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[Farideh]

A new week, a new WCDT. No poll, sorry.

[Farideh]

New comic.

Mar bear is rolling in it! Good thing she's talking to Hanners about budgeting, rather than spending it all on anime (though would that really be such a bad thing?)

[sitnspin]

As a general rule, a streaming career is short and unstable. She'd be smart to save as much as she can while it lasts.

[zioninavision]

I wasn't sure whether this would ever actually be included somewhere in the story     A very welcome surprise!  Maybe she will help Faye and Bubbles somehow, or, encourage Winslow or May to become a v tuber as well!  the possibilities really are endless!

[Farideh]

As a general rule, a streaming career is short and unstable. She'd be smart to save as much as she can while it lasts.

True. Time to do some investing.

[Gus_Smedstad]

Yeah, money management's a pretty important skill. It's always possible to squander any amount of money if you're not careful.

Also, it's not really clear what a "LOT a lot" is. Saving my first $20k was a big deal, but it sure wasn't going to set me up for life.

[DaiJB]

Yay Hanners! And Mar-bear!

Wow - This is Hannelore, daughter of billionaires, saying "That is a lot."  - if anyone knows the definition of "a lot", it's Hanners. 

(I imagine an obvious first concern is making sure the tax-man is happy  )

[Farideh]

Then again, Hannelore isn't blind to the world around her. She knows that she's a billionaire, and she knows what constitutes as 'a lot' for people with a 'normal' income.

[shanejayell]

Even if Mari's a HUGE streamer, would Hanners really be in awe of the money? Considering her background?

[DaiJB]

"time to buy a speedboat"
Marigold can hang out with Steve 

[sitnspin]

Even if Mari's a HUGE streamer, would Hanners really be in awe of the money? Considering her background?

Like Farideh said, Hanners can recognise what is a lot of money to average people, even if she is unfathomably wealthy herself. It's not the amount per say that is notable, it is the amount in this context.

[MrNumbers]

Okay but how

[flondrix]

Then again, Hannelore isn't blind to the world around her. She knows that she's a billionaire, and she knows what constitutes as 'a lot' for people with a 'normal' income.

She's been on that horizon-expanding trip around the world, brushing yaks, cleaning latrines and tidying up Sealab 2020.  Finally, what Dora is paying her should give her some idea of what "normal people" earn in Northampton, if there are any "normal people" in Northampton.

[Gyrre]

Then again, Hannelore isn't blind to the world around her. She knows that she's a billionaire, and she knows what constitutes as 'a lot' for people with a 'normal' income.

She's been on that horizon-expanding trip around the world, brushing yaks, cleaning latrines and tidying up Sealab 2020.  Finally, what Dora is paying her should give her some idea of what "normal people" earn in Northampton, if there are any "normal people" in Northampton.

'Normal' is both a statistical improbability and a relative term.

I wasn't sure whether this would ever actually be included somewhere in the story     A very welcome surprise!  Maybe she will help Faye and Bubbles somehow, or, encourage Winslow or May to become a v tuber as well!  the possibilities really are endless!

She could promote Union Robotics onstream. Word of mouth is one hell of a thing, especially for small businesses.

[flondrix]

'Normal' is both a statistical improbability and a relative term.

It's also a unit vector perpendicular to a surface.

Emily might point that out if she were around, and re-enforce my point about there not being any normal people in Northampton.

[Mr_Rose]

Yeah, everyone leans at least a little, one way or the other. The trouble is the ones that end up leaning so far they fall on their face then curse the earth for attacking them…

[Perfectly Reasonable]

OK Farideh, there's your next poll.
Who is the most normal person in Northampton?

I nominate owner-of-Rupert.

[flondrix]

OK Farideh, there's your next poll.
Who is the most normal person in Northampton?

I nominate owner-of-Rupert.

Remind me...who is Rupert?

BTW, I binge-read a bunch of old QCs and Hannelore was referring to Tai and Dora when she said "We're working on that technology!"  (In reference to cute babies.)

Do we have a pet "ship" name for them?  If not, it has to be Tora.

Tora Tora Tora!

[Gnabberwocky]

Remind me...who is Rupert?

Rupert was the big dog who barked at Millefieulle Millefueille Millefeiulle Mille and Brun on their walk in the park.

[Farideh]

OK Farideh, there's your next poll.
Who is the most normal person in Northampton?

I nominate owner-of-Rupert.

Thanks, I'll remember this for next time


Also: define 'normal'.

[SpanielBear]

OK Farideh, there's your next poll.
Who is the most normal person in Northampton?

I nominate owner-of-Rupert.

Thanks, I'll remember this for next time


Also: define 'normal'.

The standard by which everyone else is defined- grumpier than-, more childish than-, snarkier than-, less likely to commit crimes than-. The perfectly grey and neutral figure, that by dint of the grinding of more stand-out characters against their rough edges has become eroded into a smooth, frictionless shape in the narrative. Someone unable to influence or inspire the plot because conflict simply slides off the surfaces of their formless character.

By which I mean it’s Marten. Obviously. 

[Farideh]

New comic.

Marigold is me. I don't want a lot of money, I want enough money (to pay for necessities and some fun stuff).

[Gnabberwocky]

It's a little inconvenient that Marigold's streaming career took off now, rather than a few weeks back, because she maybe could have paid for a new body for May. As it is, I wonder where that money will end up. Union Robotics? The AI rights foundation? New suspension for Greg the dump truck?

[starkruzr]

as someone who has had to struggle with money before I've never understood this attitude. you can burn through a LOT of fucking cash doing incredibly sensible, non-"influencer" things like buying a home, putting money toward retirement, putting more money toward a theoretical children's college fund, taking care of friends' and families' debts, etc.

luckily it seems like Hannelore is going to handle Marigold's anxiety about all this expertly.

[Farideh]

From the looks of it, before she became a streaming sensation, Marigold had an income that was sufficient for her lifestyle. Now she has way more than she needs, and she never considered what she would do with an unexpected windfall. Putting it in a savings account until she figures that out is a good plan.

[Shjade]

OK Farideh, there's your next poll.
Who is the most normal person in Northampton?

I nominate owner-of-Rupert.

There are a lot of normal people, I imagine. Most people are normal; that's what the word suggests, after all.

Of the main cast, though?

...

Probably Tai? I'm gonna say Tai.

[questionablydiscontent]

It's a little inconvenient that Marigold's streaming career took off now, rather than a few weeks back, because she maybe could have paid for a new body for May. As it is, I wonder where that money will end up. Union Robotics? The AI rights foundation? New suspension for Greg the dump truck?

And if it had happened back then, Sven wouldn't have donated to May's chassis... the tiiiimiiiing

[awkwardness]

It's a little inconvenient that Marigold's streaming career took off now, rather than a few weeks back, because she maybe could have paid for a new body for May. As it is, I wonder where that money will end up. Union Robotics? The AI rights foundation? New suspension for Greg the dump truck?

...not really. It might actually be why she's in turmoil: she had money and could do something with it but didn't want to showoff to people and was concerned about hurting her relationships with her friends.

Seriously, this is a legitimate issue: she didn't want to offend her friends by spending money while they are either struggling to get work or who were OK but not well-off. She went to Hanners who is the one person in the cast who has money, knows how to restrain herself, and isn't afraid to splurge when she needs to splurge

[awkwardness]

I wonder if that's a jab at guys like the Angry Video Game Nerd who did just that: made a lot of money from his playing and reviewing old videogames.

[Gyrre]

Remind me...who is Rupert?

Rupert was the big dog who barked at Millefieulle Millefueille Millefeiulle Mille and Brun on their walk in the park.

No worries on the spelling. I only ever get it right because I cheat by way of copy-pasting from Wikipedia after it corrects my spelling.
I had forgotten Millefeuille meant 'thousand sheets'.

[flondrix]

There are a lot of normal people, I imagine. Most people are normal; that's what the word suggests, after all.

There are many, many normal people.  Just not in Northampton: https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3887

Of the main cast, though?

...

Probably Tai? I'm gonna say Tai.

Someone with no friends, only exes and f---buddies, who gets stoned off her gourd at work on a regular basis?  That sounds Northampton, not normal.

BTW, I used to know how to insert a link such that the visible text was something pithy rather than the HTML.  Now I can't figure out how to do that.  How is it done again?
Alternatively, is there a way to insert an image from my disk instead of from a URL?  I had clipped just the last panel from the comic I cited above, and was going to include that in my reply, but I couldn't find a way to shove an actual image into the image tag, only a URL, and inserting the whole comic seemed a bit much.

[Gus_Smedstad]

From the discussion, “a LOT a lot” isn’t enough to retire on. It’s not PewDiePie money. “Put some towards savings” means they’re thinking of it in terms of continuing income, not a lump sum to live on.

Let’s say you suddenly made $100k from a month of streaming. $100k a month means $1.2 million a year, which is enough to live a life of moderate luxury, but $100k by itself isn’t going to set you up for life, and you definitely should save most of it.

In contrast, $10 million is won-the-lottery money. Sensibly invested, that’s enough to live on very comfortably for the rest of your life. The conversation in today’s strip would be completely different.

If we’re talking $100k, Marigold’s reaction is a bit irrational. There are, as starkruzr said, a lot of basic expenses that $100k won’t begin to cover. You don’t start fretting over Sonic The Hedgehog swimming pools until you’ve blown way past enough money to buy a house.

Yet, it’s kind of believable. If you’ve been scraping by, it’s easy to see $100k as infinite money. It’s a lot of money for now even if it isn’t a lot of money for the rest of your life.

[Gus_Smedstad]

BTW, I used to know how to insert a link such that the visible text was something pithy rather than the HTML.  Now I can't figure out how to do that.  How is it done again?

You use BBCode. The exact format is [ URL= target url ] text to display [ / url ]. With the spaces removed.

You can’t just insert an image from your disk, since that would mean this board would have to store it. Rather, you upload your image to an image hosting site, like Imgur, and then link to that.

[flondrix]

BTW, I used to know how to insert a link such that the visible text was something pithy rather than the HTML.  Now I can't figure out how to do that.  How is it done again?

You use BBCode. The exact format is [ URL= target url ] text to display [ / url ]. With the spaces removed.

You can’t just insert an image from your disk, since that would mean this board would have to store it. Rather, you upload your image to an image hosting site, like Imgur, and then link to that.

Thank you.  Do I put quotes around the target url?  Some sites do it that way.  And your latter statement explains why, when I look at old threads, they are full of references to images that no longer exist.

I do have a Flickr account, but supposedly the rules of that site are that it is for photos you have taken yourself, not edits of someone else's artwork.

Anyway, when I was binge re-reading, I came across a comic where Pintsize says something prophetic to Faye, referring to Angus:  "Leave him for a robot!  A GIRL robot!"  Bubbles won't appear for another 741 comics.  I'm not sure what that comes out to in real world time, but I suspect that Jeph had something in mind.

(And it looks like quotes around the target URL are not necessary.)

[pwhodges]

BTW, I used to know how to insert a link such that the visible text was something pithy rather than the HTML.  Now I can't figure out how to do that.  How is it done again?

[url=<put url here>]<put text here>[/url]
Do not put quotes round the url - in this forum software that breaks things.

Alternatively, is there a way to insert an image from my disk instead of from a URL?

Sorry, no.  We do not have any disk-space budget to allow uploading of images to the forum.

[dutchrvl]

I see a lot of replies here to the extent of "Hanners has a shit-ton of money", but has it ever actually been established taht Hanners herself has that much money?

I've read all of QC a few times now, and granted it has been quite a while I did a complete read-through, but I don't recall the above being established. Yes she has very, very wealthy parents, but we should all know that that doesn't automatically mean Hanners has a lot of money herself.

She did very early on comment on having more than sufficient to live on, but if I recall correctly that was more because she was living very simply with minimal furniture and saved most of what she made from counting things. EVen though she got WInslow a chassis and went on a long trip, I don't think it's enough to assume she is filthy rich herself.

Unless I forgot that fact being established somewhere, in which case I have wasted 5 minutes writing a pointless post  

[Mr_Rose]

Yeah, it really hasn’t. I mean, she is the heir to two mega wealthy individuals and probably has about zero chance of ever becoming destitute, but she always gave the impression of deliberately not living off her parents’ largesse.

[dutchrvl]

Right. Sure, she probably has access to wealth if she would ever desire it (through her father at least), but so far it has mostly been implied that she hasn't done so yet.

[SeaWoodStage]

When Hanners said "That ...is a lot" I sort of assumed she meant by normal standards. I was thinking maybe Marigold was showing her a figure between 200k - 400k. Like - a huge amount, but not actually overwhelming? If I were Marigold's friend, I'd advise her to just buy a flat/apartment.

[flondrix]

He job of "counting things" was actually more like "forensic accounting", and I suspect that if Hanners had turned her idiot-savant type skills to investing she could have made bank.  On failing banks.  Because she, like, would know which banks were going to fail.  And how to invest in that.

Do we know approximately when QC history diverged from ours?  Have there been any references to any financial crises that match up to real ones, or any real world presidents?  I am so unhip I do not know which of the bands and artists Marten, Dora, and Tai talk about are real.  Bubbles has mentioned the Beatles, at least.  They haven't had a COVID-19 outbreak and Donald Trump has never been mentioned that I can recall.  Their California real estate is insanely priced, and we know that their world includes Craig's List and Goatse, so there are some common developments.

Edit: OMG, it turns out that the guy in the Goatse picture is named "Kirk" in both universes!

[cesium133]

QC history is a little ambiguous. Someone a while ago tried to calculate the time line. I seem to recall the “present day” in QC corresponding to something like 2006 or so.

[Shjade]

Of the main cast, though?

...

Probably Tai? I'm gonna say Tai.

Someone with no friends, only exes and f---buddies, who gets stoned off her gourd at work on a regular basis?  That sounds Northampton, not normal.

At work in the college library, which is a pretty low-stakes gig that she takes about as seriously as needed and no more than that, with a relationship network that's lacking in intimacy but broad on genial connections? I dunno, sounds pretty normal to me, at least when compared to a guy who lives with an AI in a tiny military-grade chassis obsessed with porn, a fairly young woman who owns and runs her own successful coffee shop whose brother is wealthy off of love songs and jingles he writes and sells, a recovering alcoholic who found love and self-improvement through working for an illegal robot fighting ring...

QC has a lot of highly unrealistic content in it, and Tai doesn't have as much of that in her composition. Her quirks are, by comparison, pretty normal. *shrugs* Anyway, just my opinion, and "normal" is pretty hard to pin down to begin with.

[flondrix]

Tai does sound like someone you might encounter in Northampton in Massachusetts in our timeline--but that's still not normal.

When I said there are no normal people in Northampton, I wasn't just referring to Jeph's fictional version of it.

[Farideh]

I don't think Hannelore's wealth was ever explicitly mentioned, but she doesn't think twice about:

- buying Winslow a new chassis
- jumping on a plane to confront her mother
- traveling around the world for several months to work through her issues

So... Most likely she isn't scraping to get by.

[flondrix]

Serendipity; I just happened to re-read this comic which touches on her acknowledging her "privilege", but this is before she had the final falling out with her mother:

[Perfectly Reasonable]

Owner-of-Rupert has a cool dog and wants to get to know Brün better. I'd say that qualifies as 'normal'.

[Emperor Norton]

I see a lot of replies here to the extent of "Hanners has a shit-ton of money", but has it ever actually been established taht Hanners herself has that much money?

I've read all of QC a few times now, and granted it has been quite a while I did a complete read-through, but I don't recall the above being established. Yes she has very, very wealthy parents, but we should all know that that doesn't automatically mean Hanners has a lot of money herself.

She did very early on comment on having more than sufficient to live on, but if I recall correctly that was more because she was living very simply with minimal furniture and saved most of what she made from counting things. EVen though she got WInslow a chassis and went on a long trip, I don't think it's enough to assume she is filthy rich herself.

Unless I forgot that fact being established somewhere, in which case I have wasted 5 minutes writing a pointless post

Even if she herself is "FILTHY" rich, most people don't take world spanning trips to find themselves. They don't have the disposable income for that. I do imagine she has some access to money outside of what she normally spends.

[Mr_Rose]

Oh, Marigold, never change.
Of course now Dora’s going to go looking and then Tai’s going to get weirded out by that, and then Dale will catch wind of it and chaos will ensue when it turns out Momo was the one selling nudes all along…

[Sorflakne]

"The Internet is really really greeeeat."

"FOR PORN."

[Salty]

Is having an OnlyFans more reputable than being a Vtuber?

Discuss.