explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

226: Swingset

2014-04-01T15:29:44Z

Becky: /* Explanation */ Rearranged text and added link -- since research I did indicated a person wasn't really weightless, just feels that way

{{comic
| number = 226
| date = February 21, 2007
| title = Swingset
| image = swingset.png
| titletext = Someone bring me a pocket fan so I can drift around the yard.
}}

==Explanation==
In the opening panel of this comic an unknown woman sees [[Cueball]] sitting on a swing set. She tells him that during his swing he becomes weightless. Cueball then imagines that at the peak of his swing he is able to become permanently weightless, floating above the ground without any support.

When on a swing or other [http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/pendulum.html pendulum ride], there is a moment between swinging forwards/backwards and swinging back down again when the forces of gravity, friction, air resistance, etc., brings the velocity of the swing to zero. At this moment, for a split second, you will be stationary at the peak of your swing, feel no forces, and feel {{w|weightlessness|weightless}}.

In the title text Cueball asks for a pocket fan, believing he could fly around the garden using this small device perhaps as a propeller.

==Transcript==
:[Woman talking to Cueball on swing-set.]
:Woman: You know, at the peak of a big swing, you become weightless.
:[Thought bubble from Cueball.]
:[Cueball swings higher and higher. At the peak of a big swing he shoves off the swing. Cueball remains hovering in the air.]
:Cueball: Hey guys. Come check this out.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Physics]]

220: Philosophy

2014-04-01T15:12:57Z

Becky: /* Explanation */ Minor grammar change and added Super Soaker info

{{comic
| number = 220
| date = February 7, 2007
| title = Philosophy
| image = philosophy.png
| titletext = It's like the squirt bottle we use with the cat.
}}

==Explanation==
In all of philosophy, perhaps the most important question considers the {{w|meaning of life}}, and can be expressed as "Why are we here?" or "What does it all mean?" Many philosophers and theologians have attempted to answer the question over the course of human history and every religion claims to have some sort of answer.

[[Megan]] has been considering that the question is essentially meaningless. However, if that is true, she can't understand why it continues to be in her thoughts. This might feel frustrating for Megan. Her friends notice that she is seemingly stuck in this existential question and have a short-term solution for her. One friend reaches for a {{w|Super Soaker}}, a powerful toy squirt gun, presumably to use to spray water at Megan.

The title text refers to the {{w|operant conditioning}} technique (a form of behavioral modification) commonly used with house cats. If they start scratching the furniture, many people spray them with a squirt bottle (since they hate water) to discourage that behavior (though it seldom works).

==Transcript==
:[Megan sits on chair, thinking.]
:[Two panels pass, Megan does not move.]
:Megan: If the question of what it all means doesn't mean anything, why do I keep coming back to it?
:[Two boys are talking to each other.]
:Cueball: She's getting existential again.
:Friend: It's okay, I have a super soaker.
:[Friend pulls a large super soaker from a drawer.]

==Trivia==
*[[Randall]] himself uploaded the strip's fourth panel to {{w|Wikimedia Commons}} ([http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Xkcd_philosophy.png here]) for use on {{w|xkcd|''xkcd's'' Wikipedia article}}. xkcd is licenced under [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ this] {{w|Creative Commons license}}, which is incompatible with [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ this] CC license that Wikipedia uses, because the latter allows commercial use. Randall says {{w|Talk:Primer (film)|here}} that he is willing to unlock more strips to Commons for similar purposes.
*The Super Soaker appears again in [[517: Marshmallow Gun]], this time by Megan, as retaliation against Cueball for using the marshmallow gun on her.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Philosophy]]

137: Dreams

2014-04-01T15:03:43Z

Becky: /* Explanation */ small grammar change and added info on the closing line of the comic

{{comic
| number = 137
| date = August 4, 2006
| title = Dreams
| image = dreams.png
| titletext = In Connor's second thesis it is stated 'There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.' Does the routine destroy our creativity or do we lose creativity and fall into the routine? Anyway, who's up for a road trip!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Title text not fully explained, explanation rather short.}}
In the first panel of this comic, it is clear that Cueball has just written some comment that his friend thinks will lower his chances for getting a job in the future. This is common advice given to teenagers and young professionals, given as a warning that their posts online could be seen by a potential future boss.

In the next panel, Cueball replies with a seeming non-sequitur: when did we forget our dreams. Without explanation, this seems like one of the overly philosophizing, ultimately meaningless questions that also happen to pop up on social media sites. Cueball's friend is confused by the sudden shift in conversation.

The long monologue Cueball delivers focuses around the fact that as people get older, their life becomes narrower and less filled with possibilities and novelty. This is a speech made in the manner of someone getting older and missing the simpler days of youth, where everything was much more exciting. From this point, he explains that part of the deadening process is responding the same way to each event that happens, and creating a routine. If a person can create a stable routine in the present, they will have the means to follow their now-ignored dreams in the future.

Finally Cueball gets to relating this monologue to posting inappropriate material to social media sites: he will not let his concerns for a nebulous future hinder the outlook on life he has now. He will not limit his choices in order to conform with the expectations of an uninspired future. He ends with the blunt explanation of his choices, "Fuck. That. Shit.", bringing him into a full circle, expressing crudely and inappropriately his thoughts on the matter which he has just eloquently finished describing.

Cueball's use of periods between each word in this closing phrase is itself another reference to practices on social media sites; people will sometimes put periods between each word in a short phrase to show emphasis.

Connor's second thesis from the title text is a quote from the character {{w|Sarah Connor (Terminator)|Sarah Connor}} in the film {{w|Terminator 2: Judgment Day|Terminator 2}}. The message expressed is a restatement of Cueball's monologue: the more creativity lost to conform, the more routine life becomes, and the more routine life becomes, the less creative you become. The roadtrip suggestion is the situationally unexpected break that shows the speaker is willing to break out of the routines threatening to set in.

Other comics with a similar theme about finding or taking unexplored paths, instead of fitting into the mold, includes [[59: Graduation]] and [[267: Choices: Part 4]].

==Transcript==
:[A friend is standing behind Cueball, who is typing at a computer.]
:Friend: You should be more careful what you write. Future employers might read it.

:Cueball: When did we forget our dreams?
:Friend: What?

:[Cueball stands beside his friend.]
:Cueball: The infinite possibilities each day holds should stagger the mind. The sheer number of experiences I could have is uncountable, breathtaking, and I'm sitting here refreshing my inbox. We live trapped in loops, reliving a few days over and over, and we envision only a handful of paths laid out before us. We see the same things every day, we respond the same way, we think the same thoughts, each day a slight variation on the last, every moment smoothly following the gentle curves of societal norms. We act like if we just get through today, tomorrow our dreams will come back to us.

:Cueball: And no, I don't have all the answers. I don't know how to jolt myself into seeing what each moment could become. But I do know one thing: the solution doesn't involve watering down my every little idea and creative impulse for the sake of some day easing my fit into a mold. It doesn't involve tempering my life to better fit someone's expectations. It doesn't involve constantly holding back for fear of shaking things up.

:Cueball: This is very important, so I want to say it as clearly as I can:

:Cueball: '''FUCK.'''

:Cueball: '''THAT.'''

:Cueball: '''SHIT.'''

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

59: Graduation

2014-03-30T19:57:14Z

Becky: /* Explanation */ Typos & grammar changes

{{comic
| number = 59
| date = February 3, 2006
| title = Graduation
| image = graduation.jpg
| titletext = Opening dialogue by [[Scott]]
}}

==Explanation==
A young [[Miss Lenhart]] and [[Megan]] discuss their plans after the college. Miss Lenhart doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, so she is going to go to {{w|Graduate school|grad school}}. Graduate school is the next level of education after {{w|undergraduate education|undergraduate work}}, where students pursue a master's or doctoral degrees.

Megan, on the other hand, has decided to become a lighthouse operator, a path that has become increasingly less traveled. Fewer people need lighthouses. Before GPS technology, lighthouses were invaluable markers of where the sea ended and where land began. Megan likes the idea of being the maid in the highest tower. Except where most fairy tales portray the {{w|Rapunzel|maid in the tower}} as helpless, waiting to be rescued, operating a lighthouse is far from helpless. It can be one of the most needed jobs for sea-farers to find their way safely back home.

Other comics with a similar theme about finding or taking unexplored paths, instead of fitting into the mold, includes [[137: Dreams]] and [[267: Choices: Part 4]].

[[Scott]] appears to be a friend of [[Randall Munroe]]. Comics 57 through 59 all have the title text "Opening dialogue by Scott", forming a sort of informal mini-series inspired by him.

Referenced in:

*[[17: What If]]
*[[35: Sheep]]
*[[57: Wait For Me]]
*[[58: Why Do You Love Me?]]
*[[59: Graduation]]

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Blonde are talking.]
:Blonde (or Ms. Lenhart): What do you want to do when you graduate?
:Megan: I want to become a lighthouse operator.
:Blonde: Oh?
:Megan: Yeah.
:[Cut to scene of lighthouse with text overlaid.]
:Megan: Lighthouses are built on interesting pieces of coast, so I'll have an interesting place to walk and swim, and great views of all kinds of weather. I'd feel good about myself and my work every single day.
:[Cut back to the two girls.]
:Megan: I'd get to be the girl in the tower, only I'd be the one rescuing people.
:Megan: Why. What do you want to do ?
:Blonde: I'm going to grad school. I don't really know why.
:Megan: Wanna come hang in my lighthouse over breaks?
:Blonde: ...yeah.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Miss Lenhart]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

55: Useless

2014-03-30T19:49:16Z

Becky: /* Trivia */ Added wedding cake trivia link.

{{comic
| number = 55
| date = January 27, 2006
| title = Useless
| image = useless.jpg
| titletext = Even the identity matrix doesn't work normally
}}

==Explanation==
[[Randall]] is attempting to apply mathematical systems to the concept of love to no avail. Specifically, he is attempting his "normal approach" which is a term used in mathematics for the method one typically uses to solve a certain type of problem. However, as love is not a mathematical value, his normal approach is useless. Simply put: He's saying that math has no way of describing love (or more precisely, ''he'' has no way of describing love, using only the tools of mathematics.)

From the top, going right, he tries the {{w|square root}} of love; the {{w|cosine}} of love; the {{w|derivative}} of love with respect to x; he multiplies love by a 2x2 {{w|identity matrix}}, and finally he defines a {{w|Function (mathematics)|function}} of love as a {{w|Fourier transform}}. These may all be "normal approaches" to solving certain math problems.

The long and the short of the comic is that this might be the thinking of someone who uses math to solve all their problems upon their discovering love, which can't be solved with math.

===Basic explanations of the functions===
:''Note: The Wikipedia links will provide far more detailed explanations of the mathematics.''
*The square root of x is the number which, when squared, equals x.
*Cosine is a {{w|trigonometric function}} which, when given the measure of an angle in a {{w|right triangle}} as an input, outputs the ratio of the lengths of two sides of that triangle (for cosine it is the non-{{w|hypotenuse}} side adjacent to the angle and the hypotenuse).
*A derivative of a function is the rate of change of that function at a given value of x. It is a primary focus of {{w|calculus}}. A basic example is where "velocity" is the ratio of distance traveled in a given time, the derivative of velocity is "acceleration" which is the rate of change of velocity at a given time.
*Identity matrices are matrices which consist of only zeros and ones, with zeros everywhere except along the {{w|main diagonal}}. Multiplying a matrix by the equal-sized identity matrix will result in the same output in the same way that multiplying a non-matrix by 1 does not change the original term. The title text suggests that multiplying love by the identity matrix does not return the same "love" value.
*A {{w|Fourier transform}} converts a function from one (sophisticated) function into an endless continuous series of (more simple) functions, where each next part is bringing the equation closer to the real result. This means that you can stop your calculations after a few iterations and you are very close to the real result, and it also can be used to deconstruct signals.

==Transcript==
:[Different mathematic equations, all with heart on left side, and all equal question mark. Equations are as follows:
:Square root of heart equals question mark
:Cosine of heart equals question mark
:Derivative of heart with respect to x equals question mark
:Identity matrix of heart equals question mark
:Fourier transform of heart equals question mark.]
:My normal approach is useless here

==Trivia==
*This is the fifty-second and last comic originally posted to LiveJournal. The previous comic was [[53: Hobby]].
*The version used on the [http://store.xkcd.com/products/useless t-shirt] and in ''[http://store.xkcd.com/products/xkcd-volume-0 xkcd: volume 0]'' is slightly different. The derivative is with respect to time (''t'') instead of ''x'', and the function at the bottom is a different one.
*An adaptation of this comic was featured on a wedding cake shown on as part of the "Sunday Sweets" regular feature on the popular blog [http://www.cakewrecks.com/home/2011/6/26/sunday-sweets-geek-wedding-cakes.html: Cake Wrecks].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]
[[Category:Romance]]
[[Category:Math]]

1015: Kerning

2014-03-30T19:43:18Z

Becky: /* Explanation */ More major edit. I think this might be complete now but I didn't remove the flag. (Though I did correct a typo in the incomplete description!)

{{comic
| number = 1015
| date = February 10, 2012
| title = Kerning
| image = kerning.png
| titletext = I have never been as self-conscious about my handwriting as when I was inking in the caption for this comic.
}}

== Explanation ==
{{incomplete|This explain is way too brief.}}
In typography, {{w|kerning}} refers to the spacing between consecutive letters in printed material or the process of adjusting said spacing. Examples of bad kerning include text that's almost unreadable: adding so much space between letters of one word that it appears to be two words. Or, there might be so little space between letters that you can't tell what those letters should be ("r" and "n" together might look like "m" or "A" and "V" might have their slanting sides overlap). Extreme examples of bad kerning can lead to humorous or inappropriate text.

Kerning has been an issue in typography since the early era of printing presses and movable type but has taken on new challenges with digital printing. Typical non-designers using basic word processing software don't pay much attention to kerning. A good graphic designer, however, can compensate for bad kerning by individually adjusting the spacing between problem letters. People who specialize in graphic design or layout (and, thus, who are exposed to digital text on a regular basis) can become hyper-sensitive to bad kerning, seeing it in signs or other printed materials prepared by people without such sensitivity to bad kerning.

In the comic, the kerning in the sign is badly done: the spacing between C and I (in "City") and between C and E (in "Offices") is inconsistent. The space between the C and E is almost as wide as the space between the words. One character is clearly frustrated while the other character doesn't notice the problem at all.

The comic explains that once a person learns what good kerning is, he or she will get irritated by shoddy kerning in the future. Unfortunately, the comic itself has also taught us to be annoyed. Thanks, Randall.

The title text is written by Randall explaining that as he was writing this comic about kerning, he was very self conscious of his own handwriting. The act of thinking about kerning (and likely, the act of drawing an example of such bad kerning) made him aware of it in his own writing.

== Transcript ==
:[There is a poorly-kerned sign on the side of a building labeled "CITY OFFICES". Two people are standing in front of it.]
:Person 1: ''Argh!''
:Person 2: what?
:If you really hate someone, teach them to recognize bad kerning.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

907: Ages

2014-03-30T19:13:36Z

Becky: /* Explanation */ Re-formatted the ages chart and added substantial information. I think this might be closer to complete now.

{{comic
| number = 907
| date = June 3, 2011
| title = Ages
| image = ages.png
| titletext = Every age: "I'm glad I'm not the clueless person I was five years ago, but now I don't want to get any older."
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Explain is wrong at some parts, and sometimes it's just repeating the transcript. Pleistocene doesn't really match the graph. Every age section should have a much deeper explain.}}
This is a graph of the general themes that occur between the ages covered by each individual set of brackets. The layout is a parody of larger timescales of human or geologic history, e.g. "Bronze Age" or "Iron Age".

The "ages" identified and experiences typical at that age:
*0-3 - "[Non-sentient]" - Babies/toddlers are not self-sufficient and not intelligently communicative. The formal definition of "sentient" implies an ability to perceive or feel things (something babies & toddlers can do) but the informal use of the phrase "non-sentient" implies something that is ignorant or not very intelligent (babies & toddlers do learn by experiencing the world around them but are clearly not yet as knowledgeable as adults).
*4-12 - "Everything is exciting!" - Children learn language and everything they see and learn is new and interesting. Children of this age are characterized with fascination with the world around them, with an attitude that everything is exciting.
*13-17 - "Everything sucks!" - As children grow to be teenagers their attitude that everything is exciting often turns into cynicism to the world around them, leading to the attitude that "everything sucks!" Teenagers tend to rebel against authority figures (parents, teachers, etc.) thinking they now know best. Additionally, they tend to be negative about everything they experience in the world.
*18-22 - "Woooo college! Wooooo—" [vomit] - This age is a young adult's first foray into the freedom of the world (which often happens in college). For many young adults (whether in college or not) this results in parties or excessive drinking. Excessive drinking results in vomiting.
*23-30 - "Relationships are hard!" - Having grown out of the young adult stage, people in their twenties experience their first "adult" relationships. These relationships, unlike the dating they may have done while in school, tend to be complicated.
*31-42 - "So are careers!" - Growing now into their thirties, people realize that not only are relationships hard but careers are, too. They experience real-world job stress, sometimes at the same time as beginning their families.
*43-54 - "No daughter of mine is going out dressed like that!" - In this age, people who are parents experience the teenage experience from the other perspective. That teenage experience is projected forward to parental experience of having a teenager of their own. This quote is a cliche of a parent yelling at their daughter because the daughter's outfit is far too skimpy for the parent's taste. It is entirely plausible that the now-parent heard this same remark when ''she'' was a teenager.
*55-75+ - "[More sex than anyone is comfortable admitting]" - For people with kids, this age is known as the "empty nest" phase, where their children have moved out on their own. The freedom of not having kids in the house might bring about re-found passions. For people with kids or without, this age brings the onset of retirement with fewer responsibilities and copious free-time. How that free-time is spent is a subject most younger people aren't comfortable talking about.

The title text is a joke about the shortsightedness of many people (at any age) in believing their current age to be ideal.

==Transcript==
:A number line labeled "age." The start point is 0, with points labeled 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70, and the line continues past the width of the panel. There are interstitial, non-labeled points. Above the line are labeled brackets. They are (approximated):
::0-3: [Non-sentient]
::4-12: "Everything is exciting!"
::13-17: "Everything sucks!"
::18-22: "Woooo college! Wooooo—" [vomit]
::23-30: "Relationships are ''hard!''
::31-42: "So are careers!"
::43-54: "No daughter of ''mine'' is going out dressed like that!"
::55-75+: [More sex than anyone is comfortable admitting]

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

910: Permanence

2014-03-30T14:27:26Z

Becky: /* Explanation */ minor typos/proofreading

{{comic
| number = 910
| date = June 10, 2011
| title = Permanence
| image = permanence.png
| titletext = This hostname is going in dozens of remote config files. Changing a kid's name is comparatively easy!
}}

==Explanation==
Changing a server name is a complex process as the name will be placed in several machines. So [[Cueball]] wants to make sure that he chooses a great ''permanent'' name, that he can give to the server he is running.

When [[Megan]] quips on how quickly Cueball named their daughter Caroline (a living being, that is, the type of entity that would give the server purpose), Cueball reminds Megan that he had to choose a name quickly on account of Megan's wishes to call her Epidural. Cueball references an "{{w|epidural}}" which is a process used during childbirth/labor that blocks both pain and sensation (by continuously injecting drugs directly into the spinal canal). Megan tries to justify this by explaining that those were very good drugs, but thus also confirms Cueball in that she was drugged and not in her right mind - wishing to name her daughter after the drug she was taking.

In the title text Cueball mentions that he thinks that it is easier to change a person's name than to change the hostname of a server because of the number of changes that would need to be made to each of the machines that would have saved the old name of the server. It seems, however, that Cueball has never had to wait in line at the Social Security Administration office or at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Those two name change processes make finding and changing dozens of hostfiles look like a piece of cake!

==Transcript==
:[A large panel the combined width of the four panels below it.]
:[A blue Linux terminal installer screen with a grey box that is labeled "[!]CONFIGURE THE NETWORK" in red. Below, in black, it reads "Please enter the hostname for the system." Below is an empty blue entry box with a cursor and dashed underscore, and below this it says "<GO BACK>".]

:[Cueball sits at his computer, Megan stands behind him.]
:Megan: You've been staring at that screen a while.
:Cueball: Picking a good server name is important.

:[Megan stares at him.]

:[She continues to stare.]

:[Cueball pushes his chair back, puts one elbow on the back of the chair and points with his other hand at the screen.]
:Megan: And yet you settled on "Caroline" for our daughter in like 15 seconds.
:Cueball: But this is a ''server!''
:Besides, I had to—you were trying to name her "epidural."
:Megan: Those ''were'' good drugs.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Linux]]

User:Becky

2014-03-30T12:13:20Z

Becky: Created page with "I'm a stay-at-home mom who spent my years before kids working on large databases, research projects, and organizing events/people for a large non-profit. On paper, I might not..."

I'm a stay-at-home mom who spent my years before kids working on large databases, research projects, and organizing events/people for a large non-profit. On paper, I might not seem very technical, having studied communications & history in college, but I'm the wife of an electrical engineer and the daughter of a CIS professor, so I've had to pick up a lot of tech-speech just to survive daily conversations throughout my life. I remember in the mid '90s when my dad first told us about sending messages to colleagues at other universities over "the internet" and have been hooked ever since.

I started reading xkcd when the comic numbers were far lower than they are today. I usually get the main point of the a new comic but there's often a small detail that soars over my head. So, I've found this wiki helpful. I've edited one page so far (or maybe more by the time anybody ever reads this) as a way of giving back.

P.S. I like to proofread. In my own casual writing (like this) I let my grammar abilities slip, but I really hate extraneous apostrophes and typos. So, if I edit something you write, it was likely to change grammar, remove typos, or improve clarity.

477: Typewriter

2014-03-30T12:00:50Z

Becky: /* Explanation */ Fixed a few typos and attempted to write a longer explanation. (This is my first edit, so I hope it is correct.)

{{comic
| number = 477
| date = September 17, 2008
| title = Typewriter
| image = typewriter.png
| titletext = Somewhere in the world, my actual grandmothers are reading this and angrily exclaiming that I never write even malformed thank-you notes. DEAR GRANDMOMS: I AM SORRY! YOU ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE AND THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING LOVE reddit.com RANDALL.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Longer but still quite brief.}}
[[Randall]] is writing a letter to his grandmother on a typewriter, thanking her for taking him (and at least one other person) on a trip. However, due to a habit he's developed from using a computer for so long, Randall inadvertently litters the letter with website URLs. As if through muscle memory, Randall periodically attempts to check the latest news by pressing a combination involving the Tab key, typing the URL of a specific website, then pressing a combination using the Tab key again. Depending on what email program he normally uses, he might have attempted to press Alt+Tab on the typewriter to switch to his web browser (if he was accustomed to using stand-alone email program) or Ctrl-Tab to switch to another browser tab (if he normally used a web-based email program). The key combination that, on a computer, would satisfy his somewhat hyperactive impulses, is dramatically different on a typewriter where that key combination instead inserts a tab character. So, he types a tab character, URL, and second tab character right in the middle of his letter.

The title text references that Randall's real grandmothers, upon seeing this comic, might feel bad that he doesn't write to them at all (not even poorly-written letters like in the comic). To remedy this, he writes a brief thank you note to his grandmothers which includes one tab-URL-tab combination.

==Transcript==
:[A typewriter is shown with the following letter in it:
:Dear Grandmom, cnn.com
: I hope this reddit.com letter
:finds you well. I wanted to say I
:really news.google.com enjoyed the
:trip you boingboing.net took us on,
:and am looking forward to bbc.co.uk
:visiting later fivethirtyeight.com
:this year.
: Love, slashdot.org
: Your grandson,]
:I didn't realize how bad my habit of tabbing to Firefox every few seconds to check news sites had gotten until I tried writing on a typewriter.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Randall Munroe]]