explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1301: File Extensions

2013-12-17T16:16:47Z

InspectorClouseau:

The title text reference of "hand-aligned data" may refer to ASCII art. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.28|108.162.215.28]] 05:36, 9 December 2013 (UTC) Alan K.
:I'd think not, given that art isn't exactly data. My guess would be tables in the .txt - a .txt file is just raw text with no formatting, so putting a table in requires manually formatting it with a bunch of spaces/tabs. It's not hard, but can be time-consuming and obnoxious. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.47|108.162.219.47]] 23:57, 10 December 2013 (UTC)
I think it's also a notable point, that the better rated document formats are more data centric while the low rated formats mix text informations with design elements and finally become pure graphic formats, which often is an indication, that the author didn't use the accurate file type for (mostly) pure text informations.
Something I don't understand is the gap between jpg and jpeg. The first suffix is AFAIK only an abbreviation used by older DOS/MS Systems to fullfill the 8.3 limitation for filenames. The note about hand alignment might concern the fact, that hand alignment is more time expensive which might increase the amount of the the author spend in overthink the content before layouting. Also often automated layouting as supported by many modern writing application might lead to unexpected and sometimes wrong results, because the automatism has no semantical knowledge about the authors intention, which might lead to post processed errors
Sorry for my bad english, I'm not a natural writer
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.239|108.162.231.239]] 05:45, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:"hand-aligned data" seems to me like (manually) space-indented paragraphs, perhaps even manual padding to achieve the desired justification (centering and right-and-left-margin-hugging). And of course neatly lining up an 'embedded table', perhaps originally extracted from a .csv output. Although a number of plain-text editors (in the days of CGA and pure terminal/fixedspace fonts) or text formatters and wrappers (e.g. Lynx, man-page creaters, etc) ''would'' do things like this for you. And still do. At least insofar as the justification and margining is concerned. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 08:35, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
If anyone has taken the time to hand align a text file (as in a README, or other info file), they want it to look attractive for people to read. Odd are you're not going to take the time to "hand pretty" the document just to be malicious. Back in the BBS days there were a large number of "online" groups who had "signature" text files which were (very probably) hand aligned, and made extensive use of extended ASCII codes to generate basic graphics. (Granted there were programs to help auto-generate "ascii art".) If you've ever seen these files you'd know. [[http://www.thuglife.org/tlv5/aabout.shtml Example 1]] - [[http://textfiles.com/piracy/NFO/ Example 2]] [[User:Jarod997|Jarod997]] ([[User talk:Jarod997|talk]]) 14:14, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

I find it interesting that .jpg and .jpeg are at different levels. Aren't those the same thing? --[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 05:48, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
Perhaps the .gif could contain suddenly unexpected scary/surprising frames? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.172|108.162.208.172]] 14:54, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

:That JPG/JPEG thing indeed seems strange. The more important distinction is between JPEGs that are photographs (fine) and those that are not (stupid). Also, pre-PNG, non-photograph GIFs could be just fine. And with all the accounting scandals we've seen, why would those spreadsheet formats get any credibility? -- [[User:Dfeuer|Dfeuer]] ([[User talk:Dfeuer|talk]]) 06:06, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
::Alongside .jpeg ('full' extension format) and .jpg (MS '8.3'-compatible extension format), I'd have expected .jpe (often full extension historically truncated on an 8.3 system), I must be honest. (And interesting that .docx doesn't co-inhabit the .doc line... or be somewhere else.) And the disparity betwixt the two versions of JPEG extension ''may'' relate to the tendency for a higher artefact-intensity of images back in the early days (when a better option than GIFs for... certain pictures... e.g. on Usenet between *nix workstations with vastly restricted bandwidths and storage capacities) compared to today's users (cameras that regularly store 10+MP pictures in low-loss JFIF files, and/or in Raw format!). But that may be a spurious or off-track reasoning on my part. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.229|141.101.99.229]] 08:27, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

I measured the bars in photoshop to +/- 2pixels. If we scale .tex to a value of 100 like the transcript says, these are the values I get for the bar lengths (rounded to one decimal place)
.tex 100
.pdf 89.4
.csv 84.9
.txt 66.5
.svg 64.8
.xls 48.6
.doc 21.2
.png 15.1
.ppt 14.5
.jpg 3.4
.jpeg -8.4
.gif -35.8

Dunno if it is helpful - or even trusted given I'm a first time commenter - but there it is. Closer values than just estimating, though the eyeballed estimates aren't bad. Not going to adjust the actual transcript because I feel that's overstepping my bounds. {{unsigned ip|108.162.216.56}}
:Not at all, wikis are free to edit for a reason. If we didn't want new users to be editing pages, we could have turned that off long ago. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:55, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

'''As the information that is provided by the graph comes as png, we should probably not trust her. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.92.120|141.101.92.120]] 09:03, 9 December 2013 (UTC)'''
: Ha, +1 Like :-) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])

I never saw image of cute cats lying to me ... I mean, the gif is STILL the preferred format for animation, mostly because it's the only one supported. Animation formats based on PNG didn't catched up, hard to say why ... on the other hand, gif animation apparently have huge number of weird extensions, judging by the number of animated images I found which don't render properly in anything EXCEPT the browser. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:27, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:The cute cat may not be lying, but since the format is used in other context -- like banner ads, then the average GIF may well be lying, also I believe there have been many security issues with GIFs and JPGs as they have been used as an attack vector for internet-bad-guys to take over your computer -- so while security issues is not specifically the topic for todays strip, then that may be worth noticing as well [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])
:It is also possible to create animations with svg which is (for good reason, I like that format) ranked higher. Especially for scientific purposes it can be handy. Unfortunately is the MediaWiki software unable to show them. For example in the previous comic is an animation of the Galilean moons shown. That is an gif but someone also uploaded an [[Wikipedia:commons:File:Galilean_moon_Laplace_resonance_animation_(en_-_monochrome_-_350x217).svg|svg animation]] and I would say it does look smoother than the gif. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.215|108.162.231.215]] 14:40, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:The Grumpy Cat is not grumpy in real life - so cat pictures DO lie! [[User:Schmammel|Schmammel]] ([[User talk:Schmammel|talk]]) 15:40, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
'''What is the scale of the chart? Does 'top' = most trusted'? Never assume anything with xkcd.''' [[User:David.windsor|David.windsor]] ([[User talk:David.windsor|talk]]) 18:29, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
: Brilliant. I didn't think of that at all. But now that you mention it... a .gif would be like a small part of a video. And people tend to trust those more than a static picture. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.222.209|108.162.222.209]] 08:58, 13 December 2013 (UTC)

Of course Randall does not really think that the file extension determines trustworthiness; the graph is tongue-in-cheek. Information can be trustworthy or untrustworthy no matter the format it's given in. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.221|108.162.216.221]] 18:50, 9 December 2013 (UTC)
:Yes, I believe the explanation somewhat misinterprets Randall's intentions, especially when it comes to the image formats. I interpret it not as a question of loss of information due to compression but instead a more general impression of when and by whom these formats are used and, as a consequence, the trustworthiness of the information conveyed through these formats. That would explain the jpg/jpeg distinction as (in my experience though I can't provide data that support it) .jpg is nowadays the preferred compressed format in professional contexts and .jpeg looks slightly childish. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.80.117|141.101.80.117]] 23:59, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

Reading more into the linked info about viruses embedded in JPEGs, it appears that the only way to receive a virus from a JPEG file would be to have ''already'' received another virus from a standard executable file, where such a virus causes the computer to execute code in a JPEG file rather than simply display it as it normally would. Since such a possibility is independent of the file type (the first virus might just as well have enabled code execution in DOC files, for instance), I've removed that bit of info. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 03:44, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Can anyone explain the banner near the top of xkcd.com today, 10 Dec 2013? It reads,
"Dear Wikipedia readers: if everyone reading this _showed up at my house,_ (yellow highlight)I would be like "what {{unsigned ip|108.162.219.220}}
: I believe that is a reference to the similar banner that is on top of wikipedia right now asking for donations. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 18:02, 10 December 2013 (UTC)
::I don't see that banner, but it appears to be a play on Wikipedia's donation "pleas" that are often posted (including now) as banners at the top of Wikipedia which suggest that (to use the lates one:) "If everyone reading this donated, our fundraiser would be done within an hour". [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 18:05, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

I think it's a bit ambiguous whether Randall's references (for example) to jpg and gif means he doesn't trust that the images are accurate because of artifacting and stuff, or whether he's referring to jpgs and gifs that occasionally circulate with text on them as if to present information (e.g., lifehack images, or cat memes...) [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 18:05, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

;missing suffices

Obviously .html & .htm are so far to the left, they're off the chart. :-)
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.117|108.162.249.117]] 17:43, 10 December 2013 (UTC)

Any idea what file type was used to spread this hoax?
http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/apple-secret-bitcoin-mining-feature/
Various websites reporting on it use .JPG and .PNG, but I don't know what format the original graphic was.
[[User:InspectorClouseau|InspectorClouseau]] ([[User talk:InspectorClouseau|talk]]) 16:16, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

1301: File Extensions

2013-12-17T16:10:21Z

InspectorClouseau: /* Explanation */ fixed typo; added recent examples of GIF misinformation

{{comic
| number = 1301
| date = December 9, 2013
| title = File Extensions
| image = file_extensions.png
| titletext = I have never been lied to by data in a .txt file which has been hand-aligned.
}}

==Explanation==
Computer file names often end in {{w|file extension}}s like ".ppt" or ".exe". These extensions are a holdover from early operating systems like {{W|DOS}} in which filenames had a maximum eight characters followed by a period and the three-character extension. The extension was used by the operating system to determine filetype so that the system would know how to handle the file (e.g. which program could open the file). Newer operating systems and file systems now accept longer-than eight-character filenames, and extensions of greater than three characters; although most extensions remain three characters.

Most extensions are created as proprietary to certain pieces of software, although software by other developers may later be designed to be able to read the format (for example, .doc is a Microsoft Word document, although because of that software's popularity, many word processors include the ability to open .doc files). Some common file extensions are not proprietary to a piece of software and may be handled by various programs (.jpg or .gif images are one example). In either case, a file's extension is generally a good indicator of what type of data the file contains.

Certain file types are more prevalent for certain uses, with some being almost exclusive to one use, while other are in general use and might contain almost anything. Here, [[Randall]] presents a series of file extensions which often contain information, and he is rating the reliability of the information they generally contain from most reliable to least.

* {{w|.tex}} files are source files for the programs {{w|TeX}} and {{w|LaTeX}}, which are used often and almost exclusively by academics, especially in mathematics and the hard sciences. .tex pretty much means serious business, and Randall does not anticipate that anyone would use such a format other than for reliable information.
* {{w|.pdf}} files are a document format by Adobe, frequently used for publication. Companies use them for official documentation. Thus, a .pdf file is likely to be some type of final product or polished work.
* {{w|.csv}} are character-separated values: tables of information delimited by commas or tab characters, and often consist of computer-generated raw data (from, say, a scientific experiment or a database).
* {{w|.txt}} files contain only plain text, no "rich text" or anything fancy. Programmers often use them for README files.
* {{w|.svg}} files are a vector graphics format used a lot for diagrams, such as on Wikipedia.
* {{w|.xls}} and {{w|.xlsx}} files are spreadsheets used and created by the program Microsoft Excel, part of a bundle of applications known as Microsoft Office (also supported by compatible free software such as LibreOffice). These applications are very commonly used, especially for business, finance and data analysis tasks. {{w|.xls}} is used for Excel versions prior to 2007, while {{w|.xlsx}} is used for Excel versions 2007 and later.
* {{w|.doc}} files are a rich-text document format used and created by the program {{w|Microsoft Word}}, another application in the Microsoft Office bundle. As with .xls, almost anyone with access to Microsoft Office could easily make one of these. While Excel is generally used for creating tables and presenting data, Word could be used for any text-based document. Thus, Word documents tend to be far more prevalent and casually created than Excel documents, which is presumably why Randall doesn't trust it much.
* {{w|.png}} files are a bitmap image format designed for the Internet. They enjoy wide popularity for providing crisp, full-color images with lossless (invisible) compression. Almost all xkcd comics, this diagram included, use PNG. But since he rates the format so low, is Randall saying we shouldn't trust this chart?
* {{w|.ppt}} files are used and created by the program {{w|Microsoft PowerPoint}}; as with the other two Office applications, almost anyone could easily make one of these. As they are usually used for presentations rather than documents, the information in them may be arranged differently, possibly to "dumb down" the content, or in marketing materials or talks in which the author may not be very objective. Further, several years ago, PowerPoint presentations were sometimes included instead of plain images as attachments in e-mail forwards containing inaccurate information. These emails still occasionally circulate, and may be the source of Randall's distrust.
* {{w|.jpg}} files are another image format with high compression capabilities, good for storing photos (and not so good for many other things). Photographs in general are prone to image manipulation, hence Randall's low score for this file format.
* {{w|.jpeg}} files are the same thing as .jpg files, but these are more likely to have been created manually rather than automatically, making them even less reliable.
* {{w|.gif}} files are yet another bitmap image format, notable for supporting short animations. GIF was once ''the'' Internet image file format until PNG gradually replaced it. Since GIF is the only common image format capable of animation, it is often used to contain things like silly clips of cats falling into boxes, or annoying, blinking advertisements claiming that you're the '''[[570|570,000]]th VISITOR!'''. GIFs are also created by Internet trolls, such as on 4chan.org, to feed misinformation to gullible gamers and computer users. For example, a recent [http://mashable.com/2013/12/09/xbox-one-hoax-4chan-backward-compatible/ Xbox One Hoax GIF] contained supposed instructions for making the Xbox One backwards compatible. The instructions instead make the console inoperable.

Note that while the extensions .xls/.xlsx, .doc, and .ppt were originally exclusive only to Microsoft Office and users of Windows, there now exist a number of open source programs such as Open Office, Libre Office, and some Android apps that are capable of editing such files. These programs can run on systems other than just Windows, such as Linux, perhaps contributing to making them even more widespread and easy to make than before.

The title text refers to how .txt files contain only plain text and nothing else, meaning that any alignment (such as for indentation or tables) would have to be performed manually by adding in spaces or tabs. Anyone who would go through such an effort to improve their text's readability is likely to be trustworthy.

==Transcript==
:Trustworthiness of Information by File Extension
:[A bar graph charting this. No units or figures are given, but for ease of comprehension this transcript will arbitrarily designate the highest score as "+100"; subsequent scores are estimates based on the size of their bars.]
::.tex: +100
::.pdf: +89
::.csv: +85
::.txt: +67
::.svg: +65
::.xls/.xlsx: +49
::.doc: +21
::.png: +15
::.ppt: +14
::.jpg: +3
::.jpeg: -8
::.gif: -36

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

1260: LD50

2013-09-04T12:32:32Z

InspectorClouseau: /* Explanation */ after a googling, subcutaneous is different than intravenous

{{comic
| number = 1260
| date = September 4, 2013
| title = LD50
| image = ld50.png
| titletext = The dose is much lower when administered orally. We're still trying to get the paper into the needles for subcutaneous injection.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
{{w|Median lethal dose|LD50}}, mentioned in the comic, is a term used in toxicology, referring to the median lethal dose, or how much of a given toxin is required to kill half of a given population. The comic is making the joke that it takes 2 kilograms of papers on toxicology to kill a person for each kg he/she weighs. The average weight of a person on earth is approximately 62 kg, so that would be 124 kg/273 pounds of toxicology papers.

The title text says, it will take less paper to kill a person if the paper is shoved down their throat instead of dropped on them. The third dosage usually listed is for subcutaneous injection, but that number is omitted since they couldn't figure out how to do it.

==Transcript==
:[Megan and Cueball wearing lab coats stand by and observe a person lying under a pile of papers.]
:The LD50 of toxicity data is 2 kilograms per kilogram.

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

1247: The Mother of All Suspicious Files

2013-08-05T13:38:47Z

InspectorClouseau: /* Explanation */ explain joke

{{comic
| number = 1247
| date = August 5, 2013
| title = The Mother of All Suspicious Files
| image = the_mother_of_all_suspicious_files.png
| titletext = Better change the URL to 'https' before downloading.
}}

==Explanation==
The save dialogues shows a download with a very long file title. Many of the extensions used inside there indicate executable code. The Title Text is a joke, because using https:// prevents eavesdroppers from seeing the content of the file you are downloading, but does nothing at all to make the file any safer.

{| class="wikitable"
! part !! explanation
|-
| <code>http://65.222.20.253</code> || [http://www.utrace.de/?query=65.222.202.53 utrace]
|-
| <code>~TILDE</code> ||
|-
| <code>PUB</code> ||
|-
| <code>CIA-BIN</code> ||
|-
| <code>ETC</code> ||
|-
| <code>INIT</code> ||
|-
| <code>DLL</code> ||
|-
| <code>?FILE=</code> ||
|-
| <code>--AUTOEXEX.BAT</code> ||
|-
| <code>MY%20OSX%20DOCUMENTS</code> ||
|-
| <code>INSTALL</code> ||
|-
| <code>EXE</code> ||
|-
| <code>RAR</code> ||
|-
| <code>INI</code> ||
|-
| <code>TAR</code> ||
|-
| <code>DOCX</code> ||
|-
| <code>PHPHPHP</code> ||
|-
| <code>XHTML</code> ||
|-
| <code>TML</code> ||
|-
| <code>XTL</code> ||
|-
| <code>TXXT</code> ||
|-
| <code>0DAY</code> ||
|-
| <code>HACK.ERS-(1995)-BLURAY-CAM_XVID</code> ||
|-
| <code>EXE</code> ||
|-
| <code>TAR</code> ||
|-
| <code>[SCR]</code> ||
|-
| <code>LISTP</code> ||
|-
| <code>MSI</code> ||
|-
| <code>LNK</code> ||
|-
| <code>ZDA</code> ||
|-
| <code>GNN</code> ||
|-
| <code>WRBT</code> ||
|-
| <code>OBJ</code> ||
|-
| <code>O</code> ||
|-
| <code>SWF</code> ||
|-
| <code>DPKG</code> ||
|-
| <code>APP</code> ||
|-
| <code>ZIP</code> ||
|-
| <code>TAR</code> ||
|-
| <code>CO</code> ||
|-
| <code>GZ</code> ||
|-
| <code>OUT</code> ||
|-
| <code>EXE</code> ||
|}

==Transcript==
<pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">
[A save dialogue popup with an alert sign]
Warning!
This type of file can harm your computer! Are your sure you want to download: http://65.222.202.53/~TILDE/PUB/CIA-BIN/ETC/INIT.DLL?FILE=--AUTOEXEX.BAT.MY%20OSX%20DOCUMENTS-INSTANLL.EXE.RAR.INI.TAR.DOCX.PHPHPHP.XHTML.TML.XTL.TXXT.0DAY.HACK.ERS-(1995)-BLURAY-CAM_XVID.EXE.TAR.[SCR].LISTP.MSI.LNK.ZDA.GNN.WRBT.OBJ.O.SWF.DPKG.APP.ZIP.TAR.CO.GZ.OUT.EXE

[Two buttons] Cancel Save
</pre>

{{comic discussion}}

1225: Ice Sheets

2013-06-17T20:47:18Z

InspectorClouseau: /* Explanation */ fixed grammar

{{comic
| number = 1225
| date = June 14, 2013
| title = Ice Sheets
| image = ice sheets.png
| titletext = Data adapted from 'The Laurentide and Innuitian ice sheets during the Last Glacial Maximum' by A.S. Dyke et. al., which was way better than the sequels 'The Laurentide and Innuitian ice sheets during the Last Glacial Maximum: The Meltdown' and 'The Laurentide and Innuitian ice sheets during the Last Glacial Maximum: Continental Drift'.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
The comic shows the ice levels at major North American cities at the {{w|Last_Glacial_Maximum|peak of the last ice age}}, 21000 years ago. Toronto and Montreal are both Canadian cities, while Boston and Chicago are in the US.

The title text references the "[https://notendur.hi.is//~oi/AG-326%202006%20readings/Canadian%20Arctic/Dyke_QSR2002.pdf The Laurentide and Innuitian ice sheets during the Last Glacial Maximum (PDF)]," an actual series of scientific papers about the ice sheet (see figure 4). But it also refers to the animated film series {{w|Ice_Age_(film_series)|Ice Age}}. It is commonly stated that the first Ice Age film was way better than the sequels, and it is criticised for the number of films made (4 as of 2012).
''Ice Age: the Meltdown'', and ''Ice Age: Continental Drift'' are the second and fourth Ice Age movies. People often say that the first film/book in a series is better than its sequel(s).

But the joke from the movie ''Ice Age'' is only a part of this comic. In the picture [[Randall]] shows a vast amount of frozen water covering North America. It was so much ice that, together with the glaciers in Europe and Asia, it caused the sea level to have been 130 meters lower than today (see {{w|Sea level rise}}).

==Transcript==
:

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1186: Bumblebees

2013-03-15T14:03:43Z

InspectorClouseau: Corrected term for yoke

{{comic
| number = 1186
| date = March 15, 2013
| title = Bumblebees
| image = bumblebees.png
| titletext = Did you know sociologists can't explain why people keep repeating that urban legend about bumblebees not being able to fly!?
}}

==Explanation==
There is an {{w|Bumblebee#Flight|often repeated legend}} that according to the laws of aerodynamics, {{w|Bumblebee|bumblebees}} cannot fly. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that all the mechanics of bumblebee flight are not known and that the approximations to the aerodynamics equations which work well for fixed-wing aircraft, do not work for bumblebees. In recent years, there have been more sophisticated computer models of bumblebee flight, and they have found that bumblebee wings do indeed produce adequate lift.

The strip also creates a fallacy that because experts can't explain something, they must not be able to understand it (when in reality, the fact in question should be verified first). For example, in this case, it is stated as fact that bumblebees ''can'' fly planes. Since physicists can't seem to be able to explain why that is, physicists have more to learn. Without the knowledge that bumblebees can't fly planes (the knowledge physicists are implied to lack), it's assumed physicists would continue working on the problem ad infinitum until a layman pointed out the assumption is not true.

==Transcript==
:Science fact:
:[A bumblebee is perched on the yoke (control column) of an airplane.]
:Physicists still can't explain how bumblebees can fly airplanes.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics with color]]

1136: Broken Mirror

2012-11-20T03:23:27Z

InspectorClouseau: /* Explanation */ grammatical

{{comic
| number = 1136
| date = November 19, 2012
| title = Broken Mirror
| image = broken_mirror.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = 'I see you're in this mood again.' 'I am always in this mood.'
}}

==Explanation==
{{Incomplete}}
It is a {{w|Mirror#Mirrors_and_superstition|common superstition}} that breaking a mirror will result in 7 years of bad luck. [[Black Hat]] is mocking the superstition while ostensibly subscribing to it saying that breaking the mirror results in the "illusion that my actions somehow influence" a world governed by nothing other than chance. [[Black Hat]]'s comment is a reference to magical thinking, in which individuals believe that their actions have an effect on unrelated events in the world.

"Eccles. 9:2" refers to the Bible book "Ecclesiastes," specifically chapter 9 verse 2 ("All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, to the clean, to the unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who doesn’t sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath, as he who fears an oath." King James 2000 Bible). "My fate is as these shards" parallels Ecclesiastes 3:19: "Man's fate is like that of the animals".

"All is vanity" is also from Ecclesiastes, specifically the introduction to chapter 1. The mirror is often associated with the vice of {{w|Vanity#Symbolism_of_vanity|vanity}}. There is also a drawing titled "All is Vanity" by {{w|Charles Allan Gilbert}}, which alternately depicts a woman admiring herself at a dressing table, or "{{w|Vanity_(dressing-table)|vanity}}," and (when viewed at a distance) a human skull. The table Black Hat is standing at is also called a "{{w|Vanity_(dressing-table)|vanity}}," and a mirror associated with that is often referred to as a "vanity mirror", describing its relationship to the furniture.

==Transcript==
:[Black Hat and Cueball stand in a bedroom. There is a broken mirror on the floor at Black Hat's feet]
:Black Hat: Oops. Guess this means seven more years of the illusion that my actions somehow influence the indifferent hand of probability which governs our lives.

:[Black Hat looks down at the broken shards of glass on the floor]

:Cueball: Plus like half an hour of sweeping.
:Black Hat: No, I think I'll leave it.
:Cueball: You'll get glass in your feet.

:Black Hat: Eccles. 9:2—All things come alike to all: to the clean, and to the unclean.
:My fate is as these shards.
:Cueball: Dude, chill. It's just a vanity mirror.
:Black Hat: ''All'' is vanity mirrors.

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

937: TornadoGuard

2012-08-23T01:23:00Z

InspectorClouseau: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 937
| date = August 12, 2011
| title = TornadoGuard
| image = tornadoguard.png
| titletext = The bug report was marked 'could not reproduce'.
| imagesize =
}}

== Explanation ==
This is a comic with a take on an application store - the most common app stores are for iPhones and Android devices. The creator of this app is "DroidCoder2187", which implies that the app may be for Android devices. This is also a reference to DenverCoder9, who made an appearance in comic [[979: Wisdom of the Ancients]].

App stores take all the reviews and average the ratings for the overall star rating. In this comic, we see why this is a bad idea. In this case, there are three 5 star reviews about the stability and user interface features of the app; however, the only review related to whether the app works is given the same weight as the others.

The image text is funny because it is a note from the developer's bug report, which said they could not reproduce the error. Of course, they could only reproduce such a failure if there were a tornado coming towards their area. This is a fairly rare situation, especially in certain areas of the world. This lack of suitable testing conditions explains why the actual tornado-prediction portion of their code appears to be faulty.

The image text is also a reference to comic [[583]], where "could not reproduce" was a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_entendre double entendre]. Because the reported bug was that speech recognition failed on a young child's voice, the programming team attempted to have a child in order to fix the bug and get the test subject. The bug report is closed with the reason being "could not reproduce."

{{Incomplete|937: Tornado Guard}}

{{Comic discussion}}

583: CNR

2012-08-23T01:22:35Z

InspectorClouseau: Created page with "In this comic, "could not reproduce" is a double entendre. Because the reported bug was that speech recognition failed on a young child's voice, the programming team attempted..."

In this comic, "could not reproduce" is a double entendre. Because the reported bug was that speech recognition failed on a young child's voice, the programming team attempted to have a child in order to fix the bug and get the test subject. The bug report is closed with the reason being "could not reproduce."

This reason shows up in comic [[937: TornadoGuard]].

979: Wisdom of the Ancients

2012-08-23T01:20:46Z

InspectorClouseau:

== Explanation ==

There are so many times that someone can find the exact problem using Google, but see no solution whatsoever.

Often, a bunch of responders make well-meaning but unhelpful suggestions, and a few days later, the original poster writes “Thanks guys, I figured it out.” To which a reader might say "NO, DON’T LEAVE ME!! WHAT DID YOU SEE?! AAAGGGHHHGHGHHH…"

The comic seems to draw on the movie motif of exploring a pyramid or some other ancient structure. The protagonist comes across a skeleton beginning to write “Beware of ” and the writing ends. What did they see? How did they die? How will the protagonist ever escape?

Except that, unlike in the movies, life doesn’t always have a happy ending. Sometimes there isn't a solution to the very thorny problem on Google.

{{Incomplete|937: Tornado Guard}}

{{Comic discussion}}

979: Wisdom of the Ancients

2012-08-23T01:16:28Z

InspectorClouseau: Created page with "There are so many times that someone can find the exact problem using Google, but see no solution whatsoever. Often, a bunch of responders make well-meaning but unhelpful sug..."

There are so many times that someone can find the exact problem using Google, but see no solution whatsoever.

Often, a bunch of responders make well-meaning but unhelpful suggestions, and a few days later, the original poster writes “Thanks guys, I figured it out.” To which a reader might say "NO, DON’T LEAVE ME!! WHAT DID YOU SEE?! AAAGGGHHHGHGHHH…"

The comic seems to draw on the movie motif of exploring a pyramid or some other ancient structure. The protagonist comes across a skeleton beginning to write “Beware of ” and the writing ends. What did they see? How did they die? How will the protagonist ever escape?

Except that, unlike in the movies, life doesn’t always have a happy ending. Sometimes there isn't a solution to the very thorny problem on Google.