0511: "Sleet"

[Felstaff]

I had Sinatran paracusia following the first panel, and it seems others here did too (once I'd got rid of that goddamn nought-point-nine-recurring clusterfuck. You people and your "create an account to prove someone wrong without reading the rules" shtick. Everybody loses.)

Anyway, now I have Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow! on recursion in my head. I'm glad it's Christmas soon, as I can now get legitimately Christmassy as a result. If this comic had been posted mid-January, I'd be somewhat annoyed.

[mmmXsmoothie]

I can honestly say I've never felt any desire to watch Battlestar Galactica; my dad likes it though, so that could be part of my reasoning.

23 degrees F here and it snowed all day. :]

[Zap]

After the first panel I had some trouble because the rest of them didn't go to the tune of "Let it Snow".

I was the same. I died a little inside when panel 2 just didn't fit.

But then I did text my sister this morning the following:
"You better not shout,
You better not cry,
You better not pout,
I'm telling you why...Patsy's out!"

(Patsy being the fairy that goes on top of the tree in all of our family households. As a child "Patsy's watching!" was essentially saying "Santa will know you're being bad and you'll get no presents!")

[Freiberg]

After the first panel I had some trouble because the rest of them didn't go to the tune of "Let it Snow".

My exact reaction too.

[Plasma Man]

I just want to say that I really like the art in this one; it does a good job of conveying the feeling of wind and cold, sleety rain.

[Susy]

For some reason, I felt sad when I read the comic this morning...
Xmas eve always gets me to this mood...

[dennisw]

Suckers.

In Australia our Christmas season is all 35 degree days (That's 95 F for those 300 million in the U S of A).

So instead of sleet, we get to burn the soles of our feet off on pavement.

So you get to freeze your toes and fingers off as you celebrate the 4th of July!

[Armadillo Al]

Bah... I don't understand how you can say it's a bad weather. Personnally, I enjoy the endless sunny days, the 28 degree-afternoon, the slightly brisk night at 22 degrees.

Sounds like today here...it's 26 now and going up to, oh, 30 or so this afternoon...

...wait, you use that funky non-American scale, don't you? Bah... -3 going up to -1 doesn't sound nearly as impressive. Especially when we'll probably hit -3 on our scale in a month or two.

And all the ice on the roads this morning didn't help. :-/

It's going to be a long winter what with local municipalities cutting down on their salt reserves thanks to the bitchstick of an economy we've got going on...

[Darth Eru]

After the first panel I had some trouble because the rest of them didn't go to the tune of "Let it Snow".

I didn't even remember which song it was, or the exact tune, so I got even more confused, trying to make musical sense of it.

Also, I am constantly grateful that I am a fairly unsophisticated viewer that can consistently enjoy a lot of stories that others may find to have degraded over time. I hadn't even realized people thought BSG had gone downhill until now.

[Sprocket]

I feel like this needs a comment about how it doesn't help that the guy (or lesbian lover) smells like Richard Stallman.

[Additives]

For all the people on the "best climate" thing; I'm in Egypt. It is winter. however....28 (celcius) days and 6-12 nights wrapped up in a warm bed suit me just fine. And as for summer? In summer im going to europe, where it will also be summer.

hazza for moving continent to continent to get perpetual good weather!

PS. It appears i am the ONLY one here who didnt read this with a tune in my head


EDIT(PPS): I also dislike BSG. Tis bland. I much like Firefly. Has Funny. Simple language due to Memory Read Error #108 tonight with GUI design on VB. Project funding constraints much hate.

[Jirin]

Ha. I'm no fan of DRM, and it will prevent me from paying money for non-physical copies of music, but it doesn't bother me enough to lecture people on it long past the point of polite interest.

I can see that BSG may not be for everyone. But come on, Firefly? Really? It's just a bunch of audience pandering wrapped in fan service wrapped in cool one liners wrapped in more fan service. I don't mind the Baltar getting a harem thing because he's the character who represents humanity's solipsitic need to survive at all costs. Even as a total amoral bastard, he's a calm guiding hand in a time of desperation and chaos. (Which is exactly the reason people join cults.)

And even if the gritty, dark, judge-and-jury-of-the-human-race thing isn't for you. Come on, Firefly? Pick a show where they didn't randomly put a prostitute in the crew and have her take female clients as a desperate attempt to salvage the ratings, design the rest of the show just around the maverickness of the main character, and fill the rest of the show with scifi stock characters played by B movie caliber actors.

[Faranya]

After the first panel I had some trouble because the rest of them didn't go to the tune of "Let it Snow".

I as well. I even managed to mangle it together until the 3rd panel (coinciding with the "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow" in which I was just bogged down with too many words...

I saddens me.

[Aspergia]

Suckers.

In Australia our Christmas season is all 35 degree days (That's 95 F for those 300 million in the U S of A).

So instead of sleet, we get to burn the soles of our feet off on pavement.

So you get to freeze your toes and fingers off as you celebrate the 4th of July!

Nope, because 4th of July doesn't mean anything in Australia.... unless you happen to have a birthday then.

[Eugo]

I tried for about 30 seconds to match rythm of the song and the words of the second panel. Didn't really work though. How boring, that would have been awesome.

I don't know why I thought this place would somehow be religion free? Must have been one of those moments I sometimes have.

You guys, keep on owning every possible space everywhere, it's all yours. You have the money, you have the peer pressure, you don't need anybody else. G'bye, see you around New Year when you may snap out of this.

[Talus]

I had to laugh out loud at this one. I have a chronic obsession with this, at least where video games are concerned. I just can't help myself. Even when I know no-one else cares:(
actually, scratch that. ESPECIALLY when no one else cares. How can they not see this evil which has come into our lives!?!

I don't know why I thought this place would somehow be religion free? Must have been one of those moments I sometimes have. You guys, keep on owning every possible space everywhere, it's all yours. You have the money, you have the peer pressure, you don't need anybody else. G'bye, see you around New Year when you may snap out of this.

do...do you need a hug?

[bigstrat2003]

wait... what's wrong with battlestar galactica?

Nothing, in fact Battlestar Galactica is the best show on television. Or at least it was.

And it still is. Nothing blows my mind more than BSG fans saying the show started out great and dropped off, because imnsho, the show is just as good as it ever was. Maybe even better. This is one show which has never ceased blowing my mind, and I would pretty much kill someone to get the new episodes aired faster. >.>

So yeah, you guys complaining about BSG are utter lunatics.

[theta4]

Suckers.

In Australia our Christmas season is all 35 degree days (That's 95 F for those 300 million in the U S of A).

So instead of sleet, we get to burn the soles of our feet off on pavement.

That's nowhere near as bad as Arizona's 120 F (49 C) summer season. So much for summer break. It's impossible to walk outside in bare feet. And, the cicadas love the trees here. These aren't your average cicadas, though. Every cicada insists on being louder than the other ones in the tree, resulting in a 90+ dB outdoor environment. What good do they do for the ecosystem?

Currently, the mornings are freezing (by our standards) and the afternoons are nearly unbearable. There's about a week of good weather in Arizona. We cherish it. We really, really cherish it.

[dr_pyser]

I can see that BSG may not be for everyone. But come on, Firefly? Really? It's just a bunch of audience pandering wrapped in fan service wrapped in cool one liners wrapped in more fan service. I don't mind the Baltar getting a harem thing because he's the character who represents humanity's solipsitic need to survive at all costs. Even as a total amoral bastard, he's a calm guiding hand in a time of desperation and chaos. (Which is exactly the reason people join cults.)

And even if the gritty, dark, judge-and-jury-of-the-human-race thing isn't for you. Come on, Firefly? Pick a show where they didn't randomly put a prostitute in the crew and have her take female clients as a desperate attempt to salvage the ratings, design the rest of the show just around the maverickness of the main character, and fill the rest of the show with scifi stock characters played by B movie caliber actors.

*cries tears of joy*

i'm speechless. i thought i was alone in the world. but somewhere, deep down, i knew there were people out there like me. i should have known earlier that i would find them on the xkcd forumz.

[josephoenix]

Bah... I don't understand how you can say it's a bad weather. Personnally, I enjoy the endless sunny days, the 28 degree-afternoon, the slightly brisk night at 22 degrees.

Off course, the fact that "Dubai" is written on my residence adress might have something to do with it..

Hum... let me remember exactly what's the downside of Dubai..?

Oh! Having to buy solar cream all year long!! Darn it!!

Did you just say slightly brisk, at 22? [71, for the fahrenheiters.] That's not brisk, that's hot! Well, warm. Brisk would be 5 degrees. Anyting above 7, i hardly wear a jacket. Then again it's -4 here, and i'm used to it. Yay Chicago!

Can I assume solar cream is sun block?

[phillipsjk]

I had to laugh out loud at this one. I have a chronic obsession with this, at least where video games are concerned. I just can't help myself. Even when I know no-one else cares:(
actually, scratch that. ESPECIALLY when no one else cares. How can they not see this evil which has come into our lives!?!

My sentiments are similar. However, the problem is that DRM is a constantly-shifting concept. Trying to avoid it is like trying to pin Jello to a wall. (Yes you can: in specific circumstances that no "normal" people care about.)

I my case, I have to write a new letter to my Members of Parliament explaining that I was over-simplifying things when I said "Digital Rights Management" and (Effective) Technical Protection Measures are the same thing. They came out with (proposed) legislation that banned the circumvention of (E)TPM's, but did not define them. If I can circumvent it, how is it effective?

My point is I care about this stuff, and I get the details wrong. How can we expect the average person to understand these issues? Do we want to include "old" technologies like VHS Macrovision in the DRM definition? I was going to advise people to avoid HDMI (using DVI instead) until I learned that the HDCP was (physical) interface-independent. Although, the manufacturer DOES get a $0.01 discount on the HDMI interface for including HDCP.....</troll that started at "Macrovision">

Edit: accuracy

Spoiler:

http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/terms.aspx
I suppose I should double-check my Macrovision rantings as well

Edit: spelling

[SwissArmyAnts]

wait... what's wrong with battlestar galactica?

Nothing, in fact Battlestar Galactica is the best show on television. Or at least it was.

And it still is. Nothing blows my mind more than BSG fans saying the show started out great and dropped off, because imnsho, the show is just as good as it ever was. Maybe even better. This is one show which has never ceased blowing my mind, and I would pretty much kill someone to get the new episodes aired faster. >.>

So yeah, you guys complaining about BSG are utter lunatics.

Look, I'm not saying that the show is now unwatchable (All though I have a friend who holds that position). I'm just saying that during Season 1, every episode was like Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Hemingway all rolled into one.

In "33", you really felt that the entire ship was fatigued, because most of the actors actually had gone days without sleep. In "Flesh and Bone", Leoben totally mind****ed with the audience just as much as he did with the characters, and even after they threw him out the airlock, he had already planted a seed of doubt into the President's mind about Adama that nearly tore the government apart in "Tigh me up, Tigh me down". Plus you felt bad for Helo, because he was fighting for his life in the ruins of his civilization with a girlfriend who was really a pregnant machine the whole time. And then, finally just when you thought the colonists had the tiniest bit of good fortune in taking out a Cylon basestar, Sharon "Jack Ruby's" Adama in one of the most unexpected sucker-punches in the history of television, and you're all, like, "Golly Gosh Darn Gee Wiz!!! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!!!!"

Season 3 and the first half of 4 aren't bad by SciFi series standards, but it certainly no longer feels like the show that it once was. I've also heard that there's supposed to be another TV movie, Called BSG: The Plan. I didn't even realize that the cylons still had a plan.

[bornofstardust]

Count me in with those doing a headtilt at the suggestion that BSG has gone downhill. Just...huh? It's as epic, deeply thought-provoking and crack-tastic as ever. The finale of Season 3 might have been the most amazing thing I've ever seen on television. And I thought Season 4.0 was wonderful--Faith, The Hub, my gods. With the very notable exception of Sina Qua Non, don't know WHAT happened there.

If I am a little disappointed in anything, it's that Baltar seems to be marginalized as a character somewhat. He's always been just about my favorite, and with his newfound messiah/cult leader thing he's a little less interesting and twisty, and HeadSix is almost nowhere to be seen. But I get that it's an arc thing, and I'm going with it. I trust that the ending will be sock-knocking, and that it's all leading somewhere.

Count me in as well with the disoriented carol-hummers after the first panel. Randall, you're a silly goose.

[bigstrat2003]

wait... what's wrong with battlestar galactica?

Nothing, in fact Battlestar Galactica is the best show on television. Or at least it was.

And it still is. Nothing blows my mind more than BSG fans saying the show started out great and dropped off, because imnsho, the show is just as good as it ever was. Maybe even better. This is one show which has never ceased blowing my mind, and I would pretty much kill someone to get the new episodes aired faster. >.>

So yeah, you guys complaining about BSG are utter lunatics.

Look, I'm not saying that the show is now unwatchable (All though I have a friend who holds that position). I'm just saying that during Season 1, every episode was like Shakespeare, Tolstoy and Hemingway all rolled into one.

In "33", you really felt that the entire ship was fatigued, because most of the actors actually had gone days without sleep. In "Flesh and Bone", Leoben totally mind****ed with the audience just as much as he did with the characters, and even after they threw him out the airlock, he had already planted a seed of doubt into the President's mind about Adama that nearly tore the government apart in "Tigh me up, Tigh me down". Plus you felt bad for Helo, because he was fighting for his life in the ruins of his civilization with a girlfriend who was really a pregnant machine the whole time. And then, finally just when you thought the colonists had the tiniest bit of good fortune in taking out a Cylon basestar, Sharon "Jack Ruby's" Adama in one of the most unexpected sucker-punches in the history of television, and you're all, like, "Golly Gosh Darn Gee Wiz!!! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!!!!"

Season 3 and the first half of 4 aren't bad by SciFi series standards, but it certainly no longer feels like the show that it once was. I've also heard that there's supposed to be another TV movie, Called BSG: The Plan. I didn't even realize that the cylons still had a plan.

I completely disagree with your assessment that the series has lost that touch. Maybe you're just jaded on the formula, I don't know. For my part, I agree with your praise for season 1, but I feel that the newer material shows those strong characteristics every bit as well as the early material did. The formula is still going strong (imnsho), even if you don't feel it is.

[ysth]

I tried for about 30 seconds to match rythm of the song and the words of the second panel. Didn't really work though. How boring, that would have been awesome.

I don't know why I thought this place would somehow be religion free? Must have been one of those moments I sometimes have.

You guys, keep on owning every possible space everywhere, it's all yours. You have the money, you have the peer pressure, you don't need anybody else. G'bye, see you around New Year when you may snap out of this.

What drives me batty is how the classical stations start playing vocal music, which I hate. If they spread it through the year, I could tolerate it better, but instead it seems to be heavily concentrated in the last 5-6 weeks.

[bornofstardust]

I tried for about 30 seconds to match rythm of the song and the words of the second panel. Didn't really work though. How boring, that would have been awesome.

I don't know why I thought this place would somehow be religion free? Must have been one of those moments I sometimes have.

You guys, keep on owning every possible space everywhere, it's all yours. You have the money, you have the peer pressure, you don't need anybody else. G'bye, see you around New Year when you may snap out of this.

What drives me batty is how the classical stations start playing vocal music, which I hate. If they spread it through the year, I could tolerate it better, but instead it seems to be heavily concentrated in the last 5-6 weeks.

Wow, I'm whooshing on this whole conversation. "Let it Snow" is a religious imposition? Really?

And on behalf of classical vocalists everywhere, including myself--heyyy!

[Random832]

I tried for about 30 seconds to match rythm of the song and the words of the second panel. Didn't really work though. How boring, that would have been awesome.

I don't know why I thought this place would somehow be religion free? Must have been one of those moments I sometimes have.

You guys, keep on owning every possible space everywhere, it's all yours. You have the money, you have the peer pressure, you don't need anybody else. G'bye, see you around New Year when you may snap out of this.

Explain to me exactly what is religious about the song "Let it snow".

Just because it's played at this time of year (because it's seasonal - it doesn't snow much in June, after all - not in this hemisphere anyway) doesn't mean it is in fact related to christmas in any way.

Due to its seasonal lyrics, the song is commonly regarded as a Christmas song. Yet despite its cheery, holiday feel, it is a love song that never mentions Christmas.

And even if it WERE an explicitly christmas-related song - can't people appreciate (or - heck, be reminded of - keep in mind just WHAT you're begrudging) a song without being accused of forcing a religion on people?

[tekton]

I live in America, my Christmas is usually in the 70-80 degree range. It's like being back in Australia without the heat strokes. And with better parades! But I miss my biscuits...

[Game_boy]

Inidentally, is it worth buying and reading Free Culture?

[Lóng the Dragon]

After the first panel I had some trouble because the rest of them didn't go to the tune of "Let it Snow".

Exactly the same here.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful
I hate trudging through the icy sludge and - huh?

[podbaydoor]

I tried for about 30 seconds to match rythm of the song and the words of the second panel. Didn't really work though. How boring, that would have been awesome.

I don't know why I thought this place would somehow be religion free? Must have been one of those moments I sometimes have.

Wait...remind me how a song about seasonal weather is religious in nature.

[Afakaz]

I wonder if he did the 'let it snow' thing on purpose, just to mess with his readers, there is precedent for this:
http://xkcd.com/389/

For major lols, try playing the music that's shown in that strip, those of you who are so inclined

[Faranya]

I tried for about 30 seconds to match rythm of the song and the words of the second panel. Didn't really work though. How boring, that would have been awesome.

I don't know why I thought this place would somehow be religion free? Must have been one of those moments I sometimes have.

You guys, keep on owning every possible space everywhere, it's all yours. You have the money, you have the peer pressure, you don't need anybody else. G'bye, see you around New Year when you may snap out of this.

Explain to me exactly what is religious about the song "Let it snow".

Just because it's played at this time of year (because it's seasonal - it doesn't snow much in June, after all - not in this hemisphere anyway) doesn't mean it is in fact related to christmas in any way.

Due to its seasonal lyrics, the song is commonly regarded as a Christmas song. Yet despite its cheery, holiday feel, it is a love song that never mentions Christmas.

And even if it WERE an explicitly christmas-related song - can't people appreciate (or - heck, be reminded of - keep in mind just WHAT you're begrudging) a song without being accused of forcing a religion on people?

Agreed

It's a winter song. Seriously, people need to lighten right the fuck up.

[DragonHawk]

This'll prolly be a flame-grenade, but...

I don't know why I thought this place would somehow be religion free?

I'm pretty non-religion myself. I've got serious complaints with the behavior of a lot of the mainstream religious organizations. I'm a strong agnostic. While I recognize a base emotional desire in myself for there to "be something more", I'm really atheistic when it comes to my reasoning. I find proselytizing obnoxious.

But I don't think I'd ever expect any place with a significant sample of humans to be "religion free". Polls suggest the vast majority of people identify themselves as religious or spiritual in some way.

I think expecting to find a public place where religious people aren't present is as unreasonable as expecting me to believe you've got an invisible fire-breathing dragon in your garage.

[PhantomPhanatic]

Oh dear. I'm not showing this to my wife.

I'm afraid she might join the "Get out of my head, Randall!" brigade.

My girlfriend's a regular.....and she's always screaming that. She's been known to accuse me of being Randall.

[Eternal Density]

I've never had the slightest interest in BSG.
The Stargate franchise is my thing...

Fortunately I don't have any annoying friends like in the comic. (Not that I have many in general).
*checks weather forecast* Should be up to 29 by Friday. Metric, that is The idea of a 'white Christmas' is rather foreign to me.

[DragonHawk]

My girlfriend's a regular

For some reason, on my first attempt, my brain parsed that as "My girlfriend's irregular". I couldn't help thinking it was a strange sort of information to be sharing in a public forum...
-----

I've never had the slightest interest in BSG.
The Stargate franchise is my thing...

I bet Farscape and Babylon 5 could beat BSG and SG in a fight.

[Doodle77]

Suckers.

In Australia our Christmas season is all 35 degree days (That's 95 F for those 300 million in the U S of A).

So instead of sleet, we get to burn the soles of our feet off on pavement.

So you get to freeze your toes and fingers off as you celebrate the 4th of July!

They don't celebrate the 4th of July in Australia.

I totally fail to see how this comic goes with 'Let It Snow', but then again, I don't have much of a mind for holiday songs.

[WXsniper]

I've never had the slightest interest in BSG.
The Stargate franchise is my thing...

I bet Farscape and Babylon 5 could beat BSG and SG in a fight.

Lets see what Google says about that (spoilered for size):

Spoiler:

"Farscape and Babylon 5" = 405
Farscape and Babylon 5 = 487,000
"BSG and SG" = 428
BSG and SG = 1,540,000
"Battlestar Galactica and Stargate" = 1940
Battlestar Galactica and Stargate = 1,860,000

However, individually (with Firefly):

Spoiler:

Farscape = 2,800,000
BSG = 7,680,000
Battlestar Galactica = 9,260,000
Firefly = 12,900,000
Babylon 5 = 14,300,000
Stargate = 22,700,000
SG = 127,000,000

So added together with the individual totals:

Spoiler:

Farscape and Babylon 5 = 17,100,000
Battlestar Galactica and Stargate = 31,960,000
BSG and SG: 134,680,000

So, BSG and SG wins. Abbreviated or not.

Oh, and Hello!

[william]

I don't mind the Baltar getting a harem thing because he's the character who represents humanity's solipsitic need to survive at all costs. Even as a total amoral bastard, he's a calm guiding hand in a time of desperation and chaos. (Which is exactly the reason people join cults.)

Well, it's less the fact that he has a harem and more the fact that three episodes prior there was absolutely nothing three episodes ago that suggests he would end up getting a harem.