Science Valentine
by Jeff
Image text: You don't use science to show that you're right, you use science to become right.
Well, there's a downer for ya.
Complexion
by Jeff
Image text: Why do all my attempts at science end with me being punched by Batman? (P.S. benzoyl peroxide soap works great.)
This comic is a reference to the Batman villain "Two-Face". Because the main character had pimples on one side of his face and not the other, he resembled the Batman villain. Two-Face is also fond of flipping a coin to decide what to do. The two different sides of his face and the flipping of the coin is what drew Batman into the comic.
Trimester
by Jeff
Image text: Also, it's not like anyone actually calls up the Nobel committee to double-check things.
In this comic, the main character dresses up in a lab coat and pretends to be an OBGYN for a the pregnant character in this comic.
The female pregnant character doesn't look too pregnant in this comic. How to draw a pregnant stick figure I wonder?
You Hang Up First
by Jeff
Image text: No, YOU stumble past a series of post-breakup hookups in a daze as you slowly realize what you've lost and how unlikely you are ever to get it back first.
This one is pretty clear and is an escalating case of the classic "You hang up first" discussion between lovers.
Tensile vs. Shear Strength
by Jeff
Image text: Although really, the damage was done when the party planners took the hole punch to the elevator ribbon to hang up the sign.
The Space Elevator is an idea about how to quickly move ships, people and supplies into orbit without the
The Tower of Babel was an ancient building built so that it would be a testament to man's ability and would go so high, it would have its top among the heavens. This is why the comic is referencing a "modern Babel" because the space elevator would have its top among the stars.
Tensile Strength is the maximum load that a material can support without fracture when being stretched.
Shear strength is the maximum shear stress which a material can withstand without rupture. The comic is making a pun on this because the Black Hat character is using "shears" or scissors to cut the elevator ribbon.
This comic is also referencing how at a Grand Opening, there is a "ribbon cutting ceremony". In the comic, there is a "ribbon cutting ceremony", however, the ribbon that is cut is not the ceremonial ribbon, but the space elevator ribbon.
Strip Games
by Jeff
Image text: HOW ABOUT A NICE GAME OF STRIP GLOBAL THERMONUCLEAR WAR?
Agricola is a board game in which you start out as a farmer with a spouse. It is a turn-based game in which you have two possible movements for each character you possess. Sounds enthralling...
Jumanji is the game played in the movie by the same name.
Poohsticks is a game played in the Winnie the Pooh books in which two "players" each drop sticks from a bridge and the first stick to make it to the end wins. Sounds enthralling as a strip competition...
Podracing is the type of racing featured in Star Wars Episode I.
Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma is a problem in game theory. It is the case that if two prisoners are taken into jail, but kept separate. If both choose to remain silent, they are given 6 months jail time. If they both accuses the other, they both will do 5 years in prison. If one accuses the other while the other stays silent, one goes to jail for 10 years and the other gets away scot free. When it is iterated, it is played over and over again.
Chess by Mail is just what it sounds like... and very slow.
Conway's Game of Life is a zero-player game and played by cells and here are the rules from Wikipedia:
- Any live cell with fewer than two live neighbours dies, as if caused by underpopulation.
- Any live cell with more than three live neighbours dies, as if by overcrowding.
- Any live cell with two or three live neighbours lives on to the next generation.
- Any dead cell with exactly three live neighbours becomes a live cell.
Spirit
by Jeff
Image text: On January 26th, 2213 days into its mission, NASA declared Spirit a 'stationary research station', expected to operational for several more months until the dust buildup on its solar panels forces a final shutdown.
The title of the comic is a pun on the word "Spirit" because the name of the Rover is Spirit and in the comic, the rover is showing almost unwavering spirit as it goes about its mission for six years.
Retro Virus
by Jeff
Image text: He says this is the year of Linux on the desktop! The world of Windows will fade any moment now!
The image text is a continuation of the comic and an excerpt from Howard Dean's Friendster from 2003.
In the comic, when he says that he is cleaning viruses, the other characters in the comic list off other things from 2003, including Kazaa a P2P filesharing app that was the number 1 source of viruses because of the questionable sources of all of the files on Kazaa. Additionally, Howard Dean, was popular in 2003 when he was running for president in the Democratic primary before his unfortunate screaming speech which drove him down in the poles and out of the race. Lastly, there is Friendster, which was extremely popular in 2003 and is still around today, but I'm not sure anyone uses it.
If viruses are so 2003, spyware is so 2010.
Children’s Fantasy
by Jeff
Image text: I was going to be a scientist, but that seems silly now. Magical worlds exist. I've learned a huge truth about our place in the universe. I'm supposed to care about college? I mean, FUCK.
The main character won't just spend the next 70 years with his loved ones suspecting he is crazy. Everyone will suspect he is crazy.
Dirty Harry
by Jeff
Image text: Sci-fi has energy weapons because otherwise the people like me who watch it get distracted counting shots.
Here's the full quote from Dirty Harry (a movie about a San Francisco cop who lives a bit outside of the rules to get the job done):
I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
Rain Man is a movie about two brothers, one who is autistic played by Dustin Hoffman, the other played by Tom Cruise.
In the case of this comic, the person on the ground is autistic, so he has no trouble counting the bullets from Dirty Harry's gun.
Because of his counting skill, "Rain Man" is able to thwart Dirty Harry's intimidation's effect.
