explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1715: Household Tips

2016-08-03T14:41:03Z

108.162.217.125:

I think this references infomercials with a tendency to show people completely inept at doing extremely simple and common things, then offers a slightly more convenient product as if it were the solution to the ineptitude.The problem-solution pattern matches the tone of those. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.125|108.162.217.125]] 14:41, 3 August 2016 (UTC)

1486: Vacuum

2015-02-13T09:07:25Z

108.162.217.125: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1486
| date = February 13, 2015
| title = Vacuum
| image = vacuum.png
| titletext = Do you think you could actually clean the living room at some point, though?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==
[Beret guy is holding a vacuum cleaner upside down, with the other end in the air]

Cueball: What are you doing?

Beret: Trying to unlock the tremendous energy of the vacuum.

Cueball: That's not what that -

Beret: HA HA! IT WORKS!

Cueball: I said that's -

Beret: The universe is mine to command!!

{{comic discussion}}

1486: Vacuum

2015-02-13T09:05:49Z

108.162.217.125: Added transcript

{{comic
| number = 1486
| date = February 13, 2015
| title = Vacuum
| image = vacuum.png
| titletext = Do you think you could actually clean the living room at some point, though?
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BOT - Please change this comment when editing this page.}}

==Transcript==
[Beret guy is holding a vacuum cleaner upside down, with the other end in the air]
Cueball: What are you doing?
Beret: Trying to unlock the tremendous energy of the vacuum.
Cueball: That's not what that -
Beret: HA HA! IT WORKS!
Cueball: I said that's -
Beret: The universe is mine to command!!

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1476: Ceres

2015-01-22T05:47:31Z

108.162.217.125:

I'm not sure about Number 6 being a reference to The Prisoner. there's no other context in the comic to suggest that reference. {{unsigned ip|‎173.245.54.180}}

Number 6 could be a Battlestar galactica reference as well, which is again a reference to The Prisoner http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_Six_%28Battlestar_Galactica%29 {{unsigned ip|141.101.98.252}}

The novel The WindWalkers (in French "La Horde du Contrevent") from Alain Damasio is the story of the 34th team of people walking against the wind to go past the end of the known world. A group is sent every generation from a starting point and they walk over decades as far as they can go. The team leader is called Golgoth and is the 9th descendant of his family leading a team. He is obsessed with the idea of getting farther than his father (Golgoth 8) and the others Golgoth before them. At one point, while the team thought having been farther than any other, Golgoth 9 finds a sign let by Golgoth 6 (whose team had been thought lost) that demonstrates they were not the first ones reaching this point.
Maybe the comics does not make reference to this event in the novel, but readers of the novel will likely think about it. [[User:Marou|Marou]] ([[User talk:Marou|talk]]) 08:42, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

: Wikipedia has a list of characters in books and/or films named {{w|Number_6#In_the_arts_and_entertainment|Number 6}}, so unless there is a clear reference, I suggest we stick to assuming that Number 6 is simply the identifying number of un-named CERES employee. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 11:16, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Maybe include a picture of Ceres (the dwarf planet) to show the real white spot (not the inspection sticker) [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 09:14, 21 January 2015 (UTC)
: Or a ref to an [http://www.universetoday.com/118358/first-hubble-and-now-dawn-have-seen-this-white-spot-on-ceres-what-is-it/ image/animation] [[User:SirKitKat|sirKitKat]] ([[User talk:SirKitKat|talk]]) 09:16, 21 January 2015 (UTC)
: This image shows it really good: [http://d1jqu7g1y74ds1.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/2004HubbleRotation-580x515.jpg] (Images from the Hubble Space Telescope in 2004 of Ceres. Credit: NASA/Hubble) --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.134|108.162.254.134]] 09:29, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Ceres is also a brand of vegetable fat manufactured by [http://www.belusafoods.sk/1/index.php?kat=3&ac=5&id_p=170 BELUŠA FOODS s.r.o.] (no english version, sorry). Salmonela in this kind of Ceres would be very interesting but I doubt that Randal refers to this Ceres. [[User:Jkotek|Jkotek]] ([[User talk:Jkotek|talk]]) 09:31, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

Earth the planet contains salmonella.
--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.12|141.101.104.12]] 09:45, 21 January 2015 (UTC)
: I agree, in that sense the joke is much funnier and more closely related to the rest of the comic (since (dwarf)planets are tested). -- [[User:Linuspogo|Linuspogo]] ([[User talk:Linuspogo|talk]]) 09:55, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

;German? Number Nein
Unless this German company puts round inspection stickers onto products, '''in English''', then Randall is referring to [http://www.cafepress.com/inspector6 these stickers], which were used by [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=258182 US clothing manufacturers] in the mid-to-late 20th century. -- [[User:Frankie|Frankie]] ([[User talk:Frankie|talk]]) 12:52, 21 January 2015 (UTC)
: I would tend to agree on the stickers themselves, but the mention of salmonella and the fact that CERES is indeed a company which provides certification of agricultural processes and related inspection services across the EU, some sort of link seems patent, and I think a mention of the relationship should remain in some form. -- [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 13:26, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

: It's Debbie Slade: [http://articles.latimes.com/1990-11-18/business/fi-6997_1_quality-assurance-manager] [http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=19910211&id=IA5QAAAAIBAJ&sjid=5lUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6542,3176811] --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.134|108.162.254.134]] 14:49, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

I wonder where the high resolution detail came from. I imagine the frames of the animation could be used as sub-sampled images and hence combined to obtain higher resolution, but I should imagine that, had this been done, such images would also appear on the various science sites. So: did Randall one-up the mission handlers, did he fill in some other image or did I simply fail to find the source?[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.123|108.162.229.123]] 13:53, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

: I had wondered that too. My guess was that he took an available higher res image of the moon or similar, then added the shadows and bright patches from the low res Ceres image. I can tell from the pixels and from seeing quite a few shops in my time. --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 14:02, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

:: I see what you did there. (xkcd#331). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.125|108.162.217.125]] 05:47, 22 January 2015 (UTC)BK201

: I'm pretty sure Randall just took from that one image of six frying pan bottoms.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.101|108.162.221.101]] 17:08, 21 January 2015 (UTC)

I think people are trying too hard to assign meaning to "inspected by number 6" I really think 6 was just an arbitrary number and not a reference to The Prisoner or Battlestar or even Debbie Slade. The lines trying too hard to make "number 6" a reference to something should probably be removed. {{unsigned ip|173.245.54.180}}

Talk:1466: Phone Checking

2014-12-29T06:40:13Z

108.162.217.125: Meta comment

''No comments yet.''
I'll keep refreshing. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.125|108.162.217.125]] 06:40, 29 December 2014 (UTC)BK201

Talk:1437: Higgs Boson

2014-10-24T03:46:39Z

108.162.217.125:

They can lose the DATA about Higgs Boson. To help prevent such possibility, I would like to mention that the found Higgs Boson energy is between 125 and 126 GeV/c^2 [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 12:18, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

:It may be nitpicking because of the 'equivalancy of mass and energy', but isn't the term ''GeV/c2'' usually used to describe a particle's mass while ''GeV'' is used to describe its energy?--[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 15:29, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

:: You are right with the terms. However, when speaking about mass the "/c^2" term is implicit. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.125|108.162.217.125]] 03:46, 24 October 2014 (UTC)BK201

Sorry, felt it better to change "play 'hide and seek' with" to "know the current location of", because it read too as too anthropomorphic for the tone of the explanation. Like I don't play hide-and-seek with my house-keys, when they're temporarily unlocated. (Unless the world is weirder than I'm aware of, and the voices in my head are right after all!) Apologies if the hyperbole was the intent, and feel free to revert. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.247|141.101.98.247]] 14:53, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

The 4th paragraph begins with "Meagan's mention that "The death isn't even very serious"...". Shouldn't it be Ponytail, not Meagan? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.111|108.162.216.111]] 16:28, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

:Or Cueball. Changing to "The comment..." [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.195|173.245.54.195]] 17:36, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

Though of course this is a comic and not an actual transcript of a news conference or proceedings determining actual grant money, is there something significant missing or unanswered about the Higgs Boson that would require significantly more money (for e.g. a BIGGER COLLIDER!!!!!!!!)? Or is this rather a play at the "Find/Found" difference, and Randall just used the Higgs to make the point? I believe last I heard they found something that must be it, but I suppose further study was required to confirm it (or something)... [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 20:37, 22 October 2014 (UTC)

Maybe they just precisely determined it's momentum? {{unsigned|Craignelson7007}}

I don't read the "just one" reference as being just one death - "... to build a death ray.' 'Just one, though.'" certainly sounds like they built just one death ray. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.62.74|173.245.62.74]] 03:11, 24 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1432: The Sake of Argument

2014-10-12T22:39:43Z

108.162.217.125:

In my experience when someone begins a hypothetical with "for the sake of argument" The hypothetical being explored is almost always a direct exploration of the argument being put forward by the person they are speaking to, so to my mind the perfect response to the second panel would have been: "You admit you were wrong then, Excellent!" ;-) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.211|108.162.250.211]] 07:05, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

:In contrast, it is often used alongs the lines of "OK, I see that you don't agree with my viewpoint, so for the sake of argument, pretend that you do agree with my viewpoint". I suppose this is an effort to try and get the other person to explore your views by stepping into them. For example: "Ok I know that you think that drink driving is fine, but for the sake of argument imagine that your dog had just been run over by a drunk driver" --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 08:53, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

IMHO could be vaguely related to the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y Monty Python's Argument Clinic] [[User:Jkotek|Jkotek]]
:IMHO "related" to, no matter how vaguely, would be a strong choice of word. At best, I could imagine "inspired by" - after all, Cueball has barely presented a connected series of statements, much less apparently one intended to establish a proposition, definite or otherwise - it's clearly the automatic gainsaying of anything Ponytail says... [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 10:10, 10 October 2014 (UTC)
::No it isn't! ;-) [[User:MGitsfullofsheep|MGitsfullofsheep]] ([[User talk:MGitsfullofsheep|talk]]) 12:19, 10 October 2014 (UTC)
::: For the sake of argument, say it is. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.125|108.162.217.125]] 22:39, 12 October 2014 (UTC)BK

"Rather than getting frustrated at being derailed, Ponytail instead seizes on this and decides they should get a boat, and that the Devil can come too." - I'm reading the title text a bit differently: it's not Ponytail being not angry and chiming in, but actually having no words (indicated by '...') and then it's Cueball again taunting her even more with inviting the devil. [[User:Zefiro|Zefiro]] ([[User talk:Zefiro|talk]]) 09:03, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

:I just wanted to say that I agree with Zefiro here.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.173|173.245.56.173]] 09:20, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

::On reading again, I agree. I missed that the ellipsis was a seperate section, rather than the beginning of 'For arguments sake we should get a boat' --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 11:27, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

Could he possibly be making a pun? "For the sake of the 'ARGH' you meant," perhaps? [[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 13:24, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

I think Cueball is taking the "for the sake of argument" too literally, as "in order to create more to argue on". Also "advocate". Also, "device" in the title text (literal physical transportation device vs rhetorical device). The explanation as of now doesn't seem to realize this. [[User:Matega|Matega]] ([[User talk:Matega|talk]]) 15:46, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

Regarding Devils advocate and copied from Wikipedia: "During the canonization process employed by the Roman Catholic Church, the Promoter of the Faith (Latin: promotor fidei), popularly known as the Devil's advocate (Latin: advocatus diaboli), was a canon lawyer appointed by Church authorities to argue against the canonization of a candidate.[2] It was this person’s job to take a skeptical view of the candidate's character, to look for holes in the evidence, to argue that any miracles attributed to the candidate were fraudulent, and so on. The Devil's advocate opposed God's advocate (Latin: advocatus Dei; also known as the Promoter of the Cause), whose task was to make the argument in favor of canonization. This task is now performed by the Promoter of Justice (promotor iustitiae), who is in charge of examining how accurate is the inquiry on the saintliness of the candidate." {{unsigned|Cobble}}

Talk:1427: iOS Keyboard

2014-09-29T07:58:19Z

108.162.217.125: Response to a comment referring to the meta-ness of xkcd with a quote from xkcd, reminding the depth of meta in this comment thread including this summary.

XKCD references on the XKCD wiki? Who would've thought... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.104.197|141.101.104.197]] 06:58, 29 September 2014 (UTC)
:I'm so meta even this acronym.
:Just saying... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.125|108.162.217.125]] 07:58, 29 September 2014 (UTC)BK201

I believe that the ios word prediction is personalised based on your previous sentences. My Android autocomplete comes up with "Elementary, my feast of the United Kingdom", and "Toto, I've a feeling we're not going to Switzerland"... --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 07:53, 29 September 2014 (UTC)

482: Height

2014-09-28T15:58:05Z

108.162.217.125: /* Objects */

{{comic
| number = 482
| date = September 29, 2008
| title = Height
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = height.png
| titletext = Interestingly, on a true vertical log plot, I think the Eiffel Tower's sides would really be straight lines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|A number of the items are lacking descriptions, and distances. As this comic is about distance this is more critical than descriptions. If the object is not real, an estimate based on the comic and scale is good}}
The comic is a companion piece to [[485: Depth]], which explores a {{w|logarithmic scale}} from Earth's atmosphere down to the interior of a single proton. ''Height'' begins this process by viewing logarithmically smaller scales showing several objects in the universe, both real and fictional, from farthest (top) to closest (bottom). The comic starts with [[Black Hat]] throwing a cat off the edge of the universe, probably a reference to {{w|Schrodinger's cat}} (as since it is outside the {{w|observable universe}} (for us), it exists in a super-position of both living and dead until we actually 'observe' it and force it to be in one of the states). It may also refer to the common myth that a cat will always land on its feet, a myth Black Hat appears to be testing to the extreme. The top of the universe is shown as the distance from which the oldest rays of light reach Earth.

Displaying height logarithmically while displaying width linearly noticeably distorts the shapes of the terrestrial objects. The title text notes that this distortion would approximately cancel out the curve of the Eiffel Tower's profile, and speculates that the cancellation might in fact be exact enough to convert its silhouette to a straight-edged triangle.

The {{w|age of the universe}} is currently stated as 13.8 billion years. But the {{w|Observable universe}} is about 14.0 billion {{w|parsecs}} or 46 billion {{w|light years}}, as shown on the top of the image.

===Objects===
All objects are sorted from bottom to top by their average distance from earth for objects in a solar orbit, and their current distance for others.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Distance
! Object
! Fictional
! Description
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| Black Hat and cat
| YES
| Black Hat kicking a cat off the top of the comic, presumably to determine whether it will land on its feet.
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | Top of observable universe
|-
| 11.3 ×1024m
| {{w|Hubble Deep Field}} objects
| NO
| Objects of extremely distant galaxies found in a long-exposure photograph by of the Hubble telescope, 12 billion light-years away.
|-
| 9.46 ×1024m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One billion light years
|-
| 2.36 ×1024m
| {{w|Great Attractor}}
| NO
| An unusual concentration of intergalactic mass.
|-
| 425 ×1021m
| {{w|Antennae Galaxies}} (colliding)
| NO
| A pair of colliding galaxies.
|-
| 23.6 ×1021m
| {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}}
| NO
| A sibling to our Milky Way.
|-
| 9.46 ×1021m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One million light years
|-
| 4.00 ×1018m
| [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cat-on-a-keyboard-in-space Cat on a keyboard in space]
| YES
|
|-
| 1.56 ×1021m
| {{w|Magellanic Clouds}}
| NO
| These clouds are a pair of nearby dwarf galaxies.
|-
| 263 ×1018m
| Edge of Galaxy
| NO
| The edge of the {{w|Milky Way}} galaxy, the galaxy in which we reside.
|-
| 245 ×1018m
| {{w|Galactic Center}}
| NO
| The center of the Milky Way galaxy.
|-
| 61.5 ×1018m
| {{w|Crab Nebula}}
| NO
| Nebula are supernova remnants
|-
| 14.2 ×1018m
| {{w|Horsehead Nebula}}
| NO
|
|-
| 12.7 ×1018m
| {{w|Orion Nebula}}
| NO
|
|-
| 8.14 ×1018m
| {{w|Rigel}}
| NO
|
|-
| 6.08 ×1018m
| {{w|Betelgeuse}}
| NO
|
|-
| 6.08 ×1018m
| {{w|Ford_Prefect (character)|Ford Prefect}}
| YES
| A character from {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}, shown near his home star; Betelgeuse.
|-
| 4.20 ×1018m
| {{w|Pleiades}}
| NO
| The Pleiades also have a derogatory remark, as per [[66: Abusive Astronomy]]
|-
| 3.00 ×1018m
| The [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Romulan_Neutral_Zone Romulan Neutral Zone]
| YES
| This marks the edge of the {{w|Star Trek}} Federation.
|-
| 931 ×1015m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The first radio broadcast was in January 1910. Since radio waves travel at the speed of light, and this was published in September of 2008 this the radio waves traveled about 98.5 light years. See {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} for a depiction of this. This is also referenced in [[1212: Interstellar Memes]].
|-
| 350 ×1015m
| {{w|Arcturus}}
| NO
|
|-
| 320 ×1015m
| {{w|Pollux}}
| NO
|
|-
| 250 ×1015m
| The edge of {{w|Federation Sector 0-0-1}}
| YES
| The sector of space assigned to Earth in {{w|Star Trek}}.
|-
|
| "missing WMDs"
| YES
| A reference to the controversy about {{w|Iraq and weapons of mass destruction}}.
|-
| 81.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Sirius}}
| NO
|
|-
| 56.6 ×1015m
| {{w|Barnard's Star}}
| NO
|
|-
| 41.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Alpha Centauri}}
| NO
|
|-
| 30.9 ×1015m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One parsec.
|-
| 9.46 ×1015m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One light-year.
|-
| 15.0 ×1015m
| {{w|Oort cloud}}
| NO
| A halo of ice balls surrounding our solar system, but missing the {{w|Kupier belt}} between Neptune and the Oort cloud.
|-
| 350 ×1012m
| {{w|Bupkis}}
| NO
| Yiddish for "nothing". Only a handful of objects are known to orbit between the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud.
|-
| 55.0 ×1012m
| A comet which will destroy earth in late 2063
| YES
| To coincide with the latest biblicaly based prophesy for the [http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p971105.htm end of the world].
|-
| 19.3 ×1012m
| {{w|Voyager 1}}
| NO
| An early space probe. Distance correct as of 11th Sept 2014, click [http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/where/ here] to see NASA's live distance counter.
|-
| 16.7 ×1012m
| {{w|Pioneer 10}}
| NO
| *Estimated distance based on {{w|Pioneer_10#Current_status|this information}}*
|-
| 13.6 ×109m
| {{w|Pioneer 11}}
| NO
| By the similarity in appearance to Pioneer 10 this unlabeled probe must be Pioneer 11 *Estimated distance based on {{w|Pioneer_11#Current_status|this information}}*
|-
|
| {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}}
| NO
| The "All hail Discordia!" after Eris is a reference to {{w|Discordianism}}, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek religion based around the goddess Eris. One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|TNOs}} now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s.
|-
|
| {{w|Pluto}}
| NO
| One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|TNOs}} now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s.
|-
|
| {{w|Neptune}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Uranus}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Saturn}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Titan(moon)|Titan}}
| NO
| Saturn's moon Titan is the only known moon to have an atmosphere - although nothing like the one on earth. There may be oceans on the moon, but not filled with water but with liquid methane and ethane. It is way too cold for liquid water. Still in such oceans life could also have formed.
|-
|
| {{w|Jupiter}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}}
| NO
| Jupiter's moon Europa which may be covered by a deep ocean of water - which is again covered by layer of ice many kilometers thick. In such an ocean life could have formed.
|-
|
| Asteroids
| NO
| The {{w|Asteroid|Asteroid belt}} contains a spaceship from {{w|Asteroids (video game)}}
|-
|
| {{w|Mars}}
| NO
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Venus}}
| NO
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Mercury}}
| NO
|
|-
| 149 ×109m
| {{w|Sun}}
| NO
| The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system, around which the Earth orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Discovery One}}
| YES
| The Discovery One from {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey}}, referring to the quote "open the pod bay door, HAL."
|-
|
| Planet Express
| YES
| The spaceplane is most likely the Planet Express from {{w|Futurama}}, where Fry once discussed "a big heaping bowl of salt."
|-
| 400 ×106m
| Human Altitude Record
| NO
| Achieved by the team of {{w|Apollo 13}} approximately 100km higher than the remaining Apollo missions.
|-
| 384 ×106m
| {{w|Moon}}
| NO
| The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite.
|-
|
| {{w|Snoop Dogg}}
| YES
| A rapper notorious for smoking marijuana, is shown as having the second-highest altitude record. Someone who is taking drugs is said to be getting high.
|-
|
| {{w|Space elevator}}
| YES
| A proposed method of transporting cargo or people into orbit, consisting of a large mass beyond geosynchronous orbit, a station at the geosynchronous point, a cable connecting it to the Earth, and a climber that can scale the cable. Space elevators are also seen in [[697: Tensile vs. Shear Strength]] and [[536: Space Elevators]].
|-
| 42.1 ×106m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | {{w|Geosynchronous orbit|Geosynchronous Orbit}}
|-
| 20.2 ×106m
| {{w|GPS (satellite)|GPS Satellites}}
| NO
| GPS satellites are used for global positioning.
|-
|
| {{w|Lunar Lander (arcade game)}}
| YES
| The quote is a reference to {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} where the main character Ellie Arroway after witnessing a celestial light show up close says "Poetry! They should've sent a poet.".
|-
| 800 ×103m
| {{w|Space debris|Space Junk}}
| NO
| There is a large quantity of defunct objects in orbit around the earth. Amongst other things, this includes old satellites, rocket stages and fragments from collisions or disintegration. Space junk is also referenced in [[1242: Scary Names]] under the title {{w|Kessler syndrome}}
|-
| 422.5 ×103m
| {{w|International Space Station}}
| NO
|
|-
| 100 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The {{w|Edge of space|official edge of space}} as defined by the {{w|Kármán line}}
|-
|
| {{w|Meteors}}
| NO
|
|-
| 25.0 ×103m
| {{w|High-altitude balloon|High-altitude balloons}}
| NO
| Unmanned balloons, typically filled with helium or hydrogen. The current altitude record was set in 2002 by a balloon named BU60-1 which reached 53,000m.
|-
| 16.1 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/10 ATM
|-
| 12.0 ×103m
| {{w|Airliner|airliners}}
| NO
|
|-
| 8.84 ×103m
| {{w|Mount Everest}}
| NO
| The worlds highest mountain.
|-
| 5.49 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/2 ATM
|-
|
| {{w|Cory Doctorow}}
| YES
| Cory Doctorow in his balloon. (first referenced in [[239: Blagofaire]].)
|-
|
| {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia disaster}}
| NO
| *The {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia}} and its seven crew were lost when it disintegrated at [http://www.asminternational.org/pdf/S21_jfap0601p082.pdf approximately 63,400m] in 2003. This number is inconsistant with the height of the graph.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Helicopter}}
| NO
| Though the record for helicopter altitude (without payload) is 12,442m, normal flying is usually performed much lower. In the US, 6000m is into {{w|Class A airspace}}, which is restricted and requires flight under {{w|Instrument Flight Rules}}.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Cloud}}
| NO
| Though not actually labelled there are a couple of clouds shown. While different cloud types vary in height, 6000m is roughly in the middle of the height range for clouds in temperate regions [http://weatherfaqs.org.uk/node/21]
|-
|
| [[Cueball]]
| YES
| Apparently still using Python as shown in comic [[353: Python]].
|-
| 800 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 800 meters
|-
| 800 ×100m
| {{w|Burj Khalifa|Burj Dubai}}
| NO
| Now known as the Burj Khalifa, is the tallest building in the world.
|-
| 500 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 500 meters
|-
| 400 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 400 meters
|-
| 325 ×100m
| {{w|Eiffel Tower}}
| NO
| A famous landmark in Paris, France.
|-
| 300 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 300 meters
|-
| 200 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 200 meters
|-
| 150 ×100m
| Kite
| NO
| Kite string is commonly sold in large spools; a nice thick spool will probably hold 150 meters.
|-
| 140 ×100m
| {{w|Great Pyramid of Giza}}
| NO
| One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is located in Egypt.
|-
| 120 ×100m
| {{w|Baseball|Pop Fly}}
| NO
| In Baseball a 'Pop Fly' is when the batter mis-hits the baseball, which then follows a tall arc deep into the infield where it's easy picking for the other team to catch on its way down. The highest recorded pop fly, not including those that landed in foul territory, was 172 meters.
|-
| 115 ×100m
| {{w|Redwood Tree|Redwood trees}}
| NO
| The tallest trees in the world. At 115.61m (379.3ft) {{w|Hyperion (tree)|Hyperion}}, a Coast Redwood, holds the record for the tallest tree in the world.
|-
| 100 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 100 meters
|-
| 20.0 ×100m
| {{w|Oak}}
| NO
| While oaks may grow to be in excess of 40m in height, heights of around 20m are more typical. The person in the tree saying, "Hey, squirrels!" is a reference to [[167: Nihilism]].
|-
| 16.4 ×100m
| Tallest stilts
| NO
| The tallest {{w|stilts}} recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records (as of November 2006) were 16.4 meters, or nearly 54 feet.
|-
| 13.0 ×100m
| {{w|Brachiosaurus|Brachiosaur}}
| NO
| A large genus of dinosaur.
|-
| 8.00 ×100m
| {{w|Giraffe}}
| NO
| The the tallest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown adults reaching in excess of 5m. While labelled 8m in the comic, the [http://www.big-animals.com/the-giraffe-the-worlds-tallest-animal/ record] for height is reported at 5.8m.
|-
| 1.70 ×100m
| {{w|Human height|Folks}}
| NO
|
|}

==Transcript==
:[Map of the universe from observable universe to Earth. Each area of item is labelled.]
:[Labels left to right, up to down:]
:[Black Hat is standing on top, throwing a black kitty down.]
:Black Cat: mrowl!
::Top of Observable Universe
::46 Billion Light Years Up
::Hubble Deep Field Objects
:-One Billion Light Years-
::Great Attractor
:Antennae Galaxies (Colliding)
:Andromeda
:::Holy Crap Lots of Space
::-One Million Light Years-
::Magellanic Clouds
::Edge of Galaxy
::Galactic Center
::Crab Nebula
::Orion Nebula
::Horsehead Nebula
::Romulan Neutral Zone
:::The PLEIADES, Duh.
::Rigel
::Betelgeuse
::Ford Prefect
::-Expanding Shell of Radio Transmissions [Arrows are pointing up.]-
::Edge of Federation Sector 0-0-1
::Pollux
::Arcturus
::Missing WMDs
::Alpha Centauri
::Sirius
::Barnard's Star
:-One Parsec-
::-One Light Year-
::Oort Cloud (?)
::Bupkis
::Comet which will destroy Earth in late 2063
::Pioneer 10
::Eris (All hail Discordia!)
::Voyager I
::Pluto (Not a planet. Neener neener.)
::Neptune
::Uranus
:Saturn
::Asteroids
:::<~life~>
::Jupiter
::Venus
::Mars
::Sun
::Mercury
::Aircraft: Hey a heaping bowl of salt!
::"Open the fridge door, Hal."
::Moon
::Human Altitude Record (Apollo 13)
::2nd Place: Snoop Dogg
::Space Elevator - One of these days, promise!
::-Geosynchronous Orbit-
::GPS Satellites
::Lunar lander: In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land
::International Space Station
::Space Junk
::-Official Edge of Space (100 km)-
::Meteors
::-1/10 ATM-
::High Altitude Balloons
::Airliners
::-1/2 ATM-
::Cory Doctrow
::Shuttle Columbia Lost
::Everest
::Helicoptors
::Cueball: Woo Python!
::[vertical scale along right side of image, starting at 1 km and getting progressivly smaller and smaller.]
::-800 m-
::Burj Dubai (~800 m)
::Eiffel Tower (325 m)
::Kites
::Great Pyramid (140 m)
::Redwood (115 m)
::Pop Fly
::Oak (20 m)
::"Hey Squirrels!"
::Tallest Stilts
::Brachiosaur (13 m)
::Giraffe (8 m)
::[Megan and Cueball.] Folks
:The Observable Universe, from Top to Bottom ~On a log scale~
:Sizes are not to scale, but heights above the Earth's surface are accurate on a log scale (that is, each step up is double the height.)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]

Talk:1422: My Phone is Dying

2014-09-17T15:14:16Z

108.162.217.125:

The dying of Beret's phone is similar to the dying of the sun.

The Sun does not have enough mass to explode as a supernova. Instead it will exit the main sequence in approximately 5.4 billion years and start to turn into a red giant. It is calculated that the Sun will become sufficiently large to engulf the current orbits of the solar system's inner planets, possibly including Earth. (via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun) [[User:Oicebot|Oicebot]] ([[User talk:Oicebot|talk]]) 04:43, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

I thought, this might be a TARDIS reference. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.93.210|141.101.93.210]] 07:03, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

----

The main page of this explanation mentions White Hat... he's not even in this comic, only Beret Guy and Cueball. Not sure about editing policies/things here yet, so figured I'd mention this on the talk page :P Hope this helps! [[User:Tanos|Tanos]] ([[User talk:Tanos|talk]]) 06:43, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
:Fixed. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 10:55, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

----

Reference to the iPhone (and may be other smartphones) which becomes bigger and bigger with every release. At the same time iPhone becomes less popular and it is 'dying' this way. So - the bigger iPhone becomes the closer it is to 'death'. And it was like a star among other smartphones.
In the title text it may be a jesting prophesy - one on future generation of iPhone will be like a set of some separate devices.

[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.229|108.162.246.229]] 07:42, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

----

The first paragraph assumes that the phone is going to become a white dwarf and the supernova is not mentioned until lower down. Personally, I read the "collapse in a violent explosion" comment from the fourth panel as implying that it was already on its way to becoming a supernova(-analog) and the charger would speed it up. Unless red dwarfs actually explode and leave white dwarfs (which I didn't think they did, but maybe I'm wrong there) concluding that it's analogous to the white dwarf doesn't make sense to me, at least. Thoughts? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.128.86|199.27.128.86]] 08:42, 17 September 2014 (UTC)
:A red giant will have its outer layers blown away (though not in anything like the violent way of a supernova) and the core that remains is a white dwarf. A much larger star that goes supernova will often leave behind a neutron star or, if the star was really massive, a black hole. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.190|141.101.98.190]] 12:57, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

----

There is a conspiracy theory that Apple allegedly kills iPhones just before the release of a new model. This comic seems to make a play on that. {{unsigned ip|141.101.104.193}}
-Unusual conspiracy. Presumably it's to make sure old customers buy the new iPhone, but wouldn't most Apple fans do that anyways? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.109|108.162.216.109]] 12:37, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

----

Lol, I didn't even notice the phone was getting bigger until the last panel. Derp. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 14:20, 17 September 2014 (UTC)

----
The two way pager in title text might be a reference to black holes, under the assumption that they act as worm holes to other regions in spacetime. It could explode and leave behind a slowly fading PalmPilot
(netron star), Calculator(brown dwarf), Two way pager (blackhole). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.125|108.162.217.125]] 15:14, 17 September 2014 (UTC)BK

482: Height

2014-09-09T05:51:07Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */ Done all i can do

{{comic
| number = 482
| date = September 29, 2008
| title = Height
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = height.png
| titletext = Interestingly, on a true vertical log plot, I think the Eiffel Tower's sides would really be straight lines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|A number of the items are lacking descriptions, and distances. As this comic is about distance this is more critical than descriptions. If the object is not real, an estimate based on the comic and scale is good}}
The comic is a companion piece to [[485: Depth]], which explores a {{w|logarithmic scale}} from Earth's atmosphere down to the interior of a single proton. ''Height'' begins this process by viewing logarithmically smaller scales showing several objects in the universe, both real and fictional, from farthest (top) to closest (bottom). The comic starts with [[Black Hat]] throwing a cat off the edge of the universe, probably a reference to {{w|Schrodinger's cat}} (as since it is outside the {{w|observable universe}} (for us), it exists in a super-position of both living and dead until we actually 'observe' it and force it to be in one of the states). It may also refer to the common myth that a cat will always land on its feet, a myth Black Hat appears to be testing to the extreme. The top of the universe is shown as the distance from which the oldest rays of light reach Earth.

Displaying height logarithmically while displaying width linearly noticeably distorts the shapes of the terrestrial objects. The title text notes that this distortion would approximately cancel out the curve of the Eiffel Tower's profile, and speculates that the cancellation might in fact be exact enough to convert its silhouette to a straight-edged triangle.

The {{w|age of the universe}} is currently stated as 13.8 billion years. But the {{w|Observable universe}} is about 14.0 billion {{w|parsecs}} or 46 billion {{w|light years}}, as shown on the top of the image.

===Objects===
All objects are sorted from bottom to top by their average distance from earth for objects in a solar orbit, and their current distance for others.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Distance
! Object
! Fictional
! Description
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| Black Hat and cat
| YES
| Black Hat kicking a cat off the top of the comic, presumably to determine whether it will land on its feet.
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | Top of observable universe
|-
| 11.3 ×1024m
| {{w|Hubble Deep Field}} objects
| NO
| Objects of extremely distant galaxies found in a long-exposure photograph by of the Hubble telescope, 12 billion light-years away.
|-
| 9.46 ×1024m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One billion light years
|-
| 2.36 ×1024m
| {{w|Great Attractor}}
| NO
| An unusual concentration of intergalactic mass.
|-
| 425 ×1021m
| {{w|Antennae Galaxies}} (colliding)
| NO
| A pair of colliding galaxies.
|-
| 23.6 ×1021m
| {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}}
| NO
| A sibling to our Milky Way.
|-
| 9.46 ×1021m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One million light years
|-
|
| [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cat-on-a-keyboard-in-space Cat on a keyboard in space]
| YES
|
|-
| 1.56 ×1021m
| {{w|Magellanic Clouds}}
| NO
| These clouds are a pair of nearby dwarf galaxies.
|-
|
| Edge of Galaxy
| NO
| The edge of the {{w|Milky Way}} galaxy, the galaxy in which we reside.
|-
| 245 ×1018m
| {{w|Galactic Center}}
| NO
| The center of the Milky Way galaxy.
|-
|
| {{w|Crab Nebula}}
| NO
| Nebula are supernova remnants
|-
|
| {{w|Horsehead Nebula}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Orion Nebula}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Rigel}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Pleiades}}
| NO
| The Pleiades also have a derogatory remark, as per [[66: Abusive Astronomy]]
|-
|
| {{w|Betelgeuse}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Ford_Prefect (character)|Ford Prefect}}
| YES
| A character from {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}, shown near his home star; Betelgeuse.
|-
|
| The [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Romulan_Neutral_Zone Romulan Neutral Zone]
| YES
| This marks the edge of the {{w|Star Trek}} Federation.
|-
|
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The distance that human radio transmissions have traveled so far. See {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} for a depiction of this. This is also referenced in [[1212: Interstellar Memes]].
|-
|
| {{w|Arcturus}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Pollux}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| The edge of {{w|Federation Sector 0-0-1}}
| YES
| The sector of space assigned to Earth in {{w|Star Trek}}.
|-
|
| "missing WMDs"
| YES
| A reference to the controversy about {{w|Iraq and weapons of mass destruction}}.
|-
| 81.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Sirius}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Barnard's Star}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Alpha Centauri}}
| NO
|
|-
| 30.9 ×1015m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One parsec.
|-
| 9.46 ×1015m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One light-year.
|-
| 15.0 ×1015m
| {{w|Oort cloud}}
| NO
| A halo of ice balls surrounding our solar system, but missing the {{w|Kupier belt}} between Neptune and the Oort cloud.
|-
|
| {{w|Bupkis}}
| NO
| Yiddish for "nothing". Only a handful of objects are known to orbit between the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud.
|-
|
| A comet witch will destroy earth in late 2063
| YES
| To coincide with the latest biblicaly based prophesy for the [http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p971105.htm end of the world].
|-
|
| {{w|Voyager 1}}
| NO
| An early space probe
|-
|
| {{w|Pioneer 10}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Pioneer 11}}
| NO
| By the similarity in appearance to Pioneer 10 this unlabeled probe must be Pioneer 11
|-
|
| {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}}
| NO
| The "All hail Discordia!" after Eris is a reference to {{w|Discordianism}}, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek religion based around the goddess Eris. One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|TNOs}} now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s.
|-
|
| {{w|Pluto}}
| NO
| One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|TNOs}} now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s.
|-
|
| {{w|Neptune}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Uranus}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Saturn}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Titan(moon)|Titan}},
| NO
| Saturn's moon Titan is the only known moon to have an atmosphere - although nothing like the one on earth. There may be oceans on the moon, but not filled with water but with liquid methane and ethane. It is way too cold for liquid water. Still in such oceans life could also have formed.
|-
|
| {{w|Jupiter}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}}
| NO
| Jupiter's moon Europa which may be covered by a deep ocean of water - which is again covered by layer of ice many kilometers thick. In such an ocean life could have formed.
|-
|
| Asteroids
| NO
| The {{w|Asteroid|Asteroid belt}} contains a spaceship from {{w|Asteroids (video game)}}
|-
|
| {{w|Mars}}
| NO
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Venus}}
| NO
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Mercury}}
| NO
|
|-
| 149 ×109m
| {{w|Sun}}
| NO
| The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system, around which the Earth orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Discovery One}}
| NO
| The Discovery One from {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey}}, referring to the quote "open the pod bay door, HAL."
|-
|
| Planet Express
| NO
| The spaceplane is most likely the Planet Express from {{w|Futurama}}, where Fry once discussed "a big heaping bowl of salt."
|-
| 400 ×106m
| Human Altitude Record
| NO
| Achieved by the team of {{w|Apollo 13}} approximately 100km higher than the remaining Apollo missions.
|-
| 384 ×106m
| {{w|Moon}}
| NO
| The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite.
|-
|
| {{w|Snoop Dogg}}
| YES
| A rapper notorious for smoking marijuana, is shown as having the second-highest altitude record. Someone who is taking drugs is said to be getting high.
|-
|
| {{w|Space elevator}}
| YES
| A proposed method of transporting cargo or people into orbit, consisting of a large mass beyond geosynchronous orbit, a station at the geosynchronous point, a cable connecting it to the Earth, and a climber that can scale the cable. Space elevators are also seen in [[697: Tensile vs. Shear Strength]] and [[536: Space Elevators]].
|-
| 42.1 ×106m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | {{w|Geosynchronous orbit|Geosynchronous Orbit}}
|-
| 20.2 ×106m
| {{w|GPS (satellite)|GPS Satellites}}
| NO
| are used for global positioning, and orbit at an altitude of approximately .
|-
|
| {{w|Lunar Lander (arcade game)}}
| YES
| The quote is a reference to {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} where the main character Ellie Arroway after witnessing a celestial light show up close says "Poetry! They should've sent a poet.".
|-
| 100 ×106m
| {{w|Space debris|Space Junk}}
| NO
| There is a large quantity of defunct objects in orbit around the earth. Amongst other things, this includes old satellites, rocket stages and fragments from collisions or disintegration. Space junk is also referenced in [[1242: Scary Names]] under the title {{w|Kessler syndrome}}
|-
|
| {{w|International Space Station}}
| NO
|
|-
| 100 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The {{w|Edge of space|official edge of space}}
|-
|
| {{w|Meteors}}
| NO
|
|-
| 25.0 ×103m
| {{w|High-altitude balloon|High-altitude balloons}}
| NO
| Unmanned balloons, typically filled with helium or hydrogen. The current altitude record was set in 2002 by a balloon named BU60-1 which reached 53,000m.
|-
| 16.1 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/10 ATM
|-
| 12.0 ×103m
| {{w|Airliner|airliners}}
| NO
|
|-
| 8.84 ×103m
| {{w|Mount Everest}}
| NO
| The worlds highest mountain.
|-
| 5.49 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/2 ATM
|-
|
| {{w|Cory Doctorow}}
| YES
| Cory Doctorow in his balloon. (first referenced in [[239: Blagofaire]].)
|-
|
| {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia disaster}}
| NO
| *The {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia}} and its seven crew were lost when it disintegrated at [http://www.asminternational.org/pdf/S21_jfap0601p082.pdf approximately 63,400m] in 2003. This number is inconstant with the height of the graph.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Helicopter}}
| NO
| Though the record for helicopter altitude (without payload) is 12,442m, normal flying is usually performed much lower. In the US, 6000m is into {{w|Class A airspace}}, which is restricted and requires flight under {{w|Instrument Flight Rules}}.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| Clouds
| NO
| Clouds, though not actually labelled there are a couple clouds shown at roughly 6000m. While different cloud types vary in height, 6000m is roughly in the middle of the height range for clouds in temperate regions [http://weatherfaqs.org.uk/node/21]
|-
|
| [[Cueball]]
| YES
| Apparently still using Python as shown in comic [[353: Python]].
|-
| 800 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 800 meters
|-
| 800 ×100m
| {{w|Burj Khalifa|Burj Dubai}}
| NO
| Now known as the Burj Khalifa, is the tallest building in the world.
|-
| 500 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 500 meters
|-
| 400 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 400 meters
|-
| 325 ×100m
| {{w|Eiffel Tower}}
| NO
| A famous landmark in Paris, France.
|-
| 300 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 300 meters
|-
| 200 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 200 meters
|-
| 150 ×100m
| Kite
| NO
| Kite string is commonly sold in large spools; a nice thick spool will probably hold 150 meters.
|-
| 140 ×100m
| {{w|Great Pyramid of Giza}}
| NO
| One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is located in Egypt.
|-
| 120 ×100m
| {{w|Baseball|Pop Fly}}
| NO
| In Baseball a 'Pop Fly' is when the batter mis-hits the baseball, which then follows a tall arc deep into the infield where it's easy picking for the other team to catch on its way down. The highest recorded pop fly, not including those that landed in foul territory, was 172 meters.
|-
| 115 ×100m
| {{w|Redwood Tree|Redwood trees}}
| NO
| The tallest trees in the world. At 115.61m (379.3ft) {{w|Hyperion (tree)|Hyperion}}, a Coast Redwood, holds the record for the tallest tree in the world.
|-
| 100 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 100 meters
|-
| 20.0 ×100m
| {{w|Oak}}
| NO
| While oaks may grow to be in excess of 40m in height, heights of around 20m are more typical. The person in the tree saying, "Hey, squirrels!" is a reference to [[167: Nihilism]].
|-
| 16.4 ×100m
| Tallest stilts
| NO
| The tallest {{w|stilts}} recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records (as of November 2006) were 16.4 meters, or nearly 54 feet.
|-
| 13.0 ×100m
| {{w|Brachiosaurus|Brachiosaur}}
| NO
| A large genus of dinosaur.
|-
| 8.00 ×100m
| {{w|Giraffe}}
| NO
| The the tallest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown adults reaching in excess of 5m. While labelled 8m in the comic, the [http://www.big-animals.com/the-giraffe-the-worlds-tallest-animal/ record] for height is reported at 5.8m.
|-
| 1.70 ×100m
| {{w|Human height|Folks}}
| NO
|
|}

==Transcript==
:[Map of the universe from observable universe to Earth. Each area of item is labelled.]
:[Labels left to right, up to down:]
:[Black Hat is standing on top, throwing a black kitty down.]
:Black Cat: mrowl!
::Top of Observable Universe
::46 Billion Light Years Up
::Hubble Deep Field Objects
:-One Billion Light Years-
::Great Attractor
:Antennae Galaxies (Colliding)
:Andromeda
:::Holy Crap Lots of Space
::-One Million Light Years-
::Magellanic Clouds
::Edge of Galaxy
::Galactic Center
::Crab Nebula
::Orion Nebula
::Horsehead Nebula
::Romulan Neutral Zone
:::The PLEIADES, Duh.
::Rigel
::Betelgeuse
::Ford Prefect
::-Expanding Shell of Radio Transmissions [Arrows are pointing up.]-
::Edge of Federation Sector 0-0-1
::Pollux
::Arcturus
::Missing WMDs
::Alpha Centauri
::Sirius
::Barnard's Star
:-One Parsec-
::-One Light Year-
::Oort Cloud (?)
::Bupkis
::Comet which will destroy Earth in late 2063
::Pioneer 10
::Eris (All hail Discordia!)
::Voyager I
::Pluto (Not a planet. Neener neener.)
::Neptune
::Uranus
:Saturn
::Asteroids
:::<~life~>
::Jupiter
::Venus
::Mars
::Sun
::Mercury
::Aircraft: Hey a heaping bowl of salt!
::"Open the fridge door, Hal."
::Moon
::Human Altitude Record (Apollo 13)
::2nd Place: Snoop Dogg
::Space Elevator - One of these days, promise!
::-Geosynchronous Orbit-
::GPS Satellites
::Lunar lander: In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land
::International Space Station
::Space Junk
::-Official Edge of Space (100 km)-
::Meteors
::-1/10 ATM-
::High Altitude Balloons
::Airliners
::-1/2 ATM-
::Cory Doctrow
::Shuttle Columbia Lost
::Everest
::Helicoptors
::Cueball: Woo Python!
::[vertical scale along right side of image, starting at 1 km and getting progressivly smaller and smaller.]
::-800 m-
::Burj Dubai (~800 m)
::Eiffel Tower (325 m)
::Kites
::Great Pyramid (140 m)
::Redwood (115 m)
::Pop Fly
::Oak (20 m)
::"Hey Squirrels!"
::Tallest Stilts
::Brachiosaur (13 m)
::Giraffe (8 m)
::[Megan and Cueball.] Folks
:The Observable Universe, from Top to Bottom ~On a log scale~
:Sizes are not to scale, but heights above the Earth's surface are accurate on a log scale (that is, each step up is double the height.)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]

482: Height

2014-09-09T05:47:05Z

108.162.217.125: /* Objects */

{{comic
| number = 482
| date = September 29, 2008
| title = Height
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = height.png
| titletext = Interestingly, on a true vertical log plot, I think the Eiffel Tower's sides would really be straight lines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|A number of the items are lacking descriptions, and all are lacking distances, as this comic is about distances this is more critical than descriptions, if the object is not real, an estimate based on the comic and scale is good}}
The comic is a companion piece to [[485: Depth]], which explores a {{w|logarithmic scale}} from Earth's atmosphere down to the interior of a single proton. ''Height'' begins this process by viewing logarithmically smaller scales showing several objects in the universe, both real and fictional, from farthest (top) to closest (bottom). The comic starts with [[Black Hat]] throwing a cat off the edge of the universe, probably a reference to {{w|Schrodinger's cat}} (as since it is outside the {{w|observable universe}} (for us), it exists in a super-position of both living and dead until we actually 'observe' it and force it to be in one of the states). It may also refer to the common myth that a cat will always land on its feet, a myth Black Hat appears to be testing to the extreme. The top of the universe is shown as the distance from which the oldest rays of light reach Earth.

Displaying height logarithmically while displaying width linearly noticeably distorts the shapes of the terrestrial objects. The title text notes that this distortion would approximately cancel out the curve of the Eiffel Tower's profile, and speculates that the cancellation might in fact be exact enough to convert its silhouette to a straight-edged triangle.

The {{w|age of the universe}} is currently stated as 13.8 billion years. But the {{w|Observable universe}} is about 14.0 billion {{w|parsecs}} or 46 billion {{w|light years}}, as shown on the top of the image.

===Objects===
All objects are sorted from bottom to top by their average distance from earth for objects in a solar orbit, and their current distance for others.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Distance
! Object
! Fictional
! Description
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| Black Hat and cat
| YES
| Black Hat kicking a cat off the top of the comic, presumably to determine whether it will land on its feet.
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | Top of observable universe
|-
| 11.3 ×1024m
| {{w|Hubble Deep Field}} objects
| NO
| Objects of extremely distant galaxies found in a long-exposure photograph by of the Hubble telescope, 12 billion light-years away.
|-
| 9.46 ×1024m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One billion light years
|-
| 2.36 ×1024m
| {{w|Great Attractor}}
| NO
| An unusual concentration of intergalactic mass.
|-
| 425 ×1021m
| {{w|Antennae Galaxies}} (colliding)
| NO
| A pair of colliding galaxies.
|-
| 23.6 ×1021m
| {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}}
| NO
| A sibling to our Milky Way.
|-
| 9.46 ×1021m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One million light years
|-
|
| [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cat-on-a-keyboard-in-space Cat on a keyboard in space]
| YES
|
|-
| 1.56 ×1021m
| {{w|Magellanic Clouds}}
| NO
| These clouds are a pair of nearby dwarf galaxies.
|-
|
| Edge of Galaxy
| NO
| The edge of the {{w|Milky Way}} galaxy, the galaxy in which we reside.
|-
| 245 ×1018m
| {{w|Galactic Center}}
| NO
| The center of the Milky Way galaxy.
|-
|
| {{w|Crab Nebula}}
| NO
| Nebula are supernova remnants
|-
|
| {{w|Horsehead Nebula}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Orion Nebula}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Rigel}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Pleiades}}
| NO
| The Pleiades also have a derogatory remark, as per [[66: Abusive Astronomy]]
|-
|
| {{w|Betelgeuse}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Ford_Prefect (character)|Ford Prefect}}
| YES
| A character from {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}, shown near his home star; Betelgeuse.
|-
|
| The [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Romulan_Neutral_Zone Romulan Neutral Zone]
| YES
| This marks the edge of the {{w|Star Trek}} Federation.
|-
|
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The distance that human radio transmissions have traveled so far. See {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} for a depiction of this. This is also referenced in [[1212: Interstellar Memes]].
|-
|
| {{w|Arcturus}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Pollux}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| The edge of {{w|Federation Sector 0-0-1}}
| YES
| The sector of space assigned to Earth in {{w|Star Trek}}.
|-
|
| "missing WMDs"
| YES
| A reference to the controversy about {{w|Iraq and weapons of mass destruction}}.
|-
| 81.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Sirius}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Barnard's Star}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Alpha Centauri}}
| NO
|
|-
| 30.9 ×1015m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One parsec.
|-
| 9.46 ×1015m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One light-year.
|-
| 15.0 ×1015m
| {{w|Oort cloud}}
| NO
| A halo of ice balls surrounding our solar system, but missing the {{w|Kupier belt}} between Neptune and the Oort cloud.
|-
|
| {{w|Bupkis}}
| NO
| Yiddish for "nothing". Only a handful of objects are known to orbit between the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud.
|-
|
| A comet witch will destroy earth in late 2063
| YES
| To coincide with the latest biblicaly based prophesy for the [http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p971105.htm end of the world].
|-
|
| {{w|Voyager 1}}
| NO
| An early space probe
|-
|
| {{w|Pioneer 10}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Pioneer 11}}
| NO
| By the similarity in appearance to Pioneer 10 this unlabeled probe must be Pioneer 11
|-
|
| {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}}
| NO
| The "All hail Discordia!" after Eris is a reference to {{w|Discordianism}}, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek religion based around the goddess Eris. One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|TNOs}} now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s.
|-
|
| {{w|Pluto}}
| NO
| One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|TNOs}} now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s.
|-
|
| {{w|Neptune}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Uranus}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Saturn}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Titan(moon)|Titan}},
| NO
| Saturn's moon Titan is the only known moon to have an atmosphere - although nothing like the one on earth. There may be oceans on the moon, but not filled with water but with liquid methane and ethane. It is way too cold for liquid water. Still in such oceans life could also have formed.
|-
|
| {{w|Jupiter}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}}
| NO
| Jupiter's moon Europa which may be covered by a deep ocean of water - which is again covered by layer of ice many kilometers thick. In such an ocean life could have formed.
|-
|
| Asteroids
| NO
| The {{w|Asteroid|Asteroid belt}} contains a spaceship from {{w|Asteroids (video game)}}
|-
|
| {{w|Mars}}
| NO
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Venus}}
| NO
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Mercury}}
| NO
|
|-
| 149 ×109m
| {{w|Sun}}
| NO
| The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system, around which the Earth orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Discovery One}}
| NO
| The Discovery One from {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey}}, referring to the quote "open the pod bay door, HAL."
|-
|
| Planet Express
| NO
| The spaceplane is most likely the Planet Express from {{w|Futurama}}, where Fry once discussed "a big heaping bowl of salt."
|-
| 400 ×106m
| Human Altitude Record
| NO
| Achieved by the team of {{w|Apollo 13}} approximately 100km higher than the remaining Apollo missions.
|-
| 384 ×106m
| {{w|Moon}}
| NO
| The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite.
|-
|
| {{w|Snoop Dogg}}
| YES
| A rapper notorious for smoking marijuana, is shown as having the second-highest altitude record. Someone who is taking drugs is said to be getting high.
|-
|
| {{w|Space elevator}}
| YES
| A proposed method of transporting cargo or people into orbit, consisting of a large mass beyond geosynchronous orbit, a station at the geosynchronous point, a cable connecting it to the Earth, and a climber that can scale the cable. Space elevators are also seen in [[697: Tensile vs. Shear Strength]] and [[536: Space Elevators]].
|-
| 42.1 ×106m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | {{w|Geosynchronous orbit|Geosynchronous Orbit}}
|-
| 20.2 ×106m
| {{w|GPS (satellite)|GPS Satellites}}
| NO
| are used for global positioning, and orbit at an altitude of approximately .
|-
|
| {{w|Lunar Lander (arcade game)}}
| YES
| The quote is a reference to {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} where the main character Ellie Arroway after witnessing a celestial light show up close says "Poetry! They should've sent a poet.".
|-
| 100 ×106m
| {{w|Space debris|Space Junk}}
| NO
| There is a large quantity of defunct objects in orbit around the earth. Amongst other things, this includes old satellites, rocket stages and fragments from collisions or disintegration. Space junk is also referenced in [[1242: Scary Names]] under the title {{w|Kessler syndrome}}
|-
|
| {{w|International Space Station}}
| NO
|
|-
| 100 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The {{w|Edge of space|official edge of space}}
|-
|
| {{w|Meteors}}
| NO
|
|-
| 25.0 ×103m
| {{w|High-altitude balloon|High-altitude balloons}}
| NO
| Unmanned balloons, typically filled with helium or hydrogen. The current altitude record was set in 2002 by a balloon named BU60-1 which reached 53,000m.
|-
| 16.1 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/10 ATM
|-
| 12.0 ×103m
| {{w|Airliner|airliners}}
| NO
|
|-
| 8.84 ×103m
| {{w|Mount Everest}}
| NO
| The worlds highest mountain.
|-
| 5.49 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/2 ATM
|-
|
| {{w|Cory Doctorow}}
| YES
| Cory Doctorow in his balloon. (first referenced in [[239: Blagofaire]].)
|-
|
| {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia disaster}}
| NO
| *The {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia}} and its seven crew were lost when it disintegrated at [http://www.asminternational.org/pdf/S21_jfap0601p082.pdf approximately 63,400m] in 2003. This number is inconstant with the height of the graph.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Helicopter}}
| NO
| Though the record for helicopter altitude (without payload) is 12,442m, normal flying is usually performed much lower. In the US, 6000m is into {{w|Class A airspace}}, which is restricted and requires flight under {{w|Instrument Flight Rules}}.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| Clouds
| NO
| Clouds, though not actually labelled there are a couple clouds shown at roughly 6000m. While different cloud types vary in height, 6000m is roughly in the middle of the height range for clouds in temperate regions [http://weatherfaqs.org.uk/node/21]
|-
|
| [[Cueball]]
| YES
| Apparently still using Python as shown in comic [[353: Python]].
|-
| 800 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 800 meters
|-
| 800 ×100m
| {{w|Burj Khalifa|Burj Dubai}}
| NO
| Now known as the Burj Khalifa, is the tallest building in the world.
|-
| 500 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 500 meters
|-
| 400 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 400 meters
|-
| 325 ×100m
| {{w|Eiffel Tower}}
| NO
| A famous landmark in Paris, France.
|-
| 300 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 300 meters
|-
| 200 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 200 meters
|-
| 150 ×100m
| Kite
| NO
| Kite string is commonly sold in large spools; a nice thick spool will probably hold 150 meters.
|-
| 140 ×100m
| {{w|Great Pyramid of Giza}}
| NO
| One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is located in Egypt.
|-
| 120 ×100m
| {{w|Baseball|Pop Fly}}
| NO
| In Baseball a 'Pop Fly' is when the batter mis-hits the baseball, which then follows a tall arc deep into the infield where it's easy picking for the other team to catch on its way down. The highest recorded pop fly, not including those that landed in foul territory, was 172 meters.
|-
| 115 ×100m
| {{w|Redwood Tree|Redwood trees}}
| NO
| The tallest trees in the world. At 115.61m (379.3ft) {{w|Hyperion (tree)|Hyperion}}, a Coast Redwood, holds the record for the tallest tree in the world.
|-
| 100 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 100 meters
|-
| 20.0 ×100m
| {{w|Oak}}
| NO
| While oaks may grow to be in excess of 40m in height, heights of around 20m are more typical. The person in the tree saying, "Hey, squirrels!" is a reference to [[167: Nihilism]].
|-
| 16.4 ×100m
| Tallest stilts
| NO
| The tallest {{w|stilts}} recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records (as of November 2006) were 16.4 meters, or nearly 54 feet.
|-
| 13.0 ×100m
| {{w|Brachiosaurus|Brachiosaur}}
| NO
| A large genus of dinosaur.
|-
| 8.00 ×100m
| {{w|Giraffe}}
| NO
| The the tallest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown adults reaching in excess of 5m. While labelled 8m in the comic, the [http://www.big-animals.com/the-giraffe-the-worlds-tallest-animal/ record] for height is reported at 5.8m.
|-
| 1.70 ×100m
| {{w|Human height|Folks}}
| NO
|
|}

==Transcript==
:[Map of the universe from observable universe to Earth. Each area of item is labelled.]
:[Labels left to right, up to down:]
:[Black Hat is standing on top, throwing a black kitty down.]
:Black Cat: mrowl!
::Top of Observable Universe
::46 Billion Light Years Up
::Hubble Deep Field Objects
:-One Billion Light Years-
::Great Attractor
:Antennae Galaxies (Colliding)
:Andromeda
:::Holy Crap Lots of Space
::-One Million Light Years-
::Magellanic Clouds
::Edge of Galaxy
::Galactic Center
::Crab Nebula
::Orion Nebula
::Horsehead Nebula
::Romulan Neutral Zone
:::The PLEIADES, Duh.
::Rigel
::Betelgeuse
::Ford Prefect
::-Expanding Shell of Radio Transmissions [Arrows are pointing up.]-
::Edge of Federation Sector 0-0-1
::Pollux
::Arcturus
::Missing WMDs
::Alpha Centauri
::Sirius
::Barnard's Star
:-One Parsec-
::-One Light Year-
::Oort Cloud (?)
::Bupkis
::Comet which will destroy Earth in late 2063
::Pioneer 10
::Eris (All hail Discordia!)
::Voyager I
::Pluto (Not a planet. Neener neener.)
::Neptune
::Uranus
:Saturn
::Asteroids
:::<~life~>
::Jupiter
::Venus
::Mars
::Sun
::Mercury
::Aircraft: Hey a heaping bowl of salt!
::"Open the fridge door, Hal."
::Moon
::Human Altitude Record (Apollo 13)
::2nd Place: Snoop Dogg
::Space Elevator - One of these days, promise!
::-Geosynchronous Orbit-
::GPS Satellites
::Lunar lander: In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land
::International Space Station
::Space Junk
::-Official Edge of Space (100 km)-
::Meteors
::-1/10 ATM-
::High Altitude Balloons
::Airliners
::-1/2 ATM-
::Cory Doctrow
::Shuttle Columbia Lost
::Everest
::Helicoptors
::Cueball: Woo Python!
::[vertical scale along right side of image, starting at 1 km and getting progressivly smaller and smaller.]
::-800 m-
::Burj Dubai (~800 m)
::Eiffel Tower (325 m)
::Kites
::Great Pyramid (140 m)
::Redwood (115 m)
::Pop Fly
::Oak (20 m)
::"Hey Squirrels!"
::Tallest Stilts
::Brachiosaur (13 m)
::Giraffe (8 m)
::[Megan and Cueball.] Folks
:The Observable Universe, from Top to Bottom ~On a log scale~
:Sizes are not to scale, but heights above the Earth's surface are accurate on a log scale (that is, each step up is double the height.)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]

482: Height

2014-09-09T05:24:22Z

108.162.217.125: /* Objects */

{{comic
| number = 482
| date = September 29, 2008
| title = Height
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]
| image = height.png
| titletext = Interestingly, on a true vertical log plot, I think the Eiffel Tower's sides would really be straight lines.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|A number of the items are lacking descriptions, and all are lacking distances, as this comic is about distances this is more critical than descriptions, if the object is not real, an estimate based on the comic and scale is good}}
The comic is a companion piece to [[485: Depth]], which explores a {{w|logarithmic scale}} from Earth's atmosphere down to the interior of a single proton. ''Height'' begins this process by viewing logarithmically smaller scales showing several objects in the universe, both real and fictional, from farthest (top) to closest (bottom). The comic starts with [[Black Hat]] throwing a cat off the edge of the universe, probably a reference to {{w|Schrodinger's cat}} (as since it is outside the {{w|observable universe}} (for us), it exists in a super-position of both living and dead until we actually 'observe' it and force it to be in one of the states). It may also refer to the common myth that a cat will always land on its feet, a myth Black Hat appears to be testing to the extreme. The top of the universe is shown as the distance from which the oldest rays of light reach Earth.

Displaying height logarithmically while displaying width linearly noticeably distorts the shapes of the terrestrial objects. The title text notes that this distortion would approximately cancel out the curve of the Eiffel Tower's profile, and speculates that the cancellation might in fact be exact enough to convert its silhouette to a straight-edged triangle.

The {{w|age of the universe}} is currently stated as 13.8 billion years. But the {{w|Observable universe}} is about 14.0 billion {{w|parsecs}} or 46 billion {{w|light years}}, as shown on the top of the image.

===Objects===
All objects are sorted from bottom to top by their average distance from earth for objects in a solar orbit, and their current distance for others.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Distance
! Object
! Fictional
! Description
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| Black Hat and cat
| YES
| Black Hat kicking a cat off the top of the comic, presumably to determine whether it will land on its feet.
|-
| 435 ×1024m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | Top of observable universe
|-
| 11.3 ×1024m
| {{w|Hubble Deep Field}} objects
| NO
| Objects of extremely distant galaxies found in a long-exposure photograph by of the Hubble telescope, 12 billion light-years away.
|-
| 9.46 ×1024m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One billion light years
|-
| 2.36 ×1024m
| {{w|Great Attractor}}
| NO
| An unusual concentration of intergalactic mass.
|-
| 425 ×1021m
| {{w|Antennae Galaxies}} (colliding)
| NO
| A pair of colliding galaxies.
|-
| 23.6 ×1021m
| {{w|Andromeda Galaxy}}
| NO
| A sibling to our Milky Way.
|-
| 9.46 ×1021m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One million light years
|-
|
| [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/cat-on-a-keyboard-in-space Cat on a keyboard in space]
| YES
|
|-
| 1.56 ×1021m
| {{w|Magellanic Clouds}}
| NO
| These clouds are a pair of nearby dwarf galaxies.
|-
|
| Edge of Galaxy
| NO
| The edge of the {{w|Milky Way}} galaxy, the galaxy in which we reside.
|-
| 245 ×1018m
| {{w|Galactic Center}}
| NO
| The center of the Milky Way galaxy.
|-
|
| {{w|Crab Nebula}}
| NO
| Nebula are supernova remnants
|-
|
| {{w|Horsehead Nebula}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Orion Nebula}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Rigel}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Pleiades}}
| NO
| The Pleiades also have a derogatory remark, as per [[66: Abusive Astronomy]]
|-
|
| {{w|Betelgeuse}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Ford_Prefect (character)|Ford Prefect}}
| YES
| A character from {{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}, shown near his home star; Betelgeuse.
|-
|
| The [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Romulan_Neutral_Zone Romulan Neutral Zone]
| YES
| This marks the edge of the {{w|Star Trek}} Federation.
|-
|
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The distance that human radio transmissions have traveled so far. See {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} for a depiction of this. This is also referenced in [[1212: Interstellar Memes]].
|-
|
| {{w|Arcturus}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Pollux}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| The edge of {{w|Federation Sector 0-0-1}}
| YES
| The sector of space assigned to Earth in {{w|Star Trek}}.
|-
|
| "missing WMDs"
| YES
| A reference to the controversy about {{w|Iraq and weapons of mass destruction}}.
|-
| 81.3 ×1015m
| {{w|Sirius}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Barnard's Star}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Alpha Centauri}}
| NO
|
|-
| 30.9 ×1015m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One parsec.
|-
| 9.46 ×1015m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | One light-year.
|-
| 15.0 ×1015m
| {{w|Oort cloud}}
| NO
| A halo of ice balls surrounding our solar system, but missing the {{w|Kupier belt}} between Neptune and the Oort cloud.
|-
|
| {{w|Bupkis}}
| NO
| Yiddish for "nothing". Only a handful of objects are known to orbit between the Kuiper Belt and the Oort Cloud.
|-
|
| A comet witch will destroy earth in late 2063
| YES
| To coincide with the latest biblicaly based prophesy for the [http://www.askelm.com/prophecy/p971105.htm end of the world].
|-
|
| {{w|Voyager 1}}
| NO
| An early space probe
|-
|
| {{w|Pioneer 10}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Pioneer 11}}
| NO
| By the similarity in appearance to Pioneer 10 this unlabeled probe must be Pioneer 11
|-
|
| {{w|Eris (dwarf planet)|Eris}}
| NO
| The "All hail Discordia!" after Eris is a reference to {{w|Discordianism}}, a somewhat tongue-in-cheek religion based around the goddess Eris. One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|TNOs}} now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s.
|-
|
| {{w|Pluto}}
| NO
| One of a pair of {{w|Trans-Neptunian object|TNOs}} now classified as {{w|dwarf planet}}s.
|-
|
| {{w|Neptune}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Uranus}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Saturn}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Titan(moon)|Titan}},
| NO
| Saturn's moon Titan is the only known moon to have an atmosphere - although nothing like the one on earth. There may be oceans on the moon, but not filled with water but with liquid methane and ethane. It is way too cold for liquid water. Still in such oceans life could also have formed.
|-
|
| {{w|Jupiter}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| {{w|Europa (moon)|Europa}}
| NO
| Jupiter's moon Europa which may be covered by a deep ocean of water - which is again covered by layer of ice many kilometers thick. In such an ocean life could have formed.
|-
|
| Asteroids
| NO
| The {{w|Asteroid|Asteroid belt}} contains a spaceship from {{w|Asteroids (video game)}}
|-
|
| {{w|Mars}}
| NO
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Venus}}
| NO
| Note the path, reflecting the fact that their distances from Earth vary as the planets move in their orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Mercury}}
| NO
|
|-
| 149 ×109m
| {{w|Sun}}
| NO
| The Sun is the star at the center of our solar system, around which the Earth orbits.
|-
|
| {{w|Discovery One}}
| NO
| The Discovery One from {{w|2001: A Space Odyssey}}, referring to the quote "open the pod bay door, HAL."
|-
|
| Planet Express
| NO
| The spaceplane is most likely the Planet Express from {{w|Futurama}}, where Fry once discussed "a big heaping bowl of salt."
|-
| 400 ×106m
| Human Altitude Record
| NO
| Achieved by the team of {{w|Apollo 13}} approximately 100km higher than the remaining Apollo missions.
|-
| 384 ×106m
| {{w|Moon}}
| NO
| The Moon is the Earth's only natural satellite.
|-
|
| {{w|Snoop Dogg}}
| YES
| A rapper notorious for smoking marijuana, is shown as having the second-highest altitude record. Someone who is taking drugs is said to be getting high.
|-
|
| {{w|Space elevator}}
| YES
| A proposed method of transporting cargo or people into orbit, consisting of a large mass beyond geosynchronous orbit, a station at the geosynchronous point, a cable connecting it to the Earth, and a climber that can scale the cable. Space elevators are also seen in [[697: Tensile vs. Shear Strength]] and [[536: Space Elevators]].
|-
| 42.1 ×106m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | {{w|Geosynchronous orbit|Geosynchronous Orbit}}
|-
| 20.2 ×106m
| {{w|GPS (satellite)|GPS Satellites}}
| NO
| are used for global positioning, and orbit at an altitude of approximately .
|-
|
| {{w|Lunar Lander (arcade game)}}
| YES
| The quote is a reference to {{w|Contact (1997 film)}} where the main character Ellie Arroway after witnessing a celestial light show up close says "Poetry! They should've sent a poet.".
|-
| 100 ×106m
| {{w|Space debris|Space Junk}}
| NO
| There is a large quantity of defunct objects in orbit around the earth. Amongst other things, this includes old satellites, rocket stages and fragments from collisions or disintegration. Space junk is also referenced in [[1242: Scary Names]] under the title {{w|Kessler syndrome}}
|-
|
| {{w|International Space Station}}
| NO
|
|-
| 100 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | The {{w|Edge of space|official edge of space}}
|-
|
| {{w|Meteors}}
| NO
|
|-
|
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/10 ATM
|-
| 25.0 ×103m
| {{w|High-altitude balloon|High-altitude balloons}}
| NO
| Unmanned balloons, typically filled with helium or hydrogen. The current altitude record was set in 2002 by a balloon named BU60-1 which reached 53,000m.
|-
| 12.0 ×103m
| {{w|Airliner|airliners}}
| NO
|
|-
| 8.84 ×103m
| {{w|Mount Everest}}
| NO
| The worlds highest mountain.
|-
| 5.61 ×103m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 1/2 ATM
|-
|
| {{w|Cory Doctorow}}
| YES
| Cory Doctorow in his balloon. (first referenced in [[239: Blagofaire]].)
|-
|
| {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia disaster}}
| NO
| *The {{w|Space Shuttle Columbia}} and its seven crew were lost when it disintegrated at [http://www.asminternational.org/pdf/S21_jfap0601p082.pdf approximately 63,400m] in 2003. This number is inconstant with the height of the graph.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| {{w|Helicopter}}
| NO
| Though the record for helicopter altitude (without payload) is 12,442m, normal flying is usually performed much lower. In the US, 6000m is into {{w|Class A airspace}}, which is restricted and requires flight under {{w|Instrument Flight Rules}}.
|-
| 6.00 ×103m
| Clouds
| NO
| Clouds, though not actually labelled there are a couple clouds shown at roughly 6000m. While different cloud types vary in height, 6000m is roughly in the middle of the height range for clouds in temperate regions [http://weatherfaqs.org.uk/node/21]
|-
|
| [[Cueball]]
| YES
| Apparently still using Python as shown in comic [[353: Python]].
|-
| 800 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 800 meters
|-
| 800 ×100m
| {{w|Burj Khalifa|Burj Dubai}}
| NO
| Now known as the Burj Khalifa, is the tallest building in the world.
|-
| 500 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 500 meters
|-
| 400 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 400 meters
|-
| 325 ×100m
| {{w|Eiffel Tower}}
| NO
| A famous landmark in Paris, France.
|-
| 300 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 300 meters
|-
| 200 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 200 meters
|-
| 150 ×100m
| Kite
| NO
| Kite string is commonly sold in large spools; a nice thick spool will probably hold 150 meters.
|-
| 140 ×100m
| {{w|Great Pyramid of Giza}}
| NO
| One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is located in Egypt.
|-
| 120 ×100m
| {{w|Baseball|Pop Fly}}
| NO
| In Baseball a 'Pop Fly' is when the batter mis-hits the baseball, which then follows a tall arc deep into the infield where it's easy picking for the other team to catch on its way down. The highest recorded pop fly, not including those that landed in foul territory, was 172 meters.
|-
| 115 ×100m
| {{w|Redwood Tree|Redwood trees}}
| NO
| The tallest trees in the world. At 115.61m (379.3ft) {{w|Hyperion (tree)|Hyperion}}, a Coast Redwood, holds the record for the tallest tree in the world.
|-
| 100 ×100m
| colspan="3" align="center" style="background: #ffdead;" | 100 meters
|-
| 20.0 ×100m
| {{w|Oak}}
| NO
| While oaks may grow to be in excess of 40m in height, heights of around 20m are more typical. The person in the tree saying, "Hey, squirrels!" is a reference to [[167: Nihilism]].
|-
| 16.4 ×100m
| Tallest stilts
| NO
| The tallest {{w|stilts}} recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records (as of November 2006) were 16.4 meters, or nearly 54 feet.
|-
| 13.0 ×100m
| {{w|Brachiosaurus|Brachiosaur}}
| NO
| A large genus of dinosaur.
|-
| 8.00 ×100m
| {{w|Giraffe}}
| NO
| The the tallest living terrestrial animal, with fully grown adults reaching in excess of 5m. While labelled 8m in the comic, the [http://www.big-animals.com/the-giraffe-the-worlds-tallest-animal/ record] for height is reported at 5.8m.
|-
| 1.70 ×100m
| {{w|Human height|Folks}}
| NO
|
|}

==Transcript==
:[Map of the universe from observable universe to Earth. Each area of item is labelled.]
:[Labels left to right, up to down:]
:[Black Hat is standing on top, throwing a black kitty down.]
:Black Cat: mrowl!
::Top of Observable Universe
::46 Billion Light Years Up
::Hubble Deep Field Objects
:-One Billion Light Years-
::Great Attractor
:Antennae Galaxies (Colliding)
:Andromeda
:::Holy Crap Lots of Space
::-One Million Light Years-
::Magellanic Clouds
::Edge of Galaxy
::Galactic Center
::Crab Nebula
::Orion Nebula
::Horsehead Nebula
::Romulan Neutral Zone
:::The PLEIADES, Duh.
::Rigel
::Betelgeuse
::Ford Prefect
::-Expanding Shell of Radio Transmissions [Arrows are pointing up.]-
::Edge of Federation Sector 0-0-1
::Pollux
::Arcturus
::Missing WMDs
::Alpha Centauri
::Sirius
::Barnard's Star
:-One Parsec-
::-One Light Year-
::Oort Cloud (?)
::Bupkis
::Comet which will destroy Earth in late 2063
::Pioneer 10
::Eris (All hail Discordia!)
::Voyager I
::Pluto (Not a planet. Neener neener.)
::Neptune
::Uranus
:Saturn
::Asteroids
:::<~life~>
::Jupiter
::Venus
::Mars
::Sun
::Mercury
::Aircraft: Hey a heaping bowl of salt!
::"Open the fridge door, Hal."
::Moon
::Human Altitude Record (Apollo 13)
::2nd Place: Snoop Dogg
::Space Elevator - One of these days, promise!
::-Geosynchronous Orbit-
::GPS Satellites
::Lunar lander: In retrospect, they shouldn't have sent a poet. I have no idea how to land
::International Space Station
::Space Junk
::-Official Edge of Space (100 km)-
::Meteors
::-1/10 ATM-
::High Altitude Balloons
::Airliners
::-1/2 ATM-
::Cory Doctrow
::Shuttle Columbia Lost
::Everest
::Helicoptors
::Cueball: Woo Python!
::[vertical scale along right side of image, starting at 1 km and getting progressivly smaller and smaller.]
::-800 m-
::Burj Dubai (~800 m)
::Eiffel Tower (325 m)
::Kites
::Great Pyramid (140 m)
::Redwood (115 m)
::Pop Fly
::Oak (20 m)
::"Hey Squirrels!"
::Tallest Stilts
::Brachiosaur (13 m)
::Giraffe (8 m)
::[Megan and Cueball.] Folks
:The Observable Universe, from Top to Bottom ~On a log scale~
:Sizes are not to scale, but heights above the Earth's surface are accurate on a log scale (that is, each step up is double the height.)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]
[[Category:Large drawings]]

754: Dependencies

2014-09-04T05:00:27Z

108.162.217.125: /* Title text */

{{comic
| number = 754
| date = June 16, 2010
| title = Dependencies
| image = Dependencies.png
| titletext = The prereqs for CPSC 357, the class on package management, are CPSC 432, CPSC 357, and glibc2.5 or later.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Clean up grammar and modest clarifications}}
A compiler is a program that converts code in a programming language into a executable. A section of code is said to be dependent on a second segment of code if the the results of the first segment are potentially impacted by the second segment. Dependency resolution is part of compiler design and is the study of determining and correcting dependencies which result in an unwanted, ambiguous, or impossible definition of the dependent section. Requiring that an action only occur if and only if the action has already occurred (like the prerequisite in this comic) is one type of potentially unwanted dependency.

The comic envisions a college computer science course (CPSC432) focusing on compiler design with dependency resolution which has itself as a prerequisite. The joke is that the course has a dependency, or prerequisite, that is unresolved as you must complete this course before you can enroll in it.

===Title text===
Solving dependency management problems is also necessary in many areas of programming other than compiler design, such as {{w|package management}}. Collections of files are known as "packages". A software package might require that a particular operating system patch (a type of package) be installed first. That package might in turn require other packages be installed, and so on. Therefore, a package installer must know the dependencies of a package, and be able to figure out whether any required packages are missing before continuing with the installation.

The title text posits a course on package management which has itself as a prerequisite, as well as the compiler design course with the impossible prerequisite presented in the main comic and glibc2.5 or greater. The compiler design course has is 400 level and this course is 300 level. This implies that in order to take a third-year course, you must be in your fourth year or later. Glibc is a commonly-used package on Unix systems, and therefore should be taught in the course. Therefore, you must know the material in the course before signing up for the class. This continues the joke as clearly this course has multiple unresolved dependencies.

==Transcript==
:A portion of a page from an imaginary course catalog.

:Page 3
:[A table with four columns labeled Department, Course, Description, and Prereqs. Under 'Department' it reads, "computer science". Under 'course' it reads, "CPSC 432". Under 'Description' it reads, "Intermediate compiler design, with a focus on dependency resolution." Under 'Prereqs' it reads, "CPSC 432".]

{{comic discussion}}
===Trivia===
A {{w|compiler}} is a computer program that translates a program written in one computer language -- C++, for example -- into an equivalent program written in another language, say x86 machine code, or JavaScript, or C. See also [[303: Compiling]].

Modern compilers typically not only translate one language into another, but in the process verify that the input program is a legal example of the programming language in question; a C++ to C compiler should not take an illegal C++ program and produce an illegal C program; rather, it should inform the user that the input was incorrect. One of the ways in which programs are determines to be incorrect is through an analysis of how the different parts of the program depend on each other.

For example, one portion of a program might be responsible for representing a person. Another portion of the program might be responsible for representing the fact "employees are a kind of person", and yet another might be responsible for "managers are a kind of employee". The compiler could reason that the employee code depends directly on the person code. It could also reason that the manager code depends directly on the employee code. It could then conclude logically that the manager code depends indirectly on the person code.

Many programming languages require that these sorts of dependencies be free of cycles. It would be an error in many programming languages to say, for instance, that a manager is a kind of employee, an employee is a kind of person, and a person is a kind of manager, because a diagram of the dependencies would contain a loop. A developer who is writing a compiler must therefore understand first how to identify dependencies in a program, and second, how to determine whether a particular set of dependencies is legal or illegal.

There are numerous other problems in compiler construction which require understanding dependencies. For example, suppose a program must make two lengthy computations, call them X and Y, and then sum the result. Clearly the final sum X + Y cannot be computed until both X and Y are computed; the sum depends on X and Y. If the computation to produce Y does not depend on the result of computation X, then Y can be computed before X. If the computation to produce X also does not depend on the result of Y, then X may be computed before Y. If both X and Y are independent of each other then the compiler is free to choose whichever ordering it believes to be most efficient. By analyzing dependencies between different computations the compiler can ensure that the translated form of the program is both correct and efficient.

[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Recursion]]

754: Dependencies

2014-09-04T04:55:51Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */ Add in the joke (kinda the whole point)

{{comic
| number = 754
| date = June 16, 2010
| title = Dependencies
| image = Dependencies.png
| titletext = The prereqs for CPSC 357, the class on package management, are CPSC 432, CPSC 357, and glibc2.5 or later.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Clean up grammar and modest clarifications}}
A compiler is a program that converts code in a programming language into a executable. A section of code is said to be dependent on a second segment of code if the the results of the first segment are potentially impacted by the second segment. Dependency resolution is part of compiler design and is the study of determining and correcting dependencies which result in an unwanted, ambiguous, or impossible definition of the dependent section. Requiring that an action only occur if and only if the action has already occurred (like the prerequisite in this comic) is one type of potentially unwanted dependency.

The comic envisions a college computer science course (CPSC432) focusing on compiler design with dependency resolution which has itself as a prerequisite. The joke is that the course has a dependency, or prerequisite, that is unresolved as you must complete this course before you can enroll in it.

===Title text===
Solving dependency management problems is also necessary in many areas of programming other than compiler design, such as {{w|package management}}. Collections of files are known as "packages". A software package might require that a particular operating package be installed first. That package might in turn require other packages be installed, and so on. Therefore a package installer must know the dependencies of a package and be able to figure out whether any required packages are missing before continuing with the installation.

The title text posits a course on package management which has itself as a prerequisite, as well as the compiler design course with the impossible prerequisite presented in the main comic and glibc2.5 or greater. The compiler design course has is 400 level and this course is 300 level. This implies that in order to take a third-year course, you must be in your fourth year or later. Glibc is a commonly-used package on Unix systems, and therefore should be taught in the course. Therefore, you must know the material in the course before signing up for the class. This continues the joke as clearly this course has multiple unresolved dependencies.

==Transcript==
:A portion of a page from an imaginary course catalog.

:Page 3
:[A table with four columns labeled Department, Course, Description, and Prereqs. Under 'Department' it reads, "computer science". Under 'course' it reads, "CPSC 432". Under 'Description' it reads, "Intermediate compiler design, with a focus on dependency resolution." Under 'Prereqs' it reads, "CPSC 432".]

{{comic discussion}}
===Trivia===
A {{w|compiler}} is a computer program that translates a program written in one computer language -- C++, for example -- into an equivalent program written in another language, say x86 machine code, or JavaScript, or C. See also [[303: Compiling]].

Modern compilers typically not only translate one language into another, but in the process verify that the input program is a legal example of the programming language in question; a C++ to C compiler should not take an illegal C++ program and produce an illegal C program; rather, it should inform the user that the input was incorrect. One of the ways in which programs are determines to be incorrect is through an analysis of how the different parts of the program depend on each other.

For example, one portion of a program might be responsible for representing a person. Another portion of the program might be responsible for representing the fact "employees are a kind of person", and yet another might be responsible for "managers are a kind of employee". The compiler could reason that the employee code depends directly on the person code. It could also reason that the manager code depends directly on the employee code. It could then conclude logically that the manager code depends indirectly on the person code.

Many programming languages require that these sorts of dependencies be free of cycles. It would be an error in many programming languages to say, for instance, that a manager is a kind of employee, an employee is a kind of person, and a person is a kind of manager, because a diagram of the dependencies would contain a loop. A developer who is writing a compiler must therefore understand first how to identify dependencies in a program, and second, how to determine whether a particular set of dependencies is legal or illegal.

There are numerous other problems in compiler construction which require understanding dependencies. For example, suppose a program must make two lengthy computations, call them X and Y, and then sum the result. Clearly the final sum X + Y cannot be computed until both X and Y are computed; the sum depends on X and Y. If the computation to produce Y does not depend on the result of computation X, then Y can be computed before X. If the computation to produce X also does not depend on the result of Y, then X may be computed before Y. If both X and Y are independent of each other then the compiler is free to choose whichever ordering it believes to be most efficient. By analyzing dependencies between different computations the compiler can ensure that the translated form of the program is both correct and efficient.

[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Recursion]]

754: Dependencies

2014-09-04T04:46:13Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */ link in compiler better

{{comic
| number = 754
| date = June 16, 2010
| title = Dependencies
| image = Dependencies.png
| titletext = The prereqs for CPSC 357, the class on package management, are CPSC 432, CPSC 357, and glibc2.5 or later.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Clean up grammar and modest clarifications}}
A compiler is a program that converts code in a programming language into a executable. A section of code is said to be dependent on a second segment of code if the the results of the first segment are potentially impacted by the second segment. Dependency resolution is part of compiler design and is the study of determining and correcting dependencies which result in an unwanted, ambiguous, or impossible definition of the dependent section. Requiring that an action only occur if and only if the action has already occurred (like the prerequisite in this comic) is one type of potentially unwanted dependency.

The comic envisions a college computer science course (CPSC432) focusing on dependency resolution which has itself as a prerequisite. That is, you must complete this course before you can enroll in it, which is clearly impossible. The cyclic dependency here is the easiest one to spot: the cycle where a thing depends directly on itself.

===Title text===
Solving dependency management problems is also necessary in many areas of programming other than compiler design, such as {{w|package management}}. Collections of files are known as "packages". A software package might require that a particular operating package be installed first. That package might in turn require other packages be installed, and so on. Therefore a package installer must know the dependencies of a package and be able to figure out whether any required packages are missing before continuing with the installation.

The title text posits a course on package management which has itself as a prerequisite, as well as the compiler design course with the impossible prerequisite presented in the main comic and glibc2.5 or greater. The compiler design course has is 400 level and this course is 300 level. This implies that in order to take a third-year course, you must be in your fourth year or later. Glibc is a commonly-used package on Unix systems, and therefore should be taught in the course. Therefore, you must know the material in the course before signing up for the class.

==Transcript==
:A portion of a page from an imaginary course catalog.

:Page 3
:[A table with four columns labeled Department, Course, Description, and Prereqs. Under 'Department' it reads, "computer science". Under 'course' it reads, "CPSC 432". Under 'Description' it reads, "Intermediate compiler design, with a focus on dependency resolution." Under 'Prereqs' it reads, "CPSC 432".]

{{comic discussion}}
===Trivia===
A {{w|compiler}} is a computer program that translates a program written in one computer language -- C++, for example -- into an equivalent program written in another language, say x86 machine code, or JavaScript, or C. See also [[303: Compiling]].

Modern compilers typically not only translate one language into another, but in the process verify that the input program is a legal example of the programming language in question; a C++ to C compiler should not take an illegal C++ program and produce an illegal C program; rather, it should inform the user that the input was incorrect. One of the ways in which programs are determines to be incorrect is through an analysis of how the different parts of the program depend on each other.

For example, one portion of a program might be responsible for representing a person. Another portion of the program might be responsible for representing the fact "employees are a kind of person", and yet another might be responsible for "managers are a kind of employee". The compiler could reason that the employee code depends directly on the person code. It could also reason that the manager code depends directly on the employee code. It could then conclude logically that the manager code depends indirectly on the person code.

Many programming languages require that these sorts of dependencies be free of cycles. It would be an error in many programming languages to say, for instance, that a manager is a kind of employee, an employee is a kind of person, and a person is a kind of manager, because a diagram of the dependencies would contain a loop. A developer who is writing a compiler must therefore understand first how to identify dependencies in a program, and second, how to determine whether a particular set of dependencies is legal or illegal.

There are numerous other problems in compiler construction which require understanding dependencies. For example, suppose a program must make two lengthy computations, call them X and Y, and then sum the result. Clearly the final sum X + Y cannot be computed until both X and Y are computed; the sum depends on X and Y. If the computation to produce Y does not depend on the result of computation X, then Y can be computed before X. If the computation to produce X also does not depend on the result of Y, then X may be computed before Y. If both X and Y are independent of each other then the compiler is free to choose whichever ordering it believes to be most efficient. By analyzing dependencies between different computations the compiler can ensure that the translated form of the program is both correct and efficient.

[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Recursion]]

754: Dependencies

2014-09-04T04:42:56Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 754
| date = June 16, 2010
| title = Dependencies
| image = Dependencies.png
| titletext = The prereqs for CPSC 357, the class on package management, are CPSC 432, CPSC 357, and glibc2.5 or later.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Clean up grammar and modest clarifications}}
A compiler is a program that converts code in a programming language into a executable. A section of code is said to be dependent on a second segment of code if the the results of the first segment are potentially impacted by the second segment. Dependency resolution is the study of determining and correcting dependencies which result in an unwanted, ambiguous, or impossible definition of the dependent section. Requiring that an action only occur if and only if the action has already occurred (like the prerequisite in this comic) is one type of potentially unwanted dependency.

The comic envisions a college computer science course (CPSC432) focusing on dependency resolution which has itself as a prerequisite. That is, you must complete this course before you can enroll in it, which is clearly impossible. The cyclic dependency here is the easiest one to spot: the cycle where a thing depends directly on itself.

===Title text===
Solving dependency management problems is also necessary in many areas of programming other than compiler design, such as {{w|package management}}. Collections of files are known as "packages". A software package might require that a particular operating package be installed first. That package might in turn require other packages be installed, and so on. Therefore a package installer must know the dependencies of a package and be able to figure out whether any required packages are missing before continuing with the installation.

The title text posits a course on package management which has itself as a prerequisite, as well as the compiler design course with the impossible prerequisite presented in the main comic and glibc2.5 or greater. The compiler design course has is 400 level and this course is 300 level. This implies that in order to take a third-year course, you must be in your fourth year or later. Glibc is a commonly-used package on Unix systems, and therefore should be taught in the course. Therefore, you must know the material in the course before signing up for the class.

==Transcript==
:A portion of a page from an imaginary course catalog.

:Page 3
:[A table with four columns labeled Department, Course, Description, and Prereqs. Under 'Department' it reads, "computer science". Under 'course' it reads, "CPSC 432". Under 'Description' it reads, "Intermediate compiler design, with a focus on dependency resolution." Under 'Prereqs' it reads, "CPSC 432".]

{{comic discussion}}
===Trivia===
A {{w|compiler}} is a computer program that translates a program written in one computer language -- C++, for example -- into an equivalent program written in another language, say x86 machine code, or JavaScript, or C. See also [[303: Compiling]].

Modern compilers typically not only translate one language into another, but in the process verify that the input program is a legal example of the programming language in question; a C++ to C compiler should not take an illegal C++ program and produce an illegal C program; rather, it should inform the user that the input was incorrect. One of the ways in which programs are determines to be incorrect is through an analysis of how the different parts of the program depend on each other.

For example, one portion of a program might be responsible for representing a person. Another portion of the program might be responsible for representing the fact "employees are a kind of person", and yet another might be responsible for "managers are a kind of employee". The compiler could reason that the employee code depends directly on the person code. It could also reason that the manager code depends directly on the employee code. It could then conclude logically that the manager code depends indirectly on the person code.

Many programming languages require that these sorts of dependencies be free of cycles. It would be an error in many programming languages to say, for instance, that a manager is a kind of employee, an employee is a kind of person, and a person is a kind of manager, because a diagram of the dependencies would contain a loop. A developer who is writing a compiler must therefore understand first how to identify dependencies in a program, and second, how to determine whether a particular set of dependencies is legal or illegal.

There are numerous other problems in compiler construction which require understanding dependencies. For example, suppose a program must make two lengthy computations, call them X and Y, and then sum the result. Clearly the final sum X + Y cannot be computed until both X and Y are computed; the sum depends on X and Y. If the computation to produce Y does not depend on the result of computation X, then Y can be computed before X. If the computation to produce X also does not depend on the result of Y, then X may be computed before Y. If both X and Y are independent of each other then the compiler is free to choose whichever ordering it believes to be most efficient. By analyzing dependencies between different computations the compiler can ensure that the translated form of the program is both correct and efficient.

[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Recursion]]

754: Dependencies

2014-09-04T04:38:23Z

108.162.217.125: Some rework, in plain speak

{{comic
| number = 754
| date = June 16, 2010
| title = Dependencies
| image = Dependencies.png
| titletext = The prereqs for CPSC 357, the class on package management, are CPSC 432, CPSC 357, and glibc2.5 or later.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Clean up grammar and modest clarifications}}
The results of a section of code is said to be dependent on a second segment of code if the the results of the first segment are potentially impacted by the second segment. Dependency resolution is the study of determining and correcting dependencies which result in an unwanted, ambiguous, or impossible definition of the dependent section. Requiring that an action only occur if and only if the action has already occurred (like the prerequisite in this comic) is one type of potentially unwanted dependency.

The comic envisions a college computer science course (CPSC432) focusing on dependency resolution which has itself as a prerequisite. That is, you must complete this course before you can enroll in it, which is clearly impossible. The cyclic dependency here is the easiest one to spot: the cycle where a thing depends directly on itself.

===Title text===
Solving dependency management problems is also necessary in many areas of programming other than compiler design, such as {{w|package management}}. Collections of files are known as "packages". A software package might require that a particular operating package be installed first. That package might in turn require other packages be installed, and so on. Therefore a package installer must know the dependencies of a package and be able to figure out whether any required packages are missing before continuing with the installation.

The title text posits a course on package management which has itself as a prerequisite, as well as the compiler design course with the impossible prerequisite presented in the main comic and glibc2.5 or greater. The compiler design course has is 400 level and this course is 300 level. This implies that in order to take a third-year course, you must be in your fourth year or later. Glibc is a commonly-used package on Unix systems, and therefore should be taught in the course. Therefore, you must know the material in the course before signing up for the class.

==Transcript==
:A portion of a page from an imaginary course catalog.

:Page 3
:[A table with four columns labeled Department, Course, Description, and Prereqs. Under 'Department' it reads, "computer science". Under 'course' it reads, "CPSC 432". Under 'Description' it reads, "Intermediate compiler design, with a focus on dependency resolution." Under 'Prereqs' it reads, "CPSC 432".]

{{comic discussion}}
===Trivia===
A {{w|compiler}} is a computer program that translates a program written in one computer language -- C++, for example -- into an equivalent program written in another language, say x86 machine code, or JavaScript, or C. See also [[303: Compiling]].

Modern compilers typically not only translate one language into another, but in the process verify that the input program is a legal example of the programming language in question; a C++ to C compiler should not take an illegal C++ program and produce an illegal C program; rather, it should inform the user that the input was incorrect. One of the ways in which programs are determines to be incorrect is through an analysis of how the different parts of the program depend on each other.

For example, one portion of a program might be responsible for representing a person. Another portion of the program might be responsible for representing the fact "employees are a kind of person", and yet another might be responsible for "managers are a kind of employee". The compiler could reason that the employee code depends directly on the person code. It could also reason that the manager code depends directly on the employee code. It could then conclude logically that the manager code depends indirectly on the person code.

Many programming languages require that these sorts of dependencies be free of cycles. It would be an error in many programming languages to say, for instance, that a manager is a kind of employee, an employee is a kind of person, and a person is a kind of manager, because a diagram of the dependencies would contain a loop. A developer who is writing a compiler must therefore understand first how to identify dependencies in a program, and second, how to determine whether a particular set of dependencies is legal or illegal.

There are numerous other problems in compiler construction which require understanding dependencies. For example, suppose a program must make two lengthy computations, call them X and Y, and then sum the result. Clearly the final sum X + Y cannot be computed until both X and Y are computed; the sum depends on X and Y. If the computation to produce Y does not depend on the result of computation X, then Y can be computed before X. If the computation to produce X also does not depend on the result of Y, then X may be computed before Y. If both X and Y are independent of each other then the compiler is free to choose whichever ordering it believes to be most efficient. By analyzing dependencies between different computations the compiler can ensure that the translated form of the program is both correct and efficient.

[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Recursion]]

754: Dependencies

2014-09-04T04:33:49Z

108.162.217.125: No Better: Undo revision 74974 by 199.27.133.82 (talk)

{{comic
| number = 754
| date = June 16, 2010
| title = Dependencies
| image = Dependencies.png
| titletext = The prereqs for CPSC 357, the class on package management, are CPSC 432, CPSC 357, and glibc2.5 or later.
}}

==Explanation==

{{incomplete|this explain is still a horror for non programmers.}}

; Comic
:A {{w|compiler}} is a computer program that translates a program written in one computer language -- C++, for example -- into an equivalent program written in another language, say x86 machine code, or JavaScript, or C. See also [[303: Compiling]].

:Modern compilers typically not only translate one language into another, but in the process verify that the input program is a legal example of the programming language in question; a C++ to C compiler should not take an illegal C++ program and produce an illegal C program; rather, it should inform the user that the input was incorrect. One of the ways in which programs are determines to be incorrect is through an analysis of how the different parts of the program depend on each other.

:For example, one portion of a program might be responsible for representing a person. Another portion of the program might be responsible for representing the fact "employees are a kind of person", and yet another might be responsible for "managers are a kind of employee". The compiler could reason that the employee code depends directly on the person code. It could also reason that the manager code depends directly on the employee code. It could then conclude logically that the manager code depends indirectly on the person code.

:Many programming languages require that these sorts of dependencies be free of cycles. It would be an error in many programming languages to say, for instance, that a manager is a kind of employee, an employee is a kind of person, and a person is a kind of manager, because a diagram of the dependencies would contain a loop. A developer who is writing a compiler must therefore understand first how to identify dependencies in a program, and second, how to determine whether a particular set of dependencies is legal or illegal.

:There are numerous other problems in compiler construction which require understanding dependencies. For example, suppose a program must make two lengthy computations, call them X and Y, and then sum the result. Clearly the final sum X + Y cannot be computed until both X and Y are computed; the sum depends on X and Y. If the computation to produce Y does not depend on the result of computation X, then Y can be computed before X. If the computation to produce X also does not depend on the result of Y, then X may be computed before Y. If both X and Y are independent of each other then the compiler is free to choose whichever ordering it believes to be most efficient. By analyzing dependencies between different computations the compiler can ensure that the translated form of the program is both correct and efficient.

:Solving dependency management problems is also necessary in many areas of programming other than compiler design, such as package management, discussed below.

:On college campuses, course names indicate the department and level of a course. CPSC would be one way to express Computer Science classes. The first digit is usually corresponds to the number of years that an undergraduate student has been studying; a 400-level course would be aimed at students in their fourth year of study.

:The comic envisions a college computer science course (CPSC432) focusing on dependency resolution which has itself as a prerequisite. That is, you must complete this course before you can enroll in it, which is clearly impossible. This is analogous to the sort of problem that the dependency analyzer in a modern compiler must notice and inform the user about. Ironically, the cyclic dependency here is the easiest one to spot: the cycle where a thing depends directly on itself.

;Title Text
:{{w|Package management}} is a problem in software deployment similar to compiler dependency resolution, except that the dependencies are collections of files known as "packages". For example, a software package might require that a particular operating system security patch be already installed. That patch might in turn require other packages be installed, and so on. A package installer must know the dependencies of a package and be able to figure out whether any required packages are missing before continuing with the installation.

:The title text posits a course on package management which is dependent not only on itself (a cyclic dependency), but also on the course presented in the main comic, which has a higher course number. A dependency from a 300-level course to a 400-level course is very unusual because it implies that in order to take a third-year course, you must already have completed a fourth-year course.

:glibc is a commonly-used package on Unix systems. Its inclusion as a course prerequisite blurs the line between the course material and the course itself.

==Transcript==
:A portion of a page from an imaginary course catalog.

:Page 3
:[A table with four columns labeled Department, Course, Description, and Prereqs. Under 'Department' it reads, "computer science". Under 'course' it reads, "CPSC 432". Under 'Description' it reads, "Intermediate compiler design, with a focus on dependency resolution." Under 'Prereqs' it reads, "CPSC 432".]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Recursion]]

1406: Universal Converter Box

2014-09-02T22:54:07Z

108.162.217.125: /* Left side */

{{comic
| number = 1406
| date = August 11, 2014
| title = Universal Converter Box
| image = universal_converter_box.png
| titletext = Comes with a 50-lb sack of gender changers, and also an add-on device with a voltage selector and a zillion circular center pin DC adapter tips so you can power any of those devices from the 90s.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The title text explain doesn't cover the title text itself. Most content of this part should be moved to a trivia section.}}
Converter boxes are used to connect two devices together which otherwise couldn't be, due to differently shaped plugs, different voltages, or different protocols of communication.

Converter boxes or converter cables are commonly found for several of the plugs at the top of the list - such as from USB to micro-USB.

The humour from this comic comes from the sheer number of [[927: Standards|different standards]] that at different times aimed to be the universal way to connect two devices (at least in their target market), as well as the progressively ridiculous conversions that this box is capable of doing, for example, converting audio from a 1/8inch / 3.5 mm headphone jack, into a variety of fuel suitable for running your car.

A connector is capable of making a connection to another connector only is the connectors are of the same style and the opposite gender ("male" connector is plug, "female" connector is socket), except for rare "genderless" connectors, such as the token ring mentioned above. Gender changers are devices with two connectors of the same gender. The "circular center pin DC adapter tips" in the title text are barrel jack power plugs. There are a large number of these style connectors, and many of these devices look the same. This leads to frustration

===Different connectors===
====Left side====
#{{w|VGA connector|VGA}} (Video Graphics Array): This a video connector (standard is blue) that connects computers and monitors or projectors. It has fifteen pins in a D-shell. It's still one of the common type of video connectors
#{{w|Digital Visual Interface|DVI}} (Digital Visual Interface): This a video connector (standard is white) that uses a D-shell with flat pins. DVI is not compatible with VGA ports,
#{{w|HDMI}} (High Definition Multimedia Interface): This a audio video connector that supports high definition video and audio.
#{{w|Thunderbolt (interface)|Thunderbolt}}: Thunderbolt can transfer both video signals to a monitor, audio signals to speakers, and send and receive data at the same time, over the same port.
#{{w|IEEE 1394|Firewire}} (IEEE 1394): A bidirectional data transfer connector, similar to USB, Firewire can is used for networking computers, and connecting audio/video equipment to computers.
#{{w|Component video|Component}} and {{w|RCA connector|RCA}}: Both component video and RCA are ways of transmitting video and audio signals. RCA is the name of the connector type. RCA uses one plugs per audio channel (e.g. left and right channels). RCA (Component) uses one plug for video where component uses three: Y (luma), Pb (Blue - Y), Pr (Red - Y).
#{{w|Phone connector (audio)|1/8" audio/video}} (3.5 mm phone connector): Best known as a headphone plug, but also used for other audio equipment and for some video equipment.
#{{w|Parallel port}}: A port that used to be used to connect printers to PCs.
#{{w|S-Video (analog video standard)|S-video}}: A video with the video signal split in Y (luma) and C (chroma).
#{{w|In-flight entertainment#History|Airline pneumatic tube audio}}: The seat would contain the loudspeaker, and the headphone connected to this unit with a pneumatic tube to conduct the sound.
#{{w|PS/2 port|PS/2}}, PS/3 and PS/4: The PS/2 connector was used for mouse and keyboard connections in older computers; it has been superseded by USB. There are no PS/3 or PS/4 connectors. This is a play on the {{w|PlayStation 2}} 3 and 4 which are abbreviated to PS2, PS3, and PS4.
#{{w|NEMA connector|120V AC}}: This style of plug is used for domestic power outlets in the US, Canada, Mexico, and some other parts of the Americas. The pin marked "removable" is the ground pin. Not every device requires a ground pin, and some lower power sockets do not have a hole for it.
#{{w|Floppy disk|Floppy}}, {{w|Parallel ATA|IDE}}, {{w|Hard disk drive|2.5"}}, {{w|SCSI connector|SCSI}}: These are {{w|Insulation-displacement connector|IDC connectors}} for connecting to media drives to processors using different numbers of pins, and hence different widths of {{w|Ribbon cable|cable}}. Despite this similarity, real plugs would not work with break-away parts as the pinout has no similarities and the connectors are keyed differently.

====Right side====
*{{w|USB#Connectors and plugs|USB}} connectors: This bidirectional data connection is used for connecting many different devices to computers, each other, and to power supplies and chargers. The USB standard has many different types of plugs, necessitating converters like the one in the comic is less featureful. The types present here are USB-A ("USB"), USB-B ("USB weird other end"), mini-USB, micro-USB, and the non-existent "macro-USB" — a joke about a larger version of USB. Note that some embedded systems such as cash registers actually do use larger USB connectors to include 12V and/or 24V power connections. These are not, however, called "macro-USB", and are not as large.
*{{w|F connector}}: A type of coaxial plug used for various television signals and for cable modems.
*{{w|Optical fiber connector|Fiber}}: Optical fiber cables are used for various data transmission purposes. Interestingly, the fiber depicted does not seem to have any of the over one hundred existing optical fiber connectors; it may be simply a loose end.
*{{w|Registered jack#RJ11.2C_RJ14.2C_RJ25_wiring_details|RJ11}}: The "smaller than RJ45" connector which is used for land-line telephones in the US. Other countries often use RJ11-ended cables with locally-specific adapter-ends, e.g. the BS 6312 in Britain. Broadband microfilters may make use of this difference by splitting a relevant telephone plug standard into the local non-RJ11 style of telephone plug for an "audio-only" pass-through socket and an RJ11 for the router/modem to be cabled up to for the abstracted "data-only" signal — making an adapter for this will be nearly impossible.
*{{w|Registered jack#RJ45|Ethernet}} (RJ45): The most common fixed wire connection for computer networking.
*{{w|Token ring}}: A now-outdated networking technology and topology, the token ring was a late-80s competitor to Ethernet for fixed-wire network connections. Its connectors were large and boxy, but were unique in that they were genderless, so no gender changing adapter will be needed in that bag.
*{{w|MagSafe}}: Magnetically-attached power connectors used on Apple devices. The original MagSafe (introduced in 2006) was later replaced by MagSafe 2 (introduced in 2012); both come in "L" and "T" shapes as shown here for MagSafe and MagSafe 2, respectively, but are incompatible. MagSafe 3 and 4 do not actually exist yet. Also, the MagSafe 4 "connector" appears to be broken or else have a large number of individual pin leads; this may be a joke about the {{w|MagSafe#Criticisms_and_defects|poor quality}} of the original MagSafe 1 cables, or a joke about how Magsafe cables are theoretically intended to work no matter which direction they're connected.
*{{w|Bluetooth#Communication_and_connection|Bluetooth dongle}}: A USB device that allows the converter to connect via the {{w|Bluetooth}} wireless networking standard to accessories like phones and computers for audio, general purpose file transfer, mouse and keyboard interaction and a wide variety of other uses.
*{{w|SCART}}: An audio/video connector mostly used in Europe; it replaced other connectors like component video, but has itself been superseded by HDMI.
*{{w|Tin can telephone|String}}: For connecting to a "tin can telephone", an analogue device for transmitting sound through a physical connection rather than electronically or via radio waves. Probably also a reference to {{w|CAN bus}}.
*{{w|Fuel dispenser#Nozzles|Fuel nozzle}}, with a switch to choose between different {{w|octane rating}}s and {{w|diesel fuel}}: Dispensers for fossil fuels used to power internal combustion engines. There are two common systems for showing octane numbers on fuel pumps; the numbers shown (87, 91, 93) most closely map to {{w|Octane rating#Anti-Knock_Index_.28AKI.29|Anti-Knock Index}} values which is used for the North American market and a number of other countries, the other system used in the rest of the world is Research Octane Number. In the AKI system; 87 octane (91 RON) is regular US, 91 octane (95 RON) is regular European, 93 octane (98 RON) is premium European, and in US both 91 and 93 are considered premium/super depending on the regulations of a particular state. Some states, such as California, forbid the sale of the gasoline above 91 octane. Only very rarely could both 91 and 93 be found at the same gas station. The typical line-up is "regular" (87), "plus" (89), and "premium"/"super" (depending on the state and on the fuel brand, 91, 92 or 93 octane). A standard diesel nozzle (24mm) is slightly larger diameter than a standard petrol nozzle (21mm) so you cannot tank diesel into a petrol car but if this nozzle has the petrol nozzle diameter you are still able to tank with it into some diesel cars. Some manufacturers such as Volkswagen fit a misfueling guard and fuel filler neck cap or have redesigned the the fuel filler to prevent a petrol nozzle being used in a diesel car.

===Trivia===
For some interfaces, such as USB, the female size is standard to the device while the male side is standard to the cable. For other interfaces, such as the RS-232 serial port, the conventions vary or there is no convention

The "universal" connector here doesn't support the proper RS-232, with the closest surrogate available being RJ-11. The other nearest analog would be the parallel port, available in Centronix and D-25-pin connectors.

The SCSI connectors have been available as the "internal" connectors (see the "break-away" above) of 2 different widths, Centronix, 2 widths of the mini-D connectors with the easily bendable pins, 3 widths of the more reliable pin-less mini-connectors, and high-speed serial.

The not only is there gender and connector type, but there are also different standards on what data/power is connected on each pin of the connector. Building a working connection often involved getting 3 or 4 adapters connected in a sequence to produce the right connector, gender and pin-out.

Barrel jack power plugs were developed in the 1980s. The "barrel" has an inner diameter an outer diameter, and different style pins.

A D-shell is a trapezoidal metal skirt that protects the pins, prevents the connector from being plugged in the wrong way, and makes the physical connection more secure.

A VGA was devoloped in 1987, and with new versions being developed since then.

DVI can be configured to support multiple modes such as DVI-D (digital only), DVI-A (analog only), or DVI-I (digital and analog).

HDMI has slowly been replacing DVI and VGA ports on newer devices due to the simplicity and the smaller footprint and overall dimensions.

Thunderbolt is far faster than almost any connector on the market for transferring data. However, the limited adoption by manufacturers, the higher costs of the hardware, and the security concerns inherent to the interface have limited the adoption by consumers.

Because Firewire is designed to allow {{w|backplane}} access and {{w|direct memory access}} (DMA) to devices, there are additional conversion and security issues with it.

The phone connector diameter of 1/8" is only an approximation using {{w|Imperial units}}. The standard actually specifies a size in the {{w|Metric system}} of 3.5 mm. The video plug has 3 contacts (Tip, Ring and Sleeve) and the audio has 4 contacts (Tip, Ring, Ring and Sleeve).

While no longer common in homes or offices, parallel connections are still used in some {{w|embedded system}}s.

Airline pneumatic tube audio was used by in-flight entertainment systems manufactured from 1963 until 1979.

Note that while AC adapters are necessary—and widely available—to suit sockets in other countries, this "universal" converter does not feature any other AC power plugs, but this could be accommodated using adapters.

{{w|Cheater plug}}s exist to connect a NEMA grounding-type plug (three prongs) to a NEMA non-grounding receptacle (two slots), but the use of such an adapter can be hazardous if the grounding tab is not connected to electrical ground. A safer alternative is to replace the outlet with a {{w|Residual-current device|Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)}} breaker outlet.

The computer media drive connectors are unlike the motherboard-powering connectors from the Power Supply Unit of a PC, which may involve multiple additional 4, 6 and 8-pin 'breakout' supply cables that have this feature and specially 'keyed' pin-sheaths as well to allow forward/backward compatibility between various versions of PSU and motherboard that could be used (and power-hungry GPUs of various kinds, as well.

==Transcript==
:[Universal converter box with wires to connectors:]
:VGA
:DVI
:HDMI
:Thunderbolt
:Firewire
:Component
:[sharing connectors with Component:]
:RCA
:1/8" Audio
:1/8" Video
:Parallel Port
:S-Video
:Airline Pneumatic Tube Audio
:PS/2/3/4
:120V AC
::[pointing to ground pin:]
::Removable
:Floppy/IDE/2.5"/SCSI
::[pointing to sections in IDC connector:]
::Break here
:USB
:USB with (weird other end)
:Mini-USB
:Micro USB
:Macro USB
:F Connector
:Fiber
:RJ11
:Ethernet
:Token Ring
:MagSafe
:MagSafe 2
:MagSafe 3
:MagSafe 4
:Bluetooth Dongle
:SCART
:String (fits most cans)
:[Fuel nozzle with selector for:]
:87/91/93/Diesel

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Computers]]

1406: Universal Converter Box

2014-09-02T22:51:16Z

108.162.217.125: /* Left side */

{{comic
| number = 1406
| date = August 11, 2014
| title = Universal Converter Box
| image = universal_converter_box.png
| titletext = Comes with a 50-lb sack of gender changers, and also an add-on device with a voltage selector and a zillion circular center pin DC adapter tips so you can power any of those devices from the 90s.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The title text explain doesn't cover the title text itself. Most content of this part should be moved to a trivia section.}}
Converter boxes are used to connect two devices together which otherwise couldn't be, due to differently shaped plugs, different voltages, or different protocols of communication.

Converter boxes or converter cables are commonly found for several of the plugs at the top of the list - such as from USB to micro-USB.

The humour from this comic comes from the sheer number of [[927: Standards|different standards]] that at different times aimed to be the universal way to connect two devices (at least in their target market), as well as the progressively ridiculous conversions that this box is capable of doing, for example, converting audio from a 1/8inch / 3.5 mm headphone jack, into a variety of fuel suitable for running your car.

A connector is capable of making a connection to another connector only is the connectors are of the same style and the opposite gender ("male" connector is plug, "female" connector is socket), except for rare "genderless" connectors, such as the token ring mentioned above. Gender changers are devices with two connectors of the same gender. The "circular center pin DC adapter tips" in the title text are barrel jack power plugs. There are a large number of these style connectors, and many of these devices look the same. This leads to frustration

===Different connectors===
====Left side====
*{{w|VGA connector|VGA}} (Video Graphics Array): This a video connector (standard is blue) that connects computers and monitors or projectors. It has fifteen pins in a D-shell. It's still one of the common type of video connectors
*{{w|Digital Visual Interface|DVI}} (Digital Visual Interface): This a video connector (standard is white) that uses a D-shell with flat pins. DVI is not compatible with VGA ports,
*{{w|HDMI}} (High Definition Multimedia Interface): This a audio video connector that supports high definition video and audio.
*{{w|Thunderbolt (interface)|Thunderbolt}}: Thunderbolt can transfer both video signals to a monitor, audio signals to speakers, and send and receive data at the same time, over the same port.
*{{w|IEEE 1394|Firewire}} (IEEE 1394): A bidirectional data transfer connector, similar to USB, Firewire can is used for networking computers, and connecting audio/video equipment to computers.
*{{w|Component video|Component}} and {{w|RCA connector|RCA}}: Both component video and RCA are ways of transmitting video and audio signals. RCA is the name of the connector type. RCA uses one plugs per audio channel (e.g. left and right channels). RCA (Component) uses one plug for video where component uses three: Y (luma), Pb (Blue - Y), Pr (Red - Y).
*{{w|Phone connector (audio)|1/8" audio/video}} (3.5 mm phone connector): Best known as a headphone plug, but also used for other audio equipment and for some video equipment.
*{{w|Parallel port}}: A port that used to be used to connect printers to PCs.
*{{w|S-Video (analog video standard)|S-video}}: A video with the video signal split in Y (luma) and C (chroma).
*{{w|In-flight entertainment#History|Airline pneumatic tube audio}}: The seat would contain the loudspeaker, and the headphone connected to this unit with a pneumatic tube to conduct the sound.
*{{w|PS/2 port|PS/2}}, PS/3 and PS/4: The PS/2 connector was used for mouse and keyboard connections in older computers; it has been superseded by USB. There are no PS/3 or PS/4 connectors. This is a play on the {{w|PlayStation 2}} 3 and 4 which are abbreviated to PS2, PS3, and PS4.
*{{w|NEMA connector|120V AC}}: This style of plug is used for domestic power outlets in the US, Canada, Mexico, and some other parts of the Americas. The pin marked "removable" is the ground pin. Not every device requires a ground pin, and some lower power sockets do not have a hole for it.
*{{w|Floppy disk|Floppy}}, {{w|Parallel ATA|IDE}}, {{w|Hard disk drive|2.5"}}, {{w|SCSI connector|SCSI}}: These are {{w|Insulation-displacement connector|IDC connectors}} for connecting to media drives to processors using different numbers of pins, and hence different widths of {{w|Ribbon cable|cable}}. Despite this similarity, real plugs do not have break-away parts for different devices as the pinout has no similarities at all and the connectors are all keyed differently.

====Right side====
*{{w|USB#Connectors and plugs|USB}} connectors: This bidirectional data connection is used for connecting many different devices to computers, each other, and to power supplies and chargers. The USB standard has many different types of plugs, necessitating converters like the one in the comic is less featureful. The types present here are USB-A ("USB"), USB-B ("USB weird other end"), mini-USB, micro-USB, and the non-existent "macro-USB" — a joke about a larger version of USB. Note that some embedded systems such as cash registers actually do use larger USB connectors to include 12V and/or 24V power connections. These are not, however, called "macro-USB", and are not as large.
*{{w|F connector}}: A type of coaxial plug used for various television signals and for cable modems.
*{{w|Optical fiber connector|Fiber}}: Optical fiber cables are used for various data transmission purposes. Interestingly, the fiber depicted does not seem to have any of the over one hundred existing optical fiber connectors; it may be simply a loose end.
*{{w|Registered jack#RJ11.2C_RJ14.2C_RJ25_wiring_details|RJ11}}: The "smaller than RJ45" connector which is used for land-line telephones in the US. Other countries often use RJ11-ended cables with locally-specific adapter-ends, e.g. the BS 6312 in Britain. Broadband microfilters may make use of this difference by splitting a relevant telephone plug standard into the local non-RJ11 style of telephone plug for an "audio-only" pass-through socket and an RJ11 for the router/modem to be cabled up to for the abstracted "data-only" signal — making an adapter for this will be nearly impossible.
*{{w|Registered jack#RJ45|Ethernet}} (RJ45): The most common fixed wire connection for computer networking.
*{{w|Token ring}}: A now-outdated networking technology and topology, the token ring was a late-80s competitor to Ethernet for fixed-wire network connections. Its connectors were large and boxy, but were unique in that they were genderless, so no gender changing adapter will be needed in that bag.
*{{w|MagSafe}}: Magnetically-attached power connectors used on Apple devices. The original MagSafe (introduced in 2006) was later replaced by MagSafe 2 (introduced in 2012); both come in "L" and "T" shapes as shown here for MagSafe and MagSafe 2, respectively, but are incompatible. MagSafe 3 and 4 do not actually exist yet. Also, the MagSafe 4 "connector" appears to be broken or else have a large number of individual pin leads; this may be a joke about the {{w|MagSafe#Criticisms_and_defects|poor quality}} of the original MagSafe 1 cables, or a joke about how Magsafe cables are theoretically intended to work no matter which direction they're connected.
*{{w|Bluetooth#Communication_and_connection|Bluetooth dongle}}: A USB device that allows the converter to connect via the {{w|Bluetooth}} wireless networking standard to accessories like phones and computers for audio, general purpose file transfer, mouse and keyboard interaction and a wide variety of other uses.
*{{w|SCART}}: An audio/video connector mostly used in Europe; it replaced other connectors like component video, but has itself been superseded by HDMI.
*{{w|Tin can telephone|String}}: For connecting to a "tin can telephone", an analogue device for transmitting sound through a physical connection rather than electronically or via radio waves. Probably also a reference to {{w|CAN bus}}.
*{{w|Fuel dispenser#Nozzles|Fuel nozzle}}, with a switch to choose between different {{w|octane rating}}s and {{w|diesel fuel}}: Dispensers for fossil fuels used to power internal combustion engines. There are two common systems for showing octane numbers on fuel pumps; the numbers shown (87, 91, 93) most closely map to {{w|Octane rating#Anti-Knock_Index_.28AKI.29|Anti-Knock Index}} values which is used for the North American market and a number of other countries, the other system used in the rest of the world is Research Octane Number. In the AKI system; 87 octane (91 RON) is regular US, 91 octane (95 RON) is regular European, 93 octane (98 RON) is premium European, and in US both 91 and 93 are considered premium/super depending on the regulations of a particular state. Some states, such as California, forbid the sale of the gasoline above 91 octane. Only very rarely could both 91 and 93 be found at the same gas station. The typical line-up is "regular" (87), "plus" (89), and "premium"/"super" (depending on the state and on the fuel brand, 91, 92 or 93 octane). A standard diesel nozzle (24mm) is slightly larger diameter than a standard petrol nozzle (21mm) so you cannot tank diesel into a petrol car but if this nozzle has the petrol nozzle diameter you are still able to tank with it into some diesel cars. Some manufacturers such as Volkswagen fit a misfueling guard and fuel filler neck cap or have redesigned the the fuel filler to prevent a petrol nozzle being used in a diesel car.

===Trivia===
For some interfaces, such as USB, the female size is standard to the device while the male side is standard to the cable. For other interfaces, such as the RS-232 serial port, the conventions vary or there is no convention

The "universal" connector here doesn't support the proper RS-232, with the closest surrogate available being RJ-11. The other nearest analog would be the parallel port, available in Centronix and D-25-pin connectors.

The SCSI connectors have been available as the "internal" connectors (see the "break-away" above) of 2 different widths, Centronix, 2 widths of the mini-D connectors with the easily bendable pins, 3 widths of the more reliable pin-less mini-connectors, and high-speed serial.

The not only is there gender and connector type, but there are also different standards on what data/power is connected on each pin of the connector. Building a working connection often involved getting 3 or 4 adapters connected in a sequence to produce the right connector, gender and pin-out.

Barrel jack power plugs were developed in the 1980s. The "barrel" has an inner diameter an outer diameter, and different style pins.

A D-shell is a trapezoidal metal skirt that protects the pins, prevents the connector from being plugged in the wrong way, and makes the physical connection more secure.

A VGA was devoloped in 1987, and with new versions being developed since then.

DVI can be configured to support multiple modes such as DVI-D (digital only), DVI-A (analog only), or DVI-I (digital and analog).

HDMI has slowly been replacing DVI and VGA ports on newer devices due to the simplicity and the smaller footprint and overall dimensions.

Thunderbolt is far faster than almost any connector on the market for transferring data. However, the limited adoption by manufacturers, the higher costs of the hardware, and the security concerns inherent to the interface have limited the adoption by consumers.

Because Firewire is designed to allow {{w|backplane}} access and {{w|direct memory access}} (DMA) to devices, there are additional conversion and security issues with it.

The phone connector diameter of 1/8" is only an approximation using {{w|Imperial units}}. The standard actually specifies a size in the {{w|Metric system}} of 3.5 mm. The video plug has 3 contacts (Tip, Ring and Sleeve) and the audio has 4 contacts (Tip, Ring, Ring and Sleeve).

While no longer common in homes or offices, parallel connections are still used in some {{w|embedded system}}s.

Airline pneumatic tube audio was used by in-flight entertainment systems manufactured from 1963 until 1979.

Note that while AC adapters are necessary—and widely available—to suit sockets in other countries, this "universal" converter does not feature any other AC power plugs, but this could be accommodated using adapters.

{{w|Cheater plug}}s exist to connect a NEMA grounding-type plug (three prongs) to a NEMA non-grounding receptacle (two slots), but the use of such an adapter can be hazardous if the grounding tab is not connected to electrical ground. A safer alternative is to replace the outlet with a {{w|Residual-current device|Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)}} breaker outlet.

The computer media drive connectors are unlike the motherboard-powering connectors from the Power Supply Unit of a PC, which may involve multiple additional 4, 6 and 8-pin 'breakout' supply cables that have this feature and specially 'keyed' pin-sheaths as well to allow forward/backward compatibility between various versions of PSU and motherboard that could be used (and power-hungry GPUs of various kinds, as well.

==Transcript==
:[Universal converter box with wires to connectors:]
:VGA
:DVI
:HDMI
:Thunderbolt
:Firewire
:Component
:[sharing connectors with Component:]
:RCA
:1/8" Audio
:1/8" Video
:Parallel Port
:S-Video
:Airline Pneumatic Tube Audio
:PS/2/3/4
:120V AC
::[pointing to ground pin:]
::Removable
:Floppy/IDE/2.5"/SCSI
::[pointing to sections in IDC connector:]
::Break here
:USB
:USB with (weird other end)
:Mini-USB
:Micro USB
:Macro USB
:F Connector
:Fiber
:RJ11
:Ethernet
:Token Ring
:MagSafe
:MagSafe 2
:MagSafe 3
:MagSafe 4
:Bluetooth Dongle
:SCART
:String (fits most cans)
:[Fuel nozzle with selector for:]
:87/91/93/Diesel

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Computers]]

1406: Universal Converter Box

2014-09-02T22:47:01Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */ cleaned up left side

{{comic
| number = 1406
| date = August 11, 2014
| title = Universal Converter Box
| image = universal_converter_box.png
| titletext = Comes with a 50-lb sack of gender changers, and also an add-on device with a voltage selector and a zillion circular center pin DC adapter tips so you can power any of those devices from the 90s.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The title text explain doesn't cover the title text itself. Most content of this part should be moved to a trivia section.}}
Converter boxes are used to connect two devices together which otherwise couldn't be, due to differently shaped plugs, different voltages, or different protocols of communication.

Converter boxes or converter cables are commonly found for several of the plugs at the top of the list - such as from USB to micro-USB.

The humour from this comic comes from the sheer number of [[927: Standards|different standards]] that at different times aimed to be the universal way to connect two devices (at least in their target market), as well as the progressively ridiculous conversions that this box is capable of doing, for example, converting audio from a 1/8inch / 3.5 mm headphone jack, into a variety of fuel suitable for running your car.

A connector is capable of making a connection to another connector only is the connectors are of the same style and the opposite gender ("male" connector is plug, "female" connector is socket), except for rare "genderless" connectors, such as the token ring mentioned above. Gender changers are devices with two connectors of the same gender. The "circular center pin DC adapter tips" in the title text are barrel jack power plugs. There are a large number of these style connectors, and many of these devices look the same. This leads to frustration

===Different connectors===
====Left side====
*{{w|VGA connector|VGA}} (Video Graphics Array): This a video connector (standard is blue) that connects computers and monitors or projectors. It has fifteen pins in a D-shell. It's still one of the common type of video connectors
*{{w|Digital Visual Interface|DVI}} (Digital Visual Interface): This a video connector (standard is white) that uses a D-shell with flat pins. DVI is not compatible with VGA ports,
*{{w|HDMI}} (High Definition Multimedia Interface): This a audio video connector that supports high definition video and audio.
*{{w|Thunderbolt (interface)|Thunderbolt}}: A multimedia/data connector, Thunderbolt can transfer both video signals to a monitor, audio signals to speakers, and send and receive data at the same time, over the same port.
*{{w|IEEE 1394|Firewire}} (IEEE 1394): A bidirectional data transfer connector, similar to USB, Firewire can is used for networking computers, and connecting audio/video equipment to computers.
*{{w|Component video|Component}} and {{w|RCA connector|RCA}}: Both component video and RCA are ways of transmitting video and audio signals. RCA is the name of the connector type. RCA uses one plugs per audio channel (e.g. left and right channels). RCA (Component) uses one plug for video where component uses three: Y (luma), Pb (Blue - Y), Pr (Red - Y).
*{{w|Phone connector (audio)|1/8" audio/video}} (3.5 mm phone connector): Best known as a headphone plug, but also used for other audio equipment and for some video equipment.
*{{w|Parallel port}}: A port that used to be used to connect printers to PCs.
*{{w|S-Video (analog video standard)|S-video}}: A video standard similar to component and RCA, but with the video signal split in Y (luma) and C (chroma).
*{{w|In-flight entertainment#History|Airline pneumatic tube audio}}: Connector for stethoscope-style pneumatic headphones. The seat would contain the loudspeaker, and the headphone connected to this unit with a pneumatic tube to conduct the sound.
*{{w|PS/2 port|PS/2}}, PS/3 and PS/4: The PS/2 connector was used for mouse and keyboard connections in older computers; it has been superseded by USB. There are no PS/3 or PS/4 connectors. This is a play on the {{w|PlayStation 2}} 3 and 4 which are abbreviated to PS2, PS3, and PS4.
*{{w|NEMA connector|120V AC}}: This style of plug is used for domestic power outlets in the US, Canada, Mexico, and some other parts of the Americas. The pin marked "removable" is the ground pin. Not every device requires a ground pin, and some lower power sockets do not have a hole for it.
*{{w|Floppy disk|Floppy}}, {{w|Parallel ATA|IDE}}, {{w|Hard disk drive|2.5"}}, {{w|SCSI connector|SCSI}}: These are {{w|Insulation-displacement connector|IDC connectors}} for connecting to media drives to processors using different numbers of pins, and hence different widths of {{w|Ribbon cable|cable}}. Despite this similarity, real plugs do not have break-away parts for different devices as the pinout has no similarities at all and the connectors are all keyed differently.

====Right side====
*{{w|USB#Connectors and plugs|USB}} connectors: This bidirectional data connection is used for connecting many different devices to computers, each other, and to power supplies and chargers. The USB standard has many different types of plugs, necessitating converters like the one in the comic is less featureful. The types present here are USB-A ("USB"), USB-B ("USB weird other end"), mini-USB, micro-USB, and the non-existent "macro-USB" — a joke about a larger version of USB. Note that some embedded systems such as cash registers actually do use larger USB connectors to include 12V and/or 24V power connections. These are not, however, called "macro-USB", and are not as large.
*{{w|F connector}}: A type of coaxial plug used for various television signals and for cable modems.
*{{w|Optical fiber connector|Fiber}}: Optical fiber cables are used for various data transmission purposes. Interestingly, the fiber depicted does not seem to have any of the over one hundred existing optical fiber connectors; it may be simply a loose end.
*{{w|Registered jack#RJ11.2C_RJ14.2C_RJ25_wiring_details|RJ11}}: The "smaller than RJ45" connector which is used for land-line telephones in the US. Other countries often use RJ11-ended cables with locally-specific adapter-ends, e.g. the BS 6312 in Britain. Broadband microfilters may make use of this difference by splitting a relevant telephone plug standard into the local non-RJ11 style of telephone plug for an "audio-only" pass-through socket and an RJ11 for the router/modem to be cabled up to for the abstracted "data-only" signal — making an adapter for this will be nearly impossible.
*{{w|Registered jack#RJ45|Ethernet}} (RJ45): The most common fixed wire connection for computer networking.
*{{w|Token ring}}: A now-outdated networking technology and topology, the token ring was a late-80s competitor to Ethernet for fixed-wire network connections. Its connectors were large and boxy, but were unique in that they were genderless, so no gender changing adapter will be needed in that bag.
*{{w|MagSafe}}: Magnetically-attached power connectors used on Apple devices. The original MagSafe (introduced in 2006) was later replaced by MagSafe 2 (introduced in 2012); both come in "L" and "T" shapes as shown here for MagSafe and MagSafe 2, respectively, but are incompatible. MagSafe 3 and 4 do not actually exist yet. Also, the MagSafe 4 "connector" appears to be broken or else have a large number of individual pin leads; this may be a joke about the {{w|MagSafe#Criticisms_and_defects|poor quality}} of the original MagSafe 1 cables, or a joke about how Magsafe cables are theoretically intended to work no matter which direction they're connected.
*{{w|Bluetooth#Communication_and_connection|Bluetooth dongle}}: A USB device that allows the converter to connect via the {{w|Bluetooth}} wireless networking standard to accessories like phones and computers for audio, general purpose file transfer, mouse and keyboard interaction and a wide variety of other uses.
*{{w|SCART}}: An audio/video connector mostly used in Europe; it replaced other connectors like component video, but has itself been superseded by HDMI.
*{{w|Tin can telephone|String}}: For connecting to a "tin can telephone", an analogue device for transmitting sound through a physical connection rather than electronically or via radio waves. Probably also a reference to {{w|CAN bus}}.
*{{w|Fuel dispenser#Nozzles|Fuel nozzle}}, with a switch to choose between different {{w|octane rating}}s and {{w|diesel fuel}}: Dispensers for fossil fuels used to power internal combustion engines. There are two common systems for showing octane numbers on fuel pumps; the numbers shown (87, 91, 93) most closely map to {{w|Octane rating#Anti-Knock_Index_.28AKI.29|Anti-Knock Index}} values which is used for the North American market and a number of other countries, the other system used in the rest of the world is Research Octane Number. In the AKI system; 87 octane (91 RON) is regular US, 91 octane (95 RON) is regular European, 93 octane (98 RON) is premium European, and in US both 91 and 93 are considered premium/super depending on the regulations of a particular state. Some states, such as California, forbid the sale of the gasoline above 91 octane. Only very rarely could both 91 and 93 be found at the same gas station. The typical line-up is "regular" (87), "plus" (89), and "premium"/"super" (depending on the state and on the fuel brand, 91, 92 or 93 octane). A standard diesel nozzle (24mm) is slightly larger diameter than a standard petrol nozzle (21mm) so you cannot tank diesel into a petrol car but if this nozzle has the petrol nozzle diameter you are still able to tank with it into some diesel cars. Some manufacturers such as Volkswagen fit a misfueling guard and fuel filler neck cap or have redesigned the the fuel filler to prevent a petrol nozzle being used in a diesel car.

===Trivia===
For some interfaces, such as USB, the female size is standard to the device while the male side is standard to the cable. For other interfaces, such as the RS-232 serial port, the conventions vary or there is no convention

The "universal" connector here doesn't support the proper RS-232, with the closest surrogate available being RJ-11. The other nearest analog would be the parallel port, available in Centronix and D-25-pin connectors.

The SCSI connectors have been available as the "internal" connectors (see the "break-away" above) of 2 different widths, Centronix, 2 widths of the mini-D connectors with the easily bendable pins, 3 widths of the more reliable pin-less mini-connectors, and high-speed serial.

The not only is there gender and connector type, but there are also different standards on what data/power is connected on each pin of the connector. Building a working connection often involved getting 3 or 4 adapters connected in a sequence to produce the right connector, gender and pin-out.

Barrel jack power plugs were developed in the 1980s. The "barrel" has an inner diameter an outer diameter, and different style pins.

A D-shell is a trapezoidal metal skirt that protects the pins, prevents the connector from being plugged in the wrong way, and makes the physical connection more secure.

A VGA was devoloped in 1987, and with new versions being developed since then.

DVI can be configured to support multiple modes such as DVI-D (digital only), DVI-A (analog only), or DVI-I (digital and analog).

HDMI has slowly been replacing DVI and VGA ports on newer devices due to the simplicity and the smaller footprint and overall dimensions.

Thunderbolt is far faster than almost any connector on the market for transferring data. However, the limited adoption by manufacturers, the higher costs of the hardware, and the security concerns inherent to the interface have limited the adoption by consumers.

Because Firewire is designed to allow {{w|backplane}} access and {{w|direct memory access}} (DMA) to devices, there are additional conversion and security issues with it.

The phone connector diameter of 1/8" is only an approximation using {{w|Imperial units}}. The standard actually specifies a size in the {{w|Metric system}} of 3.5 mm. The video plug has 3 contacts (Tip, Ring and Sleeve) and the audio has 4 contacts (Tip, Ring, Ring and Sleeve).

While no longer common in homes or offices, parallel connections are still used in some {{w|embedded system}}s.

Airline pneumatic tube audio was used by in-flight entertainment systems manufactured from 1963 until 1979.

Note that while AC adapters are necessary—and widely available—to suit sockets in other countries, this "universal" converter does not feature any other AC power plugs, but this could be accommodated using adapters.

{{w|Cheater plug}}s exist to connect a NEMA grounding-type plug (three prongs) to a NEMA non-grounding receptacle (two slots), but the use of such an adapter can be hazardous if the grounding tab is not connected to electrical ground. A safer alternative is to replace the outlet with a {{w|Residual-current device|Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI)}} breaker outlet.

The computer media drive connectors are unlike the motherboard-powering connectors from the Power Supply Unit of a PC, which may involve multiple additional 4, 6 and 8-pin 'breakout' supply cables that have this feature and specially 'keyed' pin-sheaths as well to allow forward/backward compatibility between various versions of PSU and motherboard that could be used (and power-hungry GPUs of various kinds, as well.

==Transcript==
:[Universal converter box with wires to connectors:]
:VGA
:DVI
:HDMI
:Thunderbolt
:Firewire
:Component
:[sharing connectors with Component:]
:RCA
:1/8" Audio
:1/8" Video
:Parallel Port
:S-Video
:Airline Pneumatic Tube Audio
:PS/2/3/4
:120V AC
::[pointing to ground pin:]
::Removable
:Floppy/IDE/2.5"/SCSI
::[pointing to sections in IDC connector:]
::Break here
:USB
:USB with (weird other end)
:Mini-USB
:Micro USB
:Macro USB
:F Connector
:Fiber
:RJ11
:Ethernet
:Token Ring
:MagSafe
:MagSafe 2
:MagSafe 3
:MagSafe 4
:Bluetooth Dongle
:SCART
:String (fits most cans)
:[Fuel nozzle with selector for:]
:87/91/93/Diesel

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Computers]]

1360: Old Files

2014-09-02T20:14:19Z

108.162.217.125:

{{comic
| number = 1360
| date = April 25, 2014
| title = Old Files
| image = old_files.png
| titletext = Wow, ANIMORPHS-NOVEL.RTF? Just gonna, uh, go through and delete that from all my archives real quick.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Still need work, grammer. Other comics being referenced need to be included.}}
This comic came out the day after [http://news.sky.com/story/1248397/andy-warhol-originals-found-on-floppy-disk Sky News published the story] of original {{w|Andy Warhol}} artwork, created in 1985 on an {{w|Amiga 1000}}, was recovered from recently found floppy disks.

Cueball is digging through a pile of old files, which the comic represents as digging with a shovel into the depths of his file-system. These layers are arranged much like geological rock formations where older strata is deeper down than younger layers. The files are in concentric layers because each directory is imbedded in the previous directory. Therefore the "Documents" folder contains an "Old Desktop" which contains a folder with files recovered from an older system, which contains a "My Documents" folder, which contains a folder with files copied from a {w|Zip Disk}} in high school. The result is that files from high school have survived in his present-day machine. The formats and systems are meant to be analogous to the fossils and artifacts found in lower, older rock layers.

Notice how file-sizes get larger the newer they are. Older systems and smaller files are found in lower layers, as they are hadn't been developed yet; AOL, NYET, Kazaa are older than Facebook, and MP3s. In the days of AOL, 94 MB was reasonable disk space whereas current computers require larger file storage, hence 47 GB. In other words, digital artifacts have the same structural hierarchy as physical, geological ones.

He discovers several files he is embarrassed about, including a poetry file that surprises him, since he does not remember writing poetry, and an "{{w|Animorphs}} Novel" mentioned in the title text, most likely a fan fiction of the Animorphs series, although possibly a copy of one of the original books.

The {{w|Animorphs}} at the title text refers to a fiction series released between 1996 and 2001. This is also content more than ten years old.

See also [[1380: Manual for Civilization]] for other references to Animorphs.

See also [[286: All Your Base]] for other references to AYB.

See also [[512: Alternate Currency]] for references to 4 chan.

See also [[107: Snakes on a Plane! 2]] for references to James.

===Files and Folders===
The folders and files in detail:

'''Documents''' (47 GB): A large folder containing many of [[Cueball]]'s personal files.
*''misc.txt'': A miscellaneous {{w|text file}} of unknown and unknowable content.
*''Video projects'': As video files can take up a lot of space this likely makes up portion of the 47 GB.

'''Old desktop''' (12 GB): A backup from a former computer.
*''{{w|Facebook}} pics'': Pictures that where, or where intended to be added to Facebook.
*''Pics from other camera'': Unknown pictures from a second camera.
*''Temp'': Temporary folders generally contain cashed files and files that are used temporarily to install programs.
*''Misc {{w|Portable Document Format|PDF}}s'': PDFs are often used for documentation, but could be any collection of digitized books or other documents.
*''{{w|MP3}}'': MP3 is a widely-used format for digital audio files.

'''Recovered from drive crash''' (4 GB): When a {{w|Hard disk drive|hard drive}} crashes some or all data may be recovered.
*''Temp'': Temporary files.
*''Work misc'': Unknown work related projects.
*''{{w|Audiobook|Audio books}}'': Recordings books being read out loud.

'''My Documents''' (570 MB): This is a typical folder created by {{w|Microsoft Windows}} for personal documents.
*''Downloads'': A default location for downloaded files in the Windows OS.
*''{{w|Kazaa}} shared'': Kazaa is a defunct peer-to-peer file sharing program. The "shared" folder shared with other members.
*''AYB'': {{w|All your base are belong to us|ALL YOUR BASE are belong to us}} is an internet inspired by a bad translation from ''{{w|Zero Wing}}''.
*''{{w|Escape Velocity Override|EV Override}}'': An {{w|Apple Macintosh}} video game, released in 1998.
*''[http://rephial.org/ Angband]'': A game named after a fictional stronghold created by {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}.
*''{{w|GIF}}s'': A image format widely used for transparent or animated images.
*''{{w|Fight Club}}.wmv'': A movie. As feature movies are typically compressed to 700 megabyte, and this folder only contains 570 MB, it must be of low quality or a small screen size.
*''{{w|Elasto Mania}}'': A physics-simulation game that claims to show real physics.
*''{{w|AOL Instant Messenger|AIM}} Direct Connect files'': Files transferred via AOL Instant Messenger.
*''{{w|4chan}]'': An image-board where users can upload pictures anonymously. Randall impulsively saves pictures from there.
*''{{w|ICQ}} logs'': An instant messaging program introduced in 1996. It is no longer commonly used in North America.

'''High school {{w|Zip drive|Zip disk}}''' (94 MB): The most popular form of {{w|superfloppy}}, introduced in 1994 with a capacity of 100 MB.
*''{{w|Korn}} MIDI'': Korn is an American {{w|nu metal}} band formed in 1993. {{w|MIDI}} is a protocol for communication with electronic musical instruments. The result tends to be sounds of low quality.
*''Photos3'': This is a folder of old photos.
**''{{w|Prom}}'': Pictures taken at prom.
*''lovenote.txt'': An old text file of a {{w|love letter}}, probably to a classmate in high school.
*''{{w|Gorillas (video game)|Gorillas}}.bas'': A game written in {{w|BASIC}}, to be run on {{w|QBasic}}, and supplied with MS-DOS .
*''Dream.txt'': Some private dreams.
*''James.txt'': Perhaps [[James]] is a friend of Randall, and the same as the one who came up with [[107|xkcd #107]].
*''{{w|AOL}}'': A early online and internet service, founded in 1985 and popular in the 1990s.
**''{{w|Citadel (software)|Citadel}}'' - A {{w|BBS}} and email platform that was widely used in the 1980s and early '90s.
*''{{w|QBasic}}'': An {{w|Integrated development environment|IDE}} released by {{w|Microsoft}} in 1991, which was used to write and run computer programs in the BASIC language.
*''NYET'': ''NYET'' was a {{w|Tetris}}-like game for MS-DOS, released in 1988.
*''Jokes.txt'': An old text file of jokes.

'''AAAFILES''' (9.4 MB): Some of [[Cueball]]'s oldest documents, likely prefixed with "AAA" to put the folder at the top of an alphabetically-sorted list.

'''TXT''' (850 K): Old text files, which include poetry he didn't remember writing.

==Transcript==

:Megan (on top of stack of files): You OK down there?

:'''Documents''' (47 GB)
::misc.txt
::Video projects
:'''Old desktop''' (12 GB)
::Facebook pics
::Pics from other camera
::Temp
::Misc PDFs
::MP3
:'''Recovered from drive crash''' (4 GB)
::Temp
::Work misc
::Audio books
:'''My Documents''' (570 MB)
::Downloads
::Kazaa shared
::AYB
::EV Override
::Angband
::GIFs
::FIGHT CLUB.wmv
::Elasto Mania
::AIM Direct Connect files
::4chan
::ICQ logs
:'''High school Zip disk''' (94 MB)
::Korn MIDI
::Photos3 (Prom)
::lovenote.txt
::Gorilla.bas
::Dream.txt
::James.txt
::AOL (Citadel)
::QBasic
::NYET
::Jokes.txt
:'''AAAFILES''' (9.4 MB)
:'''TXT''' (850 K)
:Cueball (deep inside the AAAFILES section looking at his txt files): Oh my god. I wrote '''poetry'''.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animorphs]]
[[Category:4chan]]
[[Category:All Your Base]]
[[Category:Comics featuring James]]

James Zetlen

2014-09-02T20:14:02Z

108.162.217.125:

'''James''' appears to be an acquaintance of [[Randall Munroe]] who was credited as the inspiration for [[18: Snapple]] and [[107: Snakes on a Plane! 2]].

He is referenced in [[1360: Old Files]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Friends of Randall]]
[[Category:Comics featuring James]]

18: Snapple

2014-09-02T20:13:37Z

108.162.217.125:

{{comic
| number = 18
| date = October 10, 2005
| title = Snapple
| image = snapple.jpg
| titletext = Sn = tin
}}

==Explanation==
In reality, {{w|Snapple}} is a brand of tea and juice based beverages whose name is based on a carbonated apple juice they once produced ("snappy apple"). The joke in this comic is pretty self-explanatory; especially given that the image text continues the trend in early [[xkcd]] comics of explaining the joke. {{w|Tin}} is a metallic element whose abbreviation on the periodic table is "Sn" (as the Latin word for tin is "stannum"). Thus, the apple is a "Sn-apple."

The fourth panel is a silent wide shot, perhaps suggesting the joke was met with silence as a weak joke. As a meta joke, the final panel might jokingly suggest that the silence is because those unfamiliar with the table of elements don't get the joke.

[[James]] (in the caption) presumably once made a joke to [[Randall]] about tin or Snapple or both.

==Transcript==
:This one is entirely James' fault.

:[Two guys are standing and talking.]
:Cueball: Here, take a bite of this Snapple.
:Guy: food!

:[Guy takes a bite.]
:Guy: Ow! What is this?
:''CLINK''

:Cueball: It's an apple infused with tin.

:[The two guys continue to stand as if frozen.]

:Those of you who know your periodic table should be laughing right about now.

==Trivia==
*This is another early [[xkcd]] comic in which [[Cueball]] characters are drawn in some panels with faces.
*This is the seventeenth comic originally posted to [[:Category:Comics posted on livejournal|LiveJournal]]. The previous was [[17: What If]]. The next was [[19: George Clinton]].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring James]]

107: Snakes on a Plane! 2

2014-09-02T20:13:18Z

108.162.217.125:

{{comic
| number = 107
| date = May 26, 2006
| title = 107: Snakes on a Plane! 2
| image = snakes_on_a_plane_2.jpg
| titletext = James suggested this, and I'd have to agree. It'd be much worse.
}}
==Explanation==
{{w|Snakes on a Plane}} is a 2006 movie starring {{w|Samuel L. Jackson}}. It features (surprisingly) snakes, on a plane, attacking the passengers. This comic proposes a sequel, taking the idea to the next level, making things infinitely worse: snakes on every plane!

To have snakes on every plane is much worse than snakes on just one, but since the original movie was quite bad in most opinions, the suggested poster would make it seem like the advertizers are shooting down their own movie; "This one is even worse!".

In the title text [[Randall]] also credits [[James]] with the idea.

==Transcript==
:[A sky full of jumbo jets is shown in movie poster format.]
:Top of the poster: From the creators of last summer's hit thriller Snakes On a Plane comes:
:Superimposed on the sky and planes: Snakes... on EVERY Plane!
:Much worse than last time.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Language]]
[[Category:Snakes on a Plane]]
[[Category:Comics featuring James]]

1360: Old Files

2014-09-02T20:02:12Z

108.162.217.125:

512: Alternate Currency

2014-09-02T20:01:22Z

108.162.217.125:

{{comic
| number = 512
| date = December 3, 2008
| title = Alternate Currency
| image = alternate_currency.png
| titletext = For the first time ever, the phrase 'I'd like to thank everyone at 4chan for making me successful and happy' is uttered.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]] is shown watching television, where it is announced that the US dollar has collapsed and been replaced by an 'alternative currency' of humorous pictures commonly shared on the internet. Such a currency would be utterly useless; for untraceable and easily-counterfeited .gif and .jpeg files to become more monetarily stable than the US dollar would mean that the economy is ''all kinds of screwed'', to the point of utter absurdity.

The title text pokes fun at users of [http://www.4chan.org 4Chan] who are notoriously known for their habit of hoarding image macros, a practice he suggests is almost useless except in the instance jokingly suggested by the comic. Randall also pokes fun at himself in saying "I have been preparing for this moment my whole life", indirectly implying he is also guilty of this practice.

==Transcript==
:Television: With the collapse of the dollar, the government has endorsed an alternative currency. Your monetary worth is now determined by the number of funny pictures saved to your hard drive.

:I have been preparing for this moment my whole life.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:4chan]]

286: All Your Base

2014-09-02T20:00:45Z

108.162.217.125:

{{comic
| number = 286
| date = July 6, 2007
| title = All Your Base
| image = all_your_base.png
| titletext = The AYB retro-return-date (Zero Wing Zero Hour) should be around AD 2021.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic refers to a popular internet phenomenon ({{w|internet meme|meme}}) called "{{w|all your base are belong to us}}". This catchphrase originates from the arcade shooter "{{w|Zero Wing}}" and is a popular example of a {{w|Engrish|poor translation}} into the English language. The phrase was popularised throughout the Internet and referenced in various images and videos. It is considered one of the earliest Internet memes, with the first occurrences dating back to the year 1998.

[[Cueball]] has, according to the comic, been participating in the spread of the meme during its heyday. [[Ponytail]] wonders at his keeping the content he created years ago, as the meme's popularity has massively decreased since then. Cueball answers that this was always his favourite meme, and that he is waiting for the day it gets revived. His last line, "What you say''!!''" is a line from the game as well, although he says it much sooner than its supposed return to popularity.

By using the example of internet memes, the comic also relates to the general principle of {{w|fashion}} that everything once popular will, after a long enough time, be again in vogue. Trends experiencing this renaissance are often referred to as {{w|retro}}. Internet phenomenons can be observed to follow the same rule, although with much shorter intervals due to the speed of information.

The title text prophesies the return of the "all your base" meme for 2021. It also contains a pun on the term "{{w|zero hour}}" and the name of the game which initially brought the phrase into fashion.

==Transcript==
:[A section of a Linux terminal window is shown.]
:Text from window:
~ / $ ls /
ayb boot etc lib ...
bin dev home mnt ...
~ / $ ls /ayb/
allyourbase_original.swf al...
allyourbase_remix.swf ...
allyourbase_remix2.swf b ...
ayb_acapella.mp3 ze...
ayb_images ze...
ayb_orchestral.mp3 ....

:[Ponytail is at computer.]
:Ponytail: What's with the All Your Base stuff? Didn't that die like five years ago?
:[From off-panel]: Yes.

:[Cueball enters panel.]
:Cueball: It was my first internet meme, and my favorite. Others tired of it, but I never did.
:Cueball: So I wait.

:[Cueball raises his fists.]
:Cueball: Someday, decades from now, people will have forgotten. It will be fresh again.
:Cueball: Retro.
:Cueball: And when that day comes,

:Cueball: ''I WILL BE READY!''
:Ponytail: You need a hobby or something.
:Cueball: What you say!!
:Cueball: Wait, too soon.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:All Your Base]]

107: Snakes on a Plane! 2

2014-09-02T20:00:11Z

108.162.217.125:

1360: Old Files

2014-09-02T19:49:32Z

108.162.217.125: /* Files and Folders */

1360: Old Files

2014-09-02T19:42:39Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1360
| date = April 25, 2014
| title = Old Files
| image = old_files.png
| titletext = Wow, ANIMORPHS-NOVEL.RTF? Just gonna, uh, go through and delete that from all my archives real quick.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Still need work, grammer. Other comics being referenced need to be included.}}
This comic came out the day after [http://news.sky.com/story/1248397/andy-warhol-originals-found-on-floppy-disk Sky News published the story] of original {{w|Andy Warhol}} artwork, created in 1985 on an {{w|Amiga 1000}}, was recovered from recently found floppy disks.

Cueball is digging through a pile of old files, which the comic represents as digging with a shovel into the depths of his file-system. These layers are arranged much like geological rock formations where older strata is deeper down than younger layers. The files are in concentric layers because each directory is imbedded in the previous directory. Therefore the "Documents" folder contains an "Old Desktop" which contains a folder with files recovered from an older system, which contains a "My Documents" folder, which contains a folder with files copied from a {w|Zip Disk}} in high school. The result is that files from high school have survived in his present-day machine. The formats and systems are meant to be analogous to the fossils and artifacts found in lower, older rock layers.

Notice how file-sizes get larger the newer they are. Older systems and smaller files are found in lower layers, as they are hadn't been developed yet; AOL, NYET, Kazaa are older than Facebook, and MP3s. In the days of AOL, 94 MB was reasonable disk space whereas current computers require larger file storage, hence 47 GB. In other words, digital artifacts have the same structural hierarchy as physical, geological ones.

He discovers several files he is embarrassed about, including a poetry file that surprises him, since he does not remember writing poetry, and an "{{w|Animorphs}} Novel" mentioned in the title text, most likely a fan fiction of the Animorphs series, although possibly a copy of one of the original books.

The {{w|Animorphs}} at the title text refers to a fiction series released between 1996 and 2001. This is also content more than ten years old.

See also [[1380: Manual for Civilization]] for other references to Animorphs.

See also [[286: All Your Base]] for other references to AYB.

See also [[512: Alternate Currency]] for references to 4 chan.

See also [[107: Snakes on a Plane! 2]] for references to James.

===Files and Folders===
The folders and files in detail:

'''Documents''' (47 GB): A large folder containing many of [[Cueball]]'s personal files.
*''misc.txt'': A miscellaneous {{w|text file}} of unknown and unknowable content.
*''Video projects'': As video files can take up a lot of space this likely makes up portion of the 47 GB.

'''Old desktop''' (12 GB): A backup from a former computer.
*''{{w|Facebook}} pics'': Pictures that where, or where intended to be added to Facebook.
*''Pics from other camera'': Unknown pictures from a second camera.
*''Temp'': Temporary folders generally contain cashed files and files that are used temporarily to install programs.
*''Misc {{w|Portable Document Format|PDF}}s'': PDFs are often used for documentation, but could be any collection of digitized books or other documents.
*''{{w|MP3}}'': MP3 is a widely-used format for digital audio files.

'''Recovered from drive crash''' (4 GB): When a {{w|Hard disk drive|hard drive}} crashes some or all data may be recovered.
*''Temp'': Temporary files.
*''Work misc'': Unknown work related projects.
*''{{w|Audiobook|Audio books}}'': Recordings books being read out loud.

'''My Documents''' (570 MB): This is a typical folder created by {{w|Microsoft Windows}} for personal documents.
*''Downloads'': A default location for downloaded files in the Windows OS.
*''{{w|Kazaa}} shared'': Kazaa is a defunct peer-to-peer file sharing program. The "shared" folder shared with other members.
*''AYB'': {{w|All your base are belong to us|ALL YOUR BASE are belong to us}} is an internet inspired by a bad translation from ''{{w|Zero Wing}}''.
*''{{w|Escape Velocity Override|EV Override}}'': An {{w|Apple Macintosh}} video game, released in 1998.
*''[http://rephial.org/ Angband]'': A game named after a fictional stronghold created by {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}.
*''{{w|GIF}}s'': A image format widely used for transparent or animated images.
*''{{w|Fight Club}}.wmv'': A movie. As feature movies are typically compressed to 700 megabyte, and this folder only contains 570 MB, it must be of low quality or a small screen size.
*''{{w|Elasto Mania}}'': A physics-simulation game that claims to show real physics.
*''AIM Direct Connect files'': Files transferred via {{w|AOL Instant Messenger}}.
*''{{w|4chan}'': An image-board where users can upload pictures anonymously. Randall impulsively saves pictures from there.
*''{{w|ICQ}} logs'': An instant messaging program introduced in 1996. It is no longer commonly used in North America.

'''High school {{w|Zip drive|Zip disk}}''' (94 MB): The most popular form of {{w|superfloppy}}, introduced in 1994 with a capacity of 100 MB.
*''{{w|Korn}} MIDI'': Korn is an American {{w|nu metal}} band formed in 1993. {{w|MIDI}} is a protocol for communication with electronic musical instruments. The result tends to be sounds of low quality.
*''Photos3'': This is a folder of old photos.
**''{{w|Prom}}'': Pictures taken at prom.
*''lovenote.txt'': An old text file of a {{w|love letter}}, probably to a classmate in high school.
*''{{w|Gorillas (video game)|Gorillas}}.bas'': A game written in {{w|BASIC}}, to be run on {{w|QBasic}}, and supplied with MS-DOS .
*''Dream.txt'': Some private dreams.
*''James.txt'': Perhaps [[James]] is a friend of Randall, and the same as the one who came up with [[107|xkcd #107]].
*''{{w|AOL}}'': A early online and internet service, founded in 1985 and popular in the 1990s.
**''{{w|Citadel (software)|Citadel}}'' - A {{w|BBS}} and email platform that was widely used in the 1980s and early '90s.
*''{{w|QBasic}}'': An {{w|Integrated development environment|IDE}} released by {{w|Microsoft}} in 1991, which was used to write and run computer programs in the BASIC language.
*''NYET'': ''NYET'' was a {{w|Tetris}}-like game for MS-DOS, released in 1988.
*''Jokes.txt'': An old text file of jokes.

'''AAAFILES''' (9.4 MB): Some of [[Cueball]]'s oldest documents, likely prefixed with "AAA" to put the folder at the top of an alphabetically-sorted list.

'''TXT''' (850 K): Old text files, which include poetry he didn't remember writing.

==Transcript==

:Megan (on top of stack of files): You OK down there?

:'''Documents''' (47 GB)
::misc.txt
::Video projects
:'''Old desktop''' (12 GB)
::Facebook pics
::Pics from other camera
::Temp
::Misc PDFs
::MP3
:'''Recovered from drive crash''' (4 GB)
::Temp
::Work misc
::Audio books
:'''My Documents''' (570 MB)
::Downloads
::Kazaa shared
::AYB
::EV Override
::Angband
::GIFs
::FIGHT CLUB.wmv
::Elasto Mania
::AIM Direct Connect files
::4chan
::ICQ logs
:'''High school Zip disk''' (94 MB)
::Korn MIDI
::Photos3 (Prom)
::lovenote.txt
::Gorilla.bas
::Dream.txt
::James.txt
::AOL (Citadel)
::QBasic
::NYET
::Jokes.txt
:'''AAAFILES''' (9.4 MB)
:'''TXT''' (850 K)
:Cueball (deep inside the AAAFILES section looking at his txt files): Oh my god. I wrote '''poetry'''.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animorphs]]

1360: Old Files

2014-09-02T19:33:53Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1360
| date = April 25, 2014
| title = Old Files
| image = old_files.png
| titletext = Wow, ANIMORPHS-NOVEL.RTF? Just gonna, uh, go through and delete that from all my archives real quick.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Still need work. Other comics being referenced need to be included.}}
This comic came out the day after [http://news.sky.com/story/1248397/andy-warhol-originals-found-on-floppy-disk Sky News published the story] of original {{w|Andy Warhol}} artwork, created in 1985 on an {{w|Amiga 1000}}, was recovered from recently found floppy disks.

Cueball is digging through a pile of old files, which the comic represents as literally digging into the depths of his filesystem. The files are in concentric layers because each directory contains files moved over from an older system, so his "Documents" folder contains an "Old Desktop" folder from an older computer, the "Old Desktop" contains files recovered from the drive crash of the system before that, which had its own "My Documents" folder, which contained files saved from a {{w|Zip Disk}} in high school. The result is that files from all the way back in high school have survived to his present-day machine. These layers are arranged much like geological rock formations where older strata is deeper down than younger layers. The formats and systems are meant to be analogous to the fossils and artifacts found in lower, older rock layers.

Notice how file-sizes get larger the newer they are. Older systems and smaller files are found in lower layers, as they are hadn't been developed yet; AOL, NYET, Kazaa are older than Facebook, and MP3s. In the days of AOL, 94 MB was reasonable disk space whereas current computers require larger file storage, hence 47 GB. In other words, digital artifacts have the same structural hierarchy as physical, geological ones.

He discovers several files he is embarrassed about, including a poetry file that surprises him, since he does not remember writing poetry, and an "{{w|Animorphs}} Novel" mentioned in the title text, most likely a fan fiction of the Animorphs series, although possibly a copy of one of the original books.

The {{w|Animorphs}} at the title text refers to a fiction series released between 1996 and 2001. This is also content more than ten years old.

See also [[1380: Manual for Civilization]] for other references to Animorphs.

See also [[286: All Your Base]] for other references to AYB.

See also [[512: Alternate Currency]] for references to 4 chan.

See also [[107: Snakes on a Plane! 2]] for references to James.

===Files and Folders===
The folders and files in detail:

'''Documents''' (47 GB): A large folder containing many of [[Cueball]]'s personal files.
*''misc.txt'': A miscellaneous {{w|text file}} of unknown and unknowable content.
*''Video projects'': As video files can take up a lot of space this likely makes up portion of the 47 GB.

'''Old desktop''' (12 GB): A backup from a former computer.
*''{{w|Facebook}} pics'': Pictures that where, or where intended to be added to Facebook.
*''Pics from other camera'': Unknown pictures from a second camera.
*''Temp'': Temporary folders generally contain cashed files and files that are used temporarily to install programs.
*''Misc {{w|Portable Document Format|PDF}}s'': PDFs are often used for documentation, but could be any collection of digitized books or other documents.
*''{{w|MP3}}'': MP3 is a widely-used format for digital audio files.

'''Recovered from drive crash''' (4 GB): When a {{w|Hard disk drive|hard drive}} crashes some or all data may be recovered.
*''Temp'': Temporary files.
*''Work misc'': Unknown work related projects.
*''{{w|Audiobook|Audio books}}'': Recordings books being read out loud.

'''My Documents''' (570 MB): This is a typical folder created by {{w|Microsoft Windows}} for personal documents.
*''Downloads'': A default location for downloaded files in the Windows OS.
*''{{w|Kazaa}} shared'': Kazaa is a defunct peer-to-peer file sharing program. The "shared" folder shared with other members.
*''AYB'': {{w|All your base are belong to us|ALL YOUR BASE are belong to us}} is an internet inspired by a bad translation from ''{{w|Zero Wing}}''.
*''{{w|Escape Velocity Override|EV Override}}'': An {{w|Apple Macintosh}} video game, released in 1998.
*''[http://rephial.org/ Angband]'': A game named after a fictional stronghold created by {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}.
*''{{w|GIF}}s'': A image format widely used for transparent or animated images.
*''{{w|Fight Club}}.wmv'': A movie. As feature movies are typically compressed to 700 megabyte, and this folder only contains 570 MB, it must be of low quality or a small screen size.
*''{{w|Elasto Mania}}'': A physics-simulation game that claims to show real physics.
*''AIM Direct Connect files'': Files transferred via {{w|AOL Instant Messenger}}.
*''{{w|4chan}'': An image-board where users can upload pictures anonymously. Randall impulsively saves pictures from there.
*''{{w|ICQ}} logs'': An instant messaging program introduced in 1996. It is no longer commonly used in North America.

'''High school {{w|Zip drive|Zip disk}}''' (94 MB): The most popular form of {{w|superfloppy}}, introduced in 1994 with a capacity of 100 MB.
*''{{w|Korn}} MIDI'': Korn is an American {{w|nu metal}} band formed in 1993. {{w|MIDI}} is a protocol for communication with electronic musical instruments. The result tends to be sounds of low quality.
*''Photos3'': This is a folder of old photos.
**''{{w|Prom}}'': Pictures taken at prom.
*''lovenote.txt'': An old text file of a {{w|love letter}}, probably to a classmate in high school.
*''{{w|Gorillas (video game)|Gorillas}}.bas'': A game written in {{w|BASIC}}, to be run on {{w|QBasic}}, and supplied with MS-DOS .
*''Dream.txt'': Some private dreams.
*''James.txt'': Perhaps [[James]] is a friend of Randall, and the same as the one who came up with [[107|xkcd #107]].
*''{{w|AOL}}'': A early online and internet service, founded in 1985 and popular in the 1990s.
**''{{w|Citadel (software)|Citadel}}'' - A {{w|BBS}} and email platform that was widely used in the 1980s and early '90s.
*''{{w|QBasic}}'': An {{w|Integrated development environment|IDE}} released by {{w|Microsoft}} in 1991, which was used to write and run computer programs in the BASIC language.
*''NYET'': ''NYET'' was a {{w|Tetris}}-like game for MS-DOS, released in 1988.
*''Jokes.txt'': An old text file of jokes.

'''AAAFILES''' (9.4 MB): Some of [[Cueball]]'s oldest documents, likely prefixed with "AAA" to put the folder at the top of an alphabetically-sorted list.

'''TXT''' (850 K): Old text files, which include poetry he didn't remember writing.

==Transcript==

:Megan (on top of stack of files): You OK down there?

:'''Documents''' (47 GB)
::misc.txt
::Video projects
:'''Old desktop''' (12 GB)
::Facebook pics
::Pics from other camera
::Temp
::Misc PDFs
::MP3
:'''Recovered from drive crash''' (4 GB)
::Temp
::Work misc
::Audio books
:'''My Documents''' (570 MB)
::Downloads
::Kazaa shared
::AYB
::EV Override
::Angband
::GIFs
::FIGHT CLUB.wmv
::Elasto Mania
::AIM Direct Connect files
::4chan
::ICQ logs
:'''High school Zip disk''' (94 MB)
::Korn MIDI
::Photos3 (Prom)
::lovenote.txt
::Gorilla.bas
::Dream.txt
::James.txt
::AOL (Citadel)
::QBasic
::NYET
::Jokes.txt
:'''AAAFILES''' (9.4 MB)
:'''TXT''' (850 K)
:Cueball (deep inside the AAAFILES section looking at his txt files): Oh my god. I wrote '''poetry'''.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Animorphs]]

1402: Harpoons

2014-09-02T15:32:29Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1402
| date = August 1, 2014
| title = Harpoons
| image = harpoons.png
| titletext = To motivate it to fire its harpoons hard enough, Rosetta's Philae lander has been programmed to believe it is trying to kill the comet.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|}}
This comic is a graph of the number of {{w|harpoon}}s in space versus time. One would not expect that harpoons, which are associated with old technology, would be used in space, which is associated with high technology. Any occurrences are unexpected, and therefore interesting or funny.

The first peak states that a harpoon was in space during the {{w|Apollo 12}} mission and is associated with an incident related to rum. This implies that [http://www.harpoon-rum.eu/1.html Harpoon] brand of {{w|Rum#Regional variations|Jamaican rum}} made it aboard the Apollo 12 rocket. This is a joke, Apollo 12 carried neither harpoons nor rum.

The latter peak on this graph refers to the {{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}} unmanned spacecraft. As part of its mission, it's carrying a lander (called {{w|Philae (spacecraft)|Philae}}), which has two tethers to anchor itself to the comet {{w|67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko}}. Rosetta was launched in March 2004 (as shown in the graph) and is scheduled to encounter the comet in August 2014, making this a timely comic.

This continues a recurring theme (as seen in comics [[111]] and [[231]]), with two unrelated but interesting objects juxtaposed graphically with humorous results.

The title text compares the Philae lander's method of deploying its tethers to whaling, in which sailors would throw harpoons at a whale with the intent of killing the whale. It was important to throw hard so the harpoon would stick in the whale so it could not get away and would tow the whaling boat until it got tired and could be killed. Thus the title text implies that the spacecraft is sentient and needs a motivation to fire the harpoons hard enough to stay anchored to the comet; to this end it has been programmed to believe that its mission is to kill the comet.

==Transcript==
:'''Number of harpoons in space'''
:by year
:[A chart with a red graph is drawn below]
:[The y-axis]
:0 1 2 3
:[The x-axis]
:1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020
:[The graph is at zero until a sharp peak to 1 in 1970. The peak is labeled]
:Apollo 12 rum incident
:[The graph then stays at 0 until 2004. Then it rises to 2 and stays there until today, continuing as a dotted line after 2014. The rise is labeled]
:Rosetta comet mission launched carrying lander with harpoon tethers

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:1256: Questions

2014-08-08T21:36:18Z

108.162.217.125: Why do we need to answer all the questions

Another reason Poseidon is angry with Odysseus - early in the Odyssey, Odysseus blinds a cyclops who happens to be Poseidon's son.

Why did I just type the following in, when doubtless someone else has already done this..?
...a former great post just went to the main page.
They probably need error-checking/rearranging/something. And feel free to delete this entire comment if it becomes superfluous. [[Special:Contributions/178.104.103.140|178.104.103.140]] 10:19, 26 August 2013 (UTC)
:Just copied your comment into the transcript area. [[Special:Contributions/72.246.0.10|72.246.0.10]] 13:12, 26 August 2013 (UTC)
::I did delete it here, just because it's copied to the main page. Thanks for your great work!--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:18, 26 August 2013 (UTC)

Although I appreciate the LOTR reference, is this really the intent? What is Randall's wife's name? Delete if this is a bridge too far into personal life. --[[Special:Contributions/131.70.204.120|131.70.204.120]] 16:29, 26 August 2013 (UTC)

I answered [http://jlandl.blogspot.se/2013/08/answers-from-top-of-my-head.html all the questions], for my amusement. Feel free to use any answers you deem appropriate or accurate enough for the wiki. [[Special:Contributions/213.66.207.152|213.66.207.152]] 20:06, 26 August 2013 (UTC)

I'm confused that answers are being presented in different formats. Is the hyperlinked transcript a temporary state before answers are transferred to the table? Or is the transcript just a cleaner and more desirable alternative?{{unsigned ip|98.166.43.28}}

All answers here: http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/1l3na7/questions/cbvigrd -- [[User:Connectink|Connectink]]

Today's XKCD is good but it looks like the omitted the first Google suggestion when you begin to type "Why does " Go to google and begin to search that... Dont' see it in today's comic. {{unsigned|Glitch}}
:Google's suggestions can vary from user to user. At its most benign, this can be location based. For example, in Seattle, when I type "washington", I get suggestions related to Washington state and not the District of Columbia. At its most sinister, these suggestions can be based on what Google perceives your political beliefs to be. Try typing "gun" into Google. Did you get "gun show" or "gun control?"[http://dontbubble.us/ More info here.] --[[User:Rael|Rael]] ([[User talk:Rael|talk]]) 14:00, 28 August 2013 (UTC)
::How odd. I got gunbroker, and then as soon as I typed space, I got gun control as well. [[Special:Contributions/97.87.12.114|97.87.12.114]]
::: WHY do people complain about this? As long as you're going to get into a debate, in an open minded manner, and are going to critically evaluate the strength of arguments presented (regardless of source), then your starting inclinations shouldn't matter!

::: Moreover, the general internet user is only searching for zeitgeist terms so they know what websites to quote on a Facebook status, so that they can pat themselves on the back. Repeat for next topic.

::: Personalised results keep you comfy in your happy bubble.

::: In any case, the "fix" is simple. Enable do-not track requests, private browsing, or connect through proxies (Given the IPv4 saturation, most people are likely configured to have dynamic IP addresses anyway). If you're concerned about geographical location based filtering, just switch the domain name that you search on! [[Special:Contributions/220.224.246.97|220.224.246.97]]

Why doesn't Queen Anne count as a "woman who reigned as queen in her own right"? --[[User:Nick Douglas|Nick Douglas]] ([[User talk:Nick Douglas|talk]]) 21:50, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

----
Today's Comic was brought to you by the grep "why"''!'' [[Special:Contributions/98.195.202.130|98.195.202.130]] 18:24, 27 August 2013 (UTC)

It seems that Randall is confused about the meaning of life. All the questions he asked begin with why. I like what happens when you type "where is"... I got "where is chuck norris". --[[Special:Contributions/97.87.12.114|97.87.12.114]] 11:41, 30 August 2013 (UTC)

The term "King Consort" may not have been used in the UK, but i believe it was used before in pre Act of Unification England. When Mary Tudor married Philip II of Spain, he was accepted by Parliament and the court as King of England, but was not granted any power. It may not have been elevated to an official title yet, but he was king consort. [[User:Dr Pepper|Dr Pepper]] ([[User talk:Dr Pepper|talk]]) Dr Pepper

My question is "Why do we need to answer all the questions, when the answers have nothing to do with the comic?". The answers are fun and interesting, but they should be in the trivia section. The comic is explained well without them. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.217.125|108.162.217.125]] 21:36, 8 August 2014 (UTC)

1405: Meteor

2014-08-08T21:07:09Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */ finishing touch

{{comic
| number = 1405
| date = August 8, 2014
| title = Meteor
| image = meteor.png
| titletext = No, only LAVA is called 'magma' while underground. Any other object underground is called 'lava'.
}}

==Explanation==
This is one of [[Randall]]'s comics on the topic of [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]]. In this comic the author makes semantically incorrect statements to [[356: Nerd Sniping|frustrate nerds]] who know the correct word, and confuse people who don't know the precise word so they can go on to frustrate more nerds.

[[Cueball]] tells a witness (a fictional stand-in for the author Randall) that he found a piece of a {{w|meteor}}. Randall corrects Cueball, telling him that what he found is called {{w|magma}}, and that that the phrase "a piece of a meteor" would be correct if the object was in the air, once it hits the ground it called {{w|magma}}. In doing so Randall attempts to confuse or annoy Cueball. In truth, {{w|meteorite}} is the expression for a piece of a meteor that has landed just as {{w|lava}} is the expression for magma that has reached the surface.

The word "{{w|pedant|pedantic}}" means being overly concerned with being precise. It is usually a pejorative term used to refer to someone who is overly fussy and corrects someone's word choice even when the more ambiguous or slightly incorrect term they used was fine for informal communication.

The title text expands on the joke, as if the conversation had continued with a confused Cueball responding that he thought magma was underground. Randall attempts to confuse him further. Indeed lava is called magma while it is underground, but it's ridiculous to suggest all other things are called lava when underground.

===Meteor & Magma===
Here is a list the of terminology that is being muddled:
* Small metallic or rocky body from space is called:
** A {{w|meteoroid}} while it travels through space
** A {{w|meteor}} if it enters Earth's atmosphere and produces a streak of light.
** A {{w|meteorite}} if it lands on a planets surface.
* Molten rock is called:
** {{w|Magma}} if it is flowing underground
** {{w|Lava}} after it has been extruded to a planets surface, generally through volcanic eruption.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Check it out -- I got a piece of a meteor!
:Friend: ''Actually'', it's only called that while falling. Once it lands, it's called ''Magma''.

:My Hobby: Mixing pedantic terms

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1405: Meteor

2014-08-08T21:03:28Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1405
| date = August 8, 2014
| title = Meteor
| image = meteor.png
| titletext = No, only LAVA is called 'magma' while underground. Any other object underground is called 'lava'.
}}

==Explanation==
This is one of [[Randall]]'s comics on the topic of [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]]. In this comic the author makes semantically incorrect statements to [[356: Nerd Sniping|frustrate nerds]] who know the correct word, and confuse people who don't know the precise word so they can go on to frustrate more nerds.

[[Cueball]] tells a witness (a fictional stand-in for the author Randall) that he found a piece of a {{w|meteor}}. Randall corrects Cueball, telling him that what he found is called {{w|magma}}, and that that "a piece of a meteor: would be correct if the object was in the air, once it hits the ground it called {{w|magma}}. In doing so Randall attempts to confuse or annoy Cueball. In truth, {{w|meteorite}} is the expression for a piece of a meteor that has landed just as {{w|lava}} is the expression for magma that has reached the surface.

The word "{{w|pedant|pedantic}}" means being overly concerned with being precise. It is usually a pejorative term used to refer to someone who is overly fussy and corrects someone's word choice even when the more ambiguous or slightly incorrect term they used was fine for informal communication.

The title text expands on the joke, as if the conversation had continued with an (unseen) response from Cueball. Randall again makes a deliberately muddled statement. Indeed lava is called magma while it is underground, but it's ridiculous to suggest all other things are called lava when underground.

===Meteor & Magma===
Here is a list the of terminology that is being muddled:
* Small metallic or rocky body from space is called:
** A {{w|meteoroid}} while it travels through space
** A {{w|meteor}} if it enters Earth's atmosphere and produces a streak of light.
** A {{w|meteorite}} if it lands on a planets surface.
* Molten rock is called:
** {{w|Magma}} if it is flowing underground
** {{w|Lava}} after it has been extruded to a planets surface, generally through volcanic eruption.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Check it out -- I got a piece of a meteor!
:Friend: ''Actually'', it's only called that while falling. Once it lands, it's called ''Magma''.

:My Hobby: Mixing pedantic terms

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1405: Meteor

2014-08-08T21:01:47Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */ oops the pedantry was done by me :)

{{comic
| number = 1405
| date = August 8, 2014
| title = Meteor
| image = meteor.png
| titletext = No, only LAVA is called 'magma' while underground. Any other object underground is called 'lava'.
}}

==Explanation==
This is one of [[Randall]]'s comics on the topic of [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]]. In this comic the author makes semantically incorrect statements to [[356: Nerd Sniping|frustrate nerds]] who know the correct word, and confuse people who don't know the precise word so they can go on to frustrate more nerds.

[[Cueball]] tells a witness (a fictional stand-in for the author Randall) that he found a piece of a {{w|meteor}}. Randall corrects Cueball, telling him that what he found is called {{w|magma}}, and that that a piece of a meteor would be correct if the object was in the air, once it hits the ground it called {{w|magma}}. In doing so Randall attempts to confuse or annoy Cueball. In truth, {{w|meteorite}} is the expression for a piece of a meteor that has landed just as {{w|lava}} is the expression for magma that has reached the surface.

The word "{{w|pedant|pedantic}}" means being overly concerned with being precise. It is usually a pejorative term used to refer to someone who is overly fussy and corrects someone's word choice even when the more ambiguous or slightly incorrect term they used was fine for informal communication.

The title text expands on the joke, as if the conversation had continued with an (unseen) response from Cueball. Randall again makes a deliberately muddled statement. Indeed lava is called magma while it is underground, but it's ridiculous to suggest all other things are called lava when underground.

===Meteor & Magma===
Here is a list the of terminology that is being muddled:
* Small metallic or rocky body from space is called:
** A {{w|meteoroid}} while it travels through space
** A {{w|meteor}} if it enters Earth's atmosphere and produces a streak of light.
** A {{w|meteorite}} if it lands on a planets surface.
* Molten rock is called:
** {{w|Magma}} if it is flowing underground
** {{w|Lava}} after it has been extruded to a planets surface, generally through volcanic eruption.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Check it out -- I got a piece of a meteor!
:Friend: ''Actually'', it's only called that while falling. Once it lands, it's called ''Magma''.

:My Hobby: Mixing pedantic terms

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1405: Meteor

2014-08-08T20:59:00Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */ no more pedantry please :)

{{comic
| number = 1405
| date = August 8, 2014
| title = Meteor
| image = meteor.png
| titletext = No, only LAVA is called 'magma' while underground. Any other object underground is called 'lava'.
}}

==Explanation==
A [[Cueball]] tells a witness (a fictional stand-in for the author Randall) that he found a piece of a {{w|meteor}}. Randall corrects Cueball, telling him that what he found is called {{w|magma}}, and that that a piece of a meteor would be correct if the object was in the air, once it hits the ground it called {{w|magma}}. In doing so Randall deliberately confuses Cueball. In truth, {{w|meteorite}} is the expression for a piece of a meteor that has landed just as {{w|lava}} is the expression for magma that has reached the surface.

The word "{{w|pedant|pedantic}}" means being overly concerned with being precise. It is usually a pejorative term used to refer to someone who is overly fussy and corrects someone's word choice even when the more ambiguous or slightly incorrect term they used was fine for informal communication.

This is one of [[Randall]]'s comics on the topic of [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]]. The author makes these semantically incorrect statements to [[356: Nerd Sniping|frustrate nerds]] who know the correct word, and confuse people who don't know the precise word so they can go on to frustrate more nerds.

The title text expands on the joke, as if the conversation had continued with an (unseen) response from Cueball. Randall again makes a deliberately muddled statement. Indeed lava is called magma while it is underground, but it's ridiculous to suggest all other things are called lava when underground.

===Meteor & Magma===
Here is a list the of terminology that is being muddled:
* Small metallic or rocky body from space is called:
** A {{w|meteoroid}} while it travels through space
** A {{w|meteor}} if it enters Earth's atmosphere and produces a streak of light.
** A {{w|meteorite}} if it lands on a planets surface.
* Molten rock is called:
** {{w|Magma}} if it is flowing underground
** {{w|Lava}} after it has been extruded to a planets surface, generally through volcanic eruption.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Check it out -- I got a piece of a meteor!
:Friend: ''Actually'', it's only called that while falling. Once it lands, it's called ''Magma''.

:My Hobby: Mixing pedantic terms

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1405: Meteor

2014-08-08T20:50:28Z

108.162.217.125: Clean up attributions, remove tag

{{comic
| number = 1405
| date = August 8, 2014
| title = Meteor
| image = meteor.png
| titletext = No, only LAVA is called 'magma' while underground. Any other object underground is called 'lava'.
}}

==Explanation==
A [[Cueball]] tells a witness (a fictional stand-in for the author Randall) that he found a piece of a {{w|meteor}}. Randall corrects Cueball, telling him that what he found is called {{w|magma}}, and that that a piece of a meteor would be correct if the object was in the air, once it hits the ground it called {{w|magma}}. In truth, {{w|meteorite}} is the expression for a piece of a meteor that has landed just as {{w|lava}} is the expression for magma that has reached the surface. In doing so Randall deliberately confuses Cueball.

The word "{{w|pedant|pedantic}}" means being overly concerned with being precise. It is usually a pejorative term used to refer to someone who is overly fussy and corrects someone's word choice even when the more ambiguous or slightly incorrect term they used was fine for informal communication.

This is one of [[Randall]]'s comics on the topic of [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby]]. The author makes these semantically incorrect statements to [[356: Nerd Sniping|frustrate nerds]] who know the correct word, and confuse people who don't know the precise word so they can go on to frustrate more nerds.

The title text expands on the joke, as if the conversation had continued with an (unseen) response from Cueball. Randall again makes a deliberately muddled statement. Indeed lava is called magma while it is underground, but it's ridiculous to suggest all other things are called lava when underground.

===Meteor & Magma===
Here is a list the of terminology that is being muddled:
* Small metallic or rocky body from space is called:
** A {{w|meteoroid}} while it travels through space
** A {{w|meteor}} if it enters Earth's atmosphere and produces a streak of light.
** A {{w|meteorite}} if it lands on a planets surface.
* Molten rock is called:
** {{w|Magma}} if it is flowing underground
** {{w|Lava}} after it has been extruded to a planets surface, generally through volcanic eruption.

==Transcript==
:Cueball: Check it out -- I got a piece of a meteor!
:Friend: ''Actually'', it's only called that while falling. Once it lands, it's called ''Magma''.

:My Hobby: Mixing pedantic terms

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1398: Snake Facts

2014-08-07T05:30:49Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1398
| date = July 23, 2014
| title = Snake Facts
| image = snake facts.png
| titletext = Biologically speaking, what we call a 'snake' is actually a human digestive tract which has escaped from its host.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic lists a few '{{w|factoid}}s' about snakes, ranging from the mildly informative to the strictly tongue-in-cheek.

The first factoid references the hypothesis that {{w|snake venom}} was an evolutionary development of {{w|saliva}} that, over time, gradually became more toxic as snakes with saliva that was able to assist in subduing their prey possessed an evolutionary advantage. It then posits that the evolutionary branch that developed into venomous snakes began with a snake whose mutation gave him a mouth that was 'slightly more gross than usual'.

Additionally, the comic illustration accompanying the second factoid colors in a '{{w|habitat}} range' on a map of South America that is snake-shaped, implying that when it states 'The longest snake is found in {{w|Brazil}}, {{w|Peru}}, and {{w|Chile}}' that this snake is so long that it literally stretches from Brazil, across part of Peru, into Chile, and that the 'habitat' shaded on the map is, in fact, this mammoth snake's {{w|silhouette}}. The age, length and location of the snake are obviously untrue, but may be a reference to the Green Anaconda, one of the worlds largest snakes, which habitats this region.

The final factoid is entirely tongue-in-cheek. Many factoids come in the form "If you laid all the X end to end, Y" would occur (E.g. "If you laid all the veins and arteries in the human body end-to-end, they would stretch 60,000 miles"). The Y portion of the factoid is supposed to be surprising, therefore it is ironic that the factoid in the comic, "If you laid all the bones in a snake end to end, you would have a snake.", is obvious and not at all exciting. Clealy, you would not have an entire snake, literally, but you would have a skeleton that was recognizably that of a snake and could reasonably be referred to as 'a snake'.

The title text presents the amusing idea that 'snakes' as we know them are not, in fact, a suborder of reptiles but are instead human {{w|digestive tract}}s that, rather than being a system of organs, are creatures capable of escaping from their 'host' human and living independently. The idea seems to follow from the superficial resemblance between snakes and the human digestive tract as long, roughly tubular collections of animal matter, which can process the food entering the top end, and getting rid of the waste in the other end.

==Correction==
*[[Randall]] had previously posted an incorrect map, that included the snake's habitat in {{w|Bolivia}} instead of Peru. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:snake_facts_old.png]

==Transcript==
:'''Snake Facts:'''
:Snake venom evolved from saliva, which means it all started with a snake whose mouth was slightly more gross than usual.
:[Picture of a snake below the text above]
:Snake: Hi guys!
:Off-panel voice: Eww, it's Frank.
:[Map of South America with gray shade in the form of a snake. Text to the left of it]
:The world's longest snake is found in Brazil, Peru and Chile. It is believed to be over 60 years old.
:[Picture of a snake skeleton between the first and the second of the lines below]
:If you laid all the bones in a snake end-to-end,
:you would have a snake

==Trivia==
The second factoid references the 'longest snake in the world', citing a South American habitat. Given the habitat listed for the second factoid, it is possible the comic is referring to the Green Anaconda ''({{w|Eunectes murinus}})''.
*The Green Anaconda's habitat range includes Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, the island of Trinidad, and Paraguay.
*The Green Anaconda is one of the longest snakes in the world reaching more than 6.6 m long.
*Anacondas generally do not live beyond 20 years in captivity, and likely less in the wild.
*Since anacondas are reported to continue growing throughout their lives, a 60 year old specimen would likely be the longest snake in the world.
*The Reticulated Python ''({{w|Python reticulatus}})'' is recognized as the longest, but not heaviest, snake and grow to more than 6.95 m.
*The Reticulated Python's habitat is in Southeast Asia.

The human digestive tract is essentially a hole that runs through the body, closed off most of the time only by {{w|sphincter}}s, thus digestion can be said to take place outside the human body. Nutrients are absorbed across membranes via osmosis, active transport, and diffusion.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]

1398: Snake Facts

2014-08-07T05:24:19Z

108.162.217.125: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 1398
| date = July 23, 2014
| title = Snake Facts
| image = snake facts.png
| titletext = Biologically speaking, what we call a 'snake' is actually a human digestive tract which has escaped from its host.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Length records are in dispute, document and cleanup explanation}}
The comic lists a few '{{w|factoid}}s' about snakes, ranging from the mildly informative to the strictly tongue-in-cheek.

The first factoid references the hypothesis that {{w|snake venom}} was an evolutionary development of {{w|saliva}} that, over time, gradually became more toxic as snakes with saliva that was able to assist in subduing their prey possessed an evolutionary advantage. It then posits that the evolutionary branch that developed into venomous snakes began with a snake whose mutation gave him a mouth that was 'slightly more gross than usual'.

Additionally, the comic illustration accompanying the second factoid colors in a '{{w|habitat}} range' on a map of South America that is snake-shaped, implying that when it states 'The longest snake is found in {{w|Brazil}}, {{w|Peru}}, and {{w|Chile}}' that this snake is so long that it literally stretches from Brazil, across part of Peru, into Chile, and that the 'habitat' shaded on the map is, in fact, this mammoth snake's {{w|silhouette}}. The age, length and location of the snake are obviously untrue, but may be a reference to the Green Anaconda, one of the worlds largest snakes, which habitats this region.

The final factoid is entirely tongue-in-cheek. Many factoids come in the form "If you laid all the X end to end, Y" would occur (E.g. "If you laid all the veins and arteries in the human body end-to-end, they would stretch 60,000 miles"). The Y portion of the factoid is supposed to be surprising, therefore it is ironic that the factoid in the comic, "If you laid all the bones in a snake end to end, you would have a snake.", is obvious and not at all exciting. Clealy, you would not have an entire snake, literally, but you would have a skeleton that was recognizably that of a snake and could reasonably be referred to as 'a snake'.

The title text presents the amusing idea that 'snakes' as we know them are not, in fact, a suborder of reptiles but are instead human {{w|digestive tract}}s that, rather than being a system of organs, are creatures capable of escaping from their 'host' human and living independently. The idea seems to follow from the superficial resemblance between snakes and the human digestive tract as long, roughly tubular collections of animal matter, which can process the food entering the top end, and getting rid of the waste in the other end.

==Correction==
*[[Randall]] had previously posted an incorrect map, that included the snake's habitat in {{w|Bolivia}} instead of Peru. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:snake_facts_old.png]

==Transcript==
:'''Snake Facts:'''
:Snake venom evolved from saliva, which means it all started with a snake whose mouth was slightly more gross than usual.
:[Picture of a snake below the text above]
:Snake: Hi guys!
:Off-panel voice: Eww, it's Frank.
:[Map of South America with gray shade in the form of a snake. Text to the left of it]
:The world's longest snake is found in Brazil, Peru and Chile. It is believed to be over 60 years old.
:[Picture of a snake skeleton between the first and the second of the lines below]
:If you laid all the bones in a snake end-to-end,
:you would have a snake

==Trivia==
The second factoid references the 'longest snake in the world', citing a South American habitat. Given the habitat listed for the second factoid, it is possible the comic is referring to the Green Anaconda ''({{w|Eunectes murinus}})''.
*The Green Anaconda's habitat range includes Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, the island of Trinidad, and Paraguay.
*The Green Anaconda is one of the longest snakes in the world reaching more than 6.6 m long.
*Anacondas generally do not live beyond 20 years in captivity, and likely less in the wild.
*Since anacondas are reported to continue growing throughout their lives, a 60 year old specimen would likely be the longest snake in the world.
*The Reticulated Python ''({{w|Python reticulatus}})'' is recognized as the longest, but not heaviest, snake and grow to more than 6.95 m.
*The Reticulated Python's habitat is in Southeast Asia.

The human digestive tract is essentially a hole that runs through the body, closed off most of the time only by {{w|sphincter}}s, thus digestion can be said to take place outside the human body. Nutrients are absorbed across membranes via osmosis, active transport, and diffusion.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]

1398: Snake Facts

2014-08-07T05:17:47Z

108.162.217.125: People seem to be forgetting to explain the comic in the explanation section

{{comic
| number = 1398
| date = July 23, 2014
| title = Snake Facts
| image = snake facts.png
| titletext = Biologically speaking, what we call a 'snake' is actually a human digestive tract which has escaped from its host.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Length records are in dispute, document and cleanup explanation}}
The comic lists a few '{{w|factoid}}s' about snakes, ranging from the mildly informative to the strictly tongue-in-cheek.

The first factoid references the hypothesis that {{w|snake venom}} was an evolutionary development of {{w|saliva}} that, over time, gradually became more toxic as snakes with saliva that was able to assist in subduing their prey possessed an evolutionary advantage. It then posits that the evolutionary branch that developed into venomous snakes began with a snake whose mutation gave him a mouth that was 'slightly more gross than usual'.

Additionally, the comic illustration accompanying the second factoid colors in a '{{w|habitat}} range' on a map of South America that is snake-shaped, implying that when it states 'The longest snake is found in {{w|Brazil}}, {{w|Peru}}, and {{w|Chile}}' that this snake is so long that it literally stretches from Brazil, across part of Peru, into Chile, and that the 'habitat' shaded on the map is, in fact, this mammoth snake's {{w|silhouette}}. The age, length and location of the snake are obviously untrue, but may be a reference to the Green Anaconda, one of the worlds largest snakes, which habitats this region.

The final factoid is entirely tongue-in-cheek. Many factoids come in the form "If you laid all the X end to end, Y" would occur (E.g. "If you laid all the veins and arteries in the human body end-to-end, they would stretch 60,000 miles"). The Y portion of the factoid is supposed to be surprising, therefore it is ironic that the factoid in the comic, "If you laid all the bones in a snake end to end, you would have a snake.", is obvious and not at all exciting. Clealy, you would not have an entire snake, literally, but you would have a skeleton that was recognizably that of a snake and could reasonably be referred to as 'a snake'.

The title text presents the amusing idea that 'snakes' as we know them are not, in fact, a suborder of reptiles but are instead human {{w|digestive tract}}s that, rather than being a system of organs, are creatures capable of escaping from their 'host' human and living independently. The idea seems to follow from the superficial resemblance between snakes and the human digestive tract as long, roughly tubular collections of animal matter, which can process the food entering the top end, and getting rid of the waste in the other end.

==Correction==
*[[Randall]] had previously posted an incorrect map, that included the snake's habitat in {{w|Bolivia}} instead of Peru. [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/File:snake_facts_old.png]

==Transcript==
:'''Snake Facts:'''
:Snake venom evolved from saliva, which means it all started with a snake whose mouth was slightly more gross than usual.
:[Picture of a snake below the text above]
:Snake: Hi guys!
:Off-panel voice: Eww, it's Frank.
:[Map of South America with gray shade in the form of a snake. Text to the left of it]
:The world's longest snake is found in Brazil, Peru and Chile. It is believed to be over 60 years old.
:[Picture of a snake skeleton between the first and the second of the lines below]
:If you laid all the bones in a snake end-to-end,
:you would have a snake

==Trivia==
The second factoid references the 'longest snake in the world', citing a South American habitat. Given the habitat listed for the second factoid, it is possible the comic is referring to the Green Anaconda ''({{w|Eunectes murinus}})''.
*The Green Anaconda's habitat range includes Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Ecuador, Bolivia, Brazil, Peru, the island of Trinidad, and Paraguay.
*The Green Anaconda is one of the longest snakes in the world reaching more than 6.6 m long"
*The Reticulated Python ''({{w|Python reticulatus}})'' is recognized as the longest, but not heaviest, snake and grow to more than 6.95 m
*The Reticulated Python's habitat is in Southeast Asia.
*Anacondas generally do not live beyond 20 years in captivity, and likely less in the wild.
*Since Anacondas are reported to continue growing throughout their lives, a 60 year old specimen would likely be the longest snake in the world.

The human digestive tract is essentially a hole that runs through the body, closed off most of the time only by {{w|sphincter}}s, thus digestion can be said to take place outside the human body. Nutrients are absorbed across membranes via osmosis, active transport, and diffusion.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Animals]]

1337: Hack

2014-08-06T15:10:15Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */

<noinclude>:''"1337", this comic's number, redirects here. For the 2007 storyline of the same name, starting with [[341|comic 341]], see [[:Category:1337]].''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 1337
| date = March 3, 2014
| title = Hack
| image = hack.png
| titletext = HACK THE STARS
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete| Any issues?}}
This comic is a mash-up of the project to re-position the {{w|International Cometary Explorer|ISEE-3/ICE}} probe, and the movie ''{{w|Hackers (film)|Hackers}}''. The first row (four panels) explain the history of the probe, and the true story about how the probe was coming back into signal range and seemed capable of being controlled. NASA declined to attempt to regain control of the probe, but a group of enthusiasts assembled the equipment and attempted to re-purpose the probe.

The following two rows (eight panels) set up a fictional scenario the enthusiasts have been locked out of the system, the probe is being controlled by someone else, and the message "Mess with the best, die like the rest" is communicated from the probe. This is a catch phrase of the protagonist, Crash, from the movie ''Hackers''.

The final row is a reference to the ending of the movie, where Crash romances Burn, his romantic interest, in a rooftop pool. In the movie, while Crash and Burn swim in a rooftop pool, several buildings light up with the words "CRASH AND BURN". This is their friends' latest hack, and an attempt to provide romance for the new couple. In the comic the transmitter being used to communicate with ISEE-3 was hacked to by Burn to burn up over Crash and Burn swimming in the pool providing a "shooting star" for romantic effect. Since the movie predates the shutdown-signal (1997), the characters should possess the skills to understand the probe and hack the transmitter.

This is comic number 1337, which in in {{w|leetspeak}} stands for leet, which is short for ''elite hacker'' and leetspeek. Leetspeak is a form of symbolic writing often associated with hacker subculture. Originally words where converted to leetspeek to avoid filters and triggers that where set up on chat rooms. Leetspeak substitutes various numbers and {{w|ASCII}} symbols for letters. To get 1337, the word elite is shortened/stylized to "leet" with the letters L, E, E, and T turned into the numbers 1, 3, 3, and 7.

The title text "Hack the stars" is also an allusion to the movie [[wikipedia:Hackers (film)|Hackers]] where the Phrase "Hack the Planet!" is used on multiple occasions.

==Transcript==
:[Panel 1 shows an image of the ISEE-3/ICE spacecraft]
:Narration: The ISEE-3/ICE probe was launched in 1978. Its mission ended in 1997 and it was sent a shutdown signal.
:Narration: In 2008, we learned-to our surprise-that the probe didn't shut down. It's still running and it has plenty of fuel. ...and in 2014, its orbit brings it near earth.
:[Panel 3 shows Megan and Ponytail talking to each other.]
:Megan: We could send it on a new mission... Except we no longer have the equipment to send commands to it.
:Ponytail: Can't we...
:Megan: NASA won't rebuild it. "Too Expensive"
:Ponytail: Seriously?
:Megan: I know, right? So the Internet found the specs and we went to work.
:[Panel 5 shows Megan and Ponytail have walking into an area where a girl and Cueball both are sitting at desks looking at laptops.]
:Narration: We've convinced them to give us time on the Madrid DSN transmitter and hacked the maser to support the uplink. And today's the big day.
:Cueball: Transmitting... We have a signal! We have control!
:Megan: OK, transmit the new comet rendezvous maneuver sequen-
:[Cueball, off panel]: What the hell?
:Megan: What?
:Cueball: My console went dead!
:Girl: Mine too!
:Megan: What's happening?!
:Cueball: There's a new signal going out over the transmitter!
:[Megan, off panel]: A bug?
:Cueball: Someone else is in the system!
:Girl: Kill the connection!
:[Cueball, off panel]: I can't find it!
:Girl: They're firing the probe's engines!
:[Cueball, off panel]: NO!
:[Megan, off panel]: Who's doing this?? Stop them!
:[Girl, off panel]: I'm trying!
:Cueball, pointing to his screen: Look! My screen!
:[Text, on Cueball's laptop screen]: M-E-S-S-W-I-T-H-T-H-E-B-E-S-T D-I-E-L-I-K-E-T-H-E-R-E-S-T
:[Panel 13 shows two people in a pool at night.]
:[Panel 14 zooms out to reveal the pool is on top of a skyscraper in a vertically developed, downtown setting.]
:Burn: Crash?
:Crash: Yeah, Burn?
:Burn: Make a wish.
:[Panel 16 shows the spacecraft streaking across the sky, indistinguishable from a meteoroid.]

==Trivia==
*There are several pools in the movie as well. There is a subplot involving a mythical pool on the roof of the high school where several of the characters are students. Additionally, a scene in the movie [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcHBsB0igrg Hackers ending] shows Crash and Burn swimming in a rooftop pool, while several buildings light up with the words "CRASH AND BURN", the result of their friends' latest hack. This scene is similar to the last four panels of the comic.
*The number of the comic is also significant, in that [[:Category:1337|1337]] is a common numeric form of {{w|leet}}, again referring to hackers.

===Background for ISEE-3/ICE===
The {{w|International Cometary Explorer|ISEE-3/ICE}} probe was launched in August 12, 1978 and tasked to study Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind. After completing its original mission the probe was repurposed on June 10, 1982 to study the interaction between the solar wind and a cometary atmosphere. By flying through the comet {{w|21P/Giacobini–Zinner|Giacobini-Zinner}}'s tail, it became the first probe to do so. This put ISEE-3 in a {{w|heliocentric orbit}}. Its trajectory will bring it close to Earth on August 2014.

The Deep Space Network (DSN) detected the probe again in 2008 because NASA mistakenly left its transmitters on. However, the probe was only transmitting the carrier signal at that time. A status check of the spacecraft has revealed that many of its instruments are still working and that it contains plenty of fuel.[http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2014/02070836-isee-3.html]

It was reported that the hardware to communicate with ISEE-3/ICE had been decommissioned. The Madrid DSS complex still has the special filter required to communicate with the ICE satellite, but because of frequency conflicts S-band uplink is not supported.[http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsndocs/810-005/101/101E.pdf]

On March 1st and 2nd, 2014 radio amateurs were able to detect the beacon signal from the retired NASA deep space probe ICE (International Cometary Explorer) using the 20m radio telescope at the Bochum Observatory (Germany).[http://amsat-uk.org/2014/03/09/radio-amateurs-receive-nasa-isee-3ice-spacecraft/]

===Updates for ISEE-3/ICE===
After this comic was published, it was established that an 18-meter satellite dish at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory does still have the right hardware.
*April 4th 2014: Volunteers started a crowdfunding project on RocketHub to contact the probe and put it back into a {{w|halo orbit}} orbit around {{w|Lagrangian point}} L1.[http://www.rockethub.com/42228 "ISEE-3 reboot"]
*May 23, 2014: First contact to the probe was established.
*May 29, 2014: NASA gave them approval to try to achieve contact.
*May 30, 2014: The project, led by [http://www.rockethub.com/profiles/68340-dennis-wingo Dennis Wingo] and {{w|Keith Cowing}}, had taken control of the spacecraft.
*July 2, 2014: The reboot project successfully fired the thrusters for the first time since 1987. The engines on ISEE-3 performed a successful spin-up burn. The spin rate was changed to 19.76 rpm which is inside of the original mission specifications at 19.75 +/- 0.2 rpm.

Further attempts to change the trajectory into an earth bound orbit did fail. Despite the effort from experts and amateurs via the internet[http://spacecollege.org/isee3/we-are-borg-crowdsourced-isee-3-engineering-and-the-collective-mind-of-the-internet.html] it was determined that the spacecraft had run out of nitrogen pressurant.

Since the device was still communicating, and many of the instruments were still working, the ISEE-3 was intended to be used for the first citizen science, crowd funded, crowd sourced, interplanetary space science mission.[http://spacecollege.org/isee3/announcing-the-isee-3-interplanetary-citizen-science-mission.html]

See [http://spacecollege.org/isee3/ Space College: ISEE-3 Reboot Project Archives] for ongoing coverage of this amazing project.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1337: Hack

2014-08-05T14:40:13Z

108.162.217.125: /* Updates ISEE-3/ICE */

<noinclude>:''"1337", this comic's number, redirects here. For the 2007 storyline of the same name, starting with [[341|comic 341]], see [[:Category:1337]].''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 1337
| date = March 3, 2014
| title = Hack
| image = hack.png
| titletext = HACK THE STARS
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete| Ensure that the news is correctly separated into sections for "before the comic" (March 3rd 2014) and after the comic in the trivia section, as after the comic does not provide background for the comic}}
This comic is a mash-up of the project to re-position the {{w|International Cometary Explorer|ISEE-3/ICE}} probe, and the movie ''{{w|Hackers (film)|Hackers}}''. The first row (four panels) explain the history of the probe, and the true story about how the probe was coming back into signal range and seemed capable of being controlled. NASA declined to attempt to regain control of the probe, but a group of enthusiasts assembled the equipment and attempted to re-purpose the probe.

The following two rows (eight panels) set up a fictional scenario the enthusiasts have been locked out of the system, the probe is being controlled by someone else, and the message "Mess with the best, die like the rest" is communicated from the probe. This is a catch phrase of the protagonist, Crash, from the movie ''Hackers''.

The final row is a reference to the ending of the movie, where Crash romances Burn, his romantic interest, in a rooftop pool. In the movie, while Crash and Burn swim in a rooftop pool, several buildings light up with the words "CRASH AND BURN". This is their friends' latest hack, and an attempt to provide romance for the new couple. In the comic the transmitter being used to communicate with ISEE-3 was hacked to by Burn to burn up over Crash and Burn swimming in the pool providing a "shooting star" for romantic effect. Since the movie predates the shutdown-signal (1997), the characters should possess the skills to understand the probe and hack the transmitter.

This is comic number 1337, which in {{w|leet speak}} means ''elite'' as in elite hacking.

===Title Text===
The title text "Hack the stars" is also an allusion to the movie [[wikipedia:Hackers (film)|Hackers]] where the Phrase "Hack the Planet!" is used on multiple occasions.

===Background ISEE-3===
The {{w|International Cometary Explorer|ISEE-3/ICE}} probe was launched in August 12, 1978 and tasked to study Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind. After completing its original mission the probe was repurposed on June 10, 1982 to study the interaction between the solar wind and a cometary atmosphere. By flying through the comet {{w|21P/Giacobini–Zinner|Giacobini-Zinner}}'s tail, it became the first probe to do so. This put ISEE-3 in a {{w|heliocentric orbit}}. Its trajectory will bring it close to Earth on August 2014.

The Deep Space Network (DSN) detected the probe again in 2008 because NASA mistakenly left its transmitters on. However, the probe was only transmitting the carrier signal at that time. A status check of the spacecraft has revealed that many of its instruments are still working and that it contains plenty of fuel.[http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2014/02070836-isee-3.html]

It was reported that the hardware to communicate with ISEE-3/ICE had been decommissioned. The Madrid DSS complex still has the special filter required to communicate with the ICE satellite, but because of frequency conflicts S-band uplink is not supported.[http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsndocs/810-005/101/101E.pdf]

On March 1st and 2nd, 2014 radio amateurs were able to detect the beacon signal from the retired NASA deep space probe ICE (International Cometary Explorer) using the 20m radio telescope at the Bochum Observatory (Germany).[http://amsat-uk.org/2014/03/09/radio-amateurs-receive-nasa-isee-3ice-spacecraft/]

==Transcript==
:[Panel 1 shows an image of the ISEE-3/ICE spacecraft]
:Narration: The ISEE-3/ICE probe was launched in 1978. Its mission ended in 1997 and it was sent a shutdown signal.
:Narration: In 2008, we learned-to our surprise-that the probe didn't shut down. It's still running and it has plenty of fuel. ...and in 2014, its orbit brings it near earth.
:[Panel 3 shows Megan and Ponytail talking to each other.]
:Megan: We could send it on a new mission... Except we no longer have the equipment to send commands to it.
:Ponytail: Can't we...
:Megan: NASA won't rebuild it. "Too Expensive"
:Ponytail: Seriously?
:Megan: I know, right? So the Internet found the specs and we went to work.
:[Panel 5 shows Megan and Ponytail have walking into an area where a girl and Cueball both are sitting at desks looking at laptops.]
:Narration: We've convinced them to give us time on the Madrid DSN transmitter and hacked the maser to support the uplink. And today's the big day.
:Cueball: Transmitting... We have a signal! We have control!
:Megan: OK, transmit the new comet rendezvous maneuver sequen-
:[Cueball, off panel]: What the hell?
:Megan: What?
:Cueball: My console went dead!
:Girl: Mine too!
:Megan: What's happening?!
:Cueball: There's a new signal going out over the transmitter!
:[Megan, off panel]: A bug?
:Cueball: Someone else is in the system!
:Girl: Kill the connection!
:[Cueball, off panel]: I can't find it!
:Girl: They're firing the probe's engines!
:[Cueball, off panel]: NO!
:[Megan, off panel]: Who's doing this?? Stop them!
:[Girl, off panel]: I'm trying!
:Cueball, pointing to his screen: Look! My screen!
:[Text, on Cueball's laptop screen]: M-E-S-S-W-I-T-H-T-H-E-B-E-S-T D-I-E-L-I-K-E-T-H-E-R-E-S-T
:[Panel 13 shows two people in a pool at night.]
:[Panel 14 zooms out to reveal the pool is on top of a skyscraper in a vertically developed, downtown setting.]
:Burn: Crash?
:Crash: Yeah, Burn?
:Burn: Make a wish.
:[Panel 16 shows the spacecraft streaking across the sky, indistinguishable from a meteoroid.]

==Trivia==
*There are several pools in the movie as well. There is a subplot involving a mythical pool on the roof of the high school where several of the characters are students. Additionally, a scene in the movie [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcHBsB0igrg Hackers ending] shows Crash and Burn swimming in a rooftop pool, while several buildings light up with the words "CRASH AND BURN", the result of their friends' latest hack. This scene is similar to the last four panels of the comic.
*The number of the comic is also significant, in that [[:Category:1337|1337]] is a common numeric form of {{w|leet}}, again referring to hackers.

===Updates ISEE-3/ICE===
After this comic was published, it was established that an 18-meter satellite dish at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory does still have the right hardware.
*April 4th 2014: Volunteers started a crowdfunding project on RocketHub to contact the probe and put it back into a {{w|halo orbit}} orbit around {{w|Lagrangian point}} L1.[http://www.rockethub.com/42228 "ISEE-3 reboot"]
*May 23, 2014: First contact to the probe was established.
*May 29, 2014: NASA gave them approval to try to achieve contact.
*May 30, 2014: The project, led by [http://www.rockethub.com/profiles/68340-dennis-wingo Dennis Wingo] and {{w|Keith Cowing}}, had taken control of the spacecraft.
*July 2, 2014: The reboot project successfully fired the thrusters for the first time since 1987. But repeated attempts at a much larger trajectory correction maneuver ran into problems.

Despite the effort from experts and amateurs via the internet[http://spacecollege.org/isee3/we-are-borg-crowdsourced-isee-3-engineering-and-the-collective-mind-of-the-internet.html] it was determined that the spacecraft had run out of nitrogen pressurant. Since the device was still communicating, and many of the instruments were still working, the ISEE-3 was to be used for the first citizen science, crowd funded, crowd sourced, interplanetary space science mission.[http://spacecollege.org/isee3/announcing-the-isee-3-interplanetary-citizen-science-mission.html]

See [http://spacecollege.org/isee3/ Space College: ISEE-3 Reboot Project Archives] for ongoing coverage of this amazing project.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

1337: Hack

2014-08-05T14:28:44Z

108.162.217.125: /* Explanation */

<noinclude>:''"1337", this comic's number, redirects here. For the 2007 storyline of the same name, starting with [[341|comic 341]], see [[:Category:1337]].''</noinclude>
{{comic
| number = 1337
| date = March 3, 2014
| title = Hack
| image = hack.png
| titletext = HACK THE STARS
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete| Ensure that the news is correctly separated into sections for "before the comic" (March 3rd 2014) and after the comic in the trivia section, as after the comic does not provide background for the comic}}
This comic is a mash-up of the project to re-position the {{w|International Cometary Explorer|ISEE-3/ICE}} probe, and the movie ''{{w|Hackers (film)|Hackers}}''. The first row (four panels) explain the history of the probe, and the true story about how the probe was coming back into signal range and seemed capable of being controlled. NASA declined to attempt to regain control of the probe, but a group of enthusiasts assembled the equipment and attempted to re-purpose the probe.

The following two rows (eight panels) set up a fictional scenario the enthusiasts have been locked out of the system, the probe is being controlled by someone else, and the message "Mess with the best, die like the rest" is communicated from the probe. This is a catch phrase of the protagonist, Crash, from the movie ''Hackers''.

The final row is a reference to the ending of the movie, where Crash romances Burn, his romantic interest, in a rooftop pool. In the movie, while Crash and Burn swim in a rooftop pool, several buildings light up with the words "CRASH AND BURN". This is their friends' latest hack, and an attempt to provide romance for the new couple. In the comic the transmitter being used to communicate with ISEE-3 was hacked to by Burn to burn up over Crash and Burn swimming in the pool providing a "shooting star" for romantic effect. Since the movie predates the shutdown-signal (1997), the characters should possess the skills to understand the probe and hack the transmitter.

This is comic number 1337, which in {{w|leet speak}} means ''elite'' as in elite hacking.

===Title Text===
The title text "Hack the stars" is also an allusion to the movie [[wikipedia:Hackers (film)|Hackers]] where the Phrase "Hack the Planet!" is used on multiple occasions.

===Background ISEE-3===
The {{w|International Cometary Explorer|ISEE-3/ICE}} probe was launched in August 12, 1978 and tasked to study Earth's magnetic field and the solar wind. After completing its original mission the probe was repurposed on June 10, 1982 to study the interaction between the solar wind and a cometary atmosphere. By flying through the comet {{w|21P/Giacobini–Zinner|Giacobini-Zinner}}'s tail, it became the first probe to do so. This put ISEE-3 in a {{w|heliocentric orbit}}. Its trajectory will bring it close to Earth on August 2014.

The Deep Space Network (DSN) detected the probe again in 2008 because NASA mistakenly left its transmitters on. However, the probe was only transmitting the carrier signal at that time. A status check of the spacecraft has revealed that many of its instruments are still working and that it contains plenty of fuel.[http://www.planetary.org/blogs/emily-lakdawalla/2014/02070836-isee-3.html]

It was reported that the hardware to communicate with ISEE-3/ICE had been decommissioned. The Madrid DSS complex still has the special filter required to communicate with the ICE satellite, but because of frequency conflicts S-band uplink is not supported.[http://deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsndocs/810-005/101/101E.pdf]

On March 1st and 2nd, 2014 radio amateurs were able to detect the beacon signal from the retired NASA deep space probe ICE (International Cometary Explorer) using the 20m radio telescope at the Bochum Observatory (Germany).[http://amsat-uk.org/2014/03/09/radio-amateurs-receive-nasa-isee-3ice-spacecraft/]

==Transcript==
:[Panel 1 shows an image of the ISEE-3/ICE spacecraft]
:Narration: The ISEE-3/ICE probe was launched in 1978. Its mission ended in 1997 and it was sent a shutdown signal.
:Narration: In 2008, we learned-to our surprise-that the probe didn't shut down. It's still running and it has plenty of fuel. ...and in 2014, its orbit brings it near earth.
:[Panel 3 shows Megan and Ponytail talking to each other.]
:Megan: We could send it on a new mission... Except we no longer have the equipment to send commands to it.
:Ponytail: Can't we...
:Megan: NASA won't rebuild it. "Too Expensive"
:Ponytail: Seriously?
:Megan: I know, right? So the Internet found the specs and we went to work.
:[Panel 5 shows Megan and Ponytail have walking into an area where a girl and Cueball both are sitting at desks looking at laptops.]
:Narration: We've convinced them to give us time on the Madrid DSN transmitter and hacked the maser to support the uplink. And today's the big day.
:Cueball: Transmitting... We have a signal! We have control!
:Megan: OK, transmit the new comet rendezvous maneuver sequen-
:[Cueball, off panel]: What the hell?
:Megan: What?
:Cueball: My console went dead!
:Girl: Mine too!
:Megan: What's happening?!
:Cueball: There's a new signal going out over the transmitter!
:[Megan, off panel]: A bug?
:Cueball: Someone else is in the system!
:Girl: Kill the connection!
:[Cueball, off panel]: I can't find it!
:Girl: They're firing the probe's engines!
:[Cueball, off panel]: NO!
:[Megan, off panel]: Who's doing this?? Stop them!
:[Girl, off panel]: I'm trying!
:Cueball, pointing to his screen: Look! My screen!
:[Text, on Cueball's laptop screen]: M-E-S-S-W-I-T-H-T-H-E-B-E-S-T D-I-E-L-I-K-E-T-H-E-R-E-S-T
:[Panel 13 shows two people in a pool at night.]
:[Panel 14 zooms out to reveal the pool is on top of a skyscraper in a vertically developed, downtown setting.]
:Burn: Crash?
:Crash: Yeah, Burn?
:Burn: Make a wish.
:[Panel 16 shows the spacecraft streaking across the sky, indistinguishable from a meteoroid.]

==Trivia==
*There are several pools in the movie as well. There is a subplot involving a mythical pool on the roof of the high school where several of the characters are students. Additionally, a scene in the movie [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcHBsB0igrg Hackers ending] shows Crash and Burn swimming in a rooftop pool, while several buildings light up with the words "CRASH AND BURN", the result of their friends' latest hack. This scene is similar to the last four panels of the comic.
*The number of the comic is also significant, in that [[:Category:1337|1337]] is a common numeric form of {{w|leet}}, again referring to hackers.

===Updates ISEE-3/ICE===
*April 4th 2014: A group of experienced volunteers started a crowdfunding project on RocketHub to try to contact the probe and put it back into a {{w|halo orbit}} orbit around {{w|Lagrangian point}} L1.[http://www.rockethub.com/42228 "ISEE-3 reboot"]
*May 2014: First contact to the probe was established.
*May 30, 2014: [[Randall]] posted a new entry in his Blog about the current status of ISEE-3, announcing the success of the fundraising [http://blog.xkcd.com/2014/05/30/isee-3/] and that the project, led by [http://www.rockethub.com/profiles/68340-dennis-wingo Dennis Wingo] and {{w|Keith Cowing}}, had taken control of the spacecraft. The project is running with permission by NASA.
*July 2, 2014: The reboot project successfully fired the thrusters for the first time since 1987. But repeated attempts at a much larger trajectory correction maneuver ran into problems.

Despite the effort from experts and amateurs via the [http://spacecollege.org/isee3/we-are-borg-crowdsourced-isee-3-engineering-and-the-collective-mind-of-the-internet.html Collective Consciousness of the Internet] it was determined that the spacecraft had run out of nitrogen pressurant. Since the device was still communicating, and many of the instruments were still working, the ISEE-3 was to be used for the first citizen science, crowd funded, crowd sourced, interplanetary space science mission.[http://spacecollege.org/isee3/announcing-the-isee-3-interplanetary-citizen-science-mission.html]

See [http://spacecollege.org/isee3/ Space College: ISEE-3 Reboot Project Archives] for ongoing coverage of this amazing project.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]