explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1343: Manuals

2014-03-19T09:27:15Z

DreamingDaemon:

Your line counts may vary for the man pages, depending on what distribution you are running and what version of man you're using (and god forbid, what version of wc). {{unsigned ip|‎108.162.221.51}}

:Mine comes in at 1806 lines. So even more unwieldy. (Ubuntu 13.10) [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.74|108.162.216.74]] 14:36, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

:1,743 here... but that's still only medium length; g++ weighs in at 14,148 (Fedora 20). [[Special:Contributions/173.245.52.29|173.245.52.29]] 19:09, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
:: g++ might be 14,148, but it is also a ''compiler''. In fact it's a collection of compilers, optimizers, linkers, preprocessors, optimizers, lexers, parsers, partridges, and pear trees. sudoers is a ''config file''. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.5|108.162.221.5]] 00:30, 19 March 2014 (UTC)

I seem to remember some info page starting with “how to read this manual”… can’t find it though. --[[Special:Contributions/108.162.254.162|108.162.254.162]] 10:00, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

I believe the implication is that the "how to read this manual" section is a manual for the manual. This could be characterized as an instance of recursion. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.52|173.245.54.52]] 16:07, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

Cool. I had been wondering what that grammar-description syntax was called and how it worked. Now I know where to read about it! I do wonder about how true the cartoon is, though. Notepad does not require a manual or tutorial, but vi and Emacs do. [[User:Jim E|Jim E]] ([[User talk:Jim E|talk]]) 16:10, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

:Did you seriously just compare a Windows and a Unix tool? In my opinion though, notepad/nano are more useful. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.43|108.162.221.43]] 17:49, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
:: Trolling? [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]) 19:24, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
::: If not trolling should at least read man nano before saying "notepad/nano". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.5|108.162.221.5]] 19:21, 18 March 2014 (UTC)

Is this spelling correct: "that tool tends", but "these tools tend"? I'm not native English so maybe someone can help. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 20:47, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
:Yes, those are both correct English. "That tool" is singular while "these tools" is plural, thus the verbs are (singular) "tends" and (plural) "tend". There is a mistake in the fourth bullet where the person who wrote the explanation said "most worse" (should have said "worst": "But the worst tools..."). {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.84}}
::Many thanks for your reply. Your last statement is covered now. Many thanks for your help! But please don't forget to sign your post. Maybe you should create an account here, it's much easier to talk. --[[User:Dgbrt|Dgbrt]] ([[User talk:Dgbrt|talk]]) 22:59, 17 March 2014 (UTC)

Could this comic itself be considered a manual for how to determine whether a tool causes or creates problems? [[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.89|173.245.54.89]] 21:02, 17 March 2014 (UTC)
: I think this comic is a tool, rather than a manual, a tool to determine whether a tool fixes or creates problems. This tool needs/has a manual (this wiki page). At least this wiki page doesn't include a section called "How to read this xkcd explanation". [[Special:Contributions/108.162.221.5|108.162.221.5]] 19:26, 18 March 2014 (UTC)
:: Would not the "Help" link on the left be classed as a manual for this page? [[User:DreamingDaemon|DD]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 09:27, 19 March 2014 (UTC)

Talk:1250: Old Accounts

2013-08-12T10:14:45Z

DreamingDaemon:

Kind of reminds me of all these movies where someone deletes something from a computer by dramatically backspacing everything. Like in Daredevil, for example. [[Special:Contributions/95.35.60.227|95.35.60.227]] 07:34, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

:Ugh. I hated that scene. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 08:49, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

:Ugh. I hated that movie. [[User:DreamingDaemon|DD]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 10:14, 12 August 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1186: Bumblebees

2013-03-15T09:23:54Z

DreamingDaemon:

{{w|Bumblebee#Flight}} [[Special:Contributions/96.238.211.171|96.238.211.171]] 05:49, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Amazing that this urban legend is still going. I seem to remember reading that the aerodynamicist who came to this conclusion sobered up and withdrew his comments within a day or two, 80 years ago. [[User:DreamingDaemon|DD]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 09:22, 15 March 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1186: Bumblebees

2013-03-15T09:23:40Z

DreamingDaemon:

Talk:1186: Bumblebees

2013-03-15T09:23:22Z

DreamingDaemon:

Talk:1186: Bumblebees

2013-03-15T09:22:28Z

DreamingDaemon:

Talk:1177: Time Robot

2013-02-22T11:20:42Z

DreamingDaemon:

A lot of Randall's recent comics are quite poetic. It's like some kind of trend. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy²²]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 05:14, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

Is this a Terminator reference? (Never seen the movies) [[User:Alpha|Alpha]] ([[User talk:Alpha|talk]]) 05:20, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

[http://www.xkcd.com/602 A similar reference] has been made before(by Randall).09:22, 22 February 2013 (UTC)
Did you mean to post the ep602 link against the previous comic 1176? [[User:DreamingDaemon|DD]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 11:20, 22 February 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1160: Drop Those Pounds

2013-01-15T16:42:07Z

DreamingDaemon:

"Dropping Thirty Pounds Fast"? Is that a reference to the projectile weight being approx 30lb and "dropping" it on someone's walls? [[User:DreamingDaemon|DD]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 10:03, 14 January 2013 (UTC)
:I was thinking more along the lines of thirty pounds of blood and dismembered flesh. '''[[User:Davidy22|Davidy22]]'''[[User talk:Davidy22|<tt>[talk]</tt>]] 10:46, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

A trebuchet works by dropping a large weight connected to the swing arm, thereby propelling the projectile in a parabola (hopefully) towards the target. Thus, by dropping 30 lbs fast, you may literally hit your target. {{unsigned|‎62.109.36.140}}

:Anyhow the explanation is a little off. The "subtlety" referred to is not that people tend to ignore weight loss flyers. It is that the flyer ''looks'' like a flyer for a weight loss programme, while it is actually trying to recruit people for something entirely different. Most people would not get this and sign up thinking that they would lose body weight, while they would be signing up for the trebuchet club. The only hint is the drawing, really. I agree with the above comment that the "dropping 30lbs" probably refers to the projectile. [[Special:Contributions/62.25.36.19|62.25.36.19]] 10:52, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

::Actually - I didn't mean that the 30lbs was the projectile but rather the counterweight propelling the projectile. [[Special:Contributions/62.109.36.140|62.109.36.140]] 12:53, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

My vote is that 30lbs stands for the projectile. [[Special:Contributions/70.31.159.230|70.31.159.230]] 15:55, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

30lbs for the projectile is most consistent with the alt-text, which implies that they will be hurling projectiles at the town. A 30lbs counterweight would only be able to fling a projectile an order of magnitude smaller. Also, for medieval trebuchets the "average mass of the projectiles was probably around 50–100 kg" ([http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trebuchet#Counterweight_trebuchet Wikipedia article]) --[[User:Forlackofabettername|Forlackofabettername]] ([[User talk:Forlackofabettername|talk]]) 16:23, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

:A trebuchet club would likely be building smaller models than the original medieval ones, so my vote is the 30lbs is referring to the counterweight, not the projectile. In a trebuchet, the counterweight drops fast, whereas the projectile doesn't initially drop at all, but it rather launches upwards and sideways; it'll be some time before it starts dropping, and even then not very quickly as the vertical speed takes some time to switch from up to zero, and then finally down, eventually building up speed to something that might be considered "FAST". But the "FAST" is mostly in the horizontal direction rather than seen as a "drop". In the meantime, that counterweight had already dropped more directly a long time ago. --boB

::Even the projectiles will take more to drop, it still quite "FAST" compare any weight loss program, so I think it can still refer to the projectile. [[User:Arifsaha|Arifsaha]] ([[User talk:Arifsaha|talk]]) 18:17, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

:::I can just imagine someone from the club saying "Let's drop 30 lbs on the target". Besides, I'd consider the usage of the word "drop" to be more metaphorical because in the operation of a trebuchet, no individual actually drops a counterweight; they simply pull a pin or cut a rope. [[Special:Contributions/70.31.159.230|70.31.159.230]] 20:54, 14 January 2013 (UTC)

A what-if wonder: considering a {{w|trebuchet}} is a {{w|weapon}}, will it be legal to own and place a {{w|trebuchet}} in your own {{w|backyard}}? [[User:Arifsaha|Arifsaha]] ([[User talk:Arifsaha|talk]]) 18:20, 14 January 2013 (UTC)
: The art of [http://www.amazon.com/dp/1613740646 backyard ballistics] is a firmly established niche hobby -- presumably for people with really big backyards. --[[User:Prooffreader|Prooffreader]] ([[User talk:Prooffreader|talk]]) 20:22, 14 January 2013 (UTC)
:: I needed a new hobby since I broke the last one... this is a contender! Thanks! :D [[User:DreamingDaemon|DD]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 16:42, 15 January 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1160: Drop Those Pounds

2013-01-14T10:03:58Z

DreamingDaemon: Created page with ""Dropping Thirty Pounds Fast"? Is that a reference to the projectile weight being approx 30lb and "dropping" it on someone's walls? ~~~~"

Talk:1144: Tags

2012-12-07T16:56:12Z

DreamingDaemon:

I literally grimaced when I saw the comic, and then I read the title text and my stomach churned, and then I saw the non-breaking space and I wanted to crawl up in a ball and die. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:01, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

I'm a web developer and I didn't find this annoying, although I did roll my eyes. Then I came here to see if there was anything I missed that SHOULD annoy me. No, to annoy a web developer you have to use table tags, blink tags(not supported on most browsers for good reason, annoys anybody when it works), and have a stray !-- inside a tag where it doesn't belong. Also, use any html inside your css file. And have it where it only works in IE. [[User:Ferretwilliams|Ferretwilliams]] ([[User talk:Ferretwilliams|talk]]) 06:11, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

:That's okay, it's easy to implement blink with javascript and changing the display value from hidden to inline every half second. And lots of news sites these days re-implement the marquee tag with a bit of javascript too. What Randall really missed here was an opportunity for the center and font tags. [[User:Lcarsos|lcarsos]]_a ([[User talk:Lcarsos|talk]]) 06:18, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Argh. Almost as bad as unclosed left parentheses.(Y'know, like this. [[User:DreamingDaemon|DreamingDaemon]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 10:21, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

:You mean like comic [[859]]?
::That's exactly what I meant... People do that to me in emails because they know it presses my buttons! [[User:DreamingDaemon|DreamingDaemon]] ([[User talk:DreamingDaemon|talk]]) 16:56, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

It's been a long while since I coded html (I quit about the time style sheets appeared) but I think the annoying part of <code>&nbsp;</code> is the fact that it appears as the 6 characters instead of a space, not just that it's at the end and could push the text to another line. Doesn't this typically mean that someone copied some code but didn't look carefully at the results when they pasted it into an editor? --[[User:DanB|DanB]] ([[User talk:DanB|talk]]) 14:27, 7 December 2012 (UTC)

Talk:1144: Tags

2012-12-07T10:21:35Z

DreamingDaemon: