Penny Arcade - Comic - The Dot Matrix

Dog

Penny Arcade - Comic - The Dot Matrix

Videogaming-related online strip by Mike Krahulik and Jerry Holkins. Includes news and commentary.

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Anon von Zilch

So, wait… which part is man and which part is PAC?

MichaelLC

Anon von Zilch wrote: »

So, wait… which part is man and which part is PAC?

Oh, you know which part...

zepherin

Anon von Zilch wrote: »

So, wait… which part is man and which part is PAC?

Are the cybernetics part of the man or part of the pac.

MaryAmelia

Is it a man who had PAC implanted, or is it a PAC that grew some man?

MarcinMN

He's more Pac now than man.

T-Danger

This is the sort of dangerous thinking that leads to shit like Bomberman Act Zero, and it must be stopped.

dennis

They thought they could keep the population in thrall with their handouts of fruit and dots. But rebel scientists developed the Power Pellet, turning the tables on their spectral overlords.

Zilla360

Pellet Acquisition Cyborg.

Bropocalypse

(re: news post)
Yikes, Jerry. I hope you recover alright.

Golden Yak

Yeah, that was a harrowing saga.

NemuriBaku

Somehow the part about the doctor being an ass was as disturbing as the breakdown of basic bodily functions.

GDT1985

Due to the nature of Jerry's writing I'm not entirely sure what happened.

It seems a piece of chicken became lodged on his throat? Maybe?

Either way a doctor being an asshole doesn't make a stressful situation any easier.

NemuriBaku

Well, a wiser fellow than myself once said: "Sometimes you choke the chicken, and sometimes, well, the chicken, he chokes you."

Hanradin

I have a lesser form of what Jerry gots. I guess they dilated his esophagus or the area around there, many of us old guys have scarring in our throats, me from a bad tonsillectomy, and we choke when we get old if we don't chew our food properly. My best wishes and prayers to Jerry that he doesn't have to resort to shakes, unless they're chocolate.

Kasaix

I feel like the title might be a reference to Dot Matrix from the old CG series ReBoot.

Erix The Red

Kasaix wrote: »

I feel like the title might be a reference to Dot Matrix from the old CG series ReBoot.

More likely this is reference to dot matrix printers, The Matrix, and the dots pacman eats. The character Dot Matrix is also a reference to the printers.

BIGmog

I'm only speculating based on a similar experience I've had. Casually known as "Steakhouse Syndrome" and more formally Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE), there can be damage to the esophagus in the form of scaring or narrowing. This can cause food to become lodged on the way to the stomach. Often, drinking water can help the food to pass through but other times the water just sits on top of the obstruction. Soda is sometimes attempted with the idea that the acid in the drink will dissolve the food enough to let it pass. A mild sedative can also help by relaxing the muscles around the esophagus.

These techniques worked in a severe case I had. Afterward, I had another procedure in which a long rubber cone is used to expand the esophagus a bit which seemed to help me.

BIGmog

NemuriBaku wrote: »

Well, a wiser fellow than myself once said: "Sometimes you choke the chicken, and sometimes, well, the chicken, he chokes you."

"Choke" is probably inaccurate in this case since breathing is not affected. What does happen is that the body turns on saliva production to full in an attempt to flush down the obstruction. If it doesn't work however, the saliva just builds up. This is possibly why Jerry was spitting up constantly instead of swallowing.