Talk:3114: Building a Fire

2025-08-30T17:35:24Z

2001:A62:587:B01:4B9A:861E:76A8:C159:

[[1258:_First |First]], I guess. [[User:B_for_brain|B for brain]] ([[User_talk:B_for_brain|talk]]) ([https://www.youtube.com/@bforbrain youtube channel] [https://bforbrain.weebly.com/ wobsite (supposed to be a blag)]) 17:55, 11 July 2025 (UTC)

US households typically have a 100-amp or 200-amp service, so a 50-amp build seems appropriate for a this log cabin as it echoes a vacation cabin or off-grid build.

Uh oh, the miniature fire department has arrived! [[Special:Contributions/2601:647:8500:1E09:1077:EF9:1351:C331|2601:647:8500:1E09:1077:EF9:1351:C331]] 19:38, 11 July 2025 (UTC)
:"Dispatch, Engine 4; Situation uncontrol, requesting backup!" [[Special:Contributions/2001:1C02:1A9D:9700:C1AA:1DF9:BB49:4E6F|2001:1C02:1A9D:9700:C1AA:1DF9:BB49:4E6F]] 20:57, 12 July 2025 (UTC)

"Log" cabin. "Square" cabin. Subverted an expectation of a math joke. --[[Special:Contributions/69.159.206.207|69.159.206.207]] 22:07, 11 July 2025 (UTC)
:coming up with a math joke was exponentially harder than expected [[Special:Contributions/93.36.186.243|93.36.186.243]] 15:49, 14 July 2025 (UTC)
::I honestly can't believe that [[2891]] hasn't long been referenced anywhere in this explanation and/or discussion. --[[Special:Contributions/2001:A62:587:B01:4B9A:861E:76A8:C159|2001:A62:587:B01:4B9A:861E:76A8:C159]] 17:35, 30 August 2025 (UTC)

It may be interesting to add that starting a campfire with electricity could be a valid way if you have access to e.g. a car battery (especially in an emergency). [[Special:Contributions/31.146.78.31|31.146.78.31]] 07:08, 12 July 2025 (UTC)
:That raises the question of how the miniature log cabin's wiring is connected to the grid. We see Megan holding a wire, but where does it go in a campground? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 13:55, 12 July 2025 (UTC)
::The wiring could be connected to a battery, not a grid. You can start a fire with a very small battery, e.g. AA sized, that campers likely have around. [[Special:Contributions/2600:4040:99D4:8B00:F129:E0B5:B922:FEE4|2600:4040:99D4:8B00:F129:E0B5:B922:FEE4]] 16:06, 12 July 2025 (UTC)

I think the explanation should mention explicitly that the wiring not being up to code and the resulting electrical fault was probably intentional on Megan's part, despite her "oops" that implied that it was accidental. [[Special:Contributions/2600:4040:99D4:8B00:F129:E0B5:B922:FEE4|2600:4040:99D4:8B00:F129:E0B5:B922:FEE4]] 15:39, 12 July 2025 (UTC)
:I was trying to work out how to phrase that "Gone Horribly Right" moment. Torn between it being a "when I try to build a model log cabin, it always becomes a campfire, therefore when I want a camp fire I just try to build a model log cabin" situation (which is far more reliable than when ''intentionally'' trying to light a fire, without involving the original idea of the log cabin) or a more sarcastic "whoops, I 'accidentally' did it wrong". Or several other interpretations. It's funny, whichever way, though in slightly different ways. And I don't know if I care to try to declare any one of the ideas as the 'real' one. [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 16:50, 12 July 2025 (UTC)

What's Cueball's "AAAAA!" for? He wanted a fire, so it seems unlikely that he's scared of the burning. Is he just finally sick of the elaborate nonsense and so screaming in frustration? Is he playing along with the disaster in Megan's little diorama? It seems a bit incongruous. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 10:20, 14 July 2025 (UTC)
:My take on it is that Cueball is reacting like how someone might react if a real house is on fire, by screaming. Either he's very naive, or he's just overly invested in the building of the pseudo log cabin.[[Special:Contributions/171.100.236.130|171.100.236.130]] 13:31, 14 July 2025 (UTC)
: My assumption was that it had gone up very suddenly and unexpectedly while he was still peering fairly closely at it wondering what on earth Megan was doing, resulting in a faceful of heat and smoke. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 16:05, 14 July 2025 (UTC)
::Yeah...OK, that's a fair point. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 08:12, 17 July 2025 (UTC)
: If you stick a pair of googly eyes onto a pencil and say in a squeaky voice, "Hi, I'm Pascal the Pencil and I help kids learn math!" and then you snap it in half, most people listening will recoil. It's very easy to get humans to empathize with a hypothetical person or scenario, and house fires are generally pretty horrifying, especially for whoever lives there. 03:29, 12 August 2025 (UTC)

Talk:3116: Echo Chamber

2025-08-07T07:55:56Z

2001:A62:587:B01:4B9A:861E:76A8:C159: more half-related comics

Sorry no " somehow also causing the events themselves to happen repeatedly" is wrong; the point is that people post videos of their cats doing "things" repeatedly; that's just what happens, not an implied effect of the echo chamber itself. [[Special:Contributions/31.54.45.20|31.54.45.20]] 08:39, 17 July 2025 (UTC)
: Weird things happen in xkcd-land. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 09:14, 17 July 2025 (UTC)
: I removed that text. Makes no sense. --[[Special:Contributions/181.234.89.171|181.234.89.171]] 23:06, 17 July 2025 (UTC)
:: Makes more sense than the reference to the dress. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 08:08, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

What has {{w|The dress}} got to do with an eco chamber? Seems like a poor example. [[Special:Contributions/192.101.166.237|192.101.166.237]] 09:51, 17 July 2025 (UTC)
: Agree. It was an optical illusion that people even very close together, perceived differently, nothing to do with echoing each other's arguments. --[[User:Jarfil|Jarfil]] ([[User talk:Jarfil|talk]]) 13:40, 17 July 2025 (UTC)
: Ahh, the good old days. When the color of a dress was the internets biggest controversy. [[Special:Contributions/130.76.187.35|130.76.187.35]] 15:28, 17 July 2025 (UTC)

I think the "purely partisan fishing expedition" might be the other way around: Cueball expected an expedition where actual fishing would happen, but got into a "purely partisan" or metaphorical "fishing expedition". --[[User:Jarfil|Jarfil]] ([[User talk:Jarfil|talk]]) 13:40, 17 July 2025 (UTC)
: I agree on that front. Additionally, I'm not sure where the "fishing poles made from polearms" thing is coming from, since the actual joke here is almost certainly a reference to the practice of {{w|Spearfishing}}, with "purely partisan" implying that it's spearfishing done strictly with [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partisan_(weapon) partisans]. [[User:Wote|Wote]] ([[User talk:Wote|talk]]) 15:05, 17 July 2025 (UTC)
: Based on the echo chamber example, it would be some weird combination of the two - like he went on an actual fishing trip, but all they caught was caches of documents exposing someone's smalltime transgressions. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 16:34, 17 July 2025 (UTC)

I've been near the center of a very echo-y solid walled spherical dome. Basically the real version of this cartoon but more like 5-7 persons tall. This one was used for the projection surface of a flight training device. The acoustics near the center are just WEIRD. Your voice comes back to you as if you were speaking directly into your own ear but somebody just a few feet away sound as if they're halfway across the room. It's ... unsettling but a neat experience. [[Special:Contributions/130.76.187.35|130.76.187.35]] 15:02, 17 July 2025 (UTC)

Am I the only one who read "partisan fishing expedition" and thought the joke was that it meant everyone was crowded over to either the "left" or the "right" side of the boat, causing it to capsize? Yes? Okay then. [[User:MeZimm|MeZimm]] ([[User talk:MeZimm|talk]]) 21:11, 17 July 2025 (UTC)

I think important for the interpretation of the title text is to understand the usage of the word "purely", if interpreted in the literal sense. As Wote said, it could refer to the partisan as a weapon. Then it would not be allowed to use other weapons or means for catching the fishes. The members being partisans would make the joke much less funny, as both meanings (literal and metaphorical) would be the same or close. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/88.217.185.170|88.217.185.170]] 11:42, 18 July 2025 (UTC)

My interpretation of "purely partisan fishing expedition" is that it is meant to be an extreme example of an "echo chamber" where all of the members are like-minded and of the same political party so there are no contrary opinions to there zeal to uncover dirt about someone in the "other party". Because of the zeal of their partisan opinions the result would be the most severely intense experience of an echo chamber. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 16:13, 18 July 2025 (UTC)

This is part 2 in an alleged "I built ..." series, after [[2988]] (or have I overlooked more?). Worth a category? --[[Special:Contributions/2001:A62:587:B01:9769:D180:4D41:151B|2001:A62:587:B01:9769:D180:4D41:151B]] 19:32, 18 July 2025 (UTC)
:As possibly outliers to the "I built..." class might be [[2429]] and [[2460]], perhaps. Although think that those aren't quite so similar to your two as your two are to each other. Maybe a proto-sequence/pairing, at least until another example arises that aligns well against both of them and makes it a more obvious set. [[Special:Contributions/92.23.2.228|92.23.2.228]] 20:55, 18 July 2025 (UTC)
::For a broader “Taking metaphors literally” category (explicit and meta), among others also [[1120]] and [[2674]] qualify, maybe also [[1639]]. --[[Special:Contributions/2001:A62:587:B01:4B9A:861E:76A8:C159|2001:A62:587:B01:4B9A:861E:76A8:C159]] 07:55, 7 August 2025 (UTC)

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Talk:3114: Building a Fire

Talk:3116: Echo Chamber