Spirit
by Jeff
Image text: On January 26th, 2213 days into its mission, NASA declared Spirit a 'stationary research station', expected to operational for several more months until the dust buildup on its solar panels forces a final shutdown.
The title of the comic is a pun on the word "Spirit" because the name of the Rover is Spirit and in the comic, the rover is showing almost unwavering spirit as it goes about its mission for six years.
FIRST Design
by Jeff
Image text: Pool on the roof must've sprung a leak.
This comic is about a robot competition between two sides. The protagonist's side comes up with a robot that has a match on an extending arm to set off the sprinkler system to disable the opposing robot. Then the protagonists added an umbrella to their robot so that their robot could complete the competition without getting wet.
The image text is the protagonist's flimsy excuse for the reason there is water everywhere.
UPDATE: As Zero Cool and Alexandra said in the comments, the Image text is a reference to the movie, Hackers.
Dimensional Analysis
by Jeff
Image text: Or the pressure at the Earth's core will rise slightly.
Dimensional analysis is a tool to better understand the properties of items using an equation the helps to convert between different units of measure. In this case, the comic says that the units check out.
Planck energy is a system energy made up of Planck units.
The pressure at the earth's core is over 3.5 million times atmospheric pressure.
Prius's gas mileage (as tested by the EPA) is 51 highway / 48 city.
The smallest width of the English Channel is 21 miles between Dover, England and Calais, France.
The image text is a continuation of the teacher's comments from the comic.
Gravity Wells
by Jeff
Image text: This doesn't take into account the energy imparted by orbital motion (or gravity assists or the Oberth effect), all of which can make it easier to reach outer planets.
This is awesomely epic. Click the image to see the full image in detail.
December 25th
by Jeff
Image text: If you're turning 27 and were born in the Northeast, maybe you were conceived in the blizzard of 1982. Imagine: snowed in, candles, massage oil, your mom sporting nothing but her early 80's haircut and a smile ... aren't you glad you read the title-text?
The Christmas birthday is the worst when you just get one present for both days, but fathers born on (or around) Father's Day or mothers born on (or around) Mother's Day.
Suggestions
by Jeff
Image text: An hour later: SUGGESTION: LICK HER NIPPLE MORE.
This is a comic in reference to Facebook adding a feature that puts a picture of someone in the top right hand corner of the screen asking you to "Reconnect" with them. This comic takes that feature and extends it to a weirder and creepier level, as if Facebook is spying on you. Which I wouldn't put it past Facebook to do.
Lego
by Jeff
Image text: Dad, where is Grandpa right now?
This comic looks to be, first and foremost, in support of the scientific view of the human body and its internal organs. This comic is comparing a lego house to a person. The arrangement of parts doesn't stay with the person and they are just pieces. Which, fast forwarding to later in life at the bottom 3 frames of the comic, causes the kid to select "Organ Donor" on her drivers license.
And the answer to the image text according to the comic would be: Grandpa doesn't stay with his body parts and doesn't go anywhere else, he's just gone...
Movie Narrative Charts
by Jeff
(You absolutely have to click on the image to see it larger. It is quite detailed and impressive.)
Image text: In the LotR map, up and down correspond LOOSELY to northwest and southeast respectively.
Lord of the Rings is pretty self-explanatory if you have seen the movies based on the series by JRR Tolkien. It is important to note that the chart is based on the movie, not the books. Second, is the original Star Wars trilogy. If you haven't seen those, stop what you are doing right now and go get them. Third, is the original Jurrassic Park movie.
The joke in 12 Angry men graphic is that in the movie all 12 jurors are all in the same room the entire movie. They never move and they all always interact with each other, hence their lines stay straight and close to each other.
The last box is a movie called Primer from 2004, which became a cult classic. It is about accidentally discovering time travel. The plot is so convoluted and mixed up with the time travel between the original person and the so-called time travelling "double" that it is almost impossible to figure out where each character is at one time...as the comic illustrates.
UPDATE: These charts are roughly a reference to the map by Charles Joseph Minard that details the movements and losses of Napolean's troops on his failed conquest of Russia.
Example can be found here.
More Accurate
by Jeff
Image text: We live in a world where there are actual fleets of robot assassins patrolling the skies. At some point there, we left the present and entered the future.
This is a comic referencing the Terminator series , in which a super-intelligent machine from the future time travels back in time to kill Sarah Connor.
However, we currently have robots that are able to attack specific locations and targets. Originally, unmanned aerial vehicles were only used for surveillance and reconnaissance. But, now more than ever, they are used for attacks. One thing that keeps us short of a Terminator scenario is that most of the unmanned aerial vehicles are either pre-programmed or flown remotely by members of the military. Still, the image text is correct, the future is here.
Fall Foliage
by Mike
Image Text: And I could replace you with older pictures of you, from back when you looked happy.
The hue of an image is the image's color or shade. The hue adjustment in Photoshop lets you move a slider back and forth to shift the colors of the image. This comic is suggesting that instead of taking the typical American trip to someplace like New Hampshire to see the leaves change colors in autumn, one could take a picture of summer leaves and just play with the hue slider in Photoshop to get a similar appearance. Of course, that wouldn't replicate my favorite part- the smell.