jephjacques - One Steps Out, Two Step In

Make some kind of generative AI sing it!

legobil

2025-04-17 10:44:27 +0000 UTC

My very sincere condolences, Carl.

Joseph Bonnar

2025-04-17 10:41:42 +0000 UTC

All four, Valdvin.'

Joseph Bonnar

2025-04-17 10:39:03 +0000 UTC

It's the coffee equivalent of a second hand bookshop, in which Marten is attempting to enjoy a comfortable retirement disguised as a career.

Stephen Wells

2025-04-17 10:27:13 +0000 UTC

We rode that ride at least twice on our honeymoon, 53 years ago. We would have reached our fiftieth, if Covid had not happened.

Carl G Knoblock

2025-04-17 07:34:51 +0000 UTC

Violence rides on the shoulders of Regret. Or is it the other way around?

SilverbackRon

2025-04-17 04:10:44 +0000 UTC

The two things who stepped in!

legobil

2025-04-17 04:07:35 +0000 UTC

"I like the sound of that: Marten Reed, Suuuper Genius!"

Sean Kinlin

2025-04-17 02:10:27 +0000 UTC

Um, I'm a little lost here: Liz & Moray or Violence & Regret?

ValdVin

2025-04-17 00:07:33 +0000 UTC

BookBeard I'd pay to watch it.

Joe

2025-04-16 23:23:17 +0000 UTC

I'm picturing an exchange between Marten and Sy (the AI sign) resembling the exchange between Wile E. Coyote and the sheepdog in the old cartoons ...

Joe

2025-04-16 23:22:07 +0000 UTC

Ugh, you're right but that made me go back and factor 2047 (23 x 89) as well as 2049 (3 x 683, easier because of the sum-of-digits rule.)

Clifton Royston

2025-04-16 19:31:38 +0000 UTC

Moray's love language.

Clifton Royston

2025-04-16 19:23:09 +0000 UTC

PERFECT for the Wacky Hijinks Department!

Joseph Bonnar

2025-04-16 17:47:50 +0000 UTC

You know the law.

Hugh Eckert

2025-04-16 17:20:17 +0000 UTC

"You know the law: Two men enter, one man leaves. "

Hugh Eckert

2025-04-16 17:18:26 +0000 UTC

Marten doesn't actually want customers. He just wants a place to make coffee and chill.

M. Lampi

2025-04-16 17:07:04 +0000 UTC

I always like the gag that Yay is _plural_ they/them.

Aaron Burt

2025-04-16 15:28:46 +0000 UTC

Ahw, he called them 'goofy'! That's practically term of endearment!

Raymond Dannelly

2025-04-16 15:19:37 +0000 UTC

Reminds me of : - A: "How many Performance Poets does it take to change a light-bulb? B: "I don't know." A: "Neither do I. - I had to leave after 4 hours!"

Charles Hirst

2025-04-16 15:18:05 +0000 UTC

Given the scale of Alpha Ralpha Boulevard, that would require some Tardis-level dimensional engineering.

Phil_M

2025-04-16 15:07:31 +0000 UTC

🎼 "And so, there’s no Moray."

Claudia D.

2025-04-16 14:51:20 +0000 UTC

Too many syllables. Hello violence, hi/hey/and regret would work.

Joshua

2025-04-16 14:44:28 +0000 UTC

I'm imagining it as a sort of "Yakko Warner sings all the words in the English language"-style montage where I make it all the way to hour ten then finally collapse on the final verse. "Th-That's... A... Morfaceplant"

BookBeard

2025-04-16 14:30:09 +0000 UTC

There are days where that life seems appealing. So long as i could somehow perceive the drama in the shop.

CaseyAEC

2025-04-16 14:23:39 +0000 UTC

I wonder if there is an AI somewhere that would enjoy the quiet life of a coffee shop open/closed sign. It's only duty would be to flip to the correct side depending on the status of the shop.

Summer

2025-04-16 13:45:10 +0000 UTC

Plot twist: both sides say "closed".

Cullam

2025-04-16 12:19:09 +0000 UTC

You mean like when the Doom music kicks in episode of the Simpsons?

Opus the Poet

2025-04-16 11:51:48 +0000 UTC

I've never been to Disneyland and I've still heard that song too many times.

Opus the Poet

2025-04-16 11:49:22 +0000 UTC

Next official QC merch: The Sign 💰

Richard Frangiamore

2025-04-16 11:39:39 +0000 UTC

"Some languages borrow words from other languages. English follows them down dark alleys and mugs them!" [anon - always acknowledge your sources (I used to write Library Systems).] {apparently it is a paraphrase of a remark in a Usenet article <1990May15.155309.8892@watdragon.waterloo.edu> (1990), updated in Usenet article (2003) Found in https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Nicoll } Also - https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/mug

Charles Hirst

2025-04-16 11:14:37 +0000 UTC

Nor is + the correct sign of 1 for a Mersenne prime.

Rich Holmes

2025-04-16 10:49:31 +0000 UTC

I LOVE running gags. The flipping the sign thing just keeps giving

Bagge

2025-04-16 10:47:09 +0000 UTC

Could somebody map Cubetown? I think Alpha Ralpha Boulevard is there.

Joseph Bonnar

2025-04-16 07:48:57 +0000 UTC

Liz sure does know how to sweet-talk a goo gal xD

enchantedsleeper

2025-04-16 07:33:45 +0000 UTC

It will take 10 hours to perform in full

enchantedsleeper

2025-04-16 07:29:31 +0000 UTC

Oooppss! Thanks for that, well spotted. 🤣🤣

Shannon Woodbury

2025-04-16 06:09:02 +0000 UTC

So far, we really haven't seen much of it. Not a complaint, but perhaps some posters? Something along the lines of xkcd #730 for the clientele to ponder?

Ursus Ridens

2025-04-16 05:18:38 +0000 UTC

2049? ERROR_OUT_OF_COFFEE.

Ursus Ridens

2025-04-16 05:13:05 +0000 UTC

Alas, 11 is not the correct power for a Mersenne prime.

Clifton Royston

2025-04-16 04:57:39 +0000 UTC

I would rather see violent regret to be honest.

legobil

2025-04-16 04:53:13 +0000 UTC

Unless they are now friends: yes or no

legobil

2025-04-16 04:52:26 +0000 UTC

Oh, these two nerds!

legobil

2025-04-16 04:48:42 +0000 UTC

.... I suppose it's better than It's A Small World...

Am Queue

2025-04-16 04:35:30 +0000 UTC

I can totally commit violence without regret. Oh wait, that's BDSM.

Am Queue

2025-04-16 04:34:07 +0000 UTC

I'm waiting for the payoff where Regret doesn't show up.

Kith penDragon

2025-04-16 04:26:42 +0000 UTC

If so the third act is coming...about 2040 at the earliest, assuming that the first act ends soon and that the second act is about the same length.

Alex Rahr

2025-04-16 03:49:35 +0000 UTC

I saw the sign, and it opened up my mind…

Sarah

2025-04-16 03:46:23 +0000 UTC

If marten drinks coffee whenever he is not busy, that could lead to a bit of excess.

Paul Johnson

2025-04-16 03:37:26 +0000 UTC

Please tell me you’ve been capturing all these stanzas and will weave them into a whole song!

Nessi505

2025-04-16 03:16:30 +0000 UTC

Well, he IS the Prime Consort for The Librarian. The effort of keeping Marten adjacent to one or more AIs (besides the Moray units, which are highly suspect for all the obvious reasons) is totally worth having to constantly update the communal spreadsheet.

Michael Steamweed

2025-04-16 03:15:02 +0000 UTC

Given that this is Cubetown, yeah, I totally buy the "closed on both sides" AND "mobius sign" aspects.

Michael Steamweed

2025-04-16 03:13:31 +0000 UTC

We have yet to see them in action. I'm-a get the popcorn ready.

Michael Steamweed

2025-04-16 03:05:01 +0000 UTC

To be fair, were Yay to in fact be hiding in Cubetown, no one would think to look for them there. Pretty much the last place anyone would consider. The one kink in this logic: The Director. Methinks Yay might _not_ want to be that close.

Michael Steamweed

2025-04-16 03:04:16 +0000 UTC

Replying to Rich: Brilliant!

Claudia D.

2025-04-16 02:37:10 +0000 UTC

Yep, they appeared briefly in 5118. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5118

BookBeard

2025-04-16 02:30:30 +0000 UTC

Soon there will be a menu item called The Master Blaster.

Sean Kinlin

2025-04-16 02:28:58 +0000 UTC

It's a Möbius sign. It only has one side.

Rich Holmes

2025-04-16 02:27:25 +0000 UTC

There are some important problems involving 2^p + 1.

Sean Kinlin

2025-04-16 02:27:04 +0000 UTC

ValdVin is correct actually. Lemon said she had 2048 sisters which would make a total of 2049. Truly maddening for a computer nerd, but in fairness "just a little bit off" is pretty on-brand for the Melon family. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3906

BookBeard

2025-04-16 02:24:20 +0000 UTC

Fair enough.

Yelling Bird

2025-04-16 02:23:43 +0000 UTC

I dunno, I think the race between Northampton and Cubetown for "most AI shenanigans" is still a toss up. I mean, Melon alone surely has to be equivalent to the entire Wacky Hijinks Research Group.

BookBeard

2025-04-16 02:20:23 +0000 UTC

I love Violence and Regret! And also these two robots. 🥁

William Cole

2025-04-16 02:18:41 +0000 UTC

You assume we aren't still in the first act.

William Cole

2025-04-16 02:16:39 +0000 UTC

I was thinking more to the tune of The Sound of Silence when I read "Hello Violence, Hello Regret" :-D

Simon Green

2025-04-16 02:14:46 +0000 UTC

Indeed they did. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5118

BookBeard

2025-04-16 02:11:30 +0000 UTC

When a girl made of gel Has a sushi bar smell That's A Moray!

BookBeard

2025-04-16 02:09:32 +0000 UTC

^^ We’re diligently learning another language and our grammar is getting fubar’d in English (which is a ridiculous language anyway).

Ailadi

2025-04-16 02:06:37 +0000 UTC

They also showed up when Martin and Liz were out looking for a location to be a coffee shop.

alphanor

2025-04-16 02:05:28 +0000 UTC

We've come to you for coffee get

Simon Green

2025-04-16 01:58:03 +0000 UTC

The sign says closed on both sides.

Mad Marie

2025-04-16 01:57:47 +0000 UTC

2046

Mad Marie

2025-04-16 01:57:00 +0000 UTC

Also miss Yay (who goes by 'they')

Sean Kinlin

2025-04-16 01:54:07 +0000 UTC

Don't Lemon and Melon have 2047 other sisters? Because that's where this math is going.

ValdVin

2025-04-16 01:53:00 +0000 UTC

When Elliot and Clinton comes to Cubetown to start their bakery and Texas Roadhouse style bbq joint, they will hire an AI unit named BookBread… who becomes Roko’s new friend.

Miyaa

2025-04-16 01:48:59 +0000 UTC

My current theory: Yay is hiding out in Alice Grove.

Rich Holmes

2025-04-16 01:47:38 +0000 UTC

So… Double Dare 2000?

Miyaa

2025-04-16 01:45:18 +0000 UTC

If this keeps up, martin is going to risk either straining something or else loosing his unflappable cool (death by goof). On the plus side, we are also starting to realize what Yay was on about with this place, and we can be 1000% sure Cubeworld is not where she (oops... They! Sorry Yay 😂) are currently hiding out - Yay trying to live in this kind of environment would be downright apoplectic in 5 minutes (see aforementioned death by goof). I miss Yay 😟

Shannon Woodbury

2025-04-16 01:41:25 +0000 UTC

The truth: there is no sign to flip. Liz just tells him he didn't flip it to mess with him.

Joseph Houk

2025-04-16 01:39:24 +0000 UTC

I think he's nostalgic for only having to deal with one extremely goofy AI.

Daryl Sawyer

2025-04-16 01:38:24 +0000 UTC

These two are just teases. I am yet to see enough regretful violence #chekovsbrutality

MikeT

2025-04-16 01:35:41 +0000 UTC

The real trouble happens when these two leave, and four more come in. Then when they leave, another eight arrive, and then...

Sean Kinlin

2025-04-16 01:35:25 +0000 UTC

And 28 whole seconds without checking his phone

Rich Holmes

2025-04-16 01:35:14 +0000 UTC

The Watchmen used the song.

Joseph Bonnar

2025-04-16 01:34:43 +0000 UTC

Greetings!

Vilinda

2025-04-16 01:33:56 +0000 UTC

You know, if Marten is bothered by the shenanigans of goofy AI's he couldn't have picked a worse place to move to.

Yelling Bird

2025-04-16 01:32:39 +0000 UTC

You can't commit Violence without Regret. Even in an asylum, they're a matched set.

Amelia Lewis

2025-04-16 01:32:20 +0000 UTC

In a trenchcoat

Jack Foy

2025-04-16 01:32:04 +0000 UTC

Have we seen them since 5035? Which was [checks notes] TWO YEARS AGO? (They aren't in QC Extensions.)

Rich Holmes

2025-04-16 01:30:45 +0000 UTC

Panel 2: Moray amore

Sean Kinlin

2025-04-16 01:29:46 +0000 UTC

Inert Explosives Festival might be a good name for a band...

Captain Button

2025-04-16 01:29:38 +0000 UTC

I seriously doubt Liz has actually been in a sushi bar. Unless that bar is right along the Atlantic coast next to the Dildo Newfoundland battery manufacturing facilities.

Miyaa

2025-04-16 01:29:08 +0000 UTC

When is Marten gonna flip that damn sign? Also I want to poke Moray's stomach for science 🧐

Wooly50

2025-04-16 01:29:02 +0000 UTC

That checks out

Shinymelon Fearnow

2025-04-16 01:27:22 +0000 UTC

Various AIs work together to make sure there's always at least one near Marten. The 30 seconds was the time it took for Moray to tag these two in.

Sean Kinlin

2025-04-16 01:27:13 +0000 UTC

Is there a film scene with heavy violence to that track? Something rings a bell about that...

Mad Marie

2025-04-16 01:27:02 +0000 UTC

Another appearance of theirs: https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5035

Keith Steiger

2025-04-16 01:26:24 +0000 UTC

She did try once, but the sign wasn't flipped to open.

Mad Marie

2025-04-16 01:25:43 +0000 UTC

In an alternate universe, Faye inflicted violence on Anh, who them regretted her actions, and something inexplicably started beeping in Marten's shop.

Bill Silvia

2025-04-16 01:25:01 +0000 UTC

Yeah my brain keeps toggling that too.

Mad Marie

2025-04-16 01:25:01 +0000 UTC

Reconciliation also goes by the nickname "Dare"

Mad Marie

2025-04-16 01:24:16 +0000 UTC

BookBeard: the QC librarian

djellafine

2025-04-16 01:23:22 +0000 UTC

https://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5009

Mad Marie

2025-04-16 01:22:20 +0000 UTC

I'm sure we've seen them before. This is a job for... BOOKBEARD!

Joseph Bonnar

2025-04-16 01:21:46 +0000 UTC

Jeph, you gave me an earworm dating back to 1971! Sign, sign, everywhere a sign Blockin' out the scenery Breakin' my mind Do this, don't do that Can't you read the sign? FIve man electrical band.

Joseph Bonnar

2025-04-16 01:21:10 +0000 UTC

https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5009 They show up several times later too. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5035

alphanor

2025-04-16 01:20:53 +0000 UTC

I want Dora to visit Marten and see the coffee shop that he's made.

Scott Haley

2025-04-16 01:20:08 +0000 UTC

Iris's cousins

SpookyPenguin

2025-04-16 01:20:02 +0000 UTC

My only regret is that I haven't committed enough violence!

Shawn K. Younkin

2025-04-16 01:18:31 +0000 UTC

Later, Regret: "I just looked it up..."

Mad Marie

2025-04-16 01:18:23 +0000 UTC

One steps out, two step in vs One step out, two steps in 😁

Stephen B.

2025-04-16 01:18:20 +0000 UTC

♫Hello Violence my old friend...♫

ValdVin

2025-04-16 01:18:14 +0000 UTC

I like these two! I hope they come bringing new shenanigans into Marten's life.

SilverbackRon

2025-04-16 01:18:08 +0000 UTC

Their other twins are Truth and Reconciliation.

Simpin4Holo

2025-04-16 01:18:04 +0000 UTC

They have been around for a while. They appeared the day Claire decided to take the Librarian position. Book Beard will be along shortly with the link to their first appearance.

SilverbackRon

2025-04-16 01:17:20 +0000 UTC

"Can the two of us share a single cup? Someone told us that was a meme, but we haven't bothered to look it up."

Mad Marie

2025-04-16 01:17:11 +0000 UTC

Yes, they are Violence and Regret, we have seen them before in the comic Bookbeard will be linking momentarily.

Captain Button

2025-04-16 01:16:56 +0000 UTC

It canonically is !

Etienne M.J. Dubourg

2025-04-16 01:16:41 +0000 UTC

So are violence and regret like Pintsize’s older twin sisters?

Miyaa

2025-04-16 01:16:30 +0000 UTC

But which came first, Violence or Regret?

Captain Button

2025-04-16 01:15:57 +0000 UTC

Mmmmm. Sushi!

J.C. Hewitt

2025-04-16 01:15:27 +0000 UTC

I hope those are their names.

Tannerbot

2025-04-16 01:15:22 +0000 UTC

mood coffee is the new thunderdome

Brendan Luster

2025-04-16 01:15:21 +0000 UTC

Do we know these cuties? Cause I don't remember these cuties

Alcaria Swain

2025-04-16 01:15:15 +0000 UTC

One Steps Out, Two Step In

Comments

Make some kind of generative AI sing it!

My very sincere condolences, Carl.

All four, Valdvin.'

It's the coffee equivalent of a second hand bookshop, in which Marten is attempting to enjoy a comfortable retirement disguised as a career.

We rode that ride at least twice on our honeymoon, 53 years ago. We would have reached our fiftieth, if Covid had not happened.

Violence rides on the shoulders of Regret. Or is it the other way around?

The two things who stepped in!

"I like the sound of that: Marten Reed, Suuuper Genius!"

Um, I'm a little lost here: Liz & Moray or Violence & Regret?

BookBeard I'd pay to watch it.

I'm picturing an exchange between Marten and Sy (the AI sign) resembling the exchange between Wile E. Coyote and the sheepdog in the old cartoons ...

Ugh, you're right but that made me go back and factor 2047 (23 x 89) as well as 2049 (3 x 683, easier because of the sum-of-digits rule.)

Moray's love language.

PERFECT for the Wacky Hijinks Department!

You know the law.

"You know the law: Two men enter, one man leaves. "

Marten doesn't actually want customers. He just wants a place to make coffee and chill.

I always like the gag that Yay is _plural_ they/them.

Ahw, he called them 'goofy'! That's practically term of endearment!

Reminds me of : - A: "How many Performance Poets does it take to change a light-bulb? B: "I don't know." A: "Neither do I. - I had to leave after 4 hours!"

Given the scale of Alpha Ralpha Boulevard, that would require some Tardis-level dimensional engineering.

🎼 "And so, there’s no Moray."

Too many syllables. Hello violence, hi/hey/and regret would work.

I'm imagining it as a sort of "Yakko Warner sings all the words in the English language"-style montage where I make it all the way to hour ten then finally collapse on the final verse. "Th-That's... A... Mor*faceplant*"

There are days where that life seems appealing. So long as i could somehow perceive the drama in the shop.

I wonder if there is an AI somewhere that would enjoy the quiet life of a coffee shop open/closed sign. It's only duty would be to flip to the correct side depending on the status of the shop.

Plot twist: both sides say "closed".

You mean like when the Doom music kicks in episode of the Simpsons?

I've never been to Disneyland and I've still heard that song too many times.

Next official QC merch: The Sign 💰

Nor is + the correct sign of 1 for a Mersenne prime.

I LOVE running gags. The flipping the sign thing just keeps giving

Could somebody map Cubetown? I think Alpha Ralpha Boulevard is there.

Liz sure does know how to sweet-talk a goo gal xD

It will take 10 hours to perform in full

Oooppss! Thanks for that, well spotted. 🤣🤣

So far, we really haven't seen much of it. Not a complaint, but perhaps some posters? Something along the lines of xkcd #730 for the clientele to ponder?

2049? ERROR_OUT_OF_COFFEE.

Alas, 11 is not the correct power for a Mersenne prime.

I would rather see violent regret to be honest.

Unless they are now friends: yes or no

Oh, these two nerds!

.... I suppose it's better than It's A Small World...

I can totally commit violence without regret. Oh wait, that's BDSM.

I'm waiting for the payoff where Regret doesn't show up.

If so the third act is coming...about 2040 at the earliest, assuming that the first act ends soon and that the second act is about the same length.

I saw the sign, and it opened up my mind…

If marten drinks coffee whenever he is not busy, that could lead to a bit of excess.

Please tell me you’ve been capturing all these stanzas and will weave them into a whole song!

Well, he IS the Prime Consort for The Librarian. The effort of keeping Marten adjacent to one or more AIs (besides the Moray units, which are highly suspect for all the obvious reasons) is totally worth having to constantly update the communal spreadsheet.

Given that this is Cubetown, yeah, I totally buy the "closed on both sides" AND "mobius sign" aspects.

We have yet to see them in action. I'm-a get the popcorn ready.

To be fair, were Yay to in fact be hiding in Cubetown, no one would think to look for them there. Pretty much the last place anyone would consider. The one kink in this logic: The Director. Methinks Yay might _not_ want to be that close.

Replying to Rich: Brilliant!

Yep, they appeared briefly in 5118. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5118

Soon there will be a menu item called The Master Blaster.

It's a Möbius sign. It only has one side.

There are some important problems involving 2^p + 1.

ValdVin is correct actually. Lemon said she had 2048 sisters which would make a total of 2049. Truly maddening for a computer nerd, but in fairness "just a little bit off" is pretty on-brand for the Melon family. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=3906

Fair enough.

I dunno, I think the race between Northampton and Cubetown for "most AI shenanigans" is still a toss up. I mean, Melon alone surely has to be equivalent to the entire Wacky Hijinks Research Group.

I love Violence and Regret! And also these two robots. 🥁

You assume we aren't still in the first act.

I was thinking more to the tune of The Sound of Silence when I read "Hello Violence, Hello Regret" :-D

Indeed they did. https://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5118

When a girl made of gel Has a sushi bar smell That's A Moray!

^^ We’re diligently learning another language and our grammar is getting fubar’d in English (which is a ridiculous language anyway).

They also showed up when Martin and Liz were out looking for a location to be a coffee shop.

We've come to you for coffee get

The sign says closed on both sides.

2046

Also miss Yay (who goes by 'they')

Don't Lemon and Melon have 2047 other sisters? Because that's where this math is going.

When Elliot and Clinton comes to Cubetown to start their bakery and Texas Roadhouse style bbq joint, they will hire an AI unit named BookBread… who becomes Roko’s new friend.

My current theory: Yay is hiding out in Alice Grove.

So… Double Dare 2000?

The truth: there is no sign to flip. Liz just tells him he didn't flip it to mess with him.

I think he's nostalgic for only having to deal with one extremely goofy AI.

I'm imagining it as a sort of "Yakko Warner sings all the words in the English language"-style montage where I make it all the way to hour ten then finally collapse on the final verse. "Th-That's... A... Morfaceplant"