Get Through This Together 2016-06-15

[GlytchMeister]

Kudzu seeds pass through goats and sheep without harm and thus are spread and fertilized

Well... Shit.

[Dave]

Kudzu seeds pass through goats and sheep without harm and thus are spread and fertilized

Well... Shit.

In a word, yes.

[Warrl]

Kudzu seeds pass through goats and sheep without harm and thus are spread and fertilized

Well... Shit.

Pun jar... but not chamber pot.

[GlytchMeister]

*deposits a bag of manure-based fertilizer*

[Opus the Poet]

I have it on good authority (Anton Brown of FoodNetwork fame) that kudzu makes a tasty salad. So maybe we jut need to spread the word around South and eat it away or at least control it somewhat.

[sheik]

I have it on good authority (Anton Brown of FoodNetwork fame) that kudzu makes a tasty salad. So maybe we jut need to spread the word around South and eat it away or at least control it somewhat.

Having done some experimentation myself on the subject, I can attest that kudzu leaves have far too much fiber.
However, I once saw a demonstration of making mesquite leaves into something edible by grinding them up and filtering out the fiber. Apparently it makes something akin to tofu in appearance.
If that could be adapted to kudzu, we'd have a very abundant source of vegetable protein.
And, of course, suddenly the stuff wouldn't grow because it was no longer an invasive weed.

[FreeFlier]

I have it on good authority (Anton Brown of FoodNetwork fame) that kudzu makes a tasty salad. So maybe we jut need to spread the word around South and eat it away or at least control it somewhat.

Having done some experimentation myself on the subject, I can attest that kudzu leaves have far too much fiber. . . .

Might work better with young tender leaves . . .

. . . However, I once saw a demonstration of making mesquite leaves into something edible by grinding them up and filtering out the fiber. Apparently it makes something akin to tofu in appearance.
If that could be adapted to kudzu, we'd have a very abundant source of vegetable protein.
And, of course, suddenly the stuff wouldn't grow because it was no longer an invasive weed.

Sounds like a win-win.

The Wikipedia article mentions using kudzu for biofuels . . . don't know how well that works.

--FreeFlier

[TazManiac]

I have it on good authority (Anton Brown of FoodNetwork fame) that kudzu makes a tasty salad. So maybe we jut need to spread the word around South and eat it away or at least control it somewhat.

Yes, but what do the Goats & Sheep taste like?

[Catawampus]

She's still quite young (blackthorn wisdom not withstanding) and somehow I doubt she has the stamena for such an ordeal yet.

Well, if Atsali was described as a firecracker, perhaps Castela's a real pistil.

Wait, wait, wait.

Let's assume for a second that she is growing larger, like almost every organism does. That's all well and good. But her human form is just a weave of vines and branches. Exactly why would the addition of biomass necessarily manifest as height? Why not girth? Why not just a denser weave so that she can increase her height more gradually and less awkwardly? Her outer appearance is basically arbitrary, isn't it?

Most plants have a directional bias in their growth. It could be that the shape of her human form is at least partly determined by natural instincts or genetics. The cosmetics of her look may be under her control, but it would take more of an effort to break out of her natural look into something shorter yet wider.

Kudzu seeds pass through goats and sheep without harm and thus are spread and fertilized

Which is why we need to equip sheep and goats with afterburners.

[Dave]

Kudzu seeds pass through goats and sheep without harm and thus are spread and fertilized

Which is why we need to equip sheep and goats with afterburners.

Definitely! Why should Atsali have all the fun?

[GlytchMeister]

Which is why we need to equip sheep and goats with afterburners.

...that might actually be a valid solution for all the methane cows produce. Burning methane produces carbon dioxide, but methane is waaaaay worse than carbon dioxide. If a farm doesn't have the infrastructure necessary to harvest, purify, contain, and ship methane to be used as fuel for a power plant, afterburners could be the next best thing.

[AnotherFairportfan]

Kudzu seeds pass through goats and sheep without harm and thus are spread and fertilized

Which is why we need to equip sheep and goats with afterburners.

Cf. Gunnerkrigg Court, "laser cows".

[Septuagenarian]

Is this a really weird para growth thing or have we skipped 5 or 6 years? If the latter, we need updates on everyone elses's status.

[Dave]

Is this a really weird para growth thing or have we skipped 5 or 6 years? If the latter, we need updates on everyone elses's status.

I don't think there's any hint that Atsali and Nadette have grown up several years - they'd be out of high school and into college, and there has been no evidence of that.

So, it's probably a para/Blackthorn growth spurt - one which greatly exceeds the rate of humans and animal-derived paras, I think.

There may have been a time skip of a few months... Paul hasn't said, one way or the other, as far as I can tell.

[FreeFlier]

. . .

Kudzu seeds pass through goats and sheep without harm and thus are spread and fertilized

Which is why we need to equip sheep and goats with afterburners.

Feed them habaneros?

--FreeFlier

[lake_wrangler]

Is this a really weird para growth thing or have we skipped 5 or 6 years? If the latter, we need updates on everyone elses's status.

I don't think there's any hint that Atsali and Nadette have grown up several years - they'd be out of high school and into college, and there has been no evidence of that.

So, it's probably a para/Blackthorn growth spurt - one which greatly exceeds the rate of humans and animal-derived paras, I think.

There may have been a time skip of a few months... Paul hasn't said, one way or the other, as far as I can tell.

The only time skip I can tell is that of going from the beginning of the day, where Atsali and Nadette were discussing their plans for the day, which freaked Atsali out, as it was all social stuff, and the end of the day, on the next comic, where she mentions barely surviving the ordeal. The growth spurt must have either occurred at night, but we didn't know about it while A & N were doing their planning, or it occurred while they were out. I'm guessing this may be the next day or soon after, seeing as it's soon enough after the growth spurt to not yet have new clothes to accommodate the new size.

[TheCollector]

Is this a really weird para growth thing or have we skipped 5 or 6 years? If the latter, we need updates on everyone elses's status.

I don't think there's any hint that Atsali and Nadette have grown up several years - they'd be out of high school and into college, and there has been no evidence of that.

So, it's probably a para/Blackthorn growth spurt - one which greatly exceeds the rate of humans and animal-derived paras, I think.

There may have been a time skip of a few months... Paul hasn't said, one way or the other, as far as I can tell.

Y'know, you may wanna re think that Animal-derived part. Don't forget how much younger Atsali looked when she first appeared. And I'm not just talking about her chest.

[FreeFlier]

The last time we saw the lil' weed was here . . . back before the norwegian misadventure, and we don't see her below the shoulders, so we can't tell how tall she is.

Here we see Castela down to about waist level . . .

Here was the last time we saw her full-length but she's curled up . . . and how long ago was that in-comic? Long enough for Atsali to be off restrictions and have joined the flight team . . .

And the last time we saw Castela full-length (besides the cannon-in-the-library sequence, the accuracy/reality of which is highly suspect) was clear back at Christmas . . . and she's shorter than Dayella then.

So she may have been building up to a major growth spurt, and actively started it before we saw enough to recognize it . . . until Paul hung a lampshade on it . . .

--FreeFlier

[oldmanmickey]

Case in point, on a good growth day (otherwise known as a bad day) for kudzu, you can watch it grow.

It's Alabama and Arkansas that are having the most trouble with kudzu, right? Wasn't there some free-range goat/sheep solution proposed for that?

yes and it does to some extent work. problem is the areas they cant reach

[GlytchMeister]

Trees.. Buildings... The tops of people's heads...