https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=188.114.110.250&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-29T04:56:09ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1883:_Supervillain_Plan&diff=1448181883: Supervillain Plan2017-08-31T08:30:01Z<p>188.114.110.250: /* Explanation */</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1883<br />
| date = August 30, 2017<br />
| title = Supervillain Plan<br />
| image = supervillain_plan.png<br />
| titletext = Someday, some big historical event will happen during the DST changeover, and all the tick-tock articles chronicling how it unfolded will have to include a really annoying explanation next to their timelines.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|First draft, please help to expand. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}<br />
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In this comic [[Black Hat]] is a {{w|supervillain}}, befitting his {{w|Black hat|character}}. He plans to use {{w|Unmanned aerial vehicle|drones}} and explosives to move the entire State of California into the Pacific, a la {{w|Lex Luthor}} in the 1978 ''{{w|Superman (1978 film)|Superman}}'' movie.<br />
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His {{w|Henchman|henchmen}} are [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]]. The latter appears to be a programmer who does not want to have the mission (and hence the drones' coding) to account for time/date discrepancies such as {{w|time zone}}s and {{w|daylight saving time}}, which would be a factor if the event took place on the wrong date or the landmasses were pushed too far apart. (Though by coding the drones on UTC, the drones would not need to change time zones, excepting displaying the local time for some reason, which would likely be unneeded.)<br />
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In computer programming, working with dates and times is often considered one of the more complicated tasks. Think about {{w|Leap year|leap years}} or {{w|Leap second|leap seconds}}, the non existing {{w|Year zero|year zero}} which even more worse for scientists does exist in {{w|Astronomical year numbering|astronomical calendars}}, or the {{w|Year 2000 problem|Y2K}} and {{w|Year 2038 problem|year 2038}} problem. Nevertheless in this comic there is only a ''time zone problem'' mentioned. To handle this the {{w|tz database}}, also known as ''tzdata'', provides all relevant information for every country back to 1970 and, less accurate, before. But it's still up to the programmer to use this data in useful ways.<br />
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Supervillains have reason to fear time zone issues. In 1999, two coordinated car bombings ended up killing the terrorists transporting the bombs when they exploded one hour early. Details explained e.g. on the [http://darwinawards.com/darwin/darwin1999-38.html Darwin Awards] site.<br />
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Using time zones and DST can give seemingly nonsensical results when used improperly. For example, a flight going west might leave at 02:00pm and reach its destination at 03:00pm while the reverse flight will leave at 02:00pm and arrive at 05:00pm. In both cases, the travel time is two hours, but the one hour difference between the two timezones makes it seem otherwise. You might even find yourself arriving at your destination at an earlier time than your departure! DST can also makes a given time mean two different things, if after 01:59am you go back to 01:00 am, 01:30am can either be one hour after 00:30am, or one hour before 02:30am. Or in the reverse change, some dates don't actually exist, like 02:30 when going straight from 01:59 to 03:00. Humans often avoid this issue by being in only one place at the same time{{Citation needed}}, or by sleeping when the DST changes happen, but computer communications often span over large distances, and drones don't need to sleep at night. Megan wants to make sure she won't have to deal with the difficult problem of communication between drones and other systems with those issues, where a single poorly communicated date can have disastrous effects (although far less disastrous than moving California into the sea).<br />
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California is currently located entirely within the {{w|UTC−08:00|UTC-8}} time zone (at standard time {{w|Pacific Time Zone|PST}}, while in summer PDT is at {{w|UTC−07:00|UTC-7}}). But after Black Hat's actions California is at risk of floating West into the next time zone at {{w|UTC−09:00|UTC-9}}.<br />
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However, in reality, time zones in the United States are determined by [https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=6a1a124065df269aff9faa2340478852&node=pt49.1.71&rgn=div5#se49.1.71_12 Department of Transportation regulations], and California's time zone is not defined based on its longitude. Consequently, even if California were pushed out to sea, its time zone would remain the same unless the Department of Transportation issued a regulation otherwise, so Megan can rest easy. (On the other hand, Black Hat could alter the time zone of any of the East Coast states except Maine if his drones could push the state east of 67°30″ W. longitude, since the Eastern Time Zone's eastern boundary is mostly based on longitude, except as to Maine.)<br />
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Note: Megan should be happy Black Hat hasn't planned [https://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2012-11-12/daylight-saving-donut-arizona-ken-jennings-maphead to involve Arizona in his scheme].<br />
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A [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tick_tock "tick tock article"] is a term in journalism for a step by step account of an event or timeline, such as [https://web.archive.org/web/20111001222353/http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7033428/breakdown-wednesday-games this one recounting the end of the 2011 MLB regular season]. Such an article published for an event during the change to or from Daylight Saving Time would need to account for the changeover, making the timeline confusing for those unaware of the switch.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[On the left of this single panel comic Black Hat sits on a high throne, showing a fist, and looking down to Cueball and Magan who stand in front of him on the right.]<br />
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:Black Hat: ... then, after our drones take control of the cities, we will detonate the devices. California will break off from the mainland and drift out to sea!<br />
:Megan: How far out to sea? Will it put any of the cities in the UTC-9 time zone?<br />
:Black Hat: What? I don't know.<br />
:Megan: One request: Can we make sure this doesn't happen during the daylight saving changeover?<br />
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:[Caption below the panel:]<br />
:You can tell when someone's been a programmer for a while because they develop a deep-seated fear of time zone problems.<br />
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==Trivia==<br />
*Different time zones often confuse people. When [[xkcd]] comics are released on Monday, Wednesday, or Friday early as possible at 00:00 according to [[Randall]]'s home at Eastern Time (EST/EDT) it is still the day before in the most regions of the United States further to the west. In California (PST/PDT) that would be 21:00 in the evening before. Nevertheless most comics are released later when the entire US is at the same day. This particular comic was released at 13:00 UTC, which was 09:00 EDT or 06:00 PDT.<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]<br />
[[Category:Drones]]<br />
[[Category:Daylight saving time]]<br />
[[Category:Programming]]</div>188.114.110.250https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1850:_Air_Force_Museum&diff=1414921850: Air Force Museum2017-06-18T12:13:25Z<p>188.114.110.250: /* Explanation */ Grammar</p>
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<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1850<br />
| date = June 14, 2017<br />
| title = Air Force Museum<br />
| image = air_force_museum.png<br />
| titletext = I had fun visiting the museum at Dover Air Force Base, unless they don't have a museum, in which case I've never been to Delaware in my life.<br />
}}<br />
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==Explanation==<br />
[[Megan]] asks [[Cueball]] about his day. He tells about his visit to a military {{w|Aviation museum|aircraft museum}} at the {{w|Military air base|air force base}} and lists some of the things he saw. It starts with things you would expect at a typical museum, such as a mix of aircraft from different eras, before revealing the fact that Cueball was able to watch missiles being loaded, which is something that would be out of place and potentially dangerous at a museum. Realizing this, Cueball remarks that he hopes that he was at a museum, and Megan asks him if he hears helicopters. The implication is that Cueball observed the actual military operations at the base; the sound of helicopters might imply Cueball is now being pursued by the military, or may simply be evidence of some military operation potentially related to what Cueball observed.<br />
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The mention of "planes from different eras" alludes to the fact that military aircraft are often still in use after a much longer time than they were originally designed for. An example of this are the US Air Force's {{w|Boeing B-52 Stratofortress|B-52}} bomber, first introduced in 1955 (62 years before the publication of this comic) and expected to serve into the 2040s. Additionally, aircraft museums typically house military aircraft from previous eras, such as from WWII and the Cold War, to show the evolution in aircraft design and to showcase technological advances.<br />
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The title text builds on this premise. [[Randall]] says that he had fun visiting another Air Force "museum", but he adds that if they don't have a museum (in which case he was trespassing on a military base) then he denies ever having been anywhere near it. Fortunately for Randall, there is in fact an Air Force museum nearby: the {{w|Air Mobility Command Museum}} about half a mile south of the {{w|Dover Air Force Base}}.<br />
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==Transcript==<br />
:[Megan walks from left over to Cueball.]<br />
:Megan: How was your day?<br />
:Cueball: I visited the military aircraft museum over at the Air Force base. It was really neat!<br />
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:[Both walking together to the right.]<br />
:Cueball: They have planes from different eras, all kinds of cool equipment, and you can even watch missiles being loaded.<br />
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:[Beat frameless panel. Cueball and Megan walking.]<br />
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:[Both still walking.]<br />
:Cueball: ...at least, I ''hope'' that was a museum.<br />
:Megan: Do you hear helicopters?<br />
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{{comic discussion}}<br />
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[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]</div>188.114.110.250https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1819:_Sweet_16&diff=138263Talk:1819: Sweet 162017-04-03T14:45:40Z<p>188.114.110.250: It is an USA tradition</p>
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I checked it out, if this truly is a basketball comp, then the 1988 Los Angeles Lakers win hands-down. [[User:Themanhimself11|Themanhimself11]] ([[User talk:Themanhimself11|talk]]) 10:25, 3 April 2017 (UTC)<br />
:This being Randall, they'll probably be playing basketball by Marquess of Queensberry rules. [[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]] ([[User talk:Nialpxe|talk]]) 11:22, 3 April 2017 (UTC)<br />
:A lot of people who play NBA 2K17 are actually good in real life, so they should have a pretty good chance.<br />
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WHERE IS MY APRIL FOOLS DAY COMIC?? [[Special:Contributions/162.158.238.130|162.158.238.130]] 11:04, 3 April 2017 (UTC)<br />
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Minor detail - NBA 2K17 is made by 2K Games, rather than EA. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.107.36|141.101.107.36]] 12:43, 3 April 2017 (UTC)<br />
:My bad. Must've confused it with the NBA Live series by EA. [[User:Nialpxe|Nialpxe]] ([[User talk:Nialpxe|talk]]) 14:31, 3 April 2017 (UTC)<br />
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The additional text says, "Every year I make my bracket at the season ...." Should that say "at the end of the season"? --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.105|162.158.74.105]] 13:20, 3 April 2017 (UTC)<br />
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What we should explain for non-USA people to understand this comic is that it is an annual tradition to predict the full bracket of games and compare the predictions with friends and workmates. It's not just "a competition bracket": it's the annual "I'm trying to picture what would these opponents do". [[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.250|188.114.110.250]] 14:45, 3 April 2017 (UTC)</div>188.114.110.250https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:1815:_Flag&diff=137835Talk:1815: Flag2017-03-24T15:06:26Z<p>188.114.110.250: Note on the aspect ratio of the flag</p>
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<div><!--Please sign your posts with ~~~~--><br />
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A vote for me is a vote for bread on every table and a [https://smile.amazon.com/Off-Be-Wizard-Magic-2-0/dp/1612184715/ 73% battery level] until the end of time! [[User:Jameslucas|jameslucas]] <small>([[User talk:Jameslucas|" "]] / [[Special:Contributions/Jameslucas|+]])</small> 14:02, 24 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
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Given that the design is a screenshot, the flag could be part of an existing logo, e.g. of a U.S. sport association.--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.150.82|162.158.150.82]] 14:15, 24 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
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The comic states "our NEW country" so I removed the theory it could be a new US flag.<br />
The most recent sovereign state, according to Wikipedia, is South Sudan created in 2011 so we could assume Randall never intended to talk about a real-life country [[Special:Contributions/162.158.234.28|162.158.234.28]] 14:25, 24 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
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:It could be referring to new country proposals by techno-libertarians and the like? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasteading] -[[User:Jules.LT|Jules.LT]] ([[User talk:Jules.LT|talk]]) 14:32, 24 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
:: for instance https://www.cnet.com/news/asgardia-will-be-a-new-nation-in-space-and-you-can-be-a-citizen/ [[User:WhiteDragon|WhiteDragon]] ([[User talk:WhiteDragon|talk]]) 14:44, 24 March 2017 (UTC)<br />
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Note that official flags have an aspect ratio of 3:2 (with a few exceptions, like Switzerland and Nepal). The proposed flag including the notification bar measures 474 x 316 pixels (3*158 x 2*158 pixels), following the standard. If one removes the notification bar the resulting flag is somewhat wider than the standard. [[Special:Contributions/188.114.110.250|188.114.110.250]] 15:06, 24 March 2017 (UTC)</div>188.114.110.250