explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3179: Fishing

2025-12-11T19:48:52Z

Bobthegoat123: Added comment re ocean v. lake

The tug on a fishing line would be measured in newtons, not kilograms. [[Special:Contributions/76.187.17.7|76.187.17.7]] 04:30, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
: It's at least a C+ [[Special:Contributions/65.35.15.18|65.35.15.18]] 05:12, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
: Yes, but he is not measuring the force, he is measuring the "weight" (mass) of the thing he thinks he hooked. (e.g. a 5 lb fish)[[Special:Contributions/2603:8000:5E00:2913:EE02:2D56:E960:2CDE|2603:8000:5E00:2913:EE02:2D56:E960:2CDE]] 05:21, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

YAY BERET GUY![[User:Mathmaster|Mathmaster]] ([[User talk:Mathmaster|talk]])

Beret Guy's estimate is, of course, absurd (or it would be for anyone else). His lifting capacity, the breaking points of his line and rod, the buoyancy of his boat and the force to break loose an individual piece of rock (the lowest of which would mark the upper bounds for his estimate) are (many) orders of magnitude lower than the force required to haul a 10^24 kg catch into the boat [citation needed, I guess] [[User:627235|627235]] ([[User talk:627235|talk]]) 11:42, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
:He's not saying that he can reel it in, just estimating the size of the "fish" he's hooked. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 14:57, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
:When he pulls, there is a little bit of give (infinitesimal) as the planet moves - he might be sensing that and estimating based on it. Assuming you know the properties of the fishing line, like its stretch, and of the boat's surface area, buoyancy. I don't see why it wouldn't be possible to estimate given perfect knowledge of the water, boat, line, forces, etc, even if the Earth is much more massive than the boat being pulled downwards [[User:R128|R128]] ([[User talk:R128|talk]]) 15:22, 11 December 2025 (UTC)
:At that massive scale, wouldn’t the upper bound of weight he could detect the buoyancy of the boat - beyond that he is no longer pulling anything up, but pulling himself down - so that the resistance he feels is the buoyancy keeping the boat up? [[Special:Contributions/71.17.36.59|71.17.36.59]] 16:18, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

Planets don't have a catch size limit. By definition, a planet has cleared its neighborhood, meaning there's no need to maintain a breeding population. Now, dwarf planets and small solar system bodies are a different story, and the rules are rather strict. [[Special:Contributions/209.188.63.98|209.188.63.98]] 19:08, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

Beret Guy is surprisingly inaccurate on this one. You'd need to divide the actual weight of Earth by 6 to his estimated weight. --'''''[[User:DollarStoreBa'al|DollarStoreBa'al]][[User Talk:DollarStoreBa'al|Converse]] 19:23, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

Any reason to believe this is an ocean instead of a lake? I changed the transcript to make it more generic, but like "seafloor" better than "bottom," so would change it back if there is some reason to know it is an ocean.
[[User:Bobthegoat123|Bobthegoat123]] ([[User talk:Bobthegoat123|talk]]) 19:48, 11 December 2025 (UTC)

3179: Fishing

2025-12-11T19:46:09Z

Bobthegoat123: Made generic the "ocean" and "seafloor" portions of the transcript, I can't tell this is an ocean vs a lake

{{comic
| number = 3179
| date = December 10, 2025
| title = Fishing
| image = fishing_2x.png
| imagesize = 317x500px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = 'That's definitely above the catch-and-release size minimum for planetesimals.' 'I'm going to throw it back anyway.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|This page was created BY A FISH WITH THE WEIGHT OF THE SUN. Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
[[Ponytail]] and [[Beret Guy]] are fishing in the middle of a body of water, and Beret Guy has hooked a rock. Similarly to the common meme that sees people catching objects such as boots and shopping trollies, he exclaims that it “feels like a big one”. Fishers may judge the size of a fish by the amount of resistance they feel on the line, using their judgement of what a given mass and power of fish feels like when submerged and resisting the leverage of their fishing rod, and non-fish objects that are 'hooked' (especially those stuck in the sediment at the bottom) can seem to be reacting like a proper catch. (Also, the boat would be pulled down when reeling, so they could only tell that their downward pull is greater than the boat’s buoyancy.) In this case, though, Beret Guy can apparently feel that it must be “at least 1024 kilograms” — that is, an object the size of the {{w|Earth}} in its entirety, whose mass can be estimated at approximately 6.0 × 1024 kilograms (~13.1 × 1024 pounds at standard gravitational acceleration of the Earth).

Catch-and-release sizes restrict what sizes of catch of various species can be kept, generally to protect stocks. There may be minimum sizes (to protect young fish and ensure that they can reach mature reproductive age) or maximum sizes (to protect existing breeding populations). The title text claims the Earth is large enough to be kept, suggesting that {{w|planetesimals}} ({{w|asteroids}} and {{w|comets}}, for example) might be considered immature, and that they might be expected to eventually grow to ‘adult’ planet size. Beret Guy is big-hearted enough to want to release the planet back after reeling it in, even though he could keep it. Or sportsmanlike, in allowing the catch to be potentially recaught by the next 'lucky' individual.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Don't remove this notice too soon.}}
:[Ponytail and Beret Guy are sitting in a boat floating on a body of water, both holding fishing rods. One large fish and four smaller fish are seen swimming in the water, with three of the smaller fish in a group. Ponytail's fishing rod is about halfway down to the bottom, while Beret Guy has hooked his fishing line on a large rock sticking up from the bottom.]
:Beret Guy: It feels like a big one! At least 1024 kilograms!

{{comic discussion}}<noinclude>

[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]
[[Category:Geology]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Sport]]
[[Category:Strange powers of Beret Guy]]

2000: xkcd Phone 2000

2023-06-14T17:23:43Z

Bobthegoat123: /* Explanation */ Changed erroneous reference to "copyright violation of a trademark"

{{comic
| number = 2000
| date = May 30, 2018
| title = xkcd Phone 2000
| image = xkcd_phone_2000.png
| titletext = Our retina display features hundreds of pixels per inch in the central fovea region.
}}

==Explanation==
This is the seventh entry in the ongoing [[:Category:xkcd Phones|xkcd Phone series]], and once again, the comic plays with many standard tech buzzwords, and horribly misuses all of them, to create a phone that sounds impressive but self-evidently isn't to even the most ignorant customer. The previous comic in the series [[1889: xkcd Phone 6]] was released 8 and a half months before this one, and the next comic [[2377: xkcd Phone 12]] was released two years and five months later.

This time a nonconsecutive version number is used to match the milestone comic number 2000.

List of features (clockwise from top-center):

*'''Dockless:''' It was common practice for older standard cellphones (i.e. non-smartphones) to use a docking station for charging. "Dockless" could be a catchy marketing term for wireless charging, or it could simply mean wired charging without a dock.
*'''Silent:''' Most mobile phones have a "Silent" mode in which all ringing and vibration is muted, so the user can receive messages and missed-call notifications in a place that requires silence. This xkcd Phone feature may be a "Silent" mode button, but perhaps the phone is silent all the time and unable to produce sound at all. While most people these days use their smartphones for functions that do not require sound, a completely silent phone would not fit the traditional definition of a "phone". This feature is labelled at the location where a headphone socket would traditionally be, although some recent phones have discarded the traditional headphone jack in place of wireless headphones.
*'''Quad camera takes four copies of every picture:''' Recent phones have added up to three rear-facing cameras, offering different fields of view, monochrome cameras for low light, and a wider base for emulating depth of field effects. This phone's cameras might take four ''identical'' pictures simultaneously, which would use up storage space at 4 times the rate of a standard camera while providing no advantage.
*'''Front-facing camera obscura:''' A {{w|camera obscura}} is a dark room or box with a small hole allowing light to enter. The size of the hole causes light travelling in straight lines to project a dim inverted image on the back of the room or box; the concept is the predecessor to a modern camera, which uses a lens to allow more light to enter. A camera obscura is not strictly speaking a camera as in an image capture device (although there are pin-hole cameras which use the same mechanism). Actual phones have front-facing conventional cameras, allowing selfies, video calling, etc.
*'''3D facial contour analysis shows you a realistic preview of your death mask:''' Recent computational photography effects implemented on mobile phones support facial analysis, allowing for artificial relighting or the creation of avatars. However, since a {{w|death mask}} is created to look just like the deceased's face, all cameras provide this "feature" automatically.
*'''Sponsored pixels:''' Presumably this means that parts of the screen (pixels) can be bought in a sponsoring deal. If enough pixels are sold, your screen would be rendered unusable. It is common for advertisers to buy part of the screen real-estate on a service web site (in fact, {{w|The Million Dollar Homepage}} hosted nothing but a 1000x1000 pixel grid of advertisements), and "images" the size of individual pixels can be used to track site access without being intrusive to the user. For the xkcd Phone 2000, it appears that advertisers have access to part of the screen (worryingly, right in the middle). Slightly less intrusive approaches have been used in bookstores selling customized versions of the Kindle, for example, and it is common for cell phone networks to insist on network-specific software to be installed on a phone.
*'''Front and rear pop-out grips:''' There are accessories that stick to the rear of a phone and can be "popped out", offering a grip, a stand, or somewhere to store headphone cables. Integrating such a feature into the phone design is novel, although some phones have incorporated kick stands. Pop-out grips are normally placed on the back of the phone to make it easier to hold with one hand. Having a second grip to the front of the phone does nothing except block part of the screen. There could be a small screen on the top of the grip since the grip is shown to contain "Sponsored Pixels".
*'''Humidity-controlled crisper:''' A crisper is a drawer in a refrigerator meant to control the humidity to keep vegetables from drying out and getting limp. Obviously, a smartphone would have no need for a crisper{{Citation needed}}.
*'''Antikythera mechanism:''' The {{w|antikythera mechanism}} is an ancient Greek clockwork device for predicting astronomical positions. It is one of the earliest known analogue computers. While impressive for its time, by now it is obsolete by millennia.
*'''New York Times partnership: all photos taken with camera app are captioned in real time by reporter Maggie Haberman:''' Modern phones can use machine learning techniques (usually in the cloud) to identify and tag camera content - this makes it possible to search, for example, for photos containing a particular person or subject without requiring user input. Cellphone photos are often used in contributions to social media with some form of user-provided caption. This phone appears to combine the two, using {{w|Maggie Haberman}} to provide automatic captions for photos taken by the phone's owner (although whether this is explicitly for social media use or internal to the phone is unclear).
*'''Spit valve:''' A water key, or "spit valve," is a feature on most brass and some woodwind instruments used to empty the instrument of condensation caused by the musician's breath (and not, as is commonly thought, saliva). Of course, one wouldn't think condensation would form on the inside of a smartphone{{Citation needed}}.
*'''Standard USB connector:''' a USB A port is displayed. Unfortunately, a "standard" USB connector, according to the USB standard, would be a USB B port as a phone typically acts as the "slave" device, rather than the "host" as a USB A port would imply. However, in recent updates to the USB standard, bi-communication between 2 A ports is supported.
*'''Coin purse-style squeeze access:''' presumably, the casing is flexible in this region, and when squeezed at the sides (a bad idea, considering the next design item) reveals the USB A port and spit valve.
*'''Hollow-ground:''' a {{w|Grind#Typical_grinds|hollow grind}} is a type of knife (or similar sharp tool) edge noted for sharpness and general fragility, often seen in razors. This seems to imply that the phone is exceedingly smooth, which would make it difficult to hold{{Citation needed}}. This is a far more reasonable feature to apply to the included knife than the entire case.
*'''Absorbent:''' Many modern phones are designed to be waterproof, to avoid accidents and allow use in the rain. It's also common to have some form of oleophobic coating on the screen to reduce smearing as fingers are used on the touchscreen. This phone seems to have the reverse feature, and be explicitly designed to absorb things (presumably liquids--perhaps that's why it needs a spit valve). "Absorbent" is more commonly a property touted by the packaging of paper towels.
*'''Keyboard supports dynamic typing:''' {{w|Type_system#Dynamic_type_checking_and_runtime_type_information|Dynamic typing}} is a computer programming concept, and has nothing to do with typing on a keyboard.
*'''Backflow preventer:''' A {{w|backflow prevention device}} is a mechanism that avoids the possibility of liquid (usually water) traveling in the opposite direction from the normal intent if the expected pressure is inverted. Since there is not normally any liquid flowing through a phone (unless in this case relating to the spit valve), this would not normally be a useful feature. However, some smart phones do contain pressure measuring devices such as barometers (which can also be used in some cases to detect the phone being squeezed), so maybe this phone is intended to be resilient to such conditions.
*'''Swiss Army partnership: folding knife (unlocks only if Switzerland is invaded):''' A {{w|Swiss Army knife}} is a folding knife, traditionally with many secondary "blades" for multiple uses such as can openers and files. Usually it is a generic term for that style of knife, but the knife in this phone surprisingly really has a connection with the army of {{w|Switzerland}}. Switzerland is known for remaining neutral (and not being invaded) in both of the World Wars of the 20th century despite war raging across surrounding countries, suggesting that it is unlikely that the knife would ever be unlocked. While such a feature on a phone (or phone case) may be useful, it is likely to be a safety concern, and a threat to convenience when security checkpoints such as airports start confiscating the phone when they notice it conceals a knife blade. What's more, a phone does not provide the ideal grip for a knife blade - especially if force is to be applied to it. This may also reference the Swiss military practice of soldiers keeping military rifles in their private homes but only being given ammunition in the event the army is mobilized.
*'''100% BPA-free PCB construction:''' {{w|Bisphenol A}} (BPA) is a chemical used in plastics such as waterbottles. Recent studies show that BPA can leach estrogen-like compounds into liquids, so BPA-free water bottles have become popular. PCB probably refers to a {{w|printed circuit board}}, which is made of resin-bonded fiberglass, not plastic, and which contains the electrical components that control most modern electronic devices such as phones. It may also refer to {{w|Polychlorinated biphenyl}} (PCBs), a category of persistent organic pollutants which are not used very much any more; it would be far worse than BPA for anyone concerned with the issue.
*'''AMOLCD display (7-segment):''' {{w|AMOLED}} is a display technology often used in cell phones, providing thin and emissive displays. {{w|Liquid-crystal_display|LCD}} is another display technology used in phones, and works by blocking light from a separate backlight. A {{w|Seven-segment_display|7-segment display}} is a device made of seven independently-controlled segments (usually either LCD or LED) which can be used to display a single digit; as such the technology is common in traditional digital watches. In contrast most phone displays are made of a uniform high-resolution pixel grid that allows arbitrary content, like random images, to be displayed, although some very old (pre-smart) cellphones and land lines did use this technology in displaying a phone number, like the {{w|Motorola Fone|MotoFone F3}}. The technology cannot represent the entire alphabet without modification (one method is to put X's on both the top and bottom squares) , so it is inappropriate for displaying plain text, let alone graphics and images.
*'''Runs on battery for the first 6 hours, then uses gasoline:''' A nod to the increased popularity of gas-electric hybrid vehicles. This would be a fantastic breakthrough for fuel cells. There have been many attempts to create a highly portable fuel cell that can be used to power phones. Although having to use gasoline instead of a USB cord would likely cause more problems for the average consumer, like the phone blowing up, a fuel cell does have some notable advantages over a standard lithium-ion battery. When comparing a fuel cell to a battery of equal size the fuel cell will be capable of powering an object for far longer than the battery. This includes lithium-ion batteries which are commonly used for powering phones and are typically the majority of its mass. This would mean one could shrink the size of the battery substantially yet still be able to provide the same amount of power. The smaller battery can be kept as is in order to reduce the weight of the phone or can free up space for more features to be installed into the phone. This might simply be the first xkcd phone that mentions that it does this. Provides a possible explanation to how the manufacturer of the phone is capable of fitting so many unusual features into the phone to begin with. Another advantage of a fuel cell powered phone is that it is independent from a working power grid (useful for disaster situations where thousands of people would no longer be capable of staying in contact with others or people who are stranded and alone) and there is no need for a bulky generator to convert the gasoline into electricity first. This is not the first time Randall has talked about this before, with much of the information here coming from what-if #128: {{what if|128|Zippo Phone}}.
*'''Sharpie® dual stylus (dry-erase + permanent)''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sharpie Sharpie®] is a brand most associated with a line of permanent fine-tip markers. While a stylus is generally a pen-like object that doesn't create markings, but instead allows finer input on a touch screen, "Dry-Erase + Permanent" implies that these are in fact markers. These would allow the user to write on the screen, but as this wouldn't allow any form on input to the phone, it would only serve as a very expensive pseudo-whiteboard. Even if they were actually styluses, having two would be of little use. Note that permanent was previously spelled "permenant", incorrectly. This was later corrected; See [[#Trivia]]
*'''Mouse cursor:''' A feature of BlackBerry smartphones using mice has gone out of favor due to the popularity of touch screens, which are lighter and more convenient. However, Android devices, at least, still support Bluetooth HID access, and on some devices it is possible to pair the device with a mouse (and keyboard) and access the screen through a mouse pointer. These peripherals may also be attached with {{w|USB On-The-Go}}. This can be particularly useful if the device is exporting its display to a large external screen - and {{w|Samsung_DeX|some manufacturers}} have provided tethering systems based around pairing a phone with a mouse. 

The tagline for the phone says that the marketing team hopes that 2000 still sounds like a futuristic number. It was common for a time to have futuristic science-fiction take place on or around the year 2000 (e.g. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Knight Rider 2000, Death Race 2000, Space: 1999), and many devices marketed in the late 20th century had a "2000" as part of their product name in order to sound futuristic. However, since the year 2000 was 18 years ago at the time of this comic's publication, this is no longer the case. The number 2000 also represents the fact that this is the 2000th xkcd comic.

The nonsensical trademarking of xkcd Phone slogans has become even more pronounced: as well as the inapplicable-as-ever copyright symbol, the slogan is listed three times as a {{w|registered trademark}} and twice as an unregistered one – and the second of those trademark signs is itself trademarked.

The title text refers to {{w|Retina Display}}, a term used to describe Apple products with higher pixel densities. The xkcd Phone marketing team would be unable to use the term due to Apple's having registered it as a trademark, as it would likely be trademark infringement. Additionally, the {{w|Fovea centralis|central fovea region}} is a portion of your eye's retina containing the most densely packed photosensitive neurons (confusing the biological retina with the electronics display of the same name). {{w|Foveated rendering}} is a genuine computer graphics technique intended to increase performance by rendering with higher quality to the regions of the display where the user is looking, and lower quality at the edges of vision; it is expected to be useful for virtual reality (one of the uses for cell phones) as a way to deal with the required high pixel densities while managing power consumption. There are displays with variable density, in specialist uses, but such a feature is not practical in a phone because the whole area of the display is typically useful and needs to provide high resolution (as the user's eye moves across it). Also, hundreds of pixels per inch is not considered a very high resolution, as a full-hd smartphone [https://www.lifewire.com/how-many-pixels-in-an-inch-4125185 has 440.58 pixels per inch].

==Transcript==
:[The comic depicts a smartphone showing many uncommon features. The front view shows a mouse cursor and a circle in the middle. The side view reveals the circle as something like an old photo lens from 1900 extending far above the surface and four large buttons (camera lenses) at the rear. The third view is from the top and just mentions a "hollow ground." The bottom view looks like as it was opened by a can opener and shows a big USB connector and on the right a small black connection.]
:Dockless
:Silent
:Quad camera takes four copies of every picture
:Front-facing camera obscura
:3D facial contour analysis shows you a realistic preview of your death mask
:Sponsored pixels
:Front and rear pop-out grips
:Humidity-controlled crisper
:Antikythera mechanism
:New York Times partnership: all photos taken with camera app are captioned in real time by reporter Maggie Haberman
:Spit valve
:Standard USB connector
:Coin purse-style squeeze access
:Hollow-ground
:Absorbent
:Keyboard supports dynamic typing
:Backflow preventer
:Swiss Army partnership: folding knife (unlocks only if Switzerland is invaded)
:100% BPA-free PCB construction
:AMOLCD display (7-segment)
:Runs on battery for the first 6 hours, then uses gasoline
:Sharpie® dual stylus (dry-erase + permanent)
:Mouse cursor

:Introducing
:'''<big>The xkcd Phone 2000</big>'''
:We're still hoping this sounds like a futuristic number®®™®©™®

==Trivia==
The stylus was previously called 'permenant'. This was later corrected, to permanent. You can still see the original image [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/images/archive/b/b4/20180531174214%21xkcd_phone_2000.png here]

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:xkcd Phones]]
[[Category:Comics sharing name|xkcd Phones]]

2326: Five Word Jargon

2023-05-11T17:56:33Z

Bobthegoat123: Removed non-sequitor reference to non-KXCD wikipedia page re three-word phrases that did not seem to follow from the commic or appear in discussion.

{{comic
| number = 2326
| date = June 29, 2020
| title = Five Word Jargon
| image = five_word_jargon.png
| titletext = My other (much harder) hobby is trying to engineer situations where I have an excuse to use more than one of them in short succession.
}}

==Explanation==
This is another comic in [[Randall]]'s [[:Category:My Hobby|My Hobby series]], the first of two hobby comics released in the same week, the second being [[2328: Space Basketball]].

This hobby involves "collecting" and presumably using five-words-long technical jargon. In the comic, [[White Hat]] uses a phrases with five such words while talking to Randall (as [[Cueball]]), causing Randall to exclaim "cool" (as in what a cool sentence), and then proceed to type the phrase into his phone to add to his list of favorite Five Word Jargon.

Randall then proceeds to list his current favorites among really satisfying five word technical phrases (or jargon) as a caption below the panel, with White Hat's phrase as the last, possibly the newest. Maybe it was the one that caused Randall to consider other phrases and make this comic.

In the title text, Randall says that he has another much harder hobby, which is to engineer situations where he can use more than one of his favorite phrases. It would seem difficult to combine any of the four listed phrases in a given conversation, as they are from four separate fields (medicine, economics/statistics, biology, and physics/cosmology). However, he said "situations", which is broader term than "conversations". For example, someone could arrange for experts on these fields to deliver TED talks on these topics, so that he could introduce them by saying "today, we will learn about..." and list the phrases, but Randall cannot, because he has been [[541|banned from TED]]. At least he has succeeded in using them together in this comic.

===Technical jargon===
====Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement====
: A {{w|transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt}} (TIPS) is "an artificial channel within the liver that connects the inflow portal vein and the outflow hepatic vein". It is used to treat various intestinal bleeding. This term can be found in this publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16850140/
:;transjugular
::the shunt is inserted via the jugular vein
:;intrahepatic
::within the liver
:;portosystemic
::blood is shunted from the portal vein (draining blood from the intestines to the liver) to the systemic circulation (returning blood from the liver to the heart)
:;shunt
::a tube within the body that bypasses the normal flow of something (whether a natural defect, or an artificial device)
:;placement
::the operation to insert it

====Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model====
: A {{w|Autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity|generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity}} (GARCH) model is a statistical model for economic research. An {{w|autoregressive model}} of a {{w|time series}} is one that uses previous values of the time series to predict the next value. A {{w|conditional probability}} model is one that divides data into inputs and outputs and models the relation between them using a conditional probability distribution of the outputs given the inputs. A {{w|heteroskedastic}} distribution is one in which the variance (or standard deviation) of a random variable is not the same across all values of the variable. This phrase can be found in this publication: https://www.scirp.org/html/11-1241334_99870.htm

:;Generalized
::making more general, as opposed to a specific model
:;autoregressive
::using previous values to predict future values.
:;conditional
::outputs depending on specific inputs (in the sense of, "funding is conditional on meeting targets")
:;heteroskedasticity
::the property where the variance (that is, the random difference between an expected value and its observed value) itself varies in response to some variable. From Greek, meaning "different dispersion". For example, a graph of expenditure on food against income shows higher randomness at higher income levels, because poor people always eat cheaply, while rich people sometimes do and sometimes don't.
:;model
::a set of equations that attempt to describe some property of the world for the purpose of analysis

====Unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria group A====
: A {{w|unicellular}} {{w|diazotrophic}} {{w|cyanobacterium}} is a single-celled type of bacteria that is able to convert atmospheric nitrogen into a more usable form, and also generates oxygen through photosynthesis. The term can also be found in this publication: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4303622/
:;unicellular
::Consisting of only one cell ({{w|Unicellular organism}}), such as all bacteria. The opposite is {{w|Multicellular organism|multicellular}}, which includes lifeforms like animals, plants, brown algae, etc.
:;diazotrophic
::Having the property of {{w|Nitrogen fixation|fixing}} nitrogen from the air into other chemicals.
:;cyanobacterium
::A fairly broad category of bacteria which often play an important role in various habitats, using photosynthesis to convert light energy to oxygen. "Cyano" refers to their general blue color, not cyanide.
:;group A
::the "first" group of several groups in a controlled experiment, or a scientific study; in this case, it is the first of several (B, C) groups of phylogenetically-related organisms, for which there is as yet no published scientific name, see here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308030272_The_small_unicellular_diazotrophic_symbiont_UCYN-A_is_a_key_player_in_the_marine_nitrogen_cycle.

====Anomalous electroweak sphaleron transition baryogenesis====
: This is a term from {{w|Particle physics}}/{{w|cosmology}}. {{w|Baryon}}s are subatomic particles containing an odd number of quarks; protons and neutrons are the most familiar examples. {{w|Baryogenesis}} is the hypothetical physical process that took place during the early universe that produced more matter than antimatter in the observable universe (or it could be any process that produces baryons). {{w|Sphaleron}} is a static (time-independent) solution to the {{w|electroweak}} field equations of the Standard Model of particle physics, and is involved in certain hypothetical processes that change the number of baryons or {{w|leptons}} (e.g. forming baryons and removing leptons). It is believed that the electroweak interaction is responsible for baryogenesis, but that at the temperatures involved (~1015 K), sphaleron interactions would wipe out any excess of baryons; therefore, for baryogenesis to "stick", it must have occurred at the ''transition'' out of the electroweak era...unless there were some kind of ''anomaly'' in the formation or interaction of sphalerons. Google reports no matches (other than this page) for the entire phrase in quotes, but shows about 70 results unquoted, indicating it finds only partial matches.

:;Anomalous
::Deviating from normal or expected
:;electroweak
::A theory combining {{w|electromagnetism}} and the {{w|weak interaction}}, two of the four fundamental forces (alongside the strong interaction and gravity) in the Standard Model of particle physics.
:;sphaleron
::a single, time-independent, solution to electroweak field equations, represented as a saddle point between two different low energy equilibria
:;transition
::change
:;baryogenesis
::creating baryons, which are a category subatomic particles containing an odd number of quarks, including protons and neutrons. (-genesis is a general suffix for a process which creates something; eg carcinogenesis means, creating cancer)

==Transcript==
:[White Hat, holding his palm up, is speaking to Cueball, who is typing with both hands on his smartphone. What he types is indicated with a jagged line going up from his phone.]
:White Hat: Yeah, I learned about it when I was researching anomalous electroweak sphaleron transition baryogenesis.
:Cueball: Cooool.
:Text on phone: ''A-n-o-m-''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:My Hobby: Collecting really satisfying-sounding five-word technical phrases.

:Current favorites
:<li>Transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt placement
:<li>Generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity model
:<li>Unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacteria group A
:<li>Anomalous electroweak sphaleron transition baryogenesis

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:My Hobby]]
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2697: Y2K and 2038

2022-11-11T19:51:32Z

Bobthegoat123: /* Transcript */ edit to description of figure

{{comic
| number = 2697
| date = November 11, 2022
| title = Y2K and 2038
| image = y2k_and_2038_2x.png
| imagesize = 527x190px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's taken me 20 years, but I've finally finished rebuilding all my software to use 33-bit signed ints.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Y2K-BRICKED BOT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[File:Year 2038 problem.gif|thumb|An animation of the 2038 bug in action. The {{w|integer overflow}} error occurs at 03:14:08 UTC on 19 January 2038.]]

The Y2K bug, or more formally, the {{w|year 2000 problem}}, was the computer errors caused by two digit software representations of calendar years not correctly handling the year 2000, such as by treating it as 1900 or 19100. The {{w|year 2038 problem}} is a similar issue with timestamps in {{w|Unix time}} format, which will overflow their {{w|Signed number representations|signed}} 32-bit binary representation on January 19, 2038.

While initial estimates were that the Y2K problem would require about half a trillion dollars to address, there was widespread recognition of its potential severity several years in advance. Concerted efforts among organizations including computer and software manufacturers and their corporate and government users reflected unprecedented cooperation, testing, and enhancement of affected systems costing substantially less than the early estimates. On New Year's Day 2000, few major errors actually occurred. Those that did usually did not disrupt essential processes or cause serious problems, and the few of these that did were usually addressed in days to weeks. The software code reviews involved allowed correcting other errors and providing various enhancements which likely made up for the the cost of merely correcting the date bug.{{Actual citation needed}}

It is unclear whether the 2038 problem will be addressed as effectively in time, but documented experience with the Y2K bug and increased software modularity has allowed many otherwise vulnerable systems to already upgrade to wider timestamp and date formats, so there is reason to believe that it may be even less consequential and expensive. The 2038 problem has been previously mentioned in [[607: 2038]] and [[887: Future Timeline]].

The caption in this comic provides a punchline: everyone should have completed their "Y2K recovery" as it has been a full 22 years since the year 2000. It is highly unlikely that there are more than a very few consequential older systems that still suffer from this bug, and any modern systems have already been built to handle the years 2000 and later.

The title text refers to replacing the 32-bit signed Unix time format with a hypothetical new 33-bit signed {{w|Integer (computer science)|integer}} time and date format, which is very unlikely as almost all contemporary computer data structure formats are allocated no more finely than in 8-bit bytes. Taking 20 years to develop and implement such a format is not entirely counterproductive, as it would add another 68 years of capability.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[A timeline rectangle spanning from 2000 to 2038 divided into two halves, with the half-way point of 2019 labeled. The left half is labeled "Recovering from the Y2K bug" and the right half is labeled "Preparing for the 2038 bug." An arrow labeled "Now" is pointing approximately at the year 2022.]

[Caption:] Reminder: By now you should have finished your Y2K recovery and be several years into 2038 preparation

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Calendar]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Timelines]]

2697: Y2K and 2038

2022-11-11T19:50:13Z

Bobthegoat123: /* Transcript */ edit

{{comic
| number = 2697
| date = November 11, 2022
| title = Y2K and 2038
| image = y2k_and_2038_2x.png
| imagesize = 527x190px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = It's taken me 20 years, but I've finally finished rebuilding all my software to use 33-bit signed ints.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a Y2K-BRICKED BOT. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[File:Year 2038 problem.gif|thumb|An animation of the 2038 bug in action. The {{w|integer overflow}} error occurs at 03:14:08 UTC on 19 January 2038.]]

The Y2K bug, or more formally, the {{w|year 2000 problem}}, was the computer errors caused by two digit software representations of calendar years not correctly handling the year 2000, such as by treating it as 1900 or 19100. The {{w|year 2038 problem}} is a similar issue with timestamps in {{w|Unix time}} format, which will overflow their {{w|Signed number representations|signed}} 32-bit binary representation on January 19, 2038.

While initial estimates were that the Y2K problem would require about half a trillion dollars to address, there was widespread recognition of its potential severity several years in advance. Concerted efforts among organizations including computer and software manufacturers and their corporate and government users reflected unprecedented cooperation, testing, and enhancement of affected systems costing substantially less than the early estimates. On New Year's Day 2000, few major errors actually occurred. Those that did usually did not disrupt essential processes or cause serious problems, and the few of these that did were usually addressed in days to weeks. The software code reviews involved allowed correcting other errors and providing various enhancements which likely made up for the the cost of merely correcting the date bug.{{Actual citation needed}}

It is unclear whether the 2038 problem will be addressed as effectively in time, but documented experience with the Y2K bug and increased software modularity has allowed many otherwise vulnerable systems to already upgrade to wider timestamp and date formats, so there is reason to believe that it may be even less consequential and expensive. The 2038 problem has been previously mentioned in [[607: 2038]] and [[887: Future Timeline]].

The caption in this comic provides a punchline: everyone should have completed their "Y2K recovery" as it has been a full 22 years since the year 2000. It is highly unlikely that there are more than a very few consequential older systems that still suffer from this bug, and any modern systems have already been built to handle the years 2000 and later.

The title text refers to replacing the 32-bit signed Unix time format with a hypothetical new 33-bit signed {{w|Integer (computer science)|integer}} time and date format, which is very unlikely as almost all contemporary computer data structure formats are allocated no more finely than in 8-bit bytes. Taking 20 years to develop and implement such a format is not entirely counterproductive, as it would add another 68 years of capability.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[A timeline rectangle spanning from 2000 to 2038 divided into two halves. The first is labeled "Recovering from the Y2K bug" and the second labeled "Preparing for the 2038 bug." An arrow labeled "Now" is pointing approximately at the year 2022.]

[Caption:] Reminder: By now you should have finished your Y2K recovery and be several years into 2038 preparation

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Calendar]]
[[Category:Computers]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Timelines]]