explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1714: Volcano Types

2016-08-03T03:26:31Z

173.245.54.72:

{{comic
| number = 1714
| date = August 1, 2016
| title = Volcano Types
| image = volcano_types.png
| titletext = It's hard living somewhere with antlions, because every time you find one of their traps, you feel compelled to spend all day constructing a tiny model of Jabba's sail barge next to it.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic presents a table of 12 different types of volcano. Split into 3 rows, the first 4 are authentic types of volcano; while the remaining 8 are parodies, one not even trying to represent a volcano but shows a real animal in its inverted trap cone.

Volcanoes have featured in many comics, [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/d/d5/1608_Entire_Volcano_plateau_zoom_out_extra.png most prominently] in the left part of the world (the Lord of the Rings section) of [[1608: Hoverboard]]. This comics volcano looks like it could soon turn into a Somma volcano...

===Real volcanoes===
* {{w|Cinder cone}}: small, steep-sided volcano formed of {{w|scoria}} and ash.
* {{w|Shield volcano}}: wide, rounded volcano formed of solidified lava flow.
* {{w|Stratovolcano}}: large volcano formed of layers (strata) from multiple eruptions.
* {{w|Somma volcano}}: new volcanic cone in the middle of an old collapsed volcanic crater.

===Joke volcanoes===
* Metasomma volcano: nested layers of new volcanoes formed inside of old ones. "Meta" is a prefix that often denotes recursion.
* {{w|Waffle cone}}: type of pastry that ice cream is served in, related to volcano cones only insofar as they are the same shape.
* Science fair cone: common elementary science experiment that is often used as a project for science fairs. A structure is built to resemble a model volcano and is filled with a mix of baking soda, vinegar, and sometimes food coloring. The reaction between baking soda and vinegar quickly produces a large amount of carbon dioxide, creating a foam that overflows and mimics a volcanic eruption. In this picture, there are people running away from the volcano that are much smaller than it. This is likely a reference to [[1611: Baking Soda and Vinegar]], either the scale-model people on the first volcano, or real people running from the baking soda supervolcano (in this case two [[Cueball]]-like guys and [[Megan]]).
* Doot cone: This may likely be a reference to the meme of the [http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/skull-trumpet skull-trumpet] where the trumpet playing skull [https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/39xnk2/what_is_this_doot_thing_with_the_skeletons/cs7jdsa produces the sound Doot] as a large part of the meme. Doot is also a fart sound, a doot cone could be just ejecting farts instead of lava.
** There has been some discussion about if this is likely, with someone referencing the [https://www.amazon.com/Florida-DOT-Approved-Traffic-Cone/dp/B009RUTKZA DOT cones], traffic cones approved by DOT or the {{w|Department of transportation}} in the US.
** Also there have been mention of ''{{w|Dot-com}}'' coming close to ''Doot cone''. The {{w|Dot-com bubble}} could be said to burst, just like this volcano bursts/erupts.
* {{w|Antlion}}: burrowing insect that digs a conical hole to catch prey at the larval stage. Maybe a reference to {{w|Formica Leo}}, a small volcanic crater in the Reunion island named after the antlion. Also, a boss villain in the video game Final Fantasy II at the bottom of a large cone of sand.
* Inverse Volcano: as the name implies, a regular volcano but reversed. A real volcano consists of solid rock on the outside, magma on the inside and spewing lava from the top.
* Ghost Vent: cone with ghosts coming out of it. It may be a reference to {{w|Scientology}}, where part of the faith states that the souls of aliens were stored in a volcano from which they later escaped, as described in the story of {{w|Xenu}}. The ghosts could also refer to the {{w|Pac-Man}} video game.
* Pedant's Bane: the joke is that people sometimes confuse magma and lava, which are different names for the same heated liquid rock. Magma becomes lava when it emerges from a volcano. The Pedant's Bane volcano is therefore impossible by definition, but if it were possible, then a {{w|pedant}} would have met his [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/bane#Etymology_1 bane] (i.e. his downfall), because when he corrected someone's description of this volcano, the pedant would actually be wrong. Alternatively, the illustration itself could be Pedant's Bane because a pedant would be lured into pointing out how wrong it is. This is a direct reference to the pedant in [[1405: Meteor]].

The title text refers to a famous scene in ''{{w|Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi}}'' where {{w|Jabba the Hutt}} intends to feed {{w|Luke Skywalker}} to the {{w|Sarlacc|sarlacc}}, an underground creature that builds a huge funnel trap similar to that of an antlion. [[wikia:c:starwars:Khetanna|Jabba's distinctive sail barge]] features prominently in that scene, and when Randall comes upon an antlion he can't help himself starting to build a scale model next to the antlions inverted cone. Given how small antlions are, this will be very difficult to do, see for instance [[878: Model Rail]].

==Transcript==
:[Twelve drawings in four rows of different "volcano" types, the first four real, and some not even volcanoes of any sort, real or fake. Below each panel is a caption with the name of the drawn volcano. Some of the volcanoes have labels or sound written inside the panel. Each of the volcanoes has a baseline for the ground going straight a short distance over the bottom of each panel. All 11 volcanoes lie on top of this line, but some show the inside of the volcano going further into the ground.]

:[Standard cone shaped volcano, with straight sides sloping up to a triangular shape, but with the tip of the cone cut off to form the central jagged edged crater. White smoke rises straight up and then drifts to the left forming three separate clouds.]
:Cinder Cone

:[Flat rounded shaped volcano, as a part of a circle. There is not a real crater visible but from the center a thin plume of smoke rises up, drift drifts to the left and forms a small white cloud.]
:Shield Volcano

:[This is the largest volcano. The tip of this volcano is similar to the first volcano, but with more uneven slopes and a bit smaller. The tip is clearly separated from the bottom section by a thin jagged line, and below the sides of the volcano decreases their slope, so they are less steep than the tip. Black smoke rises straight up from the crater and then drifts to the left in four thin lines.]
:Stratovolcano

:[A wide volcano spans the entire panel, with a large central crater, with a bottom baseline far above the ground level. Just left of the middle of this crater is a standard smaller volcano cone, very similar to the shape of the tip in the previous panel. Even the smoke from this cones small crater is similar to the previous panels.]
:Somma Volcano

:[The central part of this volcano is the same shape as the previous panel. This could be a zoom out, revealing that the large crater, is at the center on an even larger crater, which again is at the center of a crater that spans the panel. A plume of black smoke rises from the centeral cones crater, and drifts left as five white clouds.]
:Metasomma Volcano

:[A perfect cone-shape, triangular and steep, with checkered ice cone waffle texture, even with a line indicating where the waffle has been a folded. It looks like a road up the volcano. Black smoke drift up from the sharp tip, no crater, and drifts left forming a small cloud separated from the rest of the smoke lines.]
:Waffle Cone

:[Standard cone as in the first, but zoomed in so it fills the panel from left to right. The volcano's top has been cut much further down leaving a wide crater from which lava is pouring down the sides in large rivers of different width and length. To the left one long river has almost reached the ground. Cueball is running down the left side, and Megan is running after another Cueball with his arms up on the right side. There is a label with an arrow pointing to the lava:]
:Label: Baking soda and vinegar
:Science Fair Cone

:[Standard cone like the previous, but with more jagged sloped and crater. This volcano erupts with a large explosion with fire and smoke coming out in all directions above the crater. A large sound is written above the explosion:]
:Sound. <big>'''Doooooot'''</big>
:Doot Cone

:[This is not a volcano, but the inverse, a cone down into the ground, the ground level no above the center of the panel. The slope down into this cone hole is straight, the ground above is more jagged. At the bottom of the hole sits a small animal with six legs and an open mouth piece sticking up out of the hole. Its fat body is hidden under the ground along with its legs.]
:Antlion

:[Standard volcano cone like the previous volcano. It erupts and the central part shows how the erupting material comes up from below ground level (below the line at the bottom in which the cone it self stands). The erupting material is white rocks on black background. At the top several rocks is blown out of the crater top. The sides of the volcano is filled with blobs small and large, and stones rolling down the sides. There are two labels, each with two arrows. The first labels arrows points to the side of the volcano, the second labels arrows points to the erupting material inside and outside the volcano:]
:First label: Lava
:Second label: Solid rocks
:Inverse Volcano

:[Standard cone like the doot cone, with a crater that bends down in the middle. From this crater eight white ghosts with two black eyes are rising, like the smoke, drifting left. The highest ghost is just reaching the edge at the top left of the panel. The lowest ghost is still inside the crater with its wavy lower parts.]
:Ghost Vent

:[A standard cone like the doot cone. At the top there is lave over the outer edges, some of it running down the side. The inside of the volcano has been drawn like in the inverse volcano, so it is clear that the magma inside the volcano comes up from below ground level (below the line at the bottom in which the cone it self stands). There are two labels that contradicts the description above. The top label outside the volcano points to the lava with an arrow, and the bottom label inside the volcano points to the magma:]
:Top label: Magma
:Bottom label: Lava
:Pedant's Bane

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Food]] 
[[Category:Animals]] 
[[Category:Star Wars]]
[[Category:Geography]]

1224: Council of 300

2016-08-01T00:17:19Z

173.245.54.72:

{{comic
| number = 1224
| date = June 12, 2013
| title = Council of 300
| image = council_of_300.png
| titletext = 'And hypnotize someone into thinking they've uploaded it and passed it around.' 'But then won't the uploader get suspicious that it pauses at 301+ for a while? Why don't we just forge the number entirel--' ::BLAM:: 'The Council of 299 is adjourned.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|YouTube}} (a video sharing site) used to have an odd quirk in its view counter. When a video hits 301 views, the view counter briefly stops updating. This means that YouTube is checking the views to make sure that no foul play is going on. The choice of the number 301 is due to a harmless off-by-one error; Numberphile produced a [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIkhgagvrjI video] that explains all this very well. At times the number 301 catches some YouTubers off guard — for very popular videos, it may appear that the video has more likes than views.

YouTube added a "301+" to indicate that the video has reached the 301 point and is awaiting review.

More recently, however, YouTube has abolished this[https://twitter.com/YTCreators/status/628958720953819136].

The author plays with the near coincidence of this number, and a conspiracy theory entity known as the {{w|Committee of 300}}. In this case, the video's first 300 views come from each of the Committee's council members who determine if the video will go {{w|Viral_video|viral}}. The video is then released to the public by sending it to a regular person ([[Cueball]] in this comic) making the total number of views 301.

The title text elaborates on this by explaining that the council also hypnotizes somebody to make him think they uploaded and shared that particular video.

According to the title text, the council does not seem to tolerate contradiction, because the member that suggests changing 301 to a random number to avoid suspicion is shot and silenced permanently and removed from the council.

==Transcript==
:[A secret society meets in a darkened chamber; a kitschy video involving two people and an RC helicopter is projected onto the background.]
:Master: ...then it is settled. We the 300 members of the Secret Council, decree that this video meets our standards, and shall "go viral".
:Master: send it to one of our agents to be leaked to the common folk.
:Steward: Some of them are noticing the number.
:Master: ...add a plus sign to throw them off.
:Steward: very well.
:Soon...
:[A communication sent to Cueball, one of the many unsuspecting plebeians of the world.]
:Email: Ooh! check out this great video I found!
:[Zoom in on the viewer count of a YouTube video.]
:301+

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Internet]]
[[Category:YouTube]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theory]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]

Talk:1669: Planespotting

2016-04-29T18:04:32Z

173.245.54.72: Adding comment regarding "hybrid dual-wielding"

Hybrid could also refer to hybrid airship dynastats which are a combination between a blimp and a lifting body airplane. HAV in England and Lockheed Martin have both flown prototypes in the last few years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_Air_Vehicles_HAV-3 {{unsigned ip|108.162.241.128}}

How would one even pronounce "Mk. IVII"? IV is 4, VII is 7. I could see an argument for treating it as a really bizarre way to say 6. Or, if we treat it as two distinct digits (as opposed to a two-digit number), it could be either "1-7" or "4-2".

: "Usage in ancient Rome varied greatly and remained inconsistent in medieval and modern times." But AFAIK each numeral only stood for a fixed amount, never for a "digit" (in the sense that its value could specify ones or tens depending on its position). So six ((5 - 1) + 1 + 1) is a plausible interpretation, though definitely not standard; but 17 or 42 would be treating Roman numerals as if they were Arabic. [[User:Huttarl|Huttarl]] ([[User talk:Huttarl|talk]]) 16:03, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

:: You're correct; in Roman numerals, there is not a concept of "this is an I, in the hundreds place, so it's really a 100". If you mean 100, that's always C. Hence the phrasing "two distinct digits (as opposed to a two-digit number). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.11|108.162.221.11]] 14:16, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

I think that's actually MI, or 1001.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.214.222|162.158.214.222]] 16:12, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

: That was my first thought on reading it, too. Doesn't an underline and overline on a Roman numeral increase it by a factor of 10,000, or am I mis-recalling grade school? ---> 19:38 UTC, 18 April 2016

:: I read it as having too much space between strokes for it to be "MI" rather than "IVII", but poor penmanship is as likely as deliberate nonsense. In proper Roman Empire-era Roman numerals, the overline denotes "multiply by 1,000", but in English an overline/underline combo just means we're being fancy. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.11|108.162.221.11]] 14:16, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

I assume there are other parts of this that are similarly nonsensical to people who know what Cueball thinks he's talking about. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.32|108.162.221.32]] 14:43, 18 April 2016 (UTC)
:When I first read the comic before the explanation I was assuming Cueball was roughly, and poorly, describing a Bombardier DHC-8. It is also known as a Q400 and is a twin-engine turboprop. The silhouette looks vaguely like it.[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 15:56, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

::Wholeheartedly agreed on it being a DHC-8 version, which could be a Q400. The engine nacelles appear to extend behind the wing (unlike an ATR42/72 or Do328), and the T-tail eliminates a lot of other regional prop possibilities. It also ties in with Cueball calling it a "Q404". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.170|108.162.237.170]] 17:07, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

::As someone who's worked around "Dash 8's", I echo the Bombardier Q400 identification. The 400-series has the longest fuselage of the DHC-8 family and the aircraft illustrated looks longer than a DHC-8-300. It's definitely too long to be a DHC-8-100 or -200.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.35|173.245.54.35]] 18:59, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

De Havilland Canada (which developed the Dash-8) did belong to Boeing between 1988 and 1992, during which time the aircraft was commonly referred to as the "Boeing Dash-8". The Q400 variant was developed after DHC was sold to Bombadier, however. So it is possible that a DHC-8 could, in fact, have been made by Boeing, just not the Q400 variant.

There are ''so many'' things wrong about this comic. [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 14:53, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Maybe I'm totally off base, but this reminds me of something called "Vaynespotting". In League of Legends, there's a character named Shauna Vayne. She has an extremely high skill-ceiling and skill-floor. Vaynespotting is a minigame where other players receive imaginary points for calling out a bad Vayne player when that player makes aggressive maneuvers, but doesn't have the skill to pull it off. [[User:Thefance|Thefance]] ([[User talk:Thefance|talk]]) 15:38, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Is that black hat or white hat? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.65|108.162.221.65]] 15:10, 18 April 2016 (UTC)
:Probably White Hat, but it is impossible to say. Have corrected explanation [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 16:11, 18 April 2016 (UTC)
::Yes, I think that it is White Hat. Just in terms of personality, most encounters with BH end up with some sort of sadistic remark, whereas WH is sometimes used just as a foil character.[[User:RedHatGuy68|RedHatGuy68]] ([[User talk:RedHatGuy68|talk]]) 02:17, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Fixed the title text explanation regarding the hydroelectric plant. The water going over the dam still falls down (reservoir -> dam -> out of the plane?), but lifting the water in the plane would take more energy than the plant would produce.[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.170|108.162.237.170]] 17:02, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

To me this comic looks like a clear reference to the "user agent" property of a browser notorious for being long, nonsensical and bearing little relationship to the version and the type of browser the client actually uses. E.g. In my Chromium this value is: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Linux x86_64) AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko) Ubuntu Chromium/49.0.2623.108 Chrome/49.0.2623.108 Safari/537.36. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.72|141.101.80.72]] 17:46, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

:The user agent string is not SUPPOSED to say what browser you HAVE, but what your browser is capable of doing. For start, Mozilla/ means that it's graphics browser, just like Netscape 4. Gecko means that authors of engine did read the HTML specifications (as authors of Gecko did), as opposed to authors of older versions of Internet Explorer (older than 7). It's because user agent string is only thing server knows about browser and therefore uses it to choose what version of page (and bug workarounds) it's supposed to use. And because some servers never update their definitions, every new browser needs to ADD his own strings to strings of some already existing browser instead of replacing them. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 14:16, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

Dual Wielding could easily refer to the fact the plane has two engines or possibly four if it is dual wielding engine sets. I feel the current explanation of that line item is a little lacking. ([[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.60|173.245.56.60]] 17:52, 18 April 2016 (UTC))
:Then please update the explanation :-) [[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 17:58, 18 April 2016 (UTC)
::I read "hybrid dual-wield" as being at least partly a combined reference to RPG and MMO games. Hybrid classes are those that are half-way between melee combat and non-melee combat classes, and are often characterized by agility, accompanied by "dual wielding" one-handed weapons (as opposed to using a single larger weapon based on strength).

I originally read that as "Dual Weld", as in 'using a dual welder', which made no sense since it would be absolutely irrelevant (a dual welder can mean either a welding machine that operates on 120/240V or one that operates in both gas/gasless mode.) [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 16:40, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

I understood the Mig-380 part as a mix, an Airbus-380 but made by Mig. I'm not sure if I explained myself properly...[[User:NeoRaist|NeoRaist]] ([[User talk:NeoRaist|talk]]) 18:15, 18 April 2016 (UTC)

Some reference on "planetspotting" by Kepler? [[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.176|188.114.102.176]] 18:43, 19 April 2016 (UTC)

: "''What's that planet?''" "That's Sid Meier's Taupe Netherlands PILF #14!" [[User:.42|.42]] ([[User talk:.42|talk]]) 20:27, 19 April 2016 (UTC)
:: It's NEW Netherlands! ;) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 08:50, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Well done guys! I have finals, so I didn't check xkcd until now. Loand Behold! An in depth explanation for every part of this joke, which I originally understood none of. With dry humour on the side To Boot! Gold Stars All Around![[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 04:55, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

"Most flights are on auto-pilot for hours at a time, and the pilots serve primarily for takeoff, landing, and emergencies." As someone who works in aviation, this is a common misconception, particularly the part about the pilot being just there for emergencies. Yes, autopilot is overwhelmingly used, but even routine flights have dozens of decisions that need to be made and minor issues to face. A pilot can be very busy even with advanced horizontal and vertical navigation engaged talking to ATC, responding to ATC commands, adjusting the route through navigation, handling weather, etc. In reality the autopilot, similar to an adaptive cruise control on a car, does not make the pilot useless or oblivious, but instead it simplifies things that should be easy, like following a chosen route at a constant speed.
Since this sentence doesn't blend well with the rest of the paragraph, I suggest it just be deleted. {{unsigned ip|108.162.214.155}}

1663: Garden/Images

2016-04-04T16:43:45Z

173.245.54.72: /* Images of items */

*Here images for the interactive comic [[1663: Garden]] can be posted.
*Try to keep the naming scheme so to always include the following:
**''1663 garden description.png''

==Images==
===Screen shots===
[[File:1663 garden Megan Monolith Animals and more.png]] 
[[File:1663 garden Fast growing tree - leafless.png]] 
[[File:1663 garden Fast growing tree - lots of leaves.png]] 

===Saved image from xkcd===
[[File:1663 garden Deer and tall gate.png]] 

===Images of items===
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/background.png Background]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/beehive-base.png Beehive-base]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/beehive-entrance-a.png Beehive entrance a]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/bird-riser.png Bird riser]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/bird-standing.png Bird standing]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/birdbath.png Birdbath]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-1.png Branch 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-10.png Branch 10]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-11.png Branch 11]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-12.png Branch 12]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-14.png Branch 14]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-15.png Branch 15]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-16.png Branch 16]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-17.png Branch 17]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-18.png Branch 18]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-19.png Branch 19]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-20.png Branch 20]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-21.png Branch 21]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-23.png Branch 23]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-24.png Branch 24]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-4.png Branch 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-5.png Branch 5]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-6.png Branch 6]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-7.png Branch 7]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/branch-8.png Branch 8]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/cactus-1.png Cactus 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/cactus-2.png Cactus 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/deer-1.png Deer 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/deer-2.png Deer 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/desk-1.png Desk 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/duck-1.png Duck 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/fig-1.png Fig 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/flower-base.png Flower base]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/flower-segment1.png Flower segment 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/flower-segment2.png Flower segment 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/flower-segment3.png Flower segment 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/flower-segment4.png Flower segment 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-1.png Grass 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-2.png Grass 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-3.png Grass 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-4.png Grass 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-5.png Grass 5]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-7.png Grass 7]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-8.png Grass 8]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/grass-9.png Grass 9]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/important-bun.png Important bun]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/lamppost-1.png Lamppost 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-1.png Leaves 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-10.png Leaves 10]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-11.png Leaves 11]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-12.png Leaves 12]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-13.png Leaves 13]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-14.png Leaves 14]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-15.png Leaves 15]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-16.png Leaves 16]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-17.png Leaves 17]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-18.png Leaves 18]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-19.png Leaves 19]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-2.png Leaves 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-20.png Leaves 20]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-21.png Leaves 21]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-22.png Leaves 22]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-23.png Leaves 23]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-24.png Leaves 24]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-25.png Leaves 25]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-26.png Leaves 26]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-27.png Leaves 27]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-28.png Leaves 28]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-29.png Leaves 29]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-3.png Leaves 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-30.png Leaves 30]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-4.png Leaves 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-5.png Leaves 5]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-6.png Leaves 6]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-7.png Leaves 7]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-8.png Leaves 8]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/leaves-9.png Leaves 9]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/man-1a.png Man 1a]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/man-2a.png Man 2a]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/null.png Null]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/obelisk.png Obelisk]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/right-platform.png Right platform]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/rover.png Rover]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-1.png Shrub 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-2.png Shrub 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-3.png Shrub 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-4.png Shrub 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-5.png Shrub 5]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-6.png Shrub 6]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-7.png Shrub 7]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-8.png Shrub 8]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-9.png Shrub 9]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-10.png Shrub 10]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/shrub-11.png Shrub 11]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/snake-1.png Snake 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/snake-2.png Snake 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/tall-platform.png Tall platform]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/talltrunk-1.png Tall trunk 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/talltrunk-2.png Tall trunk 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-1.png Trunk 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-2.png Trunk 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-3.png Trunk 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-4.png Trunk 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-5.png Trunk 5]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-6.png Trunk 6]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-7.png Trunk 7]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/trunk-8.png Trunk 8]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/turtle-1.png Turtle 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/turtle-2.png Turtle 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/waterbird-1.png Water bird 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/waterbird-2.png Water bird 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/wavyplant-1.png Wavy plant 1]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/wavyplant-2.png Wavy plant 2]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/wavyplant-3.png Wavy plant 3]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/wavyplant-4.png Wavy plant 4]
*[http://xkcd.com/1663/art/woman-1a.png Woman 1a]

527: Keynote

2015-06-29T21:16:57Z

173.245.54.72: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 527
| date = January 7, 2009
| title = Keynote
| image = keynote.png
| titletext = He should be better soon -- now that the Apple Store is getting rid of DRM, Cory Doctorow will get rid of his Steve Jobs voodoo doll.
}}

==Explanation==
According to this comic, {{w|Steve Jobs}}, the founder of the Apple company, lost a lot of weight due to a hormonal problem. Weight loss is, in some cultures, considered an aesthetically good thing, though such is due to its context being a deliberate action in order to remove obesity, which does not seem to be the case here. [[Black Hat]] then mentions that Apple was probably excited to announce its thinnest and lightest CEO in the industry. This comment is a parody of Apple's tendency to release thinner and lighter iterations of its products. Steve Jobs' weight loss would certainly make him a thinner and lighter CEO.

The title text refers to {{w|Cory Doctorow}}, a blogger, journalist and science-fiction author. Doctorow is opposed to the technology called {{w|Digital rights management}} (DRM for short). DRM is designed to protect copyright owner, but often has negative consequenses for consumers. Randall (jokingly) proposes that Steve Jobs is only sick because Doctorow was torturing him with {{w|Voodoo doll}}s for Apple's use of DRM.

Steve Jobs died on October 5, 2011 of pancreatic cancer the day before [[Randall]] released [[961: Eternal Flame]]. Presumably, the cancer was the cause of Jobs' weight loss, although it was not public information at the time the comic was posted.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat talking to Cueball sitting at computer.]
:Cueball: Huh - Steve Jobs isn't doing a keynote this year, citing massive weight loss due to some hormonal problem.
:Black Hat: Too bad. I bet Apple was excited about unveiling the thinnest and lightest CEO in the industry.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Steve Jobs]]
[[Category:Sarcasm]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cory Doctorow]]