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bell pepper, pimento

banana pepper, cubanelle

guajillo pepper, jalapeño

malgueta, cayenne (tabasco range)

habanero, Scotch bonnet

red savina, chocolate habanero

bhut jolokia (ghost pepper)

Carolina reaper

Dragon's breath

Pepper X

space ham

[jwhouk]

Oy. This is starting to look like a OotS forum thread. (What is the damage of a thrown pineapple?)

[TheEvilDog]

Assuming the pineapple weighs 1kg and assuming the average person throws an object at between 50 to 60 miles per hour. Let's say 50 miles per hour and convert that to SI, so about 22.3 meters per second squared

Force = mass by acceleration.

The pineapple hits with a force of 22.3 Newtons!

[brasca]

It’s not a matter of how durable Bubbles is, but the legality of setting off a flare in a crowded bar. 

[OldGoat]

I do believe this is the first confirmation we have that the harpoon survived the fire!  Huzzah!

Modern flexible police body armor can stop a large handgun bullet.  Recall that the purpose of rifling is to make the projectile spin about its axis of roll, thereby stabilizing it in flight.  That spin allows the Kevlar fibres in the armor to soak up the bullet's kinetic energy such that its forward motion ceases.  Flexible body armor may be able to stop a .500 bullet, but a common ice pick will pass right through unless a shock plate of a solid material is incorporated in the vest's design.

Jeph is very aware of how this works.

Bubbles is very much aware that she's in the wrong and that Brun is acting with lawful authority. 

"At this range I am likely to sustain at least some level of damage.  Even if I successfully disarm the employee, I will have committed a criminal act and will likely face prosecution.  I am annoyed with myself for placing myself in this awkward position.  Further, her weapon a historically significant artifact truly worthy of preservation."  (Bubbs does think fast.)

[Jakk Frost]

Happy 4000! 

And in point of fact, three more issues and it will be exactly 1000 issues since Bubbles made her first appearance as well!

[Case]

Bubbles is very much aware that she's in the wrong and that Brun is acting with lawful authority. 

lawful authority noun agency of the law, authorized agent of the law, authorized officer, established authority, legitimate member of law enforcement, member of a law enforcement agency, member of the police force, officer sanctioned by law, officer with credentials, police, proper authority, rightful authority, sanctioned authority, security, valid member of law enforcement

https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/lawful+authority

?

Also: American bartenders have the right to stab customers about to do stupid & dangerous shit?

[TheEvilDog]

Probably more right than anyone has to light a flare in an enclosed space where flammable liquids are kept.

Plot twist - Bubbles is actually a secret pyromaniac.

[Case]

I don't know whether Bubbles intended to light the flare inside the bar - she's standing next to the exit in the last panel.

[Is it cold in here?]

"Lawful" can mean "legal". Brun's an agent of the property owner who has been granted by law the privilege of not allowing incendiary devices.

[sitnspin]

One can be legally authorised to perform an action without being a legal authority.

[Thrillho]

Happy 4000! 

And in point of fact, three more issues and it will be exactly 1000 issues since Bubbles made her first appearance as well!

WHAT EVEN IS TIME?

I still feel like Tai is new for fuck's sake.

[OldGoat]

Also: American bartenders have the right to stab customers about to do stupid & dangerous shit?

Brun didn't stab Bubbles.  She did arm herself with a potentially lethal weapon, but Bubbles has produced a lethal incendiary device.   Her proximity to the exit is immaterial, she has produced the potential weapon - Brun is under no obligation to further assess her intentions.  She is acting to enforce her employer's policies and protect the property and the safety of the establishment's other patrons.  Thus, Brun's response is reasonable.  Had Bubbles moved to trigger that device, Brun would have been using reasonable force to prevent her from doing so by going all Queequeg on her.

Bubbles is no fool and knows she fucked up*.  She will be reevaluating her protocols with regard to deployment of signal flares.


*She's only human.  Well, more human than not.

[Milayna]

Surprised no one's mentioned that Brun, in particular, would be extra wary of potential fire hazards. She probably wouldn't have reacted quite so strongly prior to nearly getting burned to death in a bar, what, a few months ago?

[Case]

Also: American bartenders have the right to stab customers about to do stupid & dangerous shit?

Brun didn't stab Bubbles.

So ... you're saying that American bartenders have the right to threaten stabbing customers about to do stupid & dangerous shit, but not the right to actually follow through? That seems impractical. To the point of being stupid and dangerous, truth be told.

On a side-note: Threatening someone with a weapon can be an offence where I live. Is that different in the US?

She did arm herself with a potentially lethal weapon, but Bubbles has produced a lethal incendiary device.   

So what you're saying that Bubbles would be 'acting with lawful authority' if she threatened Brun with the 'lethal' pyrotechnical device, in order to defend herself from being harpooned?

How does this work in practise, actually? Do their rights to threaten each other cancel out? Add up? Produce nice interference patterns?

Are we still debating actual laws here, or have we moved into the realm of 'gut feelings about what should be legal'?

Brun is under no obligation to further assess her intentions.

Is that 'Brun is under no obligation to further assess her intentions in order to convince me, OldGoat' or 'Brun is under no legal obligation to further assess her intentions'?

I hope you understand that that the two aren't necessarily the same?

[shanejayell]

.... This whole discussion has me going 'what' a bit.

 

[OldGoat]

I speak from the realm of reality, and I suspect the laws are very similar in Europe and elsewhere.   While harpoons are not common, there's been more that one proprietor whack the bar with a billy club to get a rowdy's attention.  The clear message is, "You're next."

[Is it cold in here?]

Anglo-US self-defense law tries to distinguish between good guys and bad guys. Bubbles would have a harder time arguing self defense having started off with an announced intention to perform an illegal (I hope) act.

For example, the founder of Prison Legal News shot someone who was trying to kill him. Since he was committing an armed robbery against that person when it happened, a long and unpleasant prison sentence followed.

A harpoon may not be justified by any law other than The Law of Funny.

[Cornelius]

I speak from the realm of reality, and I suspect the laws are very similar in Europe and elsewhere.   While harpoons are not common, there's been more that one proprietor whack the bar with a billy club to get a rowdy's attention.  The clear message is, "You're next."

At which point over here anyone could call the police on said bartender for possession n and threats with a forbidden weapon. Billy clubs have been forbidden explicitly, except for law enforcement. Likewise any item used to threaten someone ipso facto de jure is considered illegal.
As for possession and use of flares, in our nook of the world there is no legal civilian use for them on land. You can buy them, and are obliged to have them on you on open water - even if you're just a surfer, though that's about to change in a month or two. Other than that, unless you're coming or going, you're not supposed to have any on you, and can get in t trouble, though it'll be limited to confiscation and a fine. People did use them at New year's, when they were near expiring, but as of this year, any fireworks need to have a permit before hand.

[Timemaster]

A harpoon may not be justified by any law other than The Law of Funny.

The wisest words I‘ve read in the discussion on this topic so far. 

Happy 4000th birthday to your strip, Jeph.
It‘s an honor and a pleasure to follow the story of your characters. Keep up the good work.

TM

[Gyrre]

Intent is important in U.S. law.

That's why conspiracy is a crime (conspiracy to commit fraud/arson/murder/treason/etc).

[sitnspin]

Intent is important in U.S. law.

That's why conspiracy is a crime (conspiracy to commit fraud/arson/murder/treason/etc).

Also, attempted murder. Being unsuccessful at committing a crime is still a crime.

[traroth]

Brun threatening Bubbles with a harpoon... the diversion worked out fine, eventually. And without actually lighting the flare.

[Cornelius]

Except of course, that Faye did say goodbye to her friends, and didn't slip away under cover of a diversion.