3147: Hiking - Revision history

Tromag at 18:46, 9 October 2025

2025-10-09T18:46:07Z

81.109.61.146: Changed hyperlink for amazon

2025-10-08T15:58:44Z

Changed hyperlink for amazon

81.109.61.146: Changed hyperlink fo amazon

2025-10-08T15:58:02Z

Changed hyperlink fo amazon

82.132.184.204: /* Explanation */ It's an awkward sentence, so to guide future rewrites: Uphill is tiring and arduous. Downhill is also surprisingly so. Downhill often lacks the reward of a clear accomplishment. Gravity may 'help'. But worse for (e.g.) knees/balance.

2025-09-30T22:15:23Z

‎Explanation: It's an awkward sentence, so to guide future rewrites: Uphill is tiring and arduous. Downhill is also surprisingly so. Downhill often lacks the reward of a clear accomplishment. Gravity may 'help'. But worse for (e.g.) knees/balance.

DKMell: minor fixes

2025-09-30T17:32:22Z

minor fixes

82.132.186.225 at 16:07, 30 September 2025

2025-09-30T16:07:05Z

216.221.83.168: https://pilotinstitute.com/heaviest-drones/ for some drones in quadcopter form factor that do have heavy-lift capability. At 500 kg per drone, the number of drones shown in the comic could work.

2025-09-30T15:12:56Z

https://pilotinstitute.com/heaviest-drones/ for some drones in quadcopter form factor that do have heavy-lift capability. At 500 kg per drone, the number of drones shown in the comic could work.

82.132.217.183: /* Explanation */

2025-09-30T15:02:44Z

‎Explanation

81.109.61.146: changed "tagline" to title text

2025-09-30T14:42:14Z

changed "tagline" to title text

82.13.184.33: /* Explanation */

2025-09-30T08:42:17Z

‎Explanation

@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 In the comic there's a vendor of {{w|waterslides}} that provides on-demand delivery using {{w|drones}} that fly the waterslide to a location you specify in the order, apparently complete with a water supply tank, and with a response time of minutes despite apparently being delivered to a wilderness landscape. While hiking through a terrain with lots of hills, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] order one whenever they're on their way up a hill, so that it will be delivered to the downhill side by the time they arrive at the summit, and they can have fun sliding down.
-While technically feasible as shown due to the existence of [https://pilotinstitute.com/heaviest-drones/ heavy-lift quadcopter drones], it would still be impractical both because of the cost involved and also because installing a water slide in a way that would make it stable and safe would require serious planning and construction, not something that could be done rapidly, remotely, and purely through automation in this particular on-demand manner.{{Citation needed}}
+While theoretically possible (even the water tanks could be managed with a sufficient number of [https://pilotinstitute.com/heaviest-drones/ heavy-lift quadcopter drones]) such a system would be wildly impractical. The cost of such a program would be enormous, the timescale would be implausibly short, and installing a water slide, particularly in a way that would make it safe and stable, would require extensive site selection, planning, engineering and construction. Conducting such a project rapidly, remotely and on-demand at a specified location simply wouldn't be feasible. The strip also implies that installation (and possibly the design work) is fully automated, which is beyond current technology.
 The title text suggests that [[Randall]] considers walking downhill to be a waste, as that process could have been done by waterslide if only one were present. This may reference the fact that walking downhill is often surprisingly tiring and arduous, as well as being relatively unrewarding compared to the uphill climb, even though gravity is now on your side, and may be considered a chore to be performed after the more tangible sense of accomplishment gained from reaching the top of the hill.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-On-demand delivery is a type of service where you can order a product and it will be delivered to you within hours, or possibly even minutes when the source is sufficiently local. The most well-known of these are food delivery services like {{w|DoorDash}} and {{w|GrubHub}}, where near-immediate delivery is highly preferred. Larger and less time-critical goods have similar services, such as {{w|Amazon_(Company)|Amazon}}, which can deliver many items well within the same day or by the next morning for most destinations that aren't particularly remote.
+On-demand delivery is a type of service where you can order a product and it will be delivered to you within hours, or possibly even minutes when the source is sufficiently local. The most well-known of these are food delivery services like {{w|DoorDash}} and {{w|GrubHub}}, where near-immediate delivery is highly preferred. Larger and less time-critical goods have similar services, such as {{w|amazon_(company)|Amazon}}, which can deliver many items well within the same day or by the next morning for most destinations that aren't particularly remote.
 In the comic there's a vendor of {{w|waterslides}} that provides on-demand delivery using {{w|drones}} that fly the waterslide to a location you specify in the order, apparently complete with a water supply tank, and with a response time of minutes despite apparently being delivered to a wilderness landscape. While hiking through a terrain with lots of hills, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] order one whenever they're on their way up a hill, so that it will be delivered to the downhill side by the time they arrive at the summit, and they can have fun sliding down.

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-On-demand delivery is a type of service where you can order a product and it will be delivered to you within hours, or possibly even minutes when the source is sufficiently local. The most well-known of these are food delivery services like {{w|DoorDash}} and {{w|GrubHub}}, where near-immediate delivery is highly preferred. Larger and less time-critical goods have similar services, such as {{w|Amazon}}, which can deliver many items well within the same day or by the next morning for most destinations that aren't particularly remote.
+On-demand delivery is a type of service where you can order a product and it will be delivered to you within hours, or possibly even minutes when the source is sufficiently local. The most well-known of these are food delivery services like {{w|DoorDash}} and {{w|GrubHub}}, where near-immediate delivery is highly preferred. Larger and less time-critical goods have similar services, such as {{w|Amazon_(Company)|Amazon}}, which can deliver many items well within the same day or by the next morning for most destinations that aren't particularly remote.
 In the comic there's a vendor of {{w|waterslides}} that provides on-demand delivery using {{w|drones}} that fly the waterslide to a location you specify in the order, apparently complete with a water supply tank, and with a response time of minutes despite apparently being delivered to a wilderness landscape. While hiking through a terrain with lots of hills, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] order one whenever they're on their way up a hill, so that it will be delivered to the downhill side by the time they arrive at the summit, and they can have fun sliding down.

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 While technically feasible as shown due to the existence of [https://pilotinstitute.com/heaviest-drones/ heavy-lift quadcopter drones], it would still be impractical both because of the cost involved and also because installing a water slide in a way that would make it stable and safe would require serious planning and construction, not something that could be done rapidly, remotely, and purely through automation in this particular on-demand manner.{{Citation needed}}
-The title text suggests that [[Randall]] considers walking downhill to be a waste, as that process could have been done by waterslide if only one were present. This may reference the fact that walking downhill is often surprisingly tiring, arduous, and relatively unrewarding compared to the uphill climb, even though gravity is now on your side, and may be considered a chore to be performed after the more tangible sense of accomplishment gained from reaching the top of the hill.
+The title text suggests that [[Randall]] considers walking downhill to be a waste, as that process could have been done by waterslide if only one were present. This may reference the fact that walking downhill is often surprisingly tiring and arduous, as well as being relatively unrewarding compared to the uphill climb, even though gravity is now on your side, and may be considered a chore to be performed after the more tangible sense of accomplishment gained from reaching the top of the hill.
 This strip continues a long theme of comics where Randall imagines a process or piece of infrastructure that would be wildly impractical in real life, but would be a lot of fun (for certain values of 'fun') if it could be achieved. Examples include [[260: The Glass Necklace]], [[2935: Ocean Loop]] and [[2973: Ferris Wheels]].

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-On-demand delivery is a type of service where you can order a product and it will be delivered to you within hours. Possibly even minutes, where the source is sufficiently local. The most well-known of these are food delivery services like {{w|DoorDash}} and {{w|GrubHub}}, where near immediate delivery is highly prefered, but there are also similar services for larger and less critical goods, such as {{w|Amazon}}, which can still deliver many items well within the same day or by the next morning for most destinations that aren't particularly remote.
+On-demand delivery is a type of service where you can order a product and it will be delivered to you within hours, or possibly even minutes when the source is sufficiently local. The most well-known of these are food delivery services like {{w|DoorDash}} and {{w|GrubHub}}, where near-immediate delivery is highly preferred. Larger and less time-critical goods have similar services, such as {{w|Amazon}}, which can deliver many items well within the same day or by the next morning for most destinations that aren't particularly remote.
-In the comic there's a vendor of {{w|waterslides}} that provides on-demand delivery using {{w|drones}} that fly the waterslide to a location you specify in the order, apparently complete with a water supply tank, and with a response time of minutes despite apparently being delivered to a wilderness landscape. While hiking through a terrain with lots of hills, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] order one whenever they're on their way up a hill, so that it will be delivered to the downhill side, by the time they arrive at the summit, and they can have fun sliding down.
+In the comic there's a vendor of {{w|waterslides}} that provides on-demand delivery using {{w|drones}} that fly the waterslide to a location you specify in the order, apparently complete with a water supply tank, and with a response time of minutes despite apparently being delivered to a wilderness landscape. While hiking through a terrain with lots of hills, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] order one whenever they're on their way up a hill, so that it will be delivered to the downhill side by the time they arrive at the summit, and they can have fun sliding down.
-While technically feasible as shown due to the existence of [https://pilotinstitute.com/heaviest-drones/ Heavy-lift quadcopter drones], it would still be impractical due to the cost involved and that installing a water slide in a way that would make it stable and safe would require serious planning and construction, not something that could be done rapidly, remotely (or purely through automation) and in this particular on-demand manner.{{Citation needed}}
+While technically feasible as shown due to the existence of [https://pilotinstitute.com/heaviest-drones/ heavy-lift quadcopter drones], it would still be impractical both because of the cost involved and also because installing a water slide in a way that would make it stable and safe would require serious planning and construction, not something that could be done rapidly, remotely, and purely through automation in this particular on-demand manner.{{Citation needed}}
-The title text suggests that [[Randall]] considers walking downhill to be a waste, as that process could have been done by waterslide, if only one were present. This may reference the fact that walking downhill is often surprisingly tiring and arduous, and relatively unrewarding compared to the uphill climb, even though gravity is now on your side, and may be considered a chore to be performed after the more tangible sense of accomplishment gained from reaching the top of the hill.
+The title text suggests that [[Randall]] considers walking downhill to be a waste, as that process could have been done by waterslide if only one were present. This may reference the fact that walking downhill is often surprisingly tiring, arduous, and relatively unrewarding compared to the uphill climb, even though gravity is now on your side, and may be considered a chore to be performed after the more tangible sense of accomplishment gained from reaching the top of the hill.
 This strip continues a long theme of comics where Randall imagines a process or piece of infrastructure that would be wildly impractical in real life, but would be a lot of fun (for certain values of 'fun') if it could be achieved. Examples include [[260: The Glass Necklace]], [[2935: Ocean Loop]] and [[2973: Ferris Wheels]].

@@ Line 10: / Line 10: @@
 ==Explanation==
-On-demand delivery is a type of service where you can order a product and it will be delivered to you within hours or even minutes. The most well-known of these are food delivery services like {{w|DoorDash}} and {{w|GrubHub}}, but there are also similar services for larger goods such as {{w|Amazon}}.
+On-demand delivery is a type of service where you can order a product and it will be delivered to you within hours. Possibly even minutes, where the source is sufficiently local. The most well-known of these are food delivery services like {{w|DoorDash}} and {{w|GrubHub}}, where near immediate delivery is highly prefered, but there are also similar services for larger and less critical goods, such as {{w|Amazon}}, which can still deliver many items well within the same day or by the next morning for most destinations that aren't particularly remote.
-In the comic there's a vendor of {{w|waterslides}} that provides on-demand delivery using {{w|drones}} that fly the waterslide to a location you specify in the order, apparently complete with a water supply tank. While hiking through a terrain with lots of hills, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] order one whenever they're on their way up a hill, so that it will be delivered to the downhill side and they can have fun sliding down.
+In the comic there's a vendor of {{w|waterslides}} that provides on-demand delivery using {{w|drones}} that fly the waterslide to a location you specify in the order, apparently complete with a water supply tank, and with a response time of minutes despite apparently being delivered to a wilderness landscape. While hiking through a terrain with lots of hills, [[Cueball]] and [[Megan]] order one whenever they're on their way up a hill, so that it will be delivered to the downhill side, by the time they arrive at the summit, and they can have fun sliding down.
-This is obviously impractical, as the massive weight of a slide and water tank would be too much for even the most powerful drones{{acn}}, and installing a water slide in a way that would make it stable and safe would require serious planning and construction, not something that could be done rapidly and on-demand.
+This is obviously impractical, as the massive weight of a slide and water tank would be too much for even the most powerful drones,{{Actual citation needed}} and installing a water slide in a way that would make it stable and safe would require serious planning and construction, not something that could be done rapidly, remotely (or purely through automation) and in this particular on-demand manner.
-The title text suggests that [[Randall]] considers walking downhill to be a waste, as that process could have been done by waterslide, if only one were present. This may reference the fact that walking downhill is often tiring and arduous, even though gravity is on your side, and may be considered a chore to be performed after you get where you were going (the top of the hill).
+The title text suggests that [[Randall]] considers walking downhill to be a waste, as that process could have been done by waterslide, if only one were present. This may reference the fact that walking downhill is often tiring, arduous and relatively unrewarding compared to the uphill climb, even though gravity is now on your side, and may be considered a chore to be performed after the more tangible sense of accomplishment gained from reaching the top of the hill).
-This strip continues a long theme of comics where Randall imagines a process or piece of infrastructure that would be wildly impractical in real life, but would be a lot of fun if it could be achieved. Examples include [[260: The Glass Necklace]], [[2935: Ocean Loop]], [[2973: Ferris Wheels]]
+This strip continues a long theme of comics where Randall imagines a process or piece of infrastructure that would be wildly impractical in real life, but would be a lot of fun (for certain values of 'fun') if it could be achieved. Examples include [[260: The Glass Necklace]], [[2935: Ocean Loop]] and [[2973: Ferris Wheels]].
 ==Transcript==