This is better than most recent comics. At least we get to see a crazy situation happening, instead of being told about it later. It seems like a variation on an old idea -I'm reminded of a no doubt fictional story of a group of Mensa members at a restaurant, attempting to think of a clever way swap the salt with the pepper, as had each accidentally been placed in the other's shaker, only to have the waitress, upon hearing their solution, simply unscrew both caps and switch those. Anyway it's still a bit fun if only for the clever ways he's trying to get the roommate's attention and the look on her face if he had succeeded. Of course, none of that is the point of the comic, the point is "ha ha he is stupid he loves computers so much that he didn't think of ringing the bell."This is weird: look at panel 1, then look at panel 7. What happened to the backpack?
Also: really? there was nothing to throw at the window? Are you in some kind of sterile metallic world where there are no rocks or twigs anywhere? Or for that matter, since it's pretty cold right now here, snow?
And here's another thing I don't get: the title of this comic is "I'm an Idiot." So if you read the title first (and why wouldn't you, given that it's in big type at the top of the page) you are thinking, in the back of your mind, "this person is an idiot...I wonder why" and so the surprise, the "oh ha ha there was an obvious solution all along" is not as much of a surprise as it would have been had the title been something more mundane, like "Locked Out."
It's these moments that just make me go "Why, Randall?" Why would you telegraph the joke in the title and take away the surprising and funny(ish) element of the punchline?
Anyway, that's all I got, this is one of those comics that do show at least a spark of promise.
Did you all like the subtle little "hey guys...i got me a roommate who is a girl" thing there? CLEVER
Uh... His roommate is his cousin. I went to school with her. I mean, he _could_ be exploiting that, but my guess is no.
ReplyDeleteAside from that, agreed - the comic could have been better.
He should've expounded upon it for some level of hilarity. Mostly it just came off as flat.
ReplyDeleteYeah, this one was fine, even if the joke wasn't that original.
ReplyDeleteI was impressed with the last panel. It's actually pretty expressive, considering they're faceless stick figures.
Oh, and he missed an opportunity with the computer in the fifth panel. Couldn't he think of something funnier than "hey I'm locked out downstairs"?
ReplyDeleteactually tbh, i didn't read the title until after reading the comic
ReplyDeleteHow that stick-man's feet can support his body from that far out I will never know.
ReplyDeletewhat, was he supposed to use gender-neutral pronouns? retard.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of living in a sterile world, do these characters live in a house filled with nothing but computers? The guy is supposed to be returning from somewhere with a backpack, but he, his roommate, and the living room are centered around computers. It's a wonder the blonde girl didn't whip out her iPhone and force a satellite to project a hologram of their coordinates to the roommate. For that matter, what is she doing wandering outside? There's an online conversation occurring somewhere without her!
ReplyDeleteAnd then! These super-tech-savvy characters know how to break into computers like nobody's business, but their own computers are open to intruders? If he can break into the Mac Mini, then why not break into the roommate's laptop (I guess they're of the proud "I DON'T OWN A TV" clan).
Ok that's enough hatred by implication for now. Gotta keep the reserves up for 531, it's being lowered like a sacrificial cow into our blog cage...
Thomas, check up ssh on wikipedia. Nobody is doing any break-in.
ReplyDeleteWhile we're talking about things appearing/disappearing from the comic, the doorbell appears in the last frame of the comic, though it wasn't in the other frames. It may have been drawn that way to emphasize the point that he should have used the doorbell, but to the casual observer it seems like magic or something.
ReplyDeleteM7S: Whoops! I learned something new today, and can't wait for it to awkwardly enter conversation months from now...
ReplyDelete"And then he said to use SSH or whatever--"
"It allows remote access through a secure protocol."
"How do you know that? Do you use SSH?"
"No...you see, I was mad at this webcomic, and looked up a computer reference I'd dismissed..."
Girl: Um...ok, well I learned something new today. To be fair, there is no way I would know that. Also: Why is it that of all the people here, I'm the only one who doesn't actually have some personal connection to Randy Munroe?
ReplyDeleteJay, your second comic is a great point. There was much more fun you could do there, I hadn't thought of that. It could have been the best panel of the strip. Oh well.
Lint: Yeah the floating-above-shit drawings are wacky, I don't get it.
cuddlefish: I prefer the term "fucktard"
Thomas: To be fair, most people who have done anything with Linux or CS in general have used SSH. It's hardly obscure knowledge, though it's also not common knowledge. It's not hard to imagine Randall mistaking it for such, though.
ReplyDeleteCarl: Rob and Thomas have spoiled me and now I expect my xkcdsucks on the day of the comic :(
Thank you, Professor Dog! I'll bring some beef jerky to the next lecture.
ReplyDelete(seriously, I love that image)
Um, are you seriously making commentary on inconsistencies? I seriously doubt he has a QA department to run everything by, man.
ReplyDeleteDid you all like the subtle little "hey guys...i got me a roommate who is a girl" thing there? CLEVER
ReplyDeleteYour bias is seriously showing here. There's critique then there's looking too much into things. Is there anyone passed 18 that would actually care if his roommate were omfgfemale?
Jiran: The doorbell is there through the previous panels. It's the thing sticking out of the wall, the same place that it's at in the last panel?
Hahah whenever the floating thing comes up I always am reminded of your "fuck you at least my head is attached to my body" bit. Heheheh. Sorry, Carl.
ReplyDeleteI actually also noticed that his roomie was a girl. And I don't think I'm super biased and I tend to be hugely superficial. Also the thing protruding from the wall is the doorknob, I think, because there is no doorbell in that one panel that shows the apartment's facade.
I did not read the title until after, as well, so I think it acted more as alt-text than anything for me... I think that might have been a better alt-text anyway. And I agree that "Locked Out" would be a better title. Curse Randall and his sucky decisions! PUT YOUR BACKPACK BACK WHERE YOU DREW IT
Also, where is Rob, he usually comments more than this
Another thing: Carl have you noticed that your 16th digg keeps on disappearing and reappearing? The number always hovers on 15 or 16... and I am considering getting a Digg account to stop this business.
ReplyDeleteGod my OCD is becoming more and more obvious
HOLY SHIT HE DIDN'T DRAW THE BACKPACK IN THE LAST PANEL.
ReplyDeleteI demand much higher quality and attention to detail from my stick figure comics. This shit is just inexcusable.
Lol @ above commenter.
ReplyDelete@Cuttlefish alpha
ReplyDeleteI would think the fact that it's a stick figure comic only makes it more embarrassing that the author can't keep track of everything in it across a measly 8 panels.
Sorry, your worshipful highness, us peasants sometime get things wrong, as most people do. Although, as a piece of lint, that's probably not much of a problem.
ReplyDelete