Rockwood: The Rockwood Mailbag.

The Rockwood Mailbag

Express yourself!

Have you always wanted to let Team Rockwood know just what you were thinking? Do you wonder why the panels of the strip are laid out horizontally instead of vertically? Or do you have sensitive documents that will bring down the government? In any case, we want to know! Just fill out your name and e-mail address, then let 'er rip! No question or comment is too bizarre for Team Rockwood to take a stab at, and if we can get enough mail coming in, this page will be updated weekly! (Unlike the old mailbag page, which got updated about four times in two years.)

So consider this an experiment in web interactivity. Or, consider it a way to artificially inflate our hit count. Either way, just write in!

Updated on December 17, 2001
		December 12, 2001 I think Frankie's message was telling people to give the calendar as a gift. Instead of just asking for it for yourself, give it to people as well. Not that you (Rockwood) should give away the calendar. Also, will the calendar still be available in January (just in case no one buys it for me for Christmas)? --Holly
		December 13, 2001 Um, I think Frankie meant not for you to give the calendar to us (although that would be cool), but that your veiwers should shower calenders on their friends & relatives. More money 4u! --Barkers
		After further review, we think you're both probably right. This, of course, is the hazard of throwing together the Mailbag page at the last minute every week. We apparently misconstrued Frankie's helpful meaning completely, and we tried to apologize, but the email address Frankie provided us didn't work. So Frankie, if you're still out there, the score is currently Frankie 1, Team Rockwood 0. Thanks for trying to help, it's just that sometimes we're too dim to realize when someone's on our side. And yes, Holly, the 2002 Rockwood Calendar will still be available after Christmas. In fact, at this point, even if you ordered it today, I don't think the post office could get it to you before the 25th anyway. So in fact, now the 2002 Rockwood Calendar is only available after Christmas. But that's okay, since you can't really use it until after Christmas anyway. It makes a good New Year's Day gift!
		December 11, 2001 I think we should switch from the preschool term "orbity thingies" and go to the college-sounding term "hydrogen-style electrons." Whaddya think, cool guy? --Urman, not Herman!
		December 14, 2001 Dumb observation #3487... Did you know that the little grey orbity things around your links are all at different places in their orbits at any given time? Or at least they were the first time I looked. Now I look again and now they are all doing the "Rockettes" thing with their movements all synchronized... I suppose this e-mail tells you I have wa-aa-aay too much time on my hands... LOL! Take care. --James
		We think we need a little clarification here. Since Rockwood is a space-based strip, technically the little orbity thingies are supposed to represent planetary motion more than electrons. However, it wouldn't really be college-sounding to refer to them as electrons anyway. The Bohr model of atomic structure is now considered outdated, having been replaced by Schroedinger's theories instead. This also partially explains why you can never precisely place where the orbity thingies are as they orbit the links. Now that's more information than you can swing a cat at, don't you think?
		December 11, 2001 Y have u not visited the space station, I mean as Skip's creator he should give u a discount. --Matt
		Actually, Skip has offered a 50 percent discount to the members of Team Rockwood, but even at that slashed rate, space travel is so expensive that for now, we'll have to read about it just like everyone else.
		December 12, 2001 I like your tribute to the Charlie Brown Christmas movie with Al, the tree, and the red ball ornament. --Mara
		We like to sneak stuff like that in just to see if anyone's paying attention. Count yourself amongst the observant, Mara.
		December 13, 2001 Why not call the station "Hotel Orgie"? --Guffman
		Because Bill Clinton only visits the station occasionally.
		December 13, 2001 You had recently stated that no one had solved this year's Engineer Week questions. Well, I had a few free minutes and decided to solve them. Frame 1: 50kg (mass of body).03(3%)=1.5kg of alcohol 1kg=1L so, 1.5L of alcohol! Frame 2 (assuming Bob is still alive):* arctan(2.5/3.0)=39.8 360-39.8=320.2 with approximately .5 degrees leeway on each side (the toilet seat is not just a point, usually), assuming drawing is to scale (which would mean bob is about 18 feet tall, which would be crazy. Also, thet would be one HUGE toilet!). Frame 3 (That crazy Bob!): 14cm@.3cm/sec=46.6sec to eat through 1.5liters/2(liters/min)=.75 minutes =45 seconds He'll make it, but he'll want to reinforce that vomit-dissolved hull VERY quickly! Now, you will note that in order to simplify things, I made some assumptions in frames 2 and 3: Frame 2: Bob's vomiting would have sent him backwards, spreading out his vomit over a greater area. It is possible to calculate both his velocity and tilt during vomiting, but that would have been no fun, so he stays put. Frame 3: As Bob is cleaning up his vomit, that would have affected the amount of hull that the bile could have dissolved in a given amount of time. Though this would not have affected the overall answer, it would have alloewd Bob more time to procrastinate before reinforcing the hull. He could have done it during his hangover, instead of when he was drunk! I hope this has cleared things up for everyone. I hope to have more fun during next year's Engineer's Week cartoon! Keep up the good work! -Ben
		Very nice, Ben! And everyone else, note that Ben will get full credit because not only did he come up with the correct answers, but he also showed his work!
		December 14, 2001 Will wants socks for Christmas, Skip wants Cash, I wonder what Brian wants? --cash please
		You too, eh? Actually, Brian has provided Team Rockwood with a short list of what he wants for Christmas: Every employee of every fly-by-night company that sends me spam to be hung up by their toenails. Assurances from Hollywood that Michael Bay and Jan de Bont won't be allowed to direct movies again. Ever. Just once, I would like to watch a politician on a talk show (any talk show) answer the question that is asked him, instead of using that question to launch (weakly) into his own campaign platform. Oh, and 100 shares of Enron, 'cause I hear that company is really going places!
		December 17, 2001 I have created a Rockwood store (not affiliated with your comic strip) at cafepress.com You can order tee shirts, mugs, caps, mousepads, etc. personalized with Rockwood logos and the Rockwood Family Crest. If you order by 17 Dec. your order can be received by 25th. Enjoy! --Catherine Rockwood Walker
		Well, for those of you who just had to have a Rockwood T-shirt, here's your option. Sure it won't have any of the characters you've grown to know and love, but it's something. And all of this actually makes us curious. Is there a market for Rockwood shirts out there? Being money-grubbing fiends, if we think we can sell something here at Team Rockwood, we'll do it, we've just never heard anyone actually express interest before. Let us know and we'll see what we can come up with.
		December 11, 2001 "...drop me a line on the Mailbag page..." \| \| \| \| \| here ya go! --Maxine
		What do we want for Christmas? Viewers who take us at our word! Thanks, Maxine!
		Previous week's mail

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