explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

370: Redwall

2016-08-19T15:47:26Z

108.162.221.27: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 370
| date = January 14, 2008
| title = Redwall
| image = Redwall.png
| titletext = My Redwall/Jurassic Park crossover fanfic is almost complete!
}}

==Explanation==
This comic references {{w|Brian Jacques|Brian Jacques'}} series of books, ''{{w|Redwall}}'', which star sapient woodland animals in various high fantasy adventures.

The first panel shows the similarity between the story of Martin the Warrior (from the book ''{{w|Mossflower}}'') and {{w|Aragorn}} from ''{{w|The Lord of the Rings}}'' by {{w|J. R. R. Tolkien}}. The joke is that while Martin and Aragorn introduce themselves separately, they then go on to describe their particular story, which turns out to be exactly the same for both of them. Subsequently Martin jinxes Aragorn. {{w|Jinx (children's game)|Jinx}} is a common children's game, which is initiated by shouting "Jinx" after somebody speaks the same word or sentence at the same time as you. That person is then jinxed, with the usual rules dictating that they are then not permitted to speak until unjinxed by some specific action (usually somebody saying their name). Martin and his sword was referenced again in [[1722: Debugging]].

The second panel deals with the fact that ''Redwall'' mentions the name of {{w|Satan}} or {{w|The Devil}} 4 times while it never mentions {{w|God}} or {{w|Jesus}}. [[Randall Munroe|Randall]] then points out that people who protest against {{w|Harry Potter}} because of the series witchcraft, should take note that Redwall explicitly mentions Satan although it has had little to no negative feedback from more conservative readers.

In the third panel, Randall comments on ''Redwall'''s often-used theme of critical messages being left in riddles throughout the Abbey for the occupants to find when they are in need. Randall suggests that he would use {{w|Public-key cryptography|public-key cryptography}} to encode the messages, instead of the elaborate riddles used in the books (some of which are ridiculously easy, which doesn't exactly make for good security when dealing with sensitive information).

In the title text Randall jokes that he is making a crossover {{w|Fan fiction|fan-fiction}} with ''Redwall'' and ''{{w|Jurassic Park}}''.

Redwall was also referenced in [[1688: Map Age Guide]] and [[1722: Debugging]].

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|No description}}
:Notes from reading Redwall books for the first time since childhood.

:Some of this feels familiar.
:Aragorn: Hi, I'm Aragorn.
:Martin: I'm Martin.
:Aragorn and Martin: I'm here to reforge my broken sword so I can lead an army against the tyrant threatening my people. I live in a world of moral absolutes and racist undertones.
:Martin: Jinx!

:It startled me when characters mentioned Satan.
:Redwall: "By Satan's whiskers..."
:Redwall mentions God, Jesus 0 times.
:Redwall mentions Satan, The Devil 4 times.
:(Harry Potter protesters, take note.)

:Even as a kid this bothered me: Why does everyone leave critical secret messages as simple riddles? It's silly to assume the intended recipient will be the only one to find and solve them. I would do things differently.
:Matthias: The inscription is a message from Martin!
:Brother Methuselah: What does it say?
:Matthias: Hang on, it's encrypted with my public key.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Bar chart]]
[[Category:LOTR]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Cryptography]]
[[Category:Animals]]
[[Category:Fiction]]

1702: Home Itch Remedies

2016-07-04T15:13:28Z

108.162.221.27: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1702
| date = July 4, 2016
| title = Home Itch Remedies
| image = home_itch_remedies.png
| titletext = In my experience, mosquitos and poison ivy are bad, but the very worst itch comes from bites from chiggers (Trombicula alfreddugesi). They're found across the American south and great plains, so the best home remedy is to move to Iceland.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Basic transcript. Please improve on it.}}

Bug bites, such as mosquito bites, are itchy. Home remedies such as {{w|Alternative medicine}} or {{w|Homeopathy}} are often ineffective, and in some cases very complicated -- think of the number of suggestions you have got on how to cure hiccups. In this case Cueball's suggesting turns out to be insanely complicated, involving finding rare French orchids. In this case Megan is not actually interested in trying out a complex home remedy, but really just wants sympathy.

Megan's answer is a {{w|sarcastic}} comment stating that her own family home remedy is to keep scratching until the skin falls off -- which is a natural tendency to do, although not until the skin literally falls off, and hence it is not a home remedy but a natural reaction.

Most times the simplest solution is the best, and since iceland had been isolated until the Vikings, there are no spiders or snakes other than those that have been brought with the migration to iceland -- the title text makes fun of this, suggesting that the simplest cure for spider bites is to move to Iceland.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
:[Megan and Cueball stand as Megan scratches her itches.]
:Megan: Argh, bug bites are the ''worst''. I shouldn't scratch but... so itchy.
:Cueball: Oh, you know what's great for that?

:[Zoom-in to Megan's head and upper torso. Cueball is off-panel.]
:Megan: No, Don't tell me. Everyone always has weird home remedies that never work. I just want sympathy.
:Cueball: No, this one isn't weird, I promise. It really helps!

:[Zoom-out to Megan and Cueball. Megan is still scratching.]
:Cueball: First, take a hot shower. Then dip some ice cubes in vinegar and use them to crush one baby aspirin. Then make some tea, and...

:[Panel expands to show that Megan is walking away while Cueball watches.]
:Cueball: ...Then, you need a rare French orchid-
:Megan (cutting Cueball off): I'm going to try a different home remedy where I complain a lot and scratch until my skin comes off.
:Cueball: Sounds effective.
:Megan: It's an old family trick.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:1384: Krypton

2016-07-01T16:41:16Z

108.162.221.27:

Is the Earth baby the real reason Krypton was destroyed? [[Special:Contributions/103.22.201.239|103.22.201.239]] 08:58, 20 June 2014 (UTC)
:It seems that, in this comic, the answer is yes; in the real Superman series the answer is no because there is no Earth baby.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.70.61|141.101.70.61]] 21:24, 3 March 2016 (UTC)

Is now a good time to mark the shark jump? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.135|108.162.210.135]] 12:52, 20 June 2014 (UTC)
:Only if this keeps up. Yeah, it's a crappy comic, but I don't think the quality overall has been dropping that much. Everyone has off days. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.83|173.245.55.83]] 13:58, 20 June 2014 (UTC)
::Jumping the shark is a single event, not a segment of time. In this case it's launching the earth baby. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.237.175|108.162.237.175]] 03:30, 21 June 2014 (UTC)
:::And you can't identify a "shark jump" until a consistent decline is clearly evident. Then you can look back, and see where things started going downhill. [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 15:32, 25 June 2014 (UTC)
::::And often a "shark jump" is entirely arbitrary and based primarily on the opinion of self-centered wankers who think just because it doesn't make them laugh then obviously it's in an unstoppable nose dive. -Pennpenn [[Special:Contributions/108.162.249.221|108.162.249.221]] 05:32, 3 February 2015 (UTC)

Not so bad if you can relate to the anguish of parenting a colicky kid. Sending him to Krypton is an improvement on some of the things I was tempted to do. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.71|173.245.55.71]] 15:08, 20 June 2014 (UTC)
:Sending a baby off to die is better than things you were tempted to do? You really want to make that claim? [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.39|199.27.133.39]] 16:14, 20 June 2014 (UTC)
::It is a completely reasonable reaction given a culture that murders children in the womb for far, far less.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 04:05, 23 June 2014 (UTC)
:::Please, please, please, let's not turn this comment section into a "hey listen to my important opinion" fight about abortion. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.67|199.27.133.67]] 21:55, 23 June 2014 (UTC)
::::"Please, please, please, let's not turn this comment section into a "hey listen to my important opinion" fight about abortion. I thought that, with Randall seeming to be a liberal, that I could avoid that uncomfortable thing called truth here. Please don't rip rocket-sized holes in my arguments, lest I bring out the hate speech." Did you hit Save before finishing? [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 15:32, 25 June 2014 (UTC)

:::::This is a wiki discussion. Not CNN comment board. The comment was not related to the comic and does not indicate the author's support for abortions nor a lack thereof. Perhaps you've entered the incorrect URL. As mentioned in prior xkcd comics, statements about ideas related directly to science are not political by definition. One may attempt to use science for political reasons, but that is not what is being done here. Please end the personal attacks. 15:25, 6 October 2014 (UTC)

It may be a cultural-linguistic thing, but I felt compelled to change "cries" to "crying", in the explanation. Hearing "his cries" is redolent of "Ahoy there!" coming from a person attracting attention in a nautical context, the various distinctive calls of a person selling produce in a street-market or "I'm up here! Get me down!" from a person stuck on the ledge of a burning building. When a baby cries (as opposed to when someone "cries out") you hear him (or her... it's not actually specified) 'crying', not his(/her) 'calling-cries', even though both are indeed similar forms of attracting attention. I've overthought this, of course. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.57|141.101.99.57]] 15:19, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

(Also, should the baby survive... somehow... would Earth Rock, howsoever sent there, be naturally ''strenghthening'' to the child? Assuming similarly transmuted as per the mundane (for native Kryptonians) planetary material beneath their feet was, during the cataclysm... It'd probably depend on which subsection of Superman canon you observed, as they tend to reinvent the 'physics' behind standard green kryptonite, even before adding in the other colours of it...) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.57|141.101.99.57]] 15:19, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Can someone '''explain''' how this is funny? {{unsigned ip|108.162.217.47}}
:Seriously. ''Infanticide as entertainment?!!'' Parents deciding to kill a baby because it's noisy is neither amusing nor an interesting observation. Shame on Randall. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.39|199.27.133.39]] 16:11, 20 June 2014 (UTC)
:: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESFANzZTdYM "Infanticide as entertainment?!!"] --[[Special:Contributions/108.220.125.48|108.220.125.48]] 11:26, 21 June 2014 (UTC)
:::Given infanticide only being punished after you do it to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kermit_Gosnell several infants over 19 years] why would any good liberal worry about it in a comic strip?[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 04:05, 23 June 2014 (UTC)
::::108.162.217.47 and 108.220.125.48, just think of it as a post-birth abortion. Does that make it easier to handle? [[User:NealCruco|NealCruco]] ([[User talk:NealCruco|talk]]) 15:32, 25 June 2014 (UTC)
:::::What's the best part about dead baby jokes? They never get old. --[[User:Dangerkeith3000|Dangerkeith3000]] ([[User talk:Dangerkeith3000|talk]]) 18:41, 25 June 2014 (UTC)
:::::What's the deal with the discussion here? Its like some anti abortion person said, look at this comic and make comments and two people showed up. Protip, no one cares what you think. They care about explaining the comic. 15:32, 6 October 2014 (UTC)
:::::The humor of this comes from the comical reversal of an older story. Try to see the comic not as a joke about "We don't like our baby, let's kill it" so much as a joke about an earth family sending their baby to Krypton.[[User:RedHatGuy68|RedHatGuy68]] ([[User talk:RedHatGuy68|talk]]) 03:16, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

What I totally don't get is...when the visual information about Krypton's instability has reached Earth, Krypton has already exploded many years ago. I guess that Kal-El's spaceship is travelling at near-lightspeed, so time-dilation effects cause very little apparent time to pass for Kal-El; so when he arrives he's still a a baby. This assumes that (a) the alien technology allows for extraordinary acceleration while still maintaining survivable conditions for the baby (while Superman can apparently survive extreme conditions, this trait is most probably bestowed upon him only at the end of his journey by the Earth sun), and (b) the he is a male (this primary sexual characteristics are not shown in the movie, IIRC...). An FTL spaceship is out of the question, as this would mean that the Krptonite meteors would also have been travelling at FTL speed.

:Whatever. By the time a spaceship from Earth arrives, even if it travels at near-lightspeed, Clark Kent will most probably be facing retirement already (after turning a crank for many years, of course).

:I don't think that Randall thinks THAT much about the comics he makes. Besides, Cueball's line is that the planet is BECOMING unstable. I believe that in some of the comics Jor-El, Superman's father, notices the planet's instability long before they launch Kal-El. And Cueball's telescope is not very big (And sort of weirdly drawn), which might suggest that the planet is not hundreds of thousands of light years away. What I think is more confusing is the discussion about the possibility of the Earth baby causing the destruction of Krypton. If a small rocket entering the atmosphere of a planet causes it to go Kablooie, the world probably wouldn't last very long anyway. That should be removed.[[User:RedHatGuy68|RedHatGuy68]] ([[User talk:RedHatGuy68|talk]]) 03:16, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Btw, having Superman turn a crank instead of having him fight crimes would not necessarily mean that Lex Luthor would have had success with his evil plans. Mr. Bond, James Bond, had proven numerous times that he can stop any criminal who attempt to achieve world domination or at least extreme wealth via over-convoluted plans. Yep, I mean, if you could build powersats, you'd immediately achieve wold domination via your monopoly for "free and clean energy", so why bother with criminal plans? Any, if you are smart enough to build powersats, but cannot resist the temptation to use them for over-convoluted criminal plans, should yout net able to think about the option to give your Legion of Doom at least basic training in marksmanship?

But I think I'm getting carried away. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.108|108.162.254.108]] 16:25, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

I actually thought this was more brilliant before I saw the second ship (rather: noticed that the crystal was a ship). I thought the gag was that some human, in attempting to resolve a crying baby (we've all been there, and if you haven't, don't knock it) actually created Superman (the shuttle destroys the unstable Krypton, and the baby is flung back). If anyone does think that this comic is gruesome, then stop reading it: your efforts could be rewardingly employed by criticizing "Cyanide and Happiness" instead. I love the quirkiness Randall! [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.88|108.162.216.88]] 16:45, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

Am I alone in thinking ([http://www.dvice.com/sites/dvice/files/enterprise-warp.jpg NCC-1701]) moviebombed the 1978 film? See 'version depicted' in explanation. [[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.73|199.27.133.73]] 20:06, 20 June 2014 (UTC)

I think the depth of the cartoon is Newton's "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction" [[User:Nathan Hillery|Nathan Hillery]] ([[User talk:Nathan Hillery|talk]]) 14:01, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Scientific objections? But everything about Superman is already scientifically implausible anyway. [[User:Jim E|Jim E]] ([[User talk:Jim E|talk]]) 19:53, 21 June 2014 (UTC)

Regarding the following quote under trivia: "As faster than light-speed travel is impossible according to the current model of our universe this option is not really relevant here." FTL is entirely (theoretically) ppssible, its just travel *at* lightspeed that is impossible. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.36|108.162.221.36]] 01:32, 29 June 2014 (UTC)

:More importantly, FTL is an everyday thing in the DC universe. Our real-world science says the telescope is impossible, and so is Superman; the idea of just accepting those but drawing the line at FTL is more than a little silly. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.255.52|162.158.255.52]] 02:16, 25 September 2015 (UTC)

::"Our real-world science says the telescope is impossible" [citation needed] [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.27|108.162.221.27]] 16:41, 1 July 2016 (UTC)

54: Science

2016-05-12T17:07:46Z

108.162.221.27: /* The universe is 13.8 billion years old /*

{{comic
| number = 54
| date = January 18, 2006
| title = Science
| image = science.jpg
| titletext = Bonus points if you can identify the science in question
}}

==Explanation==
The solid line represents the theoretical {{w|blackbody radiation|radiation for a blackbody}} at 2.73 K according to {{w|Planck's Law}} (derived as early as 1900 by {{w|Max Planck}}). The formula, almost as written in the graph, can be found {{w|Black-body radiation#Planck's law of black-body radiation|here}}. The only changes are that on Wikipedia the frequency "f" is written as "v" and the temperature T is included in "I(f)" so it becomes "I(v,T)", but it still represents the energy density. In this formula, h is the Planck constant, c is the speed of light in a vacuum and k is the Boltzmann constant. The frequency (f or v) along the X-axis is measured in {{w|GHz}} (Giga (or billion) Herz). The curve peaks at 160.4 GHz. There is no scale or unit on the {{w|energy density}} on the Y-axis.

The theory is that the blackbody in question was in fact the universe at the point when it had cooled down enough {{w|Decoupling (cosmology)|to allow photons to escape}}, 0.38 million years into the universe's {{w|Big Bang|13,800 billion years}} history. The photons that reach us today are the ones that have been travelling to us at lightspeed since then. As the light from astronomical objects suffers from {{w|redshift}} due to the expansion of the universe, and this shift becomes more pronounced with distance from the observer, this light displays in the infrared range.

The title text praises viewers who can identify where this equation and corresponding graph come from (without consulting this wiki, of course).

===Official T-shirt explanation===
This comic was made into a T-shirt.

On the xkcd store there is both an '''explanation for the title:'''

Science: We finally figured out that you could separate fact from superstition by a completely radical method: observation. You can try things, measure them, and see how they work! {{w|Bitch (insult)|Bitches}}.


And specifically an '''explanation for the graph:'''

The graph on the back of the shirt is data from the{{w|COBE|COBE mission}} which looked at the background microwave glow of the universe and found that it fit perfectly with the idea that the universe used to be really hot everywhere. This strongly reinforced the Big Bang theory and was one of the most dramatic examples of an experiment agreeing with a theory in history -- the data points fit perfectly, with error bars too small to draw on the graph. It's one of the most triumphant scientific results in history.


The above is a direct copy paste, with errors. The current wiki page of the COBE mission can be found at {{w|Cosmic Background Explorer|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmic_Background_Explorer}}

This comic is available on a T-shirt from the [http://store-xkcd-com.myshopify.com/products/science-works xkcd stores].

==Transcript==
:[A graph with a curve that begins at zero, then peaks at a given frequency, indicated via a thin vertical line, and then fades down towards zero. It is possible to see the data point, which the curve fits perfectly. The Y-axis is labeled. Along the X-axis the zero point and the frequency where the peak has its maximum are labeled and close to the arrow the unit of this axis is written.]
:Y-axis: Energy Density
:Along the X-axis:
::0
::160.4
::GHz
:[Above the graph to the right is the following formula, with the last inner parentheses only included to make the formula clear, since in the drawing the fractions are written above and below horizontal lines:]
:I(f) = (2hf3/c2)(1/(ehf/kT-1))
:[Below the graph is written the following:]
:'''Science.'''
:It works, bitches.

==Trivia==
*This was the 48th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[50: Penny Arcade]].
**The next was [[51: Malaria]].
*This comic kept its original title: "Science"
**It is part of the last six comics on LiveJournal which all had a title without the word "Drawing" in it.
**Five of these had exactly the same title on both sites.
**Only 11 comics have the same title on both sites.
**Apart from the [[:Category:First day on LiveJournal|thirteen first comics]] posted to LiveJournal, there were only three other comics without the word "Drawing" in the title before these last six.
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "Bonus points if you can identify the science in question."
**Only difference between this and the title text on xkcd is the last period: "."
**It was rare that these two texts were so similar.
*This comic was one of the last 11 comics posted on LiveJournal.
**These 11 comics were [[:Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd|posted both on LiveJournal and xkcd]] after the [[xkcd]] site opened on the 1st of January 2006.
**The first six comics were posted on both sites on the same day. But not this one.
*For some reason this comic was first posted a week later on xkcd (25 January 2006), on the day that [[53: Hobby]] was released on LiveJournal.
**On the day 54: Science was released on LiveJournal (18 January 2006), another comic ([[51: Malaria]]) was released on xkcd.
**[[51: Malaria]] also became the next comic released on LiveJournal, but this meant that three comics in a row were posted a release day earlier on xkcd than on LiveJournal.
**Only with the last comic released on LiveJournal, [[55: Useless]], did the two sites release the same comic on the same day again.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 48]]
[[Category:Posted on LiveJournal after xkcd]]
[[Category:Line graphs]]
[[Category:Math]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Science]]

488: Steal This Comic

2016-04-13T04:04:02Z

108.162.221.27:

{{comic
| number = 488
| date = October 13, 2008
| title = Steal This Comic
| image = steal_this_comic.png
| titletext = I spent more time trying to get an audible.com audiobook playing than it took to listen to the book. I have lost every other piece of DRM-locked music that I ever paid for.
}}

==Explanation==
{{w|DRM}}, that is, "Digital Rights Management", is a recent (to this day) anti-piracy mechanism that is used to prevent unapproved or unintended use of the program. An example would be a requirement to play the game while online (where the servers can validate the game), or again, allowing only a limited amount of installs. The problem is that there are ways that DRM can be restrictive even upon legal situations. (To derivate from the aforementioned examples, someone may simply want to play the game in an area where there is no Internet connection, or again, someone may had exceeded the amount of allowed installs due to installation problems or hardware malfunctions requiring the purchase of new hardware.) In the situation placed in the above comic, one can not, say, transfer the audiobook or song from an iPod to a Blackberry phone, even if the song was only to share between family, or again, to have a backup. For this reason, DRM has gotten another (rather-accurate) name: [http://www.defectivebydesign.org/ "Digital Restrictions Management"].

[[Black Hat]] uses a [[:Category:Flowcharts|flow chart]] to propose two paths:
*If you pirate the audio (that is, download them through other sites), you would not only be breaking the law (more specifically, copyright laws), but neither the publisher nor the performer nor the composer get any money from your gain. However, not only you would have gotten the audio for free (or at least at a substantial discount, since you may have to pay a third-party site for access to the pirated audio), but all DRM would have been broken or simply not present (since defeating the DRM is required to acquire the audio in the first place), so you can use the songs in whatever way you would like.

*If you buy the DRM-locked audio, you would be complying with the law, plus the publisher, performer, and composer would get money for their work. However, suppose that your computer got lost, broken or stolen. Or again, you could be switching to an operating system or upgrade to a new computer that does not support iTunes. In this case, you would not be able to access your collection due to the new hardware/software. If you try to recover your collection by breaking the DRM, you would be violating the law, albeit a different one, even if the reason you want to break the DRM is to recover the collection for which you paid, thus therefore legally own.

Since both situations have you end up being a criminal, Black Hat proposes taking the pirate path, which leaves you with a collection of dependable audio for free.

There are multiple alternatives to the situations that Black Hat proposes.
*You can simply re-buy the DRM-locked audio when unfortunate things do happen. The risk of unfortunate events can further be minimised by investing in a file backup system (online and/or offline). That way, you would always be complying with the law. Furthermore, given that musical tastes often change over time, it is worth considering how much of your owned audio you would actually purchase again if you had to. However, not only you would be required to pay multiple times for the same audio you legally own, but there is no guarantee that the audio you want is available the next time you need to make the purchase. In fact, [http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2009/jul/17/amazon-kindle-1984 there is always the possibility of the service that provided you with the audio in the first place withdrawing the item you legally bought.].
*You can decide instead to think of audio as an experience rather than a thing that you own (similar to going to a movie theater). This type of thinking has given rise to music subscription sites, where instead of owning the music the listener is paying for continued access to an very large range of music.
*You can purchase the hard-copy version of the audio (e.g. on CD). These are then easily ripped to your hard-drive and then copied to other devices, plus a physical item can be useful for older sound systems that do not support digital media. However the downsides usually include: higher cost, delayed delivery, necessity of physical storage space (unless the disc is disposed of after ripping) and in many cases the non-availability of the desired audio in the first place.
*You can simply avoid buying the audio, but, if you are inclined towards audio plus there is no other legal way to buy the song, this would not be a pleasant solution (especially if you really like the song).

In light of this, [[Randall]] proposes another option: demanding DRM-free files.

The title is a reference both to Black Hat's suggestion to pirate the audio and the [http://web.archive.org/web/20080913131048/http://www.piracyisacrime.com/ "Piracy is a Crime"] ad campaign, as well as a 1970 pro-anarchy book called ''{{w|Steal This Book}}''. There is also some underlying humour: since xkcd [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/ is under a Creative Commons license], you can not "steal" the comic, since Randall specifically allowed the comic to be shared. It could also be a reference to ''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_Download_This_Song Don't Download This Song]'', a "Weird" Al Yankovic song that amusingly deals with audio piracy.

A note on the site says that [http://www.amazon.com Amazon] sells DRM-free music files. Since this comic was written, iTunes has also stopped using DRM on music, though it still protects apps, e-books, and videos.

==Transcript==
:Black Hat: Thinking of buying from audible.com or iTunes?
:Black Hat: Remember, if you pirate something, it's yours for life. You can take it anywhere and it will always work.
:[There is a flowchart whose paths are (You're a Criminal)<-Pirate<-(Buy or Pirate)->Buy->(Things Change)->(You Try to Recover Your Collection)->(You're a Criminal)]
:Black Hat: But if you buy DRM-locked media, and you ever switch operating systems or new technology comes along, your collection could be lost.
:Black Hat: And if you try to keep it, you'll be a criminal (DMCA 1201).
:Black Hat: So remember: if you want a collection you can count on, PIRATE IT.
:Black Hat: Hey, you'll be a criminal either way.
:(If you don't like this, demand DRM-free files)

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Black Hat]]
[[Category:Flowcharts]]

Talk:1660: Captain Speaking

2016-03-25T22:25:43Z

108.162.221.27:

Actually captain falling asleep wouldn't be unlikely or problem because there may still be two OTHER people in cabin. But yes, first method to find out where they are going would be to ask those other people in cabin. Next, you should be able to get something from the instruments in cabin - I suspect that modern planes DO have some sort of navigation map there. Failing that, asking tower for flight plan would be not only preferable to trying FlightAware, but you could likely do it without raising TOO much suspicious, pretending you just need some detail.
And, yes: captain (or pilot in general) is only needed for pre-flight checks, take-off, landing - and if something unexpected happens, including some extremely bad weather. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 14:53, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

Yeah it was badly phrased, pilots do fall asleep from time to time. Some long flights may even have two flight crews, so the pilots can get some shut-eye. It varies, but there is '''never''' only one person alone in the cabin as you say, if the co-pilot has to go to the toilet a flight attendant takes his place. As for positioning, older planes have instruments for that too, but they are far less sophisticated, might even require a map and a pencil :-) --[[User:Todor|Todor]] ([[User talk:Todor|talk]]) 15:59, 25 March 2016 (UTC)
:Not entirely true; I've been on many [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britten-Norman_Trislander short commercial flights] (20-30 minutes) with one crew. The seat next to the pilot is often a passenger seat - when I sat there, the pilot gave me biscuits... [[User:Cosmogoblin|Cosmogoblin]] ([[User talk:Cosmogoblin|talk]]) 19:04, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

Just noting, the discussion shows up on main again. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.56.5|162.158.56.5]] 16:00, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

On one of the few flights I got to sit in first class, the flight attendant started to welcome us passengers. She said "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to..." then stopped. I was sitting in 1B so she said to me, "can I see your ticket?" I gave it to her and she completed the announcement. After she finished, I said quietly "forgot our flight number and where we're going, right?" She kind of sheepishly nodded. :-) I don't blame her though. She doesn't care about the flight number or where we're headed, and with all the flights they have to make, I'd probably forget once in a while too. [[User:Gbisaga|Gbisaga]] ([[User talk:Gbisaga|talk]]) 19:16, 25 March 2016 (UTC)

*
This comic may be in reference to the FlyDubai crash that happened on March 19th, 2016. The flight crew was supposedly severely fatigued. The aircraft that crashed also happened to be a Boeing aircraft similar to the one pictured. FlyDubai is a low cost carrier and they have been stretching their pilots as far as they can, and they apparently found the breaking point. In the US I know we have very strict duty periods for our pilots see FAR §121.473 (see below "Part 121 link"). So I wouldn't worry about flying in the US.

As for each line of text after:

The flight number is probably written down somewhere in the pilots flight notes, so i wouldn't be too hard for them to figure that out. After all they could end up doing multiple flights a day, it could be easy to forget the flight number normally. In Glass cockpits i would imagine the flight number is in the system.

The line about FlightAware, is in reference to the Website/App that shows all aircraft IFR flight plans (unless they pay to hide it). Thus a commercial airliner would show up on the site. It is odd that they would even need FlightAware, because in any aircraft that is new enough to have WiFi there would be a glass cockpit. Glass cockpits are set up before each flight to have the whole route programmed into the system. Which would be generally the same information as on FlightAware, since FlightAware gets the same flight plan that the pilots file with Air traffic Control. The only reason it's not exactly the same is because the pilots could put whatever they want into the flight computer, and may be planning to ask ATC to cut some corners later-on in the flight (which is normal).

Also on a side note: every Commercial Airline flight must be able to fly IFR (also in FAR Part 121 somewhere), which means the aircraft probably has GPS and at a minimum Radio Navigation systems (RNAV). This means that the pilots should always be able to find out where they are, but not where they are going. Also the pilot could just ask ATC or the Dispatcher who is assigned that flight#.

In regards to capability of Autopilots, each aircraft can have a different level of auto pilot from one that can only hold a heading to one that can fly pretty much every minute of the flight. Auto pilots on some of the larger newer planes have an auto land feature usable on CATIII(a,b,c) approaches. However Auto pilots cant talk to ATC or avoid inclement weather (to my knowledge).

Yes the 777 is able to land on autopilot. Father was a 777 pilot and landed in foggy conditions with autopilot when he himself could not see the runway until the wheels touched. sidenote, I believe there is auto throttle for takeoff.

Part 121 link: http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=5da31e85f0917eb260f691f628d67096&mc=true&node=pt14.3.121&rgn=div5#se14.3.121_1473

* AJ (Airline Employee/Private pilot (not an expert)) 3/25/16 2005Z