96: Mail

2013-10-21T16:44:54Z

Sfiller: /* Explanation */ re riffing on quantized time, and category error, and Internet as postal service ~~~~

{{comic
| number = 96
| date = May 1, 2006
| title = Mail
| image = mail.png
| titletext = I'm on the USPS no fly list
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete|phone and mail spam is missing here}}
We see [[Cueball]] on a phone with someone who sends various strange things through postal mail. The third panel is a pun on the usage of the phrase 'a lot of time.' Normally, this means that something will take a while to finish; in this case, however, it means it is literally a large quantity of time that is being sent.

Quantizing time ("discrete packets, or quanta" --Wikipedia) is one of the category mistake riffs--Wikipedia--but feels as if there's more to it--in the world of romance, sarcasm, math, and language.

The title text states that due to his habit of mailing strange things, he has been barred from sending mail through the {{w|United States Postal Service}} (USPS).

A no fly zone is a military interdiction, letter carriers wear uniforms like the military (and years ago, pith helmets in summer), commercial airlines may lack no fly lists, it has a dreamlike quality, as does the idea of a mailer prohibited from mailing anything.

Internet is the postal service iteration that challenges of traditional categories of privacy and publicity, private and public, technology and economics and oh my

==Transcript==
:Phone: Do you think I could mail a running chainsaw to someone?
:Cueball: I doubt it.
:Phone: What about a baby's first word?
:Cueball: Look, your obsession with sending strange things through the mail is getting out of hand.
:Phone: Can you mail a blank stare?
:Phone: A dizzying height?
:Phone: Pi?
:Cueball: ...
:Phone: Well, did you at least get that package of time I sent you?
:Cueball: I ... you ... no, I didn't.
:Phone: Well, there was a lot of it, so it will probably take a while.

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

92: Sunrise

2013-10-21T16:17:46Z

Sfiller: /* Explanation */ "other than troublemakers and the police" "both of whom are not suitable for conversation" ~~~~

{{comic
| number = 92
| date = April 21, 2006
| title = Sunrise
| image = sunrise.jpg
| titletext = Sometimes, I sit on top of parking decks and watch the sun rise. I feel like I should have a guitar or something.
}}

==Explanation==
{{incomplete}}
Much like the [http://4amproject.org/ 4am Project], [[Cueball]] finds a certain beauty in the way the world looks without billions of humans crawling around on it. He thinks of this as a secret place which thrills him. He wishes to find other people like him who are wandering at this time rather than sleeping so that they can meet and talk to each other. But then he suggests that it is a bad time and place to meet people other than troublemakers and the police. Considering this he goes back to his house, probably disappointed, gets ready and goes to a club which is much safer place to meet people but not as unusual and exciting as what he wants.

This comic shows Cueball's tendency towards defying the norms and exploring unusual things and circumstances.

==Transcript==
:[Cueball is on the street. Behind him is a house with a lawn.]
:Cueball's thoughts: I love the time just before sunrise. It's quiet; no one is ever just walking about. It's like a secret. I always hope that I'll find someone else quietly hiding from sleep, and we'll see each other and sit and talk. I guess this is a bad place to meet people. I wish it weren't.
:[Cueball goes into the house, brushes his teeth, and leaves the house again.]
:[Cueball is at a club, disco balls in the ceiling and a giant woofer. Many people are dancing around him.]

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

explain xkcd - User contributions [en]

96: Mail

92: Sunrise