https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=108.162.208.172&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T02:29:53ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1018:_Good_Cop,_Dadaist_Cop&diff=550591018: Good Cop, Dadaist Cop2013-12-12T13:26:54Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1018<br />
| date = February 17, 2012<br />
| title = Good Cop, Dadaist Cop<br />
| image = good_cop_dadaist_cop.png<br />
| titletext = NOW INVENT AN IMPOSSIBLE-TO-TRANSLATE LANGUAGE AND USE IT TO TELL US WHERE THE MONEY IS.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is a play on the traditional police officer strategy of "{{w|Good cop/bad cop}}", in which two officers play different parts to get the suspect to give the required information. One is nice to the suspect and the other is mean to the suspect.<br />
<br />
However, in this comic, they use the "Good Cop, Dadaist Cop" strategy in which one is nice to the suspect and the other is {{w|Dadaist}}, which is defined as (via [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dadaist the Free Dictionary]) a European artistic and literary movement (1916-1923) that flouted conventional aesthetic and cultural values by producing works marked by nonsense, travesty, and incongruity.<br />
<br />
So, the Dadaist cop is spouting nonsense attempting to get the suspect to give some information. On its own, this probably would not work, but thankfully for the interrogation the Dadaist cop is doubling as a rather effective Bad cop.<br />
<br />
{{w|Mark Zuckerberg}} is the co-founder of {{w|Facebook}}; {{w|Church Latin}} (aka Ecclesiastical Latin) is a particular style of the {{w|Latin}} language used mainly by the {{w|Catholic Church}}. All that, however, is beside the point because Zuckerberg does not own a house (and thus does not have a {{w|mortgage}}), he rents. [http://allfacebook.com/mark-zuckerberg-moves-into-another-rental-house_b29174]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Two cops look through a window into an interrogation chamber holding a handcuffed suspect.]<br />
:Good Cop: All right, let's try good cop, dadaist cop<br />
<br />
:[Good Cop is seated in front of the suspect]<br />
:Good Cop: Look, you're a good guy. We can work this out. Hey, lemme get us some coffee.<br />
<br />
:[CHANGE PLACES]<br />
<br />
:[Dadaist Cop holds up a document of indeterminate contents and threatens the suspect with it]<br />
:Dadaist Cop: See this? It's Mark Zuckerberg's Mortgage. So why is it written in '''''CHURCH LATIN'''''?<br />
<br />
:[Dadaist cop physically rattles the suspect]<br />
:Dadaist Cop: '''''WHY ARE MY BONES SO SMALL'''''?<br />
:Suspect: What's ''WRONG'' with you!?<br />
:Dadaist Cop: What's wrong with '''''ART'''''?<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1018:_Good_Cop,_Dadaist_Cop&diff=550581018: Good Cop, Dadaist Cop2013-12-12T13:26:26Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1018<br />
| date = February 17, 2012<br />
| title = Good Cop, Dadaist Cop<br />
| image = good_cop_dadaist_cop.png<br />
| titletext = NOW INVENT AN IMPOSSIBLE-TO-TRANSLATE LANGUAGE AND USE IT TO TELL US WHERE THE MONEY IS.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is a play on the traditional police officer strategy of "{{w|Good_cop/bad_cop}}", in which two officers play different parts to get the suspect to give the required information. One is nice to the suspect and the other is mean to the suspect.<br />
<br />
However, in this comic, they use the "Good Cop, Dadaist Cop" strategy in which one is nice to the suspect and the other is {{w|Dadaist}}, which is defined as (via [http://www.thefreedictionary.com/dadaist the Free Dictionary]) a European artistic and literary movement (1916-1923) that flouted conventional aesthetic and cultural values by producing works marked by nonsense, travesty, and incongruity.<br />
<br />
So, the Dadaist cop is spouting nonsense attempting to get the suspect to give some information. On its own, this probably would not work, but thankfully for the interrogation the Dadaist cop is doubling as a rather effective Bad cop.<br />
<br />
{{w|Mark Zuckerberg}} is the co-founder of {{w|Facebook}}; {{w|Church Latin}} (aka Ecclesiastical Latin) is a particular style of the {{w|Latin}} language used mainly by the {{w|Catholic Church}}. All that, however, is beside the point because Zuckerberg does not own a house (and thus does not have a {{w|mortgage}}), he rents. [http://allfacebook.com/mark-zuckerberg-moves-into-another-rental-house_b29174]<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Two cops look through a window into an interrogation chamber holding a handcuffed suspect.]<br />
:Good Cop: All right, let's try good cop, dadaist cop<br />
<br />
:[Good Cop is seated in front of the suspect]<br />
:Good Cop: Look, you're a good guy. We can work this out. Hey, lemme get us some coffee.<br />
<br />
:[CHANGE PLACES]<br />
<br />
:[Dadaist Cop holds up a document of indeterminate contents and threatens the suspect with it]<br />
:Dadaist Cop: See this? It's Mark Zuckerberg's Mortgage. So why is it written in '''''CHURCH LATIN'''''?<br />
<br />
:[Dadaist cop physically rattles the suspect]<br />
:Dadaist Cop: '''''WHY ARE MY BONES SO SMALL'''''?<br />
:Suspect: What's ''WRONG'' with you!?<br />
:Dadaist Cop: What's wrong with '''''ART'''''?<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=8:_Red_spiders&diff=550578: Red spiders2013-12-12T10:54:11Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 8<br />
| date = September 30, 2005<br />
| title = Red Spiders<br />
| image = red_spiders_small.jpg<br />
| titletext = They are six-legged spiders<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
The early comics often feature a style different to what would become the signature xkcd stick-figure style. This comic is the first in an arc of comics, spaced out over 3 years (so far) in which Red Spiders are seen attacking humans. Its objective is not to be funny, philosophical or scientifically interesting; it just tells a story, in a {{w|Questionable Content}}-type way.<br />
<br />
The full series of [[:Category:Red Spiders|Red Spiders]]:<br />
*[[8: Red spiders]]<br />
*[[43: Red Spiders 2]], in which the spiders begin building.<br />
*[[47: Counter-Red Spiders]], in which the humans begin a counter-offensive.<br />
*[[126: Red Spiders Cometh]], in which the spiders attack a city.<br />
*[[427: Bad Timing]], in which, in a style more typical to xkcd, the spiders attack a couple in the middle of a serious relationship discussion in a hot-air balloon.<br />
*[[442: xkcd Loves the Discovery Channel]], in which it appears briefly in the 14th panel crawling over a cube<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Many six-legged red spiders standing on and hanging from cuboids. The cuboids hang in the air with no visible means of support. Some of the spiders have made a bridge out of themselves.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*This is the eighth comic originally posted on livejournal. The previous was [[13: Canyon]]. The next was [[6: Irony]]. View archive [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070927001941/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=40 here].<br />
*Original title: "Spiders"<br />
*[[Randall]] has been quoted as saying: "They're not spiders; they have six legs!"<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Red Spiders|0008]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1075:_Warning&diff=549941075: Warning2013-12-11T12:43:21Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1075<br />
| date = June 29, 2012<br />
| title = Warning<br />
| image = Warning.png<br />
| titletext = Also possibly several miles beyond that.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is a re-imagined road sign by Randall. The message is "be careful" because at the most basic level, a vehicle is a "box with wheels", and the rapid development of technology means that human physiology hasn't had time to adapt to the modern world yet.<br />
The title text mentions that the warning could still apply beyond 5 miles<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[An American Diamond warning sign with the following message on it: You're in a box on wheels hurtling along several times faster than evolution could possibly have prepared you to go. Next 5 miles.]<br />
<br />
{{Comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1085:_ContextBot&diff=549921085: ContextBot2013-12-11T12:35:30Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Expanded and the explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1085<br />
| date = July 23, 2012<br />
| title = ContextBot<br />
| image = contextbot.png<br />
| imagesize = <br />
| titletext = If you read all vaguebooking/vaguetweeting with the assumption that they're saying everything they can without revealing classified military information, the internet gets way more exciting.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Explanation ==<br />
This comic is a commentary on the practice of "vaguebooking/vaguetweeting" which is putting a vague and frustrated or sad status in Facebook or tweet on Twitter, hoping someone will respond with "Is everything OK?", "Call Me?" or whatever. The worst is when someone puts a vague status like that and someone responds asking them what happened and the initial poster responds with "I don't want to talk about it." Well, if you didn't want to talk about it, why are you putting up this vague status fishing for responses! Just keep it to yourself if you don't want to talk about it!<br />
<br />
Ok, back to the comic, this is a fictitious Google invention which puts context for these statuses, presumably based on the personal data which Google has collected. The second context is about a torrent file which is a way to download large files from a lot of different sources, thereby speeding up the process, it is used for large files such as movies or Linux software distributions. Sometimes, you can encounter fake torrents which usually contains an encrypted .rar file which requires a password. To get the password, you usually need to go through a survey through the link supplied in the torrent (in some situations, you even need to pay in order to get the password). Chances are that the .rar file just contains trash files. And the 3rd one is about an xkcd favorite, Minecraft, which you can see has been used previously in xkcd comics. Diamond is the most valuable resource in the game, and if you drop it into the lava it is destroyed. The fourth tweet is about how the person mistook the grapes as being seedless. This a pretty annoying experience since grape seeds tastes really bitter and uncomfortable when swallowed and is even more annoying when the presence of the seeds are unexpected.<br />
In the context bot's avatar image, three people can be seen together hanging out. But the image is about to be cropped, leaving out the third person and therefore giving the impression that the two people in the cropped image are dating. This demonstrates how 'context' is important.<br />
<br />
== Transcript ==<br />
: [A social network feed with four status updates from four different people. Each one has a reply from the same account, which is called 'ContextBot', underneath.]<br />
: Close-up face with glasses: The things I put up with...<br />
: ContextBot: (His building's WiFi doesn't reach the bathroom.)<br />
: Male female couple: You'd think by now I'd have learned never to trust anyone.<br />
: ContextBot: (She downloaded a torrent that turned out to be an encrypted .rar and a link to a survey.)<br />
: Blonde girl with bangs: I officially give up.<br />
: ContextBot: (She hit alt-tab to hide Minecraft at work and accidentally dropped a stack of diamond into lava.)<br />
: Spiky hair guy: Sighhhh<br />
: ContextBot: (He thought these grapes were seedless.)<br />
: Everyone stopped complaining about Google's data-gathering when they launched ContextBot, a system which replies to vague, enigmatic social network posts with context from the poster's life.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Social networking]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1301:_File_Extensions&diff=54741Talk:1301: File Extensions2013-12-09T14:54:54Z<p>108.162.208.172: </p>
<hr />
<div>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.<br />
<br />
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. <br />
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<br />
Sorry for my bad english, I'm not a natural writer<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.239|108.162.231.239]] 05:45, 9 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
:"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)<br />
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)<br />
<br />
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)<br />
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)<br />
<br />
: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)<br />
::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)<br />
<br />
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)<br />
.tex 100<br />
.pdf 89.4<br />
.csv 84.9<br />
.txt 66.5<br />
.svg 64.8<br />
.xls 48.6<br />
.doc 21.2<br />
.png 15.1<br />
.ppt 14.5<br />
.jpg 3.4<br />
.jpeg -8.4<br />
.gif -35.8<br />
<br />
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}}<br />
: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|<u>{{Color|#707|David}}<font color=#070 size=3>y</font></u><font color=#508 size=4>²²</font>]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 07:55, 9 December 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
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)<br />
: Ha, +1 Like :-) [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]])<br />
<br />
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)<br />
: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]])<br />
: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)</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=294:_Bookstore&diff=54585294: Bookstore2013-12-07T08:29:29Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number =294<br />
| date =July 27, 2007<br />
| title =Bookcase<br />
| image =bookstore.png<br />
| titletext =You can search it if you want, but you may want to skip the memories of your mom.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] starts reading a book off the shelf as he considers buying it, but gets so engrossed in it that he accidentally reads the entire thing, eliminating his reason for buying it in the first place. Quietly putting it back, he turns to leave the store, only to have the book (which exists in his brain as information) set off the store's anti-theft sensor. This is a satire of copyright as it pertains to digital copies, because when you download a game or music file (or read a book, in this case), you are merely making an identical copy of the source material.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests that if the security guard wants to do a brain search, he might want to skip over all the, probably sexual, encounters Cueball has had with the security guard's mom, thus inducing a maternal insult (or commonly referred to as a "yo mama" joke)<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing in a bookstore, looking at a book.]<br />
:Cueball: This book looks interesting. Maybe I'll buy it.<br />
:[Cueball reads the book; a clock appears above showing the passage of time.]<br />
:Cueball: Oops, I read the whole thing.<br />
:Cueball: I'll just quietly put it back and go.<br />
:[Cueball walks through a security scanner to exit the bookstore.]<br />
:''BEEP BEEP BEEP''<br />
:Voice from off-frame: Hey! Your brain set off the sensor!<br />
:Cueball: I, uhh...<br />
:Voice from off-frame: You have a book in there, don't you!<br />
:Cueball: Crap.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=294:_Bookstore&diff=54584294: Bookstore2013-12-07T08:28:53Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Explanation */ Fixed the title text explanation mistake (or perhaps simply a syntatic ambiguity as to whom 'he' refers to)</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number =294<br />
| date =July 27, 2007<br />
| title =Bookcase<br />
| image =bookstore.png<br />
| titletext =You can search it if you want, but you may want to skip the memories of your mom.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] starts reading a book off the shelf as he considers buying it, but gets so engrossed in it that he accidentally reads the entire thing, eliminating his reason for buying it in the first place. Quietly putting it back, he turns to leave the store, only to have the book (which exists in his brain as information) set off the store's anti-theft sensor. This is a satire of copyright as it pertains to digital copies, because when you download a game or music file (or read a book, in this case), you are merely making an identical copy of the source material.<br />
<br />
The title text suggests that if the security guard wants to do a brain search, he might want to skip over all the, probably sexual, encounters Cueball has had with the offscreen person's (presumably a security guard) mom, thus inducing a maternal insult (or commonly referred to as a "yo mama" joke)<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing in a bookstore, looking at a book.]<br />
:Cueball: This book looks interesting. Maybe I'll buy it.<br />
:[Cueball reads the book; a clock appears above showing the passage of time.]<br />
:Cueball: Oops, I read the whole thing.<br />
:Cueball: I'll just quietly put it back and go.<br />
:[Cueball walks through a security scanner to exit the bookstore.]<br />
:''BEEP BEEP BEEP''<br />
:Voice from off-frame: Hey! Your brain set off the sensor!<br />
:Cueball: I, uhh...<br />
:Voice from off-frame: You have a book in there, don't you!<br />
:Cueball: Crap.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=720:_Recipes&diff=54390720: Recipes2013-12-05T14:14:14Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Transcript */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 720<br />
| date = March 29, 2010<br />
| title = Recipes<br />
| image = recipes.png<br />
| titletext = To be fair, the braised and confused newt on a bed of crushed Doritos turned out to be delicious.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
A {{w|genetic algorithm}} starts with a set of candidates and evaluates them. The best candidates are combined and randomly mutated to form the candidates for the next generation. After being allowed to proceed for an extended period, a genetic algorithm can often produce remarkable results. If the initial candidates are randomly-generated (as appears to be the case here), the initial generations are usually horrible.<br />
<br />
In the comic, the computer science department is the host of a dinner party based on recipes produces by a genetic algorithm. Based on the remarks of the second diner, this is probably the second generation, and the results are still horrible. The host of the party is so enamored of the promise of the genetic algorithm that he fails to take into account that it will be several years before the recipes become remotely good.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Three people, one woman and two men, sit along a table with dishes and drinks in front of them. A fourth man is walking in, a plate with food on it in one hand, a laptop in the other.]<br />
<br />
:Woman: I’ve got... Cheerios with a shot of vermouth.<br />
:Man #1: At least it’s better than the quail eggs in whipped cream and MSG from last time.<br />
:Man #2: Are these Skittles ''deep-fried''?<br />
:Man #3: C’mon guys, be patient. In a few hundred more meals, the genetic algorithm should catch up to existing recipes and start to optimize.<br />
:We’ve decided to drop the CS department from our weekly dinner party hosting rotation.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=34:_Flowers&diff=5406734: Flowers2013-12-02T14:30:08Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 34<br />
| date = November 9, 2005<br />
| title = Flowers<br />
| image = flowers.jpg<br />
| titletext = This is actually pencil on paper, just inverted and colored<br />
}}<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This is a drawing of flowers that [[Randall]] made. It seems the flowers are based on his imagination, rather than being a real species.<br />
<br />
From the title text, Randall used the invert feature of a photo-editing program to reverse it from black-on-white to white-on-black. After that he added color to the flowers.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[A sketch of flowers, drawn in red and green.]<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*This is the 30th comic [[xkcd#History|originally posted]] on livejournal. The previous was [[30: Donner]]. The next was [[29: Hitler]]. View archive [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070927001941/http://xkcd-drawings.livejournal.com/?skip=40 here].<br />
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "Original drawing is pencil on {{w|graph paper}}. Bonus points if you can identify the flowers. 'cause I sure can't."<br />
<br />
{{Comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1037:_Umwelt&diff=539161037: Umwelt2013-11-29T06:24:41Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1037<br />
| date = April 1, 2012<br />
| title = Umwelt<br />
| before = [[#Explanation|↓ Skip to explanation ↓]]<br />
| image = umwelt.png<br />
| titletext = Umwelt is the idea that because their senses pick up on different things, different animals in the same ecosystem actually live in very different worlds. Everything about you shapes the world you inhabit--from your ideology to your glasses prescription to your web browser.<br />
}}<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{Incomplete|Many of the strips are not explained}}<br />
An {{w|umwelt|Umwelt}}, as the title text explains, is the idea that ones entire way of thinking is dependent on their surroundings. Thus, this {{w|April Fools}} comic changes based on the browser, location, or referrer. Thus, what the viewer is viewing the comic on, where they live, or where they came from determines which comic they actually see. As a result, there are actually multiple comics that went up on April Fools' Day (although only one is seen).<br />
<br />
===Featureless Swirl===<br />
If the device or browser you are using does not support Javascript, you will simply see a static image of a white swirl on a dark background.<br />
<br />
===Aurora===<br />
The joke here is either that Canadians, where the comic was shown, would regard the {{w|Aurora (astronomy)|Aurora Borealis}} as normal and thus, would not've seen the sight as particularly amazing, or that XKCD characters see in black and white and would not notice the colors.<br />
<br />
===Snake===<br />
The joke here is the extreme length of snakes. The world's longest snake is the python, the longest ever being 33 feet or approx. 10 meters. The red and blue circles refer to the hit game {{w|Portal}}.<br />
There is also a reference to the book "The Little Prince" in the second panel.<br />
<br />
===Black Hat===<br />
An analyst attempts to psychoanalyze [[Black Hat|Black Hat's]] [[72: Classhole|classhole]] tendencies. The joke here is that the turtle has actually been turned over and neither sees helping it as a priority.<br />
It's a reference to the Voight-Kampff test used in the movie Blade Runner (1982) to identify replicants.<br />
<br />
===Too Quiet===<br />
A reference to {{w|Jurassic Park (film)|Jurassic Park}} which has been [[87: Velociraptors|constantly]] [[135: Substitute|referred]] [[1110: Click and Drag|to]] [[155: Search History|before]] [[758: Raptor Fences|in]] this comic.<br />
<br />
Also referencing the film {{w|2 Fast 2 Furious|2 Fast 2 Furious}}, an entertaining, yet intellectually unprovoking sequel in a popular film franchise, which is aimed at teenagers and young adults, prompting the blunt response from the stickman. The fact that Steve would use such a cliché {{w|2000s (decade)|noughties}} movie term in such an intense moment, and the subsequent curse, is the joke in this comic.<br />
<br />
===Galaxies===<br />
This is a joke on [[Megan|Megan's]] normally existentialist attitude. Whereas normally, she might be freaked out by the vastness of space, in this case, she can actually see the galaxies in question, and is furthermore weirded out by the fact that they seem to have a grudge against [[Cueball]].<br />
<br />
===xkcd Gold===<br />
This is probably a reference to the 4chan Gold Account, an implementation on 4chan that does not actually exist, and is usually used to trick newcomers into revealing their credit card numbers. The joke is that "Gold Account" users can supposedly block other users from viewing images they have posted. The fifth panel is probably a reference to Beecock, a notorious set of shocker images. 4chan's moderators have been known to give out "beecock bans" to particularly annoying users, which redirect the user to a page containing beecock and the text "OH NO THE BOARD IS GONE".<br />
<br />
===Germany===<br />
This comic references the {{w|Berlin airlift#The start of the Berlin Airlift|Berlin Airlift}}, a relief measure for citizens in West Berlin (surrounded by East Germany) instituted by the Allies after World War. In reality, the Allies flew a grand total of 500,000 tons of food over the Soviet blockade in planes. Randall puts a twist on this event by making it more fun: dropping supplies from a grand chairlift. The play on words is that "chairlift" rhymes with "airlift" and thus makes an easy substitution. The chair force is also a name that other service branches use to make fun of the air force.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
[Two people...]<br />
{Note to courageous readers- The transcript has been reordered in the order in which the comics appear in the picture and appropriate names have been given}<br />
<br />
===The void===<br />
[An epic void with a bright light shining right on you.]<br />
<br />
===Aurora===<br />
[Person heading out past another person comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: Apparently there's a solar flare that's causing some Great Aurorae. CBC says they may even be visible here! Wanna drive out to see?<br />
<br />
Person 2: Hockey's on.<br />
<br />
Person 1: Ok. Later.<br />
<br />
[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]<br />
<br />
Person 2: See anything?<br />
<br />
Person 1: No, just clouds.<br />
<br />
Person 2: Not surprised.<br />
<br />
===Snake===<br />
[Two people standing next to each other. One is holding the head end of a snake. Depending on the width of your browser, the snake is: three frames, the third of which has a little bit of a bump; the first frame has a human-size bump, the second has a third person looking at the snake, and the third has the snake going though two Portals; a squirrel and the human-size bump in the first frame, a ring next to the third person in the second frame, and Beret Guy riding the snake in front of the portal; or The squirrel, a fourth person within the snake being coiled, and the human bump in the first frame, the ring, a fifth person in love, and the third person in the second frame, Beret Guy and the portal in the third frame, and the same two people in the fourth frame.]<br />
<br />
Person holding snake head: I found a snake, but then I forgot to stop.<br />
<br />
===Black hat===<br />
[Two people sitting at a desk. One is Black Hat Guy. The other is an analyst. Black Hat Guy has a number of terminals attached to his head.]<br />
<br />
Analyst: You come across a tortoise in the desert. You flip it over. It struggles to right itself. You watch. You're not helping. Why is that? <br />
<br />
Black Hat Guy: It *knows* what it did.<br />
<br />
[View of the entire scene, with said turtle off in the distance on its back and trying to right itself.]<br />
<br />
===Too quiet===<br />
[A group of four scale down a wall into a field in the middle of the night. They walk off single-file.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: It's quiet.<br />
<br />
Person 3: Yeah - *Too* quiet.<br />
<br />
[A Velociraptor is off in the distance, following the group.]<br />
<br />
Person 4: Yeah - too *too* quiet.<br />
<br />
Person 2: Yeah - 2quiet2furious.<br />
<br />
Person 1: Fuck off, Steve.<br />
<br />
===Pond===<br />
[A landscape showing a pond, some reeds, and a set of mountains off in the distance.]<br />
<br />
===Galaxies===<br />
[A trio of galaxies.]<br />
<br />
Galaxy 1: He's not looking!<br />
<br />
Galaxy 3: Let's get him!<br />
<br />
[Lines draw in illustrating the eye-line of one of a pair of people.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: So he said he didn't get the text, but c'mon, he *never* misses texts. Right? ..hello?<br />
<br />
Person 2: I'm just staring at your head freaked out by th efact that there are millions of galaxies *directly behind it*.<br />
<br />
===xkcd Gold/Beehive part 1===<br />
<br />
[Person holding bat.]<br />
<br />
Person: Sorry, but this comic<br />
<br />
[Person starts to wind up.]<br />
<br />
requires<br />
<br />
[Person prepares to strike with bat.]<br />
<br />
XKCD<br />
<br />
[Person swings at a beehive.]<br />
<br />
GOLD<br />
<br />
===Beehive part 2===<br />
[Penis Bees fly out of the beehive.]<br />
<br />
===Yo mamma===<br />
[Person yells at another person.]<br />
<br />
Person 1;Oh yeah? Well you mama's so *cynical*, her only dog ballast is a *leash*!<br />
<br />
(This comic takes place in a dystopian future where the government is afraid dogs can hover, so it requires them to wear weights at all times, and some people privately doubt the government, but not enough to stop buying dog weights)<br />
<br />
===Reddit===<br />
Five seconds ago:<br />
<br />
[You sitting in front of a desk, reading a reddit thread]<br />
<br />
You: Oh, hey, reddit has a link to some XKCD april fools comic.<br />
<br />
Now: [An image of this very page]<br />
<br />
Five seconds from now:<br />
<br />
You: ..hey<br />
<br />
30 seconds from now:<br />
<br />
[DANCE PARTY!]<br />
<br />
===Buns and Hotdogs===<br />
<br />
Person: What I wanna know is why do hot dogs come in packages of six while buns come in these huge sacks of ash and blood from which "Ave Maria" is faintly audible?<br />
<br />
[Chanting sacks of gore in the background.]<br />
<br />
===Twitter===<br />
[A Twitter account page with the following: Many tweets, fewer following, even fewer followers, A bunch of assholes in the suggested follow box, trending topics partitioned into: Word Games, Misogyny, and Bieber, stuff your eyes automatically ignore, A really pleasant blue. and the timeline: Something about a podcast, Someone confused because the description doesn't match the link, The link you clicked on to get to this comic, Rob Delaney, Passive Aggression, and horse_ebooks.]<br />
<br />
===Wikipedia===<br />
[There's no comic here because instead of drawing one, I spent the last hour reading every news story cited in the Wikipedia article on "The Mile High Club"]<br />
<br />
===Google Chrome===<br />
[A Chrome plugin error page]<br />
<br />
Chrome: This plugin requires Sergey Brin's permission to run. Please wait while he is woken.<br />
<br />
===Chrome/Firefox===<br />
[Two people; one is sitting at a desk in front of a laptop.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: Man, chrome's hardware acceleration really sucks.<br />
<br />
Person 2: Oh - Theres' a great add-on that fixes it.<br />
<br />
Person 1: Oh? What's it called?<br />
<br />
Person 2: "Firefox".<br />
<br />
===Google Chrome-2===<br />
[A Chrome plugin error page with the characteristic jigsaw piece.]<br />
<br />
Chrome: Chrome is looking for this piece. Have you seen it? Chrome thinks it links up with a corner.<br />
<br />
===Mozilla Firefox Private Browsing===<br />
[Firefox error page.]<br />
<br />
Firefox: Well, this is embarrassing. You know how I'm not supposed to peek at your browsing in private mode? Firefox.. is sorry. Firefox will not blame you if you<br />
<br />
[button with text]<br />
<br />
click here to report this incident.<br />
<br />
===Internet Explorer===<br />
[IE error page]<br />
<br />
IE: Error: Internet Explorer has given up.<br />
<br />
===Maxthon===<br />
Person: Maxthon? Hey, 2005 called. Didn't say anything. All I could hear was sobbing. This is getting harder. Anyway, yeah, Maxthon's still cool! Didn't know it was still around!<br />
<br />
===Netscape Navigator===<br />
[Person with tentacle arms.]<br />
<br />
Person: Netscape Navigator? Hey, the nineties called - drunk as usual. I hung up without saying anything. This is getting harder. Anyway - it's cool that you'e got netscape running.<br />
<br />
===Rockmelt===<br />
[Person running to laptop.]<br />
<br />
I ran to Rockmelt to hide my face<br />
<br />
[Person sitting at laptop.]<br />
<br />
But Rockmelt cried out -<br />
<br />
[Laptop shouting]<br />
<br />
NO HIDING PLACE<br />
<br />
[zoom out]<br />
<br />
NO HIDING PLACE DOWN HERE<br />
<br />
===Google Chrome-4===<br />
[A chrome plugin error page.]<br />
<br />
Chrome: There does not exist --nor could there *ever* exist-- a plugin capable of displaying this content.<br />
<br />
===Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google - Chrome===<br />
[Chrome error page.]<br />
<br />
Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon/The Times/Google is a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.<br />
<br />
===Military===<br />
[Person looking at two browser windows.]<br />
<br />
I know y'all know what you're doing. But if you're on a military machine and you're supposed to be watching for missiles or something, I hope you're keeping an eye on that in the background while you're reading comics. Also: Thanks.<br />
<br />
===T-Mobile===<br />
[Error page]<br />
<br />
Data Error: T-Mobile was unable to establish a connection<br />
<br />
===AT&T/Verizon===<br />
[Error page] Error; You have exceeded your AT&T/Verizon monthly bandwidth cap. Mobile web browsing has been disabled.<br />
<br />
===France===<br />
[Two people; one of which is browsing using a laptop.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: Hey, you're French, right? Ever see what happens when you type "French Military Victories" into Google?<br />
<br />
French person: Does it take you to an article on Napoleon?<br />
<br />
French person: ..no? Strange, given how he kicked everyone's asses up and down europe for over a decade.<br />
<br />
[beat]<br />
<br />
Person 1: Touche.<br />
<br />
French person: You know, that'd sound smarter if you didn't pronounce it like it rhymes with "douche".<br />
<br />
===Germany===<br />
[A person dropping food from an unorthodox high perch.]<br />
<br />
June 1948: In response to the Soviet blockade of East Germany, the western allies construct the Berlin Chairlift.<br />
<br />
Person on chairlift: Food!<br />
<br />
===Israel===<br />
[Person on phone]<br />
<br />
(Translation from Hebrew)<br />
<br />
Person: Mom, I met a great guy! But he's not Jewish. ... Wait, what do you mean "neither are we"? I'm completely confused.<br />
<br />
===Carnot Cycle===<br />
[Person on a motorcycle with a heat-entropy graph on the side.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: Check out my new Carnot Cycle!<br />
<br />
Person 2: Neat -- how fast does it go?<br />
<br />
Person 1: Depends how cold it is outside.<br />
<br />
===Great Britain===<br />
[Illustration of the atlantic ocean.]<br />
<br />
American person: Sorry I don't have a comic poking fun at the UK here. I only had time to get to the most *important* US states.<br />
<br />
British person: Hey -- At least we have free health care and real ale.<br />
<br />
===Earthquake-Blizzard===<br />
[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: Stop jiggling your leg.<br />
<br />
Person 2: I'm not ji-.. oh!<br />
<br />
Person 1: What!<br />
<br />
Person 2: You'll get it..<br />
<br />
[EVERYTHING RUMBLES]<br />
<br />
Person 1: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!<br />
<br />
Person 2: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.<br />
<br />
Person 1: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Boston", "Chicago", "Dallas", "Georgia", "Halifax", "Illinois", "Michigan", "Minnesota", "Missouri", "the Northeast", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", 'Pennsylvania", "Philadelphia", "Texas", "Toronto", "Tennessee", "New York", "Wisconsin"}! That was huge!<br />
<br />
Person 2: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.<br />
<br />
Person 1: Oh *really*... Six Months Later..<br />
<br />
[Both people are trudging through a massive blizzard.]<br />
<br />
Person 2: In pictures, snow always looked so nice and sof -- AAAA! MY NECK! How do people live here?!<br />
<br />
Person 1: Come on - it's only three more miles.<br />
<br />
===Earthquake-Tornado===<br />
[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: Stop jiggling your leg.<br />
<br />
Person 2: I'm not ji-.. oh!<br />
<br />
Person 1: What! Person 2: You'll get it..<br />
<br />
[EVERYTHING RUMBLES]<br />
<br />
Person 1: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!<br />
<br />
Person 2: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.<br />
<br />
Person 1: But this is {Options: "Alabama", "Dallas", "Illinois", "The Midwest", "Missouri", "Ohio", "Oklahoma", "Ottawa", "Tennessee", "Texas"}!<br />
<br />
That was huge!<br />
<br />
Person 2: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.<br />
<br />
Person 1: Oh *really*...<br />
<br />
Six Months Later..<br />
<br />
[Both people are in a shelter in a prairie with a rapidly-approaching tornado.]<br />
<br />
Person 2: AAAA CLOSE THE SHELTER DOOR!<br />
<br />
Person 1: Say the magic words...<br />
<br />
Person 2: THIS PLACE IS THE WORST!<br />
<br />
Person 1: Thank you.<br />
<br />
===Lake Diver Killer===<br />
[TV Field Reporter in front of a cordoned-off lake.]<br />
<br />
Police divers searching the bay say they have recovered thebody of another victim of the "Lake Diver Killer" During the search, three more divers were reported missing.<br />
<br />
===Washington===<br />
[The statue of Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln Memorial.]<br />
<br />
In this Marble Prison As in the nightmares of the nation they tried to devour The nanobots that constituted Abraham Lincoln Are entombed forever.<br />
<br />
===Alaska===<br />
[A snowy Alaskan field.]<br />
<br />
Person: Some people hunt wolves from helicopters. I hunt helicopters from a wolf.<br />
<br />
===Life in lab===<br />
[Newspaper headline.]<br />
<br />
Scientists/UMass Amherst students/RIT students create life in lab<br />
<br />
[caption under picture of scientists.]<br />
<br />
"The trick was fuckin'"<br />
<br />
===American Revolution===<br />
Robot Paul Revere: Remember: Zero if by land, One if by sea.<br />
<br />
===MIT===<br />
[Two people in front of a group of students.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.<br />
<br />
Person 2: We'll be rich!<br />
<br />
[Person 2 deals some cards while the students watch.]<br />
<br />
[The gears turn..]<br />
<br />
Student: Five. There are five cards.<br />
<br />
Person 1: I see their admission standards have been slipping.<br />
<br />
Person 2: Yeah - there are actually four.<br />
<br />
===MIT Course 15c===<br />
[Two people in front of a group of students.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: I've hired a team of MIT students to count cards for us.<br />
<br />
Person 2: We'll be rich!<br />
<br />
[Person 2 deals some cards while the students watch.]<br />
<br />
[The gears turn..]<br />
<br />
Student: Five. There are five cards.<br />
<br />
Person 1: I *knew* we shouldn't have picked course 15s.<br />
<br />
Person 2: Yeah - there are actually four.<br />
<br />
===Smith/Wellesley===<br />
[Two people in front of a group of students.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: I've hired a team of Smith/Wellesley students to count cards for us.<br />
<br />
Person 2: We'll be rich!<br />
<br />
[Person 2 deals some cards while the students watch.]<br />
<br />
[The gears turn..]<br />
<br />
Student: Five. There are five cards.<br />
<br />
Person 1: We should've gone with Wellesley/Smith.<br />
<br />
Person 2: Yeah - there are actually four.<br />
<br />
===CNU===<br />
[Person unsuspectingly strolls under a giant box trap controlled by a Trible.]<br />
<br />
I worry that CNU only invited me back as a ruse because they realized I never turned in my final paper and want my diploma back. But if it turns out it's for real, I'll see you Wednesday at the Ferguson!<br />
<br />
===Dana Farber===<br />
[Cueball, pointing towards head.]<br />
<br />
Cueball: Check it out - In support of people going through chemo, i shaved my head.<br />
<br />
Lots of love to everyone reading this at Dana Farber. Cancer sucks. If you are new to DCFI, there's a great little garden on the third floor of the yawkey if you need somewhere quiet to just sit for a little bit and breathe.<br />
<br />
===Earthquake-Hurricane===<br />
[Two people sitting at a desk, facing each other. The desk rattles.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: Stop jiggling your leg.<br />
<br />
Person 2: I'm not ji-.. oh!<br />
<br />
Person 1: What! Person 2: You'll get it..<br />
<br />
[EVERYTHING RUMBLES]<br />
<br />
Person 1: ..HOLY CRAP IT'S AN EARTHQUAKE!<br />
<br />
Person 2: Just a little one. Happens all the time back in San Francisco.<br />
<br />
Person 1: But this is {Options: "D.C", "Florida", "Houston", "Miami", "New Jersey", "North Carolina", "South Carolina", "Virgina"}! That was huge!<br />
<br />
Person 2: Seriously? That's the worst this place can do? Wow. I guess we grow up tougher in California.<br />
<br />
Person 1: Oh *really*...<br />
<br />
Six Months Later..<br />
<br />
[Both are in the middle of a hurricane. Person 2 is grabbing onto a signpost to avoid being swept away.]<br />
<br />
Person 2: AAAAA WHAT THE SHIIIIT!<br />
<br />
Person 1: Calm down - this is barely a category 2.<br />
<br />
===Corporate===<br />
[Error page]<br />
<br />
Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, we work as a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.<br />
<br />
===Microsoft/Amazon - Firefox===<br />
[Firefox error page]<br />
<br />
Chrome: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/Amazon is a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.<br />
<br />
===Microsoft/The Times===<br />
[Error page]<br />
<br />
Error: This plugin requires clearance from the corporate press office in order to run. Remember, Microsoft/The Times is a team; individual employees should *never* speak for the company without authorization.<br />
<br />
===Aurora-US===<br />
[Person heading out past another person comfortably sitting in front of a desk.]<br />
<br />
Person 1: Apparently there's a solar storm causing northern lights over Canada. CNN say they might even be visible {Options: "As Far South As Us", "Here in Boston", "Maine", "Ohio", "Oregon", "New York"}! Wanna drive out to see?<br />
Person 2: It's cold out.<br />
Person 1: Ok. Later.<br />
<br />
[An expansive, marvelous image of emerald green northern lights, floating down through the sky.]<br />
<br />
Person 2: See anything?<br />
<br />
Person 1: No, just clouds.<br />
<br />
Person 2: Not surprised.<br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*Reddit user [http://www.reddit.com/user/SomePostMan SomePostMan] created a [http://www.reddit.com/r/xkcd/comments/t6wmh/all_umwelt_1037_comics_in_two_imgur_albums/ post] that collected all of the Umwelt comics and added explanations.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Beret Guy]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]<br />
[[Category:April fool's comics]]<br />
[[Category:Philosophy]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=484:_Flash_Games&diff=53876484: Flash Games2013-11-28T06:39:41Z<p>108.162.208.172: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 484<br />
| date = October 10, 2008<br />
| title = Flash Games<br />
| image = flash_games.png<br />
| titletext = Although...who else can't wait for them to incorporate that Wiimote head-tracking stuff into games? Man, the future's gonna be *awesome*.<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
Dedicated hardcore gamers will often indulge in expensive, top-of-the-line equipment to get the most out of their video games. <br />
<br />
{{w|Adobe Flash}} is a software platform allowing multimedia applications in the browser. Flash became a popular choice for game developers, since playing Flash games only requires a browser and the free cross-platform Flash runtime environment. [[Randall]] is right that Flash games are quite addictive, and gamers may find them more engaging than anything that runs on expensive (dedicated) gaming systems.<br />
<br />
Nowadays, five years after the making of this comic, Flash is starting to see a decline in favor of {{w|HTML5}} + {{w|JavaScript}}. The open-source movement especially prefers the latter, since no proprietary browser plugins are needed to run it. That said, the sheer number of Flash games that have been made over the last decade means that Flash will likely hold a special place in many gamers' hearts for the foreseeable future. However, "Flash game" has become a catch-all term for any {{W|Browser game}}.<br />
<br />
The comic may also be commenting that some modern games are too focused on graphics and not enough on gameplay.<br />
<br />
The title-text mentions the {{w|Wiimote}}, the standard controller for the {{w|Nintendo Wii}} video game console. It should be noted that the motion-tracking done by the Wii and the Wiimote does not consider the user's pose, merely the position and motion of the Wiimote itself. Such body-tracking is available from Sony and Microsoft with the {{w|EyeToy}} and {{w|Kinect}} respectively, although neither device has earned any real praise as a practical gaming controller.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[On the left side of the panel, is a massive TV screen, large speakers, and similar devices, all connected to a "Game Station 20,000" console. Cueball, however, is over on the right side of the panel, on a modestly-sized computer.]<br />
:Cueball: Ooh, I think I've got it figured out! Okay, one more hour.<br />
:''Beep Plunk''<br />
:The most powerful gaming systems in the world still can't match the addictiveness of tiny in-browser Flash games.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Video games]]</div>108.162.208.172https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1291:_Shoot_for_the_Moon&diff=52835Talk:1291: Shoot for the Moon2013-11-15T12:18:35Z<p>108.162.208.172: </p>
<hr />
<div>Danish, not Megan, right?!<br />
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.56|108.162.216.56]] 06:33, 15 November 2013 (UTC)<br />
:The woman in this comic looks more similar to Megan than Danish. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.45|108.162.216.45]] 07:39, 15 November 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Three meanings of shoot are used: 1. Have high plans 2. Fire a weapon 3. Aim for navigation. Sebastian --[[Special:Contributions/173.245.53.122|173.245.53.122]] 07:01, 15 November 2013 (UTC)<br />
<br />
I'm pretty sure this is Megan, Danish have longer hair [[Special:Contributions/108.162.208.172|108.162.208.172]] 12:18, 15 November 2013 (UTC)</div>108.162.208.172