Talk:787: Orbiter

2024-09-05T13:28:13Z

172.69.194.167:

So, I suppose a flight to the Diaoyu islands is out of the question then. '''[[User:Davidy22|{{Color|#707|David}}y²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 02:25, 24 April 2013 (UTC)

: did you mean: Senkaku Islands? --[[User:Quicksilver|Quicksilver]] ([[User talk:Quicksilver|talk]]) 01:11, 20 August 2013 (UTC)

I feel like this explanation page is completely neglecting to explain the joke, which is situational humor in which Cueball, to avoid a workplace conflict between two people who feel strongly about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, eliminates the discussion before it happens by rescheduling the check-in to what he thinks is a place which has no territorial disputes. Frank then decides to be a butt and bring up the old Texas dispute. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.238.203|108.162.238.203]] 16:56, 1 May 2014 (UTC)

May be a deeper joke here. When the space shuttle Columbia crashed, it was over Palestine, Texas.
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.246.207|108.162.246.207]] 02:37, 15 September 2014 (UTC)

The given lat-long for Oklahoma doesn't appear to actually relate to Greer County. I have very little knowledge of Texas vs Oklahoma turf wars, do some Texans believe all/most of Oklahoma should be within Texas? --[[User:Pudder|Pudder]] ([[User talk:Pudder|talk]]) 10:33, 16 October 2014 (UTC)

For what it's worth, the coordinates fall within Seminole Nation territory. I wanted to make a joke about "occupied Muscogee Nation" in reference to McGirt v. Oklahoma, but 96.6W is a few miles too far west. If only it was 96.4W... --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.182.116|172.68.182.116]] 00:51, 28 November 2020 (UTC)

This comic aged like honey. Honey is naturally antimicrobial. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.42.50|172.69.42.50]] 01:56, 22 May 2021 (UTC)

I don't think it is "probably based on the wrong assumption that the inclination cannot be higher than the latitude of the launch site;" Randall should know better than that. It's probably based on drawing a great circle through Israel and Oklahoma and noting that the inclination of that plane is greater than 57 degrees, and forgetting to account for the 12 degrees or so of rotation the earth will experience while the orbiter in en-route. That seems an easier mistake for someone who knows a bit about orbital mechanics to make, and it's more consistent with the alt-text mentioning the Outer Banks, which is where the shuttle would be dropping rocket bits on an ascent to a ~60 degree orbit.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.79.173|172.69.79.173]] 01:43, 21 September 2022 (UTC)

While the page is highlighted by the above edit, I've neutralised the undue assumption that Frank originally piped up in favour of Israel. Very probably "Israel person" is just over in the same direction (limited options for showing separate voices in a crowded room, very slightly different elevation of emination) and doesn't themself have any strong concern over Texan(ish) territory like Frank does. [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.6|141.101.99.6]] 05:36, 21 September 2022 (UTC)

('_')
--[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.119|162.158.74.119]] 11:28, 21 December 2023 (UTC)

the fact that nobody's vandalised this page is crazy

...crazy?

--[[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.207|172.70.162.207]] 12:49, 5 September 2024 (UTC)
:That's a low expectation you have there. The fact that it has at all been actually ...'robustly edited'... but settled down again and not become a continuing editing hell is, if anything, more a sign of a prevailing sanity. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.167|172.69.194.167]] 13:28, 5 September 2024 (UTC)

2979: Sky Alarm

2024-09-03T07:58:10Z

172.69.194.167: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2979
| date = August 30, 2024
| title = Sky Alarm
| image = sky_alarm_2x.png
| imagesize = 332x302px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = During the day it also activates for neat clouds and pretty sunsets.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic shows [[Megan]] and [[Cueball]] being alerted by a 'Sky Alarm' that a 'cool space thing' is happening. The alarm is triggered when a relatively interesting astronomical event occurs, for example, the {{w|Perseid meteor shower}} and blue {{w|supermoon}} that happened recently. Randall remarks in the caption how he wants this device and wishes it existed. Cueball and Megan (and by extension [[Randall]]) feel that they regularly miss events they'd like to see, and such a device would help prevent this.

The title text further specifies that he would want it to activate even for more common sky-related spectacles, such as interesting clouds and nice sunsets (which still can be very beautiful). In short, it would help its owner to not miss interesting outdoor sights.

Most recently before this comic, Randall referred to cool sky phenomena in [[2971: Celestial Event]]. Quite a few such references preceded this (such as the aforementioned {{w|Perseid meteor shower}}), so they may have been on Randall's mind.

==Transcript==
:[A square device with a light on top and a label on its side, is seen resting on a stool to the left. It is activated and the light on top of it is glowing and a voice is emanating from it, maybe even speaking the siren part of the sound that comes between sentences. Cueball, sitting on an office chair at his desk, looks away from his laptop so he is now facing the device while Megan is on the other side of the desk running away from it towards the right edge of the panel.]
:Label: Sky Alarm
:Sky alarm: ''Weeee Ooooo Weeee Ooooo''
:Sky alarm: ''There's a cool space thing happening!''
:Sky alarm: ''Weeee Ooooo Weeee Ooooo''
:Sky alarm: ''Go outside and look up!''

:[Caption below the panel:]
:I want this device.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Megan]]
[[Category:Space]]
[[Category:Weather]]

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:787: Orbiter

2979: Sky Alarm