xkcd

by **Kal_Torak** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:13 am UTC

This one is made of roflsauce, but I don't like how much it puts BHM on the defensive. It makes him appear weaker. He's supposed to be more suave and superior than that.

by **BwaHaHa** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:14 am UTC

Firnagzen wrote:Impossible. That's not the BHM we all know and [love/hate*]. He can't possibly be arrested.

And even if he were arrested, the ways he broke out of prison would far exceed the reasons he got chucked in in the first place.

*Delete as appropiate

Arrested? I don't think you understand. The senators have to confirm new Presidential appointments. They're only bringing up Black Hat Man's convoluted past to determine whether he is fit for a position of power in the federal government.

by **Quixotess** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:17 am UTC

xkcd wrote:Oh man I'm excited about the rest of this arc. I'm tempted to scan and post them right now.

<3

Yeah, watch as no one attempts to dissuade you from this.

The midcomic jokes for this one weren't as good as in S2 (it would have been better to *see* those shenanigans) but the ending promises plotting more epic than anything! Whee!

by **'; DROP DATABASE;--** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:17 am UTC

Funny, just a few hours ago, I was thinking how amusing it'd be to give a jerk his comeuppance by getting a group of people to flip his car upside-down in the driveway. (Which would probably damage the roof and windows pretty good from the weight.) I like this idea better though. :twisted:

by **ysth** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:23 am UTC

includemaliciousintent wrote:Stallman [has] to be in this one!

If only to get his katana back from the Ronpaul.

by **qinwamascot** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:25 am UTC

Whatever happens here will be possibly more epic than the upcoming election (which is in the not-so-epic to somewhat-epic range, while this is likely to become uber-epic).

by **ysth** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:29 am UTC

GodShapedBullet wrote:Me: Do you have any Perfboard?

Random Radio Shack employee: What's Perfboard?

If I remember my last visit correctly, the rRSe would have done an inventory search on the computer, told you "no", followed by you happening to see Perfboard on a shelf on your way out.

by **ysth** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:33 am UTC

Kain wrote:I plead the first! The theft was just my free expression of the lax security protocols regarding the submarines!

The classic case of pleading the first, albeit before a House, not Senate, committee.

by **Cooley** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:46 am UTC

Oh my god. Mr. Munroe acknowledged me by name!

My life is complete. Well, meh, I guess not, but this is still incredible!

by **weex** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 5:52 am UTC

Been a lurker for a bit but had to join for this. If you're a blimp, you have yeild right of way to a balloon. Not sure if that's important here but it was just the sort of arcane rule I thought xkcd appeciators would ummm...appreciate.

by **phlip** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:02 am UTC

BwaHaHa wrote:
Firnagzen wrote:Impossible. That's not the BHM we all know and [love/hate*]. He can't possibly be arrested.

And even if he were arrested, the ways he broke out of prison would far exceed the reasons he got chucked in in the first place.

*Delete as appropiate

Arrested? I don't think you understand. The senators have to confirm new Presidential appointments. They're only bringing up Black Hat Man's convoluted past to determine whether he is fit for a position of power in the federal government.

But the hearings specifically say they're reading from his "arrest record"... I suspect that's what Firnagzen's referring to...

by **Banter** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:11 am UTC

I think Ruth Bader Ginsburg just became the most Wikipedia-ed woman on the internet for a day.

by **therocket** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:47 am UTC

rwald wrote:Also, is there some pun with auto-troll shuffle I'm missing? I understand what he actually did, but it sounds like the setup for a horrible pun.

truffle shuffle? Maybe?

by **TheHand** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:13 am UTC

Randall has been known to go for the pun on occasion.

by **Elipongo** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:24 am UTC

Banter wrote:I think Ruth Bader Ginsburg just became the most Wikipedia-ed woman on the internet for a day.

I dunno', I'd bet most xkcd'ers know their recent Supreme Court Justices. I think that Clarence Thomas' confirmation hearings were the most entertaining what with all the talk of pubic hair in Coca-cola and such.

by **ouin** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 7:55 am UTC

BHM's resume is quite impressive..
I even heard a chair break while reading the whole squirrel/fax/vista part.

by **thebeaky** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:34 am UTC

Firnagzen wrote:Impossible. That's not the BHM we all know and [love/hate*]. He can't possibly be arrested.

And even if he were arrested, the ways he broke out of prison would far exceed the reasons he got chucked in in the first place.

*Delete as appropiate

[love/hate] why worry about which, I think the two are not mutually exclusive.

I am also looking forward to cory's arrival.

very much enjoying this 'arc' I think people are calling it.

by **Chromana** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:46 am UTC

What is this "plead the first/third/fifth" thing?

by **ClassholeInTraining** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 8:49 am UTC

I really thought that there would have been a reference to nerd-sniping in this comic.

by **super_aardvark** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 9:25 am UTC

Chromana wrote:What is this "plead the first/third/fifth" thing?

I'm not quite sure where to start here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleading_the_Fifth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights#Amendments

The joke is that you expect that he misspoke, but it turns out he meant what he said, even though it makes no sense. It's similar to this bit from Monty Python's Travel Agency sketch:

A: Anyway, you're interested in one of our holidays are you?
C: Yes thats right, I saw your advert in the bolour supplement.
A: The what?
C: The bolour supplement.
A: The colour supplement?
C: Yes thats right. Im afraid I cant say the letter B
A: C?
C: Yes. Its all due to a trauma I suffered when I was a
Sboolboy. I was attacked by a bat.
A: Ah, a cat?
C: No a bat.

...Does that help?

by **Magma** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 10:42 am UTC

Fixed:

Other fixes:

Spoiler:

by **Adventurer** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:40 am UTC

Elipongo wrote:
Banter wrote:I think Ruth Bader Ginsburg just became the most Wikipedia-ed woman on the internet for a day.

I dunno', I'd bet most xkcd'ers know their recent Supreme Court Justices...

American readers maybe, but xkcd readership is global. Here in the UK, the reference went straight over my head.

by **Paranoid__Android** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:41 am UTC

Surely BHG would have been sent to prison for a very very long time for vaporising someone?

by **ysth** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 11:52 am UTC

xkcd wrote:Thanks for catching my miswrite, cooley! Yesterday's errors stayed for a long time because of a complicated dance of filenames I managed wherein every time I corrected an error, I brought back an old one without noticing.

*cough* mumble revision control mumble *cough*

by **Micirio** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:32 pm UTC

super_aardvark wrote:
Chromana wrote:What is this "plead the first/third/fifth" thing?

I'm not quite sure where to start here...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pleading_the_Fifth
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bill_of_Rights#Amendments

The joke is that you expect that he misspoke, but it turns out he meant what he said, even though it makes no sense. It's similar to this bit from Monty Python's Travel Agency sketch:

A: Anyway, you're interested in one of our holidays are you?
C: Yes thats right, I saw your advert in the bolour supplement.
A: The what?
C: The bolour supplement.
A: The colour supplement?
C: Yes thats right. Im afraid I cant say the letter B
A: C?
C: Yes. Its all due to a trauma I suffered when I was a
Sboolboy. I was attacked by a bat.
A: Ah, a cat?
C: No a bat.

...Does that help?

So it's kinda like the Chewbacca defense...

by **aleflamedyud** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:44 pm UTC

Paranoid Android wrote:Surely BHG would have been sent to prison for a very very long time for vaporising someone?

Surely BHG would never allow himself to be sent to prison?

by **Darth Eru** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:47 pm UTC

I think the "auto-troll shuffle" may be a reference to the Kansas City Shuffle.

by **Synthuir** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:47 pm UTC

includemaliciousintent wrote:Also, I don't think anyone has posted this, but Obama already wants someone to take this position:

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story? ... 306&page=1

Actually, I did, but thanks.

Gee Willikers this is like the best best best best of the best comics ever I cannot wait Gee Willikers!

by **pyrodude150** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:12 pm UTC

i called it so hard in the thread for Part 2

RE: Secretary Part 2

pyrodude150 wrote:
Synthuir wrote:I wonder where BHG went, he can't possibly still be in his appartment.

In his own blimp, unlike any blimp this world has ever seen, and its in pursuit of Ron Pauls blimp.

epic blimp battle to come?

by **Apollo** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:28 pm UTC

Is the Hat guy the personification of /b/ ?

by **Aubron** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:33 pm UTC

Kal_Torak wrote:This one is made of roflsauce, but I don't like how much it puts BHM on the defensive. It makes him appear weaker. He's supposed to be more suave and superior than that.

Of course BHG knows they're coming. One has to hope his girlfriend is preparing for something to stop them... I miss her.

by **pyrodude150** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:35 pm UTC

Apollo wrote:Is the Hat guy the personification of /b/ ?

nah, if you read trawl back through the archives and read a few of the comics (like allllllllll of them) you'll find that he is a recurring sociopathic self-dubbed "classhole" character

Darth Eru wrote:I think the "auto-troll shuffle" may be a reference to the Kansas City Shuffle.

????

i looked that up and all i got was some song... care to explain? sounds epic if done in real life.

by **Aubron** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:42 pm UTC

xkcd wrote:Oh man I'm excited about the rest of this arc. I'm tempted to scan and post them right now.

<3

DO IT.
Break free of society.
Defy the mold.
DO IT.

by **Dubius** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 1:45 pm UTC

I think it would have been funnier if he plead the Second Amendment as his right to own a nuclear submarine.

by **Paranoid__Android** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:12 pm UTC

aleflamedyud wrote:
Paranoid Android wrote:Surely BHG would have been sent to prison for a very very long time for vaporising someone?

Surely BHG would never allow himself to be sent to prison?

Well he got arrested for it

Dont they execute people for murder or manslaughter over in the US?

by **The Scyphozoa** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:34 pm UTC

Wait, so he uses the submarine to defend the moat to keep troops out of his house??

by **kevang** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:43 pm UTC

ouin wrote:I even heard a chair break while reading the whole squirrel/fax/vista part.

Can someone explain the squirrel/fax/Vista part to me?

by **twmcneil** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:46 pm UTC

"Feed a squirrel through a fax machine?"

That's a terrible way to treat a fax machine.

by **MalumOpus** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:49 pm UTC

Paranoid Android wrote:
aleflamedyud wrote:
Paranoid Android wrote:Surely BHG would have been sent to prison for a very very long time for vaporising someone?

Surely BHG would never allow himself to be sent to prison?

Well he got arrested for it

Dont they execute people for murder or manslaughter over in the US?

Well, he vaporised someone, in an empty store. No body, no witnesses, no motive. Maybe he disassembled the death-ray before the police arrived. I guess they knew it was him but just couldn't make it stick ...

by **Plasma Man** » Wed Oct 29, 2008 2:50 pm UTC

When I read part 1, I knew this was going to be awesome. I'm glad to have been proved right. I love pleading the third amendment to justify the legality of having a nuclear submarine.

I hadn't even thought about the arrest record, but as people have brought it up, I'm going to imagine that it goes something like this...

Police: You're under arrest
BHM: OK
Taken to police station
Police: Confess! Tell us what you did to that car / float / meeting / person / squirrel!
BHM: OK. *Tells them exactly what he did and why*
Police: Ow, my brain hurts! There's no way we'll get a jury to believe this, just go away please.

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