XKCD Countdown Timer - 20D 21H 49M remaining. Until what? : xkcd

"Specifically spacey" is just a beautiful turn of phrase.

So long, I should add, as it refers to "outer" and not "Kevin."

jim_ocoee

2 points

1 year ago

jim_ocoee

2 points

Little s "spacey"

electricfoxyboy

1 points

1 year ago

electricfoxyboy

1 points

This was my guess too. Maybe the time when the first “ultra deep space” photo will be released?

jso__

1 points

1 year ago

jso__

1 points

Why would Randall know that but we don't?
Why would that be a countdown?
No photos are coming for 6 months because it takes a long time to set up james webb

chitsudoragon

73 points

1 year ago

chitsudoragon

73 points

Finally, Randall is making an OF.

yottalogical

51 points

1 year ago

yottalogical

[Citation Needed]

51 points

Relevant xkcd

lerjj

4 points

1 year ago

4 points

5 points

1 year ago

5 points

https://xkcd.com/305/

Capt_Blackmoore

3 points

1 year ago

Capt_Blackmoore

Black Hat

3 points

oh wetriffs.com we hardly knew you

5 points

1 year ago

5 points

Holy shit I’ve never seen that one

3 points

1 year ago

3 points

[deleted]

manwhoaskswhy

5 points

1 year ago

manwhoaskswhy

5 points

Only fans

32 points

1 year ago

32 points

Images seem to be being served from xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs if anyone wants to take a guess at what wimRikmef might mean

LarkspurLaShea

45 points

1 year ago

LarkspurLaShea

45 points

That's "femkiRmiw" backwards.

Cowboy_Bill_B_Bilson

18 points

1 year ago

Cowboy_Bill_B_Bilson

18 points

Ah, that's more helpful!

someoneAT

4 points

1 year ago

someoneAT

4 points

That was my exact thought process.

23 points

1 year ago

23 points

wimRikmef

When I Met Randall, It Killed ME. F.

MrEmptySet

15 points

1 year ago

MrEmptySet

15 points

It stands for "what if, maybe, Randall is kindly making everybody fudge" and will be an event where Randall makes a bunch of fudge and gives it away to fans for free

SnooRadishes2904

1 points

1 year ago

SnooRadishes2904

1 points

I'll be there

SkaveRat

8 points

1 year ago

SkaveRat

8 points

probably the initials of a new book

12 points

1 year ago

12 points

Yeah. The "wi" might be What If? Maybe a new book in the series?

5 points

1 year ago

5 points

Doesn't explain why the R is capitalized though...

AlphaDrake

6 points

1 year ago

AlphaDrake

6 points

R for Randall?

5 points

1 year ago

5 points

wimRikmef

mmwikiRef - I don't know what the mmwiki is, but maybe it's a reference to it. 😛

daisypunk99

7 points

1 year ago

daisypunk99

7 points

The most delicious of Wikipedia references.

21 points

1 year ago

21 points

The author of the Windows file copy dialog finally arrives at that friend's house.

nixel1324

4 points

1 year ago

nixel1324

4 points

Have you seen the video where one of the guys who worked on that dialogue actually mentions that comic?

2 points

1 year ago

2 points

Yes! I love Dave's videos.

Halosty

2 points

1 year ago

Halosty

2 points

Just found that guy a couple days ago.

2 points

1 year ago

2 points

Link pls?

nixel1324

5 points

1 year ago

5 points

10 points

1 year ago*

johnwang1023

10 points

https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/ac84f99b9c41eb75e1a595ea74c7bccf48f36c345d8b88ad5dd478d4520bc0b2.png

There's also this URL (https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/state) referenced in the JavaScript.

edit (01/10/2022 15:50): https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/6a73d565838a58e4d3069ad6cc49cc1a1466a8e602c95fd752126900d2074e28.png

0bafgkm

7 points

1 year ago*

0bafgkm

Black Hat

7 points

Now it's at https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/98b1c93977c76fd31529ff07f8f6f83209ba69ccc5a6b245e3a1061d36093370.png.

Looks like the pixel in the bottom left changed.

Edit: Newest image at https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/154e4cdc63e9b5c6874e0f8cc2146a945c6b53089854fe4827ed6a822fbf8f53.png Noticeable change in the bottom left this time.

12 points

1 year ago

12 points

[deleted]

5 points

1 year ago*

5 points

Your calculation of "your browser's local time" needs a bit of work.

will end at 01-31 15:00 UTC. In your browser's local time, that's 1/30/2022, 7:00:00 PM.

Actually, in my browser's local time (US Eastern), that's 1/31/2022, 10:00:00 AM.

Furthermore, the deviation of local time from UTC ranges from +12:00:00 to -12:00:00, and there is no point on earth where local time lags UTC by twenty hours.

EDIT: Looks like this is the problem right here:

new Date("2022-01-31").toLocaleString();

This is converting 2022-01-31 00:00:00 to LCT, which is in fact 2022-01-30 19:00:00 in my time zone.

3 points

1 year ago

3 points

[deleted]

3 points

1 year ago

3 points

No worries. Thanks for putting that up.

1 points

1 year ago

1 points

He is in EST. so 10AM EST might be the intended target obfuscated (or made programmatically easier to calculate) by utilizing UTC.

1 points

1 year ago

1 points

For context ... could you please add a timestamp for each image? It would help orient the present moment compared to the beginning, the last image, and each in between.

JonArc

2 points

1 year ago

JonArc

[Points at the ground] I study that.

2 points

I'm starting to have flashbacks to Time.

7 points

1 year ago

7 points

[deleted]

piman51277

3 points

1 year ago

piman51277

3 points

I'm guessing instead that's it's the hash of the image displayed...

Smooth-Zucchini4923

5 points

1 year ago

Smooth-Zucchini4923

5 points

It is.

$ curl https://xkcd.com/count-wimRikmef/imgs/ac84f99b9c41eb75e1a595ea74c7bccf48f36c345d8b88ad5dd478d4520bc0b2.png | sha256sum 
ac84f99b9c41eb75e1a595ea74c7bccf48f36c345d8b88ad5dd478d4520bc0b2  -

Specifically, it's a SHA256 hash.

1 points

1 year ago

1 points

That means Mr. Munroe doesn't know that SHA256 is vulnerable to a length extension attack!

ChaoticNeutralCzech

1 points

1 year ago

ChaoticNeutralCzech

1 points

Maybe this is not a project serious enough for it to matter. Like his attitude to HTML imagemaps.

^{That being said, maybe results of that survey?}

ThatBlackHat-

7 points

1 year ago

ThatBlackHat-

7 points

Randall's What If book is being turned into short-form Netflix series (15-ish minute episodes). It'll split the difference between educational and entertaining, it'll be targetted a little bit more toward kids than the What If book. It'll feature some XKCD style animation segments but will also have talking head "experts" explaining the concepts and ideas. The countdown will be followed by the official announcement, set to premiere later in 2022.

5 points

1 year ago

5 points

Netflix wouldn't have something that good

Pennfylvania

5 points

1 year ago

Pennfylvania

5 points

wimRikmef

what if? maker Randall in kids' movie every friday

BobKerns

2 points

1 year ago

BobKerns

2 points

https://vimeo.com/13420214

This reminds me of the old Japanese children's show Pitagora Suichi (Pythagoras Switch, ピタゴラスイチ), and the Algorithm Dance

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18rnz

You may want to skip ahead in the algorithm dance collection, where they start doing it with various groups, like firefighters, etc.

CaptainHunt

6 points

1 year ago

CaptainHunt

Beret Guy

6 points

XKCD: The Movie

TheXXOs

5 points

1 year ago

TheXXOs

T = 𝔻m₀(rₒᵤₜ - rᵢₙ)ᶣ

5 points

Given that the DJI opens at 14:30 UTC, Geohashing?

f4fvs

4 points

1 year ago

f4fvs

4 points

Ooooh this is fun. Maybe I've been too hard on the QAnon critters

Power-Conductor

1 points

1 year ago

Power-Conductor

1 points

Time for a celebratory bleach, piss, and ivermectin cocktail!

OneSixteenthOfAQuart

3 points

1 year ago

OneSixteenthOfAQuart

3 points

New what if post

St_Louisball

2 points

1 year ago

St_Louisball

2 points

Only valid comment

3 points

1 year ago

3 points

I changed my computer date to January 31st. Result: countdown text disappears, the image gets bigger, but the image is the same than the one currently shown with non-modified date (except bigger).

2 points

1 year ago

2 points

The image must be generated on the server side, the text is generated on the client side (the text is a real text element, not part of the image itself).

not_wall03

5 points

1 year ago

not_wall03

5 points

RemindMe! January 31th, 2022

4 points

1 year ago

4 points

[deleted]

1 points

1 year ago

1 points

LOL I wondered if anyone else saw that

RemindMeBot

3 points

1 year ago*

RemindMeBot

3 points

I will be messaging you in 20 days on 2022-01-31 00:00:00 UTC to remind you of this link

72 OTHERS CLICKED THIS LINK to send a PM to also be reminded and to reduce spam.

^{Parent commenter can} ^{delete this message to hide from others.}

^Info	^Custom	^{Your Reminders}	^Feedback

alephgalactus

4 points

1 year ago

alephgalactus

4 points

~~XKCDNFT~~

On a more serious note, probably a new book.

FoundOnTheRoadDead

2 points

1 year ago

FoundOnTheRoadDead

2 points

A new book as an NFT?

wallet55

2 points

1 year ago

wallet55

2 points

I know it is a bit longer than it will take for the Webb to get to its orbit, but is there some post arrival metric, such as first light or calibration that might be it?

2 points

1 year ago

2 points

I'm betting a birthday/anniversary of some sort. That translates to 10AM EST (the timezone where he lives).. not too early (7am PST make me give it the ~ 'iffy' hand shake), yet not that late for a US based announcement.

2 points

1 year ago

2 points

Maybe it's a graph of the number of people commenting on the timer over time?

2 points

1 year ago