explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1614: Kites

2015-12-10T09:47:41Z

Acelightning: Added a reference to the song "Kites Are Fun"

"If you didn't get it right away, and had to read this explanation, I would recommend finding a small dog and trying to fly it like a kite." This explanation made me laugh, kudos to whoever wrote it. [[User:NotLock|NotLock]] ([[User talk:NotLock|talk]]) 06:42, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

(When editing the main article, guys, remember not to overwrite tags. When Transcript text was put in someone squashed both the Incomplete tag and the one for this Discussion... anyway...) Note that it appears the dog isn't 'floating', as described in at least one place, but flying by flapping his (not particularly large) ears. If it were a wagging tail, I wouldn't be so sure (remember the robot dog from Battle Of The Planets?), but ears don't tend to noticably flap like that (when the rest of the body isn't in motion/sitting in a car, poking its head out the window). Of course full Dumbo Ears are far more overscale than these, so maybe the dog has ''some'' floating skills, the ears are merely attitude controls. - (And I can't believe I'm now discussing the precise nature of the airworthiness of a dog. Thank you Randall!) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.227|162.158.152.227]] 09:52, 9 December 2015 (UTC)
: That's definitely a wagging tail. Note that in the fourth panel the dog is facing downwards, and in the last panel it is facing to the left. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.35|173.245.54.35]] 16:47, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

there is "it's" abuse here. para 3: "it's mouth." and para 4: "it's title." --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.106.233|141.101.106.233]] 12:56, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

At first I read "kitties" instead of "kites", maybe because I'm not a native speaker and the first word is more familiar to me. So... I was not really surprised to see a dog, here. [[User:Seipas|Seipas]] ([[User talk:Seipas|talk]]) 13:42, 9 December 2015 (UTC)

My original interpretation of the title text was that the "string" in the dog's mouth was the line connecting the dialog to the characters, e.g. the two lines connecting Megan and Beret Guy's dialog to their characters in the second panel. So the voice drifting down from the sky was literally the words "Kites are fun!" being pulled (perhaps uttered?) by the dog. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.8|108.162.216.8]] 14:37, 9 December 2015 (UTC)Pat

Is there any direct implication that these objects ("kite" and the dog) are really in the sky? Maybe it was draw like this to trick the readers but instead it is a forced 2D perspective and the dog is just fighting with the Beret Guy? I guess we can also assume that while Beret Guy says "I'll go get mine, once I finish walking my dog!" he actually means it (walking - not flying/floating).
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.102.220|162.158.102.220]] 01:15, 10 December 2015 (UTC)Tom3k007

''"That is until the dog comes back with Beret Guy as a kite..."''
But it's not clear that the dog did come back with Beret Guy. The dog might have been chasing him. The title text does not say the dog has the ''bottom'' end of a string (ie, the kite string) in its mouth. Anyway, I don't understand the comic. I don't know what the dog is doing. [[Special:Contributions/198.41.238.32|198.41.238.32]] 06:24, 10 December 2015 (UTC)

The title text can implies that the dog come back on the floor with the lowest bit of the string in the mouth and Beret Guy is floating in the air as a Kite (or hooking on the kite) with the other end of the string (reverse position). --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.152.119|162.158.152.119]] 09:15, 10 December 2015 (UTC)Rayen

The title text appears to contain a somewhat cryptic reference to a very odd song from 1967, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kites_Are_Fun: Kites Are Fun], by the one-hit-wonder group Free Design. [[User:Acelightning|Acelightning]] ([[User talk:Acelightning|talk]]) 09:47, 10 December 2015 (UTC)

User:Acelightning

2014-06-03T08:12:13Z

Acelightning: Created page with "Username: Acelightning"

Username: Acelightning

User talk:Acelightning

2014-06-03T08:10:55Z

Acelightning: Created page with "There is content here, therefore this page exists. ~~~~"

There is content here, therefore this page exists.
[[User:Acelightning|Acelightning]] ([[User talk:Acelightning|talk]]) 08:10, 3 June 2014 (UTC)

1362: Morse Code

2014-05-01T11:25:31Z

Acelightning: Added some more background info about LiveJournal.

{{comic
| number = 1362
| date = April 30, 2014
| title = Morse Code
| image = morse_code.png
| titletext = Oh, because Facebook has worked out SO WELL for everyone.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Still very brief. Is there any more code hidden in the silence, speak, silence, speak pattern of the comic?}}

[[Cueball]] recounts the last message sent by the French Navy upon retiring {{W|morse code}}.

The poetic, and potentially angsty-sounding nature of the message reminds him of the on-line journal website {{W|LiveJournal}}, which was popular until the late 00s (it was launched in 1999), and stereotypically used by angst-ridden teenagers to post song lyrics, poems, or cryptic messages to express their emotions and possibly fish for attention. Since Cueball never uses his LiveJournal account any more, he wonders if he can find the password again. He might be considering posting the final Morse Code message as his own last and final message on his LiveJournal.

The popularity of the site died down considerably with the arrival of Social Networking sites like {{W|MySpace}}, {{W|Facebook}}, {{W|Google Plus}} and the advent of microblogging platforms like {{W|Twitter}} and {{W|Tumblr}}. LiveJournal has also lost a lot of users since a Russian company bought them out; Russian dissidents used LiveJournal to present their opinions, and the Russian government retaliates by creating "denial of service" attacks which make LiveJournal unusable for all its users, sometimes for days. Thus when [[Megan]] is upset with his desire to let LiveJournal die out like the Morse Code, Cueball describes it as "a nice place to go for some peace and quiet".

The title text is a sarcastic remark indicating that Facebook is no less filled with angst-ridden thoughts than LiveJournal was, nor is it free from problems or controversies around other issues such as security or privacy.

The morse code for the final message "Calling all. This is our last cry before our eternal silence." is:
-.-. .- .-.. .-.. .. -. --. .- .-.. .-.. .-.-.- - .... .. ... .. ... --- ..- .-. .-.. .- ... - -.-. .-. -.-- -... . ..-. --- .-. . --- ..- .-. . - . .-. -. .- .-.. ... .. .-.. . -. -.-. . .-.-.-
A period is a very short tone while the hyphen represents a slightly longer one. Between each character there is a small pause. This message was typically sent within less than half a minute.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Megan are laying in a grassy, lonely plain.]

:Cueball: When the French navy retired morse code in 1997, they broadcast a final message: "Calling all. This is our last cry before our eternal silence."

:Cueball: I wonder if I can find my Livejournal login.
:Megan: Hey, I ''like'' Livejournal.
:Cueball: It's a nice place to go for some peace and quiet, I suppose.

==External links==
* [http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-53668116.html An obituary for Morse code]
* <span class="plainlinks">[https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/500_kHz_%28maritime_et_a%C3%A9ronautique%29?uselang=en#Nuit_du_31.C2.A0janvier.C2.A01997_au_1er.C2.A0f.C3.A9vrier.C2.A01997.2C Transcript of communications of the french station that night]</span>
* [http://www.onlineconversion.com/morse_code.htm Convert text to morse code and vice versa]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Social networking]]

Talk:1241: Annoying Ringtone Champion

2013-07-24T08:56:39Z

Acelightning:

can somebody add the link to the audio files for the other annoying ringtones mentioned her?
[[Special:Contributions/188.65.166.110|188.65.166.110]] 10:21, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
:"That sound" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cVlTeIATBs --[[User:RainbowDash|RainbowDash]] ([[User talk:RainbowDash|talk]]) 18:15, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound_pressure#Sound_pressure_level) 194db is the loudest sound possible without distortion in Earth's atmosphere, so unlikely that you could update an audio file of it.
:And you would most likely die from that sound pressure level. --[[Special:Contributions/129.110.242.8|129.110.242.8]] 16:58, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
:Wouldn't it be rather a question of your sound equipment if you can achieve 194dB? --[[User:Chtz|Chtz]] ([[User talk:Chtz|talk]]) 17:10, 22 July 2013 (UTC)
How can he speak of most annoying mosquito sounds and not refer to this?! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4k036R3wQE Some kid in my high school actually had this as his ringtone for awhile. I'm pretty sure he got jumped (if he didn't, he ought to have been).
[[Special:Contributions/134.154.55.46|134.154.55.46]] 00:59, 23 July 2013 (UTC)

The "mosquito whine" could also be a reference to the very high-pitched ringtones, often known as "mosquito" tones, that some teenagers so they'll be notified about any phone activity without their schoolteacher realizing they're using a phone in class. Supposedly, "older" people (over 25 or so) can't hear such high frequencies. [[User:Acelightning|Acelightning]] ([[User talk:Acelightning|talk]]) 08:14, 23 July 2013 (UTC)
:I'm 31 and I can still hear frequencies up to 17KHz. When I was 15 I could hear up to 16.5KHz but that may have been due to using an old mid-range speaker. Now I'm using standard apple earphones. --[[User:Zom-B|Zom-B]] ([[User talk:Zom-B|talk]]) 08:29, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

:Some of the "mosquito tones" are as high as 23 KHz. I'm 65, and I can still hear up to around 17 KHz. Although I've worked in audio most of my life, instead of constantly jacking the monitor speaker up higher and higher so I could "feel the music", I'd put on earphones to *protect* my hearing from the musicians. They were yelling "Speak up! I can't hear you!" into the telephone by the time they were 25... and then they realized why I always wore cans :-) [[User:Acelightning|Acelightning]] ([[User talk:Acelightning|talk]]) 08:56, 24 July 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1241: Annoying Ringtone Champion

2013-07-23T08:14:41Z

Acelightning: