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		<updated>2026-04-27T23:05:14Z</updated>
		<subtitle>User contributions</subtitle>
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	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Swartzer&amp;diff=53117</id>
		<title>User:Swartzer</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Swartzer&amp;diff=53117"/>
				<updated>2013-11-20T03:47:17Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Swartzer: &lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Hi. I'm just some guy on the Internet.  As one might guess from my first few edits, I'm also somewhat of a Firefly fan.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:Swartzer|Swartzer]] ([[User talk:Swartzer|talk]]) 03:47, 20 November 2013 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Swartzer</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=580:_The_Race:_Part_4&amp;diff=53116</id>
		<title>580: The Race: Part 4</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=580:_The_Race:_Part_4&amp;diff=53116"/>
				<updated>2013-11-20T03:41:29Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Swartzer: /* Explanation */ Changed back to first names to match transcript&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{comic&lt;br /&gt;
| number    = 580&lt;br /&gt;
| date      = May 7, 2009&lt;br /&gt;
| title     = The Race: Part 4&lt;br /&gt;
| image     = the_race_part_4.png&lt;br /&gt;
| titletext = Things are rarely just crazy enough to work, but they're frequently just crazy enough to fail hilariously.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Explanation==&lt;br /&gt;
{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}} was a television series aired by FOX in 2002 but canceled after only eleven episodes.  Over ten years later it still has a devoted fan base, apparently including [[Randall]]. The main characters were the crew of the spaceship &amp;quot;Serenity&amp;quot;, including Captain Malcolm &amp;quot;Mal&amp;quot; Reynolds ({{w|Nathan Fillion}}), mechanical genius Kaylee ({{w|Jewel Staite}}), the apparently insane psychic River Tam ({{w|Summer Glau}}), and five others not relevant to this comic.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Nathan Fillion appeared naked at the beginning and end of the show's eleventh episode, &amp;quot;Trash&amp;quot;. [[Cueball]] is either fascinated or repulsed by this mental image, to the point of missing the start signal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;Crazy Ivan&amp;quot; is an emergency maneuver used by the crew of the Serenity in the pilot episode of the series, when they were hotly pursued by a Reaver ship.  The maneuver involves a sharp 180° turn to face the pursuing spacecraft and accelerating in that direction, forcing the less agile pursuer to overshoot and lose ground in a long turn.  But as Jewel points out, this does not work on a skateboard, since the board spins in place while the rider continues forward unimpeded -- and even if successful, it would be utterly pointless because the direction to the finish line does not change.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All comics in &amp;quot;[[The Race]]&amp;quot; series:&lt;br /&gt;
*[[577: The Race: Part 1]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[578: The Race: Part 2]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[579: The Race: Part 3]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[580: The Race: Part 4]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[581: The Race: Part 5]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This series was released on 5 consecutive days(Monday-Friday) and not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Transcript==&lt;br /&gt;
:[Cueball and Nathan Fillion are ready on the start line on their electric skateboards.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Voice off panel: On your mark...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Voice: Get set...&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Remember episode 11, when I got all naked in that desert?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Voice: Go!&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan speeds away leaving Cueball standing at the start line.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Voice: ...I said &amp;quot;Go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
:Voice: Someone throw some water on him.&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: Can't...get it...out of my head...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan on walkie talkie, speeding on his skateboard.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: He's right behind me. Kaylee, I'm gonna try a Crazy Ivan.&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel [on walkie talkie] ([[579]] shows Nathan's naming confusion): That doesn't make any sense, Nathan.&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Trust me.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel: No, I mean it's not a skateboard maneuver. The concept doesn't even apply to this situation.&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan [via walkie talkie]: That's why it ''just might work!''&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel: No, that's the ''opposite'' of true!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: On my mark, override the remote differential and throw her into a spin.&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel [via walkie talkie]: okay, but—&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Mark!&lt;br /&gt;
:''WHAM''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan lying injured on the ground next to his skateboard, Cueball cruises past.]&lt;br /&gt;
:''Whirrrrrrrr''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan, trying to stand up.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: I'm down. Tell Summer &amp;quot;The chickens are in the hayloft. Plan Gamma is a go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan, one foot on skateboard, looking at walkie talkie.]&lt;br /&gt;
:''mumbling from walkie talkie''&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel: She says, &amp;quot;Plan gamma acknowledged. The meerkats are in the bag.&lt;br /&gt;
:[Summer Glau is walking off panel.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel [to walkee talkie]: So we're good?&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Hard to tell with her. Do you see an actual bag of meerkats?&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel: No.&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Then we're probably good.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Cueball screeching to a halt as he sees Summer Glau.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: Oh! Hi, Miss Glau! I'd love to talk, but Nathan's back on his feet and catching up.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Summer grabs Cueball's arm.]&lt;br /&gt;
:''Grab''&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: Wha—&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Summer kicks Cueball in the face whilst pulling his arm towards her, he flies off his skateboard.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Summer walking away as Cueball lies crippled on the floor with his sunglasses beside him.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Cueball still lying on the floor.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball [thinking]: I've never been so turned on in my life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Trivia==&lt;br /&gt;
*The xkcd's own transcript for this episode is radically wrong, and words like {{Wiktionary|maneuver}} are spelled incorrectly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{comic discussion}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Jewel Staite]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Nathan Fillion]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Summer Glau]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:The Race]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Firefly]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Electric skateboard]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Swartzer</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=580:_The_Race:_Part_4&amp;diff=53115</id>
		<title>580: The Race: Part 4</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=580:_The_Race:_Part_4&amp;diff=53115"/>
				<updated>2013-11-20T03:38:49Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Swartzer: /* Explanation */ Reworded.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{comic&lt;br /&gt;
| number    = 580&lt;br /&gt;
| date      = May 7, 2009&lt;br /&gt;
| title     = The Race: Part 4&lt;br /&gt;
| image     = the_race_part_4.png&lt;br /&gt;
| titletext = Things are rarely just crazy enough to work, but they're frequently just crazy enough to fail hilariously.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Explanation==&lt;br /&gt;
{{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}} was a television series aired by FOX in 2002 but canceled after only eleven episodes.  Over ten years later it still has a devoted fan base, apparently including [[Randall]]. The main characters were the crew of the spaceship &amp;quot;Serenity&amp;quot;, including Captain Malcolm &amp;quot;Mal&amp;quot; Reynolds ({{w|Nathan Fillion}}), mechanical genius Kaylee ({{w|Jewel Staite}}), the apparently insane psychic River Tam ({{w|Summer Glau}}), and five others not relevant to this comic.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Fillion appeared naked at the beginning and end of the show's eleventh episode, &amp;quot;Trash&amp;quot;. [[Cueball]] is either fascinated or repulsed by this mental image, to the point of missing the start signal.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The &amp;quot;Crazy Ivan&amp;quot; is an emergency maneuver used by the crew of the Serenity in the pilot episode of the series, when they were hotly pursued by a Reaver ship.  The maneuver involves a sharp 180° turn to face the pursuing spacecraft and accelerating in that direction, forcing the less agile pursuer to overshoot and lose ground in a long turn.  But as Staite points out, this does not work on a skateboard, since the board spins in place while the rider continues forward unimpeded -- and even if successful, it would be utterly pointless because the direction to the finish line does not change.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All comics in &amp;quot;[[The Race]]&amp;quot; series:&lt;br /&gt;
*[[577: The Race: Part 1]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[578: The Race: Part 2]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[579: The Race: Part 3]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[580: The Race: Part 4]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[581: The Race: Part 5]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This series was released on 5 consecutive days(Monday-Friday) and not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Transcript==&lt;br /&gt;
:[Cueball and Nathan Fillion are ready on the start line on their electric skateboards.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Voice off panel: On your mark...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Voice: Get set...&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Remember episode 11, when I got all naked in that desert?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Voice: Go!&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan speeds away leaving Cueball standing at the start line.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Voice: ...I said &amp;quot;Go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
:Voice: Someone throw some water on him.&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: Can't...get it...out of my head...&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan on walkie talkie, speeding on his skateboard.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: He's right behind me. Kaylee, I'm gonna try a Crazy Ivan.&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel [on walkie talkie] ([[579]] shows Nathan's naming confusion): That doesn't make any sense, Nathan.&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Trust me.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel: No, I mean it's not a skateboard maneuver. The concept doesn't even apply to this situation.&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan [via walkie talkie]: That's why it ''just might work!''&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel: No, that's the ''opposite'' of true!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: On my mark, override the remote differential and throw her into a spin.&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel [via walkie talkie]: okay, but—&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Mark!&lt;br /&gt;
:''WHAM''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan lying injured on the ground next to his skateboard, Cueball cruises past.]&lt;br /&gt;
:''Whirrrrrrrr''&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan, trying to stand up.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: I'm down. Tell Summer &amp;quot;The chickens are in the hayloft. Plan Gamma is a go.&amp;quot;&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan, one foot on skateboard, looking at walkie talkie.]&lt;br /&gt;
:''mumbling from walkie talkie''&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel: She says, &amp;quot;Plan gamma acknowledged. The meerkats are in the bag.&lt;br /&gt;
:[Summer Glau is walking off panel.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel [to walkee talkie]: So we're good?&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Hard to tell with her. Do you see an actual bag of meerkats?&lt;br /&gt;
:Jewel: No.&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Then we're probably good.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Cueball screeching to a halt as he sees Summer Glau.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: Oh! Hi, Miss Glau! I'd love to talk, but Nathan's back on his feet and catching up.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Summer grabs Cueball's arm.]&lt;br /&gt;
:''Grab''&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: Wha—&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Summer kicks Cueball in the face whilst pulling his arm towards her, he flies off his skateboard.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Summer walking away as Cueball lies crippled on the floor with his sunglasses beside him.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Cueball still lying on the floor.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball [thinking]: I've never been so turned on in my life.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Trivia==&lt;br /&gt;
*The xkcd's own transcript for this episode is radically wrong, and words like {{Wiktionary|maneuver}} are spelled incorrectly.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{comic discussion}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Jewel Staite]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Nathan Fillion]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Summer Glau]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:The Race]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Firefly]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Electric skateboard]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Swartzer</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=581:_The_Race:_Part_5&amp;diff=53109</id>
		<title>581: The Race: Part 5</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=581:_The_Race:_Part_5&amp;diff=53109"/>
				<updated>2013-11-20T02:17:45Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Swartzer: Clarified &amp;quot;I swallowed a bug&amp;quot; explanation and added alternate possibility for the &amp;quot;extrude but not retract&amp;quot; line.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{comic&lt;br /&gt;
| number    = 581&lt;br /&gt;
| date      = May 8, 2009&lt;br /&gt;
| title     = The Race: Part 5&lt;br /&gt;
| image     = the_race_part_5.png&lt;br /&gt;
| titletext = It was actually canceled because they just noticed he's been naked under that coat the whole time. There's a petition on Facebook to get Fox to un-cancel it, and one on Livejournal to get him to take off the coat.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Explanation==&lt;br /&gt;
{{incomplete}}&lt;br /&gt;
This is a continuation of the previous comic in &amp;quot;[[The Race]]&amp;quot; series, [[580: The Race: Part 4]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
In panel 6 (2nd panel in the 2nd row), {{w|Nathan Fillion}} line is reminiscent of a similar quote from the 2nd episode of {{w|Firefly (TV series)|Firefly}}, {{w|The Train Job}}: &amp;quot;I just wanted you to face me so she could get behind ya.&amp;quot; In the show, {{w|Malcolm Reynolds}} is aided by {{w|Zoë Washburne}}, his second in command, who gets behind the bar thug he is speaking to. In the comic, Nathan Fillion is using the line on a fan, but {{w|Gina Torres}} is not standing behind [[Cueball]] this time.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Summer's line about growing but not retracting her hair appears to mean that because Nathan used her to stop Cueball, she has to stop him as well, which she neatly does.  Alternatively, the line may be a random non-sequitur of the sort often uttered by her neurologically damaged character in the Firefly 'verse. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Summer's statement in the 10th panel about swallowing a bug is a reference to the movie {{w|Serenity_(film)|Serenity}}, made in 2005 to conclude Firefly's storyline.  After a harrowing high-speed chase in an open-topped hovercraft, the only comment from Summer's character is &amp;quot;I swallowed a bug,&amp;quot; showing that she was either oblivious to or unconcerned by the narrow escape.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The final panel is a reference to {{w|Fox TelevisionTV}}'s treatment of Firefly. Firefly was cancelled after only 11 episodes of the 14 made were aired, leaving 3 episodes unaired.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Internet petitions, contrary to the sarcastic suggestion in the final panel, rarely, if ever, work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
All comics in &amp;quot;[[The Race]]&amp;quot; series:&lt;br /&gt;
*[[577: The Race: Part 1]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[578: The Race: Part 2]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[579: The Race: Part 3]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[580: The Race: Part 4]]&lt;br /&gt;
*[[581: The Race: Part 5]]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
This series was released on 5 consecutive days(Monday-Friday) and not over the usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Transcript==&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan skates in.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: So you took care of him?&lt;br /&gt;
:Summer: I can exude hair but not retract it.&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: That a yes?&lt;br /&gt;
:[Summer grabs Nathan's arm as he skates past her, pulling him off the board.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: Bwah!&lt;br /&gt;
:[An Andy Capp-esque meleè dust cloud.]&lt;br /&gt;
:WHAP BAM POW WHAM&lt;br /&gt;
:[Summer skates away.]&lt;br /&gt;
:[A beat-up Nathan approaches an similarly battered Cueball.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: She may have my board, but I can still beat you to the finish line if I bring you down.&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: Bring it, Captain Tightpants.&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: I've got nothing to  bring. I just said that so she could get behind you.&lt;br /&gt;
:[Cueball turns.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: Who—&lt;br /&gt;
:[Cueball is hit with his board.]&lt;br /&gt;
:''WHAM''&lt;br /&gt;
:[Nathan stands over a prone Cueball.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: I just said ''that'' so ''I'' could get behind you. The serious fans always fall for the quotes.&lt;br /&gt;
:[Wide panel of Summer crossing the finishing line on Nathan's board, breaking through the tape.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Announcer: And the winner is...&lt;br /&gt;
:Off-screen voice: Summer Glau?&lt;br /&gt;
:Summer: I swallowed a bug again.&lt;br /&gt;
:[Close-up of Cueball's beaten face.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: All right, Fillion. I've had enough of your treachery and ...rugged good looks. This ends here.&lt;br /&gt;
:[Equally close-up: Nathan's face, bearing several grazes.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Nathan: All right, fanboy. Let this be our final battle. &lt;br /&gt;
:[They rush at each other, fists ready to swing punches.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Final battle canceled by Fox.&lt;br /&gt;
:Try an Internet petition drive - those ''totally'' work.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{comic discussion}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Nathan Fillion]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Summer Glau]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Firefly]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:The Race]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Electric skateboard]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Swartzer</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:581:_The_Race:_Part_5&amp;diff=53077</id>
		<title>Talk:581: The Race: Part 5</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:581:_The_Race:_Part_5&amp;diff=53077"/>
				<updated>2013-11-19T07:35:43Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Swartzer: Add question&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;The phrase &amp;quot;captain tightpants&amp;quot; is also a reference to the episode &amp;quot;Shindig&amp;quot; in which Kaylee calls Captain Mal by that name when he is dressed up in fancy garb, and also acting uptight. &lt;br /&gt;
[[Special:Contributions/184.40.33.194|184.40.33.194]] 23:22, 20 October 2013 (UTC)Ethan Francis&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
== Extrude, but not retract? ==&lt;br /&gt;
Is that a reference to The Sarah Connor Chronicles?&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:Swartzer|Swartzer]] ([[User talk:Swartzer|talk]]) 07:35, 19 November 2013 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Swartzer</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=57:_Wait_For_Me&amp;diff=53063</id>
		<title>57: Wait For Me</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=57:_Wait_For_Me&amp;diff=53063"/>
				<updated>2013-11-19T03:47:59Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Swartzer: minor grammar and word choice fixes, most notably that the first point is stereotypical, not actually typical.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{comic&lt;br /&gt;
| number    = 57&lt;br /&gt;
| date      = January 31, 2006&lt;br /&gt;
| title     = Wait For Me&lt;br /&gt;
| image     = wait_for_me.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
| titletext = Opening dialogue by [[Scott]]&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Explanation==&lt;br /&gt;
{{incomplete}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Megan]] is returning after a ''short absence'' less than two minutes. [[Cueball]]'s reaction is as if she had been gone for years, and so  he had formed a relationship with someone else while waiting. The more Cueball describes this &amp;quot;affair&amp;quot;, the more ridiculous it becomes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There are number of different interpretations of the humour utilised here:&lt;br /&gt;
*The stereotypically female behavior of announcing that a task will just last a minute, while in fact it takes many hours or more.&lt;br /&gt;
*He is just joking. Cueball's pause before admitting to the affair, as well as the claim of having a son by the affair who is Megan's age, suggest that he is joking. It seems impossible for Cueball to have a son at Megan's age.&lt;br /&gt;
*{{w|Time Travel}}: What took 90 seconds for Megan actually took much longer for Cueball, perhaps via travel to {{w|Narnia}}, {{w|Special Relativity}} or some other form of {{w|Time Travel}}.&lt;br /&gt;
*It could have been a reference to the Bill Nighy film [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2194499/ ''About Time''] where the males of the family can travel backwards in time, sometimes changing the future as a result. The fact that this is a 2013 movie, and the comic was published in 2006 simply supports the theory that [[Randall]] has this sort of time-travel ability. &lt;br /&gt;
*Mental Fantasy, Cueball has just had a day dream.&lt;br /&gt;
*Cueball's ignorance (also see: &amp;quot;[[386: Duty Calls|someone is wrong on the internet]]&amp;quot;).&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
One thing that we know for sure, however, is that the title text is telling us that this dialogue is from [[Scott]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Transcript==&lt;br /&gt;
:[Cueball and Megan stand facing one another.]&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: Why didn't you wait for me?&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: I thought you were gone forever!&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: I said I'd be back in a minute!&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: The... the seconds went fast at first, but then they started to drag on. She was there for me.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: You had an affair in the 90 seconds I was gone?!&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: ...yes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: And we had a son.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Cueball: He'd be about your age now.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{comic discussion}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Romance]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Swartzer</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=154:_Beliefs&amp;diff=53060</id>
		<title>154: Beliefs</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=154:_Beliefs&amp;diff=53060"/>
				<updated>2013-11-19T03:13:52Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Swartzer: Shortened and reworded the explanation. Footnote edits to follow.&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;{{comic&lt;br /&gt;
| number    = 154&lt;br /&gt;
| date      = September 8, 2006&lt;br /&gt;
| title     = Beliefs&lt;br /&gt;
| image     = beliefs.jpg&lt;br /&gt;
| titletext = Scientists are also sexy, let's not forget that.&lt;br /&gt;
}}&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Explanation==&lt;br /&gt;
{{incomplete}}&lt;br /&gt;
This comic is a reference to {{w|Young Earth Creationism}}, which includes the belief that the earth has only existed for about 6,000 years. Young Earth Creationism is mainly based on {{w|Biblical literalism|literal interpretations of the Bible}}, which is frowned upon by most Bible scholars, to say nothing of empirical scientists.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The professor is originally not bothered by the fact that someone believes in Young Earth Creationism and simply tells the child to look at the scientific evidence.  She assumes that even a child could see that the creationist arguments make no sense and can safely be ignored.  However, she then hears that the person is actually a {{w|United States Senate|US senator}}, who would presumably influence national policy according to his creationist beliefs.  This, she acknowledges, is an actual problem.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The comment on the fossils refers to an argument by Young Earth Creationists about the discovery of fossilized sea creatures at high altitudes.  While mainstream science sees this as evidence of geological processes taking far longer than six thousand years, these creationists say that sea life reached these locations during a worldwide flood that covered even the tops of mountains. &lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
The story of this flood is found in the Biblical book of [http://biblehub.com/genesis/6.htm Genesis, chapters six through nine].  Essentially, not long after God created humans, they became evil and powerful enough that God decided to wipe the slate clean with a great flood.  God told a man named Noah, who still followed God, to build a large ark to carry his family and two of each kind of animal† through the flood.  After Noah finished the Ark, the flood came with rains lasting forty days and forty nights‡.  Even the tops of mountains were covered.  The Ark floated for five months until God made the waters recede, and eventually Noah's family and the rescued animals left the Ark and repopulated the Earth.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Though it is not stated in the story, many sea creatures are presumed to have died at high altitudes when the waters lowered.  This is the Young Earth Creationist explanation for the fossils.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Footnotes==&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
† = The Bible says that the rain lasted &amp;quot;forty days and forty nights&amp;quot;. However, [[http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/08/the-biblical-expression-40-days-and-40-nights-just-means-a-really-long-time/ &amp;quot;forty days and forty nights&amp;quot; is a mere expression that means &amp;quot;a very long time&amp;quot;]].&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
‡ = The entire story can be [[http://biblehub.com/genesis/6.htm read here]] from Chapter 6 to 9.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
==Transcript==&lt;br /&gt;
:[Megan and a professor stand together, with another figure in the distance.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: Professor, that man claims the earth is 6,000 years old!&lt;br /&gt;
:Professor: So? Just use your head and don't concern yourself overmuch with what other people think.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: But he says the fossils in the mountains were put there in a flood!&lt;br /&gt;
:Professor: Well, evidence suggests that they were not.&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: But he--&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[A mountain landscape.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Professor: A million people can call the mountains a fiction, yet it need not trouble you as you stand atop them.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:[Megan and professor again.]&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: But he believes the silliest things!&lt;br /&gt;
:Professor: So?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Professor: The universe doesn't care what you &amp;lt;u&amp;gt;believe&amp;lt;/u&amp;gt;. The wonderful thing about science is that it doesn't ask for your faith, it just asks for your eyes.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
:Megan: But he's a US Senator!&lt;br /&gt;
:Professor: Ah, then yes, we do have a bit of a situation.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
{{comic discussion}}&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Comics with color]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Physics]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Religion]]&lt;br /&gt;
[[Category:Politics]]&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Swartzer</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Swartzer&amp;diff=53059</id>
		<title>User:Swartzer</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=User:Swartzer&amp;diff=53059"/>
				<updated>2013-11-19T01:55:04Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Swartzer: Created page with &amp;quot;Hi. I'm just some guy on the Internet.  ~~~~&amp;quot;&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;Hi. I'm just some guy on the Internet.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[User:Swartzer|Swartzer]] ([[User talk:Swartzer|talk]]) 01:55, 19 November 2013 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Swartzer</name></author>	</entry>

	<entry>
		<id>https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1277:_Ayn_Random&amp;diff=50663</id>
		<title>Talk:1277: Ayn Random</title>
		<link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1277:_Ayn_Random&amp;diff=50663"/>
				<updated>2013-10-15T20:24:10Z</updated>
		
		<summary type="html">&lt;p&gt;Swartzer: Added some examples in response to clarification question&lt;/p&gt;
&lt;hr /&gt;
&lt;div&gt;I think that should be /(\b[plurandy]+\b ?){2}/i.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Special:Contributions/173.66.108.213|173.66.108.213]] 05:12, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I agree. I was confused for a while about what the b's were doing.&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
[[Special:Contributions/99.126.178.56|99.126.178.56]] 06:57, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Maybe it's time to have an Ayn Rand category? --[[Special:Contributions/141.89.226.146|141.89.226.146]] 07:34, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Can someone explain to the mathematically challenged *how* the list of names fits the regular expression? [[Special:Contributions/141.2.75.23|141.2.75.23]] 09:14, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
: Agreed, I would like to understand what the hell is going on with that. --[[User:Zagorath|Zagorath]] ([[User talk:Zagorath|talk]]) 09:20, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
: How specific do you want it? Basically it matches two words consisting of the letters plurandy. The list of names is just a random selection of two part names that only consists of these letters. More specifically it matches: Two groups ({2}), each consisting of a word boundary (\b), followed by a non-empty sequence of the letters plurandy ([plurandy]+), followed by a word boundary (\b), finally followed by an optional space ( ?). [[User:Pmakholm|Pmakholm]] ([[User talk:Pmakholm|talk]]) 09:33, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
::Also, the /'s on the end delimit the regex proper, and the `i` on the end denotes case insensitivity. --[[Special:Contributions/75.66.178.177|75.66.178.177]] 09:39, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:Some examples: &lt;br /&gt;
:* &amp;quot;Ru Paul&amp;quot; would match, because it is two sequences, each containing only capital or lowercase versions of the listed letters.&lt;br /&gt;
:* &amp;quot;Randall Flagg&amp;quot; would not match, because the letters F and G are not in the bracketed list.&lt;br /&gt;
:* &amp;quot;Aura Anaya Adlar&amp;quot; would not match; even though the letters are all in the list, there are more than two sequences.&lt;br /&gt;
:Hope this helps!&lt;br /&gt;
:[[User:Swartzer|Swartzer]] ([[User talk:Swartzer|talk]]) 20:24, 15 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
[[Special:Contributions/209.132.186.34|209.132.186.34]] 09:26, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
I do not think Randal would make such mistake, he would probably use \&amp;lt; \&amp;gt; anyway... unless, he wants us&lt;br /&gt;
to think he did mistake, or that backslash was eliminated in html/javascript... thus poining ut to&lt;br /&gt;
source code of the page... is there something interesting?&lt;br /&gt;
: I skimmed over the source and didn't see anything unusual. The '\'s are absent from the source too. I think it's just that Randall (or a tool he's using) was so affraid of [[327|Bobby Tables]] that he stripped all backslashes from the alt text. {{unsigned|Jahvascriptmaniac}}&lt;br /&gt;
::The title text at xkcd.com now has the missing backslashes.  Do you normally update the comic here to reflect updates?--[[Special:Contributions/108.17.2.71|108.17.2.71]] 16:14, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
:::Already updated. You were saying?&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Can someone explain to me where &amp;quot;In their view, if some humans are born more capable of satisfying their desires than other people, they deserve to reap greater rewards from life than others&amp;quot; comes from? I'm somewhat familiar with objectivist philosophy and I've never heard this put forward as an actual principle. [[Special:Contributions/50.90.39.56|50.90.39.56]] 14:14, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Most people would write the regexp as /(\b[adlnpruy]+\b ?){2}/i. Using &amp;quot;plurandy&amp;quot; makes it look like a word, which is more confusing than using the letters' natural order. --[[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 15:58, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Would it be better to identify Alan Alda not for his role as Hawkeye Pierce in MASH, but for his role in The West Wing as Arnold Vinick, a fiscally-conservative Republican presidential candidate? [[Special:Contributions/193.67.17.36|193.67.17.36]] 16:03, 14 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
There is probably an additional joke or three in that the regex is the minimum needed to capture the first three names together (hinted at by &amp;quot;plurandy&amp;quot; eg plural rand) , but also captures the others. on top of which all of the listed people are considered &amp;quot;intrinsically better&amp;quot; (by virtue of fame if nothing else)[[Special:Contributions/74.213.201.51|74.213.201.51]] 03:14, 15 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Alan Ladd may have been a founding member of the Secret Council of /(\b[plurandy]+\b ?){2}/i. [[Special:Contributions/71.190.237.117|71.190.237.117]] 07:15, 15 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
It's probably obvious to most programmers, but is it worth pointing out that part of the pun is that the random number generator function is called rand() in most C-family languages? [[Special:Contributions/130.60.156.183|130.60.156.183]] 14:07, 15 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
Another member of this secret society is Randall P [[Special:Contributions/79.182.178.53|79.182.178.53]] 16:45, 15 October 2013 (UTC)&lt;/div&gt;</summary>
		<author><name>Swartzer</name></author>	</entry>

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