explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

1492: Dress Color

2015-02-27T06:24:57Z

Mralext20: begin the transcript!

{{comic
| number = 1492
| date = February 27, 2015
| title = Dress Color
| image = dress_color.png
| titletext = This white-balance illusion hit so hard because it felt like someone had been playing through the Monty Hall scenario and opened their chosen door, only to find there was unexpectedly disagreement over whether the thing they'd revealed was a goat or a car.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|needs more stuff}}
after being shared on twitter, [http://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/ wired,] and originally on [http://swiked.tumblr.com/post/112174461490/officialunitedstates-unclefather tumblr,] this dress im age has found itself everywhere, including this XKCD.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
the same girl in a dress, on the left filtered with blue, and on the right unfiltered.
{{comic discussion}}

1492: Dress Color

2015-02-27T06:23:43Z

Mralext20: added info regaurding dress and where/what

1358: NRO

2014-04-21T18:34:09Z

Mralext20: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 1358
| date = April 21, 2014
| title = NRO
| image = nro.png
| titletext = 'DISPATCHING DRONE TO TARGET COORDINATES.' 'Wait, crap, wrong button. Oh jeez.'
}}

==Explanation==
''{{w|Where's Waldo}}'' (known in the British originally as ''Where's Wally)'' is a children's puzzle book in which you have to locate 'Waldo', a character with a distinctive striped shirt and hat, in a picture crowded with hundreds of characters. This is harder than it sounds, since the characters are both very small and quite densely packed on the page. [[Cueball]] and his friend are using satellite imaging to find Waldo, by holding the book up to the sky and viewing it on the computer, presumably using some advanced image processing software to identify Waldo among the crowd. This would require a very advanced camera, as resolutions are usually much lower than would be necessary to resolve the characters in a Where's Waldo book. But since Cueball works at the {{w|National Reconnaissance Office}} (NRO), he probably has access to some powerful satellites and image processing software. The humor in this being, while he could be using that power for much more important things, he's instead trying to solve a simple game. Further, Cueball and his friend could probably hook up the image parsing software to a smaller camera on the ground, rather than a satellite-mounted camera.

The title text is implying that Cueball has accidentally launched a drone at the co-ordinates, which would be where he and his friend are standing.

==Transcript==
:Cueball and a friend are in a remote area. The friend is holding a ''Where's Waldo?'' book towards the sky.
:Laptop: [Target located]
:Cueball: Got him. Left edge, two inches down.
:The National Reconnaissance Office has an unusual approach to ''Where's Waldo''.

==Trivia==
A [http://what-if.xkcd.com What If] comic examining the use of the {{w|Hubble Space Telescope}} for the purpose of taking photos from the earth's surface can be found here: [http://what-if.xkcd.com/32/ Hubble].

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]

Talk:1358: NRO

2014-04-21T07:30:01Z

Mralext20: Created page with "Could what if #32 be valid here? https://what-if.xkcd.com/32/ --~~~~"

Could what if #32 be valid here? https://what-if.xkcd.com/32/ --[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 07:30, 21 April 2014 (UTC)

1355: Airplane Message

2014-04-14T16:02:17Z

Mralext20: minor typo

{{comic
| number = 1355
| date = April 14, 2014
| title = Airplane Message
| image = airplane_message.png
| titletext = PHARAOH IRY-HOR, FROM THE 3200s BC, IS THE FIRST HUMAN WHOSE NAME WE KNOW.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Very brief at the moment.}}

This comic is another in the string of "My Hobby" comics. Large banners are sometimes flown behind airplanes to advertise a product or event to a large number of people. Here Randall suggests replacing the ad with an interesting fact. This would let people who see the banner learn something new and interesting, rather than trying to sell them something. He presents two possible facts to use: Adriamycin and Iry-Hor.

The {{w|chemotherapy}} drug {{w|doxorubicin}}, trade name Adriamycin, is based on a strain of the bacterium ''{{w|Streptomyces peucetius}}'' isolated from a soil sample taken at {{w|Castel del Monte, Apulia|Castel del Monte}} in {{w|Andria}}, Italy.

This is one of several comics dealing with cancer and its treatment. [[Randall]]'s fiancée (now his wife) [http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/06/30/family-illness/ was diagnosed] with Stage III breast cancer in October of 2010, and it has been a [[:Category:Cancer|recurring topic]] ever since.

{{w|Iry-Hor}} was an ancient, {{w|Dynasty 0|predynastic}} pharaoh of ancient Egypt. His existence only became widely accepted in 2012{{Citation needed}}. We are aware of and have the remains of older humans, but have not learned their names, so far.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
There is a plane with a banner behind it. The banner reads "Adriamycin, one of our most potent chemotherapy drugs, comes from the dirt from an Italian castle."

The caption is "My hobby: breaking into airplane hangars and replacing the ads on their giant banners with cool facts."
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Cancer]]

1355: Airplane Message

2014-04-14T08:46:01Z

Mralext20: /* Transcript */

{{comic
| number = 1355
| date = April 14, 2014
| title = Airplane Message
| image = airplane_message.png
| titletext = PHARAOH IRY-HOR, FROM THE 3200s BC, IS THE FIRST HUMAN WHOSE NAME WE KNOW.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Very brief at the moment.}}

The {{w|chemotherapy}} drug {{w|doxorubicin}}, trade name Adriamycin, is based on a strain of the bacterium ''{{w|Streptomyces peucetius}}'' isolated from a soil sample taken at {{w|Castel del Monte}} in {{w|Andria}}, Italy.

This is one of several comics dealing with cancer and its treatment. [[Randall]]'s fiancée (now his wife) [http://blog.xkcd.com/2011/06/30/family-illness/ was diagnosed] with Stage III breast cancer in October of 2010, and it has been a [[:Category:Cancer|recurring topic]] ever since.

{{w|Iry-Hor}} was a prehistoric, {{w|Dynasty 0|predynastic}} pharaoh of ancient Egypt. His existence only became widely accepted in 2012. Until or unless an earlier pharaoh is identified, he will remain the oldest known named human.

==Transcript==
{{incomplete transcript}}
There is a plane with a banner behind it. The banner reads "adryamycim, one of our most potent chemotherapy drugs, comes from the dirt of a Italian castle."

The caption is "my hobby: breaking into airplane hangers and replacing the ads on their giant banners with cool facts."
{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:My Hobby]]
[[Category:Cancer]]

1304: Glass Trolling

2013-12-18T05:04:11Z

Mralext20: semi major edit in final paragraph

{{comic
| number = 1304
| date = December 16, 2013
| title = Glass Trolling
| image = glass_trolling.png
| titletext = Plus, when someone finally grabs your glasses and stomps on them, it costs way less than $1,500 to replace them.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|Is there really much to say?}}
{{w|Google Glass}} is a set of glasses frames worn like typical glasses that features an optical display and internet connectivity. It responds to voice commands starting with [https://support.google.com/glass/answer/3079305 "OK ''glass''"], for example to initiate video recording or to check tomorrow's weather. Strangers and other people surrounding the user would often find it annoying to hear someone talking to "himself", or to ''Glass''.

[[Cueball]] is checking tomorrow's weather and says "OK, ''glass''" while he is only wearing regular glasses. Apparently this is even more annoying to the bystander than if Cueball actually would wear a ''Glass''.

In the title text, a bystander is eventually fed up with the annoyance and smashes the glasses to the ground. If they were an actual ''Google Glass'', they would have cost a fortune to replace, regular glasses are much less costly.

The "OK, ''Glass''" keyword is not useless outside of ''Glass''; In the ''Android/iOS'' app ''Google Now'', "OK, ''Glass''" is also valid instead of "OK, ''Google''" to initiate a voice command. While It's likely that Cueball uses this app,its not entirely true.just because he holds a smartphone in his hand, doesn't mean that he is using it.

This is another strip in the [[My Hobby]] series.

==Transcript==
:My Hobby:
:Cueball: Ok, Glass, check tomorrow's weather.
:Cueball: Ooh, snow!
:Off-frame-bystander: Oh my god, it's somehow even ''more'' annoying than if you had it.
:Saying "Ok, Glass" before everything while wearing regular glasses.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:My Hobby]]

Talk:1304: Glass Trolling

2013-12-18T05:00:52Z

Mralext20: responce

In google now, you can use "OK glass" instead of "OK google".--[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 05:23, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
: I have a problem with the sentence "It's likely that Cueball uses this app because he holds a smartphone in his hand" independent on whether this app exists or not -- simply by the fact that the title is "Glass Trolling" -- there would not be much "Trolling" involved if the "Ok, Glass" actually made sense in the context -- so my take is that Randal is NOT aware of the App referenced, and that the "Ok, Glass" is in context where no meaning of "OK, Glass" makes any sense, such as when using an old fashioned "feature phone" or a iphone, windows phone or simply just an Android phone which no "Ok, Glass" capabilities -- I vote to strike this part of the explanation [[User:Spongebog|Spongebog]] ([[User talk:Spongebog|talk]]
:: i was merly starting a fact. I shall edit the explanation to match your text.--[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 05:00, 18 December 2013 (UTC)

There are actually privacy activists who call for grabbing such gadgets and destroying them by stomping on them. Google for "#camover" in combination with "google glass" to find hints. --[[User:Kigana|Kigana]] ([[User talk:Kigana|talk]]) 08:58, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

I don't know, aren't dioptric glasses correcting more complicated problems like astigmatism also costly? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:55, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
: Speaking in gross costs, yes. My new glasses cost well over $400 USD. Thankfully, due to decent vision insurance, I only paid $53 for exam ($10), frame/lenses ($20) and the upcharge (discounted) for polycarbonate lenses. Context: I have heavy astigmatism (especially my left eye) plus farsightedness. --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.57|108.162.216.57]] 13:37, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
: Will people who need to wear glasses be able to wear Google Glass? Or would that be a problem? [[User:PheagleAdler|PheagleAdler]] ([[User talk:PheagleAdler|talk]]) 06:55, 17 December 2013 (UTC)
::no,the glass unit of now has support for lenses. --[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 07:50, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Made a major edit to the article, it is now much clearer and more informative IMHO. Feel free to tweak. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.135|141.101.98.135]] 20:31, 16 December 2013 (UTC) (actually [[User:NeatNit]], cba to log in)

Using : OK, glass! on a smartphone medically is a symptom of "ejaculatio praecox". {{unsigned ip|108.162.231.222}}

Talk:1304: Glass Trolling

2013-12-17T07:51:05Z

Mralext20: I'll get this down eventually.

In google now, you can use "OK glass" instead of "OK google".--[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 05:23, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

There are actually privacy activists who call for grabbing such gadgets and destroying them by stomping on them. Google for "#camover" in combination with "google glass" to find hints. --[[User:Kigana|Kigana]] ([[User talk:Kigana|talk]]) 08:58, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

I don't know, aren't dioptric glasses correcting more complicated problems like astigmatism also costly? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:55, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
: Speaking in gross costs, yes. My new glasses cost well over $400 USD. Thankfully, due to decent vision insurance, I only paid $53 for exam ($10), frame/lenses ($20) and the upcharge (discounted) for polycarbonate lenses. Context: I have heavy astigmatism (especially my left eye) plus farsightedness. --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.57|108.162.216.57]] 13:37, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
: Will people who need to wear glasses be able to wear Google Glass? Or would that be a problem? [[User:PheagleAdler|PheagleAdler]] ([[User talk:PheagleAdler|talk]]) 06:55, 17 December 2013 (UTC)
::no,the glass unit of now has support for lenses. --[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 07:50, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Made a major edit to the article, it is now much clearer and more informative IMHO. Feel free to tweak. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.135|141.101.98.135]] 20:31, 16 December 2013 (UTC) (actually [[User:NeatNit]], cba to log in)

Using : OK, glass! on a smartphone medically is a symptom of "ejaculatio praecox". {{unsigned ip|108.162.231.222}}

Talk:1304: Glass Trolling

2013-12-17T07:50:22Z

Mralext20: replied

In google now, you can use "OK glass" instead of "OK google".--[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 05:23, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

There are actually privacy activists who call for grabbing such gadgets and destroying them by stomping on them. Google for "#camover" in combination with "google glass" to find hints. --[[User:Kigana|Kigana]] ([[User talk:Kigana|talk]]) 08:58, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

I don't know, aren't dioptric glasses correcting more complicated problems like astigmatism also costly? -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 09:55, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
: Speaking in gross costs, yes. My new glasses cost well over $400 USD. Thankfully, due to decent vision insurance, I only paid $53 for exam ($10), frame/lenses ($20) and the upcharge (discounted) for polycarbonate lenses. Context: I have heavy astigmatism (especially my left eye) plus farsightedness. --BigMal // [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.57|108.162.216.57]] 13:37, 16 December 2013 (UTC)
: Will people who need to wear glasses be able to wear Google Glass? Or would that be a problem? [[User:PheagleAdler|PheagleAdler]] ([[User talk:PheagleAdler|talk]]) 06:55, 17 December 2013 (UTC)
:no,the glass unit of now has support for lenses. --[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 07:50, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

Made a major edit to the article, it is now much clearer and more informative IMHO. Feel free to tweak. --[[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.135|141.101.98.135]] 20:31, 16 December 2013 (UTC) (actually [[User:NeatNit]], cba to log in)

Using : OK, glass! on a smartphone medically is a symptom of "ejaculatio praecox". {{unsigned ip|108.162.231.222}}

Talk:1304: Glass Trolling

2013-12-16T05:23:45Z

Mralext20: add comment.

In google now, you can use "OK glass" instead of "OK google".--[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 05:23, 16 December 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1302: Year in Review

2013-12-11T16:31:34Z

Mralext20: add comment

"...she never saw an aurora borealis '''(or australis)'''"
Australis?
She specifically states ''northern'' lights. {{unsigned ip|141.101.81.8}}

Eclipses are so predictable I suspect that the 2017 eclipse was already predicted by Chinese before christ. I mean, they executed two astrologers in 2134 BCE for failing to predict one, so I'm sure others worked hard to save themselves. -- [[User:Hkmaly|Hkmaly]] ([[User talk:Hkmaly|talk]]) 10:22, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

I think the joke of the comic is that she's giving an actual review/critique of the astronomical year itself, like one would review a movie. This is in contrast to the expected summary or recap of events occuring during the year. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.55.217|173.245.55.217]] 13:17, 11 December 2013 (UTC)Pat

Coincidence that this was released the same day as [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7jtC8vjXw8 rewind YouTube style 2013?]--[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 16:31, 11 December 2013 (UTC)

Talk:1301: File Extensions

2013-12-09T05:48:56Z

Mralext20:

The title text reference of "hand-aligned data" may refer to ASCII art. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.215.28|108.162.215.28]] 05:36, 9 December 2013 (UTC) Alan K.

I think it's also a notable point, that the better rated document formats are more data centric while the low rated formats mix text informations with design elements and finally become pure graphic formats, which often is an indication, that the author didn't use the accurate file type for (mostly) pure text informations.
Something I don't understand is the gap between jpg and jpeg. The first suffix is AFAIK only an abbreviation used by older DOS/MS Systems to fullfill the 8.3 limitation for filenames.
Sorry for my bad english, I'm not a natural writer
[[Special:Contributions/108.162.231.239|108.162.231.239]] 05:45, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

I find it interesting that .jpg and .jpeg are at different levels. Aren't those the same thing? --[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 05:48, 9 December 2013 (UTC)

Talk:908: The Cloud

2013-12-08T01:00:19Z

Mralext20:

iCloud is not a music service. It was released (around?) the same time as iTunes Match, which is Apple's online music service. iCloud replaced MobileMe as Apple's online data storage and email service (and Calendar, Notes, Contacts, and Reminders). Also, it provides access to Find My iPhone. [[Special:Contributions/75.69.96.225|75.69.96.225]] 21:41, 4 March 2013 (UTC)
:And just by the way, it was the original name of cloudme.com before Apple evidently acquired the rights from them. --[[Special:Contributions/79.222.27.115|79.222.27.115]] 22:57, 31 August 2013 (UTC)
Could this also be a reference to rose petals? (#1183)--[[User:Mralext20|Mralext20]] ([[User talk:Mralext20|talk]]) 01:00, 8 December 2013 (UTC)