explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1207: AirAware

2015-10-02T16:39:37Z

ArchieT: /* Explanation */ Mentioned a Google Now bug.

{{comic
| number = 1207
| date = May 3, 2013
| title = AirAware
| image = airaware.png
| titletext = It ships with a version of Google Now that alerts you when it's too late to leave for your appointments.
}}

==Explanation==
Upon being asked by [[Cueball]], [[Black Hat]] reveals his new 'business', AirAware. He explains it uses a {{w|Quadrotor}} Unmanned Aerial Vehicle ({{w|UAV}}) that flies and records a person's daily schedule. If that person either deviates, forgets an appointment, or tells somebody incorrect information, the drone alerts the 'client' with an annoying "WRONG!".

Cueball is skeptical of the 'business plan' and questions its potential. Black Hat expands, saying that his intention is not personal profit, and he is simply releasing them himself. Cueball starts to argue that it is not a business, since there is no monetary gain, before being abruptly interrupted by the AirAware drone, declaring that his previous sentence was incorrect. This implies that Black Hat's business is not for profit; it's just another one of his sadistic schemes to torture people.

Although the Wikipedia page for {{w|business}} states that a business "may also be not-for-profit", this isn't really relevant, as 'making money' and 'making a profit' are different things. It would be better classified as a different type of organization, or even as a [[:Category:My Hobby|hobby]].

{{w|Google Now}} is software by Google, shipped with newer Android devices. It shows you important information when you need it, like traffic on your way to work or home and upcoming events from your calendar. It also reminds you when to leave in order to reach an appointment in time. In the title text, Black Hat has modified this to tell you when you're too ''late'' to get there, instead.

It can also refer to a [http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/92305/why-does-google-now-never-think-that-i-will-arrive-on-time bug in Google Now], which is that Google Now incorrectly calculates the time you have to leave, and it always calculates that what it calculated will be 1 minute too late, so it shows "The transportation mode you selected will not let you arrive on time" almost always, unless you refresh.

An alternate explanation for the pronouncement of "WRONG!" by the quadcopter in the last panel is that it is referring to the plethora of companies in the electronic era, and even today, that don't actually make much (or any) money, but are still considered successful businesses.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball and Black Hat looking at a remote-controlled flying object.]
:Cueball: What's that?
:Black Hat: It's a drone for my new business, ''AirAware''.

:Black Hat (narrating): Our UAVs follow you and learn your schedule. If you miss a turn, forget an appointment, or give someone inaccurate information, they alert you.
:Megan (on phone): I'll be there in five.
:Booming voice from the sky: <big>'''''WRONG!'''''</big>
:Megan: Augh!

:Cueball: That sounds annoying. Who would ''pay'' for that?
:Black Hat: Huh? Nobody pays. I'm just making these and releasing them.

:Cueball: That's not a business. You're just yelling at strangers from the sky.
:Cueball: A business has to make money somehow.
:Booming voice from the sky: <big>'''''WRONG!'''''</big>
:Cueball: Augh!!

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]

760: Moria

2015-08-11T08:50:04Z

ArchieT: û in the transcription (Khazad–Dûm)

{{comic
| number = 760
| date = June 30, 2010
| title = Moria
| image = moria.png
| titletext = Someone should really bring them a ladder and remind them to build the Endless Stair *first* next time.
}}

==Explanation==
This is [[Randall]]'s take on the story of {{w|Moria}} in the fantasy story {{w|Lord of the Rings}}. In the original the dwarves, hunting for the precious metal mithril dug so deep that they awoke a {{w|balrog}} — {{w|Maiar}} corrupted by {{w|Morgoth}}. However, in this version, they simply got stuck down into a mine.

However, Gandalf's final line may be a hint that the comic's version is closer to the original than it appears — in the story, the adventuring party discovers a journal of the last dwarves to occupy Moria. The last page starts ominously: "We cannot get out. We cannot get out." That memorable sentence is used again near the end of the page as the impending final orcish attack is described by the now-dead dwarves, and repeated by Gimli as they reflect on the terrible news, lending a much darker tone to the comic's punchline.

The title text suggests a mundane solution to their problem — a long ladder. The Endless stair was a very long staircase from the lowest dungeon up to the top of the mountain above Moria.

==Transcript==
:[A far shot of Gandalf the Grey and the four hobbits standing in a dark, underground city.]
:Gandalf: Behold, Khazad-Dûm; the Dwarrowdelf; the mines of Moria -- once the greatest and mightiest city of the dwarves.

:[Full body shot of Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: But the dwarves delved too greedily.

:[Close-up on Gandalf.]
:Gandalf: And too deep.

:[Full shot of the hobbits and Gandalf.]
:Hobbit: ...and awoke a terror of shadow and flame?
:Gandalf: No. They couldn't get out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:LOTR]]

Talk:715: Numbers

2015-01-29T07:28:35Z

ArchieT:

It seems pretty obvious that the spike at "I'm 18 and have never had a boyfriend" is thanks to porn sites. I don't think that has anything to do with "anxiety about reaching adulthood." {{unsigned ip|‎108.162.216.54}}

I think it should be noted that many of the graphs use.an exponential scale of measurement, which destroys any credibility the visuals had in a quite posssibly intentional moment of internet satire. {{unsigned ip|199.27.128.190}}

I'm from Poland and when I was joining Mensa, the test score was in the Cattell scale, in which 148 is required to join. So that may be a reason for 147 ;) [[User:ArchieT|ArchieT]] ([[User talk:ArchieT|talk]]) 07:28, 29 January 2015 (UTC)