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4th - 8th, January 2021

4th to 8th of January, 2021

January 4th to 8th, 2021

Jan 4th - 8th, 2021

4th Jan - 8th Jan, 2021

2021 Jan 4th - Jan 8th

Jan 4th - Jan 8th, 2021

Jan 4 - 8, 2021

other [feel free to type it out]

I miss when it was the comic numbers that were in the parentheses.

Sven, drink more spathe ham.

[Perfectly Reasonable]

...
All this aside, am I the only person who thinks that the model code for May's new chassis is 'XJ-10'?

Probably. I think this is the link you wanted:
https://teenagerobot.fandom.com/wiki/XJ-10

[hedgie]

It can be both isolated and lack privacy. Having someone constantly spying on your thoughts while also denying you all social interaction is entirely within the realm of possibility.

Seems like that was the whole idea behind the idea of the Panopticon.

[Oenone]

Robot Jail does sound cruel and unusual, but how do you rehabilitate AI criminals? Rewrite them? Use human psychology on them?

And as cruel and unusual as Robot Jail might be, I can't find it in me to be sympathetic for May who committed her crime with the intent of becoming a war machine and doing god knows what.

We don’t know anything about May from before her time in jail, not even her name. I don’t think it’s fair to assume she’d do “god knows what” since she’s so far been incredibly honest with people, even if she’s been mean. Why would we assume she’d be a WORSE person before her trauma?

As for what you can do to them: given the incredible capabilities of monitoring software, the perception and personality altering drunk app Millefeulle used, and how May’s shitty chassis impacted her life, I’m sure there’s some combo of embodiment, surveillance, and code that would be a better alternative to an infinitely isolating lack of privacy.

[Is it cold in here?]

Those who whine about jails and "cruel and unusual punishment" I have found 95% of the time have A. been arrested for a crime that they were actually guilty of B. were upset because they got caught and C. did it willingly and knowingly with the penalties known ahead of time.

You are welcome to join the "Prison policies and conditions" thread in DISCUSS which I started.

My involvement with the justice system consists of a speeding ticket in 2019. I was guilty and paid it.

My knowledge of it comes from extensive reading from sources including correctional officers, investigative reporters, former inmates, and academics. The system is broken fundamentally on any standard that involves the common good. My prison pen pal went in determined to better herself. She found two vocational program offerings for 300 prisoners.

[shanejayell]

New strip up.

That, May, and Faye and Bubbles are barely breaking even at this point. Or possibly not breaking even...

[Sorflakne]

That was my first thought.  Could they afford to take on May even at minimum wage?

[Gnabberwocky]

Previous comics have stated that they're making just enough to cover the workspace's rent, but not enough for utilities or the apartment rent. I think hiring an employee for menial tasks would sink them for good.

[Gyrre]

It can be both isolated and lack privacy. Having someone constantly spying on your thoughts while also denying you all social interaction is entirely within the realm of possibility.

Seems like that was the whole idea behind the idea of the Panopticon.

FaceBook replaced DARPA's scrapped LifeLog project.

[TheEvilDog]

If I remember correctly, Sam is bringing in the lion's share of the money that's coming into the business.

I'm going to be frank. I never thought that Faye and Bubbles would really succeed with the shop. It just seemed too niche for the time. Lets just say that a chassis gets damaged, unless its (relatively) ridiculously old or the warranty is incredibly short (unlikely given their cost), it just seems more likely that a store that sold chassis would have their own on-site repair team (as proven when Roko took May in to get assessed). So, why go to Union Robotics when you can just go to the shop you got the chassis from and ask them to fix it. Or possibly replace it. There's just no real market for a repair shop that specialises in after market repair. Its like creating a workshop to restore classic cars, but the only cars available are all last year's registrations.

Unless some miracle, or more appropriately, some deus ex machina happens, I just can't see Faye and Bubbles making a living from the business.

[Mordhaus]

I always figured May was working as a condition of her parole. One of the reasons I figured she was working at a simple gas station, since other more desirable jobs see her as a felon.

[Mordhaus]

Additionally, if they could persuade Sam to do something more permanent like etching the tattoo into the chassis, then Faye and Bubbles could offer a 'removal' service.

[TheEvilDog]

Additionally, if they could persuade Sam to do something more permanent like etching the tattoo into the chassis, then Faye and Bubbles could offer a 'removal' service.

There's already a removal method, its called warm water and a sponge.

The whole point of Sam's artistry is that the AI who come in don't want permanent, they want something temporary, something transient. After all, their bodies don't really mean that much to them compared to a human wanting a tattoo.

[MrNumbers]

There's tonnes of reasons I can think of to need Union Robotics - AIs use their bodies as humans do, I can think of no end of ways they could violate their warranties.

[Is it cold in here?]

I felt the urge to argue with May about calling Bubbles Faye's "girlfriend".

They've said "forever", so fiancee is closer.

Since they've exchanged vows and live together it could be considered a common-law marriage.

[Gyrre]

I felt the urge to argue with May about calling Bubbles Faye's "girlfriend".

They've said "forever", so fiancee is closer.

Since they've exchanged vows and live together it could be considered a common-law marriage.

If memory serves, that additionally requires cohabiting for at least two years. Where are we with that in in-comic time?

I always figured May was working as a condition of her parole. One of the reasons I figured she was working at a simple gas station, since other more desirable jobs see her as a felon.

The ungoing societal punishment which is why America's recidivism rate is so high.

[BenRG]

Okay, I think that we're getting a long-term arc clue or two here.

Faye's resentment towards May and Sam is potentially quite toxic and she's going to have to face up to that at some point. It may be for different reasons but, ultimately, it's about selfish things and things that are only marginally her business (Sam being a local pop culture trend for however long it takes until the Next Big Thing arrives) and May is just trying to be the girl's friend. However, it all links to some of Faye's worse personal characteristics. She can be immature, petty and possessive and these things can cause lots of problems.

The other arc is that I suspect Faye is going to make it her 'project' to help May get fully on her feet. Initially, the motive is selfish ("She'll stop hanging around here") but , in time, she'll genuinely want the girl to escape the trap she got it by being an idiot, something she now deeply regrets.

I felt the urge to argue with May about calling Bubbles Faye's "girlfriend".

They've said "forever", so fiancee is closer.

Since they've exchanged vows and live together it could be considered a common-law marriage.

If memory serves, that additionally requires cohabiting for at least two years. Where are we with that in in-comic time?

Wait, there's a time-limit now? Not just a formal declaration of intent? Since when?

FWIW, Faye and Bubbles have only ever used the term 'girlfriend', so I consider that the right description to use.

[mvdwege]

There's just no real market for a repair shop that specialises in after market repair.

Note that they do custom work as well, like Millefeuille's new buttocks. Which ties in nicely with them also hosting Sam's business.

[jwhouk]

My knowledge of it comes from extensive reading from sources including correctional officers....

Some of them even post in this thread.

[zisraelsen]

There's just no real market for a repair shop that specialises in after market repair. Its like creating a workshop to restore classic cars, but the only cars available are all last year's registrations.

Theres a market for aftermarket repair for automobiles in real life. A lot of shops specialize in a single type of repair, like an auto body shop or an a/c shop, or a single type of vehicle, for example theres a mechanic near me that specializes in European import repair (Mercedes, BMW, etc.) Hell, a shop like Subieworks specializes in repair and modification for a single brand of car, and I'd sooner go to them for something like a transmission rebuild than the dealer, because the dealer shop is going to tell me that my car has been out of warranty for ten years and then tell me they cant rebuild the thing, only replace it, and it'll cost me $5000 instead of $1500.

That was more than I needed to type; I guess my point is that most people can't afford to always have a car with a warranty and there's no reason to assume AI chassis would be different. That's all ignoring the modification scene, the desire for which would be even higher if we're talking about people's physical bodies rather than cars. There's also the cases of draconian warranty terms, like Roko turning off Whoopsieguard (tm) voiding her warranty.

[mattcoz]

I mean, she could do that to Faye's too.

I figure it would be more like a watermelon than a soda can.

[Gnabberwocky]

Thank you very much for the permanent feeling of discomfort, as well as the new recurring nightmare. How can I thank you enough?

[Mr_Rose]

Thank you very much for the permanent feeling of discomfort, as well as the new recurring nightmare. How can I thank you enough?

Take them to see Scanners in the cinema, with remastered digital surround sound?

[sitnspin]

(click to show/hide)

[zisraelsen]

Thank you for spoilering that. I clicked it anyway and then regretted it, but

[sitnspin]

"Scanners" is awesome schlock 80 horror. Love me some Cronenberg.

[Mr_Rose]

I love practical FX. You just don’t get the same (literally) visceral feel with CGI meat.

[Wingy]

Faye's resentment towards May and Sam is potentially quite toxic and she's going to have to face up to that at some point. It may be for different reasons but, ultimately, it's about selfish things and things that are only marginally her business (Sam being a local pop culture trend for however long it takes until the Next Big Thing arrives) and May is just trying to be the girl's friend. However, it all links to some of Faye's worse personal characteristics. She can be immature, petty and possessive and these things can cause lots of problems.

I expect Bubbles will eventually figure out that Faye's attitude is driving away customers.  Then there will be "The Talk".

[Oenone]

God, how many “The Talk” moments will Faye have? It’s been like 2 so far.

[stayctee]

Ah yes.

US americans and dates.

I've literally seen places in which people used both M/D/Y and D/M/Y. Good luck finding out what date was actually meant if D <= 12.

I dont understand it. Its so easy. Just use YYYY-MM-DD (the international format) and you'll be all set. I use that all the time.

Canada seems to have the worst of both worlds, where they use both MM/DD/YYYY and DD/MM/YYYY at the same time.

We also use Imperial and Metric. And yeah, it is confusing.