be dead in a week and the planet will be a giant furry puff ball.

I hate people, myself included. There's digital evidence of our best selves; I'm cool with that being the only evidence.

[alphabetagammadonut]

I think Bubbles is realising that being a combat droid makes her maybe the third most dangerous individual in the coffee shop.

[TheCollector]

I think Bubbles is realising that being a combat droid makes her maybe the third most dangerous individual in the coffee shop.

Is the sweater cube one of those three? Cause it scares the hell out of me.

[BenRG]

I'm increasing sure that coding is a borderline-savant talent for Emily. In normal interaction, she hovers above 'barely functional'. Put her in charge of computer-controlled machinery and she's a miracle worker!

What's next? Day wear for Veronica that, when activated, turns into 'work wear'? In the Marvel universe, 'unstable molecules' have long been the explanation for how super-suits do what they do. Emily seems on the verge of making it a reality!

[oeoek]

But...But...
*Oeoek stares at his wardrobe*
'Collapsible Cardigan'... Isn't that just folding?
*oeoek goes out and buries his brain in a deep hole*

[wdfarmer]

Look at my sweater / My sweater's amazing
Tug on its corner, and then you'll feel warmer
Stretch it over a frame /  It turns into a plane
And then it turns back again / When you tug on its winky

[TinPenguin]

At least Bubbles won't need to worry about the cardigan chopping off her hair.

[chaospersonified]

Look at my sweater / My sweater's amazing
Tug on its corner, and then you'll feel warmer
Stretch it over a frame /  It turns into a plane
And then it turns back again / When you tug on its winky

I know the reference, and I respond with my own:

If you want to destroy my sweater,
Pull this thread as I walk away

it won't actually do anything
it's what we call the placebo effect

[improvnerd]

In normal interaction, she hovers above 'barely functional'.

I don't see that. She seems quite happy and quite functional. Just not normal. Like many occupants of the QCniverse.

[BenRG]

In normal interaction, she hovers above 'barely functional'.

I don't see that. She seems quite happy and quite functional. Just not normal. Like many occupants of the QCniverse.

That's not how I read her. Yes, she's capable of quite complex communication but she just doesn't seem to have any instinct for social interaction. I mean, read her apology in panel 2. Doesn't that read like something she's rehearsed or even been told by her parents or maybe her therapist? She may agree with the general spirit of the words but, from the way she's expressing herself, she doesn't come across as fully understanding it.

What does she do then? Like a six-year-old child presenting a flower to seal the apology, she gives Bubbles a idiosyncratic gift!

I'm not talking Emily down. She's a perfectly nice, sweet and good-hearted young woman. All I'm saying is that, on a certain level, she'll always have this childlike aspect in which she fails to consider or even fully understand the social consequences of her whims.

[neurocase]

I'm not talking Emily down. She's a perfectly nice, sweet and good-hearted young woman. All I'm saying is that, on a certain level, she'll always have this childlike aspect in which she fails to consider or even fully understand the social consequences of her whims.

I dunno; I think her rant with Clinton showed that there's a lot of depth and self-awareness there. She's maybe a bit off-beat, but it's not because of some disorder; it's who she is. She knows it, she owns it, and she refuses to apologize to society for it. Between that and her demonstrated intelligence, Emily's kind of just the "eccentric genius" type, which I think is badass.

[Neko_Ali]

I do believe you are using the words 'normal' and 'common' as the same thing, when they are not. Emily doesn't fit within the bounds people rope each other and ourselves into. She never lost that grand wonder that kids tend to have naturally. In short, she hasn't let the world beat her down, and for that she is considered 'weird'. The problem isn't with her I would say. It's how people treat each other.

[Jakk Frost]

I dunno; I think her rant with Clinton showed that there's a lot of depth and self-awareness there. She's maybe a bit off-beat, but it's not because of some disorder; it's who she is. She knows it, she owns it, and she refuses to apologize to society for it. Between that and her demonstrated intelligence, Emily's kind of just the "eccentric genius" type, which I think is badass.

That should be a poll, "Would you rather be eccentric or acceptable?"

[Lubricus]

Why are those two mutually exclusive? I want to be eccentric AND acceptable!

[Method of Madness]

Ecceptable?

[Zebediah]

So Emily can do that...

... and she's working as a barista? 

[BenRG]

Hannelore has contacts that would ensure that she never has to work a day in her life. Heck, before she started at CoD, she'd never worked before. She's doing it because she likes it and because she finds the continual close proximity and interaction with people therapeutic.

I'm pretty sure that Emily's reasons for working at CoD are a bit more complex but essentially similar. She likes working around lots of people. However, I also think that she doesn't realise just how incredibly skilled and potentially valuable a programmer she is. The idea that certain three-letter government agencies might literally kill to have exclusive access to her would likely shock her to the core!

[Method of Madness]

Hannelore worked, just never outside of her apartment. Remember her counting business?

[TheEvilDog]

People are amazed that Emily has all these computer and engineering skills and they're surprised that she's working in a coffee shop?
This is the same girl who thought it was a good idea to do a running jump on a combat AI with a squeaky hammer and knocked herself out.

Its Emily being Emily. She knows what she's doing. Even if the rest of us have no clue.

[Morituri]

I think Emily and Dr. Ellicott-Chatham are kindred spirits.  Honestly, I can see her being one of the top contributors on Station, but even more than that I can see her and Dr. Ellicott-Chatham truly and deeply understanding each other in ways that nobody else there does. 

No shipping, please; he's old enough to be her dad and then some.  But a mentor/protoge relationship would be absolutely grand for them (and quite possibly terrifying for the rest of the human race). 

[Neko_Ali]

She didn't apply for the job. She was just there one day and Dora assigned her hours, forgetting for a moment she wasn't actually employed by her. Everybody has pretty much just gone with it...

[Nepiophage]

Theoretical knitting is a thing --
http://www.toroidalsnark.net/mathknit.html

[oeoek]

Hmmm, looking at recent posts here I can see a future, and it looks good.
Bubbles and Faye shake off Corpse Witch and start am AI rep&mod shop. Backed by Hanners/stations money. Hanners and Emily might decide to channel some of their brainpower into the more serious AI developments. Momo might be a great consultant on AI-moral matters.

Time to move up? Perhaps even LEO way up? Does the space station have more than just a large hull section where the brainiacs can unwind? Something more homely perhaps? Like a nice cosy coffee shop? With fresh roasted coffee and baked goods? Time for the entire cast to move up perhaps?

Nah, doubt it. What would life be without beer sledding

[Perfectly Reasonable]

I like the way you think. Can I subscribe to your newsletter?

---

Also, Faye changes Dora's 'robot' to 'AI' when she shouts to Bubbles. (We already know that May dislikes the word.) Perhaps working around them on a daily basis has made Faye more sensitive to their views?
Faye ... sensitive? What?

---

Also Raven-savant Emily is being dynamically buzzword creative.

[Jakk Frost]

I think Emily and Dr. Ellicott-Chatham are kindred spirits.  Honestly, I can see her being one of the top contributors on Station, but even more than that I can see her and Dr. Ellicott-Chatham truly and deeply understanding each other in ways that nobody else there does. 

No shipping, please; he's old enough to be her dad and then some.  But a mentor/protoge relationship would be absolutely grand for them (and quite possibly terrifying for the rest of the human race).

Not that I would ship it, but what's wrong with shipping it?  You know there's a term for that kind of thing because it's not unheard of, right?  It's called a May-December relationship.

[Jakk Frost]

Why are those two mutually exclusive? I want to be eccentric AND acceptable!

Well with the kind of people who read QC, I didn't think I'd have to spell it out - in fact I thought if I spelled it out people might think I was treating them as if they were stupid.  By acceptable, I meant "conforming to the societal concept of "normal"". 

"Eccentric or acceptable" was just catchier.

[TinPenguin]

You know there's a term for that kind of thing because it's not unheard of, right?  It's called a May-December relationship.

I know somebody who's after a May-Dismemberer relationship...

[jheartney]

What's next? Day wear for Veronica that, when activated, turns into 'work wear'? In the Marvel universe, 'unstable molecules' have long been the explanation for how super-suits do what they do. Emily seems on the verge of making it a reality!

Over on the other comic, Alice quick-changed her overalls to armor with no explanation. Perhaps we're seeing how such things were first invented.

[TheCollector]

I'm increasing sure that coding is a borderline-savant talent for Emily. In normal interaction, she hovers above 'barely functional'. Put her in charge of computer-controlled machinery and she's a miracle worker!

What's next? Day wear for Veronica that, when activated, turns into 'work wear'? In the Marvel universe, 'unstable molecules' have long been the explanation for how super-suits do what they do. Emily seems on the verge of making it a reality!

Azuma Particles! :3

[Truec]

Also, Faye changes Dora's 'robot' to 'AI' when she shouts to Bubbles. (We already know that May dislikes the word.) Perhaps working around them on a daily basis has made Faye more sensitive to their views?

We've never seen that May dislikes being called a robot, and she's used it as a descriptor several times.  The only time she ever mentioned it was in a conversation with Dale in which she was comparing QC-style advanced AI androids to real-life 'can barely walk over and pick up a box' robots vis a vis the latter being capable of running a convenience store.

[Deadcoder]

I want Emily to take the basic ideas of the Sweater Cube, and use it to make that awesome armor from the Star Trek Voyager finale. Or Alice's armor.

Even better: combine the technology with the rabbit fur Hanners' father's people invented, and use it to make Ikea furniture that unpacks and assembles itself.

[TheEvilDog]

Also, Faye changes Dora's 'robot' to 'AI' when she shouts to Bubbles. (We already know that May dislikes the word.) Perhaps working around them on a daily basis has made Faye more sensitive to their views?

We've never seen that May dislikes being called a robot, and she's used it as a descriptor several times.  The only time she ever mentioned it was in a conversation with Dale in which she was comparing QC-style advanced AI androids to real-life 'can barely walk over and pick up a box' robots vis a vis the latter being capable of running a convenience store.

Perhaps a case of R-word privileges?

[Akima]

I'd be a bit worried about wearing that cardigan, because:

1) What if it reverts to cube while I'm wearing it?

2) If I catch it on a nail, will it unravel the fabric of reality?

[Jakk Frost]

I want Emily to take the basic ideas of the Sweater Cube, and use it to make that awesome armor from the Star Trek Voyager finale. Or Alice's armor.

But wait, the Borg lived in cubes... what if Emily's sweater cube programming represents the birth of the Borg?!

[Zebediah]

But then the Borg would be very different. "We are the Borg. We will bonk you with a rubber mallet. Resistance is futile."

[BenRG]

My God, can you imagine what it would be like to go up against a Unimatrix that has Emily as its guiding mind?

[DSL]

I'd be a bit worried about wearing that cardigan, because:

1) What if it reverts to cube while I'm wearing it?

2) If I catch it on a nail, will it unravel the fabric of reality?

Heinlein drafted that story, "... and she knitted a crooked sweater," but he decided the tesseract would work better for story purposes as a house.

[JimC]

WD-40 IS NOT A LUBRICANT.  It is a hygroscopic antioxidant.

It is? In my long distant industrial chemistry days I always thought of it as a dewatering agent - the very opposite to hygroscopic.  Not really what I would describe as an antioxidant either. Sure it leaves a corrosion inhibiting film, but that's not really the same thing. And while its certainly not formulated as a high performance lubricant, it has a moderate lubrication capability.

(not at all my idea of a suitable first post. Hey Ho. Sorry)

[chaospersonified]

WD-40 IS NOT A LUBRICANT.  It is a hygroscopic antioxidant.

It is? In my long distant industrial chemistry days I always thought of it as a dewatering agent - the very opposite to hygroscopic.  Not really what I would describe as an antioxidant either. Sure it leaves a corrosion inhibiting film, but that's not really the same thing. And while its certainly not formulated as a high performance lubricant, it has a moderate lubrication capability.

(not at all my idea of a suitable first post. Hey Ho. Sorry)

I mean, welcome, techno-babble adept new person, I have almost* no idea what you said here, but I appreciate techno-babble, and thereby love the heck out of this comment.

*I mean almost. I know the words you used. Not so familiar with the context.

[Is it cold in here?]

Welcome, informed new person!