February 20th, 2009
JEFBOT.122_Submarines and Satellites
Seriously, what’s the probability of two modern submarines having a “fender bender” in the Atlantic? And of two satellites doing a bit more than that? How about both of these incidents occurring within weeks of each other? Lots of numbers going on in that calculation and it’s keeping me up at night! Well, that, insomnia and getting this strip out twice a week.
I’m glad I own neither a submarine or a satellite. Insurance rates for those babies has probably skyrocketed because of this.
heheh. i wonder if aflac has a plan for either of those, Wyvv?
Hahaha, I was thinking the same thing!! Try driving on the NJ turnpike…
(Yea, my first post!)
thanks for commenting, Lil’ Hana! never driven on the NJ turnpike but i think it’s an experience i’ll pass on for now.
I have a bad feeling about Cornfather and those keys! Jefbot needs to watch out! Artwork on this strip gets way more than 2 thumbs up!
it’s true that the Cornfather can’t be trusted, Spanky. we’ll see if he does anything with those keys, though.
thanks for the multiple thumbs up on the artwork!
My God, bot, I never even thought of it like that. If it’s any consolation, neither outer space nor the Atlantic have the 405 freeway which keeps the cars extremely organized….wait a minute, I dont’ think that’s a consolation. But if THIS is any consolation, I absolutely LOVE this strip. The subs crashing and satellites exploding are awesome, man. And your insomniacal eyes are hysterical. Great strip all around. The lack of sleep seems to be working for you.
thanks, Cornacchia. i agree, the 405 is absolutely no consolation at all!
another stellar strip! i think you should stop driving. people don’t really need cars to commute to westlake village.
believe me, if i could get to westlake village without driving i would, g. got a spare jet pack?
I think the first panel is my favorite, the underwater/steel texture is a really neat touch.
California traffic doesn’t bother me that much, it’s the collisions with stationary objects that worries me. What’s your excuse then?!
thanks for the kind words about my artwork, Foxmouse. and i’m pretty much concerned with colliding with anything – moving or stationary!
heh, so true. Though statistically you are safer in a Plane, so maybe JefBot should get his flying license?
sounds like a good solution to me jh3, but i don’t think jefbot could afford one at the moment.
Awesome strip!!! But I feel like I should stop driving too…
heh. let me know how that goes if you go through with it, Jeff.
I love it! First of all… so true! I’m afraid to drive too! Second, I LOVE THE COLOR OF THIS STRIP!!! It’s beautiful. Finally, what about flying? I fly a lot for my job, and I just don’t feel safe in the air anymore either…. How long before we can teleport???
i ask myself that question every time i get into my car, funnyshaffer!
Years ago, I used to commute from Costa Mesa to Pasadena on a motorcycle. Jefbot’s expression is about how I feel looking back on it.
omg, a motorcycle!? it gives me chills just thinking about you thinking about it, estiveo! :-O
I was gonna say that then I would take public transportation instead of driving (Puerto Rico doesn’t have trains), but then… the bus driver could collide with anything on the road (and there have been lots of train accidents as well!). So my solution? To hide under my computer desk.
true that, Sonitan. nothing’s safe!!! your desk option’s the best idea yet.
funnyshaffer: “How long before we can teleport???”
Two words: Seth Brundle. (Proof that biological collisions can be every bit as horrific as their mechanical/technological counterparts.)
P.S. Great strip, ‘bot!
i absolutely agree with you about biological collisions there, reynard61. i guess teleportation’s out now, too.
brundlebot!
So much for ‘two ships passing in the night,’ eh?
The disconnected and terrified look in jefbot’s eyes in the last panel are perfect. You can tell, with ease, that he’s picturing some awful wreckage. Great strip.
thanks, dude. i’m sure there’ll be many more looks of terror from jefbot for you to enjoy in the future.
I worry about this ALL THE TIME.
glad you share in jefbot’s (and my!) fears, Shan.
There’s no way you can move fast enough in LA traffic to have a collision that will be any more than a fender bender. I laugh when I see signs that read “Speed Limit 65 mph” Might as well make it 87, because I’m stuck in a parking lot!
true, the 405′s a parking lot at almost all times, but i suggest trying the 101 heading to thousand oaks in the morning, or going over laurel canyon at 9pm at night on a weekend to see the true horror of l.a. drivers. go after a light rain to amplify the craziness.
True dat. I wonder if someone let out a Ping after the collision between the subs. Love crazy Big Eye/Little Eye.
one ping only?
Great job on those submarines! Your coloring skill continues to impress me more and more!
thanks, Stan! i appreciate the compliment.
dude, you are so right… LA traffic is the scariest of all!
you’d think i’d be used to it, having lived here all my life, alecho, but no. still scary.
A british sub, i’m driving accross britain for an anime expo, i must be extra vigilent! I share your fear!
watch out for falling satellites too, Kylej64. you can never be too careful.
XD Jefbot XD
thanks for the XD, DaughterJudy.
I’m more worried about all the Kamikaze birds out there. A plane hit a turkey vulture the other day. They are getting smarter…..duh duh DUUUHHHH!!!
great. now i have something new to fear, Rachel M.
I grew up in CA learned to drive there and I can say with full authority…WA drivers are WORSE! Yes granted they are better for pedestrians but they SLOW DOWN when merging on to the freeway! They slow down by 20mph when it’s raining….which it does often. They also have no idea what a HOV (Carpool) lane is for. HOV = The VERY FAST LANE. Not the I want to drive 60mph in it just because the rest of the traffic is backed up. So what if all the suckers w/o a passenger are reduced to going 20mph that doesn’t mean we can’t still do 80! Oh and seriously who was the genius that decided OFF ramps would be GREAT to put on the LEFT side of the freeway! Yes I kid you not they have exits that exit from the fast lane that semi’s have to use. Needless to say its not fun. So driving in CA is much easier in that all you have to do is drive forcibly defensively and you’ll survive. In WA you just have to drive quickly and pray you out run the cops.
okay, now i don’t feel so bad about my drive, Ploute. thanks.
The art is spectacular…and I did wonder about the collisions….
glad you liked the art, jAnonymous. and nice to know you were thinking about those collisions, too. drive much?
Actually, our orbital region is so cluttered that the space administrations have to keep track of all the garbage floating around up there. I’m not surprised two satellites ran into each other. Anyway, it’s not like those things have good brakes.
and now with the huge debris field created by the collision, there’s even more junk floating around up there, Skreyola! more collisions to come, certainly.
LoL it does help drivers in that they have sight to help them out, whereas people in submarines have to rely on equipment that could be faulty, and satellites have no crew to correct their courses. So I’d say, all in all, drivers have a much better survivability rate than satellites or subs. Great stip Bot!
you’d think with all the nuclear reactors and warheads on those subs that they’d make sure the equipment was working at 100% at all times, Eptha! or maybe that’s just wishful thinking. heheh. you’re right though, i’d rather be in a car than in a satellite traveling at 25,000 mph without a steering wheel.
and that is why i never get on public transport. and now we know and knowing is half the battle.
yeah, that’s true, JF3 – as scary as i think driving is, at least i’m somewhat in control. not sure i trust my life to some random driver, although i could get a lot more work, drawing and nintendo ds playing done if i took public transportation. hmmm…
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Just finished reading through your archives, and wanted to say I love your strip, some of them actually made me laugh out loud (I refuse to use leetspeek), and I am at work, luckily on my lunchbreak (mostly). And that eyeball close up scared the crap out of me when it popped up. I love the messages from friends and family, it really adds to the appeal of the strip.
Just a comment on the sub collision, it is really not that much of a surprise, they were probably doing an exercise and practicing tracking/stalking each other, and they can get quite aggressive. With modern subs being so stealthy, tracking them is very difficult. These incidents are not that uncommon, although luckily it is usually minor damage, and don’t get much news coverage. More aggressive manoevering and collisions/incidents were quite common in the cold war U.S./U.S.S.R. days.
Yep – boomer guys (I’ve known a few) call it “chicken of the sea” (reference to 1950′s greasers’ game of “playing chicken” where two cars would aim themselves into a head-on collision. First one to swerve to the side was the “chicken”. Stupid game. Not my generation – but I’m old enough to have seen it played.)
[...] fear of driving other people’s cars for years (actually, I’ve never particularly liked driving in L.A., period). I can’t even have someone riding in my car with me without freaking out a bit [...]