next »

[qvic]

I'm not saying anything but that doesn't mean I don't like it.

For instance, it's pure gold in today's strip.  It's pure  comic-based science fiction, but you need the preceding days to get into it. So, thanks for another nugget!

[Zaylinda]

So... are we assuming that the Beltape is Buford from earlier in the strip? (circa 137)

I must say that today's strip, with the ear touching, doesn't do ANYTHING to dissuade the mild shipping my brain has been indulging in since Nicole sat beside her!

[voltamancer]

Yes, it's an homage to TMIAHM. One of several I'm sprinkling through this section. Not saying that Quantum Vibe exists in the same universe as that story -- in Luna/QV's history, for example, there was no Wyoming Knott. And the role assumed by Bernardo De La Paz in TMIAHM was undertaken by someone else -- actually two someone elses. And in the QV universe the revolution happened several decades later.

I'm just catching up after some time away from QV, and tripped on the Davis Caverns reference.  Funny thing, because what caught my eye was the "Jones-Hardesty campus" shout-out.  I'm cranky that I could not remember Hollie Jones from "The Menace From Earth" until Wikipedia helped me...  Nice tie-in, with the 'campus', though.

[qvic]

Just when I was starting to be a bit bored by the non-science fictional banality of the decor you hit me on the head with this beautiful one. Boyoboy do I ever get the impression I'm in the future,  on the Moon, now. And the plot gets to move along well, too.

[macsnafu]

Just when I was starting to be a bit bored by the non-science fictional banality of the decor you hit me on the head with this beautiful one. Boyoboy do I ever get the impression I'm in the future,  on the Moon, now. And the plot gets to move along well, too.

Yes, it's nice to have some actual, futuristic-looking art.  Maybe the future will be more ordinary, more banal than we think, but that doesn't mean we have to LIKE it! 

[myrkul999]

Just when I was starting to be a bit bored by the non-science fictional banality of the decor you hit me on the head with this beautiful one. Boyoboy do I ever get the impression I'm in the future,  on the Moon, now. And the plot gets to move along well, too.

Yes, it's nice to have some actual, futuristic-looking art.  Maybe the future will be more ordinary, more banal than we think, but that doesn't mean we have to LIKE it! 

It's very likely that the future will be entirely ordinary and banal. Doorknobs, for instance, are likely to stick around, simply because they are so uncomplicated and inexpensive. John Scalzi (from whom I am blatantly ripping off this argument) makes a point not to use such "it's the future!!!!" shortcuts, like automatically sliding doors, unless there's a compelling reason for their use. If the technology becomes cheap enough, for instance, hospitals might put it to use on all their doors, to help prevent the spread of germs (doorknobs are a big culprit, there).

[qvic]

Just when I was starting to be a bit bored by the non-science fictional banality of the decor you hit me on the head with this beautiful one. Boyoboy do I ever get the impression I'm in the future,  on the Moon, now. And the plot gets to move along well, too.

Yes, it's nice to have some actual, futuristic-looking art.  Maybe the future will be more ordinary, more banal than we think, but that doesn't mean we have to LIKE it! 

It's very likely that the future will be entirely ordinary and banal. Doorknobs, for instance, are likely to stick around, simply because they are so uncomplicated and inexpensive. John Scalzi (from whom I am blatantly ripping off this argument) makes a point not to use such "it's the future!!!!" shortcuts, like automatically sliding doors, unless there's a compelling reason for their use. If the technology becomes cheap enough, for instance, hospitals might put it to use on all their doors, to help prevent the spread of germs (doorknobs are a big culprit, there).

Go back 200 years and look at door knobs and also door frames and the moving parts of doors.

Then go back 500 years and do the same again.  It's not the same thing.  Don't trust doors in surviving Renaissance or medieval buildings.  They are all restorations built with present-day technologies.

Doorknobs aren't hazards in hospitals only.  These days people live too fast and a sizable minority doesn't bother to actually soap down and thoroughly wash their hands after emptying their lower intestine in a toilet.  Their hands look clean in their eyes so they just splatter water on them and wipe it off.  As a result, recent studies have repeatedly found traces of fecal matter on grocery cart handles. The traces are microscopic, but microscopic traces is all you need for bio contamination.

[ELeeMacFall]

I mostly lurk, as well, usually as a guest. I'm a Christian and a staunch anarcho-capitalist libertarian.

Hey, me too! Always nice to meet another one.

I think the half a dozen or so of us should get together sometime.

[myrkul999]

Go back 200 years and look at door knobs and also door frames and the moving parts of doors.

Then go back 500 years and do the same again.  It's not the same thing.  Don't trust doors in surviving Renaissance or medieval buildings.  They are all restorations built with present-day technologies.

Didn't read the post I linked, did you? It mentions that doorknobs are relatively recent technology. But the key points are that they are cheap and effective technology. They keep the door closed when we need them to, and they let us open it when we need them to. Yes, they do indeed provide excellent transfer surfaces for bacteria. But that's only a problem where there are those with weakened immune systems, such as in a hospital. As long as they remain cheap and effective, they'll stick around.

[Apollo-Soyuz]

Doorknobs aren't hazards in hospitals only.  These days people live too fast and a sizable minority doesn't bother to actually soap down and thoroughly wash their hands after emptying their lower intestine in a toilet.  Their hands look clean in their eyes so they just splatter water on them and wipe it off.  As a result, recent studies have repeatedly found traces of fecal matter on grocery cart handles. The traces are microscopic, but microscopic traces is all you need for bio contamination.

When doorknobs were actual brass, without actual lacquer protecting the finish, the brass itself killed germs.

[qvic]

Go back 200 years and look at door knobs and also door frames and the moving parts of doors.

Then go back 500 years and do the same again.  It's not the same thing.  Don't trust doors in surviving Renaissance or medieval buildings.  They are all restorations built with present-day technologies.

Didn't read the post I linked, did you? It mentions that doorknobs are relatively recent technology. But the key points are that they are cheap and effective technology. They keep the door closed when we need them to, and they let us open it when we need them to. Yes, they do indeed provide excellent transfer surfaces for bacteria. But that's only a problem where there are those with weakened immune systems, such as in a hospital. As long as they remain cheap and effective, they'll stick around.

I started to read it, because sometimes John Scalzi often does write some interesting things.  He's an OK fella in my book and he knows a lot about the writer's market and the SF market, having been involved in pro associations of writers at several levels. On the other hand he doesn't understand zilch about the history of technology and like most Hollywood types he won't take the necessary time to read books on the topic.  In fact he doesn't understand much about tech and society or about the art of presenting it in a science fiction novel or short story.  Yes, I know that he was  president of the SFWA but that doesn't mean he's good, since past SFWA presidents have been even worse SF writers than him.  I read his first novel, groaning at his misunderstandings of tech and society all the way, when I wasn't groaning at his lack of mastery of the craft of writing.  I tried to read his second novel and failed. I tried to read a third one and failed also. So when I noticed that in that article you linked to he was going on in a topic in which he was astoundingly ignorant, I stopped. But like I said, he's an OK guy and he seems to really know what he's talking about on other matters.

[ELeeMacFall]

Doorknobs may be a health risk in hospitals, but in general, and in the long term, oversterilization is a risk to be avoided. I think doorknobs are here to stay. And if I get to the future and they don't have them anymore, I'll damn well make some. 

[macsnafu]

Why doorknobs?  Why not door levers?  Knobs can get slippery or sticky and be awkward.  All you need is a reasonable mechanism for releasing the door catch.

[myrkul999]

Why doorknobs?  Why not door levers?  Knobs can get slippery or sticky and be awkward.  All you need is a reasonable mechanism for releasing the door catch.

Actually, I agree. I just used "doorknob" to refer to any physical, mechanically actuated door latching mechanism, from the basic round knob, to levers, to handles with thumb latches, etc.

[Oneil]

Doorknobs may be a health risk in hospitals, but in general, and in the long term, oversterilization is a risk to be avoided. I think doorknobs are here to stay. And if I get to the future and they don't have them anymore, I'll damn well make some. 

I doubt we need panic, even if every doorway known to mankind was automated and mechanized.  knob, wheel, lever or handle, There still remains a need for manual override.