38 Responses to Chapter 1 | Page 25

  1. w
    wnp says:

    Ah, well the monkey and his wrench have made the scene.

    • mvandinter says:

      Wait. I thought the author was the monkey with a typewriter. Now he has a wrench?

      • Lilithmae says:

        Author with a wrench? That could result in hilarity or serious injury. Or hilarious injury of a most severe nature. Either way, it’s fun all around.

        • mvandinter says:

          The more-severe the injury, the more hilarious fun we all get to have! Now pardon me while I throw myself head-first down a flight of stairs.

  2. H
    Hornet says:

    Yay! for easily accessed pressure control valves.

    “There ain’t no victory at sea
    Unless it’s mutiny”

    • mvandinter says:

      He he. You said “pressure control valves” as if I actually knew what their function was when I drew them 😉

      • Thorin Schmidt says:

        “Gee Harvey, shouldn’t we place these valves a little higher? Anyone working them is gonna have to stoop over..”
        “True Marv, but we need to put them a little lower. That way, if Philo’s sneaky little brat brother comes in to sabotage this, he’ll be able to reach everything more easily.”
        “Oh yeah, I didn’t think about that, Marv. Good thing we have you on the job!”

      • H
        Hornet says:

        Their function is to keep the steam pressure from blowing the boiler to kingdom come and poaching the crew.

      • w
        wnp says:

        heh, well your gears don’t mesh either so the machine can’t possibly go anywhere. 😉

  3. The Dark Ferret says:

    Wood? Coal contains much more energy per unit. The Victorians certainly had access to it, so why would they use wood in the boilers?

    • mvandinter says:

      Hi, Dark Ferret! Thanks for joining the conversation.

      Now on to the Victorian Wood kerfuffle: I once rode in a paddle-wheel steamer that used wood as fuel, and I thought it was cool. The Unearth story, while historical, cultural, and scientific nonsense, is supposedly set in the Regency period.

      • Thorin Schmidt says:

        Also, have you ever been a busy crewman stuck in the boiler room during your “lunch break”? Toasting your sandwich over a nice wood fire makes for better flavour… (I have to be right, i spelled “flavor” with a U)

      • The Dark Ferret says:

        Well, I’m no historical expert, but I do like when my fiction hangs together in a reasonably scientific way. My research indicates that the Regency era had steam engines. In fact, a race was on to develop better steam engines precisely to open up access to more coal reserves, which would (and did), have created a self-feeding chain of steam-powered development.

        More so, coal provides considerable more energy per unit. I can understand the romantic notion of a wood-fired boiler room, but lets be just a little bit practical here. All the fuel you will use you must carry with you. Which do you choose? The romantic one, or the practical one? Coal is clearly the logical choice. Don’t take my word for it, here’s some actual research: “Density of the fuel Bituminous mine run coal is 40-50 pounds per cubic foot. Wood is about is about 40 pounds per cubic foot (average) and a useful number for this discussion. Let us say that both are 40 pounds per cubic foot but the BTU value of wood is half that of the same volume of coal. This means that you will use two times as much wood for the same heat.” (http://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/31997-btus-coal-vs-coke-vs-charcoal-vs-wood/)

        If you are using wood to power your magnificent steam-powered drill thing, then most of the interior space is dedicated to fuel storage – I’d say about 90% thereof, instead of fantastical machinery and whatnot. It’s certainly plausible, but what a waste.

        • mvandinter says:

          You’re right, of course. No argument here. I readily concede that the fiction does not live up to scientific or historical scrutiny. Going by that measure, I’m afraid the entire story is already a lost cause.

  4. Apvogt says:

    Should the men be tied down or nailed?

    • mvandinter says:

      I cannot unread what I just read. Eww.

      • H
        Hornet says:

        But given how the comic is written it is a valid question, and actually I invisioned him nailing their feet to the floor (I’m not a good person). However I’d suggest the use of rare-earth magnets in the soles of their boots.

        • Thorin Schmidt says:

          That would work better. Have you ever tried nailing into metal? Also, that would solve the “falling-off-the-ladder-while-trying-to-operate-the-valve” scenario from the previous page.

  5. Aslandus says:

    Careful Roddy! If you remove those pipes the steam won’t be able to pressurize the drill and you won’t be able to launch!

    • H
      Hornet says:

      True, Course is there steam is even close to a operating pressure he could lose body parts and not even know it, at least not until he moves the stump out of the steam stream. I hear losing a finger that way was relatively common on navy vessels.

      • mvandinter says:

        The actual operating pressure has more to do with delivering a comic page every week for 2 years. A secondary factor would be the pressure sensitivity of my drawing tablet. Steam has been reported to come out of my ears, but wax is more common.

  6. Thorin Schmidt says:

    Laptop, check
    Tablet, check
    personal Workstation, check
    Classroom server, check
    Lecture workstation, check
    All 18 student workstations, check(18)
    Smartphone, check

    Okay, that’s today’s twc voting done!

  7. Alphaghoul says:

    Geez, this seems like taking it a bit to far, what is Roddy’s problem?

    • Thorin Schmidt says:

      He was serious when he said that he AND his brother both wasn’t too be only children. I suspect it has something to with the family fortune, and the fact that Philo is secretly jealous of how much more manly Roddy is than himself, despite being very much older.

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