Talk:2670: Interruption

2024-03-24T03:39:03Z

108.162.245.248:

First. {{unsigned ip|172.70.90.175}}

Second, then, LOL! Now, I understand the comic, and there's no explanation or transcript as of yet (it's half-past midnight EST - same time zone as Randall - so it seems unusual for there STILL to be nothing), so I'm tempted to write them, but I'm unsure what to actually say other than describe things for the explanation. Since Cueball is in the comic, this would be Randall: [Cueball is interviewing Ponytail for a podcast as Ponytail tells her story. Randall is listening in his car when the podcast is interrupted by his GPS giving an instruction, which throws him off as Ponytail's voice sounds too much like the GPS voice.] But this seems insufficient for an explanation. (I know - KNOW - that in a week this'll be one of the longest explanations on here). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:42, 10 September 2022 (UTC)
:Someone did the transcript while I was writing the above, LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:45, 10 September 2022 (UTC)

"Turn left" is a likely allusion to an episode from Season 4 of Doctor Who. The Doctor was played by David Tennant, who is also a notable voice actor. Maybe someone somewhere has figured out a way to use his voice for their GPS.
: I think it is just a direction given by a GPS, not really a reference to something [[Special:Contributions/172.70.111.28|172.70.111.28]] 12:51, 10 September 2022 (UTC)Bumpf
: The junction in Turn Left did not have lights. And I'm sure they've used Ten(nant)'s voice for a SatNav. They managed it for [https://youtu.be/-JpKuYbJQK4 BRIAN BLESSED!] [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.171|172.69.79.171]] 18:01, 10 September 2022 (UTC)
:This sounds like extreme reaching to me. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:31, 11 September 2022 (UTC)

I just added the reference to the Bechdel test. Should there be a category for this? My understanding of overall explainxkcd wiki structure is not that high. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.210.243|172.70.210.243]] 21:13, 10 September 2022 (UTC)
: Er, why do we need to track that? I don't exactly follow the reasoning. If someone wants to accuse xkcd of a whole as being sexist, that would call for a separate page altogether-- which itself wouldn't belong on a wiki about explaining xkcd. Are there any other comic explanations that note Bechdel qualifications? --[[User:Jacky720|Jack]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|t]]|[[Special:Contributions/Jacky720|c]]) 23:12, 10 September 2022 (UTC)
:(The following reply Edit Conflicted by the above, which I think misses the point of the suggestion for a Bechdel Test category. Insofar as if one is needed, then it actually proves that xkcd is at least a fraction less sexist than most other things.)
:Is there enough demand for it?
:Your job, Jim, should you decide to accept it, is to see if there are 'enough' (a flexible figure, but more than "barely a couple" and less than "loads!") of other example comics for a Category:Bechdel test to be added to. (As always, should you or any of your IM Force be caught or killed, the Secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions.)
:And, if you take my suggestion seriously, I would look at compiling a list of "Comics that mention the Bechdel Test" (I right now cannot think of any) and "Comics that pass the Bechdel Test" (such as this one... and it'll be interesting to see how many actually do).
:''Explanations'' that mention the Bechdel Test (without explicit prompting by what's int he comic) aren't really useful. Quick check, and the first examples are ones where it effectively states that they have/involve/reference situations that ''don't'' pass the test, which... as is the pointedly pointed point of the Test... isn't that rare at all. Or (like the Entwives comic) it's regarding nested research of the influences that are considered to inspire/be mirrored by the comic.
:But it wouldn't be up to me, or you. I know a few named-users who might take a look at such a proposal and implement it, though. They'll be interested in seeing what you can justify. (i.e., just show your working-outs, and it might be implemented). [[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.171|172.69.79.171]] 23:17, 10 September 2022 (UTC)
:I see no mention of the Bechdel test, so I guess someone agrees with me that it's not relevant to this comic. Most characters don't have names (a significant aspect of the Bechdel test AFAIK), just the names we've given them, so just about every comic would fail the test - though since the guys don't have names either, that seems irrelevant anyway - meaning the only reason to mention the Bechdel test is if the comic is about it or things like it. A podcast and a GPS voice don't qualify, sorry. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:27, 11 September 2022 (UTC)
:Given that in West Side Story, Ponytail is male, I see zero reason to assume that the Bechdel test would apply to a comic of stick figures, and furthermore, applying the Bechdel test to everything has a tendency to prove the MGTOW theory that women are idiots who care about irrational and irrelevant things.[[User:Seebert|Seebert]] ([[User talk:Seebert|talk]]) 12:54, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

Never listen to podcasts, never heard Phoebe Judge or heard OF her, but WOW she sounds like a GPS!! I see Randall's point, LOL! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 03:27, 11 September 2022 (UTC)

Struth. I couldn't listen to a podcast with the same voice as my Nav App; hell, I can barely stand to hear the directions. A podcast? "what DIDyou think her moTIVation was? have you everseenher AGain?" No chance. [[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 21:24, 11 September 2022 (UTC)

Is it just me, or does the last panel awfully look like a reference to the late Queen?[[Special:Contributions/172.68.119.30|172.68.119.30]] 02:05, 12 September 2022 (UTC)
:Just you, looks like Megan in silhouette, with a bag of money. --[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 08:24, 12 September 2022 (UTC)

Turn Left may be a reference to the Doctor Who episode, "Turn Left" in which a character is told repeatedly to "turn left" at the appropriate time (in order to save the universe). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.91|172.70.114.91]] 22:28, 13 September 2022 (UTC)
:Someone above already said that, and it appeared we as a community seem to agree that it sounds like you two are really stretching, unless there's something BESIDES the phrase which would make a reference more believable? It's too simple an instruction... [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:22, 17 September 2022 (UTC)

It's nothing more than an easter egg, if anything at all. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.113|172.70.114.113]] 20:30, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

Why does the explanation say "It could fit the story" and then immediately say "It doesn't fit the story"?(not verbatim, obviously)[[User:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)]] ([[User talk:Sarah the Pie(yes, the food)|talk]]) 16:23, 19 March 2023 (UTC)

Talk:2894: Research Account

2024-02-15T03:35:31Z

108.162.245.248:

wasn't there a whatif that caused Randal to temporally loose the access to Wolfram Alpha?
[[Special:Contributions/172.70.175.26|172.70.175.26]] 19:40, 14 February 2024 (UTC)
:It was [https://what-if.xkcd.com/62/ the what if about balloons] [[User:Anonymouscript|Anonymouscript]] ([[User talk:Anonymouscript|talk]]) 02:02, 15 February 2024 (UTC)
Although Cueball is often considered to be Randall's alter ego in the comics, when writing explanations we refer to the character. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:16, 14 February 2024 (UTC)

I wanted to add something to the explanation saying that he's overthinking, and it probably doesn't matter what you write in the justification, since it's unlikely that anyone actually reads them. But I don't actually know this. If anyone knows what goes on behind the scenes at research institutions, add something. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 20:23, 14 February 2024 (UTC)
:That's my impression (it's very like an account-creation process, supplying free-text to be reviewed at leisure only after attaching the user to a UID with no more verification other than "click on this emailed link to confirm this is your contact details", rather than an application which can be denied or blackballed). But I don't delve into (or control) particularly privileged data-sources where it could be far more strict (yet not so much that it can't be handled by an easy to access web-form), so would also be interested in hearing the facts-of-life from beyond the more open-data side of things. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.60|172.69.194.60]] 22:32, 14 February 2024 (UTC)
:I suspect the "Institution" dropdown might be used for some marketing statistics. No one has time to go through all the free-form inputs, although AI may change that. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 22:58, 14 February 2024 (UTC)

I would say there's also some similarity to the classic [https://xkcd.com/386/ 386: Duty Calls]. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.248|108.162.245.248]] 03:35, 15 February 2024 (UTC)

Talk:2491: Immune Factory

2021-07-20T05:40:35Z

108.162.245.248: First or second dose

I don't feel qualified to start this description, but this page has relevant info to explain the pun in the last panel: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strikebreaker Strikebreaker - Wikipedia] - [[User:Vaedez|Vaedez]] ([[User talk:Vaedez|talk]]) 03:36, 20 July 2021 (UTC)
:I've yet to visit your link, but I suspect I would have explained that self-same thing. Plus the "IMMUNION" thing being a parody of something I know happened in the UK (don't know about the US, but why not?) where the Bottle Washers And Associated Kitchen Trades Union stops being known by its proud old acronym of BWAAKTU and 'rebrands' as something that sounds like a team name from The Apprentice, becoming "Sinceriton" or "Dynamotion" or something that looks like it ''should'' be an aptonym with a valid backronym like "SINKU". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.48|162.158.159.48]] 04:58, 20 July 2021 (UTC)

When I read the comic, I inferred that this was his ''second'' dose - the first dose made his body build up defenses, in contrast with ''now'', when it's ramping up production and making him feel really bad. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.245.248|108.162.245.248]] 05:40, 20 July 2021 (UTC)

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2670: Interruption

Talk:2894: Research Account

Talk:2491: Immune Factory