Talk:3197: Cost Savings

2026-01-25T18:03:18Z

82.132.244.2:

Anyone wanna store some items in my garage? They'll be there... forever! [[User:King Pando|King Pando]] ([[User talk:King Pando|talk]]) 22:41, 21 January 2026 (UTC)
: Can I store nuclear waste in your garage? [[Special:Contributions/185.36.194.156|185.36.194.156]] 04:31, 23 January 2026 (UTC)

Anybody know why the random explanation button bias towards the 3000's heavily? {{unsigned ip|2601:601:8303:1da0:7d1a:4b82:ba3e:3006|03:47, 22 January 2026 (UTC)}}
: 20 manual iterations, beginning 20260122 1440Z. 0-999 25%, 1000-1999 30%, 2000-2999 40%, 3000-3197 5%, 3000-3999 projected 25%. n is too small, but I don't perceive a bias. [[Special:Contributions/98.97.38.200|98.97.38.200]] 14:50, 22 January 2026 (UTC)
: I've also felt this [[Special:Contributions/66.210.7.66|66.210.7.66]] 16:02, 22 January 2026 (UTC)
: See "[[explain xkcd:Community portal/Miscellaneous#Random Explanation Button bias towards newer articles]]" for some of the prior chat about this. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.246.68|82.132.246.68]] 18:47, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

I first thought the joke that we could do anything StarLink does cheaper, simpler, more environmentally friendly and without risking Kessler syndrome by using terrestrial technology (i.e. cables and antennas) ''if we could just get our heads out of our asses''. The shed punchline was a bit of a letdown. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 07:40, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

: Saturn the Titan lives, and He has commanded us to create a ring system for Planet Earth so that He can feel more at home here. Recreant. [[Special:Contributions/98.97.38.200|98.97.38.200]] 14:59, 22 January 2026 (UTC)

:If that would be true StarLink wouldn't be earning money. Terrestrial technology is only effective in areas with relatively high concentration of receiver stations ... where it already IS being build, by cellphone operators. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 06:53, 25 January 2026 (UTC)
::The other day, I was hearing serious suggestions that StarLink be subscribed to (perhaps just a month at a time, as necessary) to help an amateur organisation to run activities (with entirely optional electronic devices) in low-signal areas where smartphones don't connect well.
::...or, IMO, we continue to use paper and pencil like we've done for decades, and then retranscribe everything anyway. But it depends how much capital/running costs someone is willing to absorb just for a 'live' online-connected system that's at least as much smoke-and-mirrors as bells-and-whistles. [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.2|82.132.244.2]] 18:03, 25 January 2026 (UTC)

"NASA ... certainly cannot be conventionally ordered to build a shed on a needy citizen's property." Wait, <em>what?</em> Haven't you been following the trajectory of the 47th Presidency of these Untied States in North America? [[Special:Contributions/98.97.38.200|98.97.38.200]] 15:03, 22 January 2026 (UTC)
: Great, yet another partisan politics interjection in an apolitical discussion. {{unsigned ip|185.36.194.156|04:32, 23 January 2026}}
:: Everything is political. --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 09:08, 23 January 2026 (UTC)
:: [https://www.dude-n-dude.com/2017/10/22/amoebas-lorica-our-president/ Congratulations], [https://theconversation.com/how-the-social-structures-of-nazi-germany-created-a-bystander-society-221344 bystander]. [[Special:Contributions/2605:59C8:160:DB08:CCE1:7150:FFF7:5865|2605:59C8:160:DB08:CCE1:7150:FFF7:5865]] 12:53, 23 January 2026 (UTC)
::: Good, Godwin's law checks off again. Bystanding is my ideological and conscientious choice and should never be shamed upon. I would argue it is exactly the shaming of apolitical people in Nazi Germany that led to the ideological runoff. [[Special:Contributions/35.77.106.171|35.77.106.171]] 09:00, 24 January 2026 (UTC)
: I'm not sure that falls under "conventionally ordered". --[[User:Coconut Galaxy|Coconut Galaxy]] ([[User talk:Coconut Galaxy|talk]]) 09:08, 23 January 2026 (UTC)

Talk:3118: iNaturalist Animals and Plants

2025-07-22T17:13:03Z

82.132.244.2:

we probably need to add something about how bacteria are more common but not observable to the average person [[Special:Contributions/72.203.83.113|72.203.83.113]] 16:36, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:Why? Bacteria are not animals or plants. [[Special:Contributions/2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:2C|2600:387:4:803:0:0:0:2C]] 17:45, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:The lack of fungi is perhaps more noteworthy. --[[Special:Contributions/86.13.226.126|86.13.226.126]] 16:44, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
::Why? Should they have appeared as significantly noted animals? [[Special:Contributions/82.132.244.2|82.132.244.2]] 17:13, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

Why are some states missing their postal code? IA, FL, AK, HI don't have them. [[User:Nolanmeyer|Nolanmeyer]] ([[User talk:Nolanmeyer|talk]]) 18:27, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:Probably human error. [[Special:Contributions/2001:4C4E:1C00:BF00:658B:2EF0:F9ED:69A|2001:4C4E:1C00:BF00:658B:2EF0:F9ED:69A]] 12:27, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:Added a trivia section! --[[User:FaviFake|FaviFake]] ([[User talk:FaviFake|talk]]) 13:52, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

I am curious which animal and which plant are mentioned for the most states? [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 18:43, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:Common Eastern Bumble Bee with 7 states [CT, IL, MD, MA, MN, VT, WI] and Common Milkweed with 6 states [IL, IA, MI, MN, NE, WI][[User:Nolanmeyer|Nolanmeyer]] ([[User talk:Nolanmeyer|talk]]) 18:53, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:White-tailed Deer also has 7 states [IO, MI, MT, NH, PA, VI, WV] [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 19:16, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:You're right! My python script missed Iowa because of a capitalization error in the transcription. [[User:Nolanmeyer|Nolanmeyer]] ([[User talk:Nolanmeyer|talk]]) 19:32, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

Is there a hidden joke in this one that needs explaining, or is it simply an interesting data map? [[Special:Contributions/37.19.197.233|37.19.197.233]]
: Looks like just an interesting map. Nothing wrong with that. --[[Special:Contributions/81.96.108.67|81.96.108.67]] 20:50, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:: Wrong. What's wrong with it is that there's no joke. It's not "comic" in any way. {{unsigned ip|70.16.143.48|22:03, 21 July 2025 (UTC)}}
::: It may have derived from the earlier use of 'comic' implying a joke or humour, but the modern use of 'comic' for the artform does not. For example, Wikipedia refers to it as "a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information", which is exactly what this is. [[Special:Contributions/82.13.184.33|82.13.184.33]] 10:41, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

Big question: what does "most-observed" mean? Most reported? Most likely for a resident to see? Most likely for a resident to pay attention to? -- [[User:Dtgriscom|Dtgriscom]] ([[User talk:Dtgriscom|talk]]) 19:38, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:The comic already answers that question: "Not the most common species in the state, just the one people have reported the most times." [[Special:Contributions/174.53.211.85|174.53.211.85]] 20:06, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
:iNaturalist is a phone app used by people to help contribute to citizen science (i.e. help collect data for research), so people scan animals/plants that they see to send to iNaturalist databases to be identified automatically. Most-observed means the species that are most reported to the database (so the species with the most scans). The comic notes most reported ≠ most common since many people just ignore species of animals/plants they don't believe to be notable enough to take the effort to scan such as grass. [[Special:Contributions/97.126.175.170|97.126.175.170]] 20:10, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
::If people were reporting common animals they see, they'd probably be dogs and cats. And even more common would be insects -- a backyard probably has hundreds of ants living in it. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 23:30, 21 July 2025 (UTC)
::: "''reporting common animals they see,''" iNat members report what they think is worth reporting. I aint got time to figure if I see more cedar or maple-- in fact I reported a maple only cuz I found a spectaculary colorful maple leaf, a great picture. It is casual observations, not a strict census. (Yes, some observers get a bit obsessive, but still.......) Yes, dogs get reported a lot-- it is a great way to learn the process and you may already have good photos of Rover.
:::: Does this app double as an identification tool? In that case it might also be animals/plants that people don't know and are curious about. (I live in Germany and have a similar app for plants, but I admit I mostly use it for stuff that catches my eye, not for stuff I think is scientifically worth reporting.)--[[Special:Contributions/176.199.208.178|176.199.208.178]] 07:36, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

For the other {{w|U.S. Territories}} not mentioned (sorted animal, plant):
* Guam: Hawaiian Garden Spider, Coconut Palm
* Northern Marianas: Mariana Kingfisher, Alim
* American Samoa: Striped Surgeonfish, Fish Poison Tree
* US Virgin Islands: Green Iguana, Portia Tree

United States Minor Outlying Islands (collectively): Laysan Albatross, Stalky Grass
* Baker Island: Painted Lady, Rugosa Rose
* Howland Island: (not a valid location in iNat)
* Jarvis Island: Masked Booby, Sooty Tern (tie), (no plant)
* Johnston Atoll: Great Frigatebird, Beach Plant
* Kingman Reef: (no animal or plant)
* Midway Atoll: Laysan Albatross, Beach Naupaka
* Navassa Island: (not a valid location in iNat)
* Palmyra Atoll: Red-Footed Booby, Grand-Devil's Claws
* Wake Island: (not a valid location in iNat)
[[Special:Contributions/122.56.85.105|122.56.85.105]] 21:44, 21 July 2025 (UTC)

The surprising part is that palmettos isn't South Carolina's and deer isn't Maine's, and ''Virginia'' Springbeauty is in Ohio. [[User:Strontium|Strontium]] ([[User talk:Strontium|talk]]) 03:21, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

Is there a category for the very rare XKCD strips which don't include any humour, even in the alt text? I can't think of any from recent years, which makes this one extraordinary, but I might be forgetting some obvious examples. [[Special:Contributions/82.42.161.198|82.42.161.198]] 16:29, 22 July 2025 (UTC)
:: Now counts I think? Both Money and the Election Challengers map have some humor iirc. [[Special:Contributions/2600:1700:BF20:D10:1C87:359:5132:6A85|2600:1700:BF20:D10:1C87:359:5132:6A85]] 16:46, 22 July 2025 (UTC)

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3197: Cost Savings

Talk:3118: iNaturalist Animals and Plants