Underground

[Batty den]

I think the underground sign would have the station name instead of "Underground" there.

I mean, everyone knows what a tube station sign looks like.

batty (pedantic? me?) den

[Kellogg]

I think the underground sign would have the station name instead of "Underground" there.

I mean, everyone knows what a tube station sign looks like.

Mm? Do they have the same signs in Australia?

Oh, and just in case you're wondering:

[Quill]

I'm looking around for Harry Potter, myself.

Besides, batty den, the station's at Heathrow. No one's going to be looking for Blackfriars. At least I hope not!

[Hortmage]

Ah, you beat me to it, Quill! Although, in anthro world, wouldn't that be "Hairy" Potter?

I think Jenny really needs to work on her self-esteem. I'd stack her up against any of those models in a hearbeat!

And Scott -- I love that last line -- "I've got to roll in something, first." I love it when a furry character acts like the animal they represent, rather than a human in dire need of a can of Nair... Excellent strip!

[ZOMBIE USER 6611]

Oh, and just in case you're wondering:

Lovely. For those not into the hobby: this is, or is closely related to, an Estes C-engine design called a "boost glider" from the 1960s. There are many variations of the theme; some simply had the engine itself eject after the boost, and the entire rest of the vehicle simply glided down. The engine removal (at the front!) changed the center of gravity enough to go from "rocket" to "aircraft".

This one is lovely; it was one of the futuristic shuttle-style piggyback designs, and I remember building one of these. Note that this was a decade or so before the shape of the Shuttle was determined!

The smaller spaceplane on the back separates at altitude and glides down; the rest of the vehicle returns by parachute. It was always a good idea to build a turn into that glider!

Smaller off-the-shelf model rockets could bust the sound barrier, and some multi-stage storebought designs could hit several thousand feet of altitude. Then there's the whole "homebrew" gang, not content with such limits.

The Roton perhaps fits into that category...

[ZOMBIE USER 10915]

Ah, you beat me to it, Quill! Although, in anthro world, wouldn't that be "Hairy" Potter?

Don't feel bad, that always happens to me.

I think Jenny really needs to work on her self-esteem. I'd stack her up against any of those models in a hearbeat!

I totally agree! 8)

And Scott -- I love that last line -- "I've got to roll in something, first." I love it when a furry character acts like the animal they represent, rather than a human in dire need of a can of Nair... Excellent strip!

I really like the way the characters are portrayed in this strip.

Most comics assume furrys think and act like humans, if there were/are real furrys, say one another planet or if science creates them, what would they be like?

I think Scott has come the closest of any strip I've read so far. 8)

[Batty den]

Mm? Do they have the same signs in Australia?

No, I was being silly. But I've been to the UK a few times, back when I had a job that paid money.

Oh, and just in case you're wondering:

I noticed the "piggy-back" configuration in the strip. What would a plane like that be used for?

batty den

[Batty den]

I'm looking around for Harry Potter, myself.

But that was a Mainline train, not an Underground.
I'm pretty certain it wasn't British Rail, though.

Besides, batty den, the station's at Heathrow. No one's going to be looking for Blackfriars. At least I hope not!

I just noticed in the HiRez version that Scott has "Heathrow" in the last panel.

...and I think I was wrong about the "Underground" sign. silly me. They have "Underground" above ground and the station name underground.

The latest version of Harry Beck's elegent map is at http://www.thetube.com/content/tubemap/ ... et_map.gif

and an interesting site about abandond underground ststions is at http://www.starfury.demon.co.uk/uground/index.html

batty (quick! Throw in some URLs to distract them!) den

[Kellogg]

Glad you all are enjoying it.

Jenny's insecurities:
I think if you stood any normal person next to a top notch, high paid
fashion supermodel, and they'll be a bit intimidated. Jenny assumes
that models work as hard on their appearances as she did on her
PhD. As such, she just assumes that fashion models are out of her
league, as going for a second doctorate would be a tough job with
everythine else she's doing right now.

Jenny usually gets fashion advice from Beth, who knows her stuff,
though Jenny's got a few of her own ideas stuck in her head. Beth
thinks that Jenny's persistence in wearing diamonds is silly. Jenny
likes them because she made the stones in college.

One thing to remember is that the vulpine perception of attractiveness
isn't quite in line with a human one. Jenny think she looks okay, but
only because of Beth's advice. However, some things in the makeup
of the two species are just too different and Beth's advice just doesn't
apply. The giraffe perception and the fox perception of what smells
beautiful are very different. So Jenny has to rely on her own, rather
insecure, judgment.

Like most engineers, she's got an engineer's taste in fashion, so she
really doesn't know what perfumes she should wear.

Still, she's got enough fashion sence to know that when a high fashion
holographer is taking your scent during a shoot, smelling like jet fuel
would be like wearing grease stained grimey old overalls while
the Haute Couture Tigress is wearing an evening gown!

Human beings who need nair:
I'll confess that I've always been interested in science fiction where the
aliens actually acted like aliens. When an alien race acts and looks exactly
like human beings except with funny bumps on their head, I have to
wonder why they bothered to make 'em alien in the first place. To me,
the fun of having aliens or furries around is that you have to figure out
what they are and how that affects how they think. This is why Mark
Stanley's Freefall has always been a favorite of mine. If you can
understand how Sam thinks, how hard can a human being from another
culture thinks?

The Estes Orbital Transport
The Orbital Transport is primarily used in a role similar to the Orion
shuttle we saw landing at Kenedy Spaceport (Orion as in 2001)
Transporting passengers to orbital stations. Jet travel being cheaper
than rockets, the Transport ship can fly to high altitude to allow the
Re-Entry Vehicle to reach orbit more economically.

While the National Aerospace Plane descendants, and the Roton
variants can and do reach low orbit, "Two stage" vehicles like the
Orbital Transport and other variants have a niche for the higher
orbits.

Oh, and if you're an old model rocket buff, the Orbital Transport
has actually been re-issued and is available now!
http://www.acsupplyco.com/estes/orbitaltransport.htm

Scott

[Quill]

The problem of coming up with a truly "alien" species fascinates me; no matter how bizarre a race one can imagine, the problem is that an author is still working from a human viewpoint, shaped and informed by human perceptions, senses, and limitations. One can imagine differences, but until/unless humans actually encounter another intelligent species (leaving aside the discussion about cetaceans) the imaginings will always, in a sense, be a reflection of humanity.

This is not to say that there aren't some outstanding examples of alien (i.e. nonhuman) imaginings, such as our beloved Jack, etc. The skill of being able to "see" things differently and then translate that into words and images is precious.

[Kellogg]

Writing for aliens is fun.
Of course, you kinda have to avoid going too far, or no one will be able
to relate to the characters.

Yay! Two comics tomorrow!

[ZOMBIE USER 6611]

Writing for aliens is fun.

You do it well.

You mentioned Freefall; are you familiar with Footfall], by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle? It is perhaps the best "alien invasion of Earth" story I have ever read. The aliens

[CPOK]

Mm? Do they have the same signs in Australia?

The signs for underground railways in Aussie land just say the name of the station and point in the direction of the said station.

[Kellogg]

Footfall:

And the book has Robert Heinlein as a character, a well-done tribute to the Master.

I have heard of it, but not read it. :/

Yay! Two comics tomorrow!:D

Yay indeed. I hope to go home before they are published, and to be back after they are published.

Me too!

[Kellogg]

Footfall:

And the book has Robert Heinlein as a character, a well-done tribute to the Master.

I have heard of it, but not read it. :/

Yay! Two comics tomorrow!:D

Yay indeed. I hope to go home before they are published, and to be back after they are published.

Me too!

[Hortmage]

OK, I'm a little slow.

What is the Mind the Gap reference to? Am I correct to assume it means "don't walk too close to the moving train or you'll be turned into anchovie paste?"

And why did Jenny do a vulpine mouse leap into the train?

[Kellogg]

Mind The Gap:

As Dave Berry often says "I'm not making this up!"

In the London Underground, there is normally a gap between the train
and the platform which one has to step over.

http://victorian.fortunecity.com/finsbu ... s.html#gap

Inside the stations, they have a recorded announcement that goes on
and on, "Mind the gap... Mind the gap... Mind the gap..." to make people
aware of the problem so they don't fall in.

Apparently, this is absolutely hilarious to Londoners in the same way that
airline passengers find instructions on how to buckle a seatbelt causes
much snickering and eyerolling.

If you've ever seen the movie "Thunderbirds are Go!", there's a
dream-nightmare sequence in the film where one of the heroes is
trying to step from the sidewalk into a chauffered car that's parked
about five billion miles from the curb. All the while a lady is warning
him "Mind the gap... Mind the gap... Mind the gap..."

When I saw it for the first time, I was with a British friend, and my
reaction was just... "Huh?" while my friend was really laughing.
Anyway, I just included it in case any readers happened to have
passed through London.

Jenny is pouncing over the gap, in a similar way to how Randy in
Faux Pas, seems to be mouse-pouncing all the way home.
http://www.ozfoxes.net/cgi/pl-fp2.cgi

Scott