https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=199.27.133.100&feedformat=atomexplain xkcd - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T15:06:23ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.30.0https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:653:_So_Bad_It%27s_Worse&diff=124667Talk:653: So Bad It's Worse2016-08-03T19:41:56Z<p>199.27.133.100: </p>
<hr />
<div>Once, I trolled my friends by "recommending" the movie to them. They won't know what hit 'em. :) (P.S. Mwhaaa Haaa Haaa) {{unsigned ip|173.72.159.14}}<br />
: Mandatory... "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooooo........!!!!!!" [[Special:Contributions/108.162.216.79|108.162.216.79]] 18:47, 11 June 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Does anyone else take exception to Randall considering Rocky Horror to fall into this category? So it's not The Godfather, but it's not supposed to be! I think it's exactly the movie they were trying to make, and the result is low-budget brilliance. [[Special:Contributions/108.162.219.223|108.162.219.223]] 01:03, 7 January 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Does anyone else think Manos: The Hands of Fate should be below Star Wars? {{unsigned ip|108.162.238.11}}<br />
:It's not nearly as bad, in my opinion. The MST3K version is definitely enjoyable. Birdemic, on the other hand, is definitely worse. [[User:Ad1217|Ad1217]] ([[User talk:Ad1217|talk]]) 01:36, 7 April 2014 (UTC)<br />
<br />
You could obtain an original home videocassette recording quite legally.<br />
Hundreds, if not thousands, still exist; otherwise, how could it be uploaded to Internet torrents? {{unsigned ip|108.162.250.217}}<br />
<br />
The graph appears to show the graph dropping ''below'' the line that would be projected from the section before the "so bad it's good" spike. At least, the slope becomes steeper and shows no sign of decreasing, and the Christmas Special is indicated to be far down, off the screen. This seems to imply an anti-spike, a sort of inverse to the "so bad it's good" spike, which fits with the title of the comic. [[User:Richmond tudor|Richmond tudor]] ([[User talk:Richmond tudor|talk]]) 05:25, 13 March 2015 (UTC)<br />
<br />
Could someone please explain what he means by torrent on this page? {{unsigned ip|108.162.221.4}}<br />
<br />
Should a link to the Archive.org page where the Star Wars Holiday Special can be seen in it's entirety be added to this description? https://archive.org/details/TheStarWarsHolidaySpecial1978 --[[Special:Contributions/199.27.133.100|199.27.133.100]] 19:41, 3 August 2016 (UTC)</div>199.27.133.100https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1574:_Trouble_for_Science&diff=1016491574: Trouble for Science2015-09-13T18:35:09Z<p>199.27.133.100: /* Explanation */ simplify grammar, clarify reference</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1574<br />
| date = September 7, 2015<br />
| title = Trouble for Science<br />
| image = trouble_for_science.png<br />
| titletext = Careful mathematical analysis demonstrates small-scale irregularities in Gaussian distribution<br />
}}<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
{{incomplete|More details in each article, especially the humor/irony in the first one about antibodies.}}<br />
The comic highlights the fact that several well-publicized scientific critiques have recently been published that raise questions about some commonly accepted scientific methods. For scientists, these critiques serve as reminders of the dangers of overconfidence in any method, hopefully leading those who have naively accepted results to remember that any scientific conclusion is by its very nature tentative and limited by methodological reliability. However, popular-press reporting of these papers may lead a general public of modest scientific literacy to the impression that science might be in trouble, as implied by the title. Some of these methodological issues and shortcomings are well-known in the scientific community, but are – for better or worse – the best toolkit science has at its disposal today. This is however greatly exaggerated by the last (fictional) headline, which suggests that Bunsen burners in fact have a cooling effect, which is of course absolutely ridiculous, but would nevertheless change one more fundamental scientific belief drastically. Additionally, each headline contains irony or a double meaning for comical effect.<br />
<br />
The title of five scientific articles are shown:<br />
<br />
;Many commercial antibody-based immunoassays are unreliable<br />
This sentence is true. See Kebaneilwe Lebani, [http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:352531 Antibody Discovery for Development of a Serotyping Dengue Virus NS1 Capture Assay], 2014. In this PhD thesis, 11 references are given.<br />
<br />
;Problems with the p-value as an indicator of significance<br />
p-value is the probability that an event is observed just by chance. If p-value is under a threshold level (''α'', usually <5%, or <1% for being more conservative) one can assume that the event observed "exists".<br />
The value used for ''α'' has been proposed by [http://web.lru.dk/sites/lru.dk/files/lru/docs/kap9/kapitel_9_126_On_the_origins.pdf Fisher] and is completely arbitrary.<br />
<br />
The use of p-values as a measure of statistical significance is frequently criticized, for example in [http://wiki.bio.dtu.dk/~agpe/papers/pval_notuseful.pdf Hubbard and Lindsay]. Randall has demonstrated this problem in the past in [[882: Significant]].<br />
;Overfeeding of laboratory rodents compromises animal models<br />
<br />
[http://tpx.sagepub.com/content/24/6/757.full.pdf Keenan et al.] makes this case. Additionally, the word model takes on two meanings. In one sense, a model can refer to a scientific description that makes sense of a phenomenon; in another sense, model can refer to an individual whose job it is to demonstrate fashions, typically fashionable outfits. Fashion models are notorious for being exceptionally thin, and so overfeeding would compromise their job as a model.<br />
<br />
;Replication study fails to reproduce many published results<br />
A [https://explorable.com/replication-study Replication Study] is a study designed to duplicate the results of a previous study by using the same methods for a different set of subjects and experimenters. It aims to recreate the results to gain confidence in the results of the previous study as well as ensuring that the findings of the previous study are transferable to other similar areas of study.<br />
<br />
Randall is probably referring to this recent study described in Nature: [http://www.nature.com/news/over-half-of-psychology-studies-fail-reproducibility-test-1.18248 Over half of psychology studies fail reproducibility test]<br />
It might be also reference to at least 3 studies mentioned here: http://www.jove.com/blog/2012/05/03/studies-show-only-10-of-published-science-articles-are-reproducible-what-is-happening. There is also irony in the phrasing of the title, because in biology replication is a form of reproduction.<br />
<br />
;Controlled trials show Bunsen burners make things colder<br />
This is a joke, but possible in high temperature cases. There is probably some methodological error if putting something over the Bunsen burner flame (which is between 1000K and 2000K) makes it colder. If that thing were already much hotter than the flame (more than 2000 Kelvin), the Bunsen Burner's flame would equalize the temperature between the flame and thing resulting in cooling. It's also possible that if the "controlled trial" involved a Bunsen burner that was not lit, but was turned on to allow gas to flow, it would have a cooling effect as the gas expanded from the line pressure to atmospheric pressure.<br />
<br />
Alternatively, a trial could be set up to test something against a Bunsen burner on the one hand, and an even hotter flame on the other hand. As compared to that hotter flame, the Bunsen burner would not heat up the tested material as much, resulting in something being made "colder" than the alternative.<br />
<br />
;Careful mathematical analysis demonstrates small-scale irregularities in Gaussian distribution<br />
<br />
This is another joke of a premise that is obviously untrue. The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaussian_function Gaussian distribution] is a mathematical construct that is generally known as the bell curve or the Normal distribution. As it is an ideal mathematical construction, by definition, it cannot have any irregularities -- similar to how the equation y = 2x + 1 cannot have small-scale irregularities. The joke probably alludes to the fact that many types of observations are frequently initially modeled as a Gaussian distribution, though on careful observation the actual distribution of outcomes will often deviate from a pure Gaussian distribution.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[Five panels, each with the top part of a scientific article, where only the title is legible. Below is the list of authors and subheading and text in unreadable wiggles.]<br />
<br />
:Many Commercial Antibody-Based Immunoassays Are Unreliable<br />
<br />
:Problems With the p-Value as an Indicator of Significance<br />
<br />
:Overfeeding of Laboratory Rodents Compromises Animal Models<br />
<br />
:Replication Study Fails to Reproduce Many Published Results<br />
<br />
:Controlled Trials Show Bunsen Burners Make Things Colder<br />
<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
<br />
[[Category:Science]]<br />
[[Category:Biology]]<br />
[[Category:Chemistry]]<br />
[[Category:Math]]<br />
[[Category:Physics]]</div>199.27.133.100https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1506:_xkcloud/Transcript&diff=879371506: xkcloud/Transcript2015-04-01T21:35:22Z<p>199.27.133.100: /* Reason for data loss */</p>
<hr />
<div>==Intro==<br />
*This is a valiant effort to create a transcript for the continually(?) growing dynamic comic [[1506: xkcloud]].<br />
*See pictures of the other types of pages here: <br />
**[[1506: xkcloud/Pictures of other pages|Pictures of other pages]].<br />
*After clicking on the red button on the [[1506: xkcloud#Transcript|front page]] (only part of the transcript written on the main page for xkclod), you will see either:<br />
** the [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] page or<br />
** the [[#Help! We lost the text|Help! We lost the text]] page.<br />
*Both these pages are transcribed below.<br />
*From there you have to choose either a picture to a text or a text to an image. <br />
**If you simply do this or just submit a text your self you will go to this page:<br />
***[[#Help us recover more data|Help us recover more data]]<br />
**If you press the ''Draw one your self'' button on the ''Help! We lost the picture'' this page will change slightly:<br />
***[[#Draw one your self|Draw one your self]].<br />
***From this page you will eventually go to the ''Help us recover more data'' page anyway.<br />
*From all pages you can go back to the [[1506: xkcloud#Transcript|front page]] by clicking on the image of Cueball at his desk.<br />
*After completing the first post, there will always be four post shown below (also if you go back to the front page). <br />
**When you complete a post your new post will be shown together with three new.<br />
**When you push a button to recover more data these four posts (including "yours") will be shown instead of only three as to begin with.<br />
**From here you can loop between these four pages (not counting the ''Draw one for your self'' as a separate page.)<br />
*The above mentioned pages are fully transcribed below.<br />
*Also, there are lists for the following Randall created text and items:<br />
**[[#Reason for data loss|Reason for data loss]]<br />
**[[#User names|User names]]<br />
**[[#User pictures|User pictures]] (a description of possible images next to users)<br />
**[[#Like buttons|Like buttons]]<br />
*Finally, there is all the user input text. This will probably be impossible to transcribe but a few examples should be provided as an example. <br />
**These will be given here: [[#Post from users|Post from users]]<br />
**Some of the picture can be seen on this page:<br />
***[[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users|Pictures posted by users]].<br />
<br />
==Help! We lost the picture==<br />
<br />
:[At the top of the page there are the following text:]<br />
:'''Help! We lost the picture that goes with this post!'''<br />
:Reason for data loss: <br />
:[Here on this same line follows a text which is a random reason taken from a list created by [[Randall]]. See [[#Reason for data loss|examples below]]).]<br />
<br />
:[Below this text is a white box on top of the light blue background. It is the post mentioned above. At the top is a random user picture - could be a person or a picture of a galaxy etc (see [[#User pictures|descriptions below]]). Next to the picture is a random user name (see [[#User names|descriptions below]]). The same picture can be used for several user names (and probably likewise).]<br />
:[Below the user name is the text of the post. This text is also random and it must mainly be user input. Randall must have given some input to start with though - at least five sentences see [[#Help! We lost the text|Help! We lost the text]] section below). Some examples are [[#Post from users|transcribed here]].]<br />
:[Below is a blue rectangle where the missing picture should be. Instead there is only a white question mark:]<br />
:'''?'''<br />
<br />
:[Below this and above six picture frames in two rows is a line of text:]<br />
:Which of these pictures do you think went with this post?<br />
:[The five first pictures are from a random sample, created mainly by the users, but Randall must at least have made five to begin with). In the sixth and last picture frame the following text is written:]<br />
:Draw one your self<br />
<br />
:[By clicking on any of the five pictures you get to a new page (see the [[#Help us recover more data|Help us recover more data]] page) with the chosen picture now substituting the "?" in the post above with the chosen picture. If you click the Draw one your self the page will change slightly into the [[#Draw one your self|Draw one your self]] page - a page where you can do exactly this. From there you go to the other page mentioned before.]<br />
<br />
:[Below these six frames is a thin black line. Below this to the left we again see Cueball sitting at his desk (as on the front page). If you click on the picture with Cueball you return to the front page.]<br />
:Desk: XKCD.COM<br />
<br />
:[Below him there are the following text and bulleted list:]<br />
:Our policy regarding <br />
:your personal data:<br />
<br />
* Please stop sending us <br />
:your personal data<br />
* We are running out of <br />
:places to put it<br />
* Is this even yours?<br />
* Does anyone recognize <br />
:whose data this is?<br />
* Oh jeez never mind here<br />
:comes more data<br />
* Why are you doing this<br />
* Please stop<br />
* Help<br />
<br />
:[To the right below the thin black line are three post above each other with user picture and name above a post text and a picture. All three again random as mentioned above. Furthermore to the right above each picture (right of the first line - if there are multiple lines) of the post text are a blue like button that you can press. The buttons seems to be active links when you hover over them, but nothing happens when you click on them. The buttons have a thumbs up icon to the right. Next to the icon there is a random word taken from a list created by Randall. (It seems to be from a list of words that are synonymous with want - see [[#Like buttons|below]]).]<br />
<br />
==Help! We lost the text==<br />
<br />
:[At the top of the page there are the following text:]<br />
:'''Help! we lost the text that goes with this post!'''<br />
:[For cases where the user has to submit or select a text according to a picture]<br />
:Reason for data loss: <br />
:[Here on this same line follows a text which is a random reason taken from a list created by [[Randall]]. See [[#Reason for data loss|examples below]]).]<br />
<br />
:[Below this text is a white box on top of the light blue background. It is the post mentioned above. At the top is a random user picture - could be a person or a galaxy etc (see [[#User pictures|descriptions below]]). Next to the picture is a random user name (see [[#User names|descriptions below]]). The picture can be used for several user names.]<br />
:[Below the user name is the picture from the post. This picture is also chosen at random from a set which must mainly be created from user input. Randall must have given some input to start with though - at least five pictures see [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] section above).]<br />
<br />
:[Below this and above five frames with text in two columns are this line of text:]<br />
:Which text post do you think went with this picture?<br />
:[The five texts below are from a random sample, created mainly by the users, but Randall must at least have made five to begin with. Some examples are [[#Post from users|transcribed here]].] <br />
:[Below this is a box where you are invited to write and submit a text suggestion. In the box written in gray letters (rather than black, which it will turn to when you type something) are the following text:]<br />
:Or, write your own<br />
:[To the left is a button with the text:]<br />
:Submit<br />
<br />
:[By clicking on any of the five text boxes you get to a new page (see the [[#Help us recover more data|Help us recover more data]] page) where the chosen text is now standing above the picture from the post above. If you write a text and click the submit button your own text will be written above the picture.]<br />
<br />
:[Below this submit text box is a thin black line. Below this to the left we again see Cueball sitting at his desk (as on the front page). If you click on the picture with Cueball you return to the front page.]<br />
:Desk: XKCD.COM<br />
<br />
:[Below him there are the following text and bulleted list:]<br />
:Our policy regarding <br />
:your personal data:<br />
<br />
* Please stop sending us <br />
:your personal data<br />
* We are running out of <br />
:places to put it<br />
* Is this even yours?<br />
* Does anyone recognize <br />
:whose data this is?<br />
* Oh jeez never mind here<br />
:comes more data<br />
* Why are you doing this<br />
* Please stop<br />
* Help<br />
<br />
:[To the right below the thin black line are three post above each other with user picture and name above a post text and a picture. All three again random as mentioned above. Furthermore to the right above each picture (right of the first line - if there are multiple lines) of the post text are a blue like button that you can press. The buttons seems to be active links when you hover over them, but nothing happens when you click on them. The buttons have a thumbs up icon to the right. Next to the icon there is a random word taken from a list created by Randall. (It seems to be from a list of words that are synonymous with want - see [[#Like buttons|below]]).]<br />
<br />
==Help us recover more data==<br />
:[At the top of this third page (or fourth if coming from the paint a picture page) there are the following white text on a red button:]<br />
:'''Help us recover more data'''<br />
<br />
:[If you click this button you go back to one of the two pages that follows the front page that is the [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] page or the [[#Help! We lost the text|Help! We lost the text]] page. So in this way a loop will begin. The only difference is that now there will be four pictures instead of three at the bottom, and it will be the four that was on this page - including the one you have been involved in at the top.]<br />
<br />
:[Below this button is a thin black line. Below this to the left we again see Cueball sitting at his desk - same as with the two pages mentioned above as are the text given here below. If you click on the picture with Cueball you return to the front page.]<br />
:Desk: XKCD.COM<br />
<br />
:[Below him there are the following text and bulleted list:]<br />
:Our policy regarding <br />
:your personal data:<br />
<br />
* Please stop sending us <br />
:your personal data<br />
* We are running out of <br />
:places to put it<br />
* Is this even yours?<br />
* Does anyone recognize <br />
:whose data this is?<br />
* Oh jeez never mind here<br />
:comes more data<br />
* Why are you doing this<br />
* Please stop<br />
* Help<br />
<br />
:[To the right below the thin black line are both the post you have just finished (either by connecting a text or image with the missing part or even typing or painting your self) as well as three other posts below "yours". They are stacked above each other with user picture and name above a post text and a picture. The other three are again random chosen - it is not the ones from the page where you should choose a text/image. Furthermore to the right above each picture (right of the first line - if there are multiple lines) of the post text is a blue "like button" that you can press. The buttons seems to be active links when you hover over them, but nothing happens when you click on them. The buttons have a thumbs up icon to the right. Next to the icon there is a random word taken from a list created by Randall. (It seems to be from a list of words that are synonymous with want - see [[#Like buttons|below]]).]<br />
<br />
==Draw one your self==<br />
:[If you press the picture frame with the text ''Draw one your self'' on the [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] page the page changes. It is not a new page. But below the white post frame with the blue rectangle with "?" there is now no longer six frames, but only one large frame. Above the frame is written:]<br />
:Do your best to recreate the picture you think went with this post:<br />
<br />
:[Below is a blank white frame with five tools to the left (pencil, eraser, redo, undo and delete all) and to the right you can choose between seven line thicknesses.]<br />
<br />
:[Below this frame is a button on which it says:]<br />
:Upload image<br />
:[If you press this then you picture is uploaded and shown as part of the post on the [[#Help us recover more data|Help us recover more data]] page].)<br />
<br />
:[Below the image editor nothing has changed compared to before and everything beneath the thin black line is as before.]<br />
<br />
==Reason for data loss==<br />
<br />
{| class="wikitable"<br />
!Sentence<br />
!Explanation<br />
|-<br />
|<%= reason %><br />
|A template used by server-side frameworks such as Rails, which would normally replace this line with the actual value of the "reason" variable.<br />
|-<br />
| +++ OUT OF CHEESE ERROR. REDO FROM START +++<br />
|A reference to Hex, the magical computer from Terry Pratchett's Discworld, which would occasionally emit this error<br />
|-<br />
|AOL window in front of Netscape window<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|Baby ur much 2 fast<br />
|Lyrics from the Prince song "Little Red Corvette"<br />
|-<br />
|bookmarks migrated to Venezuela<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|butter didn't suit the works<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|butter overflow<br />
|butter instead of buffer<br />
|-<br />
|butter to text interface not found<br />
|A reference to speech-to-text interfaces, typically used by people who cannot see easily to enable them to use a computer.<br />
|-<br />
|cannot save, there's something gross on the S key<br />
|A reference to the "Control-S" save shortcut on both Windows and Mac, and is saying that they are unable to activate the shortcut (thus saving the data) because there is "something gross" on it.<br />
|-<br />
|CAPTCHA response indicated parahuman intelligence<br />
|A CAPTCHA is a tool which aims to prevent comupter-generated submissions to an online form by asking the user a question which is easy for humans but (supposedly) hard for computers. In this case, the CAPTCHA detects parahuman intelligence rather than human intelligence.<br />
|-<br />
|cat-like typing detected<br />
|When cats walk or sit on keyboards, they can type, which can be annoying. A program called [http://bitboost.com/pawsense/ PawSense] attempted to detect this and block the typed keystrokes to reduce inconvenience.<br />
|-<br />
|CRM-114 unit malfunctioning<br />
|The CRM-114 unit's malfunction is the main plot device in the film Dr Strangelove<br />
|-<br />
|confirmation BIOS<br />
|Pun on "confirmation bias" (a tendency to search for or interpret information in a way that confirms one's preconceptions, leading to statistical errors); BIOS is part of a PC's hardware<br />
|-<br />
|cuold not evade skifree yeti<br />
|[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SkiFree SkiFree] is an early 90s computer game that requires the player to ski down an endless slope. It's famous for a yeti that appears after the player reaches a certain distance, which then chases and eats the player.<br />
|-<br />
|could not initialize sound blaster 16<br />
|The Sound Blaster 16 is a PC sound card which used FM synthesis to play MIDI files, which was popular in the 1990s.<br />
|-<br />
|data too big<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|database configuration violates the Prime Directive<br />
|The [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Directive Prime Directive] comes from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_Trek Star Trek], and refers to the principle of not interfering with the natural development of primitive cultures. This error is implying that the database is being seen as a primitive life, and therefore the server is not allowed to make any changes to it.<br />
|-<br />
|Desystematized chronodynamic balancing detected in VX Module core.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|cumulonimbus #19 too rabbitlike<br />
|A cumulonimbus is a type of cloud. This may be a pun. The error suggests that the cloud looked too much like a rabbit.<br />
|-<br />
|dictionary too stiff to read<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|electrons too big, stuck in wafer<br />
|"Wafer" refers to silicon or other material used as substrate for semiconductor fabrication.<br />
|-<br />
|ERR:INVALID DIM<br />
|On the Texas Instruments TI-83 and TI-84 calculators, this is an error message shown [http://oakroadsystems.com/math/ti83oops.htm#x_InvalidDim in various situations].<br />
|-<br />
|error<br />
|This error message is so uninformative as to be redundant.<br />
|-<br />
|error reading drive B. Abort, Retry, Fail?<br />
|A common error from MS-DOS, often caused by a failing floppy disk<br />
|-<br />
|error: error code [error] while decoding error code<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|error: operation completed successfully<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|ethics in journalism<br />
|Possibly a reference to the right-wing Gamergate movement, who defended their harassment and dox actions as "ethics in video game journalism".<br />
|-<br />
|eyelash! eyelash!<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|files fell out<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|files overwritten with more interesting content<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|firewall caught fire<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|floating point unit no longer afloat<br />
|A floating point unit is a part of a CPU which can perform calculations on non-integers. The pun is that the floating point unit is not floating (as in on a liquid). Possibly a reference to the Jargon File's [http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/N/number-crunching.html#crunchly74-12-25 Crunchly comic].<br />
|-<br />
|friday squid blogging<br />
|Security guru Bruce Schneier regularly posts a blog post with this title, and some squid related news, primarily as a discussion thread<br />
|-<br />
|guru meditation #00000025.65045338 press left mouse button to continue<br />
|A common error from the Commodore Amiga<br />
|-<br />
|GSM filter change required<br />
|Possibly referring to an electronic component used to filter out GSM frequencies. Unlike automotive oil filters, electronic filters don't require changing.<br />
|-<br />
|hard drive oil depleted<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|helvetica scenario<br />
|A reference to the episode on Calcium from the BBC TV show Look Around You.<br />
|-<br />
|HTTP 403 and 3/4ths<br />
|HTTP errors are emitted when an HTTP request (e.g. to download a web page) fails. 403 is Forbidden and 404 is Not Found; 403.75 is somewhere between the two. Reference to Harry Potter's Platform 9¾.<br />
|-<br />
|HTTP 418<br />
|The 4xx class of status code is intended for cases in which the client seems to have erred. For example, the well known 404 is when the client requests a web page that doesn't exist. HTTP 418 is part of the April Fool's day prank "Hyper Text Coffee Protocol", denoting "I am a teapot," and purportedly is used when sending an instruction to brew coffee to a teapot. <br />
|-<br />
|http is down<br />
|Since all the traffic is being handled by http (or https), is http were truely down, it would be a conundrum.<br />
|-<br />
|hung up prematurely<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|I got pretty distracted trying to figure out how big space is<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|illegal carrot detected in mail queue<br />
|carrot instead of caret<br />
|-<br />
|insufficient smoke for current mirror array<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|lp0 on fire<br />
|lp0 is the printer port, there used to be a 'printer on fire' error/warning<br />
|-<br />
|Main Bus B Undervolt<br />
|A line from Apollo 13, when the spaceship is 'having a problem'.<br />
|-<br />
|mean connection time exceeded<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|microwave running<br />
|Both microwaves and Wifi operate on the frequency and have been known to cause interference<br />
|-<br />
|nanobots in the water<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|not a hair question<br />
|One of the error messages that the Bucket bot in the #xkcd IRC channel can emit is "That is not a hair question."<br />
|-<br />
|oh jeez there's a lot of you can you all just hang on for a second please oh frig this is so bad<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|out of electrons<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|out of monads<br />
|Monads are a concept in functional programming languages, such as Haskell.<br />
|-<br />
|overcurrent undervolt caused by vacuum cleaner on same circuit<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|PC LOAD LETTER<br />
|Error message on older printers stating to add extra letter-size sheets, which has become known to be a very cryptic error message.<br />
|-<br />
|Please Insert Riven CD 4<br />
|Riven is a graphical adventure game by Cyan Worlds which was distributed on 5 CDs.<br />
|-<br />
|qubit indeterminate<br />
|Possibly referring to quantum indeterminacy of qubits, which are used in quantum computing.<br />
|-<br />
|RDBMS completely forgot how inner joins work<br />
|"Inner join" is a common SQL operation performed by a Relational DataBase Management System<br />
|-<br />
|server aperture too narrow for capital letters<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|server fell in ocean<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|server power cable stolen by raccoon for nest<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|server room haunted<br />
|Maybe a reference to an UVB-76 broadcast in 2001, which said "I am 143. Not receiving the generator." and "That stuff comes from hardware room." in Russian<br />
|-<br />
|Something went wrong: Something went wrong (Something went wrong)<br />
|similar to certain OS error messages which contain errors in themselves<br />
|-<br />
|spin number must be of the form n/2<br />
|Quantum spin numbers (in atomic physics) must be integers or half-integers<br />
|-<br />
|spontaneous splinal dereticulation<br />
|"Reticulating Splines" is a loading message in The Sims series<br />
|-<br />
|SQL ejection<br />
|ejection instead of injection<br />
|-<br />
|sysadmin trapped in well<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|tape on write-protect hole fell off<br />
|Read-only floppy disks have a write-protect hole in the corner. A lack of a hole therefore indicates to the drive that it is OK to write onto the disk, and it was common practice to convert read-only floppy disks (that could be obtained for free due to, e.g. shareware distribution at computer stores) into writable floppy disks by placing sticky tape over the hole.<br />
|-<br />
|temporal paradox<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|the butter you have dialed is invalid or no longer in service<br />
|butter instead of number<br />
|-<br />
|the server is temporarily permanent. Please try another also.<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|This copy of Ubuntu is not genuine and you have not yet resolved this issue.<br />
|Similar warnings betray proprietary software designed to break when used outside the terms of its license. Messages like this are unlikely to be found in free software like Ubuntu, where anti-features are largely inviable.<br />
|-<br />
|This page contains content from the Open Source Initiative, who have blocked it on copyright grounds.<br />
|It would be ironic for the Open Source Initiative, which promotes sharing and modification, to prevent the sharing of the page for copyright reasons.<br />
|-<br />
|TRIED TO READ 9TH SIDE OF 8 TRACK<br />
|Eight-track tape is an obsolete format for recorded music; the tape itself only had two sides. (Nine-track tape -- much wider than eight-track tape -- was used for computer data storage.)<br />
|-<br />
|Unable to cast variable of type Int32 to Magic Missile<br />
|Magic Missile is a spell (which you can cast) in Dungeons & Dragons. Casting can also refer (in programming) to converting variables from one type to another, e.g. from integer to string. The pun here is that a 32-bit integer is being cast to the Magic Missile spell.<br />
|-<br />
|undefined is not a function, which really makes you think<br />
|"Undefined is not a function" is a Javascript TypeError.<br />
|-<br />
|unexpected timezone drift desynchronization<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|unimplemented trap<br />
|"Trap" refers to a computer operation code that is not implemented in the processor's instruction set and instead performs a system call. "Unimplemented trap" was an error message in some previous versions of MacOS.<br />
|-<br />
|User accepted terms but not conditions<br />
|Normally, at a EULA you must accept 'terms and conditions'. There is basically no option to only agree to terms.<br />
|-<br />
|User is not a typewriter.<br />
|A reference to the isatty function in the Unix C library, which reports whether a file descriptor is connected to a teletypewriter (terminal) or not. Interactive programs generally are intended to be used from a terminal.<br />
|-<br />
|user put spaces/vowels in filename<br />
|Possibly a reference to filename restrictions?<br />
|-<br />
|UTF-31 decode error<br />
|UTF-31 instead of UTF-32<br />
|-<br />
|virtual memory got too real<br />
|Virtual memory is where the OS writes less-used parts of RAM to disk, so that the RAM can be used for another program, hence the less-used parts are in virtual memory.<br />
|-<br />
|wrong files<br />
|<br />
|-<br />
|YOU MUST CONSTRUCT ADDITIONAL PYLONS<br />
|A line frequently announced by the Protoss advisor in Starcraft.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==User names==<br />
:[Below are possible (not all?) user names mentioned next to any post as for instance on the [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] page.]<br />
:[In alphabetical order:]<br />
*@meganamram<br />
*Addison8<br />
*Agric Silverfinger<br />
*Aidan2<br />
*Aiden5<br />
*Aidenn Aberforth Milne<br />
*Agric Silverfinger<br />
*Alice1956<br />
*Amanda08<br />
*Anonymous<br />
*Arthur19<br />
*Ashley8<br />
*Ashley92<br />
*Ashley2009<br />
*Ayden1952<br />
*Bailey2001<br />
*Barbara1974<br />
*Brandi9<br />
*Caden14<br />
*Caden2010<br />
*Candice10<br />
*Carol04<br />
*Chad80<br />
*Charles18<br />
*Cheyenne1988<br />
*CMOS Def<br />
*Christina Applecare<br />
*Curic Copperfinger<br />
*Cynthia99<br />
*Dakota94<br />
*David St. Hubbins<br />
*Debbie26<br />
*Debbie3<br />
*Debbie62<br />
*Debian Bush<br />
*Destiny1983<br />
*Destiny89<br />
*Dillon2008<br />
*Donna2<br />
*DragonBall Cooper<br />
*Dunston Chexin<br />
*Egbert Bentley White<br />
*Eliezer Yudkowsky<br />
*Elon Musk<br />
*Facebook Scott Fitzgerald<br />
*Frances29<br />
*Frances51<br />
*Frances99<br />
*Gary1951<br />
*Gary86<br />
*George Debian Bush<br />
*George Reagan Renesmee Martin<br />
*Green Mario<br />
*Greg2004<br />
*Hatsy Collins<br />
*Henry4<br />
*J. Alfred Leftshark<br />
*Jack3<br />
*Jack39<br />
*Jacob10<br />
*Jada5<br />
*Jaden Riley Rufio Tolkien<br />
*Jaina Khloe Rowling<br />
*Jalen81<br />
*Jayden79<br />
*Jenniferl<br />
*Jeph Jacques<br />
*Joe Biden<br />
*John2<br />
*Justin87<br />
*Kaitlin1976<br />
*Kathleen78<br />
*Keira10<br />
*Keira48<br />
*Kelsey1970<br />
*Kelsey1996<br />
*Kenneth96<br />
*Kilroy<br />
*Khloe14<br />
*Kristy2007<br />
*Larry Ronald Hubbard<br />
*Lauren Ibsen Dolores Amit<br />
*Linda08<br />
*Lisa1995<br />
*Lord Gaga<br />
*Lord Mondegreen<br />
*Margaret11<br />
*Margaret5<br />
*Marie3<br />
*Mark Zuckerberg<br />
*Mark2007<br />
*Mark92<br />
*Martin Van Halen<br />
*Minecraft Holmes<br />
*Misty3<br />
*Myspace Tom<br />
*Norton Ghost Dad<br />
*Padme Dorothy James<br />
*Pam06<br />
*Paul1957<br />
*Patricia03<br />
*Player One<br />
*Player Two<br />
*Professor Monoculatus McToff<br />
*Raymond6<br />
*Ronald22<br />
*Ruth3<br />
*S. G. Dukat<br />
*Samuel19<br />
*Sarah55<br />
*Sierra10<br />
*Sierra7<br />
*Shaun46<br />
*Sheena2005<br />
*Sherri97<br />
*Stacy07<br />
*Steven02<br />
*Steven2002<br />
*Steven50<br />
*Susan25<br />
*Tim21<br />
*Tina Belcher<br />
*Todd33<br />
*Tonya22<br />
*Tracy1977<br />
*Tricia14<br />
*Trinity1989<br />
*Virginia2006<br />
*Wil<br />
*Wric Tungstenfinger<br />
<br />
==User pictures==<br />
:[Below are descriptions of possible (not all?) user pictures shown next to any user name as for instance on the [[#Help! We lost the picture|Help! We lost the picture]] page.]<br />
:[The images can be directly accessed from http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-1.png to http://imgs.xkcd.com/xkcloud/user-20.png .]<br />
*[Hairy complete stick figure]<br />
*[Chipmunk]<br />
*[Close up of male face with black hair on a gray background]<br />
*[Galaxy]<br />
*[Chipmunk head]<br />
*[e^iπ ≈ 0]<br />
*[Tree crossing the street]<br />
<br />
==Like buttons==<br />
:[xkcloud has "Like" buttons next to each post (next to the post text above the picture), similar to those on Facebook, but with random alternative text.] <br />
:All buttons in the order that Randall gave them.]<br />
*Covet<br />
*Yearn<br />
*Hanker<br />
*Crave<br />
*Thirst<br />
<br />
==Post from users==<br />
:[Some of the picture can be seen on this page: [[1506: xkcloud/Pictures posted by users|Pictures posted by users]].]<br />
:[It will likely be impossible to transcribe all this as it is user input, and thus not Randall's own text. But at least a few examples should be given here as a reference. If anyone wish to expand beyond a few feel free to contribute.]<br />
*Meritocracy is a pipe dream<br />
''The Mushroom Kingdom (from Super Mario Bros.) is a monarchic meritocracy''<br />
*The prophecy was true!<br />
*The tea party was right about GMO bicycles<br />
*Everything makes sense now<br />
*Turkey drumstick <br />
*Stonehenge was surprisingly compelling<br />
*I've made a huge mistake<br />
*Um, I think somethings wrong with my carrot...<br />
*The rest is darkness and decay<br />
*Howerboard to full power!<br />
*My hobby: Freaking people out<br />
*Is this real life?<br />
''Reference to Queen - Bohemian Rhapsody''<br />
*Where should I put this new cool tatto?<br />
<!-- Note: Yes, I know. It needs to be spelled 'tattoo', but instead says 'tatto' --><br />
*Exact composition of this... thing... is yet to be determined.<br />
*AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA<br />
*Man, that cool-ade guy really lost some weight lately.<br />
*Lol, no I didn't jump<br />
*In hindsight, it makes perfect sense<br />
*Whoops I left the Lens Cap on for this one. :S<br />
*Duck Duck Go's secret algorithm<br />
''Duck Duck Go is a search engine which doesn't track you. Somewhat ironically, their algorithm is a bit secretive''<br />
*This isn't where I parked my zeppelin!<br />
*Who stepped on my pop tart?<br />
*Big Ben is going down<br />
*Do my feet look fat?<br />
*I say; Nuts to that!<br />
*I can take photo's with my teeth!<br />
*To infinity and birdyond!<br />
''Reference to Toystory''</div>199.27.133.100https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php?title=1446:_Landing&diff=794271446: Landing2014-11-18T03:22:44Z<p>199.27.133.100: /* Explanation */</p>
<hr />
<div>{{comic<br />
| number = 1446<br />
| date = November 12, 2014<br />
| title = Landing<br />
| image = landingAnimated.gif<br />
| titletext = [LIVE]<br />
}}<br />
Frames of the comic began appearing at midnight ({{w|Eastern Time Zone|EST}}) on November 12, 2014 and updated every five minutes. Together, the images form a {{w|flip book}} which is shown here above. You can find the individual images by clicking on the latest image of the comic on xkcd (go to that by clicking the date above or find it directly at [http://xkcd1446.org xkcd1446.org]).<br />
<br />
==Explanation==<br />
This comic changed over time during 12 hours and 15 minutes starting at 0:00 EST (when the comic normally is released) posting 143 pictures that tracked the progress of the {{w|Philae (spacecraft)|Philae}} lander separating from the {{w|European Space Agency}}'s {{w|Rosetta (spacecraft)|Rosetta}} probe to land on comet {{w|67P/Churyumov–Gerasimenko}}. More info can be found here: [http://rosetta.esa.int rosetta.esa.int].<br />
<br />
The comic presents the imagined anthropomorphic "thoughts" of the Rosetta spacecraft and the Philae lander (and occasionally other parties) during the hours approaching separation from each other, approach to the comet and finally the apparently successful landing on the comet. <br />
<br />
Beginning at [[Media:???65.png|11:05]], the comic includes a '''"Status Report"''' in the lower right corner which summarizes the status of various interested parties and accomplishments, beginning with "Rosetta", "Philae lander", "Mission Control", "Comet 67P", and "Have we landed on a comet?". As events occur in the comic, more status summaries are added to keep track of the changes to the situation and the supposed emotions behind them.<br />
<br />
In many pictures a whale can be seen on the surface of the comet - often marked with a "?" as are almost all other parts of the unknown surface at this time. There is also drawn a [[Cueball]] on the surface also marked with a "?" Both are then at some point marked with a ''probably not'' - starting from [[Media:???83.png|12:35]]. The whales are also mentioned in the "Status Report" where they for instance may be listed as "calm" or "(probably) not in space". At [[Media:???122.png|16:00]] the when the entire Earth goes ''AAAAAAAAAAA'' the whales are listed as saying this as well (along with Mission controll and U.S. scientists). From this moment "Dolphins and fish" are also mentioned in the report. They are asking if it is the whales that screams. The reference to whales comes from the fact that Philae brought along two harpoons that should have been used to anchor it to the comet. On Earth harpoons have mainly been used to hunt whales; Randall previously brought up that comparison in [[1402: Harpoons]], suggesting that Philae was programmed to believe it was sent to kill the comet. It is Philae that "dreams" about whales on the surface of the comet which can be seen in the picture for [[Media:???93.png|13:25]] and in the status report.<br />
<br />
Some {{w|Douglas Adams}} fans believe these whales and dolphins are references to ''{{w|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy}}'' and ''{{w|So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish}}.'' Whales in space have been appearing in fiction and art since the 1960s. However, with the above mentioned reasons for whales, dolphins and fish, this seems less and less likely...<br />
<br />
Shortly after release from Rosetta ([[Media:???56.png|10:15]]), Philae calls out 'Spaaaaaaaaaace'; this mimics the {{w|Portal 2}} 'Space core' who, on finally reaching space in the last scenes, gives the same elated cry.<br />
<br />
US Scientists presumably wake up at 7:40 EST ([[Media:???96.png|13:40]] UTC) and in the report they now says "Bluuurghhh. What time is it?" to indicate their tiredness. This does not change until 10:25 EST ([[Media:???115.png|15:25]] UTC) so they are slow to wake (2 hours 45 minutes). At this point they becomes anxious as there are only 10 minutes to landing. This last until there is 15 minutes till news of landing (a reference to the 28 minutes time delay due to the huge distance to the comet). From then on ([[Media:???120.png|15:50]]) they and the mission control (MC) says "AAAAAAA". They stop this when the news should be there - the NOW ([[Media:???122a.png|16:05]]) - and everybody holds their breath indicated by [...] - also MC. Finally ([[Media:???125.png|16:25]]) they and MC becomes proud (along with Earth) when Philae announces ''I got you a comet.'' It should have stopped there but as Philae bounced around, they then becomes anxious again [[Media:???128.png|16:40]], and then this changes to nervous [[Media:???129.png|16:45]] (switching those emotions with MC). And then suddenly ([[Media:???130.png|16:50]]) it is no longer US Scientists but just plain Scientists - that are nervous. It stays like this during the last few pictures, although they again becomes anxious, but when Philae announces ''I did it'', they drink wine as indicated with "[wine]" in the report from the second to last picture ([[Media:???134.png|17:10]]).<br />
<br />
Randall has written "A big thank-you to [https://twitter.com/elakdawalla Emily Lakdawalla] for help and advice on this comic" in the xkcd page header for [http://www.xkcd.com/1446/ Landing], revealing the possible source of his near real-time data.<br />
<br />
At [[Media:???124.png|16:20]] the status report had announced a big '''Yes''' to the questions "Have we landed on a comet" and "Do harpoons work on comets". According to [http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30026398 BBC News], the harpoons did, however, not fire as planned and the lander may have landed, bounced off, and landed again. This would explain the change in "Do harpoons work on comets" to "Don't know" at [[Media:???127.png|16:35]] and the change in "Have we landed on a comet?" to "Yes, at least once" at [[Media:???130.png|16:50]]. According to [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/13/science/space/european-space-agencys-spacecraft-lands-on-comets-surface.html?_r=0 The New York Times], radio contact with Philae fluctuated, which would explain the "Anxious", "Nervous", and "Confused" statuses around that time. In the end the lander did land and whereas the Do harppons work status did not change, so did the have we landed on a comet which changed back to '''Yes''' at [[Media:???134.png|17:10]].<br />
<br />
Sadly, the lander bounced three times and ended up in a place where the solar panels where mainly in the shadow. This resulted in the lander shutting down when its own battery ran out of power after only 2-3 days on the ground. There is a small chance that the season on the comet will change so that the panels will later receive sun again. But it is very uncertain. However, in the few hours that Philae had on the ground, it still managed to analyze the surface and obtain a lot of useful data - so that part of the mission was still a success already. This all happened after the comic stopped updating.<br />
<br />
The comic title was originally "???" (probably to not give away too early what the comic was about), but changed to "Landing" when Randall came on live at five in the morning EST. At that moment the title text also changed from "..." to "[LIVE]". It was also then that the timestamps' timezone switch. At 5:00 AM (EST) the time stamp in the picture naming scheme switched from EST to {{w|Coordinated Universal Time|UTC}} as used in ESA's time keeping, resulting in a jump from [[Media:???53.png|04:55]] to [[Media:???54.png|10:00]] without actually any such delay between the two pictures.<br />
<br />
There were however a few pictures with more than 5 minutes of delay (about 11 times five minutes without an update in total during the "live" transmission). The update seemed to have stopped after 137 pictures at 17:15 UTC, 12 hours and 15 minutes after the first picture. (The first picture has number 0, so the last had number 136). But later, sometime after 17:15 UTC, the counter for the last picture was increased to 142 (143 pictures in total), so maybe Randall inserted 6 extra pictures later - however he must then have changed the numbers on the pictures, since the last picture is still the same now, but with number 142 instead of 136. It is thus now difficult to find out which pictures would have been added later. However, eight pictures were not included in the original table with the [[#Frame by Frame Breakdown|Frame by Frame Breakdown]] below. So it is must have been some of those missing pictures that where added later - maybe all of them, as the last three may already have been added before the last picture was released (All 143 pictures are included in the flip-book gif image shown here above). But even 143 pictures at 5 minutes intervals only spans 11 hours and 50 minutes, thus there are still five ''5 minute intervals'' without any picture. See which in the [[1446: Landing/Frame by Frame Breakdown|table]].<br />
<br />
==Frame by Frame Breakdown==<br />
* Here is a [[1446: Landing/Frame by Frame Breakdown|link to a table]] with a frame by frame breakdown of all 143 pictures.<br />
* Here is a [[1446: Landing/All pictures|page with all the pictures]] frame by frame.<br />
<br />
==Transcript==<br />
:[This transcript gives only the text in the last of the 143 pictures shown in the comic. That which is now shown when clicking to the comic on xkcd] <br />
<br />
:[This is the from the picture with time stamp 17:15]<br />
:[Showing Philae on a comet]<br />
:Rosetta: Philae? <br />
:Rosetta: Is everything OK?<br />
:Philae: I landed! <br />
:Philae: I'm on a comet. <br />
:Philae: I'm OK and I'm on a comet.<br />
:[Status report at the bottom-right corner]<br />
:Status report:<br />
::Rosetta: In space<br />
::Philae lander: Landed<br />
::Mission control: !!!!!<br />
::Comet 67P: Landed on<br />
::Whales: Calm<br />
::Scientists: [Wine]<br />
::Harpoons: Tricky<br />
::Dolphins and Fish: OK<br />
::Have we landed on a comet?: '''YES'''<br />
::Do harpoons work on comets: Don't know<br />
::Earth: !!!!!<br />
::Has anybody tried this before: Nope<br />
<br />
:[For the '''full transcript''' of all 143 pictures see '''[[1446: Landing/Transcript]]'''.] <br />
<br />
==Trivia==<br />
*There appears to be a brief error between 02:35 and 02:45, where the time until lander separation is shown as 1 hour, counting down to 50 minutes, before being corrected to 75 minutes at 02:50.<br />
**Since this was supposed to be during the "non-live" section before Randall got up (and got live) it is not sure whether this was a "real" mistake, or if he was up anyway, and corrected this timeing error when he discovered the plans had change during the approach flight.<br />
<br />
{{comic discussion}}<br />
[[Category:Dynamic comics]]<br />
[[Category:Space]]<br />
[[Category:Comics with color]]<br />
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]<br />
[[Category:Animals]]</div>199.27.133.100