explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1432: The Sake of Argument

2014-10-10T13:24:21Z

Joehammer79:

In my experience when someone begins a hypothetical with "for the sake of argument" The hypothetical being explored is almost always a direct exploration of the argument being put forward by the person they are speaking to, so to my mind the perfect response to the second panel would have been: "You admit you were wrong then, Excellent!" ;-) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.250.211|108.162.250.211]] 07:05, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

:In contrast, it is often used alongs the lines of "OK, I see that you don't agree with my viewpoint, so for the sake of argument, pretend that you do agree with my viewpoint". I suppose this is an effort to try and get the other person to explore your views by stepping into them. For example: "Ok I know that you think that drink driving is fine, but for the sake of argument imagine that your dog had just been run over by a drunk driver" --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 08:53, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

IMHO could be vaguely related to the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQFKtI6gn9Y Monty Python's Argument Clinic] [[User:Jkotek|Jkotek]]
:IMHO "related" to, no matter how vaguely, would be a strong choice of word. At best, I could imagine "inspired by" - after all, Cueball has barely presented a connected series of statements, much less apparently one intended to establish a proposition, definite or otherwise - it's clearly the automatic gainsaying of anything Ponytail says... [[User:Brettpeirce|Brettpeirce]] ([[User talk:Brettpeirce|talk]]) 10:10, 10 October 2014 (UTC)
::No it isn't! ;-) [[User:MGitsfullofsheep|MGitsfullofsheep]] ([[User talk:MGitsfullofsheep|talk]]) 12:19, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

"Rather than getting frustrated at being derailed, Ponytail instead seizes on this and decides they should get a boat, and that the Devil can come too." - I'm reading the title text a bit differently: it's not Ponytail being not angry and chiming in, but actually having no words (indicated by '...') and then it's Cueball again taunting her even more with inviting the devil. [[User:Zefiro|Zefiro]] ([[User talk:Zefiro|talk]]) 09:03, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

:I just wanted to say that I agree with Zefiro here.--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.56.173|173.245.56.173]] 09:20, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

::On reading again, I agree. I missed that the ellipsis was a seperate section, rather than the beginning of 'For arguments sake we should get a boat' --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 11:27, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

Could he possibly be making a pun? "For the sake of the 'ARGH' you meant," perhaps? [[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 13:24, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1432: The Sake of Argument

2014-10-10T13:23:44Z

Joehammer79:

1207: AirAware

2013-05-03T13:42:27Z

Joehammer79: /* Explanation */

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

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

Cueball questions whether it is actually a business, as it does not seem to generate money. Black Hat expands, saying that it does not, and he is simply releasing them himself, not-for profit. Cueball starts to argue that it is not a business, since there is no monetary gain, before being abruptly interrupted by the AirAware drone, implying that his previous sentence was incorrect.

Although the Wikipedia page for {{w|business}} states that a business "may also be not-for-profit" it would be better classified as a different type of organization, or even, as a hobby.

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

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

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

:Cueball: That's not a business. You're just yelling at strangers from the sky.
:Cueball: A business has to make money somehow.
:Booming voice from the sky: ''WRONG!''
:Cueball (in smaller voice): Augh!!

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

Talk:1180: Virus Venn Diagram

2013-03-01T15:51:12Z

Joehammer79:

If nothing else, defragging the Singularity would keep it busy for a few hours. ~ [[User:Quackslikeaduck|Quackslikeaduck]] ([[User talk:Quackslikeaduck|talk]]) 13:40, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

I wonder if defragging the Singularity would actually erase/ruin it. Just imagine what would have happened to the first multi-cellular organism if someone had rearranged its molecules in what it considered to be a more "efficient" manner!--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 15:00, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1180: Virus Venn Diagram

2013-03-01T15:00:26Z

Joehammer79:

If nothing else, defragging the Singularity would keep it busy for a few hours. ~ [[User:Quackslikeaduck|Quackslikeaduck]] ([[User talk:Quackslikeaduck|talk]]) 13:40, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

I wonder if defragging the Singularity would actually erase/ruin it. Just imagine what would have happened to the first multicellular organism if someone had rearranged its molecules in a more "efficient" manner!--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 15:00, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1179: ISO 8601

2013-02-28T14:40:15Z

Joehammer79:

Apparently there are some mistakes in the Roman numerals in the comic, the year MMXII is 2012. Also LVII/CCLXV = 57/265, whereas February 27th is the 58th day of the year (which has 365 days). --[[User:Ulm|ulm]] ([[User talk:Ulm|talk]]) 07:55, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
:Just guessing, but could this have something to do with the divergence of various Roman calendars, e.g. Julian vs. Gregorian? [[Special:Contributions/98.122.166.235|98.122.166.235]] 13:55, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
:Another error: Obviously 1330300800 is intended to be Unix time, but it corresponds to 2012-02-27 00:00:00 UTC. --[[User:Ulm|ulm]] ([[User talk:Ulm|talk]]) 08:10, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
:The day part "57" is not wrong: Since Feb 27 is the 58th day of the year, at the beginning of that day, 57 days have gone by since the year started. (At the end of the day, 58 days have gone by) Since we associate days with their beginning (like we do with e.g. hours and minutes), 57 is the correct number (or else Dec 31 would be 2013+365/365 = 2014, and therefore in the wrong year) -- [[User:Xorg|Xorg]] ([[User talk:Xorg|talk]]) 13:53, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
::The day part is ambiguous. It could be as Xorg suggests, the fraction of the year past at the start of the day. On the other hand it could be interpreted as "day 57 or 365," as with pieces in a shipment or page numbers. In the latter case it should be 58/265. But then, that (ambiguity) is the point, isn't it? [[User:Jqavins|Jqavins]] ([[User talk:Jqavins|talk]]) 17:40, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
::Meanwhile the comic was replaced, with CCLXV corrected to CCCLXV. --[[User:Ulm|ulm]] ([[User talk:Ulm|talk]]) Prima vigilia, XVI Kal. Mar. MMDCCLXVI
::I was just about to publish my theory of how "2012" in the Roman numerals in just the same vein might be intended to indeed represent the year we denote "2013", but by counting only the finished years. This would also connect with the confusion over {{w|year zero}}, another thing that ISO 8601 tried to straighten out. (They placed it before year 1.) Everything fit so well. Then there was an edit conflict, following Randalls correction to "2013". I guess you can't always be right. –[[User:St.nerol|St.nerol]] ([[User talk:St.nerol|talk]]) 23:03, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Can anyone explain 01237 (last interpretation before the cat)? Thanks [[Special:Contributions/68.230.38.154|68.230.38.154]] 08:04, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
:The small numbers above and below the larger ones show which digit is used where. For example, the 2nd and 5th digit is a 0, the 3rd digit is a 1 etc. [[Special:Contributions/82.115.151.1|82.115.151.1]] 08:15, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
:01237 are the digits used in the date, and the numbers above and below them reflect the order in which they are written; 0 is the second and fifth digit, 1 is the third digit, 2 is the first, sixth and seventh digit, 3 is the fourth digit, and 7 is the eighth digit: 20130227 [[User:Bdemirci|Bdemirci]] ([[User talk:Bdemirci|talk]]) 08:15, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Someone can explain me what means: ((3+3)×(111+1)-1)×3/3-1/33? {{unsigned|95.23.147.48}}
:Read the comic explanation. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 10:58, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Many of these format mirror how the dates are spoken in languages. For example, Americans will say "February 27, 2013" and write "2/27/2013", whereas the French will say "27 février 2013" and write "27-02-2013". As a scientist, I was encouraged to write "27 II 2013" (which is apparently standard in Hungary, according to the explanation above) in my lab notebook to avoid ambiguity. --[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 13:16, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

A strange thing is that he forgot the form mostly used in Europe: 27.01.2013. --[[User:DaB.|DaB.]] ([[User talk:DaB.|talk]]) 12:44, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
:: That form is mostly used in Germany. Belgium and France use 27/01/2013 more, Netherlands use 27-01-2013. No idea what the UK prefers although I could imagine 01.27.2013.[[Special:Contributions/62.159.14.62|62.159.14.62]] 12:58, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
::: The UK prefers 27/02/2013 --[[User:H|H]] ([[User talk:H|talk]]) 13:20, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
::: That form (27.02.2013) is also common in all of Scandinavia. --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 14:15, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

The image text has a subtle twist as "12/01/04" offers no contextual clues to it meaning at all, can be read three different ways : "December 1st 2004", "January 12, 2004" or "January 4th, 2012" (as opposed to, for example, "01/15/98" which could only be interrupted as "January 15th, 1998") [[User:JamesCurran|JamesCurran]] ([[User talk:JamesCurran|talk]]) 14:29, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
: Technically speaking, it could also be interpreted as April 1st 2012 or April 12th 2001, though that would be the least likely interpretation. I personally like spelling out 3 letters of the month and using an apostrophe before the year, such as 27 Feb '13. --[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 15:07, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
:: And of course December, 4th 2001 Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/178.26.118.249|178.26.118.249]] 19:54, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Is there any way to convert the time-stamp placed on these comments to the YYYY-MM-DD format? --16:17, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
: If you're logged in, you can set your [[Special:Preferences#mw-prefsection-datetime|date and time preferences]]. I doubt it will affect the timestamps on this page, though, since those appear to be saved as plain text. --[[User:Aaron of Mpls|Aaron of Mpls]] ([[User talk:Aaron of Mpls|talk]]) 23:01, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

I feel like the cat thing is a reference to something, but I'm not sure what... is it something? A quick google image search pulls up nothing. --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 17:26, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
: Seems to me that Randall missed an opportunity: Why a cat? Why not a '''bob'''cat? It still could be some other reference that I'm missing too.
:: Black cats are considered unlucky. I don't see any reference beyond that. [[User:Mattflaschen|Mattflaschen]] ([[User talk:Mattflaschen|talk]]) 17:59, 27 February 2013 (UTC)
::: It's taking the last two digits from 2013 and emphasizing triskaidekaphobia. Doing a web image search on "Cat 13" will pull up similar artwork of hissing black cats combined with the number 13, including both flyers for Friday 13th drink specials at bars, and combat airplane noseart. Apparently combining the unlucky "13" with an unlucky black cat emphasized that they were bad luck for the enemy. [[User:Columbus Admission|Columbus Admission]] ([[User talk:Columbus Admission|talk]]) 19:20, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Cool, this is my birthday. [[User:Mattflaschen|Mattflaschen]] ([[User talk:Mattflaschen|talk]]) 17:59, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

"However the list then starts listing formats ranging from uncommon to absurd, such as writing the date partly in Roman numerals [...] " -
My math teacher uses a very similar format (in reverse order, d/m/yy, with m being in Roman numerals, because this is Germany (see above)), so I wouldn't call it absurd. She is the only person I know who uses it though. [[Special:Contributions/87.189.150.212|87.189.150.212]] 19:36, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

The image and explanation needs to be updated for the corrections. I could do the explanation part, but I have no idea how to do the image part. And one without the other would be confusing for the readers, so I'll leave that to wiki-magic. [[Special:Contributions/76.106.251.87|76.106.251.87]] 21:09, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

: I updated the image as well as the explanation (and transcript). There is still the error on the Unix timestamp though (will this comic be fixed a third time?...). - [[User:Cos|Cos]] ([[User talk:Cos|talk]]) 21:57, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Sweden uses the ISO 8601 format. (If only food producers could understand this as well..)
[[Special:Contributions/46.59.16.141|46.59.16.141]] 21:42, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

- What can we learn from this? - I've learned that no matter the system we use today to communicate with others, it's probably seems silly for someone else. It's great to document what we do and propose it as an option to others, but it will be next to impossible to force them to adopt. When someone will develop a time reference that makes sense to everyone, it will be adopted all over the world without much effort. - e-inspired [[Special:Contributions/24.51.197.187|24.51.197.187]] 19:07, 27 February 2013 (UTC)

Perhaps the cat (because of the vagueness of the system) was referring to not the 27th of February 2013. but instead referring to the 13th of February in 1327 which would make it Friday the 13th. {{unsigned|66.35.1.98}}

Just so you know, Explainxkcd wiki uses the ISO certified date standard for its "All Comics" page. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 01:57, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Personally I've always preferred to use Year-Month-Day my personal stuff. I like it because the format is written the way we write any other number: Most significant to left, least significant to right. I didn't know this was a standardized method and I've always wondered why it wasn't used. Nice to know it is![[Special:Contributions/172.191.224.64|172.191.224.64]] 04:09, 28 February 2013 (UTC)ExternalMonologue

Personally, I like yyyy-mm-dd because it sorts correctly. I really hate running into a list of dates sorted by month name, or worse, day of the week. I suspect this was part of why ISO chose this format. I've never been able to remember the american vs european ordering... My only other options is: February 27, 2013. [[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 12:11, 28 February 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1179: ISO 8601

2013-02-27T15:07:02Z

Joehammer79:

Talk:1161: Hand Sanitizer

2013-01-16T14:48:15Z

Joehammer79:

Does anyone think the "peak" referred to in the title text could be the 1918 flu pandemic? Or even the bird flu outbreak?[[User:Chexwarrior|Chexwarrior]] ([[User talk:Chexwarrior|talk]]) 10:31, 16 January 2013 (UTC)
:I'm thinking the "hipster" comment is a reference to how hipsters always think stuff was better (or it peaked) in the past so it must be on the downslide.--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 14:47, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

That 99.99% number on the hand sanitizer is probably made up anyway. Any actual scientific measure of effectivity would need to take into account different resistance of different types of germs. So, question is, is the sanitizer more or less effective? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:35, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

:I actually had in the back of my mind that the 99.99% figure wasn't a "dead germ count," but the number of strains of germs the sanitizer has the ability to kill. i.e. there are some strains which it doesn't kill. —[[Special:Contributions/98.122.166.235|98.122.166.235]] 12:59, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Shouldn't 200 million times .01% actually be equivalent to 200 million times .0001, which equals 20 000 germs? [[Special:Contributions/134.169.169.121|134.169.169.121]] 13:16, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Yes, it should. I wonder if he will change it when he notices? [[Special:Contributions/24.93.151.187|24.93.151.187]] 13:37, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Yes, 2 000 000 * .01% = 20 000 is correct

Quite aside from the arithmetic, right now the US has two epidemics: influenza and norovirus, which is often known by the misnomer of "stomach flu." According to infectious disease experts, while alcohol is likely pretty effective against bacteria and SOME viruses including influenza, alcohol is probably NOT very effective against norovirus. The best way to stop the spread of norovirus: frequent hand washing with soap and water.
[[Special:Contributions/24.91.233.200|24.91.233.200]] 13:47, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1161: Hand Sanitizer

2013-01-16T14:47:40Z

Joehammer79:

Does anyone think the "peak" referred to in the title text could be the 1918 flu pandemic? Or even the bird flu outbreak?[[User:Chexwarrior|Chexwarrior]] ([[User talk:Chexwarrior|talk]]) 10:31, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

That 99.99% number on the hand sanitizer is probably made up anyway. Any actual scientific measure of effectivity would need to take into account different resistance of different types of germs. So, question is, is the sanitizer more or less effective? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:35, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

:I actually had in the back of my mind that the 99.99% figure wasn't a "dead germ count," but the number of strains of germs the sanitizer has the ability to kill. I.e. there are some strains which it doesn't kill. —[[Special:Contributions/98.122.166.235|98.122.166.235]] 12:59, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Shouldn't 200 million times .01% actually be equivalent to 200 million times .0001, which equals 20 000 germs? [[Special:Contributions/134.169.169.121|134.169.169.121]] 13:16, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Yes, it should. I wonder if he will change it when he notices? [[Special:Contributions/24.93.151.187|24.93.151.187]] 13:37, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Yes, 2 000 000 * .01% = 20 000 is correct

Quite aside from the arithmetic, right now the US has two epidemics: influenza and norovirus, which is often known by the misnomer of "stomach flu." According to infectious disease experts, while alcohol is likely pretty effective against bacteria and SOME viruses including influenza, alcohol is probably NOT very effective against norovirus. The best way to stop the spread of norovirus: frequent hand washing with soap and water.
[[Special:Contributions/24.91.233.200|24.91.233.200]] 13:47, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

I'm thinking the "hipster" comment is a reference to how hipsters always think stuff was better (or it peaked) in the past so it must be on the downslide.--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 14:47, 16 January 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1142: Coverage

2012-12-03T14:44:11Z

Joehammer79:

Perfect explanation this time! [[Special:Contributions/83.81.90.213|83.81.90.213]] 07:48, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
:Why thank you! It's a great change from being flamed indirectly for some omission in my explanations. I usually don't quite get some of the comics myself, so I just create the explanation pages for all the new articles and let wiki magic fill in the blanks. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 11:36, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

I always thought that a Faraday Cagematch would be the perfect end to the Tesla/Edison feud. --[[User:Philo Pharynx|Philo Pharynx]] ([[User talk:Philo Pharynx|talk]]) 14:42, 3 December 2012 (UTC)
:Bazinga!--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 14:44, 3 December 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1139: Rubber and Glue

2012-11-27T14:47:35Z

Joehammer79:

I am not a native speaker, but after some research, I found that rubber/glue refers to the rhyme "I am rubber, you are glue, whatever you say bounces off of me and sticks to you." If that's true, the current explanation that the topos is meant "to imply that insults of another person are an indication of their own insecurity and weakness" is just plain wrong. [[User:BKA|BKA]] ([[User talk:BKA|talk]]) 15:51, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
*It's really not wrong, it's just a clarification. [[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 19:43, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
:"Which bounces off me and sticks to you" is not meant in the literal sense. The sticks to you portion typically means that the recipient of the insult is implying that the sender is calling out other people by names that apply to themselves. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 00:22, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

The in-joke here is presumably that CRC stands (or stood?) for the Chemical Rubber Company, and the handbook - found in many a physics and chemistry lab - is often referred to as the "Rubber Bible".
[[Special:Contributions/131.251.254.81|131.251.254.81]] 16:07, 26 November 2012 (UTC)

Of note is probably that the book young black hat is reading is known as the "Rubber Bible". From wikipedia: The CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics is in its 93rd edition. It is sometimes nicknamed the 'Rubber Bible' or the 'Rubber Book', as CRC originally stood for "Chemical Rubber Company". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CRC_Handbook_of_Chemistry_and_Physics

As an aside, this is the first time Black Hat has ever been referred to by a name of any kind. Should we consider calling him "Hatman" now? --[[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 19:43, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
:The transcript calls him Black Hat. Hatboy is only what the bullies were calling him in an effort to make fun of him. [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 20:22, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
:: Is it just me or does this appear to be a flashback to Black Hat's youth? --[[User:Jeff|Jeff]] ([[User talk:Jeff|talk]]) 23:03, 26 November 2012 (UTC)
:::The size of their heads would make it appear to be so. We could probably approximate his age in the comic from the proportional size of his head to the rest of his body. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]][[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>(talk)</tt>]] 03:48, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

There ought to be a name for the mind games that children use to abuse each other. The "rubber /glue" phrase, for instance, makes no sense ate all, but among children acts as a real restriction on discourse, a kind of bard curse that ties up the recipient in confusion. I was delighted to see the phrase turned around like this. Yay black hat![[Special:Contributions/64.254.188.208|64.254.188.208]] 14:22, 27 November 2012 (UTC) Noni Mausa, (away from home and don't have my log-in, sorry)

Just as an entertaining comment, Sheldon on the Big Bang Theory uses a form of this insult as such: "I'm polymerized tree sap and you're an inorganic adhesive, so whatever verbal projectile you launch in my direction is reflected off of me, returns on its original trajectory and adheres to you." --[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 14:47, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1129: Cell Number

2012-11-02T13:55:43Z

Joehammer79:

: I guess this has something to do with keeping your phone number even when switching providers? We got a law in Norway around that time, which says you're able to keep your phone number while switching. Only difference is that here you can only tell, from the first two of eight digits, which ''provider'' you had in 2005 (or whenever it took effect). --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 08:31, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

::It probably does. There is no mention of 2005 in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Numbering_Plan North American Numbering Plan wikipedia article] ... seems it's the part needing explanation the most. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:38, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

: According to wikipedia, mobile number portability was implemented in the USA in 2003.11.24. The comic would make sense with 2003, but why 2005? Maybe it only caught on enough in 2005: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/pa_may26_mnp.htm

: One reason for switching to a new "local" number would be so that those who have land lines aren't making "long-distance" phone calls to your cell phone. My brother just recently moved back from the east coast and is keeping his same cell phone number, which doesn't affect my other siblings and myself because we only use cell phones (which only count the number of minutes used). But my mom still uses land lines most of the time and so she's being billed for a long-distance call whenever she calls him, even though he lives about a mile away from her. But since most people are ditching the land lines, I think it'll be a moot point in about 5-10 years. --[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 13:45, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1129: Cell Number

2012-11-02T13:45:00Z

Joehammer79:

: I guess this has something to do with keeping your phone number even when switching providers? We got a law in Norway around that time, which says you're able to keep your phone number while switching. Only difference is that here you can only tell, from the first two of eight digits, which ''provider'' you had in 2005 (or whenever it took effect). --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 08:31, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

::It probably does. There is no mention of 2005 in [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Numbering_Plan|North American Numbering Plan wikipedia article] ... seems it's the part needing explanation the most. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 08:38, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

: According to wikipedia, mobile number portability was implemented in the USA in 2003.11.24. The comic would make sense with 2003, but why 2005? Maybe it only caught on enough in 2005: http://www.pyramidresearch.com/pa_may26_mnp.htm

: One reason for switching to a new "local" number would be so that those who have land lines aren't making "long-distance" phone calls to your cell phone. My brother just recently moved back from the east coast and is keeping his same cell phone number, which doesn't affect my other siblings and myself because we only use cell phones (which only count the number of minutes used). But my mom still uses land lines most of the time and so she's being billed for a long-distance call whenever she calls him, even though he lives about a mile away from her. But since most people are ditching the land lines, I think it'll be a moot point in about 5-10 years. --[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 13:45, 2 November 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1125: Objects In Mirror

2012-10-25T14:54:59Z

Joehammer79:

Anyone else think that the smallness of this comic is unusual? I can barely read the mirror. [[User:TheHYPO|TheHYPO]] ([[User talk:TheHYPO|talk]]) 14:41, 24 October 2012 (UTC)
:Agreed. The key part of the "punchline" is the word "bluer", and it's '''really''' hard to read. [[Special:Contributions/67.51.59.66|67.51.59.66]] 18:43, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

:The drawing has a different feel too. It seems to have been done with a pressure sensitive pen. Maybe Randall is trying out a new method. A galaxy note maybe? [[User:Fanboix|Fanboix]] ([[User talk:Fanboix|talk]]) 19:40, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

:Text on the mirror is larger than it appears.

:It's probably from the viewpoint of the driver.--[[User:Castriff|Jimmy C]] ([[User talk:Castriff|talk]]) 16:49, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

I think title text refers to the expansion of the universe and the speed of light. The observable universe is viewed from light that originated in the past. The further away the object, the further back in time we observe it. In an expanding universe, the universe we observe today is actually how it looked in the past (smaller) and we are unable to observe it's present size (larger) due to the great distances and the time it takes for the light to arrive. Thus, the universe is larger than it appears, no matter if you view it traveling towards or away from any object. --[[User:Bpiltz|Bpiltz]] ([[User talk:Bpiltz|talk]]) 15:47, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

If the object in the mirror were another car overtaking this one, it would actually be redder than it appears. --[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 17:51, 24 October 2012 (UTC)

My first thought was that the title text refers to the fact that objects appear to be in different directions, as well as colors, from a moving viewpoint. So objects in front of a moving car will appear to be closer together than if the car were stopped.
See http://www.fourmilab.ch/cship/aberration.html
But objects seen in the rear-view mirror will appear more spread out, so maybe not.
 [[Special:Contributions/75.36.234.236|75.36.234.236]] 18:58, 24 October 2012 (UTC)
: Naw, you're thinking too much about this. Randall is just commenting that the universe, (as visible through the relatively small aperature of a windshield or mirror) is much bigger than it appears in either viewport. "There are more things in heaven and earth than are visible through your view-portal, Horatio!" (to paraphrase the Bard.) If that's what he was trying to say in Click and Drag, too, so be it. -- [[Special:Contributions/207.225.239.130|207.225.239.130]] 21:44, 24 October 2012 (UTC)
::That would be "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than..." but the point is apt. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:21, 25 October 2012 (UTC)

I agree, I reckon it just means there is whole lot of universe out there that you can't see, regardless of what direction you're looking or what you're looking at it through. [[User:Brendan|Brendan]] ([[User talk:Brendan|talk]]) 05:57, 25 October 2012 (UTC) BK

One thing confuses me: isn't the point that the scenery in the mirror is moving AWAY from the viewer - and hence would be red-shifted?? --[[User:Brahmafear|Brahmafear]] ([[User talk:Brahmafear|talk]]) 13:31, 25 October 2012 (UTC)

:If he were moving quite fast, the scenery in the mirror '''WOULD''' be red-shifted. But since he's not moving very fast, he doesn't see the expected red-shift, and thus things look bluer than they normally would.--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 14:54, 25 October 2012 (UTC)

== Meat Loaf ==

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objects_in_the_Rear_View_Mirror_May_Appear_Closer_than_They_Are Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer than They Are], anyone? --[[Special:Contributions/137.132.22.191|137.132.22.191]] 07:42, 25 October 2012 (UTC)
:Commenting the same legal notice. There are several pop-culture references to objects-in-mirror. -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 04:33, 25 October 2012 (UTC)
:: "Squares may look distant in her rear view mirror but they're actual size as she drives away" -- They Might Be Giants, "She's Actual Size" --[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 11:08, 25 October 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1124: Law of Drama

2012-10-22T13:59:19Z

Joehammer79:

Regarding the transcript: I don't think you have enough data to characterize this short curve as exponential. What does "slightly exponential" mean, anyway? In any case, it looks like it becomes linear as the x values increase. --[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 11:21, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

::It could be a shallow power function curve . . .--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 13:57, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

:I took 26 data points, assumed the axes defined a (0-1,0-1) window, and tried an extrapolation (using Microsoft Excel; someone with a different tool can surely do better). An exponential model fits fairly well: y = 0.0782 * e^(2.7035*x) with R^2 = 0.9928. However, I agree about the linear end section -- the exponential trendline clealy starts to pull high. --BigMal27 // [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.149|192.136.15.149]] 13:57, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

I think Randall thought about the shape of this curve. You see how it becomes linear as both drama and anti-drama declaration increase? At low values, there is a residual amount of drama even when there is little anti-drama declaration, but the marginal increase eventually becomes constant. --[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 11:28, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

:I think that may be it. Care to add it to the page? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 11:31, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

:I think that the upper limit for drama statements does indeed have an end-point, beyond which those declarations can't increase. At that point, I suppose, the drama-ridden person experiences a split state-change, either dropping to the original non-drama state by disavowing all the causers-of-drama in their lives, or by becoming a causer-of-drama.--[[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 13:11, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1124: Law of Drama

2012-10-22T13:57:50Z

Joehammer79:

Regarding the transcript: I don't think you have enough data to characterize this short curve as exponential. What does "slightly exponential" mean, anyway? In any case, it looks like it becomes linear as the x values increase. --[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 11:21, 22 October 2012 (UTC)
:: It could be a shallow power function curve . . .--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 13:57, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

:I took 26 data points, assumed the axes defined a (0-1,0-1) window, and tried an extrapolation (using Microsoft Excel; someone with a different tool can surely do better). An exponential model fits fairly well: y = 0.0782 * e^(2.7035*x) with R^2 = 0.9928. However, I agree about the linear end section -- the exponential trendline clealy starts to pull high. --BigMal27 // [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.149|192.136.15.149]] 13:57, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

I think Randall thought about the shape of this curve. You see how it becomes linear as both drama and anti-drama declaration increase? At low values, there is a residual amount of drama even when there is little anti-drama declaration, but the marginal increase eventually becomes constant. --[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 11:28, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

:I think that may be it. Care to add it to the page? [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 11:31, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

:I think that the upper limit for drama statements does indeed have an end-point, beyond which those declarations can't increase. At that point, I suppose, the drama-ridden person experiences a split state-change, either dropping to the original non-drama state by disavowing all the causers-of-drama in their lives, or by becoming a causer-of-drama.--[[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 13:11, 22 October 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1119: Undoing

2012-10-10T13:46:28Z

Joehammer79: Created page with "Perhaps his motivation is to restore natural wind patterns to the environment. I remember reading about the ecological impact of wind power includes lessened wind currents. So..."

Perhaps his motivation is to restore natural wind patterns to the environment. I remember reading about the ecological impact of wind power includes lessened wind currents. Some organisms rely on the wind to propagate the species, such as winds that blow seeds or how some spiders "parachute" on wind currents. Or it could be that he just likes to mess with people. --[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 13:46, 10 October 2012 (UTC)

1119: Undoing

2012-10-10T13:42:53Z

Joehammer79: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1119
| date = October 10, 2012
| title = Undoing
| image = undoing.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = I've been sneaking out at night and installing lamps on the underside of every photovoltaic panel I can find. Sure, there are upwards of 80% losses, but I prefer to think of them as nearly 20% gains.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic is a play on regenerative energies and the way they transform the natural resources (wind, sun, water) into electricity. It may also be a continuation of Randall's mistrust of modern electric windmills (see [[556|comic #556: Alternative Energy Revolution]]).

The alt text is a reference to the very bad efficiency of solar panels (roughly 20-25%) and light bulbs (20-30%). Thus instead of only 80% loss of energy, which is either not converted to electricity or converted into heat) it's actually far more.

Thus the undoing done by the character is quite less effective than the common "Undo" function known from computers.

A windmill is powered by blowing wind, and it "absorbs" some of the strength of the gusts. Someone standing on the "front" side of a windmill will feel a stronger gust of wind than someone who stands on the "back" side. Randall has severed the connection from the windmill to the electrical grid (thus increasing the amount of energy on the grid) and used it to power a giant fan blowing the other way, thus restoring the amount of wind that was blowing before it came across the windmill, effectively "undoing" what the windmill accomplishes.

==Transcript==


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

Talk:1113: Killed in Action

2012-09-27T17:03:53Z

Joehammer79:

The title text is essentially the beginning of the hanging paradox: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unexpected_hanging_paradox
:It's not quite the same--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 17:03, 27 September 2012 (UTC) thing. The unexpected hanging paradox only applies when you have a measure of foreknowledge. [[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]] ([[User talk:Davidy22|talk]]) 05:50, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

I think there's also a strong indication that this is mocking cop films from the 80's/90's, such as Lethal Weapon, where a character would always die just before retirement.
--[[Special:Contributions/46.246.31.111|46.246.31.111]] 07:08, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

This one is a variant of the old Czech joke: "The study has proved that statistically the most casualties happen in the last car of a train. Therefore the committee suggests to make all trains one car shorter." --[[User:Mity|Mity]] ([[User talk:Mity|talk]]) 09:59, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

This comics's explanation is complete bollocks, I think. Of course it is NOT a "fact that such a room exists". This comics parodies trope often used in cop movies - an elderly cop goes to work for the last time before his retirement, packs things, plans fishing the next day ... only to be called to one more case (possibly with a new, young and brash partner). And despites his efforts not to screw anything and stay clear of danger, he is either mortally wounded or screws big time and is degraded. So much clichè, that if someone says "It's my last day or service", you might be sure one of the two options above happens. See http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Retirony for all the use cases and examples. [[User:Edheldil|Edheldil]] ([[User talk:Edheldil|talk]]) 10:25, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
:I added the tv trope to the explanation. Didn't even see your comment at first, but why didn't you just change and add to the explanation yourself? That would be the whole point of the wiki. --[[User:Buggz|Buggz]] ([[User talk:Buggz|talk]]) 10:34, 26 September 2012 (UTC)

To add a little irony to the irony, the dead cop actually IS in a "locked, heavily guarded room." (There's a Sufi story along those lines.) The real solution to the retirony risk would be for their retirement day to fall within a 12 month window, chosen by some randomly generated number chosen before the shift begins. Thus they could avoid building up a hazardous "retirony field" focused around the point-source retirement day. Sort of like this thing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corona_ring [[User:Noni Mausa|Noni Mausa]] ([[User talk:Noni Mausa|talk]]) 12:11, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
:...But that doesn't eliminate the "retirony field", it only dispurses it over a larger area. The retirony claim would shift to "(s)he was due to retire this year" times the number of retirees within that retirement window. Assuming these tragic events are "uniformly distributed" the probability they'll happen will be present right up to the end of one's active tour of duty, no matter what. Shorten the train, indeed. :) -- [[User:IronyChef|IronyChef]] ([[User talk:IronyChef|talk]]) 14:29, 26 September 2012 (UTC)
::How about simply not planning your retirement at all, and instead just spontaneously quitting at some point? [[User:Erenan|Erenan]] ([[User talk:Erenan|talk]]) 15:38, 27 September 2012 (UTC)

An unstated but related phenomenon is "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias Confirmation Bias], where something significant stands out in our mind, causing us to overreact or use bad judgement. In this case, the confirmation bias makes it seem like cops are always killed on their last day, so they create such a room.

1113: Killed in Action

2012-09-27T16:59:38Z

Joehammer79: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1113
| date = September 26, 2012
| title = Killed in Action
| image = killed in action.png
| imagesize =
| titletext = We can't let this happen again. We need to build a secure TWO-day-before-retirement safe room.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic plays with the TV trope of [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Retirony Retirony], in which one cop is killed in action only a short time before retirement. The humor arises from the idea that such a room could exist for such a rare occasion as a cop retiring, and the irony in the cop dying before he could be safely stowed away to avoid retirony.

The title text is a reference to the reactionary nature of security procedures put in place in the aftermath of an incident, and how they typically fail to address the cause of the problem. If the advice from the title text is followed, the number of days police officers spend in the secure room will eventually encompass their whole service.

==Transcript==
:[Old lady, woman and Cueball are standing in the background by a coffin. Two police are standing in the forground]
:Policewoman: Good cop.
:Policewoman: It's a real shame—
:Policewoman: He was just one day away from getting put in the locked, heavily guarded room where all cops stay for the last day before they retire.

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

Talk:1111: Premiere

2012-09-21T20:55:12Z

Joehammer79: Created page with "Maybe I'm just splitting hairs, but I'm not sure that's Megan. Her hair looks a little shorter. --~~~~"

Maybe I'm just splitting hairs, but I'm not sure that's Megan. Her hair looks a little shorter. --[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 20:55, 21 September 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1109: Refrigerator

2012-09-18T13:38:22Z

Joehammer79:

I would argue that this is also a reference to {{w|The Incredible Machine}} and friends, where many levels revolve around conveyor belts and things on top of them that stir certain actions. [[User:Kaa-ching|Kaa-ching]] ([[User talk:Kaa-ching|talk]]) 10:46, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

The main problem with this design is that the bad food needs to land softly otherwise it could splash\spatter over the good food. [[User:SaintGerbil|SaintGerbil]]([[User talk:User:SaintGerbil|talk]]) 12:17, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

I thought an alternative design for the fridge could be to have the middle conveyor belt attached to the right, leaving a gap on its left and obviously it would move toward the left. This way we could put food on the topmost belt on its left side and the food would travel along that belt then drop onto the middle one, then travel to the bottom belt and finally fall into the BAD bin. Of course we'd have to relabel all belts accordingly. [[User:DelendaEst|DelendaEst]] ([[User talk:DelendaEst|talk]]) 12:27, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

:The only problem with that is that different foods spoil at different rates (e.g. carrots last for about 2 months while milk is a week at best). The 3 shelves moving at different speeds seems to account for this. --[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 13:38, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Most of the stuff I find gone bad is in the bottom two drawers where it has become forgotten, like a half bag of lettuce.--[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 14:19, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

Sorry Randall: so much for brilliant... there's a bug in your design. Look at the top rack in the door. There is a chute that would prevent food from falling past when the door is closed. It would need to be rotated 90 anticlockwise in order to work. [[Special:Contributions/207.225.239.130|207.225.239.130]] 21:30, 17 September 2012 (UTC)
*I see a space -[[User:Shine|Shine]] ([[User talk:Shine|talk]]) 02:00, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1107: Sports Cheat Sheet

2012-09-12T22:07:06Z

Joehammer79:

Thanks to whoever added the hockey mention ("no love" in the comic, for sure). Maybe the comic needs another column for Canada, where hockey can be argued about year-round. (Yes, it's an exaggeration for comic effect.) As for the rest of the world, or at least ex-Commonwealth and neighboring countries (e.g. Australia, India, New Zealand), what about rugby and cricket? --'''BigMal27''' (no account) / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.177|192.136.15.177]] 15:29, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
:Forgot to mention that these sports don't have to be professional in nature. I know of plenty US collegiate arguments in both football (e.g. Michigan vs. Notre Dame or Michigan State or Ohio State) and basketball (everyone vs. everyone during the NCAA tournament a.k.a. "March Madness" (TM)). --'''BigMal27''' / [[Special:Contributions/192.136.15.177|192.136.15.177]] 17:33, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

The problem with the suggestion in the mouse over text is that everyone would have the same opinion on the same day! A better idea would be to have an App which selects from two or more oposing opinions and feed you a random one each day. (Personally being 'European' I'd prefer it to be more like the US! Sooo fed up with football discussions.) Steve B
:Then you run into the problem of two people who rely in that app falling into a sports discussion with each other rather than something else. If I were to find someone expressing the same canned opinion that I have from the twitter feed, at least I can say "who cares about sports, let's talk about something important: vi or emacs?". The twitter feed is best for someone who wants to fake sports knowledge to fit in. [[User:Blaisepascal|Blaisepascal]] ([[User talk:Blaisepascal|talk]]) 16:12, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
:The idea behind the twitter feed is to give people who really isn't interested in sport (aka. nerds) the opportunity to interact with so called normal people. It is just a variation on the http://bluffball.co.uk/ site refered to by [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKHyqjHqQLU#t=32s an The IT Crowd episode]. Two users of the twitter feed would have more important subjects to discuss (like for example vi vs. emacs) [[User:Pmakholm|Pmakholm]] ([[User talk:Pmakholm|talk]]) 18:12, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

What is with the sports bent that Randall is on? Two sports comics in three weeks? Has this happened before? [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 15:36, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

:He was on a Wikipedia kick about a year ago . . . 4 comics in about 5 weeks or so.--[[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 22:07, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Would that opinion even fit into a Twitter post? [[Special:Contributions/76.122.5.96|76.122.5.96]] 20:55, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

:You are right. The sample tweet in the title text is 164 characters long. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 21:18, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1100: Vows

2012-08-27T19:47:15Z

Joehammer79:

'''Please add <nowiki>~~~~</nowiki> to the end of your comments to include your signature. Thanks!'''

*Somebody please explain what a "High School Misdirection Play" is. I did my best to explain American Gridiron, but I'm not a sports nut (far from it). [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:38, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
**How about now? [[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 16:52, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
**I assume that a "Misdirection Play" is where the ball is made to look like it is passed/thrown/handed to one player who then proceeds to run as if they had the ball, attracting the defensive players away from the actual person holding the ball. Highschool football has a tendency to use more "tricky" plays than "higher" levels of play (college, professional) as there is more chance of success for a risky, surprise type of play compared to games with more experienced players. Similarly, there are more "surprise" plays in college ball than in the NFL - I think there are more "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-point_conversion two point conversions]" in college ball. [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 17:04, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
**In American Football, the team on offense must move the ball down the field past the defending team (similar to most field sports, such as football (soccer), rugby, or hockey). In order to do this, sometimes the offensive team will try to trick the defensive team into thinking the ball is, or will be moved, somewhere where it's not. This is called a misdirection. One example of this (the one I'm most familiar with) is the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screen_pass Screen Pass]. In the comic, the "bride" is a member of the offensive team and, it is implied, has courted and promised to wed cueball, who is playing on the defense, in an incredibly elaborate attempt to misdirect him about the intended football play. It is quite absurd. [[Special:Contributions/98.189.235.248|98.189.235.248]]

*Boise State is a team known for their trick plays because they used 3 in a row in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl [[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 19:47, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
**This is false. They used 3 trick plays in the fourth quarter & Overtime, but they were not 'in a row.' jjhuddle 19:06, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
***I stand corrected. 5 years of college football made me forget all the little plays in between. [[User:Joehammer79|Joehammer79]] ([[User talk:Joehammer79|talk]]) 19:47, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1100: Vows

2012-08-27T17:07:55Z

Joehammer79:

Somebody please explain what a "High School Misdirection Play" is. I did my best to explain American Gridiron, but I'm not a sports nut (far from it). [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]] ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 16:38, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
: How about now? [[User:TheOriginalSoni|TheOriginalSoni]] ([[User talk:TheOriginalSoni|talk]]) 16:52, 27 August 2012 (UTC)
: I assume that a "Misdirection Play" is where the ball is made to look like it is passed/thrown/handed to one player who then proceeds to run as if they had the ball, attracting the defensive players away from the actual person holding the ball. Highschool football has a tendency to use more "tricky" plays than "higher" levels of play (college, professional) as there is more chance of success for a risky, surprise type of play compared to games with more experienced players. Similarly, there are more "surprise" plays in college ball than in the NFL - I think there are more "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-point_conversion two point conversions]" in college ball. [[User:J-beda|J-beda]] ([[User talk:J-beda|talk]]) 17:04, 27 August 2012 (UTC)

Boise State is a team known for their trick plays because they used 3 in a row in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl