explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:3082: Chess Position

2025-04-30T00:21:22Z

172.70.162.207: For once, an *over*signed contribution, in both senses of the word, not an unsigned one. ;)

This is very nearly the core plot conceit of the movie ''Π'' (1998). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.130.190|172.70.130.190]] 22:36, 28 April 2025 (UTC)
:I believe you want lower-case Pi: π not Π. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pi_(film) --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 22:54, 28 April 2025 (UTC)
::Unless they're talking about an obscure spinoff where the protagonist becomes weirdly obsessed with the products of sequences of numbers. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.195.180|172.69.195.180]] 14:47, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

Does anybody know whether Randall has taken up chess as a hobby? 5 of the 82 comics in the 3000s have been related to chess and only 2 in the 2000s were. If so, this should be included in the explanation. [[User:BobcatInABox|BobcatInABox]] ([[User talk:BobcatInABox|talk]]) 23:11, 28 April 2025 (UTC)
:3000s? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.190.236|172.71.190.236]] 23:40, 28 April 2025 (UTC)
:Oh right comic number not decade/millennium. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.43.157|172.70.43.157]] 23:41, 28 April 2025 (UTC)
:Wouldn't surprise me, there's a three year gap in between chess comics 2465 (May 2021) and 2936 (May 2024), then the aforementioned 5 in 5 months. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.114.251|172.70.114.251]] 00:46, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

I really suspect that the full explanation has something to do with this: https://www.kasparov.com/the-implacable-logic-of-the-vortex-of-history/ [[Special:Contributions/172.68.7.206|172.68.7.206]] 23:34, 28 April 2025 (UTC) Dan
: Doubtful, that article was written in 2013, and it is unlikely that Randall came upon it just now to make this comic. Vortex is a general term for something that sucks you in. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.214.66|172.70.214.66]] 00:38, 29 April 2025 (UTC)
: Quite possible, since simple web search on Garry Kasparov reveals the aforementioned article about Kasparov's theories of the "vortex of history'. And there is a PlayStation game called "Virtual Kasparov" which is reviewed on the PlayStation review site [https://www.gamevortex.com/psillustrated/soft_rev.php/748 Virtual Kasparov on GameVortex.com]. So, there are at least two places where Kasparov and the word vortex are connected. The term "vortex" would be very tempting for Randall to exploit for comic effect. [[User:Rtanenbaum|Rtanenbaum]] ([[User talk:Rtanenbaum|talk]]) 16:15, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

I sure hope that it stays as not a real thing [[User:Commercialegg|Commercialegg]] ([[User talk:Commercialegg|talk]]) 01:32, 29 April 2025 (UTC)
: It might not be, but it's easy enough to make: Train an adversarial network on human chess games. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.22.41|172.68.22.41]] 04:56, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

The part about losing the ability to play chess even after building a resistance feels familiar. Isn't that how the Elder Scrolls worked in Skyrim, at least. Even highly trained sages would lose the ability to see for a time after reading an Elder Scroll. And the Oblivion remaster just released the other day... --[[User:Ragashingo|Ragashingo]] ([[User talk:Ragashingo|talk]]) 01:54, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

This comic has serious classic SCP energy. I feel like I'd read about this in an old Series I - II article, back when it was still good. [[User:Pie Guy|Pie Guy]] ([[User talk:Pie Guy|talk]]) 18:01, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

----
Cf Von Goom's Gambit by [Victor Contoski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Contoski) published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, December 1966:

And what of Von Goom's Gambit? Chess is a game of logic. Thirty-two pieces move on a board of sixty-four squares, colored alternately dark and light. As they move they form patterns. Some of these patterns are pleasing to the logical mind of man, and some are not. They show what man is capable of and what is beyond his Take any position of the pieces on the chessboard. Usually it tells of the logical or semi-logical plans of the players, their strategy in playing for a win or a draw, and their personalities. If you see a pattern from the King s Gambit Accepted, you know that both players are tacticians, that the fight will be brief but fierce...
Now suppose someone discovers by accident or design a pattern on the chessboard that is more than displeasing, an alien pattern that tells unspeakable things about the mind of the player, man in general and the order of the universe. Suppose no normal man can look at such a pattern and remain normal. Surely such a pattern must have been formed by Von Goom’s Gambit.

I wish the story could end here, but I fear it will not end for a long time. History has shown that discoveries cannot be unmade. Two months ago in Camden, New Jersey, a forty-tliree year old man was found turned to stone staring at a position on a chessboard... {{unsigned ip|162.158.217.38|05:22, 29 April 2025}}

: ''"Cf Von Goom's Gambit"'' https://archive.org/details/Fantasy_Science_Fiction_v031n06_1966-12_PDF/page/n63/mode/2up?view=theater --[[User:PRR|PRR]] ([[User talk:PRR|talk]]) 17:46, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

----

<q>When you stare into the vortex, the vortex also stares into you</q>, a famous quote from Kasparov. [[User:Ralfoide|Ralfoide]] ([[User talk:Ralfoide|talk]]) 17:49, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

If I may, can we find a position that would match Cueball's description? Where he states "every move attacked every piece, yet every piece was also protected,"? That would be cool. {{unsigned ip|172.69.33.220|20:26, 29 April 2025}}

Why is karpov mentioned in the explanation? I assume more chess comics as chess has grown in popularity to answer the above question. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.160|172.70.91.160]] 22:19, 29 April 2025 (UTC)

Talk:2983: Monocaster

2024-09-16T15:36:40Z

172.70.162.207:

Unicycles aren't (or at least aren't usually) chain-driven. I might try to fix that if my phone stops being so slow that it feels like I'm using a 90s PC to do this. Maybe a restart will help. Rebooting in 10, 9, 8... [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.76|172.70.91.76]] 07:46, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
:I just went in and Actual Citation Needed it (seeing lower comment, when editor reloaded this page for me, forcing me to rewrite, that may have changed now).
:*It doesn't look like a chain-drive. Could be hub-geared, but not the same thing.
:*Chain-drive to raise the rider (most of the mass) up higher will ''raise'' the CoG.
:*'Underslung' chain-drive (see 1880s example, [[1673: Timeline of Bicycle Design|here]]?) has problems. Pedals hitting the ground would be one of them, unless your wheel was indeed significantly larger...
:*...and if it is (perhaps for better off-roading?), this intrinsically pushes up the CoG. Perhaps you are trying to lower it slightly, again, then. But you can't bring the saddle (and crotch!) lower than the now higher top of the wheel. ("Timeline of Bicycles" version excepted, assumed assymetric? In [https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47de-4b7d-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99 some manner]?)
:Add to that a few niggles about the bicycle. Not sure if intended to be a Moulton-style one (wheels maybe the classic 17", frame totally wrong) or a roadbike-style-ish one (frame relatively Ok, as drawn by someone not fully adhering to the design, maybe confused by some MTB variations, but clearly not in the ~27" wheel range, give or take). Of course, wheels are neither concentric nor circular, so depends a bit on which bits of the 'circles' are right for the intended arc and which bits ended up more casually doodled. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.91.99|172.70.91.99]] 08:51, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
::There also don't appear to be any pedals on the bicycle, with the rider instead resting their feet on the bottom bracket. Which is... unorthodox.[[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.135|141.101.99.135]] 11:16, 16 September 2024 (UTC)
:::Charitably, the nearside foot (and leg) is positioned at the top-going crank position, with the farside one stretched down to the down-angled crank/pedal, but the chainring is a ''solid'' disc (and a radius to match the crank-lengths), rather than the usual "with many cutout bits" and a few inches smaller in radius than the pedal-extents.
:::Though the fact you can see the frame (the downtube, seat-tube and at least one of the chainstays) where they meet at the bottom-bracket means that the disc-chainring is mounted with the left pedal+crank (the lowered one), rather than on the side of the RHS pedal+crank (the one raised), as per usual. But that's hardly the weirdest bit about the depiction. ;) [[Special:Contributions/141.101.99.88|141.101.99.88]] 14:59, 16 September 2024 (UTC)
:AFAIK, unicycles aren't GENERALLY chain-driven, but tall ones are (to put the peddles where the rider can reach them, but raise the rider up, often to a second story of a building). That said, I don't see a chain here, but I also don't see one in the description, so obviously sorted out by now. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:13, 15 September 2024 (UTC)

Hmm, Randall missed an opportunity to put a Penny-Farthing in there... though I'm not sure how that would have categorised given that it has two wheels of different sizes. --[[Special:Contributions/172.68.205.178|172.68.205.178]] 08:19, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
:He has a "Big Wheel Trike" (child's low-rider style thing) in there. On the logarithmic scale, and imprecise reference point (bottom/middle(/CoG,where different)/top of wheel/vehicle/rider/whole?), both the big front wheel and the small trailing wheels colpd be in the right place-ish, although having it slightly inclined could put them in the (place Tandall considers to be) ''exactly'' right place. ((Note also where the 10(?)-wheeler truck-and-trailer is placed horizontally vs the possibly relevent "number of wheels".))
:You could do something similar with the Old Ordinary (i.e. "Penny-Farthing"), either make it roughly right or depict going up a ''marginally'' steeper hill. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.142|172.69.194.142]] 09:04, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
:I'd say ignore the small wheel (would crowd with similar-sized wheels) and place according to the front wheel, might be easier to find room there. :) Agreed, missed opportunity, that front wheel '''''is''''' particularly large. Also, when talking about number of wheels and large wheels, how could he miss the {{w|BelAZ_75710}}? A lot of people have been introduced to the concept, 2 wheels per corner I think and I think the wheels are like 8 feet tall in diameter! (I guess like 2.5 meters or so, I'm just pretty sure it's well over my own height of 6'2", which I know is around 190cm or nearly 2m). [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:42, 15 September 2024 (UTC)

Re: unicycles, the COG thing doesn't look right either, but I was distracted by a (thankfully) now-deleted troll comment before and actually fixing the description is beyond my skills, especially on so little sleep.[[Special:Contributions/172.69.43.184|172.69.43.184]] 08:35, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
:i had good intentions, we need to call randall out --[[Special:Contributions/172.69.194.122|172.69.194.122]] 09:44, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
:::If you mean your calling out the ''other'' point, that has been deleted anyway: Randall doesn't read this site (that we know; and, if I had a site such as this made for my works, I'd think it wisest to stay clear), so he probably won't get your 'message'. This particular comic doesn't even have the slightest connection to that subject, so not even the page to say anything about it. And the point made (even if it was a valid one... it presupposes that there are no nuances and compromises, that one cannot have a complex set of opinions that neither wholly match nor wholly mismatch ''your'' opinions) was also absurd, when you consider how the ''other'' party involved has proven to be even more so. I won't dignify this issue further by putting names and places here, it really isn't the forum for it. But please realise (if you don't already) that your irrelevent point is out of place here. And most places on this site that you/others like you may have tried such messaging on before. Go to /pol/, or your favourite forum's dedicated boards/threads. Ok? [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.19|172.70.85.19]] 12:26, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
::Call him out for *what* exactly? [[Special:Contributions/172.68.70.135|172.68.70.135]] 12:05, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
:::As I dare to hint, just above, someone thinks Randall has a wrong personal opinion on some current issue. Which has nothing to do with this comic. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.19|172.70.85.19]] 12:26, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
:::You can check the history of this Talk section like I just did, some weirdo wrote a wild rant about Randall's politics (seems out of left field and based on nothing) which had nothing to do with the comic beyond ranting about Randall and Randall being the author. It was the original first comment. Most proper deletion, I say. [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:31, 15 September 2024 (UTC)
::::Actually, I think the rant came more out of ''right'' field, but I agree with the rest of that assessment... ;) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.26.23|172.71.26.23]] 13:54, 15 September 2024 (UTC)

As a unicyclist myself, I don't think the unicycle is easier to balance because of a lower center of mass and a chain drive. As a few others have mentioned, they don't normally have a chain drive, although there are a few specialist ones that do. Normally, the cranks are just attached to the hub so you can directly control the speed of the wheel at a 1 to 1 ratio, which makes it easier to balance on. The other thing that would make the unicycle easier than the monocaster is that you can control what direction the wheel is pointing by turning the seat with your thighs. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.186.128|172.68.186.128]] 09:22, 10 September 2024 (UTC)

Love the log-log scale. Now let's see the zoomed-out version, with orders of magnitude more wheels and orders of magnitude larger diameters. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.166.230|172.71.166.230]] 13:59, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
:The scale if off either way. Or Randall wrote centimeters while he meant inches... At least for some cases. Examples: he placed the skatebord at 2cm while skateboord wheels are at ca 5cm - which are approx. 2 inches. Scooter wheels are approx 8.5 inches, not 8.5 cm... The car is mostly fine, albeit it would be a rather small car at ~50cm (a 19 inch (50cm) wheel designates the size of the rims, not the wheel) [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 15:18, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
::out of all people i would think Randall would be the last one to use a non-SI unit to measure distance. --[[User:Markifi|Markifi]] ([[User talk:Markifi|talk]]) 17:45, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
:::He usually prefers SI units, yes. [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:03, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

I have NEVER heard anyone call inline skates "three wheel skates". [[Special:Contributions/141.101.109.193|141.101.109.193]] 19:04, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
:As a quad skater through most of my youth, the depicted "three-wheel skate" was only called "inline" skates. Not sure where this 3-wheel designation came from! [[User:RandalSchwartz|RandalSchwartz]] ([[User talk:RandalSchwartz|talk]]) 21:59, 10 September 2024 (UTC)
::I too thought the term “three-wheel skate” seemed odd, and thought “inline skates” might be more appropriate. Then I remembered that in fact, most inline skates have four wheels… a memory that a quick Google image search seemed to support. So I guess a three-wheel skate is a special case of inline skate, rather than the default implementation. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.160.137|172.70.160.137]] 06:56, 11 September 2024 (UTC)
:Both variants exist and the three-wheeled version has generally bigger wheels - so the relative depiction of both variants in the diagram is correct. But their position regarding to wheel size is not. See my comment above [[User:Elektrizikekswerk|Elektrizikekswerk]] ([[User talk:Elektrizikekswerk|talk]]) 10:03, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

title text sounds like beret guy ngl--[[User:1234231587678|1234231587678]] ([[User talk:1234231587678|talk]]) 23:38, 10 September 2024 (UTC)

Not a single mention of Pollux? [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castor_and_Pollux Wikipedia] [[Special:Contributions/172.68.70.122|172.68.70.122]] 11:53, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

Disconcerting that this explanation does not describe any of the vehicles, instead entirely making one-sided arguments regarding the title text. [[Special:Contributions/172.71.175.16|172.71.175.16]] 15:53, 11 September 2024 (UTC)
:I was considering a tabular list of all subjects, when I had time, at least to the Preview stage. Very brief: 'Vehicle' (wikilinked, as appropriate)/№ of wheels/typical size of wheel(s)/Typical use. No long paragraphs intended. Might need a range in the size column (possibly some in the # of wheels column). If someone gets there before me, though, I wouldn't mind. :p
:...and I just discovered that the # 'key', in the numbers 'screen' of this touchscreen keyboard has ”№” as a long-press alternative! How long have I been using this and hadn't realised? (Four years. That's how long.) [[Special:Contributions/172.70.90.137|172.70.90.137]] 16:43, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

[[User:DougM|DougM]] ([[User talk:DougM|talk]]) 16:35, 11 September 2024 (UTC)Missed opportunity to bring in the Letourneau l2350 loader, which I think has the largest production tires in the world at 4m, outshining those monster trucks (Bigfoot I think never had tires bigger than 3m).

I notice also a hole regarding ~30cm, multi-wheel. I say that space is filled by those amusement-park little trains. Yesss, they're "separate wagons," however, as it's several attached wagons operating together as a unit, for practical purposes, I say those trains constitute "one single" vehicle. Some have a very ingenious directional drive system, so wagons follow each other in the same path instead of a cathenary, for example in Disney; I was fascinated.[[User:Yamaplos|Yamaplos]] ([[User talk:Yamaplos|talk]]) 17:15, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

No mention either of the Rip Stick, which successfully employs only two castored wheels for locomotion. [[Special:Contributions/172.68.23.189|172.68.23.189]] 18:11, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

Is there any reason the title text uses "tiny" twice? [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.3|172.71.150.3]] 22:38, 11 September 2024 (UTC)
:I'm guessing it's meant to be interpreted as the tiny "single-tiny-caster" [[Special:Contributions/172.71.150.2|172.71.150.2]] 22:50, 11 September 2024 (UTC)

== (Inception Sound Effect) ==

Somewhere in the far corner of the chart:

{{w|Bagger 288}}

[[User:Fephisto|Fephisto]] ([[User talk:Fephisto|talk]]) 20:26, 11 September 2024 (UTC)
:Somewhere in the upper right (but closer than that), the {{w|BelAZ_75710}}, what a missed opportunity! I think it has 8 wheels, 2 at each point a car has 1... I think each wheel is like 8 feet in diameter! [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:13, 15 September 2024 (UTC)

What a missed opportunity to include the 14 wheeled flowboard [[User:Scab|Scab]] ([[User talk:Scab|talk]]) 10:17, 13 September 2024 (UTC)

Since regular roller skates are pretty much gone now, seems wrong to miss standard rollerblades (4 wheels per skate, not the 3 Randall specified). Except it would go very close to the skates - I think the wheels aren't quite the same size - I guess that's why, but seems strange to choose the classic 2-by-2 skates over currently common rollerblades... [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 06:13, 15 September 2024 (UTC)

2983: Monocaster

2024-09-16T11:21:11Z

172.70.162.207: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2983
| date = September 9, 2024
| title = Monocaster
| image = monocaster_2x.png
| imagesize = 536x673px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = My competitors say the tiny single tiny caster is unsafe, unstable, and offers no advantages over traditional designs, to which I say: wow, why are you guys so mean? I thought we were friends!
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by a LAPTOP-CONTROLLED HAMSTER BALL - Please change this comment when editing this page. Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}
A caster, also spelled castor, is a small unpowered wheel, usually attached to a swiveling base. They are typically found on carts and office chairs to make them easy to move, and may be placed on heavy appliances to facilitate movement.

Randall has proposed a variant of the skateboard with only one caster on the bottom, the titular "monocaster", and devoted most of the comic to a {{w|Perceptual mapping|perceptual map}} showing the variety of wheeled vehicles. Market strategists and investors use such diagrams as a simple way of representing important differences between products or companies, but where a consumer might be more concerned with features like speed, cost, ease of use, or carrying capacity, this map focuses on the number of wheels (horizontal axis) and the diameter of those wheels (vertical axis).

Each axis uses a logarithmic scale, which is convenient for making the map look more evenly filled but also visually exaggerates the size of the "key gap" that the monocaster is filling, which can be described as "vehicle with a single wheel smaller than 25 cm". The nearest competitors appear to be a two-wheel skateboard sometimes called a {{w|caster board}} (wheel diameter under 8 cm) and a single-wheel self-balancing board resembling a {{w|Onewheel}} (diameter around 25 cm). The Onewheel is sometimes described as a {{w|monowheel}} (though these are traditionally larger like the "1920s monowheel" on the upper left). Randall appears to have combined these two names to create the monocaster. This gives up several of the competitors' features - the caster board's two wheels provide enough stability to propel the vehicle manually, while the Onewheel's single wheel is wide (assisting with sideways balance) and powered by a self-balancing mechanism.

The result resembles a {{w|Balance board#Sphere-and-ring|"Sphere-and-ring" balance board}}, or other types, though these provide limited locomotion potential. The joke depends on the caster's obvious impracticality in this role: the hole in the market was open ''for a reason''. The obvious drawback to any single-wheeled vehicle is that it's difficult to balance: the rider has to avoid falling forward or backward, as well as to either side. This is a major reason why one-wheeled vehicles are uncommon to begin with, but those vehicles which do exist compensate by using relatively large wheels, driven either by human power or a motor, which creates rotational inertia and allows the rider to balance simply by leaning forward.

A single, small, undriven wheel eliminates these balancing forces, meaning that the user would essentially need to balance on a single point. Also, most casters swivel, meaning that the balance point would move around under the rider's feet and make it even more difficult to balance. In addition, there's no apparent means of propulsion, which means the only way to move forward would be to either roll exclusively downhill, or use one foot to push off the ground. Either strategy would make retaining balance almost impossible.

Multiple-wheeled vehicles greatly reduce the issue of balance simply by having multiple points of contact with the ground. The size of the wheels varies greatly; small, rigid wheels are generally suitable only for flat, smooth, rigid surfaces at relatively slow speeds, while vehicles expected to handle high speeds and varying road (and off-road) conditions will necessarily have larger wheels.

The "monocaster" design offers no advantages and would be nearly unrideable, making it obvious why such a vehicle has never been seriously proposed.

The title text extends the joke by listing the disadvantages mentioned above, but not providing a rebuttal. Instead it only attempts an emotional appeal by saying that the competitors are being mean and by commenting that Randall believed they were friends.

{| class=wikitable
! scope="col" | Vehicle
! scope=“col” | Number of wheels
! scope=“col” | Wheel Diameter
! scope="col" | Explanation
|-
| 1920s Monowheel || 1 || 3 meters || A monowheel is a vehicle in which the rider sits inside a single, large, hollow wheel. Versions have existed which were hand- or pedal-cranked, but the "1920s" version portrayed here is apparently motor-driven. These vehicles have generally been seen as novelties, as their stability and practicality issues limit their usefulness for actual transport.
|-
| Unicycle || 1 || 45 centimeters || Probably the best known single-wheeled form of transport, a unicycle consists of a single wheel, usually driven directly by pedals, with a seat mounted on top. Due to their difficulty, they are most commonly used as novelties and for comic performances, more than as practical transport.
|-
| OneWheel || 1 || 20 centimeters || A one-wheeled electric skateboard in which the user stands on both sides of a large, central wheel. The design self-balances by increasing the velocity as the user leans forward. This allows balancing and speed control to operate in a single motion.
|-
| Bicycle || 2 || 45 centimeters || A two-wheeled, pedal-driven vehicle. The relatively simple, inexpensive and efficient design of these vehicles makes them practical for transport in a variety of situations. As a result, they've long been among the most popular and widely produced vehicles in the world.
|-
| Scooter || 2 || 8 centimeters (*) || A two-wheeled vehicle driven either by pushing with a foot or by an electric motor or fuel-powered engine. Scooters are ridden both for recreation and as a form of transportation in cities.
|-
| {{w|Roller shoe}} || 2 || 1 centimeter (*) || Shoes with small wheels built into the back end of the soles, putting them underneath the wearer's heels (which is what the brand-name "{{w|Heelys}}" is derived from). They allow the user access to wheeled movement by pushing off the ground and balancing on the slightly protuding wheels. This is not as fast or comfortable as a dedicated wheeled vehicle, their rolling action is limited to sufficiently flat surfaces and they are not as easy as regular shoes to simply walk in. But such shoes allow for some degree of both walking ''and'' rolling without having to carry a seperate wheeled vehicle, nor necessarily having the baseline difficulty of other 'fuller' versions of wearable skates.
|-
| Tricycle || 3 || 20 centimeters || Appears to be a {{w|Big Wheel (tricycle)|"Big Wheel" type}} child's toy, which actually have smaller 'trailing wheels', rather than either {{w|Tricycle#Upright|upright}} or {{w|Tricycle#Recumbent|recumbent}} style cycles for adults which ''usually'' match the wheel-sizes of their bicycle equivalents.
|-
| Scooter (three-wheeled) || 3 || 3 centimeters (*) ||
|-
| Monster Truck || 4 || 2.5 meters || Monster trucks are very large vehicles with four large wheels. They are almost always driven as part of events where specifically trained drivers that use them to perform dangerous stunts and crush smaller vehicles. Because of their size, the danger to other vehicle, often very poor mileage, and design choices that can be in violation of local laws and regulations regarding motorized vehicles monster trucks are not driven on public roads and have to be transported in dedicated trailers, making them poor choices for transport where one has to leave private property.
|-
| Car || 4 || 50 centimeters || Cars are motorized vehicles designed to move one or more people and an amount of goods around fast. While almost all cars have four wheels (discounting reserve wheels), there are a few that have more than four (certain limousines) or fewer (the Reliant Robin only has one wheel in the front). Cars are more expensive than most options on the chart due to their higher cost, the use of fuel and maintenance requiring specialized knowledge (and sometimes replacement parts), they make up for this with their speed, access to (at least in most of the world) an extensive system of roads and refueling stations, the ability to move a number of people and goods (how much depends on the exact type of car and how much of either the car is already carrying), and the comfort of being in what is almost always an enclosed and air conditioned compartment. Because of the potential danger of an object of a car's size and speed, drivers are required to perform a test of their ability to both control the vehicle and be aware of other traffic to obtain a license to drive one. Cars are a common source of leisure, with interests ranging from driving them normally, driving them as part of a race, maintaining them or enjoying luxury cars.
|-
| ATV || 4 || 20 centimeters (*) || ATV's or "all-terrain vehicles" are unenclosed, handlebar-steered vehicles designed for off-road riding. They have four, large, low-pressure tires and a robust suspension system to accommodate rough terrain. They generally aren't designed to carry passengers, and have limited cargo capacity, which limits their usefulness for regular transport. They're generally used either for recreation or for transport in areas without well-maintained roads.
|-
| Skateboard || 4 || 2 centimeters (*) ||
|-
| Three-Wheel Skates|| 6 || 4 centimeters (*) || Three-wheeled skates are a type of inline skate (shoes with a line of wheels affixed underneath the shoe) that differ from the more commonly used four wheeled inline skates by having three larger wheels. They are inexpensive and easy to maintain, but they require significant skill to use effectively and the user is reliant on smooth surfaces to skate around on. Another downside is that the wheels cannot be removed from the shoes, requiring the user to either carry an extra pair or have an extra pair at their destination.
|-
| Roller Skates|| 8 || 2 centimeters (*) || Roller skates are shoes with small wheels underneath them in a rectangular pattern. This makes roller skates much more stable than inline skates, allowing users to stand on them with more ease. Like inline skates they are cheap and low maintenance, but in order to move any significant distance without support they require a skilled user, smooth surfaces and the user needs backup shoes when taking them off (though there exist strap-on roller skates).
|-
| Semi-Trailer Truck (Articulated Lorry) || 10-18 || 1 meter || A semi-trailer truck is a motorized vehicle designed to pull trailers that can be easily decoupled from the truck itself. This allows the truck to switch trailers and move a different cargo without having to unload the trailer. The name in brackets that was used here (articulated lorry) is a name most commonly used in British English (or "artic", for short), with articulation meaning that the truck can swivel at the point where the truck connects to the trailer. This allows for the truck to make much tighter turns than if it were one long vehicle, which is another advantage of this configuration, with typically more stability than with a {{w|Drawbar (haulage)|drawbar}} attachment. Trucks are designed to haul cargo for long distances, with the cargo in question being either too heavy or too large to carry with a smaller hopper, tanker, hard-/soft-sided container or flatbed placed entirely upon a single truck chassis. They are driven either by drivers employed by a transport company, or by self-employed individuals who haul cargo for a living. A specialized license is required to drive one, and because of their size (even without a trailer), trucks have more limitations on where they can drive and park than normal cars. Like cars, trucks are a source of leisure, but because of the higher cost to purchase, maintain and drive them, they are more often enjoyed for their aesthetics rather than actually driving them for leisure. There are events like races for trucks, and trucks can be given elaborate paint jobs to have them stand out.
The number of wheels is for both the {{w|Tractor unit#Axles|truck}} and a {{w|Semi-trailer#Types|trailer}}, which can each differ vastly between vehicle configurations. The truck in the comic has five ''obvious'' axle-sets (thus at least ten actual wheels): a single pair of front wheels, two pairs of trailer-bearing rear wheels and two pairs of wheels on the trailer itself. The drawing of the truck actually spans the axis range of three wheels (unlikely to be true, and the minumum for a tractor-trailer would normally be six) all the way up to 16, so it's not entirely clear which number (≥10) Randall intends this one to portray.
|}

(*) It seems that Randall has made some mistakes in regards to the wheel sizes especially in the centimeter range of the diagram. Most of the vehicles have bigger wheels and the number would suggest hat he meant inches instead of centimeters. Alternatively, he may have mistakenly recorded the wheels' radius instead of its diameter, as intended.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[A chart picturing many wheeled vehicles with a caption below the chart window. The vertical axis is labeled "Wheel Diameter", logarithmic from 1cm to 5m. The horizontal axis is labeled "Number of wheels", logarithmic from 1 to 16. From top left to bottom right, there is a person with a cap, seated in a circle, labeled "1920s monowheel", a monster truck with a skull and a lightning bolt on the side, a lorry (truck), a Cueball on a unicycle moving back and forth, a Cueball on a bicycle, a car, a Cueball using a Onewheel, a Cueball on a child's "Big Wheel" tricycle, a Cueball on a quad, a Cueball standing on a scooter, a Cueball standing on a board with one small wheel bellow, circled and labeled with two question marks, a three-wheel scooter, a skater, a Cueball using three-wheel skates, labeled "three-wheel skates", a Cueball crouching and using skates, and a small Cueball using shoes with wheels (Heelys) moving forward.]
:Caption: My new monocaster board fills a key gap in the wheeled vehicle market.

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Charts]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Characters with hats]]
[[Category:Skateboard]]

2982: Water Filtration

2024-09-16T10:03:51Z

172.70.162.207: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 2982
| date = September 6, 2024
| title = Water Filtration
| image = water_filtration_2x.png
| imagesize = 593x467px
| noexpand = true
| titletext = You'd think the most expensive part would be the quark-gluon plasma chamber, but it's actually usually the tube to the top of the atmosphere to carry the cosmic rays down.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Created by WATER. JUST PLAIN WATER. NOTHING DONE TO IT, JUST PLAIN WATER. POSSIBLY DRINKABLE. PLAIN H₂O - Do NOT <s>DRINK THE WATER</s> delete this tag too soon.}}
This comic seems to be a diagram of how well water is purified, a common set of procedures done to make said water safe to drink. However, this well water is "purified" through a series of increasingly unnecessary, expensive, and possibly hazardous steps, ending with producing "pure" water synthesized from hydrogen and oxygen (which have each been synthesized from subatomic particles) - before promptly undoing all of the work by re-adding raw well water and its original minerals and probiotics, (which is one way of describing chemical and biological contaminants) "for taste and to support immune health". In real life, groundwater generally only needs treatment for any contaminants (chemical or biological) known to be a problem based on the results of water testing or an incident, but adding the original water back in could be dangerous if the water has not been sampled recently.
A faucet is "a device that controls the flow of liquid, especially water, from a pipe", commonly known as a ''tap'' in many parts of the world.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Step
!Real Device?
!Used for water treatment?
!Explanation
|-
|Water softener
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{w|Water softening}} is the removal of calcium, magnesium, and certain other metal cations in hard water. The resulting soft water requires less soap for the same cleaning effort, as soap is not wasted bonding with calcium ions. Soft water also extends the lifetime of plumbing and appliances by reducing or eliminating scale build-up in pipes and fittings. The comic shows the water either being passed through some granulated material (presumably, {{w|ion-exchange resins}}) or into a precipitation chamber for lime (or soda ash) softening. This is one of the few steps in this process that arguably fits the comic title of "Water Filtration."
|-
|Reverse osmosis
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{w|Reverse osmosis}} is a common step used in modern water-purification systems. It relies on using osmotic membranes and high pressures to separate water molecules from dissolved solutes and biological substances. Interestingly, it would also act as a softening step, rendering the previous step potentially redundant, depending on the goals for each step. It's also overkill for most wells, as groundwater often needs treatment targeted to only a few contaminants, if any treatment at all. This is one of the few steps in this process that definitely fits the comic title of "Water Filtration."
|-
|Ultraviolet Sterilization
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{w|Ultraviolet germicidal irradiation|Ultraviolet sterilization}} uses UV lamps at short wavelengths to damage the DNA and thereby kill micro-organisms in the water. In the USA, this is an uncommon method of well water sterilization, as the pathogens most likely to be found in well water (as opposed to surface water) are generally much more responsive to chemical disinfection. Many wells don't even need a disinfection step; whether this well needs disinfection or not, this is hardly the most impractical step in this treatment train.
|-
|Autoclave
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{w|Autoclaves}} are essentially large pressure cookers that sterilize items and liquids through exposing them to a high temperature (~120°C or ~248°F) over tens of minutes in presence of water. By maintaining a high pressure, the boiling point of water goes up. This creates a very hot and humid atmosphere, making efficient heat transfer with all contents and inactivating all biological entities through this heat. They are commonly used in hospital and laboratory settings to sterilize plastics, glassware, equipment and solutions (like bottles of growth medium for bacteria) to be used in a sterile environment. The advantage of this method compared to dry heat (aka putting things in a 150°C-180°C oven until they are sterile) is that most lab plastics survive a passage at 120°C without melting. While difficult to streamline (as this technique is used for batches), it has the advantage over light-based methods that heat gets everywhere, and that instead of just damaging DNA, you also denature the proteins and other structures of microorganisms.
|-
|Condenser
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{Yes}}
|This step condenses the steam generated by the autoclave back into water. This is a normal part of the process used in "traditional" water purification by distillation.
|-
|Regular osmosis
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{No}}
|Regular osmosis (also known as "osmosis") is the tendency of a solvent (like water) to flow through a semipermeable membrane towards the side that has a higher concentration of dissolved molecules or ions. It therefore goes from a purer state to a less pure state, the opposite of filtration.
|-
|X-Ray Sterilization
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{No}}
|{{w|Sterilization_(microbiology)#Ionizing_radiation_sterilization|X-ray sterilization}} is used to sterilize equipment, and may also be used as a cold method (in contrast to techniques like pasteurization) of eliminating germs and killing insects in fresh foodstuffs. Has also been used to sterilize postal mail.
|-
|Carbon Filter
|{{No|Fake}}
|{{No}}
|The water is passed through some volume of carbon - a riff on activated carbon filters, which ''are'' used in water filtration as seen later in the process. The exact {{w|allotropy|allotrope}} of carbon is not mentioned, so this could possibly be a graphite, carbon nanotubes, or even solid diamond "filter". This is one of the few steps in this process that definitely fits the comic title of "Water Filtration."
|-
|Neutron Source
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{No}}
|A {{w|neutron source}} generates high-energy neutrons. High-energy neutrons are highly penetrating and will cause ionization events to occur due to collision with atoms in the water. This can potentially make the water more radioactive due to the generation of radioactive isotopes.
|-
|Activated Carbon Filter
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{Yes}}
|{{w|Activated carbon}} is a form of carbon commonly used to filter contaminants from water and air, as it has a large surface area available to adsorb impurities on its surface. While this isn't a strange step to see in a water purification process, Randall makes a pun here with its proximity to the neutron source - the carbon has been '{{w|Neutron activation|activated}}' by the neutron source, and is currently radioactive. Water filtered through this may pick up radioactive isotopes from the filter. This is one of the few steps in this process that definitely fits the comic title of "Water Filtration."
|-
|Gamma Ray Sterilization
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{No}}
|Similar to x-ray sterilization, this step uses {{w|Sterilization (microbiology)#Ionizing radiation sterilization|gamma rays}} to sterilize the water. Gamma rays can potentially irradiate the water through photodisintegration if their energy is higher than the binding energy of oxygen.
|-
|Cosmic Ray Sterilization
|{{No|Fake}}
|{{No}}
|Similar to the previous step, but this time using high energy {{w|cosmic rays}} to do so. This would be incredibly impractical, as cosmic rays are generally blocked by the atmosphere at high altitudes (as stated in the title text). Furthermore, their extremely high energy (shown to be in the exa-electron volt (EeV, or 1018 eV) range) would cause multiple high-energy particles to be created on impact with the water molecules, irradiating the water significantly.
|-
|Electrolysis
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{No}}
|The water is broken down into hydrogen and oxygen gas using an electric current. Assuming the gas outputs of this process are pure hydrogen and oxygen gas, this *would* be an extremely effective sterilization tactic, seeing as no known organism or water pollutant is entirely composed out of hydrogen or oxygen gas. Along with the next step, this step may be a misguided attempt to "take the water apart and clean each part individually". The hydrogen is sent to the ionizer, while the oxygen is sent to the oxygen spallation step.
|-
|Oxygen Spallation
|{{No|Fake}}
|{{No}}
|Almost all oxygen in existence was originally created via {{w|stellar nucleosynthesis}}. Now, in this step in the purification, the oxygen is apparently broken down back into hydrogen via a fictional form of {{w|Cosmic_ray_spallation|spallation}}. While spallation can form lighter nuclei from heavier ones, there is no known process to convert oxygen back down to hydrogen. It is unclear what happens to the neutrons present in the oxygen nuclei - whether they are removed, used to create hydrogen isotopes or allowed to decay into protons and electrons (the components of yet more hydrogen, when properly reintroduced). The hydrogen formed here is merged with the rest of the hydrogen before being sent to the ionizer.
|-
|Ionizer
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{No}}
|The hydrogen output by the previous step is made into a plasma with free electrons and protons (not bound into atoms).
|-
|Quark-Gluon Plasma Chamber
|{{No|Fake}}
|{{No}}
|The plasma output from the previous step is further energized into a {{w|quark–gluon plasma}}, such as the one found just after the Big Bang. This follows the theme of the previous steps, which all serve to break the water down into their elementary components. The incredible energies involved in doing so are unachievable by current technologies (current particle accelerators can form such a plasma for very short periods of time and involve a very small amount of matter), and serve to highlight the impracticality of this setup (as alluded to in the title text). The energies would also result in formation of lepton pairs from energy, which is presumably where the electrons from the previous step ended up.
|-
|Hydrogenation
|style="background:#FFFF9E;vertical-align:middle;text-align:{{{align|center}}};{{{style|}}}" class="table-yes"|Kinda
|{{No}}
|This process converts the quark-gluon plasma output in the previous step into elemental hydrogen, reversing the previous two steps. Presumably, this is done via {{w|hadronization}} and {{w|recombination}}; however, it is unclear how the {{w|baryon asymmetry}} needed to generate matter and not anti-matter is developed. The resulting hydrogen is split into 2 streams leading into the Nucleosynthesis and Reverse Electrolysis steps. In real life, {{w|hydrogenation}} is the process of adding hydrogen to unsaturated hydrocarbons.
|-
|Nucleosynthesis
|{{No|Fake}}
|{{No}}
|Part of the hydrogen produced in the previous step is converted into oxygen via 2 sub-processes. The hydrogen is first converted into helium and carbon through a combination of the {{w|proton-proton chain}} and the {{w|CNO cycle}} as per the labels on the step. The helium and carbon are then converted into oxygen through the {{w|alpha process}}. This step may also involve the {{w|triple-alpha process}}, seeing that the alpha process is typically only applicable to converting carbon into heavier elements owing to the lack of a stable element with eight nucleons. These steps normally occur in the cores of massive stars. It is not known how the oxygen is filtered from the extremely hot plasma of fusion products.
|-
|Reverse Electrolysis
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{No}}
|This step is essentially a fuel cell, utilizing an electrochemical reaction to convert hydrogen and oxygen back into water and electricity.
|-
|Adding Well Water
|{{Yes|Real}}
|{{Yes}}
|A second pipe is linked to the first that simply feeds untreated well water into the pipes, partially undoing the entire process. Even if the well water is only a small portion of the faucet water, its presence has now made the now incredibly pure water impure. This act of putting well water into the faucet after treating it may be a riff on the cultural interest in "spring water" or "pure glacial water" that is said to have additional minerals or beneficial properties but is oftentimes not meaningfully distinct from properly treated tap water. "Local minerals and probiotics added" may be a reference to Coke's "Dasani" brand drinking water, which is purified by reverse osmosis, and then has a package of minerals added to create the flavor (pure water's actual lack of flavor can be perceived as an unpleasantly 'flat' flavor).

In addition, drinking only {{w|Tonicity|extremely hypotonic}} liquid intake can induce the body to expel more water than it took in (taking with it some essential minerals that are not being replaced) to try to maintain equilibrium of concentrations. This effect is not directly dangerous, but could exacerbate other bodily deficiencies in the long term and have the issues of greater than necessary liquid throughput than with 'normal' drinking water. The tendency for {{w|Sports drink#Categories|many 'sports' or 'health' drinks}} to hype the term 'isotonic' is based upon the idea that an ideal concentration of solutes can be added, in-between the opposing problems of having either too many ''or'' too few 'impurities'. The process does not include adding untreated (and probably also untested/unquantified) ground water, which could carry pathogenic organisms and chemicals, and appears to have no mechanism for ensuring what ''might'' be an acceptable level of re-blending for the circumstances.

Alternatively, it may be that the level of purity achieved by this setup is so overkill, and the cost per liter processed so high, that it's simply more efficient to treat just enough of the water to dilute the rest of the water to acceptable levels of contaminants. For example, it's common to use a partial bypass to supply water to the shower, since shower water does not need to be potable. Also, some well water systems are clean enough to not need any treatment at all and can be used straight from the well, and some water systems are only slightly high in a single chemical contaminant that can be addressed by blending the water, either with treated water or another source (treated or untreated). Perhaps the treatment process led to enough radioactivity that blending with the original source was required to address radiological contamination (either gross alpha radiation or specific radionuclides).
|}

The title text briefly covers the cost implications of the components. Various 'real' filter elements will have material or energy costs or both, in operation or to replenish their effectiveness, and the high energy input needed to disassociate hadrons into raw quark–gluon plasma (at bulk levels) would seem to require the most in terms of running the equipment. But it is pointed out that to ''ensure'' enough cosmic rays reach that particular phase of sterilization, there would have to be a pipe (not shown) leading out to the edge of the atmosphere to optimistically carry down such particles (due to also containing ''no'' air, i.e., keeping it out to negate the normal {{w|Air shower (physics)|shielding and dissipating effect}} of the atmosphere on cosmic rays). However, this pipe would not only be a flight hazard, but also to ensure that no air molecules get in, the pipe would have to be similar to a space elevator, which would wreck a lot of havoc on LEO and MEO.
Whether a one-off cost or needing regular replacement, the setting up of such a tubular structure (a vertical air-proof pipe perhaps somewhere between 100 and 10000 kilometers high) would be technically challenging and has not ever been actually accomplished. The conditions for a quark–gluon plasma, albeit in limited quantities, at least have been fulfilled at {{w|CERN}}, with its 27 kilometer airless pipe that goes round within a vast circular tunnel.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript|Do NOT delete this tag too soon.}}

:[Header:]
:How Water Filtration Works

:[A system of various devices between water pipes is shown.]
:[Input:]
:Well water
:[Labels of various devices:]
:Water softener
:Reverse osmosis
:Ultraviolet sterilization
:Autoclave
:Condenser
:Regular osmosis
:X-ray sterilization
:Carbon filter
:Neutron source
:Activated carbon filter
:Gamma ray sterilization
:Cosmic ray sterilization [On the device: "EeV γ"]
:Electrolysis [H2O split into O and H]
:Oxygen spallation [O becomes H]
:Ionizer [H split into + and -]
:Quark-gluon plasma chamber [+ and - become QGP]
:Hydrogenation [QGP becomes H]
:Nucleosynthesis [H goes through "P-P CNO" and becomes He and C, then through "Alpha" and becomes O]
:Reverse electrolysis
:[Output after devices:]
:Pure water
:[Second input, mixed with pure water:]
:Well water
:[Label:]
:Local minerals and probiotics added for taste and to support immune health
:[Final output:]
:To faucet

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Chemistry]]
[[Category:Physics]]
[[Category:Engineering]]

Talk:787: Orbiter

2024-09-05T12:49:26Z

172.70.162.207:

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)

Talk:2979: Sky Alarm

2024-09-01T14:58:36Z

172.70.162.207:

♫♪ Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me... ♪♫ :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 04:55, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

I've tried to do just this by subscribing to a channel promisingly named "AstroAlert", which then proceeded to spam me 500 times per day with messages about a random meteor on the opposite part of the world. Woe. [[Special:Contributions/162.158.110.200|162.158.110.200]] 05:15, 31 August 2024 (UTC)
:Hence the need for this alarm, to keep it LOCAL, :) That's the thing, any such thing needs a LOCATION, to limit results to what is locally relevant to each person. :) [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:19, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

This comic seems super simple, so I added as muc( explanation as I can think of... [[User:NiceGuy1|NiceGuy1]] ([[User talk:NiceGuy1|talk]]) 05:19, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Local58 moment 💔

[[Special:Contributions/172.70.85.138|172.70.85.138]] 11:27, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

With that device, no work is ever going to be done again... D: [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.24|108.162.221.24]] 11:36, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

There is a nice site called [https://apod.nasa.gov/ Astronomy Picture of the Day] that is like this. Alas, it is "A cool space thing happened three days ago - sorry you missed it". --[[User:Divad27182|Divad27182]] ([[User talk:Divad27182|talk]]) 11:41, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Sounds like it needs a sky dome camera system (like they made for immersive filmimg) on the roof coupled with statistical analysis (mistakenly aka AI) to recognise and record 'interesting' things, coupled with localised alerts for known phenomena. A product for someone? [[User:RIIW - Ponder it|RIIW - Ponder it]] ([[User talk:RIIW - Ponder it|talk]]) 11:46, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Most cool astronomical events don't come up so suddenly that you need an alarm. We know about eclipses years in advance, meteor showers recur annually, comets have months of warning, and unusual auroras are usually known a few days early. Anything sudden will probably also be short-lived, so by the time you get outside it will be over. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:26, 31 August 2024 (UTC)
:If you're anything like me, you're often eager to see (predicable space phenomenon) and then get reminded of it a day too late when the photos starts appearing on the internet. Though that could just as easily solved with a reminder on a standard calendar app, if only you had something reminding youto set up reminders. What would be nice would be an app where you put in your location and it gives you the next week's A) weather forecast, and B) list of interestingly visible space thingies. [[Special:Contributions/172.69.246.142|172.69.246.142]] 14:38, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

Seems like there should be a name for these alerts, like "Amber Alert" for missing children. I nominate "Neil Alert" -- it should probably use Neil deGrasse Tyson's voice. [[User:Barmar|Barmar]] ([[User talk:Barmar|talk]]) 15:28, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Since the characters in the comic are the same as in the previous ISS comic, I like to think that they're in the ISS and Megan is getting ready to do an EVA (ignore the fact that such a desk wouldn't make sense, or the walking, or that prepping for the EVA would probably take well over a full orbit) [[Special:Contributions/172.71.223.93|172.71.223.93]] 17:58, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Dang, we really cleaned up all the incomplete explanations, didn't we?
Either that, or someone just went around and removed all the tags [[User:New editor|New editor]] ([[User talk:New editor|talk]]) 19:50, 31 August 2024 (UTC)

Does anyone know of anything like this? Something that will tell me about things like upcoming meteor showers, comets, auroras, etc. the day before, rather than hearing about it the day after from people who somehow knew about it? To this day I still have no idea how people find out about these things before they happen {{unsigned ip|162.158.154.134|13:35, 1 September 2024}}
:Offline, the national (and local) Weather broadcasts might give info on "what might be visible tonight". Or at least respond to the preceding News programme's "and finally..." if it features the note that supermoons will happen or aurora have a decent chance to and all that remains is the hope of clear sky. That's UK television, can't speak for wherever you are/what you might watch.
:Online, it would depend upon what you can imagine wanting to know. Keep an eye on something obvious like space.com (which might have internal/external links to gateways that push notifications on various subjects) or go the full hog and search for "aurora alert", "meteor alert", "rocket launch alert" in every sort of phrnomenon that you think might (if timed/located well) interest you and be visible.
:The comic device might be either configured to deal with everything the comic characters might be interested in, nails absolutely ''anything'' (without prejudice/selectability) or perhaps (over time) has an AI/heuristic element that 'learns' what random phenomena most interest you as it collates so many possible feed options (itself, or via its manufacturer's centrally maintained servers).
:But it looks like a project ripe for a 'Maker' to try. Set up an Arduino/Raspberry Pi/whatever with a "speaker/siren and lights" housing and an internet connection with suitably configured feed-scraping commands run within it (or via a separate computer to which it connects) that makes a fuss whenever a suitable notification is passed. Add to that maybe some skyward-facing camera(s) with one degree or other of image-processing applied to their images to (for example) identify when a particularly nice sunset is happening with plenty of rose-tinted clouds. With enough foresight (and the right processing) it could pick up particularly aesthetic cloudscapes, the spontaneous murmurations of starlings, an amusing conjunction of contrails, the first snowflakes of winter or (back to space things) a surprise Earth-skimming bolide... whatever your imagination, technical tinkering and subsequent data-munging could get your "Sky's-Pi Alarm" (or whatever it is) to make its noises for.
:I don't actually subscribe to anything (as proxy for my imagined self-contain/collating device), so I can't tell you any particularly good sources of info, but there'll be some out there. Like you can get earthquake alerts (or at least "yeah, we also know about it, be careful" semi-simultaneous detection), tornado alerts, flood aleets and other hobbyist/public-safety notification systems. [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.207|172.70.162.207]] 14:58, 1 September 2024 (UTC)

I previously changed the words from the alarm in the Transcript to italics, but I wasn't convinced that the noises from the alarm were also italicized. I see someone else changed them to italics as well, but I wonder if anyone else is of the same mind as myself. [[User:Ianrbibtitlht|Ianrbibtitlht]] ([[User talk:Ianrbibtitlht|talk]]) 14:16, 1 September 2024 (UTC)
:The transcript shouldn't actually use (or rely upon) formatting, really, though saying something like <code><nowiki>:[The device emits sounds and speech, in italics] ''The things the device says''</nowiki></code> in both description ''and'' markup would satisfy both human and non-human readers better than one method alone. I've not been involved in that transcript, probably won't, but it's the kind of expansion that I'd expect (done with more thought than this quick note, maybe). [[Special:Contributions/172.70.162.207|172.70.162.207]] 14:58, 1 September 2024 (UTC)