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Post by Mylian on Mar 22, 2010 15:53:02 GMT
Jack has gone totally Renfield on us.
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Post by hal9000 on Mar 22, 2010 16:01:33 GMT
I see. Well I could probably build such a bridge if I had a plan and notice (ignoring my mild fear of heigth and of open spaces), but conceiving one from scratch, let alone building it, I'm pretty sure that's out of my league. (I mean, nailing stuff into contcrete? I don't even know what kind of tool and nails I would need to do that) Anyone with access to google can get the knowledge required to build such a bridge; the only obstacle these days is the effort and materials required to construct it. I imagine Jack acquired the materials from a construction site or abandoned building, which could be why he was being chased by those goons a few panels ago. Also they make nails designed to be driven into concrete, and power-tools like pneumatic nail-guns to make the job easier.
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Post by Rgemini on Mar 22, 2010 16:10:49 GMT
But why does Jack need Annie? Has he done this before? And what awaits us on Wednesday?
A murrain upon you, Tom Siddell of Earth, for making my days revolve around your graphic novel!
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Post by legion on Mar 22, 2010 16:23:02 GMT
Also they make nails designed to be driven into concrete, and power-tools like pneumatic nail-guns to make the job easier. I didn't say or assumed they didn't. I said I had no idea what kind of nail and tool I should use to do that. Also, google might have a lot of answers, but there are reasons we still hire qualified workmen when we want to build... stuff. Google or not, I don't think I'll be able to build such a bridge.
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Post by the bandit on Mar 22, 2010 16:27:37 GMT
Jack is a handy man.
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Post by hal9000 on Mar 22, 2010 16:37:24 GMT
Also they make nails designed to be driven into concrete, and power-tools like pneumatic nail-guns to make the job easier. I didn't say or assumed they didn't. I said I had no idea what kind of nail and tool I should use to do that. Also, google might have a lot of answers, but there are reasons we still hire qualified workmen when we want to build... stuff. Google or not, I don't think I'll be able to build such a bridge. Usually when you hire a qualified workman to build stuff, it's because you don't want to do it yourself (either for lack of motivation or time, or simply because you have better things to do). There's almost nothing a 'qualified workman' knows that isn't public knowledge available on the internet.
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Post by the bandit on Mar 22, 2010 17:24:44 GMT
I can learn to dance from the internet, but the internet can't tell me what's wrong with my dance.
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Post by walter on Mar 22, 2010 17:49:26 GMT
I'm also unsure of exactly how helpful the internet would be on this one. You can search for building bridges, it'll proceed under the assumption you have access to both sides. It'll also assume a much bigger bridge. Also materials that are appropriate for the task. Also safety gear to prevent you from plummeting 13 stories. Also a larger work crew than one.
That said this task is clearly doable by a one man covert operation. I doubt he'd even need to look anything up. Once you get something thin (a stick, a branch, a thrown rope with weight?) across the gap you can use it to get heavier things across, ad infinitum.
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Post by phyzome on Mar 22, 2010 17:53:48 GMT
(I mean, nailing stuff into contcrete? I don't even know what kind of tool and nails I would need to do that) Where do you see nails in concrete?
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Post by Snes on Mar 22, 2010 18:04:42 GMT
I'm also unsure of exactly how helpful the internet would be on this one. You can search for building bridges, it'll proceed under the assumption you have access to both sides. It'll also assume a much bigger bridge. Also materials that are appropriate for the task. Also safety gear to prevent you from plummeting 13 stories. Also a larger work crew than one. That said this task is clearly doable by a one man covert operation. I doubt he'd even need to look anything up. Once you get something thin (a stick, a branch, a thrown rope with weight?) across the gap you can use it to get heavier things across, ad infinitum. There are plenty of situations where people need to cross short gaps without immediate access to both sides. And there are a number of temporary bridge designs that rely only on lashings to hold them up. The fact that he was able to nail boards to either side would be considered a bonus. Still, it would have taken a nice bit of engineering to work it out on his own. I guess with enough time and scrap anyone could do it.
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Post by Afalstein on Mar 22, 2010 18:18:54 GMT
So I've got this image of Jack with hundreds of etheric spiders laid in his brain. And he wants to go back to Zimmingham because that's where they want to hatch. And then his face bursts open and they all pour out. And the Nobodies are the empty husks left over from previous pople. Doubtful. Zimmy says sometimes perfectly normal people look like nobodies. They don't need to be eaten apart like Jack is. And Zimmy could tell right away by looking at Jack that he had been there, she didn't mistake him for an ordinary person or a Nobody.
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Post by warrl on Mar 22, 2010 18:27:20 GMT
(I mean, nailing stuff into contcrete? I don't even know what kind of tool and nails I would need to do that) No nailing to concrete presented. There's a lot of lashing to concrete. Said lashing done by someone who lacks the skill and hopes that abundance will be an effective substitute. (The concrete blocks were needed at an earlier stage but have actually completed their physical purpose. Now they just help the bridge look substantial.) The only nailing apparent is for the boards that Jack used to hold the ropes near the top corner of the window (what's the one on the outside of the window for?) and the boards bracing the ladder outside. By the way, those outside braces apparently are not there to hold the ladder up. They are to keep it from sliding - and, as with the abundant lashing, are significantly more than what is needed for the purpose. The issue is, how strong is the ladder? But since this would be an odd place for the story to end, it must be strong enough. How to build the bridge: 1) Lash the concrete blocks together under the window with a loop of rope on each side at the top. 2) Tie two more ropes to the ends of the bottom ladder rung, through the loops, and secure the ends on a fixed object. 3) Rig your "pulleys" at the top corners of the window. Run ropes from somewhere near the middle of the ladder, through the "pulleys" from outside to inside, and secure the ends on a fixed object. 4) Shove the ladder out the window, adjusting your ropes as needed to make sure that the near end of the ladder stays down and the far end rises up. Probably easiest to make the far end go up a LOT until the near end is on the bricks, then lower the far end. Note that you can untie and adjust one rope at a time, with the other three holding the ladder acceptably stable. 5) Loose the top ropes, letting the ladder drop into place. 6) Place boards on ladder-rungs. 7) Assemble your braces. Crawl out on the bridge and install them. At the near end you need about an 8-inch board attached to the ladder and sticking down so that it butts up against the window frame. At the far end you need one board attached to the ladder to keep it from sliding in the direction of its length, and two boards attached to the wall to keep the ladder from sliding sideways. 8) If the ropes are in the way, move them out of the way; they have served their purpose.. Same for the blocks and any construction debris. Now, considering that Antimony fell off the Annan Bridge and there are no tic-toks around, how will she be at crossing THIS bridge?
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Post by bluemotion on Mar 22, 2010 18:36:17 GMT
Forget building an elaborate bridge. That gap isn't that wide, just throw a couple hefty planks over the gap and cross quickly.
Hope you're not afraid of heights!
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Post by hal9000 on Mar 22, 2010 18:42:24 GMT
I can learn to dance from the internet, but the internet can't tell me what's wrong with my dance. Well yeah, but dancing is an art, so whether or not you're doing it correctly is going to be a bit subjective. Whereas for an engineering project, if you do it wrong, it will generally collapse and bury some poor fool under a few hundred feet of rubble, leaving no doubt as to your failure .
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Post by wolkenser on Mar 22, 2010 18:44:08 GMT
No power on earth could make me willing to cross that bridge. It looks like it's held together with tape and prayers.
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Post by warrl on Mar 22, 2010 18:54:36 GMT
No power on earth could make me willing to cross that bridge. It looks like it's held together with tape and prayers. The issues are: how strong is the ladder? Are the planks in good condition? How are the wall and the windowsill? If those are in good shape, the thing is significantly over-engineered. The concrete blocks, the rope, and the three boards nailed to the window frame can be immediately hauled off for another use. The wood braces can be replaced with four 8-inch planks and 2 nails per plank. Granted, the thing is not for those with a fear of heights. Even a very tiny fear of heights.
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Post by Mr Pitchfork on Mar 22, 2010 19:02:34 GMT
Perhaps it is so greatly engineered because Jack plans on taking heavy things over the bridge?
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Post by wolkenser on Mar 22, 2010 19:03:04 GMT
No power on earth could make me willing to cross that bridge. It looks like it's held together with tape and prayers. The issues are: how strong is the ladder? Are the planks in good condition? How are the wall and the windowsill? If those are in good shape, the thing is significantly over-engineered. The concrete blocks, the rope, and the three boards nailed to the window frame can be immediately hauled off for another use. The wood braces can be replaced with four 8-inch planks and 2 nails per plank. Granted, the thing is not for those with a fear of heights. Even a very tiny fear of heights.
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Post by wolkenser on Mar 22, 2010 19:06:23 GMT
Wow, I have no idea what I did there. I mean to reply to your post and I think I mis-clicked.
Anyway, I'm terrified of heights so I would probably just jump on Rey and have him jump the gap. He should be able to do that.
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Post by Casey on Mar 22, 2010 19:11:51 GMT
Recall that there appears to be naught but the narrow edge of the security wall to land on. Jumping across would therefore be very dangerous and all too easy to plummet down the far side.
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Post by evilanagram on Mar 22, 2010 19:13:38 GMT
Usually when you hire a qualified workman to build stuff, it's because you don't want to do it yourself (either for lack of motivation or time, or simply because you have better things to do). There's almost nothing a 'qualified workman' knows that isn't public knowledge available on the internet. No, usually when people hire a qualified workman to build stuff it's because they want the stuff to be structurally sound. My dad, for example, built a deck 20 years ago. After he died, my mom hired a contractor to work on her kitchen and asked him if he'd be willing to alter the deck a bit. He took a look at it and refused to do any work on it because it wasn't structurally sound enough for him to be willing to have his name associated with it. It's lasted 20 years because my dad was pretty good with his hands, but it's not up to the standards of professionals who've dedicated their lives to that kind of work. Qualified workman have expertise that you can't find on the internet and comes only with experience. It's a ladder with boards laid across it. He used the black ropes to lower it in place across the gap, and then crawled across to nail the reinforcements in place on both sides. How hard is that? Once again I'm amazed at the lengths people will go through to ascribe some sort of unnecessary superhuman qualities to this kid. I get what you're saying, but it is pretty impressive that he was able to nail those braces in under the bridge. I mean, they seem low enough that he'd have to be hanging down in order to nail them in, which is pretty ballsy 13 stories above the ground.
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Post by shouqi on Mar 22, 2010 19:29:42 GMT
All argument about Jack's engineering skills or lack thereof aside, what exactly is the deal with this power station? It can create rain that's not-rain, consumes a huge amount of water but immediately puts it back into the atmosphere, and Jack has a constant obsession with it. In addition, we never have figured out what powers the Court, despite the clearly enormous amount of energy the complex (city?) consumes to run robotics, maintenance systems, ether drives, etc etc.
Jack might be onto something big here, etheric possession or no.
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Post by the bandit on Mar 22, 2010 19:47:26 GMT
Just wait 'til Jack unleashes the trap-door positioned conveniently at the bridge's center.
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Post by wynne on Mar 22, 2010 19:56:19 GMT
I sure hope that bridge is structurally sound.
Is anyone else getting a bad feeling about this?
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Post by the bandit on Mar 22, 2010 20:42:14 GMT
I see my thread reply prescience struck again.
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Post by todd on Mar 22, 2010 22:23:03 GMT
Even at the power station, with Annie present, Jack won't be able to find the full answers unless he gets Zimmy to come (which would be much harder than getting Annie to come, given how Zimmy doesn't care about anybody other than Gamma). She was a crucial part of the original event.
I hope that the side effects on Zimmy were entirely unintentional (probably the Court being unaware of what their experiment would do to her), and not the point of the experiment all along. Though I don't think that the current faculty at Gunnerkrigg are as bad as the Founders were.
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Post by Mylian on Mar 22, 2010 22:38:29 GMT
Perhaps it is so greatly engineered because Jack plans on taking heavy things over the bridge? Ockham would point out that the simplest explanation is that Jack is in an EXTREME manic state. I sure hope that bridge is structurally sound. Is anyone else getting a bad feeling about this? "Walk on the LEFT SIDE!"
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Post by philistine21 on Mar 23, 2010 1:54:10 GMT
Just wait 'til Jack unleashes the trap-door positioned conveniently at the bridge's center. ;D O dear, now that would be quite the plot twist. Annie probably won't appreciate falling off another bridge. P.S. Don't forget to share this awesome comic with others by voting at Top Web Comics (thats the way I found it) topwebcomics.com/vote/6298/default.aspx
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Post by Snes on Mar 23, 2010 2:49:54 GMT
Perhaps it is so greatly engineered because Jack plans on taking heavy things over the bridge? This falls nicely in line with the fact that he would have to construct some way down the other side of the wall, as well as some manner of water craft to get across the lake. Still, if it's been tested, why is he still working on it when Annie and Reynardine arrive?
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Post by linnabean on Mar 23, 2010 3:05:01 GMT
I doubt its been tested. Jack doesn't seem too much like the plan ahead guy.
Orr maybe it has been tested, but he had to pull it through the window to hide it in between the making, testing, and now. Cause lets face it, a bridge even way up there would be kind of obvious and someone would have to come investigate.
I still think that it hasn't been tested though. Jack seems like the kind of guy who would have enough confidence to build something like a bridge and take people on it without making sure its 100% safe.
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