explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

290: Fucking Blue Shells

2024-03-18T13:53:17Z

Andcoz: added link to wikipedia page for "blue shell"s

{{comic
| number = 290
| date = July 16, 2007
| title = Fucking Blue Shells
| image = fucking_blue_shells.png
| titletext = You can evade blue shells in Double Dash, but it is deep magic.
}}

==Explanation==

Sometimes, something suddenly goes wrong, and you can only shout obscenities at it. For instance, when the dog bites, when the bee stings, something unexpected happens, or a program crashes (e.g. a {{w|Segmentation fault|segfault}}), the victim often reacts by swearing.

For [[Randall]], however, profanities are caused mostly by {{w|Blue_shell|blue shells}} in the video game {{w|Mario Kart}}. The blue shells, when fired, target the player currently in first place and stop them cold. In a close game near the end of the race, a player can go from first to an unrecoverable last in one hit.

The title text refers to {{w|Mario_Kart:_Double_Dash!!|Mario Kart: Double Dash}}. This includes a technique to avoid being hit by a blue shell, but it requires skillful timing to accomplish. The term "{{w|deep magic}}" comes from computer programmer slang. Interestingly, with a boost mushroom in Mario Kart Wii and Mario Kart 8 (and the so-called "Super-Horn" in the latter), it is also possible (with accurate timing) to escape blue shells.

==Transcript==
:My Profanity Usage By Cause:
:[A pie chart is shown.]
:[Injury is about 2.5% of pie chart.]
:[Irony is about 2.5% of pie chart.]
:[Misc is about 2.5% of pie chart.]
:[Segfaults is about 10% of pie chart.]
:[Mario Kart is about 82.5% of pie chart.]

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Pie charts]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Video games]]
[[Category:Mario Kart]]

769: War

2023-09-28T16:30:15Z

Andcoz: /* Explanation */ changed type of link

{{comic
| number = 769
| date = July 21, 2010
| title = War
| image = war.png
| titletext =They offered to make me a green beret, but I liked my regular one. Although it gets kind of squashed under my helmet.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic seems to be a parable about the perils of love during wartime. Our protagonist is seen here leaning against his pack behind a low wall, surely a good hiding spot for any gentleman with a rifle and scope. Judging by the letter he's in the midst of writing, he has a complex relationship with Cordelia. On the one hand, she's attractive. On the other hand, she's a hostile combatant, as evidenced by the shots fired mid-missive. Cordelia's fire works against her, though, as her volley of shots has revealed her own position atop the maintenance shed. We can presume that in a matter of minutes, this love affair will go sour as the love letter is wrapped around a live grenade and "delivered," so to speak. War is indeed hell.

As to the title text, the green berets are worn only by Special Forces soldiers. It takes a lot of training to become a green beret, and as evidenced by our protagonist's clever use of decoys to outwit a sniper, he may be qualified for the honor. However, evidence for his naiveté is given immediately thereafter, as he confesses that he wears a beret under his helmet — thus revealing our protagonist's true identity as [[Beret Guy]] and explaining how he fell in love with an enemy soldier actively trying to kill him{{citation needed}}. Then again, he does not have a choice, since [[291: Dignified|he has stapled the beret on his head.]]

"Cordelia" is possibly a reference to [http://atoracle.wikidot.com/en-cordelia-rosalind Cordelia Rosalind]—the sniper from the {{w|Miniature wargaming|miniature game}} ''{{w|Anima: Beyond Fantasy#Anima: Tactics|Anima: Tactics}}''. Alternatively, it may be a reference to {{w|List of Vorkosigan Saga characters#Barrayarans|Cordelia Naismith}} from {{w|Lois McMaster Bujold}}'s ''{{w|Shards of Honor}}''. In the book, Cordelia Naismith and Lord Aral Vorkosigan are on opposite sides of the Beta-Barrayar war, and fall in love while forced to spend a week in each other's company on an unpopulated planet. This may be further corroborated by the green color of Beret Guy's uniform, which is very similar to the color used for the uniforms of the Barrayan Imperial Service.

==Transcript==
:[A soldier is sitting on the ground behind a low wall, leaning against his pack and writing a letter.]
:My Dearest Cordelia,
:it has been far too long since I last gazed
:upon your lithe and supple body through my
:telescopic sights, and I fear you may have
:found a superior vantage poin—

:''BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!''

:—a splendid effort, my love, but your shots
:find only a decoy, and reveal your position atop
:the maintenance shed.

:I pray this missive and my grenades find you well.

:War is hell.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

769: War

2023-09-28T16:27:43Z

Andcoz: /* Explanation */ adds wikipedia references into "possible references" section

{{comic
| number = 769
| date = July 21, 2010
| title = War
| image = war.png
| titletext =They offered to make me a green beret, but I liked my regular one. Although it gets kind of squashed under my helmet.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic seems to be a parable about the perils of love during wartime. Our protagonist is seen here leaning against his pack behind a low wall, surely a good hiding spot for any gentleman with a rifle and scope. Judging by the letter he's in the midst of writing, he has a complex relationship with Cordelia. On the one hand, she's attractive. On the other hand, she's a hostile combatant, as evidenced by the shots fired mid-missive. Cordelia's fire works against her, though, as her volley of shots has revealed her own position atop the maintenance shed. We can presume that in a matter of minutes, this love affair will go sour as the love letter is wrapped around a live grenade and "delivered," so to speak. War is indeed hell.

As to the title text, the green berets are worn only by Special Forces soldiers. It takes a lot of training to become a green beret, and as evidenced by our protagonist's clever use of decoys to outwit a sniper, he may be qualified for the honor. However, evidence for his naiveté is given immediately thereafter, as he confesses that he wears a beret under his helmet — thus revealing our protagonist's true identity as [[Beret Guy]] and explaining how he fell in love with an enemy soldier actively trying to kill him{{citation needed}}. Then again, he does not have a choice, since [[291: Dignified|he has stapled the beret on his head.]]

"Cordelia" is possibly a reference to [http://atoracle.wikidot.com/en-cordelia-rosalind Cordelia Rosalind]—the sniper from the {{w|Miniature wargaming|miniature game}} ''{{w|Anima: Beyond Fantasy#Anima: Tactics|Anima: Tactics}}''. Alternatively, it may be a reference to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Vorkosigan_Saga_characters#Barrayarans Cordelia Naismith] from {{w|Lois McMaster Bujold}}'s ''{{w|Shards of Honor}}''. In the book, Cordelia Naismith and Lord Aral Vorkosigan are on opposite sides of the Beta-Barrayar war, and fall in love while forced to spend a week in each other's company on an unpopulated planet. This may be further corroborated by the green color of Beret Guy's uniform, which is very similar to the color used for the uniforms of the Barrayan Imperial Service.

==Transcript==
:[A soldier is sitting on the ground behind a low wall, leaning against his pack and writing a letter.]
:My Dearest Cordelia,
:it has been far too long since I last gazed
:upon your lithe and supple body through my
:telescopic sights, and I fear you may have
:found a superior vantage poin—

:''BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!''

:—a splendid effort, my love, but your shots
:find only a decoy, and reveal your position atop
:the maintenance shed.

:I pray this missive and my grenades find you well.

:War is hell.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

Talk:1959: The Simpsons

2018-02-23T08:09:40Z

Andcoz:

Provided an explanation, feels short but I really cant think of any more to say! :) As a Simpsons fan / Harry Potter fan / night owl who's reading this "fresh off the presses", as it were, I felt obligated, LOL! I can't think of any reason / explanation why Bart being born the same year as Harry Potter means he'd automatically be in the HP universe, or automatically magical and accepted to Hogwarts (especially seeing as, as an American, presumably he'd go to some American magic school instead). Going to workup the transcript now. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:49, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Provided the transcript. Even figured out how to do the gray text, LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 07:25, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

The U.S.A school is [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Places_in_Harry_Potter#Ilvermorny Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry]. [[User:Andcoz|Andcoz]] ([[User talk:Andcoz|talk]]) 08:09, 23 February 2018 (UTC)

Talk:1903: Bun Trend

2017-10-18T14:40:11Z

Andcoz:

Outside of xkcd comics, who has actually heard the term "bun" used to describe rabbits? I have never heard it ouside of this comic and I do not like it. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.112|108.162.237.112]] 22:09, 17 October 2017 (UTC)
:I take it you've never been on [http://www.reddit.com/r/Zootopia /r/Zootopia] then.--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.229.148|108.162.229.148]] 10:30, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

Bread product ≠ rabbit - Subject says it all. {{unsigned ip|141.101.107.168}}
:Yes, as to the trivia, I find it ridiculous that they might *not* be rabbits, per the diagram and reference to a small one, etc. I would correct this insanity had I more time.
:: Jacky720 forgot to sign this comment. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 19:00, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

Other Bun comics include [[1682]] and [[1871]] - maybe we should start a category? --[[User:AnotherAnonymous|AnotherAnonymous]] ([[User talk:AnotherAnonymous|talk]]) 14:58, 16 October 2017 (UTC)
:We can just link to the other "bun" comics for now—we can create a category when more pop up. [[User:RamenChef|RamenChef]] ([[User talk:RamenChef|talk]]) 18:21, 16 October 2017 (UTC)
:: [[204]] already mixed politics and rabbits. [[User:Andcoz|Andcoz]] ([[User talk:Andcoz|talk]])

Sure sure, everyone thinks they're harmless, until one picks up a switchblade and an attitude. [[User:DevAudio|DevAudio]] ([[User talk:DevAudio|talk]]) 15:32, 16 October 2017 (UTC)
: Only Monty Python understood their potential danger. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 18:55, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

Is it true that Bun trends are increasing? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.69.223|162.158.69.223]]

The long-awaited game Overgrowth was officially released on Steam today. It has been most succinctly described as a "Bunny Brawler". Coincidence? I think not!

Is the {beep} a reference to the bun alert (which beret guy has installed)? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.63.226|162.158.63.226]] 23:35, 16 October 2017 (UTC)

I guess that {beep} is definitely a reference to the bun alert, and that the "recent acceleration in numbers" is only an observed trend due to more users reporting buns over the app, not an actual increase in numbers. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.34|108.162.216.34]] 00:05, 17 October 2017 (UTC)
----
Good morning, Governor. Our tracking systems show a rapid increase in the number of buns featured on xkcd.

There's been a long-term upward trend, but it has accelerated recently.

So if you want to see comics about buns, there are lots of them there!

Ooh!

There's a new one right now!

It's been an honor to comment.

[[User:PotatoGod|PotatoGod]] ([[User talk:PotatoGod|talk]]) 01:57, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

:''Our tracking systems show a <s>rapid</s> rabbit increase in the number of buns featured on xkcd.''
:FTFY [[User:Ruffy314|Ruffy314]] ([[User talk:Ruffy314|talk]]) 19:45, 17 October 2017 (UTC)
----
Current incomplete explanation is "Created by Randall Munroe". Seriously? Is this accurate or is somebody goofing around? If true I'd say that makes the explanation automatically complete, LOL! Except I wouldn't want to be the one to remove this special occurance. From the looks of the comments, looks like in previous versions of the explanation someone AGAIN confused this terminology with a bread roll. If only there were previous comics which referred to rabbits as "buns"... :) Or if there was a rabbit IN the comic. Or if someone, like this governor for example, made the connection between rabbits and the term "buns". LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:35, 17 October 2017 (UTC)
:Maybe Randall finally found out about the site and somehow contributed... who knows? --[[User:JayRulesXKCD|'''JayRules''XKCD''' ]]<sup>[[User talk:JayRulesXKCD|what's up?]]</sup> 12:34, 17 October 2017 (UTC)
:: As far as I gather, Randall has been aware of this site for ages, but doesn't actually say anything or declare himself anyway. He might enjoy watching people discussing and arguing about what he might mean. :) I've seen people declare with certainty that they know he knows, I give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they've seen evidence of this and aren't merely assuming themselves. Of course, now the explanation says it's by a Velociraptor. I equally believe this means A) Someone IS goofing around, and "Randall Monroe" is one of the goofs, or B) It's actually Randall, and HE'S goofing around (we all know his like for random velociraptors, and I could totally see him amusing himself this way), perhaps he changed it because I called attention to it. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 18:47, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

Speaking as an Aussie, an increase in rabbits can cause a major environmental disaster. Be careful of a bun-megadon! Remember that they're not a good thing in environments they didn't evolve in. I think over here in Oz, we actually do get rabbit increase reports. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.53|108.162.250.53]] 12:35, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

== Sightings observed ==

The concept of a service for spotting buns is not ''that'' unlikely. When I went to secondary school, a kid from my class was an ornithology buff. He received text messages when certain birds were spotted, including location and information on whether the bird(s) was only passing. This was in the pre-app era. Today a quick google search show that there are a few worldwide spotting apps, where ornithologists can log and share sightings of birds. Eg. [http://www.birdseyebirding.com/ BirdsEye]

--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.134.100|162.158.134.100]] 08:52, 18 October 2017 (UTC)

287: NP-Complete

2014-02-13T12:37:14Z

Andcoz: added link to "my hobby" category

{{comic
| number = 287
| date = July 9, 2007
| title = NP-Complete
| image = np_complete.png
| titletext = General solutions get you a 50% tip.
}}

==Explanation==
Another entry in the “[[My Hobby]]” series of cartoons. [[Cueball]] is embedding {{w|NP-complete|NP-complete problems}} in restaurant orders. Specifically, he is ordering appetizers not by explicitly stating the names, but by the total price of them all. This is a simplified example of the {{w|Knapsack problem|knapsack problem}}. This is a problem in combinatorial optimization, as follows: If you have a knapsack (backpack or rucksack) which can hold a specific amount of weight, and you have a set of items, each with its own assigned value and weight, you have to select items to put into the knapsack so that the weight does not exceed the capacity of the knapsack and the combined value of all the items is maximized.

In {{w|Computational complexity theory|computational complexity theory}}, NP stands for “nondeterministic polynomial time,” which means that problems which are NP take polynomial running time (i.e. the time a CPU would take to run the program would be polynomial in the input size) to verify a solution, but it is unknown whether finding any or all solutions can be done in polynomial time. Polynomial time is considered efficient; exponential and higher times are considered unfeasible for computation. NP-complete problems are ones which, if a polynomial time algorithm is found for any of them, then all NP problems have polynomial time solutions. In short, particular guesses in NP-complete problems can be checked easily, but systematically finding solutions is far more difficult.

The waiter's problem is NP-complete, since a given order's price can be found and checked quickly, but finding an order to match a price is much harder. (Formal proofs of the NP-completeness of the knapsack problem can be found at the above link.) The most straightforward way for a human to find a solution is to methodically start by first listing all the (6) ways of choosing one appetizer, and their total costs, then list all the (21) ways of choosing two appetizers (allowing repeats), and then list all the (56) ways of choosing three appetizers, and so forth. As any combination of eight appetizers would be more than $15.05, the process need not extend beyond listing all the (1715) ways of choosing seven appetizers.

Another famous NP-complete problem is the {{w|Travelling Salesman problem}}, mentioned by Cueball at the end, referring to the waiter's claim that he has 6 more tables to get to. (see also [[399: Travelling Salesman Problem]]).

The title text refers to the fact that NP-complete problems have no known polynomial time general solutions, and it is unknown if such a solution can ever be found. If the waiter can find an efficient general solution to this he will have solved one of the most famous problems in mathematics. This problem is one of the six remaining unsolved {{w|Millennium Prize Problems}} stated by the Clay Mathematics Institute in 2000, for which a correct solution (including proving that such a solution doesn't exist) is worth US$1,000,000. A 50% tip is slightly less than fair.

;The Solution
There are exactly two solutions to the problem posed in the comic strip, combinations of appetizers which total $15.05:
*Seven mixed fruit orders
*A combination of two orders of hot wings, one order of mixed fruit, and one sampler plate

==Transcript==
:My Hobby:
:Embedding NP-Complete problems in restaurant orders
:[A menu is shown.]
:Chotchkies Restaurant
:Appetizers
:Mixed Fruit 2.15
:French Fries 2.75
:Side Salad 3.35
:Hot Wings 3.55
:Mozzarella Sticks 4.20
:Sampler Plate 5.80
:[Three people sit at a table, including Cueball who is ordering from a waiter.]
:Cueball: We'd like exactly $15.05 worth of appetizers, please.
:Waiter: ...Exactly? Uhh...
:Cueball: Here, these papers on the knapsack problem might help you out.
:Waiter: Listen, I have six other tables to get to-
:Cueball: -As fast as possible, of course. Want something on traveling salesman?

==Trivia==
*A film reference is embedded in the menu in the first panel: The restaurant is called “Chotchkies”, a fictional restaurant featured in the film {{w|Office Space}}. In that film, the character Joanna, played by {{w|Jennifer Aniston}}, quits her job at Chotchkies, a typical family-oriented chain restaurant, over their policy that she wear a large number of tchotchkes, or “flair” items – tacky pins, buttons, or other adornments to a worker’s uniform which can often be seen on waiters and waitresses at chain family restaurants, as well as those who work at movie theaters or large retail chain stores.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Math]]

Talk:1207: AirAware

2013-05-03T14:45:24Z

Andcoz:

I somehow has the feeling that the business-plan behind is that people will pay you that the drone LEAVES. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 08:39, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

:That would certainly work, but I'm not sure Black Hat wants that money. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:03, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

The "as it does not seem to generate money" bit seems a bit premature in the explanation. At the stage he's questioning whether it ''is'' a business, the question is "''who'' would even pay?". Only in the last frame does the utter lack of generated money (above idea from DaB. aside) arise and make him assert that it is ''not'' one, which gets him shouted at. Not sure how to re-write it, though. [[Special:Contributions/31.110.91.76|31.110.91.76]] 09:59, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

:Yeah, I was thinking that, but I didn't really know what to write and I was a bit rushed, I might fix it up now. [[Special:Contributions/203.51.90.96|203.51.90.96]] 14:06, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

I think this could also be to do with how Google Now works - e.g. it will often tell you things that you are semi-aware of, but ignoring.--[[Special:Contributions/194.201.25.22|194.201.25.22]] 12:03, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

Google will make money on Now the same as always. By renting our eyeballs. I used it for the first time last night. It located me and showed me nearby businesses. If they weren't paying for clickthrough then, they will over time. ''— [[User:Tbc|tbc]] ([[User talk:Tbc|talk]]) 12:42, 3 May 2013 (UTC)''

The bit about "must nake money" being WRONG is probably a reference to the scores of dotcoms who came to market with the idea that "We'll make something cool now, figure out how to make money from it later" [[User:Gardnertoo|Gardnertoo]] ([[User talk:Gardnertoo|talk]]) 13:30, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

IMHO, there is only one kind of organization that collect tons of dollars "just yelling at stranger from the sky": churches (in addition, churches are non profit organizations). [[User:Andcoz|Andcoz]] ([[User talk:Andcoz|talk]]) 14:45, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1188: Bonding

2013-03-20T12:49:26Z

Andcoz: /* Pun */ eclipse ide or novel

The aim method results in an infinite loop/stack overflow, note that ball is an exception of type Ball. This results in a logical flow of aim, "throw," "catch," repeat, though this is only logical by word choice, and is nonsensical from a programming perspective.

Pretty sure the code is also intentionally hard to follow. {{unsigned|‎108.48.215.61}}

The try/catch parts are just for show, they cancel each other out.
The structure is that you have a parent and a child instance (of class P), each has a 'target' pointed to the other.
Then calling aim with a ball will call the others aim with the ball, which will call the firsts aim with the ball. Etc etc.

I guess after about a 1000 aims the jvm will throw you out, stating stack overflow, and the bonding game is over. {{unsigned|212.214.117.162}}

Nice catch game :)
I had to test it:
Exception in thread "main" java.lang.StackOverflowError
in my setup with default VM settings after 6612 iterations (I added a static counter variable).
The game could get even more "exciting" by using more than two Ps and adding randomization in who is aimed at. And maybe a miss block ;) (need to hack the compiler and VM for that though...)
[[Special:Contributions/134.106.146.36|134.106.146.36]] 09:31, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

:I don't think any parent will last so long. On the other hand, if you always catch the ball, one iteration doesn't take so long, it's the missing which makes the game long ... -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:56, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

Hmmm "Eclipse: The Codex Persona" is also a d20 gaming system which offers enormous customization of characters. The mention of building character and Eclipse in the same sentence just brought that to the front of my mind. No idea if that has relation to the comic. --[[Special:Contributions/50.0.36.182|50.0.36.182]] 07:38, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

== Problem With Code ==
The one problem with this is that the way the try/catch is set up, they aren't actually throwing to each other. Parent throws the ball, then catches it themselves, then child does the same thing. It's still clever though. [[User:Prometheusmmiv|Prometheusmmiv]] ([[User talk:Prometheusmmiv|talk]]) 11:38, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

== Pun ==

The code is an odd way of making a loop in Java -- creating two objects (of class P, called "parent" and "child") which repeatedly throw and catch another object (of class Ball) between one another. The sole purpose of this is to create the pun referred to in the title: it's a real-life cliché that a parent and child may "bond" by playing catch. [[Special:Contributions/81.31.112.212|81.31.112.212]] 07:14, 20 March 2013 (UTC)

Title text talks about "to build character" in the way usually a father tries to help a child to define "attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual"[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/character], so I suppose that the "confusing Eclipse" is a pun itself. Perhaps it is a reference to Eclipse novel by Stephenie Meyer (the kind of book that raises a lot of moral dilemma in a young adult).
--[[User:Andcoz|Andcoz]] ([[User talk:Andcoz|talk]]) 12:49, 20 March 2013 (UTC)