explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:439: Thinking Ahead

2021-12-30T15:03:35Z

162.158.91.164: Summer winter spring and FALLing in love!

I don't think the girl pictured is Megan, it seems to me that it's another girl and he is conflicted about talking to her because of unresolved feelings with Megan, which may come back to bite him if he doesn't explore them fully before becoming committed to another. Due to the beginning of the description it seems like this is just a silly mistake.{{unsigned ip|50.198.145.13}}
:It's fixed, and look at the trivia.--[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 21:24, 26 August 2013 (UTC)
::Where is this original transcript that I have seen people mention several times?[[User:Kynde|Kynde]] ([[User talk:Kynde|talk]]) 05:40, 12 June 2014 (UTC)
:::I believe it might be xkcd volume 0? --[[User:Flewk|flewk]] ([[User talk:Flewk|talk]]) 17:47, 28 December 2015 (UTC)
On to the actual problem mentioned in the article (i.e. Thinking Ahead), it's a common issue with intelligent guys who spend a lot of time thinking to start imagining all the ways a relationship could go wrong before it even starts. ([http://www.sosuave.com/romance/david/art61.htm "Why Very Intelligent Men Fail With Women, Reason #4: They psych themselves out"]) [[User:Donny2112|Donny2112]] ([[User talk:Donny2112|talk]]) 02:08, 3 July 2016 (UTC)
:sorry, non-native speaker here. Free to mock me, but I had a hard time understanding “I’m moving in the fall”. I thought it was some obscure idiom about rushing things and falling in love. Then I got that it probably just means “Next autumn I will move to another town”… right ? Thanks in advance --[[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.164|162.158.91.164]] 15:03, 30 December 2021 (UTC)

Talk:2559: December 25th Launch

2021-12-25T13:14:32Z

162.158.91.164: that's not too hard

Santa delivers his presents on Christmas Eve. The launch is scheduled for 9:20am French Guiana time, so Santa should be long gone during the final countdown. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 06:05, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

I feel like the way it's written and also the "update" in the title text is a reference to the NORAD Santa Tracker (or maybe the Google one). I'd do it myself but it's 2AM, so can someone fact check me and possibly add it to the article assuming I'm not misremembering. Thanks, [[User:Zman350x|Zman350x]] ([[User talk:Zman350x|talk]]) 07:20, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

Launches have been stopped many times at less than 8 seconds, and Randall would be familiar with this fact. The "unavoidable" bit of the explanation can safely (and preferably) be dropped. Given Randall's demonstrated frustration with Webb delays, the joke about the RSO shooting down Santa is almost certainly attributable to intolerance of another delay. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.213|172.70.130.213]] 07:45, 25 December 2021 (UTC)
:Thanks for the heads up; edited my addition. It still feels like an italicized "oh no" is too big of a reaction to a delay that's short, unique, and measurable. Maybe forcing a launch to abort at -7 seconds causes some kind of fuel combustion(??)/consumption issue that damages some of the spacecraft and requires a much longer delay? Then this could be added to the explanation. (Obviously I'm not an expert here.) Alternatively, say it takes 7 seconds to say the words in the second and third panels, so the spacecraft has already launched. [[User:Zowayix|Zowayix]] ([[User talk:Zowayix|talk]]) 08:16, 25 December 2021 (UTC)
::I mean, it kinda feels like a “straw that broke the camel’s back” type of situation here. It’s not the incident itself, it’s everything leading up to that moment and how it probably left Cueball on edge. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.195|108.162.215.195]] 08:30, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

I think there's a barb here about NASA ruining xmas for a lot of people, by slipping the launch date to 25 December. [[User:Arithex|Arithex]] ([[User talk:Arithex|talk]]) 08:58, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

As far as I know, Range Safety Officers don't have ground-to-air weapons, and are therefore incapable of shooting down Santa. when RSO's need to kill something, they use remote detonation commands. How any RSO managed to pre-place a self-destruct package aboard Santa's Sleigh remains an open question: normally they only have those placed aboard the actual rocket stages. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.57|172.70.130.57]] 11:15, 25 December 2021 (UTC)
:That's easy: Write Santa a letter that you want a remotely controllable self-destruct package for Christmas. It will be conveniently placed on the sleigh on December 25. This must be one of the gazillion steps on the JWST pre-launch checklist. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.91.164|162.158.91.164]] 13:14, 25 December 2021 (UTC)

1767: US State Names

2016-12-02T13:09:41Z

162.158.91.164: /* Table of States */

{{comic
| number = 1767
| date = December 2, 2016
| title = US State Names
| image = us_state_names.png
| titletext = Technically DC isn't a state, but no one is too pedantic about it because they don't want to disturb the snakes.
}}

==Explanation==
This is just a silly map.

[[Randall]] has taken a {{w|map}} of {{w|the United States of America}} labeled "Geography Challenge: Name all 50 States" and filled in the states with words that sound similar to the states' names. The joke is that Randall is apparently terrible at remembering states by heart, or else that he interpreted "name" as "give a name to" and is giving each state a name similar to but different from its previous name. Additionally, song such as the [https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=fifty+nifty+united+states+song 50 Nifty United States] that make these issues seem rarer, thus making it funnier. Below is the table.

===Table of States===
{{incomplete|Some states unfinished. Make wikipedia links. Please explain Verizona again, or the meaning of "Rizon".}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Fictional State
! Actual State
! Explanation
|-
| Wilwheaton
| {{w|Washington_State|Washington}}
| {{w|Wil Wheaton}} is an actor and writer
|-
| Organs
| {{w|Oregon}}
| Probably a reference to the game "Organ Trail" which is a parody of the game "The Oregon Trail"
|-
| Cafeteria
| {{w|California}}
| A cafeteria is a kind of restaurant
|-
| Fallout New Vegas
| {{w|Nevada}}
| Fallout New Vegas is set in Nevada
|-
| Idolatry
| {{w|Idaho}}
| Idolatry the worship of a physical object as a god, forbidden in many religions
|-
| mount -a
| {{w|Montana}}
| A command to mount all disk volumes.
|-
| Wysiwyg
| {{w|Wyoming}}
| Acronym What You See Is What You Get.
|-
| Uhaul
| {{w|Utah}}
| {{w|U-Haul}} is a company where you can rent vans.
|-
| Verizona
| {{w|Arizona}}
| Verizon has a shared "Rizon" with Arizona. Randall presumably enjoys this.
|-
| Namaste
| {{w|New Mexico}}
| {{w|Namaste}} is a Hindu greeting.
|-
| Hexxus
| Texas
| The antagonist of Ferngully. {{w|FernGully:_The_Last_Rainforest|FernGully}} is said to be the model for the later film "Avatar". This is the second time Hexxus was mentioned in xkcd, the first occurence being in [https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1750:_Life_Goals Life Goals]
|-
| Okay
| {{w|Oklahoma}}
| OK is the state's abbreviation.
|-
| Candice
| {{w|Kansas}}
| Candice is a girl's name of Latin origin, meaning "clarity, whiteness" ("canditia").
|-
| Colocated
| {{w|Colorado}}
| Refers to computer servers located in a {{w|Colocation Center}}
|-
| Nebrunswick
| {{w|Nebraska}}
| {{w|New Brunswick}}, a Canadian province. People sometimes write "NB" as the postal abbreviation for Nebraska; in reality, Nebraska is "NE", and while there is no "NB" in the U.S. postal system, New Brunswick is "NB" in the Canadian postal system.
|-
| Dakota
| {{w|South Dakota}}
| Randall seems to have forgotten his directions, so he drops the normal "South" and "North". He may also be teasing that this doesn't matter.
|-
| More Dakota
| {{w|North Dakota}}
| See South Dakota
|-
| Minestrone
| {{w|Minnesota}}
| Minestrone is a thick vegetable soup, originating in Italy.
|-
| Wainscot
| {{w|Wisconsin}}
| A type of wood {{w|panelling}} covering only the lower half of a wall
|-
| Iota
| {{w|Iowa}}
| Iota is the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet. It was derived from the Phoenician letter Yodh. Also colloquially used to mean a very small quantity.
|-
| Sk8rbois
| {{w|Illinois}}
| "Skater Boys." {{w|Sk8er Boi}} is a song by Avril Lavigne.
|-
| Mossouri
| {{w|Missouri}}
| The single different letter represents probably a typo (O is adjacent to I in a keyboard). This typo is 22,000 times in Google.
|-
| Arkanoids
| {{w|Arkansas}}
| An arcade game.
|-
| Louisa
| {{w|Louisiana}}
| Louisa, feminine of Louis, is an Old German name meaning "famous warrior". Louisiana was of named after King Louis XIV when it was founded as a French colony.
|-
| Misstate
| {{w|Mississippi}}
| "Mis-" is a prefix meaning “wrong,” “incorrect,” or simply negating. "Misstate" could be a non-state. {{w|Mississipi State University|Miss State}} is a university in Mississippi.
|-
| Bandana
| {{w|Alabama}}
| A large handkerchief cloth, worn either around the head or neck. Often used in Westerns.
|-
| Thennessy
| {{w|Tennessee}}
| {{w|Hennessy}} is a brand of cognac.
|-
| Kennedy
| {{w|Kentucky}}
| The Kennedy family is an American family that has been prominent in American politics, public service, and business during the 20th century.
|-
| That Other One
| {{w|Indiana}}
| 'That Other One' is something someone might say if they were trying to name all the states from memory, and knew where a state was but not what it was called.
|-
| Mishy
| {{w|Michigan}}
| According to the Urban Dictionary, "mishy" means "[http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Mishy mushy and horny at the same time]".
|-
| Oh Hi
| {{w|Ohio}}
| OH-HI-OH is a popular cheer by fans of {{w|Ohio State University}}
|-
| Pencilmania
| {{w|Pennsylvania}}
| [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151935/ Pencil Mania] is a 1932 Tom and Jerry cartoon in which they pull out a pencil and proceed to draw figures in the air
|-
| Newark
| {{w|New York}}
| Newark element14 or simply Newark, is the official distributor of Raspberry Pi. Possible reference to William Gibson's works. Also, many people that live in Newark commute 14 miles to work in New York. A mispronunciation of New York.
|-
| Vermouth
| {{w|Vermont}}
| {{w|Vermouth}} is an Italian alcoholic beverage.
|-
| New Hamper
| {{w|New Hampshire}}
| A hamper is a large basket, often with lid, used for laundry. Also another name for a picnic basket.
|-
| Spanish Maine
| {{w|Maine}}
| The {{w|Spanish Main}} was the mainland Spanish colonial possessions around the Gulf of Mexico.
|-
| Masseuses
| {{w|Massachusetts}}
| Women who give massages professionally.
|-
| Roald Dahl
| {{w|Rhode Island}}
| A British writer, famous for child novels such as {{w|Charlie and the Chocolate Factory}}.
|-
| Connectfour
| {{w|Connecticut}}
| Connect Four is a two-player game, in which the objective is to connect four of your checkers in a row while preventing your opponent from doing the same.
|-
| Nude Juggalos
| {{w|New Jersey}}
| {{w|Juggalo}} is a name given to fans of the group Insane Clown Posse or any other Psychopathic Records hip hop group.
|-
| Delorean
| {{w|Delaware}}
| A {w|DeLorean_DMC-12|car}} famous as the {{w|DeLorean_time_machine time machine car}} in Back to the Future movies
|-
| Maybelline
| {{w|Maryland}}
| {{w|Maybelline}} is a make-up brand.
|-
| District of Colubrids
| {{w|District of Columbia}}
| The{{w|Colubridae}} are the biggest family of snakes, accounting for about two thirds of the world's species. As the title text mentions, the{{w|Washington,_D.C.|District of Columbia}}, although not part of any state, is technically not a state itself, but is usually labeled on the maps like the 50 others for practical reasons. Here, Randall humorously explains the reason as people not wanting to upset the aforementioned snakes by dismissing their district for this pedantic reason.
|-
| Wyvern
| {{w|West Virginia}}
| A {{w|Wyvern}} is a mythical creature.
|-
| Virjayjay
| {{w|Virginia}}
| Virginia is similar to vagina. Vajayjay is slang for vagina.
|-
| Sweet Caroline
| {{w|North Carolina}}
| A {{w|Sweet_Caroline|song}} by Neil Diamond.
|-
| South Caroline
| {{w|South Carolina}}
| A further reference to {{w|Sweet_Caroline|song 'Sweet Caroline'}} by Neil Diamond, similar to 'Dakota' and 'More Dakota.' Plays on similarity between the names 'Caroline' and 'Carolina'.
|-
| George
| {{w|Georgia}}
| Georgia was named for {{w|George II of Great Britain}}
|-
| Fyoridor
| {{w|Florida}}
| Possibly derived from the Russian name Fyodor, as in Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
|-
| Alberta
| {{w|Alaska}}
| A Canadian province.
|-
| Kawaii
| {{w|Hawaii}}
| A Japanese term for cute commonly romanized similar to Hawaii. Possible reference to the 1957 war movie [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050212 The Bridge on the River Kwai]. Not to be confused with {{w|Kauai}}, a Hawaiian island.
|}

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
[A map of the United States, with incorrect state names. A title:]

Geography challenge:

'''Name all 50 States'''

| Alabama => Bandana |

| Alaska => Alberta |

| Arizona => Verizona |

| Arkansas => Arkanoids |

| California => Cafeteria |

| Colorado => Colocated |

| Connecticut => Connect Four |

| Delaware => Delorean |

| District of Columbia => District of Colubrids |

| Florida => Fyoridor |

| Georgia => George |

| Hawaii => Kawaii |

| Idaho => Idolatry |

| Illinois => SK8RBOIS |

| Indiana => That Other One |

| Iowa => Iota |

| Kansas => Candice |

| Kentucky => Kennedy |

| Louisiana => Loisa |

| Maine => Spanish Maine |

| Maryland => Maybelline |

| Massachusetts => Masseuses |

| Michigan => Mishy |

| Minnesota => Minestrone |

| Mississippi => Misstate |

| Missouri => Mossouri |

| Montana => mount -a |

| Nebraska => Nebrunswick |

| Nevada => Fallout New Vegas |

| New Hampshire => New Hamper |

| New Jersey => Nude Juggalos |

| New Mexico => Namaste |

| New York => Newark |

| North Carolina => Sweet Caroline |

| South Carolina => South Caroline |

| Ohio => Oh Hi |

| Oklahoma => Okay |

| Oregon => Organs |

| Pennsylvania => Pencilmania |

| Rhode Island => Roald Dahl |

| South Dakota => Dakota |

| /North Dakota => More Dakota |

| Tennessee => Thennessy |

| Texas => Hexxus |

| Utah => Uhaul |

| Vermont => Vermouth |

| Virginia => Virjayjay |

| Washington => Willwheaton |

| West Virginia => Wyvern |

| Wisconsin => Wainscot |

| Wyoming => WYSIWYG |

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Maps]]

1646: Twitter Bot

2016-02-22T09:16:04Z

162.158.91.164: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1646
| date = February 22, 2016
| title = Twitter Bot
| image = twitter_bot.png
| titletext = PYTHON FLAG ENABLE THREE LAWS
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Edited by a HUMAN!!!}}

A Twitter bot is a program that can post automatically to Twitter. Although Twitter bots can be very elaborate, a lot of people write simple bots for fun that simply engage in automated wordplay. However, each web search reveals an additional level of complexity:

* ''HOW TO WRITE A TWITTER BOT'': Cueball has no idea where to start, so he just searches for basic advice on writing generic Twitter bots.
* ''PYTHON TWITTER LIBRARY'': The {{w|Python (programming language)|Python}} programming language has a nice "library" (i.e., a specially written collection of functions) that [https://pypi.python.org/pypi/twitter interface with the Twitter API]. This does all the tricky work of authenticating the bot's identity and sending the messages, so the user can concentrate on the fun parts.
* ''MACHINE LEARNING'': {{w|Machine learning}} is the basis of artificial intelligence.
* ''CLOUD HOSTING'': While it's possible to host a Twitter bot on your server, you can also have it hosted by someone else - such as Amazon - in order to take advantage of their powerful computers and robust internet connection.
* ''BOT TROUBLESHOOTING'': Cueball is having some trouble with his bot and is looking for some information about resolving the problem.
* ''LOCKED OUT OF EC2 INSTANCE'': EC2 is Amazon's cloud hosting service (it's short for {{w|Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud}}). Cueball has been locked out of his EC2 instance and is attempting to determine why.
* ''BOT CHANGED OWN PASSWORD?'': This suggests that Cueball has determined that the bot has managed to change the Twitter log-on details, totally cutting Cueball out.
* ''HOW TO FIGHT A BOT'': Cueball is trying to physically fight the bot, but he's apparently unsuccessful and the fight results in a loud "BOOM!".
* ''CHEAP FLIGHTS AUSTRALIA'': Cueball has completely given up the possibility of regaining control of the bot, so he flees to Australia instead. It is understood Australia sounds like a far, far away land for Cueball.
* ''PYTHON FLAG ENABLE THREE LAWS'' (title text):
this is a reference to sci-fi author {{w|Isaac Asimov}}'s famous {{w|Three Laws of Robotics}}, also seen in [[1613: The Three Laws of Robotics]]. In this case it's used to indicate fictitious Python flag that could presumably be used to easily ensure that any robots developed with it would follow the laws as they are defined and would have avoided the unfortunate result that occurred. The hope for such flag does not seem too far fetched as python does have an antigravity import ([[353: Python]])

This comic examines how a seemingly simple tasks can often balloon in complexity if all of the requirements are not understood, while at the same time presenting a scenario where an unassuming idea results in the accidental creation of malevolent AI.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is sitting at a desk using a laptop.]
:Cueball (thinking): I want to make a Twitter Bot. I bet it's not too hard.
:[A search query is shown to indicate what Cueball has searched for]
:Query: How to write a twitter bot

:[Cueball is now holding the laptop on his lap, a series of search queries are shown]
:Query: Python Twitter library
:Query: Machine Learning
:Query: Cloud Hosting

:[Cuball has placed the laptop back on the desk. More search queries are shown, each one more ominous than the previous]
:Query: Bot Troubleshooting
:Query: Locked out of EC2 instance
:Query: Bot changed own password?

:Query: How to fight a bot
:[Various noises seem to imply that chaos has begun to erupt]
:Noise off-screen left: Boom!
:Noise off-screen right: Pew, Pew, Pew
:[Cuball is shown wearing a small backpack and typing on a phone jogging to the right]
:Query: Cheap flights to Australia

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Artificial Intelligence]]
[[Category:Computers]]