explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2260: Reaction Maps

2020-01-28T08:11:20Z

141.101.99.53: Added a google maps result.

I can't find Jump, OH. [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 23:19, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

I can't find a town named "A" in Clay County WV. Is there supposed to be one? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 23:35, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

Wiki sez: "Clay is a town in and the county seat of Clay County, West Virginia, United States.[6] The population was 491 at the 2010 census. It is the only incorporated town in Clay County." [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.136|162.158.214.136]] 23:37, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

I looked for "A, Clay County, WV" and [https://goo.gl/maps/sUm6MtwEvpsBbfLX8 found this]. "B" and "C" also find places but "D" doesn't. It looks like Clay County is divided into A, B and C. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.53|141.101.99.53]] 08:11, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

I completely missed this one! In my defence, here in southern England ‘Tudor’ sounds much less like ‘two-door’, and ‘compact’ is much less commonly applied to cars... [[User:Gidds|Gidds]] ([[User talk:Gidds|talk]]) 23:44, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

Tip if you are doing a European version, and want to avoid F-Bombs: You can [https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Fucking,+%C3%96sterreich/Bad+Kissingen,+Deutschland/ replace "Fucking" by "bad Kissing"]. It is "only" a 430km reroute. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 07:47, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

== H.ON.D.A. ==

This reminds of when I worked in a place with a very slow Internet connection, but I found one solution (sort of) which required about 40 minutes to get connected, but was very fast once I was connected. I called it Hurry-ON Driving Access (HONDA). The way it worked was that I got in my Honda Civic, and drove to a place with a better Internet connection...

[[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.20|172.69.34.20]] 03:14, 28 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2259: Networking Problems

2020-01-27T02:01:21Z

141.101.99.53: It's not lag, it's latency

I just had an issue the other day with copying disk images to a network drive using <code>smbclient</code> on Linux Mint. The transfer would only run at 1 to 2 MB/s. Then I discovered that if I opened the mounted drive in the GUI file explorer and refreshed the directory where I was copying the image to, it would consistently cause the copy operation to jump to 40 to 60 MB/s and stay there for the rest of the operation. I concluded that <code>smbclient</code> must run on actual sorcery. [[User:Aaron Rotenberg|Aaron Rotenberg]] ([[User talk:Aaron Rotenberg|talk]]) 18:02, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

:Sounds like the explorer is able to create some sort of cache that the transfer is able to use but not create. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:36, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

:The original <code>smbclient</code> implementation turned out to be virtually impossible, so the programmers gave up and used <code>import_ai()</code>. Unfortunately they then used <code>ai_solve(network.problems,0,0)</code> to set the maliciousness and capriciousness variables to zero, but a combination of off-by-one and roll-over errors mean that these two variables are maximized. True story. [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 09:39, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

Yeah, can confirm that even the high end of 'normal computer problems' can result in belief in the occult and/or paranormal operation of computers. I now attempt to moderate my brainwaves into positive only flow to make sure I do not negatively effect the computer through quantum effects on the bits and operation. If i get frustrated or confused by the computer for an extended time, i put it down and walk away until I have more of a 'can do' attitude. Then of coarse there was that time that.... it may be too late for me, but there are puzzling computer problems to explore so I... remember me as I was. ~Litppunk 18:26, 24 January 2020 (UTC)
: Yeah. Life changed, memory lost. Still trying to fix bugs. Are you available to connect over this? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.133.72|172.68.133.72]] 22:04, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

"Ghosts generally are not concerned with expressions of belief, but there are some religious traditions that include group clapping and chanting." - I don't think the hover text is related to the ghosts. They seem just like two separate unbelievable things. "Perhaps the ghost in question is the Holy Ghost." - I doubt that is what he is referring to, especially since it is plural 'ghosts' and the Holy Ghost is singular. [[User:Curtobi4|Curtobi4]] ([[User talk:Curtobi4|talk]]) 18:44, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Clearly seems related to 1457, albeit with much more advanced tech issues. --[[User:GoldNinja|GoldNinja]] ([[User talk:GoldNinja|talk]]) 19:18, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Clapping hands and saying you believe in fairys is how you prevent Tinkerbell from Dying when you watch Peter Pan.{{unsigned|108.162.241.32}}
:Yeah, the interactive part of the play/movie/comix. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:36, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

: '''Pareidolia''' (one of my least favorite words because I can't spell it well enough to google for the correct spelling) is a definite problem for the human brain - we habitually spot patterns where they don't exist. But the problem for software engineers is that spotting patterns that '''DO''' exist is how you find bugs. So distinguishing between real patterns and pareidolia ('i' before 'e' except after 'c'...and 'r'...sometimes...) is a vital part of the job. Clearly Cueball has that problem here. [[User:SteveBaker|SteveBaker]] ([[User talk:SteveBaker|talk]]) 20:48, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

I know it's hyperbole, but are there any actual networking problems that could cause every other packet to be laggy? [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 21:17, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

:Nothing I can think of you'd ever do in a production setup on purpose, but with some really crazy port-channel settings, with the right kind of tiny packets like a SYN, and a downstream bridge or repeater to add in some intentional delay, I think you could. Never underestimate the power of a sufficiently motivated netadmin. [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 22:55, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

The classic 500-mile bug: "We can't send mail more than 500 miles" http://web.mit.edu/jemorris/humor/500-miles

: I'm legally required to link [http://catb.org/jargon/html/story-of-mel.html The Story Of Mel] and [http://catb.org/jargon/html/magic-story.html A story about 'magic'] [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 12:28, 25 January 2020 (UTC)

While I don't believe that ghosts have power over computers, I do believe that many of the seemingly random "hiccups" in my computer programs are caused by sunspots. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 22:52, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Disagree strongly that this has anything to do with seeing patterns where they don't exist. Modern network troubleshooting tools will show you exactly the order that packets were received, and the time they were received at. Although it would be hard to induce the problem described, if it '''were''' induced, you could indeed see it quite clearly and objectively in a packet capture. This comic is more about some of the brain-breakingly twisted ways networking can go awry and all the impossible things it can make you want to believe in the quest to make sense of what we are seeing. [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 23:02, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

: I will correct myself slightly - it would seem from the mouseover text that he is finding a false pattern, but it's not impossible for what he said to be true, it would just require laboratory conditions and someone playing a prank. He could also be seeing a real pattern with some kind of crazy cause involving a sound transducer and either EMI or some intentional sabotage. Yeah, that's waaaay off in left field, but so is the network data Cueball may be actually be seeing. On the whole, I would not fight someone who chose to believe Cueball is seeing a false pattern with the clapping. It's a reasonable interpretation for anyone who hasn't seen the insane things I have when troubleshooting networks. I HAVE seen ghost packets. (It was a weird glitch causing a switch to replay packets from hosts that weren't even connected anymore, not actual paranormal activity.) [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 23:34, 24 January 2020 (UTC)

Strictly speaking, I don't think lag is about how long transmission of a packet takes, which is instead referred to as {{w|network delay}}. Furthermore, from the referenced Wikipedia page, network delay is experienced in each "hop" of the data packet from node to node and includes the following delays: processing delay (time to process the packet header), queuing delay (time packet spends in routing queue), transmission delay (time to push the packet onto the link), and propagation delay (time to travel to destination based on the speed of the link). IMHO, a laggy network connection is one where the network delay is longer than normal due to a temporary problem in one or more of these areas. A connection that is always slow because of low link bandwidth is not laggy, it's just slow. Others may disagree with me. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 03:02, 25 January 2020 (UTC)
: Lag is an application-layer concept (being the time from a user doing something to trigger an action to when the effects of that action start to be observed). The network-layer equivalent is ''latency'' and it is one of the fundamental limits on what you can do with remote resources (and the one that is very hard to do anything about, unlike bandwidth where you can just get more by spending money). --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.53|141.101.99.53]] 02:01, 27 January 2020 (UTC)

Hi. Isn't Randall using the scale in the wrong direction? I mean "normal problems" make your brain stop working if you debug them "none" to "some" while "Networking problems" only make your brain stop working if you debug them "a lot". If I am wrong. In what way should I read the axis? thx [[User:OK-Randall|OK-Randall]] ([[User talk:OK-Randall|talk]]) 09:44, 26 January 2020 (UTC)
: It's not a measure of "how much debugging" causes your brain to stop working, but instead is a measure of "how much your brain stops working" when debugging them. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:04, 26 January 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2257: Unsubscribe Message

2020-01-20T17:26:58Z

141.101.99.53:

>>>YOU HAVE BEEN UNSUBSCRIBED<<<[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.148|162.158.214.148]] 12:57, 20 January 2020 (UTC)

If I ever make an unsubscribe message, it'll just be this comic. [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 13:28, 20 January 2020 (UTC)

You have been SO unsubscribed that it isn't even funny! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.148|162.158.214.148]] 15:44, 20 January 2020 (UTC)

>>> You Have Been SuperScribed >>> [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 16:02, 20 January 2020 (UTC)

"You are unsubscribing. We can retain your details in case you wish to revert this change in the future. Do you wish us to retain your stored preferences?" (NO) "Do you wish us to retain your external contact details?" (NO) "Do you wish us to hibernate your core profile and reserve your username?" (NO) "Data fully removed from our server" ... ... "I don't know who you are. I don't know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don't have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills, skills I have acquired over a very long career." [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.53|141.101.99.53]] 17:26, 20 January 2020 (UTC)

2245: Edible Arrangements

2019-12-23T20:40:52Z

141.101.99.53: Typo /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 2245
| date = December 23, 2019
| title = Edible Arrangements
| image = edible_arrangements.png
| titletext = Any arrangement is an edible arrangement if you're hungry enough.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Requires an analysis of the rhyming used to come up with the alternatives to "Edible Arrangements"}}

==Transcript==
[Cueball and Megan are sitting on opposite sides of a leafless tree. They are silhouetted in the first of four frames.]
Cueball: I don't get how Edible Arrangements is[sic] a thing.

Megan: That's easy -- picking out presents is hard and fruit is delicious.
Cueball: Yeah, true.

Megan: But my question is, why did thy call it "Edible Arrangements" and not "Vore of the Roses"?

Cueball: Just for that, I'm going to cancel the one I got you.
Megan: Nooo! I want my Mouth Blossoms!
My Juicy Bouquet! My Oral Floral!
Hey, come back!

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:183: Snacktime Rules

2017-06-16T14:40:45Z

141.101.99.53: Guessing a reason

Hm, how can we know, really, if it's Randall or Cueball speaking? –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 20:19, 5 March 2013 (UTC)

It's Randall. I was there. [[User:Spotlouise|Spotlouise]] ([[User talk:Spotlouise|talk]]) 16:13, 21 March 2013 (UTC)

:I'm pretty sure that Cueball is basically just an abstraction of Randall. Black Hat, too, at times. Odd that no one seems to notice. [[User:Daddy|Daddy]] ([[User talk:Daddy|talk]]) 15:43, 28 April 2013 (UTC)
:: Everyone knows it; it'd be impossible for Randall to not put himself in the comic. However, the ''title text'' is '''always''' Randall, so that implies that the stick figure is definitely Randall. [[Special:Contributions/75.185.176.214|75.185.176.214]] 00:07, 16 August 2013 (UTC) I should probably join... I'd be able to stop displaying my IP
::: The title text is not always Randall.{{unsigned|Flewk}}

:: I feel like most of the characters are at least sometimes abstractions of Randall. I mean almost always Cueball is. But I think the other characters can be aspects of him sometimes. Black Hat, Beret Guy, he'll sometimes even White Hat and Megan. Although they usually represent other things, if anything at all. But sometimes. {{unsigned ip|108.162.245.64}}

Based on the title text Randall had probably just turned 6, so there would be two years until he next could have a snack - and the mother probably believed that he would have forgotten such a rule by then (alas that was clearly not the case... :-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 20:27, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

As I read it, it isn't that he gets no snacks, it is that he gets no snacks in his room. {{unsigned ip|162.158.252.185}}

Just a thought, but maybe this rule is based on a measurement of Randall's age in terms of some unit other than years, which would be ''really'' nerdy. —[[User:CsBlastoise|CsBlastoise]] ([[User talk:CsBlastoise|talk]]) 18:28, 22 January 2017 (UTC)

Is it possible the obscure logic is related to school exams - perhaps he is 12 and starting Junior High, the previous year having sat an SSAT exam to get. He turned 12 in the October, so would have been studying aged 11 and perhaps allowed to snack in his room as a result. His mum observed that he'll next sit exams for senior high aged 14 and then for undergrad at 17... so can only snack in years he is prepping for exams. (Unlikely that this is the ACTUAL reason for the pattern, but I'll bet it was something of similar spirit, she'd allowed it age 11 and was post-associating it to some other life event so he can do it at 14 and 17 as well).

1808: Hacking

2017-03-08T13:18:38Z

141.101.99.53: Pointed out that most of the tools are not far beyond what is available to pentesters.

{{comic
| number = 1808
| date = March 8, 2017
| title = Hacking
| image = hacking.png
| titletext = The dump also contains a list of millions of prime factors, a 0-day Tamagotchi exploit, and a technique for getting gcc and bash to execute arbitrary code.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|The main joke from the caption, that this is not dramatic revelation, like Cueball seems to think (sarcasm?) is not mentioned yet.}}
While publishing email addresses on websites, people often add space between parts of the email. For example, john.doe@example.org may be written as john dot doe at example dot org. This is to prevent the page scraping bots from harvesting email addresses, which may in turn be sold as address lists for email marketers.

In this comic, [[Ponytail]] tells [[Cueball]] that there is a tool which can delete such spaces. Such a tool can fix the space and most likely convert the words "dot" and "at" into their respective symbols. This will overcome the problems faced by such harvesting tools, and make these email addresses more prone to receive spam. Cueball appears shocked to hear this news, but given the caption below this may be sarcasm. A program written to remove a space is of course not very complicated, and believing you e-mail to be safe from harvesting by writing a space in to the address is very naive.

This comic is referencing a leak by {{w|WikiLeaks}} that compromises thousands of hacking exploits, (thus the title), and programs from the CIA on the day before this comic was released, March 7 2017. (See for instance this article: [https://www.wired.com/2017/03/wikileaks-cia-hacks-dump/ WikiLeaks Just Dumped a Mega-Trove of CIA Hacking Secrets]). Many of the tools that were in the leak were similar to publicly available tools, or not entirely unexpected, with several coming from sites such as StackOverflow and reddit.

The title text references more interesting-sounding, but useless, parts of the dump:
* Millions of prime factors: {{w|Prime factorization}} can be used to break a {{w|RSA (cryptosystem)|RSA cipher}} by turning a large number into prime factors: this is a very hard problem, which is what makes the cipher secure. A list with many prime factors, however, is easy to generate, and the chance of one of the numbers on the list being a prime factor for the number used in the RSA cipher is very slim.
* A 0-day exploit for {{w|Tamagotchi}}: a 0-day exploit is an exploit of which the manufacturer is not (yet) aware. While modern Tamagotchi do have some network functionality, this is likely useless because Tamagotchi are very low-end devices that do not contain microphones or cameras. (There is some truly excellent work on this at [http://natashenka.ca/ Natalie's page] which is a must-read, and as this comic was published on International Women's day, today is a fine day to start if you have not already).
* A way to get {{w|GNU_Compiler_Collection|gcc}} and {{w|Bash_(Unix_shell)|bash}} to execute arbitrary code: gcc is a {{w|compiler}}, so preparing arbitrary code is its main purpose, and bash is a Unix shell, so executing {{w|Shell script|arbitrary code}} is one of its functions.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail is writing on her laptop at her desk while Cueball looks over her shoulder.]
:Ponytail: You know how sometimes people put a space in their email address to make it harder to harvest?
:Cueball: Yeah?
:Ponytail: ''They have a tool that can delete the space!''
:Cueball: Oh my god.

:[Caption below the panel:]
:Less-dramatic revelations from the CIA hacking dump

==Trivia==
*This is the second comic in a row about how computers can be misused and also the second in a row where Cueball is with Ponytail rather than [[Megan]].
**This setup with Ponytail at the computer and Cueball behind has been used several times for instance in [[1513: Code Quality]], part of the [[:Category:Code Quality|Code Quality]] series.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]

1023: Late-Night PBS

2015-07-12T22:42:18Z

141.101.99.53: /* Locations visited */ Fixed typo

{{comic
| number = 1023
| date = February 29, 2012
| title = Late-Night PBS
| image = late night pbs.png
| titletext = Then it switched to these old black-and-white tapes of Bob Ross slumped against the wall of an empty room, painting the least happy trees you've ever seen. Either PBS needs to beef up studio security or I need to stop using Ambien to sleep.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic examines the way the world seems different for adults today compared with how we remember it as a child, due to complex subtext or naïvety, to a humorous extreme, and with a specific reference to television programs for children.

{{w|PBS}} is a US television station known for high brow and educational programming, and shows a high proportion of BBC programming. The show "''{{w|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (game show)|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego}}''" was a light-hearted educational game show that ran from 1991 to 1995. In the show players followed geography-based clues to find out where a master criminal, Carmen Sandiego, was going, and catch her. After catching (or failing to catch) Carmen Sandiego, a character called The Chief would congratulate or encourage the players. Rockapella was an {{w|a cappella}} band featured on the show that gave clues, punctuated the show with humor, and closed the show.

[[Megan]] recounts her surprise as to the nature of programming on late night PBS to Cueball. She claims to have fallen asleep after watching ''Downton Abbey'' and woken up to see that ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego'' is still making new episodes, but is significantly darker than she remembers it. The host has aged poorly (the show would have been off the air for 20 years) and developed a drinking problem; the locations the child contestants visit are traumatizing; and the children are clearly freaked out. In the end they find Carmen Sandiego hiding behind a Dutch bookcase, an allusion to "{{w|The Diary of a Young Girl|The Diary of Anne Frank}}", thus implying that instead of aiding legitimate law enforcement in finding thieves they have been aiding the Nazis in their search for Jews (and others) to murder. The Chief admonishes the children for their actions and Rockapella glares at the children disapprovingly until the children break down in tears.

After Megan concludes her story, Cueball remarks that he did not remember the show being that dark. In response Megan replies that as kids, they may not have been able to understand the darker subtext of the show. It is true that some programs intended for children often have subtle themes for adults who may be watching the show with their children that the children do not usually remember or pick up on. The joke is that although young viewers may not be able to pick up on everything, they would certainly have noticed if the show was as dark as Megan described.

The title text describes the next program, an episode of {{w|The Joy of Painting}}, in which a depressingly weary painter paints unhappy trees. This contrasts with the usual mood of the show where {{w|Bob Ross}} was upbeat and the components of his paintings were described as "happy little" objects. Megan then postulates that either people are breaking into the television station to produce horrible programming, or she is experiencing hallucinations due to her sleep aid {{w|Ambien}}. This gives hallucination as an alternate explanation for the main comic.

===Locations visited===
{{w|Mogadishu}} is a battle-torn city in {{w|Somalia}}, where the "{{w|Battle of Mogadishu (1993)|Battle of Mogadishu}}" took place in 1993, which would coincide with the air dates of "Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego".

The {{w|Killing Fields}} are a number of sites in {{w|Cambodia}} where large numbers of people were killed and buried by the {{w|Khmer Rouge}} regime, during its rule of the country from 1975 to 1979, immediately after the end of the {{w|Cambodian Civil War}} (1970-1975).

The reference to "A Bookshelf in a Dutch Apartment" is a reference to {{w|Anne Frank}}, a Jewish girl who hid from the {{w|Nazi}}s with her family in a secret annex hidden behind a bookshelf in an apartment in {{w|Amsterdam}}. Her diary recounting her experiences was later published as the {{w|The Diary of a Young Girl|Diary of Anne Frank}}.

===Carmen Sandiego===
"{{w|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego}}" was originally an educational {{w|Video game}} released in 1985. {{w|Carmen Sandiego}} was a mysterious character that the player tracked around the globe, attempting to find clues as to where she was heading to next. The game helped players learn geography and facts about the world while having fun. The video game inspired the TV show {{w|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? (game show)|Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?}}.

The show was split into three rounds. In the first round, there were three child contestants, called “gumshoes” on the show, who scored points for every question they answered correctly. The top two scoring gumshoes moved onto the next round, where they had to play a game based on the card game {{w|Concentration (game)|Concentration}}, in which they had to find the thief, warrant, and loot in the correct order. Whichever gumshoe did so captured the thief, saved the loot, and moved onto the next round, where they had a chance to catch Carmen Sandiego herself. Success was not always guaranteed in this round, as contestants had to plant flags correct on seven different countries in a continent within a very short time. If successful, they captured Carmen and won the grand prize (a trip to a place of their choosing in the continental US). If not, Carmen would escape and the contestant would win a lesser prize (such as a computer).

The role of The Chief was played by {{w|Lynne Thigpen}}. She explained the mission to the contestants, and gave some clues to the thief's last whereabouts. When the mission was over The Chief would appear and congratulate them if successful or console them if Carmen got away.

The host of the TV show was an actor named {{w|Greg Lee (actor)|Greg Lee}}. His role was to ask the contestants questions, provide clues, and tell them which flags to plant on the map in the final round, as well as engage with The Chief and Rockapella to keep the show moving.

{{w|Rockapella}} was an {{w|A cappella|a cappella}} group (a group that sings without any instruments), which sang the theme song to "Where in The World Is Carmen Sandiego." Rockapella also acted as a "house band", singing songs while the contestants transitioned between events, providing clues, and playing pranks on the host along with other gags. At the end of each show, the host and the episode's winning contestant would shout "Do it, Rockapella!" at which point the band would sing the show's theme song.

===Continuity Issues===
The locations the contestants visit in the episode depicted in this comic seem to require traveling to different periods in time (1993 for the Battle of Mogadishu, 1975-1979 for the Cambodian killing fields, and 1944 for the arrest of Anne Frank). Episodes of Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego did not deal with this, but its successor, {{w|Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (game show)|Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?}}, did.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is rubbing sleep out of her eyes and talking to Cueball.]
:Megan: Have you ever watched PBS late at night?
:Megan: I fell asleep after ''Downton'' and woke up at like 3 AM.

:[The upper portion of the panel continues dialogue, while the lower shows a drunk gameshow host and several contestants. The monitor shows a field of crosses, presumably graves.]
:Megan: ''Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego'' was back on, except the host hadn't aged well and he'd clearly been drinking.
:Megan: Every question took them to some horrible place like Mogadishu or the Cambodian killing fields.

:[Now it shows a bookshelf revealing a hidden room.]
:Megan: The kids were freaked out, but they kept playing. Eventually they were told they'd found Carmen Sandiego hiding behind a bookshelf in a Dutch apartment.

:Megan: The Chief appeared and asked "Are you proud of what you've become?"
:Megan: Then Rockapella walked out and just glared at the kids until they started crying.
:Cueball: I, uh, don't remember the old show being that dark.
:Megan: Maybe we were too young to pick up on it.

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

Talk:1546: Tamagotchi Hive

2015-07-04T03:14:57Z

141.101.99.53:

Should we have a "My Hobby" category? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.135|141.101.98.135]] 14:14, 3 July 2015 (UTC)
:You mean like the [[:Category:My_Hobby|My Hobby]] category? Yes, that would be a good idea. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.216|108.162.254.216]] 14:39, 3 July 2015 (UTC)

This explanation should probably include a reference to the Matrix. --[[Special:Contributions/198.41.242.251|198.41.242.251]] 14:29, 3 July 2015 (UTC)p

: Most definitely.

: Which should also reference the Title Text's modern usage of the term "Singularity". The Matrix (for humans) would imply a relatively large step _beyond_ the Singularity, as surpassing the capabilities of one human mind does not necessarily impart the capacity to simulate full sensory information for thousands of them. I believe the joke there would be that a Tamagotchi Matrix would be trivially simple as compared to one for humans. Therefore the Singularity has arrived for Tamagotchis, while our own complexity remains rather far beyond the capacity of large-scale distributed computing platforms. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.152|108.162.221.152]] 15:03, 3 July 2015 (UTC)

Only Randall Munroe fantasizes about creating a legion of digital, mutated woodland creatures.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.88|173.245.54.88]] 14:34, 3 July 2015 (UTC)

: I could not disagree more. The popularity of PocketMonster digital games speaks to the broad appeal of such fantasies. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.152|108.162.221.152]] 15:03, 3 July 2015 (UTC)

The singularity reference is worth explaining: The Singularity is a frequent trope in Science Fiction stories that postulates a time when AI technologies become all-pervasive, often alongside ubiquitous computing. This can include a situation where human minds can be uploaded into AIs, effectively running as simulations within these large distributed computers.

: Actually "The Singularity" only means that an artificial system has grown in complexity beyond our ability to understand or predict it; In many ways this has already occurred. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.152|108.162.221.152]] 15:07, 3 July 2015 (UTC)
::I always thought 'The Singularity' was misnamed, anyway. In the way it is commonly used it is more like 'The Event Horizon'... Not that this has anything to do with the comic, but perhaps worth a side-note, anyway. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.181|141.101.98.181]] 19:35, 3 July 2015 (UTC)
:::The way I get it "singularity" it more about AI improving itself in a positive-feedback loop and gaining (near)infinite processing power in a finite time. One of the related themes is that since whatever emerges from that will have infinite amounts of processing power, it may take to simulating human brains, in vast amounts, just for fun or for some purpose - the joke here, as I understand it, is that since tamagotchi brains are significantly less complicated, it's already possible for us to simulate vast amounts of them, for fun. So from the tamagochis' point of view it's pretty much like the singularity is already here and we're it (the slight difference is we're not evolved from AIs made by the tamagotchis[citation needed], but other than that detail, yup pretty much like the singularity).--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.223|141.101.89.223]] 22:35, 3 July 2015 (UTC)
::::The so-called-Singularity' point for AI is apparently where the AI crosses the line of dominance and inexorability. So, yes, that's an 'event horizon', I'd say. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.53|141.101.99.53]] 03:14, 4 July 2015 (UTC)

Someone needs to get on this and create a BOINC project or something. In all seriousness though, I wonder how many Tamagotchis you could simulate at once on the average home computer. [[User:Saklad5|Saklad5]] ([[User talk:Saklad5|talk]]) 14:55, 3 July 2015 (UTC)

: First you'd need to actually make a 100% accurate Tamagotchi Simulator/Emulator. There's a Tamagotchi P1 (original 1996 model) simulator that exists out there but it's of unknown provenance, touchy and probably (I wouldn't know for sure since the code isn't available) inaccurate. Likely the best way to at least determine the behavior of a Tamagotchi on the low level would be to decompile Namco Bandai's discontinued free Tamagotchi L.i.f.e. android app, which has a Tamagotchi P1 Simulator mode. One would assume, being the original developers, they can create a 100% accurate simulation. Having that code to refer to, one could probably eventually code an accurate simulator. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.220.119|108.162.220.119]] 19:37, 3 July 2015 (UTC)

I'm very tired, and have been looking at something complicated for a long time - so may be seeing patterns where there are none - but is Randall [http://googleresearch.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/deepdream-code-example-for-visualizing.html? satirising Google here?] [[User:Bish|Bish]] ([[User talk:Bish|talk]]) 22:34, 3 July 2015 (UTC)

Talk:1522: Astronomy

2015-05-08T07:47:54Z

141.101.99.53:

For a telescope you can be far away, for a magnifying glass or microscope you need a ladder to be nearer to the stars. Microscopes are for biology, telescopes for astronomy.
They have got a similar purpose, but look and are applied differently. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.122|108.162.254.122]] 07:09, 8 May 2015 (UTC)
Seemed like another example of Beret guy contradicting how things work, like how he blows into the power cord and inflated a computer, or how he plugged a cord into a power outlet labeled "COFFEE" and coffee came out. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.168|108.162.238.168]] 07:19, 8 May 2015 (UTC)
:Yes obviously this approach works for Berret Guy because this is what he does. Explanation lacks this fact. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 07:44, 8 May 2015 (UTC)
You could view the comic as a theatrical production, Megan's telescope as a prop, and Beret guy is just inspecting the backdrop. The ladder is for comic and aesthetic effect

Talk:1393: Timeghost

2014-07-11T08:52:28Z

141.101.99.53:

A lot of the facts seem to fit information that sites like http://you.regettingold.com/ would provide. But I'll leave it up to someone else to work out the dates of everything (except for the imminent and possibly eerie deaths of the strip characters) being referenced, and thus what ages Randall is assuming the various cohorts are... [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.233|141.101.99.233]] 04:58, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

''Forrest Gump'' the book - 1986

''Forrest Gump'' the movie - 1994

Vietnam War - 1955 to 1975

Keanu Reeves - born 1965 (age 49)

''The Simpsons'' season 5 - 1993 [[User:Dude1818|Dude1818]] ([[User talk:Dude1818|talk]]) 05:15, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

I'm sure you all remember [[1108:_Cautionary_Ghost|Cautionary Ghost]]; there's got to be a lot of those around in the xkcd universe... [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.73|108.162.231.73]] 07:23, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

I don't know enough about the English usage of the term to see the connection, but could this be a play on "zeitgeist", seeing how it is a literal translation of the word? [[Special:Contributions/103.22.200.115|103.22.200.115]] Tobl

Maybe it is just me, but I don't see the characters' deaths as imminent. In the first panel, Megan is not suprised to see that ghost and can even identify it easily. So my guess is that she previously met the ghost "some time" before, but she (obviously) doesn't like to know how much time she has left to live. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.156|108.162.229.156]] 08:12, 11 July 2014 (UTC)

(average age of new grandparents is less than 50) [citation needed]

145: Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics

2014-03-09T15:43:40Z

141.101.99.53: /* Explanation */ The "referenced" comic is 5 years younger than this xkcd parody.

{{comic
| number = 145
| date = August 18, 2006
| title = Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics
| image = dinosaur_comics.png
| titletext = Guys: while I was writing this, I accidentally swallowed a table-size slab of drywall. I know! Wacky.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|Dinosaur Comics}} is a webcomic by {{w|Ryan North}}. The artwork never changes, save a few rare exceptions, and only the dialogue is different. [[Randall]] traced the comic's usual artwork, though the drawing of the house about to be squashed in panel 4 is a more rudimentary rendition.

For those who didn't read it, this is a [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=1387 typical strip], and [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2079 here's] a strip dealing with the same subject as the parody (but posted five years after this xkcd comic).

Randall makes several shots at recurring themes in Dinosaur Comics. T-Rex, the green dinosaur, is bold and enthusiastic, discussing various topics, a favorite of which appears to be linguistics. Dromiceiomimus, the white dinosaur in the third panel, usually responds calmly to T-Rex's discussions. Utahraptor, the orange dinosaur, typically contradicts T-Rex, but Randall subverts this pattern and has him agree. The comic suggests that the perpetual disagreement stems from a 'rift' in the author's mind, which would be healed if only he lived in a world where there were a land bridge between Asia and North America.

Just like [[xkcd]], Dinosaur Comics also has title texts. Ryan's title texts tend to be bizarre non-sequiturs, and the title text in the parody seems to be a riff on this.

This comic is a part of the Parody Week, just joking about other webcomics.
*[[Parody Week: Achewood]]
*[[Parody Week: Megatokyo]]
*[[Parody Week: TFD and Natalie Dee]]
*[[Parody Week: A Softer World]]
*'''Parody Week: Dinosaur Comics'''

==Transcript==
:T-Rex: THINGS I AM UPPITY ABOUT: "They" as a third-person singular gender-free pronoun.
:T-Rex: I'm all for it!
:Dromiceiomimus: But isn't that terrible grammar?
:T-Rex: Only by recent convention! It's been in use that way for centuries, and its use is widely accepted! ALSO: this lets us avoid ridiculous constructs like "he/she", "s/he", "xe" or "hirs"!
:Utahraptor: T-Rex, I... agree.
:T-Rex: What?
:Utahraptor: That sounds good to me!
:Utahraptor: Normally I'd jump in with an objection, but I think your point makes sense.
:T-Rex: Could it be that the rift in our author's mind has finally healed? Is he no longer locked in perpetual war with the self-doubt that lurks in his subc-
:Narrator: '''IN A WORLD WHERE THERE IS STILL A LAND BRIDGE BETWEEN ASIA AND NORTH AMERICA FOR SOME REASON:'''
:T-Rex: -onscious?
:Narrator: '''ALSO HOW ABOUT IN THIS WORLD EVERYONE IS BICURIOUS'''

==Trivia==
*The topic of gender-neutral pronouns has been [http://www.qwantz.com/index.php?comic=2079 specifically covered] in Dinosaur Comics, five years after this parody.

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

Talk:86: Digital Rights Management

2014-03-09T05:00:22Z

141.101.99.53:

And cue global warming...
[[User:Krev|Semicolon here]] ([[User talk:Krev|talk]]) 14:50, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

i might sound daft here, but is the wall of ice explained in any way? it feels like the humour here derives from it, and i'm not sure what to make of it. the explanation focusing on the details of the antipiracy laws and regulations feels a tad superfluous while i feel it doesn't really add anything that explains the joke. again, i'm a romanian, so my grasp of the english language (and the american culture) is below par, so this might be a silly question. feel free to remove my comment here if that's the case. {{unsigned ip|108.162.254.88}}
:The idea is that a glacier is impossible to stop if it starts moving simply because it is so massive. This can be compared to the demands of people for DRM-free content, which is equally unstoppable no matter how many politicians the DRM companies bribe. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.53|141.101.99.53]] 05:00, 9 March 2014 (UTC)