Today's Comic

[The Overseer]

I normally don't start a new topic, but today i couldn't resist. I'm pretty certain that today's comic also meant to be serious, but... A giraffe in a space suit? Great stuff! This must have been one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in a on-line comic. And believe me, I have seen a lot

[Kellogg]

Today's was fun to draw.

With serious subjects coming across, I wanted to have some fun stuff in there.

Scott

[Olick]

Great stuff! This must have been one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen in a on-line comic. And believe me, I have seen a lot

Yes! Great Strip. I liked the Tiffany Tiger look alike(or the real one) with the cub ears on her suit. But my favorite part were Smelly's EVIL EARS.

[Kellogg]

Perhaps she's one of Tiffany's descendants.

I kinda had fun with the space suit designs too.
Note that all the 'prey' species have the old goldfish bowl
style helmets. Basically because they insist on having
full vision. Carnivores, with their more binocular vision
don't mind the the more enclosed style helmets.

Canines have longer muzzles, therefore longer space
helmets. Felines like the tiger have closer fitting helmets,
with enough room to twitch your ears around inside.

Smelly's evil ears. Yep. He's pretty mad.
LMT can't afford to have their people distracted by
stuff. Do you have *any* idea, just how hard it is to
get a good day's work out of a scared rabbit when he
thinks his cubicle mate is going to eat him?

And it's not easy to convince some people that the
Employee Directory is NOT a menu.

Just out of curiosity, how recognizable were the spacecraft
in today's strip...?

[Icefox]

How recognizable? Well, the big booster just out the window looks rather Titan-like, but it's no stretch to imagine similar things existing for a long time. I definately recognize the round, double-clawed pod to the left of the middle panel, and I get the feeling I might know one or two of the others if I were familiar with Battlestar Galactica. *shrugs*

I also like the big picture on the wall of the office, but I'm not sure I can say why. Happier times, I suppose... And I really like the way you draw eyes.

[ZOMBIE USER 10430]

Yah! At last a head to hoof (well, almost) drawing of a girraffe!

A slightly technical question though. How much oxygen can though mice suits carry? Cause with their rapid breathing it looks like they'd need to refill those dinky little tanks every few minutes, wouldn't they!?

Other wise, this was a great strip all round.

[Daniel Cougar]

Just out of curiosity, how recognizable were the spacecraft in today's strip...?

The 2001 work pod is easy. I can't place the station or the ship by it, but I do see the ship has the cockpit module of an Eagle from 1999. The ship by Tiff, I won't hazard a guess.

[Kellogg]

Yah! At last a head to hoof (well, almost) drawing of a girraffe!

A slightly technical question though. How much oxygen can though mice suits carry? Cause with their rapid breathing it looks like they'd need to refill those dinky little tanks every few minutes, wouldn't they!?

Other wise, this was a great strip all round.

The mice (and everyone else) have a rebreather in the circuit. While
they may have rapid breath rates, with their small size, they probably don't use up all the oxygen in the air they breathe.

Scott

[Nebulous Rikulau]

It has occurred to me that the problem with spacesuited mice is not the life support systems, but the maneuvering systems.

The MMU (Moused Maneuvering Unit) would have a limited amout of propellant. While this might not be a problem for moving the mouse, when you consider that the wrench is likely to have a greater mass than the mouse does, it becomes a problem.

For the main construction of the station, mice might reasonably be given supervisory jobs. Assuming the work pod is the same size as the ones in '2001', then, with suitable modifications (frex, multiple decks), a hundred mice could use the pod as a mobile command post.

On the interior of the station, however, mice and other small burrowing animals would be everywhere. They would be very suitable for tracing and installing wiring, cooling and life support piping, etc. Lots of detail work that doesn't take much physical strength. Note:With walls, ladders, etc. inside the station, the limited delta-vee of the MMU is not a factor.

So, IMNSHO, the picture of the mouse handing the tigress a wrench is cute, and it might make a good recruiting poster for the space program, but the actual event would be unlikely to happen.

[Kellogg]

I think in this case, the mouse is assisting mainly by doing station keeping for the wrench in order to keep it from drifting off. The Tigress has removed it from her belt pouch, and, rather than return it to her pocket, asked the mouse to keep it from drifting away.

Scott (Whew, nobody noticed that it's not a Zero-G wrench!) Kellogg

[I wrestled with the idea of drawing a torque compensated electric socket wrench, but I'm afraid it just wouldn't have gotten the message across as well, because it could have been easily taken for some sort of ray gun. That would have been in complete conflict with what I was trying to get across.]

[Nebulous Rikulau]

I think in this case, the mouse is assisting mainly by doing station keeping for the wrench in order to keep it from drifting off. The Tigress has removed it from her belt pouch, and, rather than return it to her pocket, asked the mouse to keep it from drifting away.

Well, I suppo-ose that could happen.

Scott (Whew, nobody noticed that it's not a Zero-G wrench!) Kellogg

Perhaps the word "noticed" should be replaced with "mentioned"

[I wrestled with the idea of drawing a torque compensated electric socket wrench, but I'm afraid it just wouldn't have gotten the message across as well, because it could have been easily taken for some sort of ray gun. That would have been in complete conflict with what I was trying to get across.]

More evidence for my conclusion that the image was staged for a recruiting poster. 8)

On the other paw, have you ever tried to change a brake line with a socket wrench? Torque compensated or not? (this might be a stupid question )

There might be some connectors that could most easily be adjusted with a standard crescent wrench. Of course, these situations are why technicians often think that the engineers are nuts.

[Kellogg]

On the other paw, have you ever tried to change a brake line with a socket wrench? Torque compensated or not? (this might be a stupid question )

The last time I worked on a brake line, I was in the role of the mouse,
handing the box wrenches to my brother.

There might be some connectors that could most easily be adjusted with a standard crescent wrench. Of course, these situations are why technicians often think that the engineers are nuts.

Oh, wait a minute! I know! The torque wrench just isn't enough, so the tigress gets the bolt on the nut, then the mouse goes down to her boots and uses the thrusters of his Mouse Maneuvering Unit to rotate the entire tigress around the bolt...

Give me a lever long enough, and I shall orbit the Earth... 8)

Scott

[Icefox]

...Okay, I just have to mention a few things I noticed in the latest comic....

Well, for one, the wolfish engineer-lady wearing the yellow jumpsuit in the second panel look AWFULLY familiar... And it's rather funny that she's partnered with a <a href="http://www.purrsia.com/freefall/ff200/f ... bbit...</a>

The spaceship next to her is also familiar... looks like Wehrner von Braun's original design worked out pretty well... Anyone remember what that one was called?

[Kellogg]

...Okay, I just have to mention a few things I noticed in the latest comic....

Well, for one, the wolfish engineer-lady wearing the yellow jumpsuit in the second panel look AWFULLY familiar... And it's rather funny that she's partnered with a http://www.purrsia.com/freefall/ff200/fv00192.htm">rabbit...<

Not to mention the little white pony the engineer-lady seems to be
working with. 8)

But yeah, imagine the trouble trying to get a wolf to work with a cute little succulent rabbit on board a space station where the only food to eat is either your crew-mates, or Tofu. Smelly's job isn't easy.

For My Filk of "Florence Vs The Cute Fluffy Bunnies":
http://nice.purrsia.com/cgi-bin/ultimat ... 1&t=000479

The spaceship next to her is also familiar... looks like Wehrner von Braun's original design worked out pretty well... Anyone remember what that one was called?

The Saturn Shuttle.

Very cool link courtesy of Dan Cougar:
http://users.bigpond.net.au/surfacesren ... epage.html

Scott

[ZOMBIE USER 6611]

Not to mention the little white pony the engineer-lady seems to be working with. 8)

Cameo time indeed. And it seems that the white pony is relaxed, and willing to go with the flo.

But yeah, imagine the trouble trying to get a wolf to work with a cute little succulent rabbit on board a space station where the only food to eat is either your crew-mates, or Tofu. Smelly's job isn't easy.

You know, wasn't there some sort of electronic music years ago trying to make this attractive... the "Topless Dancers of Tofu" or something?

Nice work, Mr. Kellogg.

And as I commented elsewhere, nice play with the "Nautilus under way on nuclear power" riff. You sure know your history.

[Baxtrr]

On the interior of the station, however, mice and other small burrowing animals would be everywhere. They would be very suitable for tracing and installing wiring, cooling and life support piping, etc. Lots of detail work that doesn't take much physical strength.

A noble and time-honored trick in any fiction involving tiny characters, dating back centuries (the Cobbler and the Elves, anyone?)...receiving good use today, even in this strip (remember the mouse tech in that early episode, whom Scott was considering spinning off?).

I once created a character called Bexleyheath Tube Station Pop Vending Machine whose MO was along these lines, and it's popped up in another form in the story I'm working on right now.

bax

[Kellogg]

On the interior of the station, however, mice and other small burrowing animals would be everywhere. They would be very suitable for tracing and installing wiring, cooling and life support piping, etc. Lots of detail work that doesn't take much physical strength.

A noble and time-honored trick in any fiction involving tiny characters, dating back centuries (the Cobbler and the Elves, anyone?)...receiving good use today, even in this strip (remember the mouse tech in that early episode, whom Scott was considering spinning off?).

Johann Sebastian Maus: Known as Joe Maus.
He's still out there, patiently waiting.

I once created a character called Bexleyheath Tube Station Pop Vending Machine whose MO was along these lines, and it's popped up in another form in the story I'm working on right now.

Mmmmm...?

Scott (Yes, in fact, I am alive!) Kellogg

[Baxtrr]

On the interior of the station, however, mice and other small burrowing animals would be everywhere. They would be very suitable for tracing and installing wiring, cooling and life support piping, etc. Lots of detail work that doesn't take much physical strength.

A noble and time-honored trick in any fiction involving tiny characters, dating back centuries (the Cobbler and the Elves, anyone?)...receiving good use today, even in this strip (remember the mouse tech in that early episode, whom Scott was considering spinning off?).

Johann Sebastian Maus: Known as Joe Maus.
He's still out there, patiently waiting.

We'll be here when he surfaces. The change in drawing style from when we last saw him, to where you are now, should be a lovely shock.

I once created a character called Bexleyheath Tube Station Pop Vending Machine whose MO was along these lines, and it's popped up in another form in the story I'm working on right now.

Mmmmm...?

Patience, dear fellow, patience. THAT particular reference will take a long time to surface, even if I were to start publishing tomorrow.

bax