Airport Codes

I managed to find myself in a handful of airports over the last few weeks. Consequently I brushed up on my airport codes, the three-letter abbreviations you often find on boarding passes and data displays. Well, if only I had seen this particular reference from xkcd.

Oh PHL…
Oh PHL…

Credit for the piece goes to Randall Munroe.

Voting

On the Friday after the president retweeted support for British extremists, then when told it was inappropriate, told off the British prime minister. On Twitter.

I would only add, vote next time, vote every time
I would only add, vote next time, vote every time

But at least we made it to week’s end. So Happy Friday, all.

Credit for the piece goes to Jessica Hagy.

What If Designers Ruled the World? Or At Least the Country

Happy Friday, all. We made it.

So today we enjoy an xkcd post about how graphic designers would change the country if they seized control.

It's a good start, designers.
It’s a good start, designers.

Though to be fair, if this graphic designer seized control of the country, he would not be interested in just adjusting state borders. He’d probably work on the margins and bounds and then establish a whole new baseline grid.

Credit for the goes to Randall Munroe.

Bringing a Gun to a Knife Fight

I had dinner with an old friend earlier this week and in the course of our conversation we discussed the bans of knives and guns from hospitals. That reminded me of this xkcd comic from last week.

Though a lid could be used as a shield in a knife fight…
Though a lid could be used as a shield in a knife fight…

Credit for the piece goes to Randall Munroe.

Nambia

C’mon. You knew I was not going to let that one slip by.

President Trump, in a meeting with African leaders, twice name-dropped Nambia and in one mention held it up as having a nearly self-sufficient healthcare system. Funny thing to mention as the US is on the brink of eviscerating its healthcare system. But I digress. The point is that when you are speaking to the president of a country, you take a minute to learn how to pronounce the country’s name correctly. Even write it phonetically in the text if you have to. (I’ve done that.) So where is Nambia?

This was just too too good to pass up…
This was just too too good to pass up…

All the Crazy Models

Over the last several weeks we dealt with the impact of a few hurricanes from H to K, i.e. Harvey, Irma, Jose, and Katia. Now that the Atlantic basin has quieted a wee bit, it is time we get back to the lighter side of things.

So we turn to xkcd and its look at ensemble models, often used to try and predict the paths of hurricanes.

I like to swap the victor of the colonial revolt in North America ca. 1776…
I like to swap the victor of the colonial revolt in North America ca. 1776…

Happy Friday, everyone.

Credit for the piece goes to Randall Munroe.

With a Side of Iodine Please

We made it to Friday, everyone. And not just any Friday, but for the Americans reading this, a three-day weekend. (You Brits had a bank holiday last week, so whatever.)

While Harvey has been in the news a lot, did you miss that North Korea shot a missile over Japan? Well it did. So this older piece from Indexed came out a few weeks ago and seemed appropriate.

Waiter, there's a fly in this post-apocalyptic mess…
Waiter, there’s a fly in this post-apocalyptic mess…

Credit for the piece goes to Jessica Hagy.