1190: "Time"

[Dracomax]

Trying to get caught up post-coma. So exciting to see stuff happening!

I'm off to Jury Duty and will think of this the whole time. "Yeah, yeah. They're guilty. Can we go home now???"

hahaha. I know, stuff finally starts happening when you get called for jury duty. Murphys Randall's Law.

Well, there's no brim to her hat, so she's certainly not Madeline.

That's who I was thinking of, but I guess it doesn't really look like her:

madeline.jpeg

Anyone else feel like part of the audience from the Truman Show? We're just kind of watching these characters evolve and have made up an entire community around them, while they just go about their day unaware.

I hadn't thought of that comparison, but I like it.

Ok, gotta keep reading. Oh, and maybe do some Outside work here and there...

...so which shot's the hero shot?
"and if I don't see you, good mid timeframe, later timeframe, and precoma-timeframe.

[Eliram]

Meanwhile, this is what my kids did this afternoon:
http://instagram.com/p/YaN0NASFSI/

[Sciscitor]

What with all the scripting people here have been doing, has anyone extracted the full text of this thread? I'd like to run it through a little (non-Time-related) tool I made on the weekend and see if anything amusing comes out. And also see whether any lurking memory leaks will reveal themselves while it's processing such a large body of text (the largest thing I've tested it on so far is an entire novel.)

Do you need it with or without quotes? I do have it, but all the quotes are included. I would need to rerun the scraper again and do some nifty BeautifulSoup cooking to get rid of the quotes. Thinking about it, maybe I should store the XHTML source of the posts all along and whip up some nifty filtering routines all along .... hum....

[lmjb1964]

Geez I don't know how you guys keep running quotes of all the things you respond to. Particularly BlitzGirl, she rocks. (ok, couldn't find specifically what prompted this response, besides pretty much everything, so meh, meh I say, sir)

Well, you can start a reply, save the draft, and then add to it later. But what I've been doing (I'm sure there's a much fancier (and easier) way to do it) is quote someone, type my reply with any formatting I want so the code is in there (by this point I know most of the code so could probably type it in by hand, but I'm afraid I mess it up), and start a TextEdit document. Then I go back to the post till the next time I want to add something. Like I said, I'm sure there's a more elegant way, but that seems to work.

and yeah, Blitzgirl rocks. That's a given. And as if more proof is needed:

Quest progress: 342 out of 383 pages.
The Building of the Rooks. NP 666.

Spoiler:

Haven't Met You Yet
(to the tune of the song by the same title, from Michael Bublé)

I'm not surprised I'm stuck in the past
I'm turning newpages so quickly
I stopped keeping track

I talk myself up, say you're nearly out
I get all worked up then I let myself down

I tried so very hard not to lose it
I came up with a million excuses
I thought I crossed the semencoffeebaconsea


Oh I hope someday that it'll all turn out
As Time ticks on by in the past I feel doubt
But I promised you all that the future's a place that I'd get
Though I haven't met you yet


I know I can Wait, I'll never give up
With the right timing I'll soon be unstuck
The pastposts behind me, the future is bright
I'll meet you all shortly some day or some night

And I know that it will be so amazing
To finally get those croissants I'm craving
Along with some coffee minus semenbaconsea


Somehow I know that it'll all turn out
As Time ticks on by in the past I feel doubt
But I promised you all that the future's a place that I'd get
Though I haven't met you yet


They say Time Waits on no one man
But maybe a girl can fight it
Like me who's knighted, I've been invited

*Ocarina Interlude*

And I know that it will be so amazing
To finally get those cookies I'm craving
Along with some coffee minus cancerbabiessea


And someday I hope it'll all turn out
And I'll work to banish my doubt
Promised you once, Now is a place that I'd get
That I'd get, that I'd get, that I'd get!

Oh I know it'll all turn out
As Time ticked by in the past I felt doubt
But I promised you all that the future's a place that I'd get
Though I haven't met you yet

Though I haven't met you yet
Oh I promise you all
Now is a place that I'll get
Though I haven't met you yet
Though I haven't met you yet

All hail our Bard! Or is that Bardette? (Not to be confused with Barette.)

[Eutychus]

Meanwhile, this is what my kids did this afternoon:
http://instagram.com/p/YaN0NASFSI/

Haha I see a passing resmblance to LaPetite, complete with sort-of-hat

[Tass]

*Double post deleted*

[Tass]

An updated visual of Blitzgirls progress.

Estimating the date of The Great Meeting is troublesome. The pace has slowed down continually. A linear fit predicts unrealistically close meeting Times, while a quadratic fit predicts a continued slowdown leading to a closest approach of 20 NewPages happening around NewPage 500 Blitzgirl Time, after which she is projected to drop further behind again.

Perhaps this will be her fate, and Blitzgirl will remain forever beyond our reach after having come so close.

[astrocub]

Well, I suppose I should finally join after spending the past few weeks reading all 385 pages of this comic (though to be fair I skipped posts I deemed inane or unrelated to the comic.)
I'd just like to thank the all the people who are really making an effort to analyze Time, such as Latent22's graph of create/modify times

Spoiler:

although it's probably a red herring, and Sciscitor's api server.

Spoiler:

Speaking of all the bots and computer overlords...
I dabbled a bit with python and what came up after a lot of data gathering is a very basic, very preliminary api server:

Throw a frame number at it and it will respond with a hash¹.

Example:

Code: Select all

http://178.79.159.24/Time/api/frame/2

yields

1e349a579b5f9b5ed487ddf7e88244b70330941ddedac9c6abf6ed2e3f589b97

Throw two frame numbers at it, and it will respond with a diffed version png of them.

Example:

Code: Select all

http://178.79.159.24/Time/api/diff/2/3

yields


Since all this is very preliminary, I suggest not to link directly to the url but upload the image seperatly.

Just don't hammer the thing... I am neither a programmer nor a webdesigner and it is just a development server. It should be decently cached, but you know:²
The server is small.
The internet ist big.


¹ Before you ask: No it is not computed, it gets it out of its database...
² I still have to automate the image gathering thing, it currently halts at number 779.

Randall is an incredibly intelligent person, and his larger comics like "Click and Drag" and "Externalities" show that there is often a deeper meaning not apparent at first.
I think he puts too much effort into his comics for Time to just be a troll or end in a silly pun. It may be impossible to predict what is really going on, but I love seeing the enlightened speculation and hope to see more.
I suppose that means I can contribute as well, since I obviously have enough time to read a 385 page thread on sandcastles.

ETA: Included images and links now that I can do what I want. Like the sea.

[Angelastic]

Do you need it with or without quotes? I do have it, but all the quotes are included. I would need to rerun the scraper again and do some nifty BeautifulSoup cooking to get rid of the quotes. Thinking about it, maybe I should store the XHTML source of the posts all along and whip up some nifty filtering routines all along .... hum....

Gosh, I went to reply that with quotes would be fine (it'll just mean my program will need more memory and there'll be duplicates in the output, but that's fine) thinking I'd need to Wait for it anyway but I'd wait less if you didn't have to add fancy filtering, and then I realised you'd already posted a link to it. Thanks!

So, processing text… wait for it…

[Dracomax]

An updated visual of Blitzgirls progress.

Estimating the date of The Great Meeting is troublesome. The pace has slowed down continually. A linear fit predicts unrealistically close meeting Times, while a quadratic fit predicts a continued slowdown leading to a closest approach of 20 NewPages happening around NewPage 500 Blitzgirl Time, after which she is projected to drop further behind again.

Perhaps this will be her fate, and Blitzgirl will remain forever beyond our reach after having come so close.

I think a quadratic might only work if she started reading backward after words, or the post rate got exponential greater after she was almost caught up.

[azule]

I think LaPetite will return with Cueball.

It's been a long while since I last read the entire archive, but am I correct that LaPetite is not just a new character for Time, but new for all of xkcd?

Yep, never saw her during my archive bing. Also, LaPetite (with the "La") is a cute and appropriate name.

I'm actually surprised that nobody got angry at the frequent accusations of heresy before the thread slowed down.

It's not Saudi Arabia. Not a big deal to be a heretic. This is real life. And just like real life, our religions are becoming nothing more than badges for our sleeves. *tattoo time*

Spoiler:

Geez I don't know how you guys keep running quotes of all the things you respond to. Particularly BlitzGirl, she rocks. (ok, couldn't find specifically what prompted this response, besides pretty much everything, so meh, meh I say, sir)

Well, you can start a reply, save the draft, and then add to it later. But what I've been doing (I'm sure there's a much fancier (and easier) way to do it) is quote someone, type my reply with any formatting I want so the code is in there (by this point I know most of the code so could probably type it in by hand, but I'm afraid I mess it up), and start a TextEdit document. Then I go back to the post till the next time I want to add something. Like I said, I'm sure there's a more elegant way, but that seems to work.

Hum. *be nice* I open "Quote" in a new tab, and every time I find a new quote, repeat. Then I copy-paste that new tab into the first tab's text box. Rinse-repeat. Though, when you're in the quote box you can scroll down the page and see the previous posts, there when you click "quote" it gets added straight into the box. That works best with recent posts.

[RobIrr]

Hum, had to think about this one... we are right now at 806 frames. So I subtract any and each frame from frame 1, makes 806 difference frames. We do the same for frame 2 and get another 806 difference frames and so forth till frame 806. So it is 806 x 806 frames. Since subtraction isn't a commutative operation, there are different outcomes that have to be counted. Also: It does not make sense to subtract a frame from itself so we have to subtract 806 of these cases so we arrive at 806 * 806 - 806 = 648830 (equivalent, of course, to 806 * 805) difference frames. But maybe I am completely mistaken.

My initial calculation was with 769 frames, which would account for the skew in your more general solution.

But the difference between frame 1 & 806, and between frame 806 & 1, would be the same? (just inverted) so, for 806 frames, you could get away with comparing frame 1 with the the next 805, frame 2 with the next 804, frame 3 with 803 ... up to frame 805 with the next 1... It's basically half the number (For 806 frames, n=806, it's n(n-1)/2 = 324,415.)

[mscha]

THEREAMONGGGGGGGG...

-- posted by newpixbot

[fhorn]

Run, Megan!

[azule]

She's going to rescue the flag!

[thirds]

She's going to rescue the flag!

I think she's just rushing to make the Recursive Mound match the current state.

[lmjb1964]

Spoiler:

Geez I don't know how you guys keep running quotes of all the things you respond to. Particularly BlitzGirl, she rocks. (ok, couldn't find specifically what prompted this response, besides pretty much everything, so meh, meh I say, sir)

Well, you can start a reply, save the draft, and then add to it later. But what I've been doing (I'm sure there's a much fancier (and easier) way to do it) is quote someone, type my reply with any formatting I want so the code is in there (by this point I know most of the code so could probably type it in by hand, but I'm afraid I mess it up), and start a TextEdit document. Then I go back to the post till the next time I want to add something. Like I said, I'm sure there's a more elegant way, but that seems to work.

Hum. *be nice* I open "Quote" in a new tab, and every time I find a new quote, repeat. Then I copy-paste that new tab into the first tab's text box. Rinse-repeat. Though, when you're in the quote box you can scroll down the page and see the previous posts, there when you click "quote" it gets added straight into the box. That works best with recent posts.

You mean, you were going to not be nice? I said there was probably a better way, and I've already told you I'm not the geekiest person around. I would hope you be nice about correcting things. *pouts*

I didn't know you could open a quote in a new tab. So, now I know. Thanks.

[Pikrass]

After being away for what seems like utter MEGApix (50ish), I agree with this. This has seriously taken on a life of its own much more than I ever expected. I do honestly see this going on for months and months. I revel in the fact that if it ever ends, it could not be experienced in the same way again. GIFs could be shown in the TATE, but it wouldn't be the same. Not unless you had all fora pages printed out next to the GIF monitor and could only skip to the next frame once it appeared in the pages. Even then, it wouldn't have the madness and speculation.

I also imagine a gallery exhibition of all the top-voted newpix with massive writing across the walls, "SEMENCAFFIENATEDCANCERBABIES".

This.
I've not been posting much (only a few posts here and there in the thread), but I'm still following both The One True Comic and this thread. And I must say, *you* are as interesting as the OTC! You've not created a community, you've created a whole culture, along with its history! Inner jokes, similitudes in behaviour, values, religions... What it took humanity centuries to build, you've made it all in a few weeks (even schisms and religion wars!). And futhermore, you've created a culture from completely different people¹ located in a handful of Time-zones. You could win the Nobel Peace Prize (or even better: the Ignobel).

This thread should be studied by psychologists, sociologists, historians and philosophers. It's a millenium of culture development condensed in only 15300 messages.

¹ Ok, not so different. xkcd readers already have some points in common.

[Dracomax]

Spoiler:

Geez I don't know how you guys keep running quotes of all the things you respond to. Particularly BlitzGirl, she rocks. (ok, couldn't find specifically what prompted this response, besides pretty much everything, so meh, meh I say, sir)

Well, you can start a reply, save the draft, and then add to it later. But what I've been doing (I'm sure there's a much fancier (and easier) way to do it) is quote someone, type my reply with any formatting I want so the code is in there (by this point I know most of the code so could probably type it in by hand, but I'm afraid I mess it up), and start a TextEdit document. Then I go back to the post till the next time I want to add something. Like I said, I'm sure there's a more elegant way, but that seems to work.

Hum. *be nice* I open "Quote" in a new tab, and every time I find a new quote, repeat. Then I copy-paste that new tab into the first tab's text box. Rinse-repeat. Though, when you're in the quote box you can scroll down the page and see the previous posts, there when you click "quote" it gets added straight into the box. That works best with recent posts.

You mean, you were going to not be nice? I said there was probably a better way, and I've already told you I'm not the geekiest person around. I would hope you be nice about correcting things. *pouts*

I didn't know you could open a quote in a new tab. So, now I know. Thanks.

...and Knowing is Half the Battle.
GI CUEBALL, a real newpixian hero...

[mscha]

She's going to rescue the flag!

I think she's just rushing to make the Recursive Mound match the current state.

Methinks mishap of some kind before she can do either.

[Valarya]

Oh me yarm you guys.. I was sucked in to the vortex of Outside for SO LONG I've missed the arrival of a 3rd person and a tower crumble. *runs to catch up*

Before I quote the past - I wanted to say that I liked mscha's bot pix. So cheers, dude.

<snip>
"I waited. This is dumb."

Damn Outsiders.

I gave up after trying to explain how awesome Time was to two Outsiders and was just looked at like a crazy lady. They just don't get it... nor do they wait for it. Fuckers.

Perhaps Petite doesn't like the name we gave her and that's why she is leaving?

Oh me yarm based on what LaPetite Mort means, I don't blame her. It's super creepy to call her a KID and use that name in the same breath. Haha, gods.

[Dracomax]

Gee Willikers you guys.. I was sucked in to the vortex of Outside for SO LONG I've missed the arrival of a 3rd person and a tower crumble. *runs to catch up*

Before I quote the past - I wanted to say that I liked mscha's bot pix. So cheers, dude.

<snip>
"I waited. This is dumb."

Damn Outsiders.

I gave up after trying to explain how awesome Time was to two Outsiders and was just looked at like a crazy lady. They just don't get it... nor do they wait for it. Fuckers.

Perhaps Petite doesn't like the name we gave her and that's why she is leaving?

Gee Willikers based on what LaPetite Mort means, I don't blame her. It's super creepy to call her a KID and use that name in the same breath. Haha, gods.

wait...LaPetite Mort... is she related to the Mort who apprenticed under Death?

[lmjb1964]

Spoiler:

================================================
Welcome Time Traveler to the
Rest Stop Imperpetuate.
Here you will find a brief respite from your toils of journeying through the past as you endevor to find the present, and eventually the future.

To your right you will find a cot, blanket, pillow, earplugs, and alarm clock should you decide to partake of a long regenerative coma or brief refreshing trance.

To your left you will find the refreshment stand where you may partake of chilled spring water, juice, soda, wine, and several other selection, as well as a snack bar of assorted fruits, chocolates, nuts, candies, sandwiches, energy bars, pastries, pasta dishes, or even a nicely cooked steak and potato if it meets your desire.

Ahead and through the frosted glass door you will find a dressing room with a clean change of clothes, and facilities for attending to your personal hygiene. Every effort has been made to ensure a full selection of products and materials for your convenience has been included. Your benefactors of the future have come to understand that trudging through 20newpage old and older coffeebaconsanddandrufsemenoilcancerbabytonerlatexpaintdarkmatterantfarmtwoeggeandgritsholdthespamplease can become unplesantly sticky and emit a less than fresh pixel scent, so feel free to make use of the auto-scrub 21 personal hygiene and sanitation booth, which will remove the offal from every square inch as well as from each hidden nook, cranny, and groove.

This facility is equipped with a Genuine People Personality and will happily engage you in conversation in any topic of your choosing so that you may distract yourself from the quite detailed and thorough job the auto-scrub 21 is doing.

Enjoy your rest here and journey on when ready.

With our compliments
- The Management.

EDIT: We are happy to ensure you that the auto-scrub 21 is the latest and greatest from Hygiene-O-Mat INC and suffers none of the problems that plagued the auto-scrub 20.
Edit2: Hygiene-O-Mat Inc has asked us to inform you also that they are financially stable and all law suits that stemmed from the auto-scrub 19 have been settled.
edit-3: The management is delighted to announce that the personal hygiene space has been upgraded to a classic Victorian claw-foot shower/tub, sink, vanity, and toilet, for your relaxed and emotional convenience, and that safety harness, topical insulation salves and grounding wire installation that were mandated by the courts for anyone foolish enough to approach within arms length of an auto-scurb 21, will no longer be necessary nor any longer an impediment to your enjoyment of the Rest Stop Imperpetuate.
Edit 4: Rest Stop Imperpetuate is pleased to announce that the wine and pastry selection has been greatly enhanced, owing to the tidy sum collected in the lawsuit against Hygiene-O-Mat over its auto-scrub 21, and that the management hopes the greater variety and offerings enhance your stay even more.
Edit 5: The management begs the forgiveness of the traveler for almost missing the most important part, instructions to activate this facility. Once this rest stop has drifted at least 5 forum pages into the past, it will activate and then stand ready to unlock and open to the travelers in the past who speaking their traveler name into the speaker at the right of the large iron door with the warning sign indicating the 50,000v security system for defense against trespassers from the present attempting unauthorized access without the accumulated gestalts of sufficient journeying in the past.
edit 6: We here at Rest Stop Imperpetuate are delighted to present you, traveler of the past, with a brand new non-electrified security door. We hope that the lack of a potentially fatal jolt that protects you and your accomodations against trespassers in no way diminishes your joy and pleasure during your stay, and we assure you that the charred bodies piled to the left will be removed promptly, if they have not already been done so. We apologize that the selections of wines for your aperitif have been reduced as operation overhead expenses have unfortunately gone up to pay for the lawsuits. We wish to assure you that the interior has not been breached and remains hermetically sealed awaiting your arrival.
================================================

This was funny. However, I can't help but point out that it's "endeavo(u)r" with an "a." Also, offal is, from WIkipdia, "variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal." I hope that's not what we're covered in after traversing Time. That would be awful. (get it? awful? offal?)

[airdrik]

An updated visual of Blitzgirls progress.

Estimating the date of The Great Meeting is troublesome. The pace has slowed down continually. A linear fit predicts unrealistically close meeting Times, while a quadratic fit predicts a continued slowdown leading to a closest approach of 20 NewPages happening around NewPage 500 Blitzgirl Time, after which she is projected to drop further behind again.

Perhaps this will be her fate, and Blitzgirl will remain forever beyond our reach after having come so close.

Instead of plotting Blitzgirl's pages read vs. total pages per page, you should plot pages to be read per page (i.e. the distance from the Blitzgirl plot points and the forum page line). This should result in the plot points (pages behind) approaching 0. I imagine that it should be easier¹ to find a fitting (non-)curve and project when Blitzgirl reaches the present

¹ easier of course being relative and highly dependent on our posting rate vs. Blitzgirl's reading rate^2
2 perhaps it might help to plot forum posts/day vs. blitzgirl's posts read/day, extrapolate the rates going forward³ and use that to project when she reaches the present.
³ which of course are highly dependent on time of day^a, day of week^b, and amount of noteworthiness^c in the One True Comic
^a can be ignored^I by doing per-day aggregations
^b probably not that much deviation to be concerned with, or whatever deviation is predictable enough.
^c we can but speculate about how much noteworthiness and hence extra chatter the One True Comic will generate
^I ignored isn't quite the word I'm looking for. If someone could find it for me, I'd appreciate it.

EDIT: RE: ^I SBN found the word I was looking for: obviated

[azule]

Spoiler:

Geez I don't know how you guys keep running quotes of all the things you respond to. Particularly BlitzGirl, she rocks. (ok, couldn't find specifically what prompted this response, besides pretty much everything, so meh, meh I say, sir)

Well, you can start a reply, save the draft, and then add to it later. But what I've been doing (I'm sure there's a much fancier (and easier) way to do it) is quote someone, type my reply with any formatting I want so the code is in there (by this point I know most of the code so could probably type it in by hand, but I'm afraid I mess it up), and start a TextEdit document. Then I go back to the post till the next time I want to add something. Like I said, I'm sure there's a more elegant way, but that seems to work.

Hum. *be nice* I open "Quote" in a new tab, and every time I find a new quote, repeat. Then I copy-paste that new tab into the first tab's text box. Rinse-repeat. Though, when you're in the quote box you can scroll down the page and see the previous posts, there when you click "quote" it gets added straight into the box. That works best with recent posts.

You mean, you were going to not be nice? I said there was probably a better way, and I've already told you I'm not the geekiest person around. I would hope you be nice about correcting things. *pouts*

I didn't know you could open a quote in a new tab. So, now I know. Thanks.

Oh, now I feel bad. It was just that I noticed the similarity to an xkcd comic (which I can't be bothered to find) where a solution was found that a geeky geek would sorta cringe at (I didn't cringe, but I had an urge to help you so you didn't have to do that any more, lol). I'm glad you learned something new now. And, sorry.

[Dracomax]

Spoiler:

Geez I don't know how you guys keep running quotes of all the things you respond to. Particularly BlitzGirl, she rocks. (ok, couldn't find specifically what prompted this response, besides pretty much everything, so meh, meh I say, sir)

Well, you can start a reply, save the draft, and then add to it later. But what I've been doing (I'm sure there's a much fancier (and easier) way to do it) is quote someone, type my reply with any formatting I want so the code is in there (by this point I know most of the code so could probably type it in by hand, but I'm afraid I mess it up), and start a TextEdit document. Then I go back to the post till the next time I want to add something. Like I said, I'm sure there's a more elegant way, but that seems to work.

Hum. *be nice* I open "Quote" in a new tab, and every time I find a new quote, repeat. Then I copy-paste that new tab into the first tab's text box. Rinse-repeat. Though, when you're in the quote box you can scroll down the page and see the previous posts, there when you click "quote" it gets added straight into the box. That works best with recent posts.

You mean, you were going to not be nice? I said there was probably a better way, and I've already told you I'm not the geekiest person around. I would hope you be nice about correcting things. *pouts*

I didn't know you could open a quote in a new tab. So, now I know. Thanks.

Oh, now I feel bad. It was just that I noticed the similarity to an xkcd comic (which I can't be bothered to find) where a solution was found that a geeky geek would sorta cringe at (I didn't cringe, but I had an urge to help you so you didn't have to do that any more, lol). I'm glad you learned something new now. And, sorry.

was thisit?

[mscha]

Spoiler:

================================================
Welcome Time Traveler to the
Rest Stop Imperpetuate.
Here you will find a brief respite from your toils of journeying through the past as you endevor to find the present, and eventually the future.

To your right you will find a cot, blanket, pillow, earplugs, and alarm clock should you decide to partake of a long regenerative coma or brief refreshing trance.

To your left you will find the refreshment stand where you may partake of chilled spring water, juice, soda, wine, and several other selection, as well as a snack bar of assorted fruits, chocolates, nuts, candies, sandwiches, energy bars, pastries, pasta dishes, or even a nicely cooked steak and potato if it meets your desire.

Ahead and through the frosted glass door you will find a dressing room with a clean change of clothes, and facilities for attending to your personal hygiene. Every effort has been made to ensure a full selection of products and materials for your convenience has been included. Your benefactors of the future have come to understand that trudging through 20newpage old and older coffeebaconsanddandrufsemenoilcancerbabytonerlatexpaintdarkmatterantfarmtwoeggeandgritsholdthespamplease can become unplesantly sticky and emit a less than fresh pixel scent, so feel free to make use of the auto-scrub 21 personal hygiene and sanitation booth, which will remove the offal from every square inch as well as from each hidden nook, cranny, and groove.

This facility is equipped with a Genuine People Personality and will happily engage you in conversation in any topic of your choosing so that you may distract yourself from the quite detailed and thorough job the auto-scrub 21 is doing.

Enjoy your rest here and journey on when ready.

With our compliments
- The Management.

EDIT: We are happy to ensure you that the auto-scrub 21 is the latest and greatest from Hygiene-O-Mat INC and suffers none of the problems that plagued the auto-scrub 20.
Edit2: Hygiene-O-Mat Inc has asked us to inform you also that they are financially stable and all law suits that stemmed from the auto-scrub 19 have been settled.
edit-3: The management is delighted to announce that the personal hygiene space has been upgraded to a classic Victorian claw-foot shower/tub, sink, vanity, and toilet, for your relaxed and emotional convenience, and that safety harness, topical insulation salves and grounding wire installation that were mandated by the courts for anyone foolish enough to approach within arms length of an auto-scurb 21, will no longer be necessary nor any longer an impediment to your enjoyment of the Rest Stop Imperpetuate.
Edit 4: Rest Stop Imperpetuate is pleased to announce that the wine and pastry selection has been greatly enhanced, owing to the tidy sum collected in the lawsuit against Hygiene-O-Mat over its auto-scrub 21, and that the management hopes the greater variety and offerings enhance your stay even more.
Edit 5: The management begs the forgiveness of the traveler for almost missing the most important part, instructions to activate this facility. Once this rest stop has drifted at least 5 forum pages into the past, it will activate and then stand ready to unlock and open to the travelers in the past who speaking their traveler name into the speaker at the right of the large iron door with the warning sign indicating the 50,000v security system for defense against trespassers from the present attempting unauthorized access without the accumulated gestalts of sufficient journeying in the past.
edit 6: We here at Rest Stop Imperpetuate are delighted to present you, traveler of the past, with a brand new non-electrified security door. We hope that the lack of a potentially fatal jolt that protects you and your accomodations against trespassers in no way diminishes your joy and pleasure during your stay, and we assure you that the charred bodies piled to the left will be removed promptly, if they have not already been done so. We apologize that the selections of wines for your aperitif have been reduced as operation overhead expenses have unfortunately gone up to pay for the lawsuits. We wish to assure you that the interior has not been breached and remains hermetically sealed awaiting your arrival.
================================================

This was funny. However, I can't help but point out that it's "endeavo(u)r" with an "a." Also, offal is, from WIkipdia, "variety meats or organ meats, refers to the internal organs and entrails of a butchered animal." I hope that's not what we're covered in after traversing Time. That would be awful. (get it? awful? offal?)

I think the offal is intended, and makes sense: that's what's left of the cancerbabies in the sea after many NewPages have past, no?
What I'm missing from kryton's hilarious post (I bet Douglas Adams is ROFLing in his grave) is: how can I get my towel serviced?

[jovialbard]

An updated visual of Blitzgirls progress.

Estimating the date of The Great Meeting is troublesome. The pace has slowed down continually. A linear fit predicts unrealistically close meeting Times, while a quadratic fit predicts a continued slowdown leading to a closest approach of 20 NewPages happening around NewPage 500 Blitzgirl Time, after which she is projected to drop further behind again.

Perhaps this will be her fate, and Blitzgirl will remain forever beyond our reach after having come so close.

I make my predictions based on the difference between the BlitzPage and NewPage. If I'm not mistaken that would effectively be a quadratic fit right? Trying to find the linear slope of a rate of change? It's been a while since I've done that kind of math. I wonder what a graph of BlitzShift (as I call it) vs. NewPage would look like...

edit: i think someone ninja'd some of this, btw, if you haven't seen it here's my work

[Drakeesh]

Gee Willikers you guys.. I was sucked in to the vortex of Outside for SO LONG I've missed the arrival of a 3rd person and a tower crumble. *runs to catch up*

Before I quote the past - I wanted to say that I liked mscha's bot pix. So cheers, dude.

<snip>
"I waited. This is dumb."

Damn Outsiders.

I gave up after trying to explain how awesome Time was to two Outsiders and was just looked at like a crazy lady. They just don't get it... nor do they wait for it. Fuckers.

Perhaps Petite doesn't like the name we gave her and that's why she is leaving?

Gee Willikers based on what LaPetite Mort means, I don't blame her. It's super creepy to call her a KID and use that name in the same breath. Haha, gods.

wait...LaPetite Mort... is she related to the Mort who apprenticed under Death?

Hmmm, First Discworld reference in the entirety of time? Or did I miss some? Rename mystery girl Susan?


Edit: The Right Flag! Megan to the rescue! Please do not slip on the ladder!

[HAL9000]

Gee Willikers you guys.. I was sucked in to the vortex of Outside for SO LONG I've missed the arrival of a 3rd person and a tower crumble. *runs to catch up*

Before I quote the past - I wanted to say that I liked mscha's bot pix. So cheers, dude.

<snip>
"I waited. This is dumb."

Damn Outsiders.

I gave up after trying to explain how awesome Time was to two Outsiders and was just looked at like a crazy lady. They just don't get it... nor do they wait for it. Fuckers.

Perhaps Petite doesn't like the name we gave her and that's why she is leaving?

Gee Willikers based on what LaPetite Mort means, I don't blame her. It's super creepy to call her a KID and use that name in the same breath. Haha, gods.

wait...LaPetite Mort... is she related to the Mort who apprenticed under Death?

Hmmm, First Discworld reference in the entirety of time? Or did I miss some? Rename mystery girl Susan?


Edit: The Right Flag! Megan to the rescue! Please do not slip on the ladder!

There's been other references.

[Angelastic]

I haven't even read them all yet, but here are some of my favourite unintentional haiku from this thread (as found by a little app I wrote on Sunday, which I'll probably put online in a couple of timeframes if I don't get too distracted by this thread. I should probably add a text export to it so I can just dump the whole lot of them on you.)

Spoiler:

I kinda hope it's
as simplistic as it seems,
but it may not be.

They'll spend a lifetime
building a world from scratch and
grow old together.

Oh my God, watching
this comic is so thrilling
and... time consuming.

I have a feeling
that this won't be some thing that
just ends by next week.

I was hoping for
something different, like a knight
to go with the rook.

I think Randall is
trying to say that they are
having a baby.

I hope he gets back
with the sandwiches soon ... she'll
be getting hungry.

He's been 'waiting' for
his free time, we're gonna be
waiting for the end.

It explains how we
are imprisoned by the works
we have created.

And so castles made
of sand melts into the sea,
eventually...

I personally
think this really will go on
for months, if not years.

I've just got to work
and am ready for a day
of hardcore waiting.

and its all because
of everyone else out there
watching and waiting.

Or there's always the
feathered velciraptors, waves, <--the misspelling makes it the right number of syllables. I'm disappointed this one isn't real now.
lions or hat guy.

And that seems to be
the precise formula to
keep us addicted.

This comic may not
turn out to be something you
can really wait through.

Your suggestions would
have ruined the mystery
in the beginning.

Clearly this means that
Randall has been diagnosed
with psoriasis.

I didn't really
know if it had changed or not,
but it captured me.

We want it to stay
around forever, just like
a real sandcastle.

I find it hard to
believe that he'd expect us
to go so crazy.

Surely this is the
most important of all the
frames, it sets the scene!

In the new one, the
entire castle shifted
a bit to the right.

...running out of... things
to analyze... life support,
failing... send... new... frame...

On that note, I think
we may be just a bit off
topic at this point.

I searched for a while
but after 20 minutes
I could not find it.

Over 300
people with way too many
newpix on their hands.

I think I believe
in a religion for the
first Time in my life.

And bombard the two
sandcastles with whatever
a trebuchet hurls.

Woke up to see the
thread go from page 56
to 71.

People can't be arsed
to read back any further
than the current page?

Also, Oh me yarm,
did I just coin a name for
a new religion?

Proving that Time will
pass you by when you aren't
paying attention.

We found that he joined
her and they built up their world
together again.

I'm not predicting
anything, merely keeping
all options open.

You have to swim through
the sea of semen to reach
the sea of bacon

We can easily
reach 7 pages, but 8
seems unlikely....wat...

Cue ball is going
to suicide in the sea
of pregnant babies!

The solemn postures
and their distance apart tells
me something is wrong.

Just trying to keep
people awake until the
next frame is displayed.

Too bad someone else
said the same thing at around
20 newpages

This goes to show just
how far we will go to put
meaning into things

I'm pretty sure I
just saw him move, but its been
less than a newpix.

Please enlighten me,
good sirs and madams: What the
bleeding hell happened?

As a Cardinal,
I believe it is my vote
that decides the pope.

His fingertips are
holding onto the cracks in
their Magic Kingdom.

That's me not doing
anything productive for
the rest of the day

Edit: If you want to look at the rest of them, or find haikus elsewhere, here is my hastily-written Haiku Detector app for Mac OS X 10.6 and later. I didn't get around to adding a text export, because I was too distracted by this thread.

[lmjb1964]

Spoiler:

Geez I don't know how you guys keep running quotes of all the things you respond to. Particularly BlitzGirl, she rocks. (ok, couldn't find specifically what prompted this response, besides pretty much everything, so meh, meh I say, sir)

Well, you can start a reply, save the draft, and then add to it later. But what I've been doing (I'm sure there's a much fancier (and easier) way to do it) is quote someone, type my reply with any formatting I want so the code is in there (by this point I know most of the code so could probably type it in by hand, but I'm afraid I mess it up), and start a TextEdit document. Then I go back to the post till the next time I want to add something. Like I said, I'm sure there's a more elegant way, but that seems to work.

Hum. *be nice* I open "Quote" in a new tab, and every time I find a new quote, repeat. Then I copy-paste that new tab into the first tab's text box. Rinse-repeat. Though, when you're in the quote box you can scroll down the page and see the previous posts, there when you click "quote" it gets added straight into the box. That works best with recent posts.

You mean, you were going to not be nice? I said there was probably a better way, and I've already told you I'm not the geekiest person around. I would hope you be nice about correcting things. *pouts*

I didn't know you could open a quote in a new tab. So, now I know. Thanks.

Oh, now I feel bad. It was just that I noticed the similarity to an xkcd comic (which I can't be bothered to find) where a solution was found that a geeky geek would sorta cringe at (I didn't cringe, but I had an urge to help you so you didn't have to do that any more, lol). I'm glad you learned something new now. And, sorry.

was thisit?

No, there was another one. I remember it, and it was hilarious. Hm, maybe I'll try to look that one up. But, no worries,and I do appreciate new knowledge! That is why I went to college, after all. (And Jupiter.)

[thirds]

Just for fun: running the thread text through a markov chain app:

"BlitzGirl":

Spoiler:

Blitzgirl are very short time registrererer , and Megan are extremely small and made of ice / coffee - grounds / semencancerwhatever bridge .

Blitzgirl reference they will survive the tide is rising . People : I ' ll be good enough to get that hilarious and beautiful ending .

Blitzgirl , Time is best done in a giant rhombicosidodecahedron . Ohhh , what of those Internet abbreviations , like , why do I need a drink though .

Blitzgirl reaches another milestone . It's time that the attached image to a new comic reference . I don't personally get that . Excuse me !

"buffygirl":

Spoiler:

Buffygirl wrote : Who or what ? We should start compiling a list . Has anyone else that we ' re swimming in isolated places where 125 was slightly different position .

Buffygirl of various sweet or fruity are often mixed , such statements are non computer related .

"hat":

Spoiler:

Hat and everything else would the miniaturized version of the many times . KarMann wrote : NoMouse wrote : Message for BlitzGirl , the confusion . The good ones ?

Hat if not , Insanity does indeed await you ! I have come to find out what has this forum ... granfalloonery is a nice ice - cream cone , a Sandmason . What was before Time ?

"CueBall":

Spoiler:

Cueball left first , or is that one ) Wait ... I just registered to say this . be there . Why am I evil .

Cueball is just Randall trying to replace an closing ( be probably ICON

Cueball fly above the lowest white pixel ). Unfortunately I didn &#39; t have any flame at the last few pages in this thread ( up to date .

Cueball is going to end anytime soon , but only of virgins . Has the best .

"Megan":

Spoiler:

Megan humping the treebucket ? They might have missed it or really anyone ) should create a working , interactive , CG model / app of it .

Megan falling into the future me ( I replayed Braid last weekend at Chez Munroe "Had had be"

Megan keeps building : Build one small castle . It also has posting times and names data which I am still sat with wet hair wrapped up in bed for now anyway .

Megan . Just exactly how you know it was a thread .

"pope":

Spoiler:

Pope . always moving forward ...

Pope of the eyeball and look at it .

Pope is related is from tomorrow . You have to mash F 5 every NP ). One can was misdelivered across the sea or river .

"newpix":

Spoiler:

Newpix to longpix . Looks like Cueball is a symbol of female power - So back into the future as - hell assumptions .

Newpix '. ' newpic ' is a large ( ish ) collection of people trying to imply a beach . That one worked , my friends . Yes . As Pope , Valarya !

Newpix remains , filled with an invitation . Invitations available inside the big tower to your right , and the wind . Or Shazam . You prove my point stands .

"TimeFrame":

Spoiler:

Timeframes later than I ought to give away who is attacking the castle ??? I did finally pick a sig yet , so when I get that right now . It's a joke too far .

Timeframe / Newpix - No mention of BlitzgirlHERESY ! I apologize for not being damed . Anyway , this is enough for me )...

"Wait":

Spoiler:

Wait for it . But the comic and this needle - pulled thing now that the final culmination of The Truman Show .

Wait ! We are not a standard Pope gesture ... ... must ... not because of my former journalist friend . Guys , I am obligated to reveal itself through the Time Lords ?

Wait for the periods with the tiny castles in various circles , and what with the theory ; they " works better . " The fun continues !

Wait , the lines that make me wonder where Megan hauled boards were representative , I wouldn't lie about something like " April 1 st ...

Wait for it . I actually meant longcomic ( or rather , utter lack thereof ) in order to stop checking that thread here too ... Grepus wrote : Caswallon wrote : Uh - oh ..

"Randall":

Spoiler:

Randall would have glued them to suffer the slings and arrows / trebuchets . sigged . Maybe they only just realised from hw æ t it be scaring me ... right ?

Randall overlords . There's the confusion about that . Excuse me ! Oh nooes !

Randall the Magnificant should address in his comics before , when the whole thing , if the great Randall , his significant other , lesser comics .

Randall and the Donner of voices proclaim her . squonk wrote : IT IS WATER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Correction it is a person who wants ice cream

"Sea":

Spoiler:

Sea of gravy . My dog is named Peaches . That wouldn't fit the wikipedia article . Seriously . Or they could have brought it up when it was ? she can fire upon .

Sea water level rises and falls , right ? Or worse , since its meaning in the AE 35 unit .

Sea as they hand you the newest Doctor Who episode I finished those frame blends and finally made an Insurrection reference earlier and commenting on it for yourself .

Sea : big , and are being revealed by a group or one person and all . May the Timeframes between the big block of sand . Not shaken .

"River":

Spoiler:

River is also changing The One True Faith , we are seeing it launched soon . When Megan left him part of the past . Dead Sea ?

River is , of course you can drink it with him and his slow - motion video , showing the whole thing . It makes little sense from a tab all day .

River is a waste of time ! What ?!?! I most certainlyAM a Timewaiter !

[Valiant Cookie]

WONG

[jovialbard]

She got there quick

[Valarya]

<snip>

Perhaps Petite doesn't like the name we gave her and that's why she is leaving?

....based on what LaPetite Mort means, I don't blame her. It's super creepy to call her a KID and use that name in the same breath. Haha, gods.

wait...LaPetite Mort... is she related to the Mort who apprenticed under Death?

Hmmm, First Discworld reference in the entirety of time? Or did I miss some? Rename mystery girl Susan?


Edit: The Right Flag! Megan to the rescue! Please do not slip on the ladder!

There's been other references.

I hope you all are pointededly missing the point (??). Kid + that name = so so so wrong.

[jovialbard]

I hope you all are pointededly missing the point (??). Kid + that name = so so so wrong.

Whaddya mean? Sounds perfectly reasonable to me! death

edit2 (post-google search): Haha! French fail! I'm literally sweating beads of embarrassment now. Oops.

edit1 (pre-google search): My favorite part of the old computer game Black and White was when a map got old and you had hundreds of villagers and in the background you could hear a constant pervasive whisper of death as someone somewhere lost their life (ok, maybe not my favorite part, but it sticks in my head)

[Pikrass]

I hope you all are pointededly missing the point (??). Kid + that name = so so so wrong.

Hey, that's how she was conceived, after all...

[Angelastic]

I hope you all are pointededly missing the point (??). Kid + that name = so so so wrong.

Hey, that's how she was conceived, after all...

Did I miss something? When did we decide her last name was 'Mort'?

[pitareio]

<snip>

Perhaps Petite doesn't like the name we gave her and that's why she is leaving?

....based on what LaPetite Mort means, I don't blame her. It's super creepy to call her a KID and use that name in the same breath. Haha, gods.

wait...LaPetite Mort... is she related to the Mort who apprenticed under Death?

Hmmm, First Discworld reference in the entirety of time? Or did I miss some? Rename mystery girl Susan?


Edit: The Right Flag! Megan to the rescue! Please do not slip on the ladder!

There's been other references.

I hope you all are pointededly missing the point (??). Kid + that name = so so so wrong.

Definitely wrong. But it wouldn't be the first church with such, erm, issues.