Grrl Power #431 – Manual censorship
This sort of hyper-vigilance may be the best way to mitigate Sydney for a while. She’s obviously not ever intentionally trying to be hurtful, but her track record of absent mindedly saying the first thing that comes to her mind speaks for itself. Ok, sometimes she is trying to be hurtful, but someone has to actively incur her wrath for that to happen.
Lucas appeared one time before, (and actually I should go back and put Specs sitting next to him) Really as I introduce new Archon regulars characters I should retroactive them into that page. Arc-LIGHT obviously consists of more than a half dozen people, and Arc-SPARQ is more than just Digit and Omar.
Lucas is tooling around on the cruiser equivalent of a Segway. (The little wheel in the back is connected to steps that swivel out.) Something he’s designed and added to over time. I always thought if I was stuck in a wheelchair, I’d want some mobility solution that put me at eye level with everyone else. It doesn’t seem like it’d be too hard to make – basically a wheel high chair. Tipping would be an issue as the center of gravity went up, but I think you could design around it, and also make it so it would fold back down in to regular chair height. A little person doesn’t have the sudden loss of height to adjust to, but being able to converse at eye level is probably something that crosses their minds on occasion, and Lucas’s solution was to pimp out his ride. There’s a iPad on the dash, probably a horn, headlights, drink holder, miscellaneous storage, and a sound system, cause why not?
Now that I look at this page I think I actually made him too short. He’s slightly taller than Sydney here, at least while on his chariot, but really he’d probably shoot for 5′ 8″ – 6′. Also he’s supposed to be about 4′ 4″ but he looks closer to 3′ 6″ or something. Oh well, blame it on perspective and move on I guess.
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I suspect that “Lucas” may be a call-sign, rather than his actual name. Given that he is a spy, it is entirely credible that he would use that in preference to his real name, even when in his own headquarters building. Like James Bond (for those who like to explain his changing appearance this way).
Spies actually do use their real names IRL. Seems it’s easier to build a cover story and attach it to their real name than it is to train them to use a new one*. James Bond actually got it right.
*There probably are many exceptions. Or maybe that’s what they want you to think…
yea think about that USA show her cover was she worked for the Smithsonian museum which as a Polyglot was both a good cover and at times useful for her job cuse in exchange for playing along the CIA would loan her out to the Smithsonian for certian jobs
“Covert Affairs”. That was such a great show.
Lucas actually was James Bond before the incident robbed him of his height. Or was he Felix Leiter? Oh, wait, no, he was Jason Bourne!
Yeah, I could see ‘Lucas’ plausibly being a call-sign or nickname. I also note that it is one of those names that can be either a surname or a given name.
Regarding James Bond – Ever since first coming across it, I’ve thought the theory that James Bond is a Time Lord from Gallifrey (as in Doctor Who) is by far the best possible (and most awesome) explanation. Each of his ‘changes’ is simply a new regeneration.
Some suggest that it’s more of a “Dread Pirate Roberts” thing, with multiple men adopting the name/role over the years, thanks to one movie where Bond remarks to himself after a rather close call words to the effect of “this never happened to the other guys”, clearly referring to previous events in earlier films.
Wait, that wouldn’t have been “Never Say Never Again”, would it? That movie is not an ‘official’ Bond movie, and was made in spite (and the fact that Connery had previously said he would never play Bond again)
It was not “Never say Never Again” but “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” and it was “this never happened to the other guy” singular but still referring to the previous Bond actor, Sean Connery.
Commented on quite aptly by Casino Royale with David Niven and Woody Allen.
“Good morning, Moneypenny–I mean ‘James Bond, 007’…”
Classic. Just classic.
Yep, a ‘Dread Pirate Roberts’ thing is undoubtedly the best “standard” explanation. But I like the Gallifreyan idea better, that’s all.
I would point out that the line “….This never happens to that other fellow…” (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’) does NOT disprove the Bond-From-Gallifrey Hypothesis, since the Doctor sometimes refers to his previous incarnations in a similar manner.
grrr… no frickin’ EDIT function!!!
Dang, hadn’t read that in years
Okay, only 10 months, but it feels like years (faulty brain memory doesn’t record dates or times :()
Cleary you are a victim of temporal disphasia syndrome – also known as “Let’s go take a drive and look at all the stuff that didn’t used to be there.”
Why do the good times go by so fast and the horrible times set up their sleeping bags in our living rooms and eat our potato chips while drinking our beer and watching premium pay cable porn?
Or is that just me?
::flickers an ear::
Also, “Try and remember what use to be there”
It’s how memory works (yeah right, :eye-roll: ) for me: it relies more on things remaining where they are, usual spot when things have been moved, removed or simply rearranged, but takes a while to notice and then more time figuring out what is no longer there
We just need to learn to appreciate the good things all the more.
*gives Weatherheight a scratch behind the ear, and shares a packet of Yorpie Snax™, with all present*
“Lucas” would be pretty ominous call-sign for anyone working with technology. Because of the poor quality control of “Lucas Electrical”, the word “Lucas” is used to mean “Loose Unsoldered Connectors And Splices”.
“Lucas denies having invented darkness. But they still claim ‘sudden, unexpected darkness’.”
The reason they denied inventing it is because you only get to take credit when it was intentional.
There’s a reason that they called the founder “Joseph Lucas, Prince of Darkness”. It was well know that most Lucas switches had three positions, “Dim”, “Flicker” and “Off”.
James Bond is a legacy title. They’re different people, not just different actors.
Too tired to look through the comments: anybody else notice that he looks like a Lucas, George W.?
Ahh, but then how do you rationalize when reference is made to Bond’s wife being killed? And clearly still suffering emotionally from it.
Although, I guess a ruthless “M” could insist that anyone applying for the 007 position must have their wife killed off?
I wouldn’t be surprised, but I don’t remember anything to that effect. Though, to be honest, if it’s not Connery or Brosnan I just zone out, and I haven’t seen Brosnan’s Bond in ages.
And it’s not like it’s a fan theory; that’s just what it is.
The films are drawn from Ian Flemming’s novels. Which are most definitely about the one character, and not a rolling title, being passed down from each agent to his successor.
Therefore it is an inconvenience, for the movies, that they cannot retain the same actor throughout. But they are all “A-list” celebrities (or become that on playing Bond), who want to do their stint and then move on. Or changing audience tastes and/or the fickleness of Hollywood gives them a push.
However even in the movies he is officially still the same Bond. The studio though do not go out of their way to dispel that piece of fan-fiction. It is a way that a lot of folks maintain their suspension of disbelief, as to the changing faces. So they would be foolish to snap people out of that (other than for a one-liner gag).
The character that they did change though was “Q”. Desmond Llewelyn had made the role his own, having more screen time (across all the movies he appeared in) than some of the Bond Actors!
His successors are portrayed as being new individuals brought in to replace the original quartermaster. Thus his title is passed on. And pretty logically given that it is, for all effects and purposes, just an abbreviation of “Quartermaster” as a codename.
Bond though retains all of his history, drink problems and preferences, his womanizing ways etc. He is the same character throughout.
Roger Moore visited the grave of his wife, who dies in the film OHMSS, with George Lazenby as Bond. There have been references to Bond’s wife in at least one movie done by all the actors who portray Bond (except Daniel Craig) after Lazenby.
Apparently Craig’s Bond was never married because HIS timeline is a reboot, which explains why we see his origin story, but DOESN’T explain the re-use of the DB5 from the Connery movies.
Why are the vote buttons broken?
The TopWeb Comics website changed their look and site functionality, so the former links did not work correctly. But Dave has been on the ball and has replaced the buttons with ones that link successfully.
So if you try again, you should find that they work fine now.
Lol, what ever happened to 301 and legacy redirects? Laaazy
You know… I would have gone with a prof. X reference if I was Sydney more so than anything. I do rather wonder about the possible speeds of that thing since he’s apparently been tinkering with it.
Define irony –
mentioning the Segway and a wheelchair solution that can adjust for height in the same segment. Dean Kamen designed both ;)
but… maybe.. the ADHA brain was already aware of that.. and just didn’t inform any other part of the brain… which happens… a lot (personal experience talking there.. your mileage may vary)
Your Alcohol DeHydrogenase Activity brain?
You probably mean ADHD :P
It’s the yeast you can do, really…
Best to be careful, picking up on typos can make people hopping mad.
Does anybody else get the feeling that Peggy whispered that last part into Sydney’s ear, rather than aloud?
I can see where you are coming from, given that Peggy is up close to Sydney’s ear. I did not read it that way myself though, for a couple of reasons.
Firstly because Peggy would want Lucas to be in on this, as he is a colleague, and deserves an explanation. Base gossip will have already made him aware of Sydney’s earlier blunder, with the doctor. So, this way, Peggy can warn both Sydney and simultaneously provide Lucas with an explanation for her own (otherwise odd-appearing) behavior.
Judging by his wry smile he followed the intent, and appreciated it. Whereas he would have had a more puzzled look on his face, had Peggy been whispering.
Secondly Dave does modify the speech bubbles if someone is talking differently. In the past he has used dotted line speech bubbles, to indicate whispering. Although recently he tried out using lower case text, for the same purpose. In the link it was panel 6, where Sydney cutely whispers “I don’t like her” to Maxima.
True, I just get the feeling that it was more for Sydney’s benefit then for Lucas. As you mention, Lucas has probably heard the scuttlebutt around the office about Sydney, and her oft inappropriate comments. His wry smile could be the result of him thinking what she could have said.
I would like to think that this kind of thing becomes a running gag, much like the “Get Maxima to say” bingo game. They could start two different ones with her, based of what combinations of swearing she will use next, and what socially unacceptable faux pas she is likely to make.
But I understand what you are saying.
Lucas appears to be highly amused. Maybe he was looking forward to hearing the random blatherskite Sydney was about to blather.
About that wheelchair…see:
https://gizmodo.com/5894489/segway+style-device-for-paraplegics-puts-wheelchairs-to-shame
and:
https://www.matiarobotics.com/
WRT the Tek RMD, note that you never see it off a flat surface! The kerb-crossing ability of that wheel set-up is going to be almost non-existent, and you really wouldn’t want to get it on a cross-slope. The balanced Segway/iBot approach does rather better up and down slopes because it keeps the load vertical over the wheels, but it’s still going to have problems with cross-slopes.
My oldest friend will become paralyzed, from the waist down, fairly soon, due to an untreatable condition. So I followed both your comments with interest, thanks.
Knowing paralyzation is on its way with no way to stop it? Damn, that is rough.
Give your friend my regards and best wishes.
Thanks, I will do. Still he is making the most of life before that happens. So he is luckier than some, from that regard.
well i remembered tech a while back that was being worked on and thought id forward some things that Companies have been working on since 2010 https://www.newdisability.com/exoskeletonsuit.htm
Commenting on the wheelchair/height issue from the perspective (hah!) of someone who actually is a wheelchair user, I really don’t find eye-level an issue unless people stand too close. Though if it’s going to be an extended conversation, find somewhere to sit, it saves on the neck-ache of looking up all the time. What’s much more a problem is people trying to walk through me in crowds, but that’s not a chair problem, it’s a people problem. Look down!
I’ve used a Segway briefly, as my ex-employer developed their gyros, and while some disabled people do use them, controlling it with my weight-distribution gave me back-ache in about 30 seconds flat.
What you need, sir, is a deployable battering ram.
That’s what footplates are for!
(But they don’t help with the ones who come at you from the side)
Retractable spoke-spikes
Flamethrowers!
Anti-personnel grenades!
::coughs::
Sorry, sorry…
I did mention yesterday, to my brother, how militantly liberal this community is.
*proudly pats Weatherheight on the head*
*pops a couple of carrot-shaped-marshmallows onto sticks, pokes one into the flamethrower’s flame, passing the other over to Weatherheight*
Don’t worry, I have more, to go around.
*gets out extra marshmallows-onna-stick for DavidG, Homis Draconis, and Guesticus*
Yeah, I’m just shy of 6’4″, and started using a wheelchair four years ago. It’s really not a big adjustment. Besides, I would rather look up than have people try taking a knee to speak to me “on my level.” Just be normal and relax, people.
It’s far more annoying to have to navigate the world, or run into people who think your wheelchair is their inconvenience. I was in line at a Chipotle one time and this lady starts pushing down the line against the flow. It’s not a wide aisle, and she came to me, looked me over, scowled, and said “Excuuuuuuse me.” Lady, that’s a personal problem. I’ve got my own.
But most people are really nice. Most people will hold doors open, ask if I need help getting into my car or carrying something, or if they can help push me up a slope (I use a manual chair, because if I go to electric I get almost no exercise). News media will often focus on the worst in the world, and I encounter quite a lot of nasty myself, but most people are willing to do the decent thing when the opportunity presents itself.
I will say this, because it seems to be an issue–Sydney, having ADHD, would have long practice at operating on little to no sleep. In all probability, she would not even bitch about it–it’s just something that she’s had to deal with. ADHD, in addition to other symptoms, tends to cause mild insomnia, and most medications make that worse.
On a side note, and this is also something important to mention: in the event of somebody (like Sydney) not getting her medication, or even not getting it in time, commercially available stimulants will fill the gap to some extent, and Sydney would likely have no qualms about using them to do so. She probably does not even know why they help, just that they do. What this means is that Sydney is more than likely a serious caffeine addict, who does not recognize an upper limit for caffeine consumption (most people with ADHD have this problem). Unless she takes absurd levels of medication–and I’m talking “the psychiatrist has moral and ethical problems with writing the prescription” level of medication–she will not see any reason to avoid caffeine, and she will know that coffee, or whatever she drinks, helps her to focus better, and makes her more alert and responsive. For similar reasons, a lot of people with ADHD also smoke cigarettes (or something equivalent)–the only other commercial stimulant that is widely available is nicotine, and that appears to fill the gap surprisingly well.
If Sydney takes enough medication for caffeine over-dosing to be a serious concern (I’ve done it, and it is NOT fun), than I can guarantee to you that, when her meds wear off, she will go really and truly batshit crazy. And not necessarily in the good way, either. Serious ADHD is the mother of most–not all, but most–currently recognized mental illness diagnoses, and can and will mimic any and all of them at different points in a person’s life. This includes just about EVERYTHING that people used to get locked up in a sanitarium for, including violent, semi-psychotic illnesses. It’s pretty nasty, in other words, and I have to tell my employers, especially those who, for legal reasons, are not comfortable keeping large amounts of controlled substances on the premise, that I effectively have a hard limit on how late I can work so that I’m home, and in isolated surroundings, by the time the medication wears off. I cannot emphasize this enough–if Sydney is medicated enough that caffeine, taken in any amount, can feel risky, than she is medicated heavily enough that she is going to feel VERY nervous about being away from her medication, and probably really regrets not having a door that can be locked from the outside.
Seriously. This is some nasty shit you’re portraying her as having. Be aware of that, please.
Hm… there is an alternative medical explanation tho. One that fits all symptoms in comic even! (Including the “Sidney not going nuts after max meds wear off” and “Caffeine mostly ineffective”, and ‘high tolerance of spicy foods” and… “ignores body limits to medically dangerous extent”)
She could be a High Functioning Autistic! Not all Autistics have the classic expressionless face – especially the ones with high IQ’s. Or female. In fact they USED to think Autism was more common in boys by about 4:1. We now know its about even in genders. That means a lot of females would be mis-diagnosed. And Ritalin has an odd effect on Autistics in that… it sorta works. But only for the same reason why stockbrokers are known to abuse it – over-clocks the brain and allows for faster decision making.
Now coming down off THAT much medication is not something to do cold turkey. And the rebound is gonna be real. But Sidney might function better (and safer) in a Cop role on no meds stronger then regular strength coffee. Lack of sleep effects Autism far more strongly then it does ADD.
DISCLAIMER – Symptoms of Autism are highly variable. Really highly. Like… totally opposing symptoms are both characteristic of Autism.
– Hyposensitivity AND Hypersensitivity (even both in the same person – different senses)
– Hypoactivity OR Hyperactivity
– Sensitivity to meds AND/OR immunity to meds (different classes of medications)
– Avoiding eye contact OR staring too much
– And so on…
The social awkwardness Sidney displays is quite characteristic of (some) females on the Autistic Spectrum. Especially the fact she is very, very bad at lying. She might be a lot better at keeping a secret then you’d worry tho. Also the fact that her high does of meds does not seem to be toning down her hyperactivity. ADHD gets “slowed down” by stimulants – but Autistics on stimulants get even more hyper. (But more able to control it when not emotional)
Then again… if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it! As long as the current diagnosis of “ADHD” and current meds allow Sidney to function satisfactorily, why would her Military employers want her re-evaluated?
Oh – and the reason why I thought “maybe its Autistic Spectrum” for Sidney? Today’s comic. Last panel shows Sidney being completely non-plussed and even grateful for a physical interrupt. She is very familiar with close friends and family jumping in to save a social situation. Not characteristic for my ADHD friends… but is for my Autistic friends. (The ones that don’t get frustrated at needing said rescuing anyway)
Interesting take and convincingly argued.
The High Functioning Autistic label is now deprecated, a lot of allegedly Low Functioning Autistics turn out to be just as smart, and what High Functioning is measuring turns out to be how comfortable allistics (non-autistics) are with them/how ‘conventional’ allistics think their behaviour is/how good they are at faking being neuro-typical.
Nicely summed up – research is showing that autism disorders have a very wide spectrum of functionality and we’re just now really starting to understand those complexities.
Although I do have to wonder how we as a society coped in the past.
Probably with large doses of abuse and contempt, I suppose.
Yeah… “large does of abuse and contempt” sounds about right. But in societies where “knowing your place” and “rigid protocol” are valued – Autistics would thrive. Ditto any job requiring meticulous attention to detail. Computers have replaced/suplimented many of those jobs now, but previously the people doing said jobs were stereotyped with behaviors characteristic of Autism.
Don’t forget that Sydney’s current situation is atypical. So it should not be judged purely in contrast to an ADHD person in a normal sleep-deprived day. Sydney is also potentially at risk from post-traumatic stress disorder, having been through several near-death, and other traumatic incidents, in a short space of time.
Plus she has been pushing herself much harder and more intensely than in her normal life as a comic-shop manager. Not to mention the weird side effects she may get from the various super-powers she has been exposed to, both good and bad. For example Vehmence’s aggro aura, the doc’s accelerated healing, and not to mention her own anti-gravity effects and more.
Dave has ADHD himself, so is aware of the issues. But he is balancing the points I mentioned above, along with the normal symptoms and, above all, incorporating them into the ongoing story in a useful way. The main story reason for Sydney needing a nap was to save us from having to sit through a dry whiteboard discussion, that would not be as fun as seeing Halo doing hands-on testing later.
You bring up a lot of good points here, both of you. +1 to Yorp and Kin.
That being said, I really kind of expected her to drop sooner in the day. Basic training purposefully runs your body into the ground finding those hard limits (which were mentioned several times in the discussion on the page where Sydney takes the Wayne’s name in vain). In my first week I had one of the most serious nightmares that I have ever had (can’t actually remember it though), which was severe enough to wake my platoon, and our DS who was sleeping in his office. Everyone but the DS was freaked out by what had happened and my total lack of caring, mostly because I wanted to get back to sleep.
I am not surprised by her actions when she is this tired however. The inability to focus and filter what comes out of your mouth is a fun game a parties, not in a professional environment. The fact that she is grateful, as mentioneb above by Kin, indicates, at least to me, that she understands how far gone she is, and that really only comes from pushing herself in the past. Maybe not quite the same way as she is doing now, but I would be willing to bet dollars to doughnuts that she has willing gone somewhere between 48-72 hours without sleep at least twice.
Sorry, I forgot to add homis draconis in the list of +1
Ok – further list of reasons why Sidney might be Autistic. (Word of Dave still has final say)
– She did not instinctively look at the Doctor’s face.
– Got the SCUBA license in spite of being highly distracted (can listen and pay attention during distractions)
– Could “turn on” her ADD brain at will when figuring out Vehemence (easy for an Autistic to do, nearly impossible for ADD)
– – Sidney’s cursing streaks also appear to be willful “turning on” of her ADD imagination while still focusing on whatever annoyed her. Her creative cursing is a very impressive ability of doing two complex tasks simultaneously. (Which could be why she can use two orbs at the same time)
– No social awareness of ‘taboo’ topics.
– No embarrassment when doing untypical behaviors
– Phrases things in unique ways
– Jumps straight from “doesn’t get it” to “mastered” in understanding
– Acts in childish ways with adult reasoning
– Epic vocabulary (especially characteristic of females with Autism)
– Sensitive to bright lights (and colors? She has an undecorated store, but that might just be Dave forgetting to draw it)
Sydney does have a co-owner, who appears to be the one with a business degree, so he probably opted for a more subdued shopping environment.
Having been tested for basically *everything* in a very thorough (and brain hurting) series of tests, and having been diagnosed only with ADHD and no signs of autistic spectrum, I have to disagree with you on some of that.
– Eye contact /looking at faces is mentally taxing. When rested and focused, I usually do so, but in a mode closer to Sydney’s current state, not so much. This has driven people nuts that I will hold conversations with out looking at them.
– That only requires the experience to be rewarding and not boring. The ADHD brain is fully capable of locking on to something and paying attention, with the right stimulus, sometimes the problem is to *stop* focusing and/or switch focus.
– While my ADHD is not as nearly extreme as hers, I too can call upon my ‘on’ mode pretty much at will. I usually refrain for two reasons: going back off can be difficult, and if I am in ‘on’ mode to long the backlash can be draining to a debilitating level. As for multiple complex tasks, depends on the tasks. I can do spacial manipulation separately from language center interactions with minimal degradation in potential performance, and usually performing better than I realistically would have by virtue of having enough occupying my brain there isn’t room for something else to pop up and distract me.
– This one I grant is not very typical for ADHD, though I could see her simply never having paid enough attention to learn it on a deep level, especially if her network of friends is small.
– Eh, if you embrace your ‘weirdness’, this becomes less of an issue.
– This sounds like my wife and friends, which is a group with ADHD folk but no autistic folks.
– that happens to me a lot, not ADHD related (I don’t think…), it’s that I often have difficulty dealing with understanding how part of something works until I understand how all of it works, because until I understand how this part relates to all the other parts, I am distracted by needing to know the rest. (OK, maybe a little ADHD related after all).
– sounds like my wife and I. We’re in our 40s and working on the whole ‘adulting’ thing still. Both ADHD. My best friend likes to accuse me of being five, and her of being only a little better by being seven.
– Describes myself, my wife, and a lot of our friends (we tend to bond with other quirky people with high reading levels)
– I think unrelated to ADHD, though personally I find glare and sunlight to be painful, to the point where I wear polarized sunglasses basically anytime the sun is above or slightly below the horizon. Also, sometimes when driving at night to cope with the headlights of oncoming traffic.
Like I said – Word Of Dave has final say. :P
And yeah – there is a TON of overlap between symptoms of ADD and Autistic. While I’d call Sidney being miss-diagnosed Autistic plausible…
Its equally plausible that she really is just ADHD and her current meds are just as good as it gets. In fact that maxed-out dose being slightly ineffective is why I lean more to the Autistic theory. But Sidney has shown no symptoms other then a possible medication reaction that could only be Autism. Even I admit that is pretty flimsy evidence.
Well look at that, its George Lucas Mine-Me.
A) As someone who grew up to be a full five feet tall, that mobile platform would be amazingly useful in everyday life. I don’t necessarily need something like that, but it would be awesome for places like grocery stores where I can’t reach anything on the top two shelves.
B) Why doesn’t Sydney just see Doc Chevy for more meds? Aside from accidentally getting thrown out of her office again, I mean. I assume that Arc-Med (or whatever) would have her records now that they’re her primary care physician.
I thought Sydney was on her meds now?
Probably, but I hadn’t abused enough caffeine at that point to be coherent, so…take that with a grain of salt.
Dam spectra and its shrinking ray. Well Q can you make me normal..
Try having an ADD mind with a CFS body, add in the annoying habit of them swapping places randomly
You go from a brain that is going “GOGOGOlet’sdosomething,anything!!” and the body is going “Shut up and turn out the lights!” to a body that wants to build the Great Wall of China, by hand and all you are getting from the brain is a crookedly-hung “Do Not Disturb!” sign
Speaking off, they are both ganging up and threatening to turn the lights out and shut off the engine while still in motion
Again…
Damn, that’s rough. Regards and best wishes, good sir.
Or madam (damned reflexes of mine…)
… for a moment I thought Tyrion had joined ARC, then I noticed the lack of bottles at hand…
I would have said having a nose was the reason it can’t be Tyrion… or did he not lose the nose on the show?
Pete still has his nose (unless they killed him off recently)
okay, ths had me going ‘which will win’
her ‘blurt out something about some physical thing. or
her ‘fandom’/Geek things , given a grey haired bearded man named “lucas”
am I the only one that thought she was about to geek out cause she though he meant he was gorge Lucas?
Nope. Various other takes have been voiced too.
Mind you, I think Sydney is being totally honest, in the last panel. Even she did not know what would have come out of her mouth. Exhaustion had disengaged all safeties and self-censorship. Whatever sprang into her mind would have been instantly spoken.
Peggy is a very good friend.
wish I had a some one like Peggy when I was in the air force would have made mast sgt easy
Q – “take these pills and call me in two hours if it does work”
J “is the some sort of experimental growth serum?”
Q – “no its sildenafil, was that not what you needed?”
Dang phone, this was supposed to go with https://www.grrlpowercomic.com/archives/2145/comment-page-3#comment-445585
I’ve checked the whole comments thing and no one has pointed this out –
He’s their big data guy.
No, that’s Leon
He is referring to the Who’s Who entry.
So strictly speaking I was stretching things, referring to him as a spy. Given that analysts are not meant to be field operatives, which “spy” implies. However I know that exceptions apply, having seen the Tom Clancy documentaries, such as “The Hunt for Red October”.
Yes, also realised it was a crack at his height, but Leon is still the top data guy (and almost twice Mini-Luke’s height :p)
Just because you are not a field agent, doesn’t stop you from being a spy (and even tech analists are trained in the basics of field operations, in the same way that army cooks and logistics still have to periodically pass the basic requirements to b a soldier, because even though they spend most of their time at base they are still soldiers)
Are Peggy and Specs trading firearms in panel 2?
Well spotted. Although I think Peggy is just offering her weapon for Specs to check it out. Doubtless, knowing her role as range-master, Peggy will have ensured that the weapon is unloaded and safe, prior to passing it over.
Although more speculatively, Peggy might be saying: “If Sydney does ever get too rude to you, just use this.”
Peggy is also handing it to her upside down and handle first (and it looks like a huge revolver pistol, would that be enough to stop a rampaging Sydney though?)
Having taken a closer look at the panel in question, I think it may be the other way around. Specs might have been asking Peggy for advise about her weapon, then handed it over for Peggy to inspect it. It would make more sense this way as Peggy seems to be not only the range master, but the go to for firearm related information.
This could be as simple as asking a question about adjusting the sights on the pistol, or something else entirely.
Good point. Specs does have a shoulder holster, but we could not see what weapon she carries. I do know that Peggy has a default sidearm that she carries. Dave did mention that. I remember that her favorite rifle, against supers is her Bartlett anti-materiel rifle. However I cannot recall the pistol, nor could I find mention of it using a search.
Perhaps one of our gun enthusiasts can recall, and identify if it matches the appearance above or not?
But, wouldn’t Peggy also know that the Common Area is not the place for that? o_O
We should take into account local culture. I have lived in two countries with a heavy gun culture, and distinctly recall guns being shown off at the dinner table, as being routinely casual.
Here at least they are avoiding somewhere that the general public has access to (other than by special invite, such as with Barberian)
Given that Sydney usually takes several minutes to actually notice things about people, I don’t think Peggy needed to jump in right away, I don’t think she’d slip up with a greeting. She probably hadn’t even registered his apearance yet.
So will Sydney be “censored” whenever she opens her mouth? Hopefully it’ll get to the point that Sydney will complain to Maxima about Peggy,or someone else, covering her mouth!
Take another look at the last panel. Sydney is profoundly grateful to Peggy, for the save.
I do agree that happening repeatedly would become wearing though, on anybody. However I would hope that Sydney manages to retrain her instincts, before things get to that point. Arianna’s advice to be more creative and less foul-mouthed, will hopefully help here.
Finally also trying to enforce the discipline of asking herself “how will this sound to others?” is hopefully within her capabilities. As she matures as a character, anyhow. Given that such changes are not likely to happen overnight.
I’m pretty sure that whatever “bindi-gate” remark she was about to utter would have had some relationship to his resemblance to George, rather than his stature, simply because it looks to me like her position wouldn’t let her see his legs at all, and the Segway is opaque. One thing I’ve noticed many times when looking at a small person on TV or movies is that, generally speaking, they usually have “normal” sized heads and torsos. His arm length would appear to give it away, but again, from her perspective, I’m not sure what it looks like to her.
Also, just want to go on record to say that Peggy is probably my favorite character, overall, though it’s REALLY hard to choose. She just comes across like a person I would like to know as a friend.
Okay, why does everyone believe they are only allowed one or two favourites? o_O
Can’t you have more than one and for different reasons? O_o
Huh, I somehow didn’t notice Specs in the background until now.
He he. Now that is a pleasant surprise for you!
There has even been some discussion about whether Peggy was handing her gun to Specs, or vice versa. We know that Specs is armed, as we can see the shoulder holster, but do not know who carries the one depicted in Peggy’s hand.
Well, unless Peggy has a second holster on her left, that can’t be her gun: look at the shape in panel two, it doesn’t match up with the holstered gun in panel six
Lucas hmmm. 007 or not. Ooh i gott it its George Lucas in hiding. Hiding as a short person is not that hard George do have the masters of special effects working for him.
pethaps he superpower is the force..
:)
A mechanical version of this maybe?
Cunning idea.
I zoomed in on panel 6, and found that even when it filled the screen, like a wallpaper, it still looks great. Sydney’s surprised look is great, but in particular Peggy’s muscles stand out and her entire anatomy looks spot on. Specifically the pose is dynamic and speaks movement, without zip-lines.
The latter being particularly hard to do. I recall asking my dad to take a snap of me, when I was posed in a running stance. But when it came out, it looked fake and contrived, as it was. Whereas Peggy has been captured perfectly in motion.
Then I noticed that there is a water bottle in a holder, attached to the inside of the uber-segway. I guess it is filled up with Lucas-aid.
Then I spotted a handgun, with distinctively laser gun lines, similarly holstered inside the segway.
Then I woke up…
Peggy still looks buff, Sydney cute and the bottle is there. But no sign of the gun. :-/
Everyone seems to be discussing this Lucas guy but I’m just impressed with how fast Peggy can sprint on a prosthetic leg.
I knew a guy that lost a leg in a motorcycle crash, he just limped along on his prosthesis.
Peggy is fortunate in ‘only’ having lost her limb below the knee. Which leaves her as highly mobile, given her modern prosthetic. A fellow reader informs us, elsewhere in these comments, that a number of amputees have returned to active military service. Including one who became a paratrooper. Which simply would not happen if he was anything short of being fully capable.
But, all that said, yea, I too am highly impressed with Peggy’s reaction speed there. It is just that much more impressive, when you know that there are people in the world who are capable of pulling that off, despite such an injury.
Wow, that was an amazing save, Peggy! Also, I love the term “Bindi-gate”! And that they’ve already heard about it and named it! XD
Insert Captain Pike reference here. Bonus points if it refers to beeping once/twice for yes/no.
Beep.
*dives in swimming pool of points*
Actually, the stand up wheelchair has already come and gone.
Dean Kamen (who later invented the Segway) invented a wheelchair that could stand up on 2 wheels, climb curbs N stairs and generally be a Segway with a chair in 1999.
It was called the iBot https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7otewMk9pc
They also make some with a lift seat. You cruise around at wheelchair height, but when you need to be higher, it lifts on hydraulics. Danny Woodburn uses one in CSI.
I don’t know if Lucas’ appearance is based on anyone in particular, but he looks an awful lot like Danny Woodburn or Phil Fondacaro.
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