explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:2840: Earth Layers

2023-10-12T15:52:46Z

162.158.159.116:

Why are the seeds outside of the pith? Is there a fruit that is organized this way? [[User:SDSpivey|SDSpivey]] ([[User talk:SDSpivey|talk]]) 18:01, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
:If there's one that's this way that contains pith, i can't find it, but raspberries, cashew apples, and blackberries all have their seeds on the outside [[User:SomeoneIGuess|SomeoneIGuess]] ([[User talk:SomeoneIGuess|talk]]) 20:09, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
:The pith is the innermost part of a tree trunk. The part of a fruit is the ''pit'', which is basically the same thing as a seed.--[[Special:Contributions/172.64.236.13|172.64.236.13]] 20:19, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
::Ummm...the white, fibrous stuff within fruits that wraps around the seeds (like in oranges, for example) is called "pith", whether trees contain something by that name or not.[[User:Yorkshire Pudding|Yorkshire Pudding]] ([[User talk:Yorkshire Pudding|talk]]) 21:43, 11 October 2023 (UTC)
:Strawberries are an (albeit rare) example of a fruit with the seeds on the outside of the pith (and skin, for that matter) [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 15:52, 12 October 2023 (UTC)
:Clear tootsie roll tootsie pop joke miss (awwaiid) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.39.49|172.70.39.49]] 01:40, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

Something that seemed to be excessive to edit into the Explanation, but noting here in passing, the additional issue of magnets (in a Kinder context) is the problems of ingesting them. In addition to other issues, they can attract each other/separate bits of metal across folds of the digestive system and cause problems beyond merely their passage through the system (which they might not now be able to do). I don't even know if Kinder has ever included magnets, but I think they'd be extremely limited even outwith the US. (Though, as counter-example, there are {{w|Hardware disease#Prevention|Cow Magnets}}, designed for ingestion but not further digestion. And not for humans, nor the size of either a standard Kinder-yoke or a planetary one.) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.242.69|172.71.242.69]] 08:50, 12 October 2023 (UTC)

2733: Size Comparisons

2023-02-04T08:56:48Z

162.158.159.116: /* Explanation */ character cases

{{comic
| number = 2733
| date = February 3, 2023
| title = Size Comparisons
| image = size_comparisons_2x.png
| imagesize = 238x373px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = If you shrank the Solar System to the size of Texas, the Houston metro area would be smaller than a grasshopper in Dallas.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a TEXAS-SIZED CRICKET - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

[[Cueball]] attempts to emphasize {{w|Texas}}' size (as the largest state in the {{w|contiguous US}}) to [[Ponytail]] by making a size comparison. He states that if Texas was expanded to the size of the {{w|Solar System}}, the ants in Texas will be as large as {{w|Rhode Island}} (the smallest US state). However, Cueball on purpose (according to the caption) proves how small Texas actually is compared to the Solar System (which is a lot larger).

There are a lot of definitions for how large the Solar System is, but the most common of which is Neptune's Aphelion (farthest point from Sun). Using the circle area equation, we find the "area" of the solar system to be 6.49E19 (a lot) kilometers squared. Texas's area is 696,241 km2, if we then divide, we get 9.32E13 (still a lot though). Ants, unfortunately for the calculations, vary vastly in their size. Rhode Island's area is 3,144 kilometers squared. We can therefore get that Randall's average "ant" is 33.73 square millimeters large. Unscientifically measured, an ant has an "aspect ratio" of 1:2, which will result in a length of 8.21mm, which falls into the range of 2mm~25mm. Therefore, Randall's calculations are correct.

The title text refers to the opposite, where the entire Solar system is being scaled down to the size of Texas, the {{w|Houston}} (a city in Texas) {{w|Greater Houston|metropolitan area}} (a bit larger than Houston's area) would be smaller than a grasshopper in {{w|Dallas}} (another city in Texas). We can reuse the 9.32E13 multiplier, this time with the Houston metro area's area (26,061 kilometers squared), and receive 279.6 millimeters squared, a grasshopper is thinner than an ant, so we use the aspect ratio of 1:3 instead, getting an answer of 28.96 mm, or almost 3 centimeters, this falls on the slightly shorter side of the 1~7 cm range and is definitely smaller than a lot of grasshoppers.

A common trope in explaining the sizes of unfamiliar things is to compare the thing to something people are likely to know. For instance, a human-sized flea could jump over the Eiffel Tower, if jumping distance scaled with animal size (it happens to not). In this case, Randall is comparing objects that are extremely different in scale (the state of Texas and a small insect), but then blowing Texas up to yet another size that's many orders of magnitude larger, with the result that the comparison is of no value in understanding how big Texas is (which was supposed to be the point). The only message you get in the end is, "Texas is much bigger than an ant." And most people happen to be aware of that.{{Citation needed}}

On the other hand, the comparison would be meaningful the other way around : "the Solar System is so big that if you shrink it to the size of Texas, Rhode Island would be as small as the ants there".

This is another comic in the series of [[My Hobby|Randall's Hobbies]].

==Transcript==

:[Cueball speaking to Ponytail.]
:Cueball: Texas is so big that if you expanded it to the size of the Solar System, the ants there would be as big as Rhode Island.
:Ponytail: Wow!
:Ponytail: ...Wait.

:[Caption below panel]
:My hobby: Unhelpful size comparisons

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Ponytail]]
[[Category:My Hobby]]

Talk:2350: Deer Turrets

2020-09-24T16:04:43Z

162.158.159.116:

There's no "next" button on [[2349]]? --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.250|108.162.219.250]] 18:44, 24 August 2020 (UTC)
:The reason there's no Next button is that it's the newest comic. --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.158.43|162.158.158.43]] 21:04, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

Is this about something? I mean, it could be a commentary on the way politics handled Covid, some politicians taking terrible decisions, then saying it was a mistake and that science is still learning, but then still taking terrible decisions afterwards. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.69.83|141.101.69.83]] 21:02, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

:That's definitely my take on this comic. The similarity with certain political meetings in the covid situation is quite abvious, in my opinion. [[Special:Contributions/90.127.120.72|90.127.120.72]] 16:02, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

:I saw it as a send up of the agile development practices of Silicon Valley and many other businesses today. The principle is that if an idea is going to fail, you want it to fail fast, so you can learn and pivot quickly to a better idea. This can ideally result in a culture that values constructive failure. If taken too far, it can lead to sloppy practices, waste, and outright harm to customers and to the public. [[User:JSekula71|JSekula71]] ([[User talk:JSekula71|talk]]) 20:12, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

The thing about icebergs, is that 9/10ths of them would be ''on fire'', if they weren't kept underwater. Truth! [[Special:Contributions/162.158.155.192|162.158.155.192]] 22:17, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

(to the tune of “Do-Re-Mi”) ''Does are near, now flee in fear; The ray will boil everyone; The antlered gun is taking aim; Now it’s vaporised my lung...'' [[User:Lightcaller|Lightcaller]] ([[User talk:Lightcaller|talk]]) 22:43, 24 August 2020 (UTC)

Deer don't gallop. Are you sure that's about the deer? [[Special:Contributions/172.69.33.187|172.69.33.187]] 22:54, 24 August 2020 (UTC) Dear IP_address, deer most certainly do gallop. Since I'm a nice guy (rarely), I LMGTFYed that to confirm. [[User:Cellocgw|Cellocgw]] ([[User talk:Cellocgw|talk]]) 12:35, 25 August 2020 (UTC)
:No deer run. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.210|172.69.34.210]] 02:25, 26 August 2020 (UTC)
:Some deer run. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 16:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

I don't think you can build an iceberk-proof airship. Or at least, you won't get it into air because it would be too heavy. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 00:21, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

You make a ship iceberg proof by making it fly. You can't be sunk if you fly over. [[User:Hax|Hax]] ([[User talk:Hax|talk]]) 07:16, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

I think the "Is it really??" means "Is it really okay?", not "Is it really a mistake?". [[Special:Contributions/162.158.183.137|162.158.183.137]] 11:03, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

Gotta keep on trying 'til you run out of cake. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.210.188|108.162.210.188]] 13:18, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

Some airplanes crash into mountains. Some mountains look like icebergs. Therefore, some airplanes crash into some icebergs. [[User:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For]] ([[User talk:These Are Not The Comments You Are Looking For|talk]]) 03:51, 1 September 2020 (UTC)

== When Mao went to clear the sparrow but for the locust, it was 42% as deadly as fauna-mounted autocannons ==

Just saying. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.34.150|172.69.34.150]] 07:17, 25 August 2020 (UTC)

Didn't the designer of the Titanic go down with ship? SanFranSam [[Special:Contributions/172.69.35.53|172.69.35.53]] 04:25, 26 August 2020 (UTC)

== Laughed ==

The part that made me laugh the hardest was the Citation Needed on the claim that there are no flying icebergs! Well played.
[[User:BlakeFelix|BlakeFelix]] ([[User talk:BlakeFelix|talk]]) 11:03, 26 August 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2363: Message Boards

2020-09-24T12:18:27Z

162.158.159.116: /* Too dumb for this one */ Mending typos, other minor edits

Randall stimulates people doing this to their parents? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.234|108.162.219.234]] 01:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:He doesn't necessarily think it's likely. But as the caption says, he's amused by the fact that it's possible because the Internet and message boards have been around long enough. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

It would be interesting to know how many online message boards have actually been in continuous operation for 20 years. The original Usenet newsgroups are actually twice that old, but what about Internet boards? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reddit is starting to get there, being 15 years old now. I also do know some forums that started in 2003~2004 and are still active (mostly ones tied to still-updating webcomics). So not quite 20 years, but close. --[[User:Elifia|Elifia]] ([[User talk:Elifia|talk]]) 03:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::There'll be BBSes (one I once used is still going, last I checked, well over 30 years old, pre-Web, not sure how many old-guard are there, as I've not for 25 years) and that would rival even pre-split Usenet. A MUD I know (all my characters long timed-out) is still going strong since pre-Web times, too. IRC isn't exactly persistent (and has changed a lot) but still exists. Even if the likes of anon.penet.fi have been closed, there'll be mailer-gateways/request-by-mail things (I used to ask one for Freeware!) on obscure servers. Perhaps Wollongong University still has a Gopher server (one memorable 'place' I visited on a link-to-link round the world trip, back just before I heard of the Berners-Lee thing). I have a habit of forgetting webforums (earliest currently used one was signed into only back in 2008) and a late-'90s one I recall fondly got so spammed (despite whatever passed for CAPTCHA in those days) that the webmaster Read-Onlied it, and domain is now expired. If I was a better person at staying in touch, I'm sure I could have been continuously active for sufficient time on a single platform (I fell off a Usenet group when I lost a newsfeed and refused to use the then-new-fangled Google Groups interface, just the latest insult since WebTV, the push from AOL and the whole Eternal September thing). So, anecdotally, I know there's a good chance. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.34|162.158.159.34]] 03:42, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:I have been an active member at GameFAQs.com for longer than 20 years. The message boards there opened in 1999.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.169|173.245.52.169]] 04:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

== Too dumb for this one ==

Is it just me or was the detail the whole joke hinged on a bit more subtle than usual here? Sure, sometimes it's arcane, but I feel like you don't usually need to read between the lines so much to even get the backstory for the joke.

On first read, obviously the two characters know each other, and the fact that a real life acquaintance would reply to a 20yo thread was clearly part of the joke. But essentially I read this as two people complaining about the same thing, as one often does on message boards. By the time I put it together that "NIN85 must be older now" + "new user from context is a teenager" + "most adults don't know many teenagers" + "except they do know their kids" = "she's talking to her kid", it was far too late for me to get the laugh. In retrospect "we talked about this" is a classic parenting line, but given that one tends to talk to many people about many things, it didn't really point me in that direction the way it was probably intended.

Maybe, not being a parent myself, my instincts also led me to assume that an older person would still sympathize and support a young person in search of totally rad transportation, rather than shooting them down like her mother before her :P So the assumption that "we talked about this" = "I, Vespa fan, have already denied you the same privilege" seemed like an especially great leap!

So, probably just having a slow brain day, but is there anything else to it I'm missing? Also, does Randall have kids? [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 04:55, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Not just you. It took me a while before I noticed the dates on the posts, but then I put it all together. Maybe a better title for the comic would have helped, something including "necro". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:54, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reconstructing my own first reading of this (before I slept last night so imperfect) it seems I read the post-text first, worked out it was a mom/son relationship, 'confirmed' by finally reading the posting dates (the point at which I probably belly-laughed for 'getting it'), spotted the "New User" subtly there in the side-profile and then (after noting the forum name, subtitlr, title-text, etc) wondered about the Profile Pic.
:Mom seems to have kept (or deliberately retroed) an image from her youth, even if not the original (if there was any, for the v1.0 forum layout to show) pic uploaded in 2000. This was pre smart-phone/selfies, to any reasonable degree. Is this a scan of of an old emulsion photo? (It also has possible photoshopping artefacts of portrait over new background, by one reading of it.) Would a more worldwise 25yo scan in and upload a pic of her 15yo self? Maybe in a "see, I ''was'' there at Woodstock" way (though not actual Woodstock, unless that's the photoshopped background - or something like that - but maybe still not with a 15yo 'selfie' shot, but something from a later age). It's at this point I'm thinking I'm overthinking this (especially given how much 'exposure' many people still give in the profiles and avatars, even 35yo moms), especially given I've never used a selfie-avatar at all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 12:14, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Another in-joke is that Vespa is a scooter and there is an electric model [https://elettrica.vespa.com/en/index.php] that require either a moped license or a full motorcycle license, depending on the engine power, that is a premium model, Peugeot electric scooter cost 40% less, for instance.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.200|162.158.94.200]] 07:13, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Talk:2363: Message Boards

2020-09-24T12:14:48Z

162.158.159.116: /* Too dumb for this one */

Randall stimulates people doing this to their parents? [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.234|108.162.219.234]] 01:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:He doesn't necessarily think it's likely. But as the caption says, he's amused by the fact that it's possible because the Internet and message boards have been around long enough. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

It would be interesting to know how many online message boards have actually been in continuous operation for 20 years. The original Usenet newsgroups are actually twice that old, but what about Internet boards? [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 02:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reddit is starting to get there, being 15 years old now. I also do know some forums that started in 2003~2004 and are still active (mostly ones tied to still-updating webcomics). So not quite 20 years, but close. --[[User:Elifia|Elifia]] ([[User talk:Elifia|talk]]) 03:04, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
::There'll be BBSes (one I once used is still going, last I checked, well over 30 years old, pre-Web, not sure how many old-guard are there, as I've not for 25 years) and that would rival even pre-split Usenet. A MUD I know (all my characters long timed-out) is still going strong since pre-Web times, too. IRC isn't exactly persistent (and has changed a lot) but still exists. Even if the likes of anon.penet.fi have been closed, there'll be mailer-gateways/request-by-mail things (I used to ask one for Freeware!) on obscure servers. Perhaps Wollongong University still has a Gopher server (one memorable 'place' I visited on a link-to-link round the world trip, back just before I heard of the Berners-Lee thing). I have a habit of forgetting webforums (earliest currently used one was signed into only back in 2008) and a late-'90s one I recall fondly got so spammed (despite whatever passed for CAPTCHA in those days) that the webmaster Read-Onlied it, and domain is now expired. If I was a better person at staying in touch, I'm sure I could have been continuously active for sufficient time on a single platform (I fell off a Usenet group when I lost a newsfeed and refused to use the then-new-fangled Google Groups interface, just the latest insult since WebTV, the push from AOL and the whole Eternal September thing). So, anecdotally, I know there's a good chance. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.34|162.158.159.34]] 03:42, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:I have been an active member at GameFAQs.com for longer than 20 years. The message boards there opened in 1999.[[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.169|173.245.52.169]] 04:23, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

== Too dumb for this one ==

Is it just me or was the detail the whole joke hinged on a bit more subtle than usual here? Sure, sometimes it's arcane, but I feel like you don't usually need to read between the lines so much to even get the backstory for the joke.

On first read, obviously the two characters know each other, and the fact that a real life acquaintance would reply to a 20yo thread was clearly part of the joke. But essentially I read this as two people complaining about the same thing, as one often does on message boards. By the time I put it together that "NIN85 must be older now" + "new user from context is a teenager" + "most adults don't know many teenagers" + "except they do know their kids" = "she's talking to her kid", it was far too late for me to get the laugh. In retrospect "we talked about this" is a classic parenting line, but given that one tends to talk to many people about many things, it didn't really point me in that direction the way it was probably intended.

Maybe, not being a parent myself, my instincts also led me to assume that an older person would still sympathize and support a young person in search of totally rad transportation, rather than shooting them down like her mother before her :P So the assumption that "we talked about this" = "I, Vespa fan, have already denied you the same privilege" seemed like an especially great leap!

So, probably just having a slow brain day, but is there anything else to it I'm missing? Also, does Randall have kids? [[User:Jerodast|- jerodast]] ([[User talk:Jerodast|talk]]) 04:55, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Not just you. It took me a while before I noticed the dates on the posts, but then I put it all together. Maybe a better title for the comic would have helped, something including "necro". [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 05:54, 24 September 2020 (UTC)
:Reconstructing my own first reading of this (before I slept last night so imperfect) it seems I read the post-text first, worked out it was a mom/son relationship, 'confirmed' by finally reading the posting dates (the point at which I probably belly-laughed for 'getting it'), spotted the "New User" subtly there in the side-profile and then (after noting the forum name, subtitlr, title-text, etc) wondered about the Profile Pic.
:Mom seems to have kept (or deliberately retroed) an image from her youth, even if not tue original (if any) pic uploaded in 2000. This was pre smart-phone/selfies, to any recognisable effect. Is this a scan of of an old emulsion photo? (It also has possible photoshopping artefacts of portrait over new background, by one reading of it.) Would a more worldwise 25yo scan in and upload a pic of her 15yo self? Maybe in a "see, I ''was'' there at Woodstock" way (though not actual Woodstock, unless that's the photoshopped background - or something like that - but maybe still not with a 15yo 'selfie' shot, but something from a later age). It's at this point I'm thinking I'm overthinking this (especially given how much 'exposure' many people still give in the profiles and avatars, even 35yo moms), especially given I've never used a selfie-avatar at all. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 12:14, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

Another in-joke is that Vespa is a scooter and there is an electric model [https://elettrica.vespa.com/en/index.php] that require either a moped license or a full motorcycle license, depending on the engine power, that is a premium model, Peugeot electric scooter cost 40% less, for instance.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.94.200|162.158.94.200]] 07:13, 24 September 2020 (UTC)

2363: Message Boards

2020-09-24T11:53:57Z

162.158.159.116: /* Explanation */ Or Julz Jr might then *be* a modern mod on the forum for neo-Mods, now made /a la mode/ with mad moped-modifications under medication

{{comic
| number = 2363
| date = September 23, 2020
| title = Message Boards
| image = message_boards.png
| titletext = (c) You can have a scooter when you pay for it yourself, and (d) if you can't learn to start a new thread rather than responding to an old one, you'll be banned. [thread locked by moderator]
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by Julian's kid in 2040, who wants a hover-scooter. Please mention here why this explanation isn't complete. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

The joke of this comic lies in the dates of the forum posts and the (presumed) relation between the posters.

The initial post was made in 2000 by NIN85 who was, at the time, a teenaged girl (likely 14-15 years old given her username ends in 85, implying she was born in 1985), complaining that her mother did not allow her to get a {{w|Vespa}}. Vespa is a brand of scooters and mopeds produced by the Italian manufacturer Piaggio. Most U.S. states require motorcycle licenses for any vehicle with an engine size over 50 cubic centimeters. Most Vespas are larger than this, although 49 CC models (classified as mopeds) do exist.

The reply was written in 2020 (twenty years later) by JULZ (or Julian), the son of the now-adult NIN85. "Julz" complains about his mother refusing to allow him to get an electric scooter, which doesn't require a license. He is implicitly pointing out the hypocrisy of his mother, as a 15-year-old, thinking that teenagers with scooters are perfectly reasonable, while as a 35 year old, being against the idea.

The humor derives partially from the fact that this isn't really hypocrisy: we expect teenaged viewpoints to evolve into mature adult viewpoints, and do not hold adults to promises made or beliefs held when they were teenagers. Humor also results from the unexpected situation of the child tracking down his mother's old forum post, and his mother still being active in the same niche forum 20 years later. She quickly responds to his comment, addressing him by his real name, which makes it clear they are related. She points out that they had already talked about it (presumably explaining why he is not allowed to get an electric scooter) and expressing her disbelief that he managed to find her original post on the message board.

In the title text, the parent is apparently a {{w|Internet_forum#Moderators|mod}} on that board now, or at least can quickly twist the ear of an actual mod. (It is unclear whether she ever got her scooter and perhaps became a different kind of {{w|Mod_(subculture)|Mod}}.) She threatens banning if the kid does not learn to post a new thread for stuff like this instead of dredging up dead threads from years ago, a common complaint on message boards. The act of 'reviving long-dead threads' is often described as "necromancy", or "necroing", and some subforums may actually encourage tagging onto existing but idle discussions (to add new/updated information) rather than repeatedly creating new threads (that end up rehashing or linking all old information).

This 'necro' does not seem to be particularly informative, however, except as a curiosity. It's possible the motivation to lock this thread is more about hiding her hypocrisy from other users on the board than for the usual reason of letting dead threads stay dead, but a locked thread is usually still readable. It could easily be found and read by old and new forum-goers alike. Even, if not lost entirely by then, by a son or daughter (or sentient AI child-entity) of Julz in yet another twenty years. And they may even be able to have the discussion unlocked on some pretext, then append their own topical teenage complaints against Julian the parent.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Single panel showing a view of the "MopedPro" forum on a message board, with a caption below the panel.]
::Forum Tab: '''''MopedPro Forum''''' (Top Left) | (4 tabs with illegible writing on them. None of them appear to be selected) (Top Right)
:NIN85 (posted December 5, 2000 - 13:01): So mad that my mom won't let me get a Vespa. I'm old enough for a moped license and they're really not that dangerous.
:JULZ [new user] (posted September 23, 2020 - 17:05): At least she's not stopping you from getting an electric scooter you don't even need a license for
:NIN85 (posted September 23, 2020 - 18:36): Okay, Julian, (a) you know we talked about this, and (b) how the heck did you find this thread

:Caption: I love that message boards are now old enough for this to happen.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Social networking]]

Talk:2361: Voting

2020-09-19T10:36:01Z

162.158.159.116:

To current and future readers: Ruth Bader Ginsburg died today. The timing of this comic may even coincide with this fact.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.67|162.158.74.67]] 03:54, 19 September 2020 (UTC)
: Maybe, but [[Randall]] has posted tons of election articles before, especially expressing his love for Hillary (and thus dislike for Trump). [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.228|108.162.216.228]] 04:41, 19 September 2020 (UTC)
:I read it as a "just vote, don't even care who you vote for, but vote" thing. Though everyone would prefer everyone else to vote for who they'd vote for, and might be not unhappy if those that would not vote their way ended up not bothering to vote at all, at least if there's not ambiguity behind the intent of the non-participants if there aren't any. (Though, ideally, there ought to be a system capable of a voter specifying "they're all bad choices" without throwing away their meaning by being simply absent, like rank-choice lining up the main candidates squarely behind the 'no hope' ones, or a Re-Open Nominations 'candidate' so you can vote for RON actively.)
:''And'' that it should not be hard to vote (that it might be, for those with a legitimate right, is another issue; and that it might not be when trying to do so in an ''illegitimate'' way is overblown by some) so don't make overblown excuses but deal with exactly as much of a hurdle as you're forced to jump over and no more. - But US politics and its electoral system is definitely a few votes short of a quorum, so the simplest thing to say is just "Vote, just vote" and then when the inevitable recriminations and objections happen it's a lot easier to work with very few intentional abstentions than trying to work out whether the low turn-out coincided with actual shenanigans of whatever bent.
:Maybe Randall will show his own ideas later (though I can only imagine the one way that he'll lean, having ruled out ruling ''everyone'' out) but this is only actually anti-Trump insofar as Trump undeniably courts anti-voting (in his favour), more than pretty much any of the ideological-opposites do (in theirs). Don't read much more into this. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.159.116|162.158.159.116]] 10:36, 19 September 2020 (UTC)

2315: Eventual Consistency

2020-09-17T09:45:36Z

162.158.159.116: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2315
| date = June 3, 2020
| title = Eventual Consistency
| image = eventual_consistency.png
| titletext = Later I'm going to get a head start on the heat bath.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball]]'s employer wants him to continue his work, probably{{Citation needed}} as a home-based remote worker as encouraged by the common current advice during the {{w|2019–20 coronavirus outbreak|2020 COVID-19 pandemic}}. Alternatively, he could be distressed/distracted because of the current unrest in the United States due to the {{w|Killing of George Floyd|death of George Floyd}}, and the resulting protests.

The stated task is to "test the database" and "guarantee eventual consistency". Trying to avoid work, Cueball points out that the {{w|second law of thermodynamics}} itself "guarantees eventual consistency", as the {{w|universe}} is ''guaranteed'' to ''eventually'' die a {{w|Heat death of the universe|heat death}}, at maximum {{w|entropy}} and perfect ''consistency''. His boss responds that in a system that has reached maximum entropy, no {{w|work}} can be performed (as this requires a difference in energy states between two sources). Cueball claims that he's simply getting a head start on this.

''Eventual consistency'' has a double meaning here. In computing, many systems are ''{{w|distributed computing|distributed}}'' (spread out) across multiple servers, sometimes in very different parts of the world. When data changes -- like the number of views on a video or the likes on a social media post -- updating it across ''every'' server can be a challenge, and it's often not necessary to keep the data perfectly in sync everywhere. So the system will use {{w|eventual consistency}} instead. Each individual server will record changes, and after a certain amount of time or a certain amount of change, the results will be synced across the whole network. At any given moment, an individual server's data will be a little off -- but ''eventually'' everything will get recorded correctly.

The title text constitutes another play on the words "heat bath", which can refer to the thermally uniform state of the universe at {{w|heat death}}. However, in this context, we can assume Cueball instead plans to prepare a literal warm bath for his own relaxation and enjoyment after or during (or instead of) his work.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
:[Cueball sits at a home desk.]
:Laptop: I know it's hard to focus right now, but we should try to finish testing the DB.
:Cueball: ''Ughhhh.''
:Cueball: Okay.

:Laptop: The system needs to guarantee eventual consistency.
:Cueball: I mean, it does.

:[Closeup of Cueball.]
:Cueball: Eventual consistency is guaranteed by the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
:Cueball: Sooner or later this will all be a uniform heat bath.
:Cueball: Maximum entropy.

:[Back to Cueball and desk. Cueball is leaning back in his chair.]
:Laptop: Maximum entropy means no useful work can be done!
:Cueball: I'm getting a head start by doing no useful work ''now''.

==Trivia==
* Randall has previously invoked the second law of thermodynamics (indirectly) to provide a "big picture" solution to the {{w|halting problem}} in [[1266: Halting Problem]], concluding that (in the real world, rather than the case of the ideal infinite {{w|Turing machine}}) all programs do halt...eventually.
* In [[2282: Coronavirus Worries]], Randall asserted that worrying about "whether you're getting enough work done" is common but not very healthy. Evidently Cueball has taken his advice to heart, but Cueball's boss has not.
* A new [[xkcd_Header_text#2020-06-03_-_Black_Lives_Matter|header text (Black Lives Matter)]] appeared earlier on the day that this comic debuted.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Programming]]
[[Category:Physics]]