xkcd daily digest¹

# 2703: Paper Title Alt: CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: The authors hope these results are correct because we all want to be cool people who are good at science.. Transcript:

Alt: CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT: The authors hope these results are correct because we all want to be cool people who are good at science.. Transcript:

# 2549: Edge Cake Alt: Every time IERS adds or removes a leap second, they send me a birthday cake out of superstition.. Transcript:

# 558: 1000 Times

Alt: And 0.002 dollars will NEVER equal 0.002 cents.. Transcript: Dishonest:
[[woman sitting behind desk]] sign: bailout: $170 billion; bonuses: $165 million
Honest:
[[woman sitting behind desk]] sign: bailout: $170,000 million; bonuses: $165 million
Dear news organizations: stop giving large numbers without context or proper comparison. The difference between a million and a billion is the difference between a sip of wine and 30 seconds with your daughter, and a bottle of gin and a night with her.
{{Alt-text: And 0.002 dollars will NEVER equal 0.002 cents.}}

# 1031: s/keyboard/leopard/

Alt: Problem Exists Between Leopard And Chair. Transcript: [[Two browser windows:
The first is a wikipedia article on computer leopards. Visible text:
"[...]which range from pocket sized leopards to large desktop leopards, the leopard remains the most common user input device. In addition to text entry, specialized leopards are used for computer gaming. While many computer interfaces rely on mice or touchscreens, UNIX-style command-line interfaces require users to interact with a leopard." There is a picture of the venerable, highly durable IBM Model M Leopard.
The second is a messageboard discussing leopard issues. Listed topics include:
"Weird, my leopard just switched to Chinese"
"I work with one leopard on my desk and another in the leopard tray"
"Ever cleaned a leopard? They're *filthy*"
"The iPhone virtual leopard is the fastest IMO"
"I rarely email from my phone - I'm so slow when I'm not on a leopard"
"My leopard died when I spilled tea on it :("]]
The Internet got 100 times better when, thanks to an extension with a typo'd regex, my browser started replacing the word "keyboard" with "leopard".

{{Title text: Problem Exists Between Leopard And Chair}}

# 938: T-Cells

Alt: 'We're not sure how to wipe out the chimeral T-cells after they've destroyed the cancer. Though I do have this vial of smallpox ...'. Transcript: [[Two people are standing facing each other, having a conversation. One is holding a laptop.]]
Person #1 (with laptop): What's the deal with this leukemia trial? {{Citation: Nejm, Aug 10, 2011}}
Person #2: Gotta wait and see.
Person #2: Helping the immune system attack tumors has been a longtime research target.
Person #2: Lots of promising leads. Often they don't pan out.

Person #1: What'd these guys do?
Person #2: They took some of the patient's T-cells and patched their genes so they'd attack the cancer. That hasn't been enough in the past but their patch also added code to get the T-cells to replicate wildly and persist in the body.

Person #1: Which worked, but created its own set of problems?
Person #2: How'd you guess? But I think the craziest part is the way they insert the patched genes.
Person #1: How?
Person #2: Well, think - What specializes in invading and modifying T-cells?
Person #1: Seriously?
Person #2: Yup. Must've been a fun conversation.

[[The last panel is set in a doctors office. A patient is sitting on the observation bed talking to their doctor.]]
Patient: Ok, so I have blood cells growing out of control, so you're going to give me different blood cells that *also* grow out of control?
Doctor: Yes, but it's ok, because we've treated *this* blood with HIV!
Patient: Are you sure you're a doctor?
Doctor: Almost definitely.

{{Title text: 'We're not sure how to wipe out the chimeral T-cells after they've destroyed the cancer. Though I do have this vial of smallpox ...'}}

# 81: Attention, shopper

Alt: There's a red convertible outside my building with the license plate 'DADS MNY'.. Transcript: [[Hat guy is holding a golf club and speaking into a P.A. system]]
Hat guy: Attention,
Hat guy: To the owner of a Dodge Viper SRT-10 with license plate "MYTOY", your lights are on and your windshield was just smashed with a golf club.
{{title text: There's a red convertible outside my building with the license plate 'DADS MNY'.}}

Why this page exists

I love Randall Munroe's XKCD comic. Maybe too much. If I go to xkcd.com, I can blink and an hour will have passed. This page is intended to allow me to keep up to date while also catching the backlog... overtime.

This is a true digest. I cannot press random. There is no refresh to get a new set of comics, no infinite scroll, no easy rush of endorphines.

xkcd daily digest1

xkcd daily digest¹