explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2236: Is it Christmas?

2020-08-08T09:07:24Z

162.158.75.10: /* Explanation */ Average year = 365.24 days

{{comic
| number = 2236
| date = December 2, 2019
| title = Is it Christmas?
| image = is_it_christmas.png
| titletext = We've tested it on 30 different days and it hasn't gotten one wrong yet.
}}

==Explanation==
https://isitchristmas.com/ is a popular simplistic website that informs the visitor whether or not it's {{w|Christmas}}. Christmas is a holiday observed in many parts of the world on December 25 of each year. At the top on the tab of the site in the browser it says "Is it Christmas?" with a large '''NO''' printed if it is not December 25, and a '''YES''' if it is December 25. This website asks the user's browser for the date, and updates accordingly if it is indeed Christmas. In addition, isitchristmas.com gives the answer in the language of your region (i.e. for a visitor from Canada, the site gives the answer in English and French to account for Canada's bilingularity, and in most other countries just their word for No will be shown). Since the page uses the browsing computer's time setting, it is possible to easily check that the page works by changing the date on the computer used to access the page to see the text change to Yes (or No if you are reading it on December 25). This also means that the page is only as correct as the time setting on the computer used to view the page (so in case of connection problems, you may check your computer's calendar instead).

Here [[Randall]] spoofs the website. He claims to have made a competitor to isitchristmas.com which nearly always correctly tells if it is Christmas. The joke is that the comic will always display a static image reading '''NO''', even on Christmas Day, and that the rare incorrect answer is rare enough to not cause any concern.

Randall lists a rounded calculation of 99.73% for the precision of his prediction of whether or not it is Christmas. This number is accurate with or without including leap year. An average year is 365.24 days, meaning that he is only wrong 1 out of 365.24 days. So only 1/365.24 ≈ 0.2738% of the days would the prediction be wrong, resulting in a correct reply rate of 99.726%, which he has rounded to 99.73%. Using or not using the leap year will give the same result to three decimal places.

This precision rate is only true for a definition of Christmas which lasts only one day, regardless of which day that is (see trivia). For any definition of more than one day of Christmas, the error rate would be higher than 0.2737%. (If one considered the traditional {{w|Twelve Days of Christmas}} to all be Christmas, then Randall's website would be wrong on all 12 days, or 3.29% of the year.) However, in the US, where [[Randall]] lives, Christmas is usually defined as the single day of December 25th.

Although Randall's claim on {{w|Accuracy and precision#In binary classification|accuracy}} is true, accuracy alone doesn't make a predictive device useful. In this case, the page {{w|False positives and false_negatives#false negative rate|miss rate}} or false negative rate, that is, the percent of positive condition days (it's Christmas) that are predicted by the comic not to be Christmas, is 100%. In other words, it misses all actual events of Christmas.

When building a model for rare events, a common mistake is to ignore the implicit cost function built into the standard prediction accuracy validity statistic for binary events. Prediction accuracy (# correct guesses/total guesses) assumes that false positives and false negatives are equally bad. Given the implicit cost function of this performance statistic, the best-performing model is commonly a persistence forecast model--i.e., the optimal prediction model returns the most common value whatever the model inputs are. It's probably a better choice to optimize a model using a performance statistic which relies on a cost function that penalizes missing correct prediction of rare events more than it penalizes missing correct prediction of common events.

In fact, in most settings where a single outcome is a lot more common than any other one, predicting always that most common outcome would yield very high accuracy without any usefulness. It isn't hard to find examples even more accurate than Randall's:

* A useless test for AIDS giving always negative results would have an accuracy about 99.95% when applied to a random human, and even more if used in countries with low prevalence of AIDS.
* A website saying "You are not the cartoonist Randall Munroe" would be right for 99.9999999857% of humans.
* [https://knowyourphrase.com/even-a-broken-clock-is-right-twice A stopped watch is accurate twice a day] while a running watch is almost never accurate (and oddly, is more frequently correct the faster/slower it runs). A watch that runs backwards is right 4 times a day. If you make it spin at thousands of rpm it is right multiple times per second. (A better metric would be something like the root mean square of the time error -- it's acceptable for a watch to be a little off, as long as it's not off by too much.)

The title text is a "proof" that his service works. He claims to have tested this on 30 different days and confirmed that NO is the correct result. Any date except Christmas would result in a correct result, and the comic was the first to be released in December 2019, so unless the test had run for almost a year, he would not even have had a chance to test this on Christmas Day. Since this is a joke, the comic will of course not change to Yes on Christmas Day, because then it would be 100% accurate, as is the page the comic mocks.

Being right on most days, but not the one that mattered was also the subject of [[937: TornadoGuard]].

At the same time this Christmas comic came out, the [[xkcd Header text]] was [[xkcd_Header_text#2019-12-02_-_Into_Science|changed]] to ask if there were someone that would like Randall's new book ''[[How To]]'' as a Christmas present.

==Transcript==
:'''<big><big><big>{{#ifeq:{{CURRENTDAY}}|25|{{#ifeq:{{CURRENTMONTH}}|12|Yes|No}}|No}}*</big></big></big>'''
:<nowiki>*</nowiki>99.73% accurate

:[Caption below the panel:]
:xkcd.com presents a new "Is It Christmas" service to compete with isitchristmas.com

==Trivia==
*Randall usually makes [[:Category:Christmas|Christmas comics]] around Christmas Day, but this year he has made two comics mentioning Christmas already by the 2nd of December 2019.
**The first came two comics before this with [[2234: How To Deliver Christmas Presents]].
**Only two times before has there been released any Christmas related comics so close to Christmas without being released in the few days around Christmas Day (22-26 of December). See the explanation for Christmas comics.
*The calendar used by most of the world for civil purposes is the Gregorian calendar, instituted by Pope Gregory XIII of the Roman Catholic Church in 1582. However, most Eastern Orthodox churches continue to use the Julian calendar for the purpose of their holidays; December 25th in the Julian calendar is January 7th in the Gregorian calendar for years between 1900 and 2100, so that is the civil date when those countries observe Christmas. The author of isitchristmas.com is [https://github.com/isitchristmas/web/issues/67#issuecomment-29585160 aware that this is the case], but has chosen to recognize a single date (December 25th in the Gregorian calendar) as Christmas for the sake of simplicity.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Christmas]]

2131: Emojidome

2019-04-01T18:46:58Z

162.158.75.10:

{{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, and vote for their favorite. The voting period for each matchup lasted roughly 40 seconds during the first round, and increased to 60 seconds for the second round. The competing candidates are periodically overlaid with heart emojis that float up 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.

The second round started at 18:39 UTC. The time allotted for voting also increased to something over 1 minute.

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

* The second round of eliminations started at around 14:40 EST. The time limit was increased to 60 seconds.

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

{{comic discussion}}

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

2131: Emojidome

2019-04-01T18:40:39Z

162.158.75.10:

{{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 float up 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.

The second round started at 18:39 UTC.

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]]

Talk:2120: Brain Hemispheres

2019-03-07T03:04:35Z

162.158.75.10: Stroke survivor

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebral_hemisphere#Hemisphere_lateralization

If the left side controls the top half of the body, wouldn't that mean it also controls the right half? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.241.248|108.162.241.248]] 20:04, 6 March 2019 (UTC)

I don't think the sentence "all 3 claims are false" is accurate. I think the claim that the right side of your brain controls the left side of your body is accurate. It says so on the Wikipedia article mentioned and in several other sources. What the Wikipedia article disputes is whether or not "higher-level" functions are partitioned to one side of the brain. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.64|172.69.42.64]] 20:29, 6 March 2019 (UTC) Harrison
: With regard to the retina, the right half of the brain processes what the right half of each retina receives, and the left half processes what the left half of each retina receives (see e.g. [https://nba.uth.tmc.edu/neuroscience/m/s2/chapter15.html optic nerve]), but because our retina is behind the focal point of our lens so all the lightbeams cross and images hit the back of the eyeball upside-down and backwards, that means the halves of our brain process the opposite halves of what we see. But it's the same side of our body! I stopped learning neuroscience after we got to the optic nerve ;p [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.95|108.162.221.95]] 21:48, 6 March 2019 (UTC)

:I think the "right side of your brain controls the left side of your body" is NOT accurate, it's just closer to truth than the reverse. Some parts of perception and motor control are divided that way, but unless you have corpus callosotomy the high-level control is centralized and/or distributed regardless the side. Would be hard to synchronize both hands if not. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 02:05, 7 March 2019 (UTC)

Having survived an ischemic stroke on the left side of my brain, which temporarily paralyzed the right side of my body, this comic speaks to me like none other.

2112: Night Shift

2019-02-15T17:21:08Z

162.158.75.10: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2112
| date = February 15, 2019
| title = Night Shift
| image = night_shift.png
| titletext = Help, I set my white balance wrong and suddenly everyone is screaming at each other about whether they've been to Colorado.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a BORED SCREAMING RESIDENT OF COLORADO (YOU'VE NEVER BEEN TO COLORADO). Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

Electronic devices have display settings that allow them to control the color and intensity of white, black, and other colors. After research that blue hues of light can keep people awake, among other things, it has become common to offer a "night shift" mode that makes the screen appear less blue and more red when one might want to sleep. This comic imagines such a mode as influencing the messages received from friends to encourage sleepiness—or, at least, to dampen [https://xkcd.com/386/ the emotional response that might keep someone up too late at night].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[What looks to be comments with peoples profile pictures in front of them]

:The Atlantic Ocean is big
::The Pacific is even bigger
::They're both very big

:A lot of people have TVs
::Some people don't
::Yeah, that's true

:24 isn't a prime number
::Neither is 25

:Have you ever been to Colorado?
::No
::No
::Yeah
::No

:[Caption below the panels:]
:My phone has a night shift mode to help me sleep, but instead of reducing the intensity of blue light, it reduces the intensity of opinions

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2112: Night Shift

2019-02-15T17:17:09Z

162.158.75.10:

Lot of vandals, lately... :(

Talk:2110: Error Bars

2019-02-11T17:37:23Z

162.158.75.10:

I put in a little thing about fractals and Cantor sets, seemed relevant. [[User:Netherin5|Netherin5]] ([[User talk:Netherin5|talk]]) 17:32, 11 February 2019 (UTC)

Would the series have a limit or would it continue on until the error bars go from infinity to +infinity?

2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map

2019-02-06T20:03:54Z

162.158.75.10: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2108
| date = February 6, 2019
| title = Carbonated Beverage Language Map
| image = carbonated_beverage_language_map.png
| titletext = There's one person in Missouri who says "carbo bev" who the entire rest of the country HATES.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ONE GUY IN MISSOURI. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In the US, people in various parts of the country refer to carbonated beverages by {{w|Names for soft drinks in the United States|different names}} such as Soda, Pop, Coke, etc. Generally, the West Coast and Northeast say "Soda", the South says "Coke" and the rest of the country says "Pop".

There are various maps of the name differences, including: [http://www.popvssoda.com/]

This map leverages xkcd's mockery-maps of regional and state-by-state differences or variations in the use of language and overlays the regional variances in the terms for soda pop (for example: https://laughingsquid.com/soda-pop-or-coke-maps-of-regional-dialect-variation-in-the-united-states/), as was made trending and popular in 2013. Not only are there far more terms than are actually used by Americans, many are terms for other drinks (mead), unrelated liquids (quicksilver), or copyrighted beverage names (Code Red) -- and in one case, something that's not even edible ({{w|cryptocurrency|"Crypto"}}).

{| class="wikitable"
|+Map terms (from left to right, approximately)
|-
|Fanta
|Name of a carbonated beverage line
|-
|Sode
|
|-
|True Water
|Possibly a reference to True Blood, a fictional artificial blood substitute for vampires in The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series by Charlaine Harris, and the television series True Blood.
|-
|Crypto
|A term for encryption. Not drinkable
|-
|Yum
|
|-
|Sparkle Fluid
|
|-
|King Cola
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Pepsi
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Crystal Pepsi
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Ichor
|several definitions (blood of a god) (watery discharge from a wound). None of them carbonated. None of them recommended as a drinkable liquid.
|-
|You-Know-What
|Actually, we don't know what.
|-
|Tab
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Spicewater
|
|-
|Softie
|
|-
|Ohio Tea
|
|-
|Boat Drink
|
|-
|Melt
|
|-
|Fizz Ooze
|
|-
|Punch
|A drink typically found in the juice isle. Only sometimes carbonated.
|-
|Fun Wine
|
|-
|Diet
|Sometimes refers to a carbonated beverage. A common request in restaurants, as they often only have a single diet option for customers to pick.
|-
|Refill
|The second glass of whatever you drank previously. Works for any drinkable liquid.
|-
|Tickle Juice
|
|-
|Bubble Honey
|
|-
|Sugar Oil
|
|-
|The Wet Drink
|
|-
|Code Red
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Mead
|An alcoholic drink. Could be carbonated, but isn't necessarily.
|-
|Canadian Ale
|
|-
|Aether
|Could refer to a highly flammable industrial solvent, also used as an anesthetic. Do not drink. Also, not carbonated. Alternately, could refer to the nonexistant fluid that was believed to carry light waves before electromagnetism was fully understood, or poetically to the sky; in either case it is not a drinkable liquid (or carbonated).
|-
|Carbonated Beverage
|
|-
|Mouthwater
|
|-
|Capri
|
|-
|Skim Shake
|
|-
|Kid's Coffee
|Somewhat accurate. Coffee is typically drunk by adults for it's caffeine. Carbonated beverages often have caffeine also, and are often consumed by children.
|-
|Regular
|
|-
|Tang
|
|-
|Formula
|Typically refers to baby's milk. Not carbonated.
|-
|Medicine
|Only sometimes a drinkable liquid. Never or perhaps almost never carbonated.
|-
|Broth
|Sometimes a served meal, sometimes a cooking ingredient. Not carbonated.
|-
|Fool's Champagne
|Carbonated beverage is to champagne what fool's gold is to gold.
|-
|Sugar Milk
|
|-
|No word for them
|This region of the US does not have a word for carbonated beverages (according to Randall). Apparently they do not drink them at all.
|-
|Hydro
|A word for water. Carbonated water does exist, but this word means all forms of water.
|-
|Harvard Tea
|
|-
|Bubbler
|A nod to another popular map of the same type, exploring the regional dialects used to describe drinking fountains. This region of New England, as well as the eastern portion of Wisconsin are the only two locations where 'Bubbler' is commonly used to refer to drinking fountains.
|-
|Mouthbuzz
|
|-
|Brad's Elixer
|
|-
|Hot Water
|Not carbonated. Not even in Jacuzzi and hot tubs.
|-
|Fluid
|A word that means nearly any liquid in existence. Not accurate as a descriptor for carbonated beverages.
|-
|Coke Zero
|Name of a carbonated beverage.
|-
|Carbo
|
|-
|Quicksilver
|
|-
|Glug
|
|-
|Water Plus
|
|}

The title text may be a wry comment in light of the pocket of "soda" in the St. Louis, MO area.

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

A map of the United States divided into purple, red, green, blue, and yellow colored regions...
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Maps]]

2108: Carbonated Beverage Language Map

2019-02-06T20:02:13Z

162.158.75.10: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2108
| date = February 6, 2019
| title = Carbonated Beverage Language Map
| image = carbonated_beverage_language_map.png
| titletext = There's one person in Missouri who says "carbo bev" who the entire rest of the country HATES.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by ONE GUY IN MISSOURI. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

In the US, people in various parts of the country refer to carbonated beverages by {{w|Names for soft drinks in the United States|different names}} such as Soda, Pop, Coke, etc. Generally, the West Coast and Northeast say "Soda", the South says "Coke" and the rest of the country says "Pop".

There are various maps of the name differences, including: [http://www.popvssoda.com/]

This map leverages xkcd's mockery-maps of regional and state-by-state differences or variations in the use of language and overlays the regional variances in the terms for soda pop (for example: https://laughingsquid.com/soda-pop-or-coke-maps-of-regional-dialect-variation-in-the-united-states/), as was made trending and popular in 2013. Not only are there far more terms than are actually used by Americans, many are terms for other drinks (mead), unrelated liquids (quicksilver), or copyrighted beverage names (Code Red) -- and in one case, something that's not even edible ({{w|cryptocurrency|"Crypto"}}).

{| class="wikitable"
|+Map terms (from left to right, approximately)
|-
|Fanta
|Name of a carbonated beverage line
|-
|Sode
|
|-
|True Water
|Possibly a reference to True Blood.
|-
|Crypto
|A type of currency. Not drinkable
|-
|Yum
|
|-
|Sparkle Fluid
|
|-
|King Cola
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Pepsi
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Crystal Pepsi
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Ichor
|several definitions (blood of a god) (watery discharge from a wound). None of them carbonated. None of them recommended as a drinkable liquid.
|-
|You-Know-What
|Actually, we don't know what.
|-
|Tab
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Spicewater
|
|-
|Softie
|
|-
|Ohio Tea
|
|-
|Boat Drink
|
|-
|Melt
|
|-
|Fizz Ooze
|
|-
|Punch
|A drink typically found in the juice isle. Only sometimes carbonated.
|-
|Fun Wine
|
|-
|Diet
|Sometimes refers to a carbonated beverage. A common request in restaurants, as they often only have a single diet option for customers to pick.
|-
|Refill
|The second glass of whatever you drank previously. Works for any drinkable liquid.
|-
|Tickle Juice
|
|-
|Bubble Honey
|
|-
|Sugar Oil
|
|-
|The Wet Drink
|
|-
|Code Red
|Name of a carbonated beverage
|-
|Mead
|An alcoholic drink. Not carbonated, as mead plus carbonation is champagne.
|-
|Canadian Ale
|
|-
|Aether
|A highly flammable industrial solvent. Do not drink. Also, not carbonated.
|-
|Carbonated Beverage
|
|-
|Mouthwater
|
|-
|Capri
|
|-
|Skim Shake
|
|-
|Kid's Coffee
|Somewhat accurate. Coffee is typically drunk by adults for it's caffeine. Carbonated beverages often have caffeine also, and are often consumed by children.
|-
|Regular
|
|-
|Tang
|
|-
|Formula
|Typically refers to baby's milk. Not carbonated.
|-
|Medicine
|Only sometimes a drinkable liquid. Never or perhaps almost never carbonated.
|-
|Broth
|Sometimes a served meal, sometimes a cooking ingredient. Not carbonated.
|-
|Fool's Champagne
|Carbonated beverage is to champagne what fool's gold is to gold.
|-
|Sugar Milk
|
|-
|No word for them
|This region of the US does not have a word for carbonated beverages (according to Randall). Apparently they do not drink them at all.
|-
|Hydro
|A word for water. Carbonated water does exist, but this word means all forms of water.
|-
|Harvard Tea
|
|-
|Bubbler
|A nod to another popular map of the same type, exploring the regional dialects used to describe drinking fountains. This region of New England, as well as the eastern portion of Wisconsin are the only two locations where 'Bubbler' is commonly used to refer to drinking fountains.
|-
|Mouthbuzz
|
|-
|Brad's Elixer
|
|-
|Hot Water
|Not carbonated. Not even in Jacuzzi and hot tubs.
|-
|Fluid
|A word that means nearly any liquid in existence. Not accurate as a descriptor for carbonated beverages.
|-
|Coke Zero
|Name of a carbonated beverage.
|-
|Carbo
|
|-
|Quicksilver
|
|-
|Glug
|
|-
|Water Plus
|
|}

The title text may be a wry comment in light of the pocket of "soda" in the St. Louis, MO area.

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

A map of the United States divided into purple, red, green, blue, and yellow colored regions...
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Maps]]

566: Matrix Revisited

2019-02-04T23:28:21Z

162.158.75.10: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 566
| date = April 8, 2009
| title = Matrix Revisited
| image = matrix_revisited.png
| titletext = I actually remember being entertained by both the sequels while in the theater. They just don't hold up nearly as well in later comparison.
}}

==Explanation==
In the first frame it is stated that the comic was released on the anniversary of the movie ''{{w|The Matrix}}''. This is not true. The Matrix was released 31 March 1999 in the US, although it was next released in Australia on 8 April 1999, ten years before the release of this comic. But maybe [[Randall]] drew the comic (and had watched the movie) on the true 10 year anniversary day.

[[Megan]] is shocked when she realizes it is already ten years ago that ''The Matrix'' came out. This is an effect Randall has used to [[:Category:Comics_to_make_one_feel_old|make you feel old]] several times (for instance he mentions The Matrix again two years later in [[891: Movie Ages]].)

In ''The Matrix'', almost all of humanity lives in a computer simulation. Many years ago, robots took over the real world (not the simulation), and placed humans into the simulation while their body heat generated power for the robots. A few people have escaped from the Matrix, and they are on a mission with others to free the human race from the robots. The title of the strip is a reference to the documentary on the filming of ''The Matrix'': ''{{w|The Matrix Revisited}}''.

In the first three rows of the comic we see three famous scenes from ''The Matrix'' parodied by Randall. The characters are {{w|Morpheus (The Matrix)|Morpheus}}, with sunglasses; {{w|Neo (The Matrix)|Neo}}, as [[Cueball]] in the first two scenes and with a black coat in the third scene; {{w|Trinity (The Matrix)|Trinity}}, as [[Hairbun]]; and a security guard in the third scene, as another Cueball-like guy.

In the first scene Morpheus tells Neo that one cannot explain what the Matrix is and that he must see it for himself to understand. Morpheus is very mysterious as he tempts Neo to take a look himself, which, in the movie, leads to the next scene. In this comic, however, Trinity makes Morpheus look foolish by clearly explaining the Matrix in a single, simple phrase, and then telling him that he must suck at explaining. (The actual quote from the movie is <q>no one can be told what the Matrix is</q>, which makes more sense: even after being rescued from the Matrix, Neo at first refuses to accept that his entire life has been a simulation, becoming highly distraught when confronted with that truth. Morpheus later mentions that for this reason, it is unusual to rescue people past a certain age.)

In the next scene Morpheus tries to ignore Trinity's remark and continues by showing Neo two pills, one red and one blue, and tells Neo that he can either take the blue pill and return to the simulation (the Matrix), never to hear about the Matrix again, or he can take the red pill and leave the Matrix, and "see how deep the rabbit hole goes" (a reference to "{{w|Alice in Wonderland}}"). In the movie, Neo takes the red pill. In the comic, however, he mixes the two pills then {{w|Insufflation_(medicine)|snorts}} the purple powder he has created as though it was an illegal drug such as cocaine, and apparently winds up in a bizarre upside down and inverted dimension, presumably caused by his 'Drug Trip'. Even Morpheus now has no idea where they are. Note that the inversion of both color and orientation could be intended to evoke the idea of capturing an image on film (i.e. a film negative), which is *really* the only place where Neo and Morpheus exist. It is possible that the combination of pills allowed Neo to break through another layer of the simulation. Alternatively, this could simply be Randall trying to explain that they are in an alternate dimension whilst still remaining within the constraints of stick figures on white and black backgrounds.

What leads up to the third scene is when Neo and Trinity must save Morpheus, who has been captured by {{w|Agent (The Matrix)|agents}} of the simulation. They obtain many guns and load them into trenchcoats. In the shown scene Neo is stopped at a security checkpoint in a building in the Matrix. A security guard tells him to remove any metallic items, since the scanner has shown him to have metal on his person, such as keys, and place them in a bin, then walk through the scanner again. In the movie, he opens his trenchcoat, revealing a myriad of weapons and dispatching all of the guards with the assistance of Trinity. In the comic, however, Neo opens his trenchcoat, but the guard's response of "eww" implies that Neo is otherwise naked and the guard is disgusted by his display of his genitals (This could seem ironic since the guard could be said to be even more naked than him. But in the xkcd version of the matrix, stick people are presumably fully dressed unless otherwise indicated. See Megan topless in [[864: Flying Cars]], naked Cueball in [[1977: Paperwork]], and Hairy in [[761: DFS]].)

When Randall (as Cueball) has seen the movie he turns to his friends (Megan and another Cueball-like guy) and exclaims that he had forgotten how great the movie is. When his friend suggests that they put on the other two sequels, there is a beat panel where Megan and Cueball look at each other, then they beat up the offender off-panel.

The two sequels to ''The Matrix'' are widely regarded as inferior to the original, with some fans {{tvtropes|FanonDiscontinuity|pretending they don't exist}}. This is what happens when Megan and Cueball return, and Cueball repeats his statement about how good it was. Then Megan is saddened by the fact they never made any sequels and Cueball agrees. Thus trying hard (even violently) to forget those sequels.

On {{w|IMDb}} the original movie was still in the top 20 on their [http://www.imdb.com/chart/top?tt0133093&ref_=tt_awd top 250 chart] in July 2015, with an average of [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0133093/ 8.7] vs. only [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0234215 7.2] and [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0242653 6.7] to the sequels (though even those two scores are relatively high compared to other action titles).

9 years (and one day) later Randall made the comic [[1978: Congressional Testimony]] where the movie {{w|The Terminator}} is mentioned. In the title text a similar line of thought as the one in the bottom strip of this comic is made. The third movie in the Terminator Franchise was so great that Skynet sent back a robot to prevent James Cameron, the director of the first two Terminator movies, from directing it, and instead another (much worse) version of the movie was later directed by another director. This indicates that Randall would rather not have had the third movie made, and also fantasizes about how much better it could have been with the original director making T3.

==Transcript==
:[Megan stands below two pieces of text, in a panel that is without a frame.]
:Today was the ten-year anniversary of the release of ''The Matrix.''
:I sat down to watch it again.
:Megan: Holy fuck, ten years ago?

:[The next three panels of the first row and the next two rows spoofs three scenes from The Matrix.]

:[In scene 1 Morpheus with sunglasses and Trinity with hair bun are talking to Cueball-Neo. Morpheus has his hands together.]
:Morpheus: Unfortunately, no one can explain what the matrix is. You have to see it for yourself.

:[Trinity lifts her hand.]
:Trinity: Sure you can. It's a computer simulation in which you live, thinking it's reality.
:Neo: Oh.

:[Morpheus takes his hands down and turns around glaring at Trinity who has also taken her hand down.]
:Trinity: ...What?
:Trinity: Look, maybe you just suck at explaining.

:[In scene 2 Morpheus is talking to Neo while holding a red pill and a blue pill. To the far right is a part of a table.]
:Morpheus: ...Or you take the red pill, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

:[Neo takes both pills from Morpheus.]

:[Neo crushes both the red and blue pills on a table top.]
:''Crush''

:[Neo snorts the resulting purple powder through a pipe he holds up to his face (his nose).]
:''Snort''

:[Morpheus and Neo are shown upside down in a frame with inverted colors, i.e., black background with white lines.]
:Morpheus: Now look what you've done.
:Neo: Where are we?
:Morpheus: I have no idea.

:[In scene 3 Neo, wearing a long, black trench coat, at a metal detector, is accosted by the Cueball-like security guard.]
:Guard: Please remove any keys, metallic items, weapons—

:[Neo steps close to the guard and opens his trench coat towards the guard, who is facing the reader. The reader can't see what Neo has under his coat.]

:[Same scene as above, but side view: Neo, on the left, is opening his coat toward the guard, who is on the right and seems to be looking down. Nobody speaks.]

:[Same scene as above but the guard now looks up to Neos face and finally speaks:]
:Guard: Eww.

:[In the last row of the comic we see three characters that have obviously just finished watching The Matrix. Cueball is sitting on the floor nearest to the TV, Megan is sitting on the floor, farther from the TV and a Cueball-like friend is sitting on an armchair, farthest from the TV.]
:Cueball: I forgot how good that movie was.
:Friend: Wanna put on the other two?

:[Cueball, still sitting has turned to face Megan. They exchange looks without speaking.]

:[View of room, which is now empty, as is the chair. Sounds comes from off-screen to the right.]
:''Crash''
:''Wham''
:Friend (off-screen): Ow! Ow!

:[Cueball and Megan are back in the room, zoomed in so the TV is no longer visible, but the chair is and it remains empty. The friend is nowhere to be seen.]
:Cueball: I forgot how good that movie was.
:Megan: Too bad they never made any sequels.
:Cueball: True.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics with inverted brightness]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairbun]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:The Matrix]]
[[Category:Comics to make one feel old]]

2096: Mattresses

2019-01-09T18:03:17Z

162.158.75.10: /* Explanation */ Noting the joke is about Stamps.com and not PostMates.

{{comic
| number = 2096
| date = January 9, 2019
| title = Mattresses
| image = mattresses.png
| titletext = After reading that "The War To Sell You A Mattress Is An Internet Nightmare" article, I've decided it's safer and less complicated to just sleep on the floor. DISCLOSURE: THE AUTHOR OF THIS MOUSEOVER TEXT RECEIVED FINANCIAL COMPENSATION FROM THE FLOOR INDUSTRY FOR THIS MESSAGE.
}}

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

Podcasts, typically audio-only programs which are available online either through RSS feeds or on specific websites, are often funded by ads. In 2018, many podcasts (or at least, many podcasts that Randall listens to) contained ads by Casper (a mattress brand), MeUndies (an underwear brand), and Stamps.com (an internet-based mailing/shipping service).

In addition, to reduce the chances that their listeners will skip or fast-forward through ads, ads are often read out by the podcast hosts. They will often include segues and personal anecdotes to further reduce the "topical whiplash" caused by abruptly switching subjects from that of the podcast to an unrelated brand plug and back.

The alt text references [https://www.fastcompany.com/3065928/sleepopolis-casper-bloggers-lawsuits-underside-of-the-mattress-wars this article] on a mattress review site that makes money through affiliate sales, and its legal battle with a mattress company. It also references the way that podcast hosts will often note when they unintentionally endorse a product sponsor in an attempt to remain transparent about their financial supporters.

==Transcript==

:[Cueball and Ponytail are talking to each other]
:Cueball: ...It's firmer than my old mattress, which I thought I wouldn't like, but it's actually really nice.
:Ponytail: Cool, maybe I should get one.
:Cueball: Now let's take some listener questions!
:Ponytail: What?

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I can't talk about mattresses, underwear, or the Post Office anymore without feeling the urge to segue back into a podcast.

==Trivia==
The image was originally posted without a smooth blur between black and white, leading to graphical artifacts. The original image can be seen [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/8/84/20190109163710%21mattresses.png here].

{{comic discussion}}

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

Talk:2096: Mattresses

2019-01-09T17:34:47Z

162.158.75.10: /* Image quality */

== Image quality ==

I wonder if the fact that it's unclear is in intentional, or if it was somehow a mistake [[User:Zachweix|Zachweix]] ([[User talk:Zachweix|talk]]) 13:46, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Is it just me, or has the image got some graphical artifacts?[[User:Cyclic3|Cyclic3]] ([[User talk:Cyclic3|talk]])

It's not just you! [[Special:Contributions/141.101.96.221|141.101.96.221]] 13:52, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

I see it too, I saved a picture in case he fixes it [[User:Catnerd8695|Catnerd8695]] ([[User talk:Catnerd8695|talk]]) 14:09, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Both "1x" and 2x versions are black and white, not grayscale, causing artifacts. The 2x image, being larger, have less artifacts. Maybe it's caused by some kind of bug, otherwise, if it was intentional, both versions would look similar.

Maybe Randall is having problems with his computer and had to scan the comic with a far less capable software tool than usual. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:15, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

How does one contact him to let him know that he messed up when saving/editing/uploading/whatevering this comic? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 14:16, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Also, does he actually have a podcast? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 14:18, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

I thought it might be a pun based on "new years resolution" but that would've been a couple of comics ago. Came here to see if anyone could explain it as there is normally reason behind his madness.--[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.71|141.101.99.71]] 14:29, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

It's a 2-bit png, haven't seen one of those for over a decade [[Special:Contributions/172.68.215.112|172.68.215.112]] 14:31, 9 January 2019 (UTC)
:So you mean the only difference is that it has no greyscales? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 14:36, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Maybe we should pre-emptively add the original image to the trivia section. [[User:Blacksilver|Blacksilver]] ([[User talk:Blacksilver|talk]]) 15:07, 9 January 2019 (UTC)
:I don't think so. If it stays, nobody will get notified of it and it might stay there for a very long time. And even if it changes, it will be wrong to say something like "it originally looked like this" until that actually happened. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 15:10, 9 January 2019 (UTC)
Just a thought, it's not on purpose, is it? Something to do with the quality of the mattress vs. the quality of the image? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.132.95|172.68.132.95]] 15:09, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

I think this refers to the fact that casper mattresses, meundies and stamps.com are heavy advertisers on many podcasts, and that podcast advertising is often made by the host and mixed with actual podcast content.
[[User:Dromaeosaur|Dromaeosaur]] ([[User talk:Dromaeosaur|talk]]) 15:20, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Zooming fixes the issue. Would it be possible for someone to rescale it properly, and then set that as the image, until Randall fixes it? [[User:Cyclic3|Cyclic3]] ([[User talk:Cyclic3|talk]]) 15:25, 9 January 2019 (UTC)
:No, it does not. Your browser or image viewer might interpolate between white and black pixels if you zoom in, but that's actually an even lower image quality. And you might not notice it too much if you only look at a single line. But no, zooming does not fix it. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 15:28, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Any chance of steganography? {{unsigned|172.68.150.82}}
:What? What does that have to do with this comic? And what are you expecting to happen or have happened? [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 15:37, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

Hey, it's just been fixed! I'll start uploading the new one now. [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 15:46, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

:Instead of uploading as a new image in the wiki, shouldn't we just update the existing image with the new file? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 16:07, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

The named products are not from the comic and seem to reflect the writers bias. Besides postmates, it could as well be stamps.com. I am not sure, but I believe to remember that other matress and underware companies advertise on podcasts as well. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.10|162.158.75.10]] 17:34, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

== Floor ==

Next week there is actually a "flooring" fair in Hannover. Pretty fitting to the title text, but not very fitting to my plans for using trains, because that messes up their departure times.

German website for it: https://www.visit-hannover.com/Messen-Kongresse/Messekalender-Hannover/Messen-2019/DOMOTEX-Hannover-Service [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 15:18, 9 January 2019 (UTC)

1: Barrel - Part 1

2018-12-26T19:10:27Z

162.158.75.10: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = Barrel - Part 1
| image = barrel_cropped_(1).jpg
| titletext = Don't we all.
}}

==Explain it to me, loser!==
The comic shows a young boy floating in a barrel in a seemingly endless ocean. It comments on the unlikely optimism and perhaps naïveté people sometimes display. The boy is completely lost and seems hopelessly alone, without any plan or control of the situation. Yet, rather than afraid or worried, he is instead quietly curious: "I wonder where I'll float next?" Although not necessarily the situation in this comic, this is a behavior people often exhibit when there is nothing they can do about a problematic situation for a long time; they may have given up hope or developed a cavalier attitude as a coping mechanism.

The title text expands on the philosophical content, with the boy representing the average human being: wandering through life with no real plan, quietly optimistic, always opportunistic and clueless as to what the future may hold.

The isolation of the boy may also represent the way in which we often feel lost through life, never knowing quite where we are, believing that there is no one to whom to turn.

This is the first in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features a [[:Category:Barrel|character]] that is not consistent with what would quickly become the [[xkcd]] [[stick figure]] style. The character is in a barrel.

In [[1110: Click and Drag]] there is a reference to this comic at {{1110|1|n|48|e}}.

After Randall released the full [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel] story on xkcd, it has been clear that the original [[Ferret]] story should also be included as part of the barrel series.

The full series can be found [[:Category:Barrel|here]]. But below they are listed in the order Randall has put them in his collection linked to above:
* [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[11: Barrel - Part 2]]
* [[22: Barrel - Part 3]]
* [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]
* [[31: Barrel - Part 5]]

==Read it yourself, loser!==
:[A boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
:Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?

:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of the boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]

==NO!!!! I HATE TRIVIA!!!!==
*This was the 5th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous comic was [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]].
**The next was [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]].
*Original title: "Barrel"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "He's fairly upbeat about the situation!"
*This was one of the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal within 12 minutes on Friday September 30, 2005.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*This is the first of the original drawings that was not drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].
*A more realistic description of the behavior of a barrel in water is here: [http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/12/should-dwarves-stand-up-in-floating-barrels/ Wired Science: Should Dwarves Stand Up in Floating Barrels?]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 05]]
[[Category:First day on LiveJournal| 05]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Barrel|01]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Barrel 01]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

1: Barrel - Part 1

2018-12-26T19:09:36Z

162.158.75.10: /* Trivia */

{{comic
| number = 1
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = Barrel - Part 1
| image = barrel_cropped_(1).jpg
| titletext = Don't we all.
}}

==Explain it to me, loser!==
The comic shows a young boy floating in a barrel in a seemingly endless ocean. It comments on the unlikely optimism and perhaps naïveté people sometimes display. The boy is completely lost and seems hopelessly alone, without any plan or control of the situation. Yet, rather than afraid or worried, he is instead quietly curious: "I wonder where I'll float next?" Although not necessarily the situation in this comic, this is a behavior people often exhibit when there is nothing they can do about a problematic situation for a long time; they may have given up hope or developed a cavalier attitude as a coping mechanism.

The title text expands on the philosophical content, with the boy representing the average human being: wandering through life with no real plan, quietly optimistic, always opportunistic and clueless as to what the future may hold.

The isolation of the boy may also represent the way in which we often feel lost through life, never knowing quite where we are, believing that there is no one to whom to turn.

This is the first in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features a [[:Category:Barrel|character]] that is not consistent with what would quickly become the [[xkcd]] [[stick figure]] style. The character is in a barrel.

In [[1110: Click and Drag]] there is a reference to this comic at {{1110|1|n|48|e}}.

After Randall released the full [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel] story on xkcd, it has been clear that the original [[Ferret]] story should also be included as part of the barrel series.

The full series can be found [[:Category:Barrel|here]]. But below they are listed in the order Randall has put them in his collection linked to above:
* [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[11: Barrel - Part 2]]
* [[22: Barrel - Part 3]]
* [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]
* [[31: Barrel - Part 5]]

==Transcript==
:[A boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
:Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?

:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of the boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]

==NO!!!! I HATE TRIVIA!!!!==
*This was the 5th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous comic was [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]].
**The next was [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]].
*Original title: "Barrel"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "He's fairly upbeat about the situation!"
*This was one of the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal within 12 minutes on Friday September 30, 2005.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*This is the first of the original drawings that was not drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].
*A more realistic description of the behavior of a barrel in water is here: [http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/12/should-dwarves-stand-up-in-floating-barrels/ Wired Science: Should Dwarves Stand Up in Floating Barrels?]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 05]]
[[Category:First day on LiveJournal| 05]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Barrel|01]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Barrel 01]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

1: Barrel - Part 1

2018-12-26T19:08:54Z

162.158.75.10: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1
| date = September 30, 2005
| title = Barrel - Part 1
| image = barrel_cropped_(1).jpg
| titletext = Don't we all.
}}

==Explain it to me, loser!==
The comic shows a young boy floating in a barrel in a seemingly endless ocean. It comments on the unlikely optimism and perhaps naïveté people sometimes display. The boy is completely lost and seems hopelessly alone, without any plan or control of the situation. Yet, rather than afraid or worried, he is instead quietly curious: "I wonder where I'll float next?" Although not necessarily the situation in this comic, this is a behavior people often exhibit when there is nothing they can do about a problematic situation for a long time; they may have given up hope or developed a cavalier attitude as a coping mechanism.

The title text expands on the philosophical content, with the boy representing the average human being: wandering through life with no real plan, quietly optimistic, always opportunistic and clueless as to what the future may hold.

The isolation of the boy may also represent the way in which we often feel lost through life, never knowing quite where we are, believing that there is no one to whom to turn.

This is the first in a six-part series of comics whose parts were randomly published during the first several dozen strips. The series features a [[:Category:Barrel|character]] that is not consistent with what would quickly become the [[xkcd]] [[stick figure]] style. The character is in a barrel.

In [[1110: Click and Drag]] there is a reference to this comic at {{1110|1|n|48|e}}.

After Randall released the full [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel] story on xkcd, it has been clear that the original [[Ferret]] story should also be included as part of the barrel series.

The full series can be found [[:Category:Barrel|here]]. But below they are listed in the order Randall has put them in his collection linked to above:
* [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[11: Barrel - Part 2]]
* [[22: Barrel - Part 3]]
* [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]
* [[31: Barrel - Part 5]]

==Transcript==
:[A boy sits in a barrel which is floating in an ocean.]
:Boy: i wonder where i'll float next?

:[A smaller frame with a zoom out of the boy in the barrel seen from afar. The barrel drifts into the distance. Nothing else can be seen.]

==Trivia==
*This was the 5th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous comic was [[2: Petit Trees (sketch)]].
**The next was [[24: Godel, Escher, Kurt Halsey]].
*Original title: "Barrel"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "He's fairly upbeat about the situation!"
*This was one of the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal within 12 minutes on Friday September 30, 2005.
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*This is the first of the original drawings that was not drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].
*A more realistic description of the behavior of a barrel in water is here: [http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/12/should-dwarves-stand-up-in-floating-barrels/ Wired Science: Should Dwarves Stand Up in Floating Barrels?]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 05]]
[[Category:First day on LiveJournal| 05]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Barrel|01]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|Barrel 01]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-26T19:07:22Z

162.158.75.10: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2089
| date = December 24, 2018
| title = Christmas Eve Eve
| image = christmas_eve_eve.png
| titletext = It turns out that saying "Oh, so THAT'S why they call it Boxing Day" is a good way to get punched a second time.
}}

==Johnny, Johnny? Yes, admin? Destroying this page? Yes, admin. I’ll ban you!==

==PLEASE KILL MEEEEEEE!!!!!==

2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-26T19:03:26Z

162.158.75.10: /* Transcript for gay people! YAAAAAY!! */

2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-26T19:01:49Z

162.158.75.10: GAAAAAAAAY!!!!!

2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-24T06:15:31Z

162.158.75.10: s/264/364/

{{comic
| number = 2089
| date = December 24, 2018
| title = Christmas Eve Eve
| image = christmas_eve_eve.png
| titletext = It turns out that saying "Oh, so THAT'S why they call it Boxing Day" is a good way to get punched a second time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SANTA. There appears to be no explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic was posted on December 24, 2018.

The day before a holiday, is often referred to as the "eve" of the holiday. Thus December 24 is Christmas Eve.
Some people (presumably including Randall) extend this and call December 23 "Christmas Eve Eve". We add one "eve" for each night before Christmas morning.

Cueball notes this, and Megan acknowledges this. Cueball follows by naming December 24 as Christmas Eve, December 25 as Christmas, and then mentions that the following day is his favorite.
Megan's "Oh no" implies that she knows what Cueball will say next.

Since December 26 is the 364th day before Christmas, it follows that December 26 is "Christmas eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve".

Cueball's friend Megan finds this fact unacceptable; as such, she announces that she will not give Cueball gifts.

The title text refers to the “Boxing Day” holiday celebrated the day after Christmas in the UK and many parts of the former British Empire. In this comic we can presume Cueball is speaking, after he was punched for his litany of 364 “eves” and then punched a second time for saying, “Oh, that’s why they call it Boxing Day.”
==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon. I demand a recount!}}

[Cueball, White Hat, and Megan stand in frame.]

Cueball: Today is Christmas Eve. Yesterday was Christmas eve day.

Megan: Uh huh...

Cuball: Of course, tomorrow is Christmas. And then, my favourite...

Megan: Oh no.

Cueball: ...Christmas eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve!

[The "eve"s get smaller over time.]

Megan: I'm returning the presents I got for you.

{{comic discussion}}

2089: Christmas Eve Eve

2018-12-24T06:14:46Z

162.158.75.10: More setup, explaining the interpretation for 26th

{{comic
| number = 2089
| date = December 24, 2018
| title = Christmas Eve Eve
| image = christmas_eve_eve.png
| titletext = It turns out that saying "Oh, so THAT'S why they call it Boxing Day" is a good way to get punched a second time.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by SANTA. There appears to be no explanation. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic was posted on December 24, 2018.

The day before a holiday, is often referred to as the "eve" of the holiday. Thus December 24 is Christmas Eve.
Some people (presumably including Randall) extend this and call December 23 "Christmas Eve Eve". We add one "eve" for each night before Christmas morning.

Cueball notes this, and Megan acknowledges this. Cueball follows by naming December 24 as Christmas Eve, December 25 as Christmas, and then mentions that the following day is his favorite.
Megan's "Oh no" implies that she knows what Cueball will say next.

Since December 26 is the 264th day before Christmas, it follows that December 26 is "Christmas eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve".

Cueball's friend Megan finds this fact unacceptable; as such, she announces that she will not give Cueball gifts.

The title text refers to the “Boxing Day” holiday celebrated the day after Christmas in the UK and many parts of the former British Empire. In this comic we can presume Cueball is speaking, after he was punched for his litany of 364 “eves” and then punched a second time for saying, “Oh, that’s why they call it Boxing Day.”
==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon. I demand a recount!}}

[Cueball, White Hat, and Megan stand in frame.]

Cueball: Today is Christmas Eve. Yesterday was Christmas eve day.

Megan: Uh huh...

Cuball: Of course, tomorrow is Christmas. And then, my favourite...

Megan: Oh no.

Cueball: ...Christmas eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve eve!

[The "eve"s get smaller over time.]

Megan: I'm returning the presents I got for you.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1394: Superm*n

2017-12-18T18:55:25Z

162.158.75.10:

;Wildcard
Excellent description, but minor niggle: In "Superm*n' , the '*' is a wildcard. This isn't a regular expression that would match 'Superman' and Supermoon'. A regexp could be "Superm.*n" - the '.' means 'any character' and the '*' means 'as many times as you like'. (More selective regexps exist) If you were to interpret 'Superm*n' as a regular expression, it would match 'Supern' , 'Supermn', "Supermmn', Supermmmn' etc. So you could describe 'Superm*n' as a 'wildcard search that would match superman and supermoon'. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.184|141.101.99.184]] 05:11, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
:You're approaching this from a very specific context. You may be correct in that context, but there are plenty of different programs, protocols, languages, etc which use wildcards in various ways. I once worked as a 411 operator, and in the search software we used at the time, a search on "SUPERM*N" would have found both "Superman" and "Supermoon" if both of those were names in listings (although our supervisors would consider that too many keystrokes and would suggest "SUP*N" instead). - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.10|108.162.242.10]] 05:58, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
::Oops, looks like I read the initial comment too quickly, didn't realize you were kind of making the same point I wanted to, you were just being more technical about it. Either way, I think the explanation of the wildcard in the article itself should be made vague enough to avoid further threads like this. - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.10|108.162.242.10]] 06:03, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
:It's clearly a Unix shell file glob. [[User:Jeremyp|Jeremyp]] ([[User talk:Jeremyp|talk]]) 09:54, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
::This form of wildcard is used in the Windows command prompt as well, and is very well known for Windows users. I obviously can't speak for the full XKCD audience, but limiting the scope of that wildcard to Unix seems unnecessarily exclusive. (Wouldn't it be sufficient to just refer to it as a "wildcard" as a generic concept? I mean, You Know You're a Geek When...) [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 20:12, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
:::Having grown up on MS-DOS, I second this. I remember typing '''DIR/a:h/s *.exe''' or something similar to search for games hidden by other students on my school's computers. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.62.62|173.245.62.62]] 11:18, 15 July 2014 (UTC)
I figured that the asterisk was used to replace the letter 'A' in the name of the character so that Randall was not using a copyrighted/licensed name and was therefore safe from possible legal action for unauthorized use.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.80|108.162.216.80]] 08:30, 27 September 2014 (UTC)
*Superm..?n (or, Superm.{1,2}n, Superm(a|oo)n, etc....) [[User:KangaroOS|Kangaro]][[User talk:KangaroOS|OS]] 10:58, 31 March 2016 (UTC)
Came back to this comic through a link from another explanation, and sad that no one specifically mentioned Super''moron''. I wouldn't want to meet ''that'' person. '''--BigMal''' // [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.10|162.158.75.10]] 18:55, 18 December 2017 (UTC)

;Colour
If a Trivia section is warranted for this comic, I think it should definitely be pointed out this is one of the rare strips that uses a colour other than black or white. Is there an available statistic on use of colour in xkcd? - [[Special:Contributions/108.162.242.10|108.162.242.10]] 05:58, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
:Ya, I'd bite on this one. [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 12:20, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
::There's a category, [[:Category:Comics with color]]. --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.74|173.245.55.74]] 13:24, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

;Astronomy
In a similar tune to the supermoon, could the sun at perihelion be called a "superstar"? [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.239|103.22.201.239]] 08:36, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
:Wouldn't that be the ''Earth'' at perihelion? --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.82|173.245.52.82]] 12:33, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
::The sun at Earth's perihelion. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.9}}
:::I was gonna say, does the Earth get 12% larger when it's at perihelion to the sun? :) [[User:KieferSkunk|KieferSkunk]] ([[User talk:KieferSkunk|talk]]) 20:14, 14 July 2014 (UTC)
::::The sun appears about 3% larger to an observer on Earth at perihelion, compared to the sun we see during aphelion.[http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap090703.html] Not very apparent to the unaided human eye, given the other factors(including seasonal, diurnal and latitudinal variation) that influence our overall perception of the sun. (Not that I'm recommending naked-eye observations of the sun.) [[Special:Contributions/173.245.62.62|173.245.62.62]] 05:27, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

;Web-slingers and supermen
The comment on the title text makes it sound as though Spiderman canonically shoots webs from his body and only in "some adaptations" has a mechanical device that does so. That's backwards. The machine is the original, the biological version is what happens in "some adaptations" (ie, films). {{unsigned ip|173.245.48.135}}
:Exactly right. I've edited the description. Also corrected the spelling of Spider-Man. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.39|199.27.133.39]] 18:16, 14 July 2014 (UTC)

Do we have the required information to calculate what percentage of people would have better than 107% of the average human strength, assuming a normal bell distribution? [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.239|103.22.201.239]] 07:15, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

Though it's quoted from a [http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2014/10jul_supermoons/ stupid NASA press release,] "14% bigger and 30% brighter than other full moons" is misleading, as ''Sky and Telescope'' has been [http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/the-march-19th-supermoon-hardly-super/ pointing out] [http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/observing-news/the-myth-of-the-supermoon/ for years,] and in fact they told [http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/supermoon-overplayed-by-news-media/ this same exact Superman joke] about it back in 2012. 1.14 is the ratio between perigee size and apogee size. (Even then there are different numbers floating around. If you look at the numbers in [http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2008/12/09/09dec_fullmoon_resources/Ayiomamitis1.jpg this graphic] it's either 1.124 or 1.134, in the same image describing the same event.) Perigee size versus ''average'' size would be more relevant. This is why Randall's joke is that Superman is 7% stronger than an average man. In the S&T article it was 8% stronger. [[User:Pesthouse|Pesthouse]] ([[User talk:Pesthouse|talk]]) 18:51, 15 July 2014 (UTC)
:Also... "14% Bigger"? Is that (apparent) diameter or area? (i.e. based upon the change in radians subtended to the eye or ''ste''radians, likewise.) Hopefully says something, in the sources, but it's a commonly disputable weasel-statistic (plus 14% bigger than 14% smaller doesn't return to the same size, so choose the right comparison but twist it and the unaware/charlatan statistics-vendor can give misleading figures). Talking generically, of course, as a pitfall we should not fall into, in everyday life. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.192|141.101.99.192]] 11:56, 16 July 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1909: Digital Resource Lifespan

2017-11-01T07:22:04Z

162.158.75.10: What about .txt files?

Even PDFs can be broken, which is why we have PDF/A (archive) - a subset of PDF that has no external dependencies and thus should last forever.
[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]]
:To clarify: .PDF files are *frequently* created with content such as fonts (or really anything other than the actual text) referenced within the document but not *embedded* within the document. This is usually done to reduce file size, but it's usually not advisable. Whether it's a .pdf or a .ppt or a .exe it is best to keep your dependencies embedded whenever possible!
:.PDF files (or any files) can of course also suffer from hash failure (CRC errors, etc) and PDF/A does not provide redundancy tables; Always make an extra copy on another drive (ideally both off-site & locally).
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.77|162.158.69.77]] 06:07, 1 November 2017 (UTC)

'''CD scratched, new computer has no CD drive anyway.''' - First, you can still buy external CD-ROM drive, for example connected via USB cable. Second, you can try recover data from scratched CD with tools such as ddrescue (free and OSS) or IsoBuster (shareware). --[[User:JakubNarebski|JakubNarebski]] ([[User talk:JakubNarebski|talk]]) 17:51, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

: Scratches on the DATA layer of any optical disk destroys that DATA. There is also the consideration that the plastics of the majority of optical disks degrade with time and heat. There are some optical media that are designed to prevent such scratching or corruption like the commercially available M-Disk or laser etching into a micro format into a crystal like a 5D disk. Even then the DATA stored must be in an ISO format to read as well as the equipment to read the media needs to be maintained. I have often told people that their data is never safe unless there is a constant effort to copy, check for quality, and make multiple backups using multiple modern mediums as often as humanly possible. All form of digital media can fail, even the extended warranty on a high end HDD will not cover the data lost and most EULAs for cloud storage will say the same.

::Pressed commercial CD-ROMs carry their information between two 0.6 mm thick plastic discs which are glued together, which makes them pretty resilient against scratches on either side – just remove some material with abrasive methods like toothpaste. Often the glue is the bigger issue with low-quality pressings in the long run. This is in contrast to recordable CDs, which are coated with the reflective layer on top of a single disc. –[[User:TisTheAlmondTavern|TisTheAlmondTavern]] ([[User talk:TisTheAlmondTavern|talk]]) 12:24, 31 October 2017 (UTC)

:Or cheaper than an external drive, borrow a friend's computer and copy the CD onto the cloud somewhere. --[[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 18:39, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

: Yet something affected by that would just as likely be affected by "Broken on new OS, not updated". For example, I've got a multimedia encyclopedia which runs on Win 3.11, and thus can't run on 64-bit windows.
:: Ehrm... You do realise the limitation is the other way around right? You can't run 64-bit application on 32-bit Windows, but 64-bit windows can perfectly well run 32-bit apps. Though Win 3.11 is far enough back it might actually be a fun challenge to see if it runs :D [[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.202|162.158.202.202]] 10:57, 31 October 2017 (UTC)
:::You can not – Win 3.1(.1) was a 16bit operation system – and Microsoft dropped the 16-bit-layer in win7. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 19:18, 31 October 2017 (UTC)

Interestingly, static .PDF files are intended to be electronic equivalents of printed books - an electronic microfiche if you will [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 18:57, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

I'm wondering if data on an older, static, website would still be readable. Would likely still be there (or on archive.org), but might be suffering progressive link rot. Also a little surprised that the start of microfilm is so recent; I remember the library having microfilm readers (that nobody ever used) when I was young enough to spend ages staring at a machine, trying to determine its purpose. Guess it depends on the subject, when it was put into that format. --[[User:Angel|Angel]] ([[User talk:Angel|talk]]) 18:39, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

Angel, note both the My in the title and the left arrow implying that the resource (like books) were about before Randal had access. [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 18:57, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

"Only to realize'''d'''? -[[Special:Contributions/172.68.110.22|172.68.110.22]] 23:08, 30 October 2017 (UTC)

[Subject] wiki, anyone? Wikis have rather detailed analyses of even obscure topics in my line of work/study. --[[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]], 2017. [[User_talk:Nialpxe|(Arguments welcome)]] (P.S. just to be clear I mean wikis maintained by researchers and professionals in [Subject] field, not Wikipedia)

There's a wealth of thought about exactly this problem by librarians; [https://www.loc.gov/preservation/resources/rfs/TOC.html the Library of Congress has some recommendations] along with [https://www.loc.gov/preservation/digital/formats/index.html a database evaluating over a hundred formats] along a variety of axes: is the format documented openly? Is it widely used? Is it inherently transparent to inspection even if the specification is lost? Can it contain its own metadata? What sort of external dependencies does it have? Is it patent-encumbered, and are there technical access restrictions like DRM? (tl;dr, images as TIFF, text as EPUB or PDF/A, sound as WAV. They're very conservative.) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.106|108.162.249.106]] 05:07, 31 October 2017 (UTC)

Note that digital data have big advantage over books when dealing with bigger quantity. The amount of work you need to make to preserve printed book is same no matter how many books you have - so it's thousand times more when you have thousand books. Meanwhile, the amount of work needed to preserve for example collection of digital images doesn't really depend on collection size. Let's say that the used format is going out of use: you can automatically convert all images fairy quickly. Of course, harder with applications ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:23, 31 October 2017 (UTC)

The software not running after OS update is such a Mac problem. Linux updates would break if closed software was commonly available, but open source can be recompiled, and Windows maintain a scarry amount of backwards compatibility, and only system-admin or DRM-crippled software ever stops working.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.202.202|162.158.202.202]] 10:54, 31 October 2017 (UTC)
:I must strongly disagree there; Networking features have been known to break following Windows updates, & Android is *terribly* prone to breaking apps or even removing what may be considered core system features with an OS update. Search "kitkat sd", for just one good example. Even Linux can turn into dependency hell when repositories change their branch structure. Then there's the incredible variety of different hardware which only a specific version of Windows with specific hardware once supported: I still can't get an affordable analog serial port adapter that will work with my favorite flight controller.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.10|162.158.75.10]] 06:37, 1 November 2017 (UTC)

Here in the UK, the library access would also have ended some time in the last few years...[[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.32|162.158.155.32]] 11:33, 31 October 2017 (UTC)

Nothing lasts forever (or at least that's what seems to be true for anything observed by humanity). Data becomes corrupted and lost over time and usage, and books become damaged and lost over time and usage. Not to mention, thousands of books were burned during the Nazi regime. Human minds are inevitably subject to corrupted memories as well. We lose information all the time, and we try to recover what remains. However, it is also worth mentioning that our digital technology is still pretty young compared to books and other sources of information. Information used to be recorded on papyrus, tablets (I understand that this contradicts my point as some tablets have stood the test of time), etc. Some of the earliest Chinese inks were created with soot and animal glue. The first (attempts of) photographs required hours of light exposure and would fade away quickly. Over time, we discovered ways to improve upon these sources of information. The same could apply to our digital information today. We are essentially in the "papyrus" phase of electronic technology (one could argue with other descriptions, but this isn't significant to my statements). In time, we may achieve more successful long-term solutions to maintaining original data. There are so many avenues for the advancement of technology, and those avenues continue to multiply with each step. At this time, we just need to continue to work on our projects and experiments for the progress of humanity. [[User:NAE|NAE]] ([[User talk:NAE|talk]]) 14:29, 31 October 2017 (UTC)

Randall did a good job frightening me this Halloween... [[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.88|172.68.34.88]] 02:10, 1 November 2017 (UTC)

I wonder if Randall is aware of digital archiving solutions such as those provided by Preservica (https://preservica.com/), formerly part of Tessella plc. Their solutions are aimed at precisely this problem. Their library/museum clients include "the MoMA, the Frick Collection, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Yale Library, The National Library of Australia, The Royal Danish Library, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, McNay Art Museum, DC Public Library and the University of Manchester" and their archive clients include "15 leading pan-national and national archives, 18 US state archives, major corporate archives at BT, HSBC, Unilever and the Associated Press". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.88|108.162.249.88]] 03:32, 1 November 2017 (UTC)

Randall forgot my personal favorite: UTF-8 formatted .txt files. Since 1993 & counting, never had an issue opening one. I still have my first copy of The Anarchist's Cookbook, copied from a Kaypro II running CP/M on a 5-1/4" floppy to an 8088XT running MS-DOS on a 30mb hard drive to an IBM PS/2 286 on 20mb hard drive to an Asus 486 on a 3.5" floppy to a 1.2gHz Pentium on a 100mb Zip drive to a Core 2 Duo on a CD-R to an i7 system on a 128gb solid state drive, which was finally backed up to a 1tb hard drive & archived, as there's a newer copy to carry around. That original file still opens just fine on any PC I've ever used (including mobile).

Also, I believe Linus Torvalds once said (talking about code, but it applies to anything sufficiently desirable) "Only wimps use tape backup, real men just upload their important stuff on ftp, and let the rest of the world mirror it ;)" I can certainly attest to that. I once made a torrent of all the Star Trek I'd accumulated (IE, all the Star Trek ever) & uploaded that. Two years later an old hard drive died & I was able to recover over 200gb in a little over 6 hours, simply by downloading my own torrent from other seeds. Thanks Trekkies![[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.10|162.158.75.10]] 07:22, 1 November 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1909: Digital Resource Lifespan

2017-11-01T06:37:50Z

162.158.75.10: Not only a Mac problem.

638: The Search

2017-10-14T19:30:06Z

162.158.75.10: /* Explanation */ Corrected a [citation needed] marker: footnotes must always go after punctuation, as per Wikipedia standards. Also, added another marker, for the lulz.

{{comic
| number = 638
| date = September 18, 2009
| title = The Search
| image = the search.png
| titletext = I am so excited about the Kepler mission. This is the second most important thing our species has ever done, right behind developing the concept of delivery pizza.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a commentary on the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. The ants' dialogue describes the narrow scope of their search (a few tiles, and only looking for pheromone trails), and thus they conclude that there is no other intelligent life. The irony is that humanity does of course exist,{{Citation needed}} but were simply not present in the kitchen at the time of search, nor do we communicate with ant pheromones.{{Citation needed}} Similarly, our ability to search outer space for other life is limited to our ability to detect specific modes of communication (i.e. radio waves) and to the very limited area of space imposed by technological limitations on transportation, range, and sensitivity of our equipment.

The title text refers to the {{w|Kepler mission}} to discover {{w|Extrasolar planets}}. In August 2009, a couple of weeks before this comic, the first results of this mission were released, which showed the spacecraft to be healthy and had detected a known exoplanet. No new science results would be released until November of 2009, which Randall was anticipating. This mission has found more than 2,700 planet candidates that still have to be confirmed by other telescopes. So that's the difference to the ants. As of August 2013, two "reaction wheels" (heavy metallic discs that can be spun to impart angular momentum to the probe, mounted on the major axis; an alternative to reaction thrusters, which require a depletable supply of reaction fuel) on Kepler have failed, causing NASA to change the mission, though it will still be looking for planets with its two remaining wheels.

The second part is a bait-and-switch joke; by calling the search for extrasolar planets "the second most important thing our species has ever done", it creates the expectation that the "first most important thing" will be a monumental breakthrough, such as for example the concept of language. Instead, the title text ends up just revealing that [[Randall]] likes having pizza delivered.

==Transcript==
:Ant: We've searched dozens of these floor tiles for several common types of pheromone trails.
:Ant: If there were intelligent life up there, we would have seen its messages by now.

:The world's first ant colony to achieve sentience calls off the search for us.

{{comic discussion}}

[[category:Exoplanets]]

Talk:1877: Eclipse Science

2017-08-16T15:56:04Z

162.158.75.10:

I'm pretty sure his point was actually that in the modern day eclipses are pretty well understood, easy enough to travel to, and provide very little actually unique circumstances, so in reality there is very little scientific value at all. Just a really cool thing to see

[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.10|162.158.75.10]] 15:56, 16 August 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1874: Geologic Faults

2017-08-09T13:48:07Z

162.158.75.10:

Totally missed an opportunity for a Lego Fault.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.212.251|108.162.212.251]] 13:43, 9 August 2017 (UTC)

The alt text reminds me of how Earthquakes are depicted in movies, where a massive rift opens up in the Earth. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.10|162.158.75.10]] 13:48, 9 August 2017 (UTC)

Talk:1787: Voice Commands

2017-01-18T16:38:46Z

162.158.75.10:

http://wbic16.xedoloh.com/dvorak.html converts "svat ussupd ;dlh a kdbk" to "okay google send a text"--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.75.10|162.158.75.10]] 16:38, 18 January 2017 (UTC)