explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

Talk:1748: Future Archaeology

2016-10-19T12:27:48Z

PoconoChuck:

Second reference is actually to music video: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfhhWA9GF0M Aaron Carter - That's How I Beat Shaq]] [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.5|141.101.98.5]] 04:11, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Here I thought it was a reference to The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny--[[Special:Contributions/108.162.226.115|108.162.226.115]] 04:25, 19 October 2016 (UTC)
:I made the same mistake! Had to recite the entire thing in my head to see if those two fought, then impressed myself with my memory of lyrics I hadn't heard since high school. [[Special:Contributions/173.245.48.87|173.245.48.87]] 04:51, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

"we do like our flood narratives" - the same day (or the day before?) a new what-if.xkcd (152) about flooding death valley was uploaded - the first for a while... [[Special:Contributions/162.158.86.29|162.158.86.29]] 08:18, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

:Thanks for telling me! New What-If? Sweet! [[User:Jacky720|Jacky720]] ([[User talk:Jacky720|talk]]) 10:52, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

==A rare type of series?==
<small>{sorry if it sounds dumb: first time here}</small> Have any two consecutive xkcds ever been part of such a clear "series" without being labelled "part I", "part II", ...? Or is this a rare occurrence of such thing? In case, it should be mentioned in the trivia, maybe? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.70|141.101.98.70]] 08:04, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Aaron who?
[[User:PoconoChuck|PoconoChuck]] ([[User talk:PoconoChuck|talk]]) 12:27, 19 October 2016 (UTC)

Talk:1737: Datacenter Scale

2016-09-23T12:20:34Z

PoconoChuck:

I think the character in Panel 1 is [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Science_Girl Science Girl] and not [http://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/Hairbun Hairbun].
[[User:PoconoChuck|PoconoChuck]] ([[User talk:PoconoChuck|talk]]) 12:20, 23 September 2016 (UTC)

While the comic is obviously exxaggerating, there are situations where this could make a certain amount of sense. IF you can design a server so that most or all of the components reach end-of-life at about the same time, then if a hard drive fails on one server, every other component of that server is likely to fail soon as well.

If you install entire server racks or server rooms at the same time, where every machine contains components with the same basic life cycle...

then in theory, once the first component fails, you can ignore it until mass component failures causes the entire rack/room to fall below a certain readiness level.

At that point, there's no reason to pay a technician to spend several days removing and replacing half the individual components throughout that rack/room, when the other half are just going to fail in the next few months anyway. In theory, it might be economically more efficient just to scrap everything at once, bring in brand-new server replacements, and re-sync the needed data from a networked backup.

in real life, it's very hard to build a server that will reliably degrade on schedule.... but with the right tradeoffs, and enough long-term performance data, it might eventually become possible to do so.
[[Special:Contributions/162.158.74.101|162.158.74.101]] 04:48, 23 September 2016 (UTC)

The title text is referring to [http://multivax.com/last_question.html The Last Question by Isaac Asimov].

[[User:EpicWolverine|EpicWolverine]] ([[User talk:EpicWolverine|talk]]) 04:56, 23 September 2016 (UTC)

I cannot help but read this in a fake Yorkshire accent. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Yorkshiremen_sketch [[Special:Contributions/141.101.98.113|141.101.98.113]] 09:55, 23 September 2016 (UTC)

I wonder how closely the AC and Douglas Adams' Deep Thought are related?

1736: Manhattan Project

2016-09-21T13:58:25Z

PoconoChuck: /* Transcript */

[[]]{{comic
| number = 1736
| date = September 21, 2016
| title = Manhattan Project
| image = manhattan_project.png
| titletext = On the plus side, we definitely killed that cancer over there, even if we caused a bunch more everywhere else.
}}

==Explanation==
The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_Project Manhattan Project] was a big, expensive, secret research and development project that produced the first nuclear weapons during World War II. It is an example of getting all the top minds of a subject together to solve a massive problem, generally with massive government spending. The phrase [https://www.google.ca/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=%22we+need+a+new+manhattan+project%22 We need a new Manhattan Project] is sometimes used to suggest that the top minds should get together to solve another problem. In this comic the suggestion is implied that all the top minds for cancer research should get together to find a cure, but the idea is taken literally instead and the New Manhattan Project develops a nuclear bomb again.

The title text comments that the radiation from the blast will cause cancer in the survivors, but kills everything at the blast site.

==Transcript==
:[Ponytail next to Cueball]
:Ponytail: What we need to cure cancer is a new Manhattan Project

:[Both Speaking to a crowd. Ponytail gesticulating.]
:[Banner: Research Institute]

:[Research from Cueball, Megan and Ponytail goes on. They are using Erlenmeyer flasks.]

:[They watch a mushroom cloud in the background while standing behind two low barriers in the foreground.]

:[Ponytail wearing safety specs]
:Ponytail: Wait.

Title Text:
On the plus side we definitely killed that cancer over there, even if we caused a bit more everywhere else.

{{comic discussion}}

Talk:102: Back to the Future

2016-05-09T20:19:24Z

PoconoChuck:

[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) I noticed the character on the right has hair in the first two frames, but is bald in the last frame... Two persons?

[[User:Rikthoff|Rikthoff]] ([[User talk:Rikthoff|talk]]) The issue date might be off. All files since #101 have been created on April 11th, 2006. Anyone with an actual issue date?
I agree with Rikthoff, I don't think this is Cueball. Being bald is one of his main features and this guy definately has hair.--[[User:Popuppete|Popuppete]] ([[User talk:Popuppete|talk]]) 13:42, 12 September 2012 (UTC)

[[User:tesshavon|tesshavon]] Could it be possible that Megan's dad died because of something the other character (let's not call him Cueball until we know for sure) did in the future to "make sure his parents got together and helped his dad to be less of a loser"?

:It's more likely to have been the result of a airliner full of jet fuel crashing into the tower, causing it to burn and collapse. Megan is probably thinking that Cueball (I'm still going to call him Cueball, sorry) could maybe have alerted somebody that this was going to happen. In the past. Him having access to a time machine and all. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.58|108.162.219.58]] 20:31, 24 January 2014 (UTC)

Why do we take for granted alt text refers to the Cueball/Hairy and not the father? [[Special:Contributions/141.101.89.210|141.101.89.210]] 21:55, 29 March 2014 (UTC)

What if the alt text refers to Marty McFly and not Cueball/Hairy? You don't have to think about the comic very hard to know C/H was an asshole, but I think the implication is that Marty could have taken the DeLorean and done less petty, personal things with it.
--[[Special:Contributions/173.245.54.47|173.245.54.47]] 21:51, 12 May 2014 (UTC)

Have people forgotten? The DeLorean time machine was destroyed at the end of the third film - it spent less than a day in total in 1985 (first used 1.20 am, destroyed by a train c. midafternoon). Cueball even references this in the comic. {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.223}}

Megan can still contact the friend and get her own time machine... maybe. [[User:Greyson|Greyson]] ([[User talk:Greyson|talk]]) 05:11, 22 October 2015 (UTC)

The DeLorean that Marty used to travel from 1885 to 1985 was, indeed, destroyed (somewhat ironically by a fast-moving, modern train). But what of the DeLorean Doc stashed in the cave in 1885? That's what he used to create the flying train. [[User:PoconoChuck|PoconoChuck]] ([[User talk:PoconoChuck|talk]]) 20:19, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

20: Ferret

2016-05-09T17:53:48Z

PoconoChuck: /* Explanation */

{{comic
| number = 20
| date = October 14, 2005
| title = Ferret
| image = ferret.jpg
| titletext = My brother had a ferret he loved which died since I drew this strip. RIP.
}}

==Explanation==
[[Cueball|Cueball's]] (Cueball-like) friend makes fun of his imagination that involves a flying ferret, and then suggests to go play video games instead. This shows the irony of his definition of "imagination." He makes fun of Cueball's creative fantasy while instead opting for a mass-produced fantasy.

The fact that Cueball lies about his goal could be a commentary on abandoning dreams to avoid confronting societal expectations.

The title text refers to the fact [[Randall|Randall's]] brother in real life had such a pet ferret. Originally Randall drew this comic while the ferret was still alive. And then it died in between his posting it on [[LiveJournal]] and reposting it with a title text on the new [[xkcd]] site. He now wished that it will rest in peace. "{{w|Rest in peace|RIP}}" stands for "Rest In Peace", from the original Latin "''Requiescat in pace''" as derived from a traditional Catholic burial service. The initialism or phrase was commonly placed on gravestones to indicate the hope that, in whatever existence the deceased now finds him- or herself, he or she may have peace. It has become a frequent motif in cartoons to indicate the death of an individual or character, which has likely contributed to its widespread use to denote the passing of a person, pet, or even abstract concept in popular culture, outside of Catholicism.

The ferret returns in [[31: Barrel - Part 5]] and did in this way become part of the [[:Category:Barrel|Barrel series]] and this has also been canonized by Randall as can be seen on this web-archive version of xkcd: [http://liveweb.archive.org/web/20070207052159/http://www.xkcd.com/barrel.html The Boy and his Barrel].

The full series can be found [[:Category:Barrel|here]]. But below they are listed in the order Randall has put them in his collection linked to above:
* [[1: Barrel - Part 1]]
* [[20: Ferret]]
* [[11: Barrel - Part 2]]
* [[22: Barrel - Part 3]]
* [[25: Barrel - Part 4]]
* [[31: Barrel - Part 5]]

==Transcript==
:[A color drawing of a ferret with airplane wings and tail on it.]

:[Two Cueball and his Cueball-like friend (to the left) are talking.]
:Friend: Why on earth did you make those wings? You don't seriously think they could let your ferret fly, right?
:Cueball: I... of course not.

:[They continue to talk.]
:Cueball: That would be pretty dumb. It's just, uh... ...a Halloween costume.
:Friend: oh, okay.

:[They continue to talk. But now the head of the ferret can be seen to the far right on a table.]
:Friend: Besides, who would want a pet to fly anyway?
:Cueball: Yeah. Pretty lame, huh?

:[The friend leaves the frame while Cueball stays. The ferret cannot be seen,]
:Friend: Anyway, let's go play video games.

:[Cueball stands behind after his friend has left. He looks back towards his Ferret which can be seen more clearly this time standing on the table.]

:[Cueball imagines ferret flying over the ocean near the beach using his makeshift wings. The imagination is in color]

==Trivia==
*This was the 19th comic originally posted to [[LiveJournal]].
**The previous was [[19: George Clinton]].
**The next was [[21: Kepler]].
*Original title: "Friday's Drawing"
*Original [[Randall]] quote: "My brother has a ferret. He holds it like that and generally adores it. I have to concede that it's pretty cute, if smelly."
*This comic was posted on [[xkcd]] when the web site opened on Sunday the 1st of January 2006.
**It was posted along [[:Category:First day on xkcd|with all 41 comics]] posted before that on LiveJournal as well as a few others.
**The latter explaining why the numbers of these 41 LiveJournal comics ranges from 1-44.
*One of the original drawings drawn on [[:Category:Checkered paper|checkered paper]].

{{comic discussion}}

[[Category:Comics posted on livejournal| 19]]
[[Category:First day on xkcd]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics with color]]
[[Category:Checkered paper]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Multiple Cueballs]]
[[Category:Barrel|02]]
[[Category:Ferret]]