explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1229: Screensaver

2013-06-24T18:56:29Z

38.125.13.10:

This is my first time contributing to the site and my first time posting a comic up. If I've missed something, then please let me know. Thanks. --[[User:James Chin|James Chin]] ([[User talk:James Chin|talk]]) 07:02, 24 June 2013 (UTC)
:Thanks for your contribution. You did forget to add the comic at the [List of all comics] and the redirect for the title was missing. I've done this right now.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 10:18, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

:Yeah, thanks a lot! Everything is always perfectible <small>(as is my rewording of your explanation)</small>, but your explanation was quite complete on the first shot, and that's the main added value here. So you got the essentials right [[File:Face-smile.svg|18px]] (and you're welcome to do it again on new comics or [[:Category:Incomplete articles|incomplete ones]]). - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 12:50, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

I can't stop thinking that the last panel is not "noise" but a binary coded message/file. It seems just enough compressed/unsharp to make it possible to read out every pixel as a bit, and perhaps there is some kind of "datafile" with error correction? Anybody tought about that? --[[Special:Contributions/217.253.152.222|217.253.152.222]] 07:22, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

How do you know it is Cueball who tries to shoot the flying toasters?{{unsigned|87.238.84.65}}

Why StarTrek? In my experience, in StarTrek the stars are lines instead of dots, therefore the look is different. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:43, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

It's probably quite unlikely to collide with a star like that, wouldn't it be much more likely to pass near enough to enter an orbit?--[[Special:Contributions/62.20.90.206|62.20.90.206]] 14:25, 24 June 2013 (UTC)
:Anything travelling fast enough for the stars to be moving by like that would have way too much energy to be captured into an orbit around the star. Trajectory altered, yes, but not captured.[[Special:Contributions/24.114.255.99|24.114.255.99]] 15:23, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

Technically, the Zapper gun would end up detecting a target, because the gun itself was just a light/darkness binary detector. When you triggered the gun, the videogame displayed for a split second a black/white pattern in the screen so the gun would detect if you were pointing at the target. So eventually the gun would detect the white of the flying toaster (if well aimed) or the black background (if bad aimed) and respond that a duck was hit. -- lvps1000vm [[Special:Contributions/81.34.5.5|81.34.5.5]] 15:20, 24 June 2013 (UTC)

My take was that one of the "stars" went supernova, which you might see if you watched the sky every night for 20 year, and the final panel would be the result of overwhelming radiation.

Talk:1225: Ice Sheets

2013-06-14T13:19:56Z

38.125.13.10:

The original paper [https://notendur.hi.is//~oi/AG-326%202006%20readings/Canadian%20Arctic/Dyke_QSR2002.pdf] Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.118.249|178.26.118.249]] 07:38, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

It is commonly stated that EVERY sequel is worse that the original film (exceptions are few and often disputed). And very few producents are able to stop filming sequels sooner that they produce sequel worse that all previous. If you see a series with every film better that the previous, then producent is already preparing next one ... or died. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:20, 14 June 2013 (UTC)

For those of us who do not live in one of these four cities, does anyone have a more comprehensive set of data for the rest of the continent? Or specifically NYC? ;)

Striations on the rocks in Central Park are evidence that a glacier did reach as far south as New York City and in the referenced article on page 21, Figure 4 shows a map of the extent of the glacier just reaching NYC and Long Island and is labeled as somewhere between 0 and 600 meters thick. This page on the City of New York Parks and Recreation site [http://www.nycgovparks.org/about/history/geology] says the glacier in NYC was about 1000 feet thick which is about 300 meters. I should add that the Freedom Tower being built on the WTC site will be 1776 feet high (counting the broadcast antenna) and the Empire State building is 1454 feet high, so some of the current buildings would have poked out of the ice.

Talk:1225: Ice Sheets

2013-06-14T13:14:39Z

38.125.13.10: NYC glacier was about 300 meters