explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

2192: Review

2019-09-19T11:05:59Z

172.69.44.146: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2192
| date = August 21, 2019
| title = Review
| image = review.png
| titletext = Controls are a little hard to figure out.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic is a five of five star review of planet {{w|Earth}}, by [[Randall]], depicted as [[Cueball]] in his profile picture. The review is written as a video game review, praising the size and realism of the world. The comic's humor draws from the fact that Earth is a completely real object and shouldn't be rated on the same lines as a video game, and the fact that there's no place that the Earth can be reviewed (with the possible exception of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''). The "huge world" remark is a play on {{w|Open world}} games like {{w|Minecraft}}, which are praised when their size allows hundreds of hours of exploration; exploring Earth would allow more than a lifetime of novelties.

The title text states that the 'controls are hard to figure out', possibly alluding to the fact that it takes a lot of time to learn how to walk and talk, a rather basic thing in most video games, or to the fact that it is in general hard to navigate around in one's life, as has been the subject of many comics.

Earth (or humans and other life forms on Earth) has many problems at the moment, such as [[:Category:Climate change|climate change]], {{w|overpopulation}}, {{w|gun violence}}, {{w|sexual violence}}, {{w|censorship}}, {{w|poverty}}, and increasing {{w|Depression (mood)|depression}}, to name just a few.

However, this comic also serves as a reminder that, overall, the world is a five-star world. It reminds us to look around: there's so much world to explore! And also that it is worth preserving for future generation to play around on. It is not a game that grows outdated and will be replaced by a new and better version next year...

While there aren't any games that can recreate the detail that reality has (Due to the computing power required to do such a thing would be on an intergalactic level to recreate earth 1 to 1 in a simulation), there are some games that can either attempt to have a map that is similar in square area, the graphic levels become close to reality, or difficult game-play/hard to learn controls.

Examples of such games that attempt these things would be: Minecraft, {{w|No Man's Sky}}, {{w|The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim}}, {{w|Grand Theft Auto V}}, {{w|The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild}}, {{w|The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt}}, {{w|QWOP}}, {{w|Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy}}, and any of the {{w|Souls (series)}}, which includes {{w|Demon's Souls}}, {{w|Dark Souls}}, {{w|Dark Souls II}}, and {{w|Dark Souls III}}. Some people like to include games like {{w|Bloodborne}}, {{w|Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice}}, and {{w|Elden Ring}} into the same series as the Souls series due to similarity's to those games, and because they were developed by the same company.

==Transcript==
:[A profile picture of Cueball in a small frame is next to five solid yellow stars. Below this is a review:]
:★★★★★
:Great graphics, huge world

:[Caption below the comic:]
:My overall review of Earth

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Online reviews]]

2192: Review

2019-09-19T11:04:18Z

172.69.44.146: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2192
| date = August 21, 2019
| title = Review
| image = review.png
| titletext = Controls are a little hard to figure out.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a REVIEWER. Examples of video games with huge worlds and nice graphics, and possible also mention some with hard to learn controls vs easy to learn. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a five of five star review of planet {{w|Earth}}, by [[Randall]], depicted as [[Cueball]] in his profile picture. The review is written as a video game review, praising the size and realism of the world. The comic's humor draws from the fact that Earth is a completely real object and shouldn't be rated on the same lines as a video game, and the fact that there's no place that the Earth can be reviewed (with the possible exception of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''). The "huge world" remark is a play on {{w|Open world}} games like {{w|Minecraft}}, which are praised when their size allows hundreds of hours of exploration; exploring Earth would allow more than a lifetime of novelties.

The title text states that the 'controls are hard to figure out', possibly alluding to the fact that it takes a lot of time to learn how to walk and talk, a rather basic thing in most video games, or to the fact that it is in general hard to navigate around in one's life, as has been the subject of many comics.

Earth (or humans and other life forms on Earth) has many problems at the moment, such as [[:Category:Climate change|climate change]], {{w|overpopulation}}, {{w|gun violence}}, {{w|sexual violence}}, {{w|censorship}}, {{w|poverty}}, and increasing {{w|Depression (mood)|depression}}, to name just a few.

However, this comic also serves as a reminder that, overall, the world is a five-star world. It reminds us to look around: there's so much world to explore! And also that it is worth preserving for future generation to play around on. It is not a game that grows outdated and will be replaced by a new and better version next year...

While there aren't any games that can recreate the detail that reality has (Due to the computing power required to do such a thing would be on an intergalactic level to recreate earth 1 to 1 in a simulation), there are some games that can either attempt to have a map that is similar in square area, the graphic levels become close to reality, or difficult game-play/hard to learn controls.

Examples of such games that attempt these things would be: Minecraft, {{w|No Man's Sky}}, {{w|The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim}}, {{w|Grand Theft Auto V}}, {{w|The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild}}, {{w|The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt}}, {{w|QWOP}}, {{w|Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy}}, and any of the {{w|Souls (series)}}, which includes {{w|Demon's Souls}}, {{w|Dark Souls}}, {{w|Dark Souls II}}, and {{w|Dark Souls III}}. Some people like to include games like {{w|Bloodborne}}, {{w|Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice}}, and {{w|Elden Ring}} into the same series as the Souls series due to similarity's to those games, and because they were developed by the same company.

==Transcript==
:[A profile picture of Cueball in a small frame is next to five solid yellow stars. Below this is a review:]
:★★★★★
:Great graphics, huge world

:[Caption below the comic:]
:My overall review of Earth

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Online reviews]]

2192: Review

2019-09-19T11:03:03Z

172.69.44.146: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2192
| date = August 21, 2019
| title = Review
| image = review.png
| titletext = Controls are a little hard to figure out.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a REVIEWER. Examples of video games with huge worlds and nice graphics, and possible also mention some with hard to learn controls vs easy to learn. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic is a five of five star review of planet {{w|Earth}}, by [[Randall]], depicted as [[Cueball]] in his profile picture. The review is written as a video game review, praising the size and realism of the world. The comic's humor draws from the fact that Earth is a completely real object and shouldn't be rated on the same lines as a video game, and the fact that there's no place that the Earth can be reviewed (with the possible exception of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''). The "huge world" remark is a play on {{w|Open world}} games like {{w|Minecraft}}, which are praised when their size allows hundreds of hours of exploration; exploring Earth would allow more than a lifetime of novelties.

The title text states that the 'controls are hard to figure out', possibly alluding to the fact that it takes a lot of time to learn how to walk and talk, a rather basic thing in most video games, or to the fact that it is in general hard to navigate around in one's life, as has been the subject of many comics.

Earth (or humans and other life forms on Earth) has many problems at the moment, such as [[:Category:Climate change|climate change]], {{w|overpopulation}}, {{w|gun violence}}, {{w|sexual violence}}, {{w|censorship}}, {{w|poverty}}, and increasing {{w|Depression (mood)|depression}}, to name just a few.

However, this comic also serves as a reminder that, overall, the world is a five-star world. It reminds us to look around: there's so much world to explore! And also that it is worth preserving for future generation to play around on. It is not a game that grows outdated and will be replaced by a new and better version next year...

While there aren't any games that can recreate the detail that reality has(Due to the computing power required to do such a thing would be on an intergalactic level to recreate earth 1 to 1 in a simulation), there are some games that can either attempt to have a map that is similar in square area, the graphic levels become close to reality, or difficult game-play/hard to learn controls.

Examples of such games that attempt these things would be: Minecraft, {{w|No Man's Sky}}, {{w|The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim}}, {{w|Grand Theft Auto V}}, {{w|The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild}}, {{w|The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt}}, {{w|QWOP}}, {{w|Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy}}, and any of the {{w|Souls (series)}}, which includes {{w|Demon's Souls}}, {{w|Dark Souls}}, {{w|Dark Souls II}}, and {{w|Dark Souls III}}. Some people like to include games like {{w|Bloodborne}}, {{w|Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice}}, and {{w|Elden Ring}} into the same series as the Souls series due to similarity's to those games, and because they were developed by the same company.

==Transcript==
:[A profile picture of Cueball in a small frame is next to five solid yellow stars. Below this is a review:]
:★★★★★
:Great graphics, huge world

:[Caption below the comic:]
:My overall review of Earth

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Online reviews]]

2182: When I'm Back at a Keyboard

2019-07-29T19:42:00Z

172.69.44.146:

{{comic
| number = 2182
| date = July 29, 2019
| title = When I'm Back at a Keyboard
| image = when_im_back_at_a_keyboard.png
| titletext = [after typing 1,500 words on feathered dinosaurs, paleontology, sexism, lava, and dinosaurs as animals rather than movie monsters] Sorry to cut it short, I'm on my phone. When I'm back at a keyboard, I can give you another 5,000 words.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by someone who is away from their keyboard. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
[[Cueball]] is texting someone on his phone. However, since it is easier to type with a {{w|Computer keyboard|keyboard}} than a smartphone, Cueball cuts off the conversation and says he will get back to whoever he was talking to when he can type on an actual keyboard, presumably at home and on his computer.

The joke is that despite claiming to be more proficient with a physical keyboard, rather than a digital one, Randall still [https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BerserkButton goes into long rants] through text messages, whenever anybody brings up Jurassic Park.
The title text goes over topics he brings up in his arguments. And that, eve n through he types 1500 words in a phone, he types more in a keyboard.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball walking and texting on a cellphone.]
:Cueball (texting): Sure, I can reply once I'm back at a keyword and can type more easily.

:[Caption below the panel:]
: I say this a lot for someone who routinely types thousands of words in text message conversations when someone brings up ''Jurassic Park''.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Jurassic Park]]
[[Category:Smartphones]]

660: Sympathy

2019-07-26T18:59:44Z

172.69.44.146: Added note to airfoil comic

{{comic
| number = 660
| date = November 9, 2009
| title = Sympathy
| image = sympathy.png
| titletext = Excellent recovery:... which we could try to use to somehow save your original brother!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic plays at the lack of social skills physicists and other people in heavily scientific disciplines are stereotypically believed to have. The example displayed is a case of condolence, in which the appropriate behaviour would of course be to express compassion with the bereaved, as shown in the second panel.

In the third panel, the physicist fails to display the endorsed demeanour. Instead, he takes a scientific approach towards the statement of his friend. He points out that the transmission of the pain the latter believes to have felt, is in fact limited by the {{w|speed of light}} and could therefore not have been 'instant'. By saying so, he betrays an absence of feeling towards his friend, as well as his inability to understand the figurative sense of the words.

In the last panel, the physicist takes the previous to a bizarre extreme and reflects on the consequences that would follow if the statement of his friend were indeed literally true. According to {{w|special relativity}}, any object travelling faster than at the speed of light would in fact move backwards in time. The physicist therefore plans to utilize this effect in order to construct a {{w|tachyonic antitelephone}}, a device that allows sending information to the past. To confirm the initial condition, he makes the utterly inappropriate proposal to start a series of measurements with other family members of his friend.

A correction of the misdemeanour is suggested in the title text: The antitelephone might be used to change causality and save the original brother from dying in the first place. Of course, saying the latter would not be of much help in the given scenario, although it does serve a noticeable improvement over the last two panels.

Note how he says 'original brother', noting that although he would have saved his brother, another family member would have to have been killed to do so.

The use of right/wrong/very wrong is also presented in [[803: Airfoil]]

==Transcript==
:Sympathy Tips for Physicists
:[Cueball and friend are talking.]
:Friend: The moment my brother died, I felt a searing pain in my heart.

:Right:
:[Cueball places his hand on the friend's shoulder.]
:Cueball: I'm so sorry.

:Wrong:
:Cueball: Was it instant, or was there a speed-of-light delay?

:Very Wrong:
:[Cueball thoughtfully puts his hand on his chin.]
:Cueball: If it was instant, with the right arrangement of moving reference frames, we could use this to send signals back in time and violate causality! How many remaining siblings do you have?

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Social interactions]]

1247: The Mother of All Suspicious Files

2019-07-23T23:00:27Z

172.69.44.146: Added last extension explanation

{{comic
| number = 1247
| date = August 5, 2013
| title = The Mother of All Suspicious Files
| image = the_mother_of_all_suspicious_files.png
| titletext = Better change the URL to 'https' before downloading.
}}

==Explanation==
The save {{w|dialog box}} shows a download from <tt><nowiki>http://65.222.202.53</nowiki></tt>, an {{w|IP address}} that hosted {{w|JavaScript}} {{w|malware}} during a recent attack on the {{w|Tor anonymity network}}, with a very long file title. Many of the {{w|file extension|extensions}} used inside there indicate executable code; multiple file extensions are sometimes used to disguise a {{w|Trojan horse (computing)|trojan program}} as a document.

You can also see common download syntax for a pirated movie, {{w|Hackers (film)|''Hackers''}}, likely included to appear malicious to anyone skimming but is actually a movie about hackers, making it a benign reference rather than malicious. It is described as "<tt>_BLURAY_CAM</tt>", which contradicts itself ("<tt>_BLURAY</tt>" would imply it was ripped from a copy on {{w|Blu-ray Disc}}, while "<tt>_CAM</tt>" would mean it was copied by pointing a camera at the screen in the cinema). "<tt>_BLURAY_CAM</tt>" would probably indicate a search-keyword-stuffed fake copy; fake pirated media often contain viruses (although this is more likely to be a problem with newer media, before the first real pirated copy appears).

The {{w|URL}} contains the path "<tt>~tilde/pub/cia-bin/etc</tt>". The first part is a public folder of a user named "tilde" (which is also the name for the {{w|tilde|~ symbol}}), "<tt>cgi-bin</tt>" is a common folder on a web server for server-side executables ([[Randall]] changes the name to "<tt>[[CIA|cia]]-bin</tt>"), and "<tt>etc</tt>" is a standard folder for configuration files – normally never accessible through a web server. The program "init.dll" isn't executable at all, it's a {{w|Windows Dynamic Link Library}} which can't be run standalone, and is rarely referenced in URLs (even though such syntax is still being employed, even on [https://www.google.com/search?q=site:edu+filetype:dll reputable websites (Google search)] or here at [https://signin.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll eBay], indicating the webserver is a Microsoft {{w|Active Server Pages|ASP}} server). The question mark indicates the start of a parameter list, and in this case we have only one named "<tt>FILE</tt>".

The "Save" button is greyed out, suggesting that it is disabled; you can click only the "Cancel" button. For security reasons, some browsers (like Firefox) disable the "Save" button for a few seconds before enabling it. This prevents users from accidentally accepting a download while entering input, like a malicious CAPTCHA.

The complete content sent to the server, starting with "<tt>/~tilde...</tt>" and ending with "<tt>...out.exe</tt>", is exactly 256 characters long. On {{w|HTML 3}} specifications you have a limitation of 1024 characters, whereas later HTML specifications don't have this limit; it just depends on the web server's capabilities. But posting parameters directly at the URL is still a worse choice.

The content of the parameter is shown here:
*<tt>__</tt> (underscore underscore) — used in the {{w|C programming language}} to denote that a symbol is really not for public consumption.
*<tt>{{w|autoexec.bat}}</tt> — a {{w|batch file}} which is automatically run during startup on {{w|MS-DOS}} and {{w|Windows}} operating systems, and was often modified by viruses, which added malicious code to be run on each boot.
*<tt>My%20OSX%20Documents</tt> — referencing Apple's {{w|OS X}} operating system (<tt>{{w|URL encoding#Character data|%20}}</tt> is a representation of a space in a URL, i.e. it reads as "<tt>My OSX Documents</tt>").
*<tt>install.exe</tt> — a typical {{w|Installer#Installer|installer}}.
*<tt>{{w|RAR|.rar}}</tt> — a compressed archive file type.
*<tt>{{w|INI file|.ini}}</tt> — a configuration file type.
*<tt>{{w|Tar (computing)|.tar}}</tt> — a {{w|file}} archive popular in {{w|Unix}} and {{w|Unix-like}} operating systems. tar has been mentioned [[1168: tar|before]].
*<tt>.doçx</tt> — <tt>{{w|docx|.docx}}</tt> is an {{w|Office Open XML}} file, i.e. a word processing format used by {{w|Microsoft Word 2007}} and above, but has no {{w|cedilla}} (¸). The addition of a cedilla may be a reference to exploits that rely on rare characters being mistaken for more common ones that look similar, such as the {{w|IDN homograph attack}}.
*<tt>.phphphp</tt> — a play on {{w|PHP}} files, a kind of server-based web page file type. PHP originally stood for "Personal Home Page" but was later redefined as the recursive abbreviation "PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor".
*<tt>{{w|XHTML|.xhtml}}</tt> — another web page file type.
*<tt>{{w|TransducerML|.tml}}</tt> — stands for Transducer Markup Language, an {{w|XML}}-based {{w|markup language}} that specifies how to capture, time-tag and describe sensor data.
*<tt>.xtl</tt> — possibly a play on XHTML.
*<tt>.txxt</tt> — a play on <tt>{{w|Text file|.txt}}</tt> file types.
*<tt>0DAY.HACK</tt> — a reference to a {{w|zero-day exploit}}. (overlaps with the next entry)
*<tt>HACK.ERS_(1995)_BLURAY_CAM-XVID</tt> — a reference to the 1995 {{W|Hackers (film)|''Hackers''}} movie, but pirated movies would either be a <tt>BLURAYRIP/DVDRIP</tt> or <tt>CAM</tt>, but not both at the same time unless you used a camera to record a {{w|Blu-Ray}} movie as it played.
*<tt>{{w|EXE|.exe}}</tt> — an executable file type used by Microsoft Windows.
*<tt>[SCR]</tt> — a tag used by movie pirates to denote a '{{w|Screener}}', the DVD copy of films given to critics prior to theater release. Usually the highest quality available at the time, rare, and thus good bait for a virus-laden download. "{{w|.scr}}" is also the extension for screensaver files, really just an exe file with a different extension and one of the classical ways to distribute infected files.
*<tt>{{w|Lisp (programming language)|Lisp}}</tt> — programming language.
*<tt>{{w|Windows Installer|.msi}}</tt> — an installation file used by Microsoft Installer.
*<tt>{{w|.lnk}}</tt> — an extension used by Microsoft Windows for shortcuts. The extension is normally hidden to the user.
*<tt>.lnk.zda.gnn</tt> — references to {{w|Link (The Legend of Zelda)|Link}}, {{w|Princess Zelda|Zelda}}, and {{w|Ganon}}, important characters from ''{{w|The Legend of Zelda}}'' video game franchise.
*<tt>{{w|White Rabbit#Television and films|wrbt.obj}}</tt> — A reference to the line of code Dennis Nedry used in ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}'' to shut down key systems.
*<tt>{{w|Object file|.o}}</tt> — The extension for a {{w|linker file}}, an intermediary created when compiling {{w|C programming language|C code}}.
*<tt>{{w|Header file|.h}}</tt> — The file extension of a {{w|header file}} in C code.
*<tt>{{w|.swf}}</tt> — {{w|Shockwave Flash}} file type.
*<tt>{{w|Dpkg|.dpkg}}</tt> — The {{w|Debian}} package management, although the package files use the file suffix <tt>.deb</tt>.
*<tt>.app</tt> — an application on the {{w|Mac OS X}} operating system.
*<tt>{{w|ZIP (file format)|.zip}}</tt> — compressed archive file type.
*<tt>.co</tt> — the {{w|List of Internet top-level domains|top-level domain (TLD)}} for Colombia, but marketed as a global domain. Some countries use <tt>.co.''TLD''</tt> for general use, e.g. <tt>.co.uk</tt> in the United Kingdom. But the TLD <tt>.gz</tt> does not exist and thus <tt>.co.gz</tt> is invalid.
*<tt>{{w|Gzip|.gz}}</tt> — a compressed file using {{w|GNU}} zip.
*<tt>{{w|A.out|.a.out}}</tt> — Default filename when creating an executable on {{w|Linux}} or other Unix-like operating systems if none was specified for the compiler.

The title text suggests changing from <tt>http</tt> to <tt>https</tt>, as if encrypting a suspicious file before downloading it is somehow better than downloading it unencrypted. <tt>{{w|http}}</tt> (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and <tt>{{w|https}}</tt> (Hypertext Transfer Protocol – Secure) are the two common protocols for getting web pages and web downloads. http is the simple download, whereas https adds an SSL encryption layer so the item being downloaded cannot be viewed unencrypted by anyone except the end recipient. Changing <tt>http</tt> to <tt>https</tt> is a common suggestion to improve security when browsing the web from an insecure network (such as a public {{w|WiFi}} hotspot) to avoid surveillance or hijacking to a malicious website; Google automatically switches to <tt>https</tt> for all mail accounts and is starting to do so with searches. The end recipient will still get whatever nasties were in the original, however — encrypting it doesn't change the content at all.

The {{w|IP address}} referenced in the comic, <tt>65.222.202.53</tt>, is currently being used by the shellcode of a {{w|JavaScript}} {{w|zero-day exploit}} for the {{w|Tor Browser Bundle}} being run by the {{w|FBI}} to phone home over the clearnet [http://thehackernews.com/2013/08/Firefox-Exploit-Tor-Network-child-pornography-Freedom-Hosting.html] and deanonymize visitors to websites on Freedom Hosting that are serving child pornography. [http://www.reddit.com/r/onions/comments/1jmrta/founder_of_the_freedom_hosting_arrested_held/]

As the last extension in the file is .exe, a Windows computer would run the file like an application, usually, it is not safe to run unknown .exe files

==Transcript==
:[Browser download warning box containing the following text.]
:WARNING!
:This type of file can harm your computer! Are you sure you want to download:
:<nowiki>http://65.222.202.53/~TILDE/PUB/CIA-BIN/ETC/INIT.DLL?FILE=__AUTOEXEC.BAT.MY%20OSX%20DOCUMENTS-INSTALL.EXE.RAR.INI.TAR.DOÇX.PHPHPHP.XHTML.TML.XTL.TXXT.0DAY.HACK.ERS_(1995)_BLURAY_CAM-XVID.EXE.TAR.[SCR].LISP.MSI.LNK.ZDA.GNN.WRBT.OBJ.O.H.SWF.DPKG.APP.ZIP.TAR.TAR.CO.GZ.A.OUT.EXE</nowiki>
:[Cancel and Save buttons (Save button disabled)]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Video games]]

Talk:2169: Predictive Models

2019-07-22T13:09:45Z

172.69.44.146:

If you click on the comic, it opens a page with error 404. Looking at the URL, it says "At the July 28th meeting", which I assume is the prediction result to the title text suggesting that they will be 1 month late. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.174|162.158.106.174]] 17:13, 28 June 2019 (UTC)

: Fixsed it, my years of mediawiki knowledge have finally come to use. [[User:Iggyvolz|Iggyvolz]] ([[User talk:Iggyvolz|talk]])

In the HTML tag for the link (the <a> tag surrounding the comic image) after the link it says "cancel the meeting! our cover is blown" [[User:Everlastingwonder|Everlastingwonder]] ([[User talk:Everlastingwonder|talk]]) 17:21, 28 June 2019 (UTC)

In the [https://m.xkcd.com/2169/ mobile version], you can read «See also: [AT THE JULY 28TH MEETING][tab] "Cancel the meeting! Our cover is blown."» It leads to a 404, like the other examples in the comments here. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.44.136|172.69.44.136]] 17:31, 28 June 2019 (UTC)

This looks a whole lot like Gmail's [https://ai.googleblog.com/2018/05/smart-compose-using-neural-networks-to.html Smart Compose] [[Special:Contributions/172.68.206.76|172.68.206.76]]

Today GMail actually predicted the beginning of my mail correctly. I typed literally zero characters and it already knew how to continue. In the future, we won't even have to upload our brains to a computer, a backup will already be available there automatically. [[User:Fabian42|Fabian42]] ([[User talk:Fabian42|talk]]) 21:32, 28 June 2019 (UTC)

Not a backup, a simulation. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.184|108.162.219.184]] 04:46, 29 June 2019 (UTC)

: If you can't tell the difference, does it matter? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.147|173.245.48.147]] 17:04, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

On my Mac the title text only shows "WE WILL ARREST THE REVOLUTION MEMBERS" while on my iPad (where you long press to see title texts) long pressing only shows the link. Weird. Also someone remind me to check the link again on July 28. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 13:10, 29 June 2019 (UTC)

: On my Ubuntu system, both Firefox and Chrome display "WE WILL ARREST THE REVOLUTION MEMBERS" as the title text and "<nowiki>https://xkcd.com/[AT THE JULY 28TH MEETING][tab]</nowiki>" as the link target, which is also what's in the HTML source. Additionally, the HTML source is malformed, with quotes inside quotes in the href attribute. - [[User:Linneris|Linneris]] ([[User talk:Linneris|talk]]) 14:37, 29 June 2019 (UTC)
::Malformed. Precisely! I think there was a glitch while the comic was uploaded, which used the title text as a link in addition to as the title text. It didn't include the last part due to the quotes. It will be either fixed or legitimate, or at least make the href a little nicer. [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 21:24, 29 June 2019 (UTC)
:::Actually... Looking at the comic again (for the first time on my PC), I would like to rethink that. I think this is Randall's method of demonstrating the [tab]; clicking and looking at the URL. [EDIT] Man, the more I think, the weirder it gets. Maybe it's about how sometimes you can find the information on the client side in the code where it should be hidden? I don't know anymore. [[User:Jacky720|That's right, Jacky720 just signed this]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]] | [[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|contribs]]) 21:27, 29 June 2019 (UTC)
::When you look at the source of [https://xkcd.com/2169/%5BAT%20THE%20JULY%2028TH%20MEETING%5D%5Btab%5D that 404 page], you can see six HTML comments with the content ''a padding to disable MSIE and Chrome friendly error page''. This is to prevent MSIE and Chrome from displaying "helpful" proprietary error pages. If you change the link in the slightest, you will also get a 404 page, but without these comments. I assume that either this was a glitch (intended or unintended) and this particular 404 page was modified so that everyone can see that the authors are aware of it, *or* it's a hint pointing to somewhere else. A rabbit hole maybe? I would like the latter to be true, but I haven't found anything.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.90.168|162.158.90.168]] 22:42, 29 June 2019 (UTC)
:::Not for me. I see the same tiny Nginx 404 page with the same HTML source as any other 404 page due to invalid link on xkcd.com. - [[User:Linneris|Linneris]] ([[User talk:Linneris|talk]]) 07:14, 30 June 2019 (UTC)
::My computer did that, but then it didn't happen anymore and the title text was complete.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.44.146|172.69.44.146]] 13:09, 22 July 2019 (UTC)

This reminds me of that time where via data analytics on things like shopping habits, [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/magazine/shopping-habits.html Target figured out that a teen girl was pregnant before her father did]. [[User:Ahiijny|Ahiijny]] ([[User talk:Ahiijny|talk]]) 06:42, 30 June 2019 (UTC)

I tried this on google, and got "we will arrest chamisa" and "the meeting will be in room 27" and "our next meeting will be at 3 p.m. on wednesday". Any more? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.59.214|162.158.59.214]] 19:16, 30 June 2019 (UTC)

I decided to see what a more sophisticated predictive model would do, so I plugged it into Talk to Transformer. The output: "Long live the revolution. Our next meeting will be at 10 a.m. on December 14 at the Cressey Building, 1636 S. Second St. Please invite your friends, family, and coworkers! For those interested in donating to the cause, please contact:" I'm legitimately impressed. [[User:Arcorann|Arcorann]] ([[User talk:Arcorann|talk]]) 01:03, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

Thinking about predictive text, in combination with the advice on the futility of making people change their passwords frequently, perhaps systems which require people to change their passwords could be more helpful by observing the pattern the user is using, and suggesting what the next password should be. [https://www.troyhunt.com/passwords-evolved-authentication-guidance-for-the-modern-era/ Passwords Evolved: Authentication Guidance for the Modern Era] [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.216|162.158.106.216]] 20:05, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

This paragraph was in the explanation, however the cited source gives no information about how the private correspondence was obtained, and no suggestion that the privacy of the communication channel was compromised. (The most obvious way that such information would be obtained is that somebody who was party to the communication made it available.) I moved it here in case somebody has sources to show that it was a breach of security.
"As humanity adapts to a digital world, people are finding that their digital communications provide the illusion of confidentiality, with damaging results when the information leaks out. Real-life examples include a [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-36391957 2016 British trainee doctor strike], where a technically-secure WhatsApp group leaked information to the press." [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.220|108.162.245.220]] 05:18, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

Incomplete tag worth saving for posterity, due to H2G2 reference: Created by a PREDICTIVE MODEL THAT WILL BE FIRST AGAINST THE WALL WHEN THE REVOLUTION COMES. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.47.240|172.68.47.240]] 01:56, 12 July 2019 (UTC)

== Social media has been used in revolutions ==

Once revolutions achieve critical mass, they often communicate on more insecure channels. Many of the Arab Spring revolutions involved spread through Twitter. Broadly speaking the security vs contagiousness issues often cause disagreement among revolutionaries.

I.E. Trotskyist/Stalinist disagreements over "Permanent revolution" (expansionist) vs "Socialism in one country" (security and development of the USSR without spending all available surplus on spreading communism directly).

1190: Time/Translator

2019-07-12T17:54:44Z

172.69.44.146: /* Images */

Here's a list of all the blurry text from the translator from [[1190: Time]], both with the original image and enhanced contrast.

===Synonyms===
The cartoon reflects the uncertainty of the translator's word choices and pronunciation by obscuring the text with ink blots and overlaying them with synonyms and extra meanings in large, light letters in the background.

For example, in the second panel, "whence" appears in bold letters and "from where" appears behind it in enlarged, lighter letters.

In the third panel "here" is also glossed in the background as "to this fortress".

===Grammar===
A note about grammar:

* The punctuation appears to be borrowed from the translator's native language.
* The ring diacritic indicates a question mark.
* A single line above a letter is a full stop.
* A double line above a letter is colon or comma.

This might help in determining the native language a bit better.

===Images===
{| class="wikitable"
! Original picture capture
! Enhanced contrast picture
|-
! Text
! Background text
|-
! colspan="2" | Notes and/or corrections
|-
| [[File:translator-1.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-1.png]]
|-
| "Somewhat"
| "Somewhat"
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-2.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-2.png]]
|-
| {{nowrap|"Whence have you traveled here"}}
| "From where"...
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-3.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-3.png]]
|-
| {{nowrap|"You arose here from the desert below?}} Nobody resides there"
| "To this fortress"... ..."sand"... ..."lives"...
|-
| [[File:translator-4.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-4.png]]
|-
| "I am sorry. Your language is like those spoken by the [unclear-1] difficult [unclear-2] but I learned it."
| "I apologize" {{nowrap|..."tongue"..."similar"...}} "I"
|-
| colspan="2" | {{nowrap|U-1 & 2: Totally obscured.}}
|-
| [[File:translator-5.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-5.png]]
|-
| "Please be patient"
| "Please have patience"
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-6.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-6.png]]
|-
| "They understand nöthing so they will tend to matters."
| "understand" "thus"..."attend"..."matters"
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-7.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-7.png]]
|-
| "Your bags"
| "Your packs"
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-8.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-8.png]]
|-
| "They are heavy."
| "For"...[unclear-1]
|-
|
| U-1: "weighted"?
|-
| [[File:translator-9.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-9.png]]
|-
| "You're Welcome"
| "You are" ... "to it"
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-10.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-10.png]]
|-
| "Tell me where your home is."
| "Tell" ... "house"
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-11.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-11.png]]
|-
| "What river?"
|
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-12.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-12.png]]
|-
| "How many people strong are you?"
| ..."numerous"
|-
| colspan="2" | U-1: "...r...n...": strong?
|-
| [[File:translator-13.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-13.png]]
|-
| "Which is forty? All my numbers are too small." "Yes! Good."
| "What"... 
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-14.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-14.png]]
|-
| "Do you carry these people with you?"
|
|-
| colspan="2" | With the implicit meaning of "did they come with you?" assuming the translator doesn't believe they are Cueball's imaginary friends or action figures.
|-
| [[File:translator-15.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-15.png]]
|-
| "Oh." "'''Oh.'''"
|
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-16.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-16.png]]
|-
| "You do not know." "I [Unclear-1]"
| "[Unclear-2]"
|-
| U-1: "m... ...se.": "must espouse."?
| U-2: "...ll...ina...": Possibly "illuminate"
|-
| [[File:translator-17.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-17.png]]
|-
| "Your sea does not stand alone: There is another sea next to it [Unclear-1] beyond the shore. It has become [Unclear-2] to yours [Unclear-3] levels differ and thus water flows"...
| ..."tied"... 
|-
| colspan="2" | U-1: Totally obscured. U-2: "s...ed" U-3: "b...": because? but their?
|-
| [[File:translator-18.png]]
| [[File:translator-contrast-18.png]]
|-
| "In time even the hills change. When people first walked and first {{nowrap|built [Unclear-2] cities the seas were joined.}} but there was a great [Unclear-3] {{nowrap|rock [Unclear-4] and the passage was closed.}} Your sea [Unclear-5] with too few rivers. Under the sun it shrank and the water fell. The sea has found a way back in."
| "castles"..."welded" "mud"..."road"..."forbidden" "Now"...
|-
|U-1: Totally obscured. U-2: Totally obscured. U-3: Totally obscured. U-4: "w...": was isolated?
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-19.png]]
|
|-
| "Do you know where you are?"
|
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-20.png]]
|
|-
| "I [Unclear-1] build you a map to understanding."
| "Find" "[Unclear-2]"
|-
| U-1: "...l..l": Will? With the implicit meaning of "I'll find you a map to help your understanding".
| U-2: "Do..." Do?
|-
| [[File:translator-21.png]]
|
|-
| "This fortress is here." "This sea is yours." "This sea is joining yours."
|
|-
| colspan="2" | The fortress is in southern France, the sea south of it in the present Mediterranean's basin, and the other "sea" is the Atlantic.
|-
| [[File:translator-22.png]]
|
|-
| "And this is our belief about the sea's new shore."
| [Unclear-1] [Unclear-2]
|-
|
| U-1: "...ion": Suggestion? Conception? Religion? U-2: "...ce...": Cancel?
|-
| [[File:translator-23.png]]
|
|-
| "We '''learned''' it has happened before. When our parents were learning to walk upright, the sea fled and returned."
| ..."forefathers"/[unclear-1]... ..."stand" 
|-
|
| U-1: "...ors": ancestors?
|-
| [[File:translator-24.png]]
|
|-
| "Now it is happening again."
|
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-25.png]]
|
|-
| "Yes."
|
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-26.png]]
|
|-
| "This castle was once an island. We found it and have tried to rebuild it."
| ..."fortress"..."on"... "[Unclear-1]"
|-
|
| U-1: "...a...red": Appeared?
|-
| [[File:translator-27.png]]
|
|-
| "I guess it will be an island again."
| ..."imagine"..."suppose"... ..."island again"
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-28.png]]
|
|-
| "We are learners/teachers.* This fortress [Unclear-1] with learners/teachers* and I am their teacher/leader.*"
| ..."scholars" ..."'''ruler'''"
|-
| colspan="2" | U-1: "..ar..s": shares/guards/swarms? {{nowrap|[ * ] Unlike most}} alt text, the "learners" and "teachers" in the first and third lines are ''both'' presented as the correct translation. Similarly "teacher" and "leader" in the last line.
|-
| [[File:translator-29.png]]
|
|-
| "I am so sorry."
| "[Unclear-1]"..."sorrow"
|-
| colspan="2" | U-1: "w...re" we are?
|-
| [[File:translator-30.png]]
|
|-
| "When we discovered the sea was [Unclear-1] under the bank we tried to shore it up. We '''failed'''. We tried to remove everybody from the basin, but we did not know of your tribe."
| "flowing" "berm"..."repair" [Unclear-2] "group"
|-
| U-1: "s...ing": seeping?
| U-2: "...ea": sea? area?
|-
| [[File:translator-31.png]]
|
|-
| "'''No.'''"
|
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-32.png]]
|
|-
| "As the water flows, it widens the breach. '''The berm is giving way'''. {{nowrap|The sea will rush through in a [Unclear-1] torrent.}} The planet's mightiest river will once again come thundering down the mountainside. The sea will fill not in years but in '''days'''."
| "channel" "history's" 
|-
| colspan="2" | U-1: "g...": giant? great? gushing?
|-
| [[File:translator-33.png]]
|
|-
| "The journey to your land is much too long. [Unclear-1] not send [Unclear-2] only to see them encircled and drowned by the rising tide."
| "rushing"..."water"
|-
| colspan="2" | U-1: "...l": I'll? I will? U-2: "...s": Friends?
|-
| [[File:translator-34.png]]
|
|-
| "The world you knew is ending but fortune has delivered you from the flood. You did not intend to leave your home forever but be thankful you left when you did."
| "grateful"
|-
| colspan="2" |
|-
| [[File:translator-35.png]]
|
|-
| "You must say your goodbyes from here. You cannot go back down into the abyss. For you have walked too far and now there is no more time to walk. The ocean is coming."
| "cannot"..."return" "sea"..."here"
|-
| colspan="2" |
|}
{{DEFAULTSORT:1190}}

[[Category:Comic subpages]]

2172: Lunar Cycles

2019-07-08T16:40:33Z

172.69.44.146: Added citation needed

{{comic
| number = 2172
| date = July 5, 2019
| title = Lunar Cycles
| image = lunar_cycles.png
| titletext = The Antikythera mechanism had a whole set of gears specifically to track the cyclic popularity of skinny jeans and low-rise waists.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a MOONBOT. Joke cycle explanations need to be expanded and title text needs to be explained. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

This comic shows a mixture of real, scientific lunar cycles and cycles that are comedic or fictional in nature.

*'''Nodal precession:''' The Moon's orbital plane is tilted slightly compared to the Earth's orbital plane around the sun (the {{w|ecliptic}}). This tilt is why we don't constantly see eclipses; most of the time, the Moon's orbital plane is tilted higher or lower than the Sun, so they generally don't cross each other. The two points at which these planes ''do'' cross are called {{w|lunar nodes}}. {{w|Nodal precession}} is the gradual rotation of these nodes over time, which for the Moon follows an 18.6 year cycle.

*'''Apsidal precession:''' All orbits have two points where the orbiting body is either closest to, or furthest away from, the thing they are orbiting. These points are called {{w|apsides}}, and the imaginary line between them is called the ''line of apsides''. {{w|Apsidal precession}} is the gradual rotation of this line over time, which occurs in cycles of around 8.9 years for the Moon.

*'''Phase:''' {{w|Lunar phase}} describes the change in shape of the sunlit side of the Moon as viewed from the Earth's surface, which is caused by the changing angle between Moon and Sun as the Moon revolves around the Earth. The cycle of lunar phases takes 29.5 days, a figure referred to as the ''synodic month''.

*'''Distance:''' Because the Moon's orbit around the Earth is elliptical, its distance from the Earth varies slightly over the course of an orbit. This means that the moon's distance also follows a cycle which is the same as the length of one lunar orbit: approximately 27.5 days. This figure is referred to as the ''anomalistic month''. Note that the synodic month is (perhaps counterintuituvely) two days ''longer'' than the sidereal month - or to put it another way, it takes 2 more days for the Moon's phases to cycle than it does for the Moon to go around the Earth. This is due to the fact that the Earth is also moving ''around'' the Sun while the phases are going on, which means that the Moon has to spend 2 extra days "catching up" to the point at which the lunar phase cycle can restart.

*'''Earth-Moon relative size''': This is a joke cycle; the Earth and Moon do not physically change size, nor does the Moon ever become larger than the Earth. This may be playing on the idea that the Moon often ''appears'' to change size to viewers on Earth, due to various factors; most commonly, this is due to the {{w|Moon illusion}}, which tricks the brain into perceiving the Moon as much larger than it really is. There are also so-called {{w|supermoon}}s, which occur when the full moon coincides with the Moon's closest approach to Earth; these actually do increase the Moon's apparent size, although by a relatively insignificant amount.

*'''Lunar shape:''' Again, this is a joke cycle; the Moon does not actually change shape. A shape intermediate between circle and square is known as a {{w|squircle}}, a subclass of the {{w|superellipse}}.

*'''Lunar mood:''' The moon does not have a mood{{Citation needed}}, although humans can have moods that fluctuate over time{{Citation needed}}, sometimes with a regularity akin to a cycle. Ironically, the section of the graph that shows a good (i.e. happy) mood has the graph line curving up then down like the mouth of a frown, and for the bad (unhappy) mood it curves down and then up, as in the mouth of a smile.

* The final diagram shows many different cycles superimposed on each other, highlighting areas where several cycles are coinciding. This is likely satirizing the media trend of overhyping astronomical coincidences and giving them grand-sounding names:
:*The light gray "phase × distance" plot does not correspond to the product of periods given for phase and distance, which [https://i.imgur.com/0i0mcPn.png look like this] instead.
:*A [[wikipedia:harvest moon|harvest moon]] is the traditional name for the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox, but there is nothing astronomically significant about it.
:*A [[wikipedia:Supermoon|supermoon]] is a full or new moon when the Moon is closest to the Earth, resulting in a slightly larger-than-usual apparent size. A full supermoon is roughly 14% larger in diameter than when the Moon is furthest away. See also [[1394: Superm*n]].
:*A [[wikipedia:blue moon|blue moon]] is the extra full moon in years with 13 full moons, which happens once every two or three years (hence the phrase "once in a blue moon"). Blue moons don't look any different from regular full moons.
:*{{w|Astrology}} is a pseudoscience which claims that the positions of the celestial bodies can be used to predict human affairs. The chart jokingly suggests that astrology actually ''does'' work, but only within a very specific two-week timeframe.
:*The [[wikipedia:Golden Age of Television|Golden Age of Television]] is said to have occurred in the 1940s and 50s, and the 2000s.
:*There are no occurrences of '''dire moon''' or '''pork moon''' in the Google Books N-Gram viewer, which includes many works from the 1800s through 2008. A [[wikipedia:blood moon|blood moon]] refers to the moon during a lunar eclipse.
:*While the popularity of '''skinny jeans''' ([[wikipedia:Slim-fit pants|slim-fit pants]]) does change over time, the idea that this is connected to a lunar cycle is also a joke.
:*Finally, while the idea of a '''total eclipse of the sea''' seems absurd, [https://www.deepseanews.com/2017/08/what-happens-in-the-sea-during-a-solar-eclipse/ an eclipse was famously used to explain the migration of maritime animals]:
:::''biologists were beginning to unravel the mystery of this ‘false bottom’–a layer in the ocean that looks the the sea floor on the sounder but isn’t–which covered much of the ocean. This false bottom rises in up at night and sinks down during the day. This rising and falling is in fact caused by the largest migration of animal on Earth–everything from fish, shrimp and jellyfish, moving hundreds of meters in unison up and down each day.... the moon moved into its place in front of the sun, daylight rapidly faded, and the scientists solved the migration mystery: the deep layer of animals began to rise. Bioluminescent creatures started to shine, and nocturnal creatures started a frantic upward thrust. As the world grew darker, they swam upward nearly 80 meters. But this frantic migration didn’t last long. As the moon receded and the sun revealed itself, the massive animal layer did an about-face, scrambling back into the safety of the darkness.''
:: (Backus, Clark, and Wing (1965) [https://sci-hub.tw/10.1038/205989a0 "Behaviour of certain marine organisms during the solar eclipse of July 20, 1963"] ''Nature'' '''4975:'''989-91.)
The '''{{w|Antikythera_mechanism|Antikythera mechanism}}''' mentioned in the title text is an ancient Greek machine, rediscovered in 1901, designed to calculate astronomical positions. The title text jokes that there is a set of gears on said mechanism that is used to predict the popularity of "skinny jeans" and "low-rise waists." Since it was likely created in the 1st or 2nd century B.C., it is impossible for the creators to have had any knowledge of skinny jeans or low-rise waists - both are modern-day clothing fashions.

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

:Understanding lunar cycles

:Nodal precession
:[A diagram showing a broad cosine-like wave with wavelength labelled as 18.6 years. To the right are two diagrams showing an orbital cycle moving in and out of plane.]

:Apsidal precession
:[A diagram similar to the one above but with a slightly shorter wavelength, labelled as 8.9 years. To the right are two diagrams showing an elliptical orbit around a planet and the same orbit rotated.]

:Phase
:[A diagram similar to those above with a shorter wavelength, labelled as 29.5 days. To the right is a diagram showing four phases of the moon: New, Waxing crescent, Waxinf gibbos, Full.]

:Distance
:[A diagram similar to those above with a shorter wavelength, labelled as 27.5 days. To the right is a diagram showing the distance of the moon from the Earth over time, with distances marked by arrows.]

:Earth-Moon relative size
:[A wave with long wavelength with an arrow pointing to the minimum labelled 'Earth bigger' and an arrow pointing to the maximum labelled 'Moon bigger'. To the right are two diagrams of the moon and Earth, one showing the Earth bigger than the Moon and the other showing the Moon bigger than the Earth.]

:Lunar shape
:[A wave with long wavelength with an arrow pointing to the minimum labelled 'Circle' and an arrow pointing to the maximum labelled 'Square'. To the right is a diagram showing a circle, a circle transforming into a square with outward arrows at each corner and a square transforming into a circle with inward arrows.]

:Lunar mood
:[A wave with long wavelength with an arrow pointing to the minimum labelled 'Bad' and an arrow pointing to the maximum labelled 'Good'. To the right are four emojis: :), :|, :(, :|]

:[A superimposed graph of all the above waves. Different points on the graph are labelled: Harvest moon, Supermoon, Blue moon, Skinny Jeans popular, Super blood moon, Golden age of TV, Dire moon, Pork moon, Two week window in which astrology works, Total eclipse of the sea.]

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:2170: Coordinate Precision

2019-07-03T16:51:06Z

172.69.44.146: Added a comment at the end, this is my first time so I hope I did it right.

The coordinates seem to show a NASA building, so in the end you're still soing something space related. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.55.196|172.69.55.196]] 19:47, 1 July 2019 (UTC)Some random European.
:The more precise coordinates are actually in the middle of the Rocket Garden at the Visitor's Center of the Kennedy Space Center complex. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 19:58, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

The atom-level coordinates are obtained by appending digits of e and pi to the Rocket Garden coordinates. [[User:Ichoran|Ichoran]] ([[User talk:Ichoran|talk]]) 20:21, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

I always find it very funny to see all those decimals. Regular GPS devices have an uncertainty of 3 meters if there is no interference from trees, buildings or whatever. That puts you at about 4 to 5 decimals I guess. [[User:Palmpje|Palmpje]] ([[User talk:Palmpje|talk]]) 20:26, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
:A Google Maps webpage URL includes coordinates to seven decimal places. [[User:EmuSam|EmuSam]] ([[User talk:EmuSam|talk]]) 20:48, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
::Sure but out there with your handheld GPS or normal consumer device that includes a GPS receiver you won't get more precision than about 3 meters. And when your at the higher latitudes you're probably not getting that. [[User:Palmpje|Palmpje]] ([[User talk:Palmpje|talk]]) 20:52, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

So combining this comic with #2169, is Randal suggesting he'll be at the Rocket Garden on July 28th (much as he did in #240)? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.208|108.162.216.208]] 20:47, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
:It says ''June'' 28th. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.22|162.158.126.22]] 20:52, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
::No, the date of that comic is June 28, but the title text says: [AT THE JULY 28TH MEETING] --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 21:51, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
:::Ah, that makes sense. For some reason my app only showed the first part of the tirle text --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.94|162.158.126.94]] 23:04, 1 July 2019 (UTC)
::::The COMIC says "June 28th." The TITLE TEXT says "July 28th." Apparently the government computer predictive text was trained from different input. [[User:Mwburden|mwburden]] ([[User talk:Mwburden|talk]]) 15:26, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

Regrettably, there are two dimensions missing, Z and T. Without Z (elevation)+/- you could be in space or in a neutrino detector. T is only relevant for dynamic objects, but there again, the Americas are going West at a measurable rate! [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 21:30, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

The seventh row is likely a reference to comic number 1358 where two stick figures try to find waldo via satellite. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.226.125|172.69.226.125]] 21:44, 1 July 2019 (UTC) kisara, 21:42, 1 July 2019 (utc)

10^-40 degrees on the surface of the earth translates to about 0.7 planck lengths. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.106.234|162.158.106.234]] 21:50, 1 July 2019 (UTC)

Do the coordinates 28.5234°N, 80.6830°W really correspond to the tip of the Delta rocket? I checked and it was pointing to a small patch of ground next to the rocket, not the tip of the rocket itself. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 00:20, 2 July 2019 (UTC)
:No, you need to go to five decimal places to get the rocket. In that respect, I think he might be off by one digit of precision in his descriptions. [[User:Jeremyp|Jeremyp]] ([[User talk:Jeremyp|talk]]) 12:04, 2 July 2019 (UTC)
::Someone corrected it in the explanation, the coordinates 28.52345°N, 80.68309°W do correspond to the Delta rocket. [[User:Herobrine|Herobrine]] ([[User talk:Herobrine|talk]]) 12:46, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

I would like to mention that neither number seems to fit into a standard double float value. I made a fiddle showing this. [https://dotnetfiddle.net/k7yK0Y#] [[User:Ansarya|Ansarya]] ([[User talk:Ansarya|talk]]) 01:48, 2 July 2019 (UTC)
:Floats are stored base 2, so representing them exactly as decimal often requires many more digits than is actually necessary (for complicated number theory reasons, a float can always be represented exactly as decimal, which would not be true if floats were stored in base 3). For this reason, programming languages that can format floats round them, usually to a number of digits where it will be possible to reconstruct the original float (though C# apparently takes off a couple extra digits, since those digits are almost never significant). To illustrate this, I used Rust to print many more digits of a float than would be shown normally [https://play.rust-lang.org/?version=stable&mode=debug&edition=2018&gist=6796c2459ceabea1a03d7113b676dd8f]. The latitude coordinate in the comic could be the result of printing a double precision float, but the longitude coordinate could not be. Also note that it takes almost 50 digits to reach an exact base 10 representation, even though only 14 or 15 of those digits are actually needed to reconstruct the original float. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 18:01, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

May be my pet peeve... ...but adding an additional error to every piece of input data [and maybe every intermediate result] in order to show that either the precision the original measurement ends here or that all further digits of the measurement read "0" often introduces an error that can add up surprisingly quickly => I personally prefer raw floats that indicate there probably was no error analysis to rounded data and won't get tired on telling people to explicitely state what precision they can expect.[[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.70|162.158.114.70]]

If the smallest subnormal 32 bit float is a Planck length, then the largest 32 bit float is 10 sextillion times the diameter of the observable universe. If the value 1.0 of a 64 bit float is a cubic Planck length, then the largest float is 100 sextillion ''googol'' times the volume of the observable universe. [[User:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|Probably not Douglas Hofstadter]] ([[User talk:Probably not Douglas Hofstadter|talk]]) 17:21, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

It'd be neat to have a map that shows the precision of given coordinates; like how Google Maps shows transparent blue circle with a wider radius if it's location detection isn't very precise. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.170.76|172.69.170.76]] 19:10, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

Something about the formatting of the table seems to be messing up the main page. Not sure what it is, but it happens just after the '110 km (70 mi)' so might be related to the span. Not a major problem as it's fine on the comic page and the main page will change tomorrow anyway. [[User:A(l)Chemist|AlChemist]] ([[User talk:A(l)Chemist|talk]]) 19:43, 2 July 2019 (UTC)

/\
/ \
/____\
information is people
[[Special:Contributions/172.68.34.172|172.68.34.172]] 01:27, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

"more than a quintillion times smaller" that's short scale quintillion, right?
[[User:Kventin|Kventin]] ([[User talk:Kventin|talk]]) 08:04, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

<q>This is probably a reference to the fact that persons are animate, and different persons can occupy the same position at different times.</q>
No it is not. The comic itself explicitly states that it's a reference to the geodetic datum when it says, <q>but since you didn't include datum information, we can't tell who</q>.

<q>As the comic notes, different persons can occupy the same position at different times</q>. Where does it note that? Am I looking at a different comic? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.38.166|162.158.38.166]] 09:57, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

Is there supposed to be a comma after the dash in the description on 15 decimal places? I thought the "beginning - interjection - end of sentence" structure doesn't require a comma since the interjected section is basically a comma in itself. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.44.146|172.69.44.146]] 16:51, 3 July 2019 (UTC)

Talk:2164: Glacier

2019-06-18T15:29:53Z

172.69.44.146:

Sssssssdedsdesedsdsdddd {{unsigned ip|162.158.34.160}}

There is something in the air - Jon Finemore has a Sword in the Stone joke in the most recent Souvenir Programme.

We long ago noticed skiing and fencing both take place on piste.
However, they look at you askance when you try to fence on skis.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.34.82|162.158.34.82]] 21:20, 17 June 2019 (UTC)

Added trivia about T.H. White's appearance two comics ago. Obviously, The Sword in the Stone is on Randall's mind lately! [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 21:34, 17 June 2019 (UTC)

I think the phrase "takes things in a weird direction" is a pun since the original Sword in the Stone had the blade buried in the stone, and in this case, the handle is buried (also, in the Sword in the Stone, the blade traditionally points toward the ground, but in this case, it is parallel to the ground) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.126.46|162.158.126.46]] 22:48, 17 June 2019 (UTC)
:I agree there could be a pun in that choice of words on the direction of the blade. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 00:42, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

Is this saying Beret Guy is Norwegian, or is the title text just mentioning the Norwegian version offhand?[[User:V|V]] ([[User talk:V|talk]]) 01:15, 18 June 2019 (UTC)
:I guess it just mentions Norway because Norway is quite famous for its glaciers, as well as for strange art/humor. (Don't get me wrong: I love Norway, actually lived there for 6 months and want to go back.) --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:27, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

I'm struggling with the reference to fencing sabres in the current explanation. While it's possible that the weapons shown are indeed fencing sabres, I'm not entirely convinced because sabres appear to be less blade-like that what I see in the comic. I'm more inclined to describe the weapons in the comic as swords instead, especially since the title text refers to ''The Sword in the Stone''. Anyone else have an opinion? [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 01:47, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

My guess was the the title text was a joke based on Post-glacial Rebound. If you hold a sword over the bedrock, and wait for the rebound the sword will end up in the stone.
--[[Special:Contributions/172.69.44.146|172.69.44.146]] 15:29, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

Added here from explanation:
"Question Randall's science on this one as the consensus is that glaciers are retreating world wide. https://skepticalscience.com/himalayan-glaciers-growing.htm " (Author: [[Grendelsmum]] )signed by me, even though not my content. --[[User:Lupo|Lupo]] ([[User talk:Lupo|talk]]) 06:31, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

The comic refers probably to the legend of Arthur. Interestingly, Norway has its own sword in the stone, even three swords. It is believed that Norway won't fall as long as the swords are in the stone. They better give Arthur no visum. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sverd_i_fjell] Vince 06:52, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

The hairdryer has no cord, which doesn't exist commercially, but I happen to know that a german hairdryer company had prototypes of gas-powered cordless dryers but it never made a public appearance or product. [[User:Dodo|Dodo]] ([[User talk:Dodo|talk]]) 09:12, 18 June 2019 (UTC)
: I just put "cordless hairdryer" into Amazon and there are a few available. Admittedly, they don't look very good, but they do seem to exist. [[User:Daemonik|Daemonik]] ([[User talk:Daemonik|talk]]) 09:31, 18 June 2019 (UTC)
: I removed that part - it's simply not true. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 12:35, 18 June 2019 (UTC)

2162: Literary Opinions

2019-06-12T16:21:03Z

172.69.44.146: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2162
| date = June 12, 2019
| title = Literary Opinions
| image = literary_opinions.png
| titletext = If I really focus, I can distinguish between John Steinbeck and John Updike, or between Gore Vidal and Vidal Sassoon, but not both at once.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Hunter S Thompson was high while writing it. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Books sometimes have [https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/170553 different covers and titles in different regions].

[[Megan]] is telling [[Cueball]] about a literary opinion she has: She believes that {{w|William S. Burroughs}}, {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}, {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}, and {{w|David Foster Wallace}} are different names for the same person. Hunter S. Thompson was born in 1937 in Louisville, Kentucky, and died in 2005. Chuck Palahniuk, on the other hand, was born in 1962 in Pasco, Washington, and is still alive.

She then says that {{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}} (by {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}) and {{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}} (by {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}) are the same book with different covers, probably because the title and promotional images for both hint at fighting taking place in a big city (i.e., she is literally {{w|Don't judge a book by its cover|judging the book by its cover}}). They are not the same book, though.

Cueball realizes anyone who has so much as looked at the first page would know this to be false, and so offers Megan the chance to check. She refuses and just moves on to the next opinion she wants to share (a practice criticized by {{w|Stephen Covey}} as "waiting for one's turn to speak" as opposed to "listening")

Cueball realizes all her "literary opinions" are probably about books she's refused to read, and tries to interrupt her, humorously proposing she should start a book club to discuss them. This may be to congregate all people who criticize books without reading them, or in hopes that it will be attended by people who have read the book and can prove to Megan her opinions are baseless.

Megan finishes telling him her opinion anyway, which is that {{w|E.B. White}} and {{w|T.H. White}} are the same person. This is apparently an opinion that Cueball can agree with, as he tells her that he believes it. This is likely a joke that the two names are hard to distinguish due to the having the same last name with only initials instead of a first name. In reality, the books they authored are very different, with E.B. White writing children's books (Charlotte's Web, etc.) and T.H. White writing books about King Arthur (The Sword and the Stone, et al; although his works ''were'' adapted into a {{w|Disney movie}} so they could, to some degree, be considered children's books).

The title text continues with this, with [[Randall]] saying that he can distinguish between {{w|John Steinbeck}} and {{w|John Updike}}, as well as between {{w|Gore Vidal}} and {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}, but he can't do so simultaneously. Again this is likely due to the similarities in their names. Additionally, this could be a nod to the {{w|Heisenberg uncertainty principle}}.

To believe that different people are actually a same person is known as the {{w|Fregoli delusion}}; the person is usually believed to change appearance.

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

:[Megan is walking with a finger raised toward Cueball, who is seated in a chair with a book.]
:Megan: Literary opinion:
:Megan: I firmly believe that William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Foster Wallace are different names for the same person.
:Cueball: ...I see.

:[Megan puts down her hand.]
:Megan: '''''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''''' and '''''Fight Club'''''? Same book with different covers, I bet.
:Cueball: I have both. Want to open them and check?
:Megan: I do not.

:[Cueball turns back to his book.]
:Megan: Moving on: my next opinion--
:Cueball: You should start a book club for discussing the books you refuse to read.
:Megan: --is that E.B. White and T.H. White are the same person.
:Cueball: Ok, ''that'' I believe.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

2162: Literary Opinions

2019-06-12T16:17:48Z

172.69.44.146: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2162
| date = June 12, 2019
| title = Literary Opinions
| image = literary_opinions.png
| titletext = If I really focus, I can distinguish between John Steinbeck and John Updike, or between Gore Vidal and Vidal Sassoon, but not both at once.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Hunter S Thompson was high while writing it. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
Books sometimes have [https://www.rifflebooks.com/list/170553 different covers and titles in different regions].

[[Megan]] is telling [[Cueball]] about a literary opinion she has: She believes that {{w|William S. Burroughs}}, {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}, {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}, and {{w|David Foster Wallace}} are different names for the same person. She then says that {{w|Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas}} (by {{w|Hunter S. Thompson}}) and {{w|Fight Club (novel)|Fight Club}} (by {{w|Chuck Palahniuk}}) are the same book with different covers, probably because the title and promotional images for both hint at fighting taking place in a big city (i.e., she is literally {{w|Don't judge a book by its cover|judging the book by its cover}}). They are not the same book, though. Hunter S. Thompson was born in 1937 in Louisville, KY, and died in 2005. Chuck Palahniuk, on the other hand, was born in 1962 in Pasco, WA, and is still alive.

Cueball realizes anyone who has so much as looked at the first page would know this to be false, and so offers Megan the chance to check. She refuses and just moves on to the next opinion she wants to share (a practice criticized by {{w|Stephen Covey}} as "waiting for one's turn to speak" as opposed to "listening")

Cueball realizes all her "literary opinions" are probably about books she's refused to read, and tries to interrupt her, humorously proposing she should start a book club to discuss them. This may be to congregate all people who criticize books without reading them, or in hopes that it will be attended by people who have read the book and can prove to Megan her opinions are baseless.

Megan finishes telling him her opinion anyway, which is that {{w|E.B. White}} and {{w|T.H. White}} are the same person. This is apparently an opinion that Cueball can agree with, as he tells her that he believes it. This is likely a joke that the two names are hard to distinguish due to the having the same last name with only initials instead of a first name. In reality, the books they authored are very different, with E.B. White writing children's books (Charlotte's Web, etc.) and T.H. White writing books about King Arthur (The Sword and the Stone, et al; although his works ''were'' adapted into a {{w|Disney movie}} so they could, to some degree, be considered children's books).

The title text continues with this, with [[Randall]] saying that he can distinguish between {{w|John Steinbeck}} and {{w|John Updike}}, as well as between {{w|Gore Vidal}} and {{w|Vidal Sassoon}}, but he can't do so simultaneously. Again this is likely due to the similarities in their names. Additionally, this could be a nod to the {{w|Heisenberg uncertainty principle}}.

To believe that different people are actually a same person is known as the {{w|Fregoli delusion}}; the person is usually believed to change appearance.

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

:[Megan is walking with a finger raised toward Cueball, who is seated in a chair with a book.]
:Megan: Literary opinion:
:Megan: I firmly believe that William S. Burroughs, Hunter S. Thompson, Chuck Palahniuk, and David Foster Wallace are different names for the same person.
:Cueball: ...I see.

:[Megan puts down her hand.]
:Megan: '''''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''''' and '''''Fight Club'''''? Same book with different covers, I bet.
:Cueball: I have both. Want to open them and check?
:Megan: I do not.

:[Cueball turns back to his book.]
:Megan: Moving on: my next opinion--
:Cueball: You should start a book club for discussing the books you refuse to read.
:Megan: --is that E.B. White and T.H. White are the same person.
:Cueball: Ok, ''that'' I believe.

{{comic discussion}}

2161: An Apple a Day

2019-06-11T21:46:12Z

172.69.44.146: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2161
| date = June 10, 2019
| title = An Apple a Day
| image = an_apple_a_day.png
| titletext = Even the powerful, tart Granny Smith cultivar is proving ineffective against new Gran-negative doctors.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a GRAN-NEGATIVE APPLE-RESISTANT DOCTOR. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

"{{w|An apple a day keeps the doctor away}}" is a common English {{w|proverb}} and {{w|rhyme}}. The suggestion is that eating one apple daily will keep you healthy, and therefore reduce your necessity to go to the doctor or, more literally, to {{w|house_call|have the doctor come to you}} as was likely the case when this proverb was first used.

[[Megan]] is giving a talk, starting with the common proverb, before continuing with "At least, used to." In a normal scenario, this may be to imply that eating apples is no longer enough to stay healthy (or that apples is not enough by itself). However, in this comic, this expression is reinterpreted to mean that apples repel doctors. It also suggests that keeping doctors away is of great importance, presumably because doctors in this scenario are undesirable. The method of action of Apples is not specified, they could act as repellents, analogous to {{w|insect repellent}}, or possibly as lethal agents, as {{w|antibiotics}} are to {{w|bacteria}}, or {{w|fungicide|fungicides}} are to {{w|fungus|fungi}}.

Megan continues with her reinterpretation, mentioning that doctors have become resistant to apples so two or even three may be needed. As control agents become more widely used, organisms which are less sensitive to the control may become more common, as is happening with mosquitoes becoming insensitive to repllents[https://www.nature.com/news/2010/100503/full/news.2010.216.html], or {{w|antimicrobial resistance}}, and {{w|pesticide resistance}}. Such resistant organisms may require higher doses, or use of multiple control agents.

In the worst cases, doctors have become completely immune to apples (i.e., {{w|superbugs}}). A poster behind Megan shows [[:Category:Doctor Ponytail|Doctor Ponytail]] with three apples above her. Megan advocates using the 'finest' apples only in these cases (a reference to {{w|Multiple drug resistance|multidrug-resistant}} {{w|pathogens}}, where some antibiotics are only used as a last-resort to reduce the development of resistance to them).

This comic is a clear reference to the {{w|Antibiotic misuse|overuse of antibiotics}} in modern society, leading to an increase in {{w|antimicrobial resistance}} ("Superbugs"), which has seen increasing awareness in the last few years. The {{w|World Health Organization}} had the first [https://antibioticawareness.ca Antibiotic Awareness Week] in 2015, where a talk similar to the one in the comic would seem appropriate. Similar problems occur in growing plants, where various pests (whether insect, fungi, microbes, or plants) adapt to control measures, making control less effective.

In the title text this is taken further: Gran-negative is a pun on {{w|Gram-negative}}, a category of bacteria. A well-known technique called {{w|Gram staining}} distinguishes two classes of bacteria (Gram positive versus Gram negative) on the basis of properties of their cell walls. In this case, Granny Smith apples are supposedly Gran-positive (since the name begins with "Gran"), making them ineffective against new Gran-negative doctors.

{{w|Honeycrisp}} and {{w|Granny Smith}} are two different cultivars of apples. Granny Smith apples are a refreshingly tart green apple, which have mixed reviews among apple eaters. Conversely, Honeycrisp are a very sweet apple, considered by some to be "an ideal apple for eating raw", and is the state fruit of Minnesota.

==Transcript==
:[Megan is facing straight out of a slim panel as she stands behind a lectern addressing the reader.]
:Megan: An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
:Megan: Or at least, it used to.

:[The comic zooms out revealing that Megan and the lectern are standing on a podium. Megan is pointing behind her, with a stick, to at a poster prominently featuring Doctor Ponytail with three apples over her head.]
:Megan: Over time, some doctors have developed a resistance to apples. Keeping them away takes two or three apples instead of one.
:Megan: And there are worrying signs that a few doctors may have become completely immune.

:[The comic zooms in again on Megan behind the lectern.]
:Megan: So we must stockpile our finest apples in reserve, using them to fend off only the very worst doctors.
:Megan: Honeycrisps still work on most of them, but we don't know for how long.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]] 
[[Category:Doctor Ponytail]]
[[Category:Biology]]
[[Category:Food]]

2158: Qualifiers

2019-06-03T16:19:20Z

172.69.44.146: Added explanation

{{comic
| number = 2158
| date = June 3, 2019
| title = Qualifiers
| image = qualifiers.png
| titletext = [20 minutes later] ", hi."
}}

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

This comic shows how qualifiers can be used to delay saying something, that is usually used where the person who says that is nervous about saying something. In this comic, The qualifiers are not used to delay to say something, just to delay enough until [[Cueball]] thinks something new.

The title text says that after 20 minutes, he runs out of qualifiers and says "hi".

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

{{comic discussion}}