https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=162.158.91.225&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T12:35:03ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1639:_To_Taste&diff=110750Talk:1639: To Taste2016-02-06T13:26:58Z<p>162.158.91.225: </p>
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<div>Seasoning is not an intermediate process which can't be repaired/re-done. you're left with an edible dish before and after. You add seasoning in small incremental steps, and the quality of the dish, or appropriateness of the taste improves monotonically, and additively. On the other hand, baking something for 5 minutes, and then another 5 minutes isn't the same as baking it for 10 minutes. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.49.78|162.158.49.78]] 09:54, 5 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
: Yeah, but a beginner should be given an idea of what a basic incremental step is supposed to be, based on the number of servings in the recipe. One pinch? One (tea/table)spoon? One cup? One jug? One crate? - [[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.23|141.101.70.23]] 11:38, 5 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
: Usually when it's said ''to taste'', which I guess corresponds to the Italian ''quanto basta'', it's referring to small amounts, so a beginner could just add a pinch per time until he finds the flavor is good. Whenever it's unnecessary, recipes shouldn't be specific; you don't have to grill a steak for exactly 5 or 10 minutes, just until it has the color and looks of a steak you think you may like; if you boil pasta, you taste a bit once a minute until the texture is good. --[[Special:Contributions/188.114.102.249|188.114.102.249]] 12:25, 5 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::: The joke is that this kind of knowledge is implied in recipes, it isn't spelled out. Which can be a problem for beginners. And good luck trying that approach when baking spiced bread. Or manufacturing soufflé. ;) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.138|162.158.114.138]] 13:15, 5 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
::: Luckily, there are pastas which specify how long you are supposed to cook them on the package. Especially useful in case of those "fast" ones. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 13:57, 5 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
: "Appropriateness" increases "monotonically" ... until it decreases again. :D [[Special:Contributions/162.158.114.138|162.158.114.138]] 13:15, 5 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
: Try preparing two slow cook dishes but in one add all the seasoning at the end before serving. You will now know that seasoning can be very integral to the process and if added in wrong quantities at the wrong time can ruin a dish.--[[User:R0hrshach|R0hrshach]] ([[User talk:R0hrshach|talk]]) 17:11, 5 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
: '''''De gustibus non disputandum est.''''' — [[RAGBRAIvet]] {{unsigned|RAGBRAIvet}}<br />
'''''De gustibus non disputandum est''''' This is Joda-Latin, isn't it? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.225|162.158.91.225]] 13:26, 6 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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I can't tell if Randall is reading too many cookbooks or if he just has... Too many cooks[[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.54|108.162.221.54]] 13:46, 5 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
: It does take a lot to make a stew, after all. A lot of sugar, in this case. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.29|173.245.54.29]] 07:19, 6 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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Maybe he obtained enough sugar so his sample size would be sufficient for scientific experimentation on what to taste means.[[User:Thaledison|Thaledison]] ([[User talk:Thaledison|talk]]) 14:02, 5 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
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In my experience, the instructions "add _____ to taste" usually are referring to salt, not sugar. And from comic #1637, we all know Cueball has access to virtually an unlimited quantity of salt! [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.252|173.245.54.252]] 14:55, 5 February 2016 (UTC)Sam<br />
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Why is he bringing in the sugar backwards? Perhaps he doesn't know how to properly use a dolly?<br />
[[User:Bsellnow|Bsellnow]] ([[User talk:Bsellnow|talk]]) 19:37, 5 February 2016 (UTC)<br />
:Maybe he just came up the stairs? There's loads of houses that have stairs (or, frequently, a single stair) between the kitchen and the back porch/food storage area/front porch/garage/attic/wherever else you'll get sugar from. Plus, since the sugar was stacked so high it was leaning against his face, there's no way he'd be able to see if he was walking forwards. I think, really, his biggest sin is that he stacked the boxes to an unsafe level. [[User:Jeudi Violist|Jeudi Violist]] ([[User talk:Jeudi Violist|talk]]) 00:34, 6 February 2016 (UTC)</div>162.158.91.225https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=674:_Natural_Parenting&diff=108978674: Natural Parenting2016-01-10T17:46:16Z<p>162.158.91.225: /* Explanation */ made no sense</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 674<br />
| date = December 11, 2009<br />
| title = Natural Parenting<br />
| image = natural_parenting.png<br />
| titletext = On one hand, every single one of my ancestors going back billions of years has managed to figure it out. On the other hand, that's the mother of all sampling biases.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
This comic relates to the anxiety of having a first child, particularly an unplanned child, and is a play on the double meaning of the expression "do what comes naturally". <br />
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Doing what comes naturally is a euphemism for couples pairing off and forming intimate relationships, including sex. It is also advice given to new parents, advising them not to second guess themselves so much, to alleviate the stress that comes with parenting.<br />
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The couple [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] find themselves as unexpected parents. Both parents experience anxiety over how to manage their life with the child. The new father defuses the situation and states that parenting can not be that hard and they should just do what comes naturally. Naturally the couple to find themselves with a second child. This adds insult to injury as now they have two children and still no idea about how to parent. As the first child was an "accident" the birth of the child was because of instinctual urges. Therefore, assuming nothing has changed in their relationship it would be natural if they produced another child. <br />
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The title text claims that parenting can't be too hard because, up to the present, all of your ancestors have produced an unbroken line of children who figured out how to raise at least one child that is able to continue this unbroken chain. [[Randall]] jokes that this is the "mother" of all {{w|sampling bias}}es: Had anyone of ones ancestors completely failed at being parents, that person would never exist. Therefore this sampling is heavily skewed by sampling only those that were all successful in at least one instance. It does not take into account the number of people in the past who do not have any lineage today to speak of, or the number times our ancestors failed at being parents to children we are not directly descended from.<br />
The baby says, "Baby!", either copying Cueball, or saying its name, Pokémon-style. This is also the topic of [[441: Babies]] and [[1384: Krypton]].<br />
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===Attachment Parenting===<br />
Natural parenting may be an allusion to {{w|attachment parenting}}. This strategy for child-rearing normally entails extended nursing and encourages positive reinforcement. Sometimes modern medicine and processed foods are restricted as well. Natural parenting approaches can vary greatly from parent to parent. Because of the awkwardness and stigma of breastfeeding, as well as its traditionalism, attachment parenting can elicit powerful opinions from both its opponents and proponents. Various media and politicians have seized on this hot topic, as well as motherhood in general. Extreme natural parenting methods became the notorious cover story of TIME Magazine in May 2012.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball and Megan are standing with a baby in between them.]<br />
:Cueball: Oh man, we made a baby.<br />
:Megan: ''Don't panic. Don't panic.''<br />
:Baby: Baby!<br />
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:Cueball: Parenting can't be that hard. Let's just do what comes naturally.<br />
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:[Beat frame.]<br />
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:Soon:<br />
:[There are now two babies in between them.]<br />
:Megan: Aw, crap.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Romance]]</div>162.158.91.225https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1618:_Cold_Medicine&diff=1074581618: Cold Medicine2015-12-21T14:21:54Z<p>162.158.91.225: /* Explanation */ we don't have colds throughout winter</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1618<br />
| date = December 18, 2015<br />
| title = Cold Medicine<br />
| image = cold_medicine.png<br />
| titletext = Seriously considering buying some illegal drugs to try to turn them back into cold medicine.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] is, in this comic, probably representing [[Randall]], who as anyone else living in {{w|Geographical zone|The North Temperate Zone}} is very likely to at some point have a {{w|Common cold|cold}} at this time of year (released in December). The way the title text is phrased makes this even more likely, see below. Also it is only two weeks ago Randall posted another comic about a cold works: [[1612: Colds]]. It thus seems that he is suffering from a long lasting cold, that he just can't get rid of.<br />
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Cueball is evidently suffering from a cold and he is searching the shelves labeled cold and {{w|Influenza|Flu}} at a {{w|pharmacy}} for any kind of '''cold medicine''' (hence the title), to alleviate his symptoms. Note that this all he can hope for, as there are still {{w|Common_cold#Management|no cure}} that really helps getting rid of the cold faster. All medication can do is help relieving the symptoms until the body's own {{w|immune system}} takes care of the relatively harmless cold virus.<br />
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After looking at several different options Cueball is clearly unsatisfied with what he finds. Either he doesn't feel that any of the unmonitored drugs available on the serve-yourself-shelf is useful, or he is actually too sick to properly ascertain which medicine he needs. In the end he approaches the counter and asks the {{w|pharmacist}} ([[Ponytail]]) to give him one of every kind of cold medicine which requires an ID to purchase. Taking lots of different medicines together could harm, or even kill you, because certain combinations of medications interact in ways that make them dangerous or even lethal. But that is not the message that Ponytail tries to give him, instead she tries to warn him that he would end up on some watchlist, presumably one of the government agencies ({{w|DEA}}, {{w|FBI}}, {{w|CIA}} etc.) But she never get to finish her sentence because Cueball is beyond caring and tells her this.<br />
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In the USA, cold medicines containing {{w|pseudoephedrine}} are kept behind the counter and IDs purchasing them are monitored, because pseudoephedrine can be used to make the scheduled drug {{w|methamphetamine}} or meth (a more hydrophobic version of {{w|amphetamine}}). However, it is also an extremely effective {{w|decongestant}} (a pharmaceutical drug that is used to relieve {{w|nasal congestion}}/plugged nose), much more so than the common substitutes ({{w|phenylephrine}} and {{w|oxymetazoline}} have no clinically proven decongestant effect). This could be one reason why Cueball just requests all kinds of cold medicines of amongst other this type; he does not appear to care what exactly he is purchasing, believing that his one criterion will provide him medicine powerful enough for his illness. It may also be that he is just too sick to care or realize that this will arouse suspicion of him being a drug dealer, or to recognize the need to select only one medication of these type.<br />
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This could be a reference to the medicine with the brand name {{w|Sudafed}}, sold as an over the counter decongestants with pseudoephedrine as the active ingredient. Now the manufacturer also sells a different type of medicine with the same brand name without pseudoephedrine, but with phenylephrine, which has long been known to be no more effective than a {{w|placebo}}. If you buy this off the shelf (where it can be sold because it does not contain methamphetamine precursors) then you could easily get home with the once effective Sudafed, only to realize later that it does not alleviate any symptoms. This could offer another explanation for Cueball's request and outburst in the final panel.<br />
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The title text seems to be Randall's own comment on how badly he is affected by his cold. He thus, humorously, suggest that he is now ready to purchase illegal drugs (this would then be ''meth'') in order to turn it back into a cold medicine (i.e. pseudoephedrine). This would not be safe to do, but may may be a reference to this spoof paper: ''[http://heterodoxy.cc/meowdocs/pseudo/pseudosynth.pdf A Simple and Convenient Synthesis of Pseudoephedrine From N-Methylamphetamine''], a take on the long-going joke on the recent difficulty in obtaining pseudoephedrine, i.e. it is now easier to get your hands on the illegal drug made from it. It is a humorous exaggeration of how far Randall is willing to go to get the best cold medicine, and the potency of the drugs needed to treat his apparently debilitating illness. There are many illegal drugs that when first synthesized were planned to use as a medical drug, but then later abused by drug addicts, but given the subject of the comic, the title text obviously refers to meth.<br />
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Randall continued in the medical world with the next comic: [[1619: Watson Medical Algorithm]].<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is standing in a drug store, with a drug in his hand he has taken from the shelf he is standing next to. The shelf is labeled.]<br />
:Cueball: *Sniffle*<br />
:Label: Cold & Flu<br />
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:[Cueball is standing alone, examining some medicine he is holding up, while having some other medicine in the other hand.]<br />
:Cueball: *Cough*<br />
:Cueball: *Sniff*<br />
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:[Cueball continues examining more medicine. Looking down on one in his hand, having another in the other hand and there are also three packages at his feet.]<br />
:Cueball: Ughhh...<br />
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:[Cueball is at the labeled counter in the drug store with computer etc. Ponytail is behind the counter.]<br />
:Counter label: Sale<br />
:Cueball: Just gimme one of every kind of cold medicine you need ID to buy.<br />
:Ponytail: You'll go on the watchlist for—<br />
:Cueball: Don't care.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]</div>162.158.91.225https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1603:_Flashlights&diff=105004Talk:1603: Flashlights2015-11-13T10:58:23Z<p>162.158.91.225: </p>
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<div>Is that it? I swear there must be more to the joke than this explanation implies. It just describes what's going on in the comic. [[User:Enchantedsleeper|Enchantedsleeper]] ([[User talk:Enchantedsleeper|talk]]) 10:29, 13 November 2015 (UTC)<br />
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"A typo", uh? Sure, sure, of course it was only a typo, Randall ;) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.57|108.162.221.57]] 10:38, 13 November 2015 (UTC)<br />
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I think it's unfair to assume lack of detail in the explanation, the fact that research was obviously done on the meaning of fleshlight an it's association to the comic, is more than I would have original got from the comic by itself. However if you perceive additional meaning please share, the thing I love about 'This' website is for the ability for others to add their interpretations. --[[User:Igwarrender|Igwarrender]] ([[User talk:Igwarrender|talk]]) 10:52, 13 November 2015 (UTC)<br />
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Quote:<br />
<blockquote>When Cueball refers to classic Flashlights(torches) as dim and finnicky, this gives reason to assume that the flashlight he is holding is going to be ridiculously overengineered.</blockquote><br />
I disagree. In the generation of Randall (and me), the flashlights most of us had as kids really did suck and were dim and finnicky. That's not an exaggeration which, as is implied in the explanation, is used to prepare the joke. It's more of an explanation on why he is interested in modern flashlights in the first place. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.225|162.158.91.225]] 10:58, 13 November 2015 (UTC)</div>162.158.91.225https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=586:_Mission_to_Culture&diff=103435586: Mission to Culture2015-10-15T08:48:07Z<p>162.158.91.225: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 586<br />
| date = May 20, 2009<br />
| title = Mission to Culture<br />
| image = mission to culture.png<br />
| titletext = It can't be very MUCH money... they apparently can't even afford a sampler. I mean, with a little remixing, some of this could be kinda good!<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
[[Cueball]] wants to take [[Megan]] out for his idea of a cultural experience. The inference is that Megan's culturally impoverished because 'all she ever listens to is techno'. After much griping on various levels, she starts to get into the experience — sort of. The big 'cultural lesson' she [mis-]gleans from the experience is similar to what a sporting aficionado would gain from watching a sports event.<br />
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Her observation regards the seating configuration of a typical modern orchestra, in which the violinists all sit audience-left, while the violists, cellists and bassists are on the right.<br />
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The title text basically just ices the cake. A {{w|sampler (musical instrument)|sampler}} is an instrument frequently used in techno music that samples other sounds and plays them back, usually electronically altered. {{w|Remix|Remixing}} is a process, also often used in techno, of editing recorded music to get a different sound. Many classical pieces, such as Pachelbel's Canon in D major, have had success as techno remixes.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Cueball is pulling Megan by the legs. She is holding onto the ground.]<br />
:Cueball: We're getting some culture in you if it ''kills'' you.<br />
:Megan: Don't wanna.<br />
<br />
:[Cueball is pushing Megan through a door.]<br />
:Cueball: All you listen to is techno.<br />
:Megan: But... the ''symphony?''<br />
<br />
:[The couple stand in line between other people.]<br />
:Megan: I think we're the only people here under 60.<br />
:Cueball: Shhh.<br />
<br />
:[The couple sit in the audience just before the concert.]<br />
:Megan: The right side is definitely better.<br />
:Cueball: Better? <br />
:Megan: They've all got bigger instruments. I bet they make more money.<br />
:Cueball: *Sigh*<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Music]]</div>162.158.91.225https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Robert%27);_DROP_TABLE_Students;--&diff=100074Robert'); DROP TABLE Students;--2015-08-23T21:42:57Z<p>162.158.91.225: Added real-life occurrence</p>
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<div>{{Infobox character<br />
| image = <br />
| imagesize = <br />
| caption = <br />
| first_appearance = [[327: Exploits of a Mom]]<br />
}}<br />
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'''<code>Robert'); DROP TABLE students;--</code>''', nicknamed '''Little Bobby Tables''', is the youngest son of elite hacker [[Mrs. Roberts]]. His elder sister is [[Elaine Roberts|Help I'm stuck in a driver's license factory Elaine Roberts.]]. His "full" name is known to cause problems with some computers. When he was first enrolled in school ([[327: Exploits of a Mom]]), it exploited a vulnerability in the parsing of student's names into the school's student database resulting in the school losing all the student records for the year.<br />
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In {{w|SQL}}, commands are separated by semicolons '''<code>;</code>''' and data is often quoted using single quotes '''<code>'</code>'''. Commands may also be enclosed in parentheses '''<code>(</code>''' and '''<code>)</code>'''. Data is stored in tables of similar items (e.g. '''<code>students</code>''') and individual entries are "rows" in the table. To delete an entire table (and every row of data in that table), you use the command '''<code>DROP</code>''' (e.g. '''<code>DROP TABLE students</code>'''). The '''<code>--</code>''' represents the start of a {{w|Comment_(computer_programming)#SQL|SQL comment}} which ensures that the rest of the command is ignored so an error will not occur.<br />
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The exploited vulnerability is that the single quote in the name input was not properly "escaped" by the software. Thus, when the name is embedded into some SQL statement, the quote is erroneously parsed as a closing quote inside that statement, rather than being parsed as part of the name. Lack of such escaping is a common SQL vulnerability; this type of exploit is referred to as {{w|SQL injection}}.<br />
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The name Bobby Tables inspired a website, [http://bobby-tables.com/ bobby-tables.com], a guide for beginning programmers to learn the right way to avoid SQL injection in their code..<br />
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A similarly named character, Mister Rogers, appears in [[884: Rogers St.]], with the same code injection in his middle name. It appears in [[1253: Exoplanet Names]] as one of the suggested planet names.<br />
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== Real Life occurrence ==<br />
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In French-speaking countries, apostrophes are a common character in street names. More often than not, Frenchmen (or Luxembourgers, or Belgians, ...) unwittingly trigger SQL injection bugs when trying to order something from a US shop.<br />
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{{navbox-characters}}<br />
[[Category:Characters]]</div>162.158.91.225