explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2280: 2010 and 2020

2020-03-16T17:33:29Z

141.101.99.17: /* Explanation */ 6->7

{{comic
| number = 2280
| date = March 13, 2020
| title = 2010 and 2020
| image = 2010_and_2020.png
| titletext = 2030: "I just bought a house for one bitcoin. No, it's the equivalent of a dollar. Houses are often transferred for a nominal fee because the buyer is taking responsibility for containing the holo-banshees in the attic."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a holo-banshee. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is the sixth comic in a [[:Category:COVID-19|series of comics]] (with at least seven in a row) about the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 pandemic}} of the {{w|coronavirus}} - {{w|SARS-CoV-2}}.

[[White Hat]], who lives in 2010, and [[Cueball]], who lives in 2020, are in contact with each other via some kind of time travel. White Hat wants to learn about life in 2020 and is particularly interested in {{w|bitcoin}}, a decentralized {{w|cryptocurrency}} which was released in 2009, and whether it had become an acceptable currency. Cueball answers that bitcoin still exists, and that he just bought a bottle of {{w|hand sanitizer}} for the price of one bitcoin. White Hat probably assumes that bitcoin is a widely accepted currency worth a few dollars, and thinks that the situation is "normal". (In April 2010, one bitcoin was worth about 14 cents.)

At the time of this comic, the SARS-CoV-2 syndrome caused by COVID-19 infection (commonly known as "the coronavirus", though many colds are in fact a coronavirus; also see "the spider"), is spreading around the world, causing thousands of people to die (although relatively few compared to the number of people that have gotten better) and billions to panic. This increased the demand for hygiene products, including hand sanitizers, and therefore their price has increased. It also triggered a panic on financial markets, including severe devaluation of the infamously volatile bitcoin. Despite the crash, one bitcoin was still worth about $5,400 on the day this strip was published, not a few dollars. Therefore, buying a hand sanitizer for one bitcoin is not as normal as White Hat assumes.

The price of hand sanitizer has not reached the price of a bitcoin (yet), although some people on sites such as {{w|Amazon.com}} are attempting to sell it for ludicrous amounts and there are attempts by Amazon, eBay, and other selling platforms, as well as potential legislation, aimed at curtailing such {{w|price gouging}}.

The title text claims that, in 2030, bitcoin will again be worth about one dollar, but houses will also be worth only one dollar due to the difficulty inherent in containing "holo-banshees" in the attic. What a holo-banshee is is not explained, but one can guess as to what it might mean. "Holo" is generally short for {{w|hologram}} and typically denotes some kind of 3D looking digital visual form, and a "{{w|banshee}}" is a mythological wailing creature or spirit. So even if not a physical object, constant shrieking would be undesirable.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[White Hat and Cueball are walking to the right of the panel. There is a gray outline around Cueball, indicating he is from the future]
:White Hat: What are things like ten years from now in 2020?
:White Hat: We have this new "bitcoin" thing — does it ever catch on and become normal?

:[A frameless panel, with White Hat and Cueball still walking to the right.]
:Cueball: It's still around. I just bought a bottle of hand sanitizer for one bitcoin.

:[A regular panel, with them continuing to walk]
:White Hat: Cool, that sounds pretty normal.
:Cueball: Well, here's the thing...

== Trivia ==
* Cueball has previously traveled back in time ''twenty'' years to converse with his past self in [[2220: Imagine Going Back in Time]]. Like this conversation, his past self has a completely different set of concerns and expectations about the future compared to his present self.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:COVID-19]]
[[Category: Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category: Comics featuring White Hat]]
[[Category: Time travel]]

2132: Percentage Styles

2019-04-03T16:40:49Z

141.101.99.17:

{{comic
| number = 2132
| date = April 3, 2019
| title = Percentage Styles
| image = percentage_styles.png
| titletext = In a tribute to classical Latin, I started pronouncing it 'per-kent.' Eventually my friends had to resort to spritzing me with a water bottle like a cat to train me out of it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Classicist and a Mathematician. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic lists ways in which you can write out phrases which phonetically are the same as "65%" listed from best to worst. They go from the common "65%" and "65 percent" to the odd "sixty-five%" and "65 per¢" which nobody would ever actually use. The middle option, "65 per cent", was common in older literature, along with "65 per cent." (ending in a period even in the middle of a sentence); this shows the origin as an abbreviation for "65 per centum", which is Latin for "65 for [each] hundred".

In Classical Latin, C is believed to have been pronounced like K; but the C in "percent", like most C's from Latin roots in modern languages, is pronounced like S.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Percentage styles in order of acceptability
(a long, vertical line connects through the entire comic)
Best

65%
(short distance)
65 percent
(a much longer distance)
65 per cent
(a distance roughly twice the previous)
Sixty-five%
(an exceedingly long distance)
65 per¢

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2131: Emojidome

2019-04-01T23:39:39Z

141.101.99.17: Added iframes link combining both

I've checked the network tab and console - nothing really seems to happen when you vote, which may be something we want to put on the explanation tomorrow - Myxoh

I suspect the real april fools joke is going to come on Wednesday when xkdc posts an app showing us our psychological profiles that they are now selling to marketing companies after data-mining our emotional preferences to marketing firms - Nosajimiki

@Nosajimiki: psychological profiles of xkcd fans. That might be some interesting marketing. - 5Cincinatus

@Myxoh: I came here to see if anyone else had noticed this! But, I do also see a websocket connection to emojidome.xkcd.com, I bet it's counting votes that way.

There is a websocket connection. A message is sent every time you vote. It looks like there are also status update messages every second (saying which emoji currently has exactly how many votes, i suspect this changes the amount of hearts that show up), and "bracket start" messages every so often. The bracket start message seems to contain hundreds of upcoming emoji pairs. Edit: a bracket start is sent at the start of every match (so every ~30 seconds). It also contains logs of which messages to show for previous matches, and which emoji are currently battling.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.138.10|172.69.138.10]] 16:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

There seems to be nothing stopping me from clicking multiple times. Do you think it actually counts it all those times? Can I click-spam to say "this is much better"? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 16:48, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:Randall just confirmed that you can vote multiple times, although if you click too fasr you get rate limited. (*warning: generic ip address assigned to phone data.*) [[Special:Contributions/172.69.70.47|172.69.70.47]] 22:35, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Well this is fun. Look like there are 512 symbols, meaning 256 first-round co[http://www.example.com link title]ntests. The first round would take (at 38 seconds / round) ~2.7 hours. The remaining rounds, from an estimate of geometric progression, would just under double this, meaning this comic will run for ~ 5 hours until we have our winner... ~alexandicity [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.177|172.69.226.177]] 16:51, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Did he just add a scroll bar to the previous matches? I didn't notice it earlier [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.148|162.158.255.148]] 18:17, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:Nope, you were able to scroll before, too. At least about 2 hours ago. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

While some of the recaps of past battles are generic (taco vs sandwich: "One for the history books"), many seem to be specifically written for the battle (light bulb vs candle: "Some would argue that this one was settled in the 1800s"). I wonder if/how much this will continue into round 2.

Round two has just begun, and the timeout has been bumped to 60 seconds. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 18:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:If that trend continues, the full competition will take pretty close to 24 hours. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 18:45, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:It looks like it's 1:14/round, which is double what the time was in round one. Will round three be 2:28? 1:51?
::It's just over 1:15/round from the history JSON (plus some hundredths of a second, but it appears 1:15 is the intent)
:::Hadn't looked there. Round one concluded at 18:39:20-ish, 9560 seconds from 16:00:00. At 256 battles, that's 37.34 seconds/battle. However, it looks like the first battle ended at 15:59:57, which would add about 40 seconds, 9600 seconds/256=37.5 seconds exactly. Doubling for round 2 gives 75 seconds.
::2 minutes 30 seconds per battle now. Looks like each round will be 2 hours 40 minutes long.

And while the match-ups winners are typically colored, and underlined, the losers are endgame grey.

Has anyone determined if multiple-voting is actually counted? For me at least the vote button fades back to gray after I click it, which implies you can/should click it again, but that may not actually be processed. We might add a clarification about that to the explanation. [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 19:01, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
: A reddit user on the r/xkcd thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/b84at1/xkcd_2131_emojidome_script_src2131comicjs/) claims to have attempted "vote stuffing via the console" with no noticeable change in vote totals. So it looks like it may be sending it client-side, but only counting the vote once server-side --l

::Just few minutes ago there was message in "fun facts" that you can click multiple times, although it's not counted if you click too many times (or something like that). I guess that vote stuffing was too much. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 22:34, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

It would appear that we are supposed to believe the commentary is live, and unscripted:
" {"This one is a true test of the audience today.",
"Just to stress this again. Live commentary, folks. Completely unscripted and coming in hot.} "--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.79.173|162.158.79.173]] 19:20, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
:It's clearly live because the result of a previous round is affecting the next round's commentary - and the combinatorial explosion would prohibit that from being remotely plausible. We're watching live comedy here! [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 19:30, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
: On the dog vs. wolf, he said "Again, we are getting a lot of questions on this today. This is live commentary, folks." Proof I guess. HI RANDALL! [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:31, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Is there really anything we can put for the transcript? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:25, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Aby ideas on how the commentary is done? It seems to sort of match the emojis.
[[User:Svízel přítula|Svízel přítula]] ([[User talk:Svízel přítula|talk]]) 19:31, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
: It seems that Randall is commetating this live, as he periodcally says it's live in the robot commentator text. See above. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.189.241|172.68.189.241]] 19:36, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
::Perhaps not "live" as each round 2 matchup was known 160 minutes before it was voted on. He could comment on the battle itself, and/or provide a comment if one or the other combatant won. I think he's a couple hours ahead of us.
::: I dunno. Whenever a new battle starts, there is a default message, that is soon replaced by a more pertinent message. That seems to suggest that he's doing it on the fly. [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:03, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
::::If that's live, Randall, and if you see this, give us a shout-out as proof. -Brent
This is a quick piece of python to see the json results (and commentary):
<nowiki>import json, urllib.request
d = json.loads(urllib.request.urlopen("https://emojidome.xkcd.com/2131/socket ").read().decode('utf-8'))
for g in d['bracket']['played'][0]:
c1, c2 = g['game']
print(f"{c1['score']} {c1['competitor']}-{c2['competitor']} {c2['score']}")</nowiki>
[[User:Tammo80|Tammo80]] ([[User talk:Tammo80|talk]]) 19:42, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

: or if you want to see the vote count live in browser: https://emojidome.playcode.io/ -Andy 22:01, April 2019
:: Awesome, thank you [[User:9yz|9yz]] ([[User talk:9yz|talk]]) 20:23, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

There must be some kind of manipulation going on with the votes. There is NO WAY the poop emoji would lose to the skull emoji in round two. It was my guess for the winner >:( [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.138|162.158.106.138]] 20:50, 1 April 2019 (UTC)
: And the 100 emoji just lost to the shiny heart. :(

The second round bracket was released, but is hidden behind the bottom nav buttons: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_256.png --[[User:Thefallen138|Thefallen138]] ([[User talk:Thefallen138|talk]]) 20:56, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

And now the third round has begun. Strangely, the bracket is not visible yet: https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_128.png. The delay has been bump to something above two minutes as well. --[[User:Anarcat|Anarcat]] ([[User talk:Anarcat|talk]]) 21:21, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

: It's here https://xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket_round_3.png [[Special:Contributions/162.158.107.79|162.158.107.79]] 21:41, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

Both the Emojidome and counter were brought together in iframes https://ducakedhare.co.uk/emojidome.html [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.17|141.101.99.17]] 23:39, 1 April 2019 (UTC)taikedz

== "Emoji" or "emojis" as the plural? ==

Due to the nature of the Japanese language, "emoji" is technically both the plural and the singular - however, the improper form "emojis" is used more as a plural frequently nowadays among English speakers. Which form should this explanation use? --[[User:Youforgotthisthing|Youforgotthisthing]] ([[User talk:Youforgotthisthing|talk]]) 22:27, 1 April 2019 (UTC)

2131: Emojidome

2019-04-01T18:30:11Z

141.101.99.17: 38 is a bit too precise to be a "rough" number. this level of detail doesn't really help a reader.

{{comic
| number = 2131
| date = April 1, 2019
| title = Emojidome
| image = emojidome.png
| titletext = 🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼
}}
*To experience the interactivity, visit the {{xkcd|2131|original comic}}.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 😇. Needs more elaboration on font influencing emoji..}}

This is an interactive [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] that began at noon ET (16:00 UTC) on April 1, 2019, in which users are shown two emoji roughly every 40 seconds, and vote for their favorite. The competing candidates are periodically overlaid with heart emojis that up float from the vote button oscillating in a sinusoidal pattern before disappearing above the candidate, and may represent real-time votes for each emoji. Supposedly, the emoji will be eliminated one-by-one until there are a final two emoji facing off, with the one most voted-for being crowned the best emoji. This is likely a parody of March Madness.

As of 17:30 UTC, we are still in the first round of voting brackets, according to the match-up schedule in the link. At the current rate, the entire tournament will take just under five and a half hours.

Note that the schedule might show different emoji pictures then the main voting screen, presumably because of fonts. The image is pre-rendered.

The competing candidates are chosen in order of unicode value at first, resulting in similar emojis being compared. Examples include:

😜 squaring off against 😛 - two emoji playfully sticking their tongues out

🤩 squaring off against 😍 - two smiling emojis with symbols for eyes

😂 squaring off with 🤣 - two emojis that are crying in laughter/joy.

The title text may appear to be nonsense. If so, your browser may not be parsing the title text correctly. It consists of the wrestlers emoji (🤼) eight times over.

A robot face announcer-emoji (🤖) and a link to the full bracket was added at 38 minutes in.
https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket.png shows 512 emojis in a single-elimination tournament.

Real live data with results (clicks) can be seen as JSON-websocket at https://emojidome.xkcd.com/2131/socket

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]

2131: Emojidome

2019-04-01T17:19:47Z

141.101.99.17: /* Explanation */ Updated time

{{comic
| number = 2131
| date = April 1, 2019
| title = Emojidome
| image = emojidome.png
| titletext = 🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼🤼
}}
*To experience the interactivity, visit the {{xkcd|2131|original comic}}.

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by 😇. Needs more elaboration on font influencing emoji..}}

This is an interactive [[:Category:April fools' comics|April fools' comic]] that began at 4:00 PM UTC on April 1, 2019 in which users are shown two emoji roughly every 38 seconds, and vote for their favorite. The competing candidates are periodically overlaid with heart emojis that up float from the vote button oscillating in a sinusoidal pattern before disappearing above the candidate, and may represent real-time votes for each emoji. Supposedly, the emoji will be eliminated one-by-one until there are a final two emoji facing off, with the one most voted-for being crowned the best emoji.

As of 18:20 UTC, we are still in the first round of voting brackets, according to the match-up schedule in the link.

Note that the schedule might show different emoji pictures then the main voting screen, presumably because of fonts. The image is pre-rendered.

The competing candidates are chosen in order of unicode value at first, resulting in similar emojis being compared. Examples include:

😜 squaring off against 😛 - two emoji playfully sticking their tongues out

🤩 squaring off against 😍 - two smiling emojis with symbols for eyes

😂 squaring off with 🤣 - two emojis that are crying in laughter/joy.

The title text may appear to be nonsense. If so, your browser may not be parsing the title text correctly. It consists of the wrestlers emoji (🤼) eight times over.

An announcer-emoji (🤖) and a link to the full bracket was added at 38 minutes in. https://www.xkcd.com/2131/emojidome_bracket.png

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:April fools' comics]]
[[Category:Interactive comics]]

1324: Weather

2019-03-26T18:09:29Z

141.101.99.17: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1324
| date = January 31, 2014
| title = Weather
| image = weather.png
| titletext = At least if you're really into, like, Turkish archaeology, store clerks aren't like 'hey, how 'bout those Derinkuyu underground cities!' when they're trying to be polite.
}}
==Explanation==
Social norm accepts casual small-talk as an ice breaker for interaction — usually it is always safe to talk about the weather without hitting any disagreements as there are rarely any personal viewpoints about the weather — in contrast small-talk is never about political subjects or similar where chances are that there are strong personal viewpoints.

In this strip [[Cueball]] is described a "weather geek", enjoying subjects such as {{w|meteorology}} and {{w|weather forecasting}}. When [[Hairy]] makes a comment about the weather, Cueball launches into a detailed technical discussion, not realizing Hairy is simply trying to engage in small-talk. Only weather geeks would have this problem, but this topic is a common opening for a conversation in casual small-talk. Cueball switches to small-talk once he realizes that Hairy is confused and didn't expect this level of technical information.

As to the jargon:
*{{w|Jet stream|Jet streams}} are strong air currents high in the atmosphere which have a big influence on the weather.
*18z is 18:00 {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}} (6 PM in London, 10 AM in California). See {{w|ISO 8601}} at Wikipedia. The letter "Z" is used as 'Zulu' in the {{w|NATO phonetic alphabet}}, meaning just UTC.
*GFS is the {{w|Global Forecast System}} (also known as NCEP-GFS). It is a computer model used by the {{w|National Weather Service}} to predict the weather up to 16 days in advance. The model is run 4 times a day and the output is distinguished by the UTC hour it was started (18z in this case).
*Part of the prediction is the {{w|atmospheric pressure}} expressed in {{w|Bar (unit)|millibars}} (or mb). 960 mb is very low pressure, which is usually associated with seriously bad weather (record low pressure for Minnesota was 963 mb till 1998).
*"Think it'll verify?": A forecast "verifies" when an analysis of observations at the forecast time are found to match the forecast. Cueball is asking if Hairy thinks the prediction of a 960 mb low will be shown to have been correct.

The title text clarifies the problem weather nuts like Cueball here have: Unlike other geeky pursuits (like, say, the {{w|Derinkuyu Underground City|Derinkuyu Underground Cities}}, [[1368: One Of The|one of the]] most well-known {{w|History of Turkey|archaeological sites in Turkey}}) weather is a fairly common small talk subject. As a result, weather geeks have to be constantly vigilant so as not to launch into technical monologues.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Hairy are talking.]
:Hairy: So, how 'bout this weather?
:Cueball: I ''know,'' right? The whole jet stream layer is ''nuts!''
:Hairy: Um, sure...
:Cueball: The 18z GFS forecasts 960mb by Tuesday. Think it'll verify?
:Hairy: What?
:Cueball: ...Right. Sorry. Uh, yeah! Weather sure has been crazy.

:Weather geeks have it tough.
{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]

2124: Space Mission Hearing

2019-03-21T11:07:26Z

141.101.99.17: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2124
| date = March 15, 2019
| title = Space Mission Hearing
| image = space_mission_hearing.png
| titletext = Our grant application contains one of those little greeting card speakers that plays spaceship noises when you open it.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a NOISY CARD. Explanation needs to be expanded. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Megan]] and [[Ponytail]] are organizers of a space mission going over their upcoming presentation to a hearing that will approve the mission's funding. Megan recites the grown-up, professional, scientific justification for the mission, but soon her enthusiastic attitude toward space breaks through, and she exclaims "space" and "pew pew pew" (An internet meme for the sound of lasers, inspired as a typical sound that media space weapons make, and now an onomatopoeia often used in gaming speak for ray weapons and spells as a joke) with childish abandon. Ponytail wants her to rein in her enthusiasm during the actual hearing.

The joke is that most of the motivation for spending billions of dollars and other resources on interplanetary exploration is not really for all the stuffy reasons listed, but simply because we believe space is cool. Ironically, due to the vacuum in space, you would actually not hear shooting sounds unless you are in a ship with an atmosphere.

The title text refers to a repurposable piece of electronics contained within specific {{w|greeting card}}s, which plays a prerecorded song when the card is opened. Usually, these cards play a song, like "Happy Birthday", when they are opened. Apparently, their grant application has incorporated speakers which play "spaceship noises", in order to stimulate excitement about the coolness of space in the receiver.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Megan and Ponytail are standing and talking.]
:Ponytail: All ready for the hearing? Let's go over things one more time.
:Ponytail: *ahem*
:Ponytail: What is the main reason to fund this mission?

:[Close-up of Megan.]
:Megan: It will significantly advance out long-term goal of better understanding the formation and evolution of the Solar System, while fulfulling our mandate to develop a new generation of interplanetary spacecraft.
:Ponytail (off-panel): Great.

:[Megan and Ponytail are standing and talking. Megan's arms are raised.]
:Megan: And because it's ''space!''
:Megan: Spaaaaaace.
:Megan: Pew pew pew!
:Megan: ''Space!''
:Ponytail: Dial it back.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Space]]

2122: Size Venn Diagram

2019-03-11T17:35:30Z

141.101.99.17: /* Transcript */ Fixed the broken link I added

{{comic
| number = 2122
| date = March 11, 2019
| title = Size Venn Diagram
| image = size_venn_diagram.png
| titletext = Terms I'm going to start using: The Large Dipper, great potatoes, the Big Hadron Collider, and Large Orphan Annie.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Large Terror. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a {{w|Venn diagram}} illustrating the complete set of possible intersections of five different size descriptors: "little, "large", "small", and "great", “big”. Each unique intersection contains a short list of terms that can be preceded by each applicable descriptor. For example, "flying fox" (a type of bat) appears at the intersection of "large", "small", and "great", because the species {{w|large flying fox}}, {{w|small flying fox}}, and {{w|great flying fox}} all exist, but there is no such species as a "big flying fox" or a "little flying fox". {{w|Small intestine}} and {{w|large intestine}} both exist, not the rest.

Some descriptors are applied in pairs; for example, "planet" is placed to be in both the "little" and "big" groups, a reference to the video game Little Big Planet.

The title text has Randall suggesting he will start using term combinations that don't appear in the above diagram.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic is a five-variable venn diagram, with some words that fit with those prefixes.

:Big: [[wikipedia:Big Bang Theory|Bang Theory]], [[wiktionary:big enchilada|Enchilada]], [[wikipedia:Big Board|Board]], [[wikipedia:Big Sur|Sur]]
:Little: [[wikipedia:Little Orphan Annie|Orphan Annie]], [[wikipedia:Little House on the Prairie|House on the Prairie]], [[wikipedia:Little Richard|Richard]]
:Large: [[wikipedia:large format|format]], [[wikipedia:Large Millimeter Telescope|Millimeter Telescope]], [[wikipedia:Large Hadron Collider|Hadron Collider]]
:Small: [[wikipedia:small claims court|claims court]], [[wiktionary:small potatoes|potatoes]]
:Great: [[wikipedia:Great Barrier Reef|Barrier Reef]], [[wikipedia:Great Wall of China|Wall of China]], [[wikipedia:Great Depression|Depression]], [[wikipedia:Great Terror|Terror]], [[wiktionary:great-aunt|aunt]]

:Big/Little: [[wikipedia:Big Dipper|Dipper]]/[[wikipedia:Ursa Minor|Dipper]], [[wikipedia:LittleBigPlanet|Planet]], lies, sister
:Big/Large: Toothed Aspen
:Big/Small: time, screen
:Big/Great: Bend, Bear Lake
:Little/Large: Professor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Professor], Forest Bat
:Little/Small: wonder, soldiers
:Little/Great: Blue Heron
:Large/Small: intestine, Magellanic Cloud
:Large/Great: Billed Seed Finch
:Small/Great: pox, cardiac vein

:Big/Little/Large: foundation
:Big/Little/Small: foot
:Big/Little/Great: league
:Big/Large/Small: Eyed Conger, Blue
:Big/Large/Great: hearted
:Big/Small/Great: end
:Little/Large/Small: emerald
:Little/Large/Great: (none)
:Little/Small/Great: circle, room
:Large/Small/Great: flying fox

:Big/Large/Great/Small: game, white
:Little/Big/Large/Great: (none)
:Little/Big/Large/Small: (none)
:Little/Big/Great/Small: (none)
:Little/Large/Great/Small: (none)

:Little/Big/Large/Great/Small: Island

==List of Items in the Diagram==
{| class="wikitable"
!Item
!Big
!Great
!Large
!Little
!Small
|-
|'''Blue'''
|[https://www.ibm.com IBM] (also [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095250 movie])
|
|butterfly
|
|butterfly
|-
|'''Eyed Conger'''
|eel
|
|eel
|
|eel
|-
|'''Forest Bat'''
|
|
|bat
|bat
|
|-
|'''Format'''
|
|
|[[w:Large_format|photography]]
|
|
|-
|'''Hadron Collider'''
|
|
|particle accelerator
|
|
|-
|'''House on the Prairie'''
|
|
|
|novel (and TV)
|
|-
|'''Intestine'''
|
|
|gut
|
|gut
|-
|'''Island'''
|Hawaii
|Cork Harbor, Ireland
|Antilles
|movie
|novel, movie
|-
|'''Magellanic Cloud'''
|
|
|galaxy
|
|galaxy
|-
|'''Millimeter Telescope'''
|
|
|radiotelescope
|
|
|-
|'''Orphan Annie'''
|
|
|
|comic strip
|
|-
|'''Pox'''
|
|syphilis
|
|
|disease
|-
|'''Professor'''
|
|
|rap artist
|calculator (also Asperger's)
|
|-
|'''Richard'''
|
|
|
|musician
|
|-
|'''Screen'''
|movies
|
|
|
|TV
|-
|'''Time'''
|major
|
|
|
|minor
|-
|'''Toothed Aspen'''
|tree (bigtooth)
|
|tree
|
|
|-
|'''White'''
|ski resort
|shark
|pig
|
|butterfly
|}

{{comic discussion}}

2122: Size Venn Diagram

2019-03-11T17:34:49Z

141.101.99.17: Added LittleBigPlanet link

{{comic
| number = 2122
| date = March 11, 2019
| title = Size Venn Diagram
| image = size_venn_diagram.png
| titletext = Terms I'm going to start using: The Large Dipper, great potatoes, the Big Hadron Collider, and Large Orphan Annie.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Large Terror. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a {{w|Venn diagram}} illustrating the complete set of possible intersections of five different size descriptors: "little, "large", "small", and "great", “big”. Each unique intersection contains a short list of terms that can be preceded by each applicable descriptor. For example, "flying fox" (a type of bat) appears at the intersection of "large", "small", and "great", because the species {{w|large flying fox}}, {{w|small flying fox}}, and {{w|great flying fox}} all exist, but there is no such species as a "big flying fox" or a "little flying fox". {{w|Small intestine}} and {{w|large intestine}} both exist, not the rest.

Some descriptors are applied in pairs; for example, "planet" is placed to be in both the "little" and "big" groups, a reference to the video game Little Big Planet.

The title text has Randall suggesting he will start using term combinations that don't appear in the above diagram.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The comic is a five-variable venn diagram, with some words that fit with those prefixes.

:Big: [[wikipedia:Big Bang Theory|Bang Theory]], [[wiktionary:big enchilada|Enchilada]], [[wikipedia:Big Board|Board]], [[wikipedia:Big Sur|Sur]]
:Little: [[wikipedia:Little Orphan Annie|Orphan Annie]], [[wikipedia:Little House on the Prairie|House on the Prairie]], [[wikipedia:Little Richard|Richard]]
:Large: [[wikipedia:large format|format]], [[wikipedia:Large Millimeter Telescope|Millimeter Telescope]], [[wikipedia:Large Hadron Collider|Hadron Collider]]
:Small: [[wikipedia:small claims court|claims court]], [[wiktionary:small potatoes|potatoes]]
:Great: [[wikipedia:Great Barrier Reef|Barrier Reef]], [[wikipedia:Great Wall of China|Wall of China]], [[wikipedia:Great Depression|Depression]], [[wikipedia:Great Terror|Terror]], [[wiktionary:great-aunt|aunt]]

:Big/Little: [[wikipedia:Big Dipper|Dipper]]/[[wikipedia:Ursa Minor|Dipper]], [[wikidpedia:LittleBigPlanet|Planet]], lies, sister
:Big/Large: Toothed Aspen
:Big/Small: time, screen
:Big/Great: Bend, Bear Lake
:Little/Large: Professor [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Large_Professor], Forest Bat
:Little/Small: wonder, soldiers
:Little/Great: Blue Heron
:Large/Small: intestine, Magellanic Cloud
:Large/Great: Billed Seed Finch
:Small/Great: pox, cardiac vein

:Big/Little/Large: foundation
:Big/Little/Small: foot
:Big/Little/Great: league
:Big/Large/Small: Eyed Conger, Blue
:Big/Large/Great: hearted
:Big/Small/Great: end
:Little/Large/Small: emerald
:Little/Large/Great: (none)
:Little/Small/Great: circle, room
:Large/Small/Great: flying fox

:Big/Large/Great/Small: game, white
:Little/Big/Large/Great: (none)
:Little/Big/Large/Small: (none)
:Little/Big/Great/Small: (none)
:Little/Large/Great/Small: (none)

:Little/Big/Large/Great/Small: Island

==List of Items in the Diagram==
{| class="wikitable"
!Item
!Big
!Great
!Large
!Little
!Small
|-
|'''Blue'''
|[https://www.ibm.com IBM] (also [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095250 movie])
|
|butterfly
|
|butterfly
|-
|'''Eyed Conger'''
|eel
|
|eel
|
|eel
|-
|'''Forest Bat'''
|
|
|bat
|bat
|
|-
|'''Format'''
|
|
|[[w:Large_format|photography]]
|
|
|-
|'''Hadron Collider'''
|
|
|particle accelerator
|
|
|-
|'''House on the Prairie'''
|
|
|
|novel (and TV)
|
|-
|'''Intestine'''
|
|
|gut
|
|gut
|-
|'''Island'''
|Hawaii
|Cork Harbor, Ireland
|Antilles
|movie
|novel, movie
|-
|'''Magellanic Cloud'''
|
|
|galaxy
|
|galaxy
|-
|'''Millimeter Telescope'''
|
|
|radiotelescope
|
|
|-
|'''Orphan Annie'''
|
|
|
|comic strip
|
|-
|'''Pox'''
|
|syphilis
|
|
|disease
|-
|'''Professor'''
|
|
|rap artist
|calculator (also Asperger's)
|
|-
|'''Richard'''
|
|
|
|musician
|
|-
|'''Screen'''
|movies
|
|
|
|TV
|-
|'''Time'''
|major
|
|
|
|minor
|-
|'''Toothed Aspen'''
|tree (bigtooth)
|
|tree
|
|
|-
|'''White'''
|ski resort
|shark
|pig
|
|butterfly
|}

{{comic discussion}}

1788: Barge

2017-01-21T14:35:56Z

141.101.99.17: /* Transcript */ There are bad grammar in this sentence.

{{comic
| number = 1788
| date = January 20, 2017
| title = Barge
| image = barge.png
| titletext = My life goal is to launch a barge into the air and have it land on one of Elon Musk's rockets.
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete|Links to video of successful landing in barge and maybe also failed to show what this hobby may result in. Also if there are videos of this newest success}}
This is another one of the "[[My Hobby]]" series, where [[Randall]] tells about a strange hobby. This is probably the most destructive one so far, as it would result in the loss of nine space rocket engines. It would also likely be the most expensive even disregarding the costs to others, due to the costs associated with buying and damaging a barge specifically for a prank (though it could potentially be reused).

The launch company {{w|SpaceX}} is currently testing a reusable rocket system, where the {{w|multi-stage rocket|first rocket stage}} is capable of landing back on an {{w|autonomous spaceport drone ship}} after launch. The rockets guide themselves in to land by aiming towards a giant launch pad with the "X" from the SpaceX logo painted on it. Randall imagines creating a similar-looking barge and placing it near the intended landing site, except his barge's platform would be hollow in the middle with only a sheet of paper supporting the part where the rocket would land. Presumably the goal of this setup would be to trick a rocket into falling into the sea, similar to the old {{w|trapping pit}}. If a rocket attempts to land on Randall's barge, it will quickly burn through the paper (assuming the paper had not already been destroyed from being soaked by ocean spray) and, not having enough time or fuel to readjust its course, fall into the sea. Luckily for Elon Musk (but unluckily for anyone planning this prank), SpaceX rockets will not land on any old barge [citation needed], unless perhaps something happened to the intended barge.

This hobby seems more appropriate for [[Black Hat]], considering that he is a real [[classhole]].

The title text plays on the incredible difficulty of successfully landing a rocket on a barge. Such a feat has only recently become possible, some 60 years after the launch of {{w|Sputnik_1|Sputnik 1}}. Randall imagines an even more implausible idea of launching an entire ''barge'' into the air and have it land on the ''rocket''. Launching a barge in the first place would be tremendously difficult - they are big, heavy and not very aerodynamic [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerodynamics]]. Having one come down on top of a rocket would likely destroy the rocket as well - but it would be worth it for the spectacular explosion.

This comic was published on the week following SpaceX's Iridium 1 mission, where the first stage of the rocket which delivered 10 satellites into orbit successfully landed on a barge near California. It marked the seventh time SpaceX successfully landed and recovered its booster on a commercial mission.

==Transcript==
:[There is one panel in this comic with the main drawing at the bottom. Two smaller drawings are inserted above this drawing to explain the idea.]

:[The first insert shows a barge with no center and a large piece of paper with the SpaceX logo above the barge.]

:[The second insert shows the paper stretched over the hole.]

:[The main drawing at the bottom shows a cross-section of the barge in water, showing there is only water below the paper. Above the paper the large first stage, without the top part with the payload, of a reusable rocket is attempting to land on the paper on the SapceX logo (not visible in this view). It is still so high above the fake barge that the exhaust fire below the rocket is nowhere near the paper.]

:[Caption below the panels:]
:My hobby: Hollowing out the center of a barge, stretching paper over the hole painted with the SpaceX logo, and leaving it floating offshore near launch sites.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Space]]

Talk:1785: Wifi

2017-01-13T18:19:18Z

141.101.99.17:

This, I believe, is in reference to things like [https://www.dd-wrt.com/site/ DD-WRT], where someone with knowledge may install it to 'improve' your router. If done right, it can increase the speed and stability, if not, it can brick it. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.78.70|172.68.78.70]] 05:23, 13 January 2017 (UTC) That's what I thought too! Girish, [[Special:Contributions/162.158.166.197|162.158.166.197]] 05:27, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
I installed Hurd on my router dont judge me ok. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.137|162.158.91.137]] 06:14, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
I doubt it is referring to router firmware. The tech-savviness is of the housguest, not of the router owner (though, I can easily imagine somebody updating host router). --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.106|162.158.134.106]] 12:18, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

:Some devices need operational firmware downloaded to them after reset, so it's handled at boot time by a firmware downloader. A typical example is devices which have s DSP in them; the DSP's code would be loaded into the device's RAM designated for the purpose. For Wi-Fi, it might handle the low level details of associating with an AP, performing the WPA2 protocol for example so the device looks for the most part logically like any other network interface, e.g. Ethernet. In this case, it would have nothing to do with the firmware in the Wi-Fi AP.
:[[User:RChandra|RChandra]] ([[User talk:RChandra|talk]]) 12:05, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

''“In most systems this just works but in the case of more geeky operating systems, like GNU/Linux, it needs to be installed separately.”'' Ironically, it's quite the opposite these days. On a fresh Windows install you typically have no network drivers, but with a lot of GNU/Linux distros you have network out of the box. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.105.60|141.101.105.60]] 09:25, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
:I would agree with you on wired connections there, but with the most common Intel or Broadcom WLAN chipsets on laptops it's the other way around. Windows works out of the box (maybe downloads a newer driver from Windows Update once you set up the Internet connection), while especially libre Linux distributions (which are inherently "geekier", because they focus on the political aspect of Free Software instead of something that Just Werks™) lack the non-free firmware required to drive those parts. ''TisTheAlmondTavern'' 10:11, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

I don't understand how the skydiving example is far fetched, but I'm the one who added it so I've got a total of 0 objectivity on the matter :). The skydiving example is here to demonstrate the paradox "the more you know how to fix it, the more it will be broken for you", because in both cases (computer saavy people, or skydiving instructors) the ones who know more are also the ones who will take more risks, and get further away from the common approach to the problem (for skydiving, the common thing to do is to not jump, while non computer saavy people will not try linux or whatever it is that fails to work out of the box). I agree that the skydiving comparison is not perfect (in computing it's a difference of main config/advanced config, while in skydiving it's a difference of doing it or not. Also you can expect your computer knowledge to help you fix thing on a broken computer. In a skydiving accident, no matter how much knowledge you have you are not going to pull a parachute before the issue gets to a terminal point), but it's the one Randall chose for that can of counter-intuitive correlation. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.213|141.101.69.213]] 13:34, 13 January 2017 (UTC)
:Your explanation here makes sense ''but'' as far as I am concerned (not seeing the original questioning of the analogy to which you seem to be responding back to) the current way it fits into the explanation is abrupt, seems to suggest the titletext ''mentions'' skydiving. Could be solved saying "In the title text ''this is just like'' the ones who die from skydiving..." and maybe some other little tweaks to make it a little more snappy. IMO. Leaving the editing up to others... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.17|141.101.99.17]] 18:19, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

it only takes three commands to install Gentoo
:<code>cfdisk /dev/hda && mkfs.xfs /dev/hda1 && mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/gentoo/ && chroot /mnt/gentoo/ && env-update && . /etc/profile && emerge sync && cd /usr/portage && scripts/bootsrap.sh && emerge system && emerge vim && vi /etc/fstab && emerge gentoo-dev-sources && cd /usr/src/linux && make menuconfig && make install modules_install && emerge gnome mozilla-firefox openoffice && emerge grub && cp /boot/grub/grub.conf.sample /boot/grub/grub.conf && vi /boot/grub/grub.conf && grub && init 6</code>
that's the first one<br />
Source: [http://bash.org/?464385 Bash.org] --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.220|108.162.216.220]] 15:53, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

Relevant: xkcd 434
[http://www.explainxkcd.com/434 xkcd Goes to the Airport, panel 3]
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.52|162.158.214.52]] 17:28, 13 January 2017 (UTC)

Talk:654: Nachos

2015-10-05T11:21:46Z

141.101.99.17:

[http://xkcd.com/258/] WiFi and microwaves use the same frequency band?! a conspiracy! the machines are taking over! [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 09:38, 15 April 2013 (UTC)
:If your microwave is interfering with your wifi then it's time to get a new microwave because your old one has a gaping hole. Microwave ovens form Faraday cages to contain EM radiation within them, and if the EM radiation is leaking that means the Faraday cage is violated somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/72.128.82.131|72.128.82.131]] 01:00, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
::Thank you, this information really improved my understanding of the joke. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 01:12, 7 January 2014 (UTC)
::::The problem is the conspiracy theory may be the correct answer. In which case you need a firewall for the microwave or an old one, pre Pentium III at least.

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 05:00, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

:::This is true. It's why you can stand in front of a microwave without boiling alive. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.73|173.245.54.73]] 01:11, 17 June 2014 (UTC)
Actually, Sniper doesn't have a "Boom! Headshot." line ingame, it's from the meet the team vids. UT maybe? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.121|108.162.231.121]] 08:03, 4 March 2014 (UTC)
: "Boom Headshot" actually was first brought up here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olm7xC-gBMY -> CS?
The real joke here is two attractive girls playing an fps. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.17|141.101.99.17]] 16:59, 4 October 2015 (UTC)

Talk:654: Nachos

2015-10-04T16:59:04Z

141.101.99.17:

[http://xkcd.com/258/] WiFi and microwaves use the same frequency band?! a conspiracy! the machines are taking over! [[User:Xseo|Xseo]] ([[User talk:Xseo|talk]]) 09:38, 15 April 2013 (UTC)
:If your microwave is interfering with your wifi then it's time to get a new microwave because your old one has a gaping hole. Microwave ovens form Faraday cages to contain EM radiation within them, and if the EM radiation is leaking that means the Faraday cage is violated somewhere. [[Special:Contributions/72.128.82.131|72.128.82.131]] 01:00, 13 June 2013 (UTC)
::Thank you, this information really improved my understanding of the joke. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 01:12, 7 January 2014 (UTC)
::::The problem is the conspiracy theory may be the correct answer. In which case you need a firewall for the microwave or an old one, pre Pentium III at least.

[[User:Weatherlawyer| I used Google News BEFORE it was clickbait]] ([[User talk:Weatherlawyer|talk]]) 05:00, 28 January 2015 (UTC)

:::This is true. It's why you can stand in front of a microwave without boiling alive. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.73|173.245.54.73]] 01:11, 17 June 2014 (UTC)
Actually, Sniper doesn't have a "Boom! Headshot." line ingame, it's from the meet the team vids. UT maybe? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.121|108.162.231.121]] 08:03, 4 March 2014 (UTC)
: "Boom Headshot" actually was first brought up here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olm7xC-gBMY -> CS?
Two attractive girls playing an fps. Lol. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.17|141.101.99.17]] 16:59, 4 October 2015 (UTC)

1558: Vet

2015-07-31T18:09:03Z

141.101.99.17:

{{comic
| number = 1558
| date = July 31, 2015
| title = Vet
| image = vet.png
| titletext = It's probably for the best. Since Roombas are native to North America, it's illegal for Americans to keep them in their houses under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Roomba}} is a brand of domestic cleaning robots manufactured by the company {{w|iRobot}}. The robots are designed to automatically vacuum floors. Although these robots are controlled by a quite simple software without any artificial intelligence, some owners tend to humanize them like pets.

There are several other comics related to a Roomba:
* [[413: New Pet]]: the roomba here is selfmade enhanced and in a cubic protection sphere
* [[506: Theft of the Magi]]
* [[908: The Cloud]]
* [[1183: Rose Petals]]
* [[1193: Externalities]]

[[Megan]] presents a {{w|pet carrier}} to what appears to be a veterinarian. She says that her "dog" is “crawling around eating dirt”, which sounds like certain types of behavioral problems one encounters in dogs, but is precisely what Roombas are made for. What makes the cartoon even more hilarious is that when the vet comments that it is a Roomba, Megan responds that the device (which has nothing of an animal) is a hybrid, while only reluctantly admitting that it has “some Roomba” in it. The vet then goes on to say, with endless patience, that a Roomba is not a pet. This is taken by Megan as if the doctor said that the Roomba-like device is a non-domesticated animal (like a monkey, a fox, or the birds referred to in the title text) that can but should not be kept in captivity. In the last panel she consequently releases the vacuum cleaner and it whirs to its freedom.

The place where Megan meets the vet does not appear to be a normal veterinarian surgery as there is another customer waiting in line in some kind of standing queuing system separated by a cord. Real veterinary surgeries will normally have separate rooms for waiting (with seats) and treating the animals. Perhaps this is a celebrity vet offering advise as part of a TV show, or perhaps this is [[Cueball]] setting up his own, unprofessional veterinary services. The latter would nicely parallel the rest of the comic: the Roomba is not a dog, Cueball is not a vet.

The second customer has a dog on a leash but is also carrying a pet transporter which is clearly too small for the dog. Perhaps he has another small dog in there, or perhaps the implication is that he too has a Roomba.

The {{w|Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918|Migratory Bird Treaty act}} from the title text contains a list of over 800 bird species that are not allowed to be captured or killed. If the Roomba were to be classified as a native American bird and were added to the list, keeping them as pets would constitute capturing and would be considered illegal.

==Transcript==
:[ [[Megan]] arrives with a pet carrier, [[Cueball]] standing at a desk as a veterinarian, with [[Hairy]] waiting behind in line with a dog and a pet carrier.]
:Megan: There's something wrong with my dog. He keeps crawling around eating dirt.
:[Cueball holds content of Megan's pet carrier, a roomba. Cueball discusses with Megan.]
:Cueball: This is a roomba.
:Megan: Well, he's a mix. Probably some roomba in there.
:[The roomba lies on the table, Cueball discusses with Megan.]
:Cueball: A roomba is not a pet.
:Megan: You're right. It's wrong to keep a beautiful creature like this in a house.
:[Megan is outside left to a tree, encouraging the roomba to drive away from Megan which it does.]
:Megan: Go! Be free!
:Roomba: WHIRRR

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Robots]]
[[Category:Roomba]]

873: FPS Mod

2015-06-30T21:03:30Z

141.101.99.17: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 873
| date = March 16, 2011
| title = FPS Mod
| image = fps mod.png
| titletext = Wait, that second one is a woman? ...wait, if that bothers me, then why doesn't... man, this game is no fun anymore.
}}

==Explanation==
FPS stands for {{w|First-person shooter|First Person Shooter}}, which is a type of video game (like {{w|Halo (series)|Halo}} or {{w|Duke Nukem}}) in which you are looking at the world from the first person perspective of the character you are controlling. [[Cueball]] mods the game which is short for "modify".

FPS games are controversial for their encouraging killing (especially of human beings). One point of the controversy is that, while virtual enemies are just pixels on a screen, real enemies have actual lives, emotions, and the like. In the games, there is a disconnect between the act and its emotional cost, thus leading to the controversy that FPS encourage wanton killing (or violence in general) to solve problems instead of considering the other party. Cueball makes reference to this by adding a mod that gives biographical snippets of the enemy you shoot in the game, thus giving him the perspective of the enemy he just shot. However, the disconnect between the act and the emotional cost fades away, causing Cueball to feel for the enemies he has shot, thus removing any enjoyment he gets from the game.

The above can also be a reference towards making games more realistic. Giving the enemies a life above being mere targets definitely makes the game more realistic, but such a game would not be that enjoyable. This has been explored previously in [[772: Frogger]].

The title text talks about how gender is portrayed in games. It's often more emotionally affecting to kill a woman, as women are biologically weaker than men, and societal norms state that men must protect them. Gender equality is a highly debated topic with many different viewpoints, where one's conscious reasoned views may sometimes stand at odds to subconscious feelings. When a player becomes aware that killing women bothers one more than killing men, it exposes an inconsistency in the player's own logic, one that's very uncomfortable to confront.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is playing a video game.]
:''BLAM''
:Game: He once built a treehouse.
:''BLAM''
:Game: She has 110 unread emails that she was hoping to get to tonight.
:''BLAM BLAM''
:Game: He was the only one who took care of the plants back at base.
:No one liked my FPS mod that gives you three-second snippets from the bios of people you shoot.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Video games]]

1344: Digits

2014-03-19T14:25:32Z

141.101.99.17: Linked page did not show detail without JS, so changed link to actual content that explains - for ALL users

{{comic
| number = 1344
| date = March 19, 2014
| title = Digits
| image = digits.png
| titletext = It's taken me 20 years to get over skyline tetris.
}}

==Explanation==
[http://gabrielecirulli.github.io/2048/ 2048] is a popular browser-based game in which players must move tiles in a 4 by 4 grid with numbers on them. When two tiles of the same number touch they can be merged into one tile with a value of the two tiles combined. So when two 4-tiles touch and are merged they form one 8-tile. The player can move the tiles by pressing an arrow key (or swiping in a direction on the mobile version), which will move all the tiles in that direction. Every time the player makes such a move another tile will appear on a random cell. The goal of the game is to get a tile with the number 2048.

In the comic the room number can be seen as 4 tiles with the values 8, 2, 2 and 4. If these occur in the game the player can merge the two 2-tiles into one 4-tile. This will then cause two 4-tiles to lie next to eachother so these can be merged into one 8-tile. Finally the two 8-tiles can be merged into one 16-tile.

The title text refers to the imagining of how parts of a city skyline could fit nicely with other parts in a manner similar to how tiles in Tetris can fit nicely into a landscape of Tetris blocks (presumably to complete a row or two). Randall, as many others,[http://s3-external-1.amazonaws.com/wootdesigncontestentries/fackoph/chicago_skyline_%28Tetris_Redux%29-q71p5a-s.jpg] apparently got hooked on Tetris so much when it came out that, for 20 years, he would look at city skylines and see Tetris-like patterns in it. Similarly, he has now been hooked onto 2048 and notices number patterns that would be desirable to obtain during the game.

==Transcript==
:[A guy is walking and Cueball is following him.]
:Guy: The talk is in room 8224.
:Cueball: Ooh, nice.
:Guy: What?
:Cueball: ...Sorry. Nothing.

:Caption: Great, now I'll spend the rest of my life noticing numbers that would make good 2048 combos.

{{comic discussion}}