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Irregular Webcomic! #2912 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2912.html

The Chinese elemental system contains five elements, one of which is in fact wood. But Kyros is not Chinese, and uses the system of classical elements.

2025-10-09 Rerun commentary: The twilight sky here is interesting, but not very realistic. I'm eagerly looking forward to the point where I discovered a better way to generate skies in Photoshop.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2912.html

Skateboard

https://xkcd.com/3152/

I understand it's hard to do more than 300 feet on these 90-second rush jobs, but with a smaller ramp I'm worried the gee forces will be too high for me to do any tricks.

https://xkcd.com/3152/

Irregular Webcomic! #2911 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2911.html

Random link.

2025-10-08 Rerun commentary: It's generally acknowledged that the hardest part of wrestling brains in jars is getting the darn lid off.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2911.html

Irregular Webcomic! #2910 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2910.html

I discovered that the Head Death's receptionist/secretary/assitant/whatever (who we've never actually seen) has almost identically coloured speech bubbles to the Head Paradox. Hopefully the font change is distinctive enough to prevent any confusion.

2025-10-07 Rerun commentary: Oooh. We do see the Head Death's receptionist later on. I didn't realise we hadn't seen her up to this point. And yes, the desk intercom disappears and the phone appears between panels 1 and 2. That was deliberate. Do high-powered business people still use desk intercoms in the present day, or have they been superseded by some other tech? I have no idea.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2910.html

Window Screen

https://xkcd.com/3151/

The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine or Home Improvement or DIY

https://xkcd.com/3151/

Irregular Webcomic! #2909 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2909.html

I don't ever recall a real life nurse wearing a uniform with a red cross anywhere on it. I guess a LEGO nurse needs to have some sort of identifying mark so you don't confuse them for a dentist.

Several readers wrote to tell me that the International Red Cross is very strict about enforcing proper use of the red cross symbol, and that using it in a manner not endorsed by the Red Cross is in fact a violation of the Geneva Convention. The red cross symbol is intended to mark non-combatant medical personnel and facilities in combat zones, and any dilution of that by unauthorised use can jeopardise lives. For this reason, non-Red Cross medical facilities such as normal hospitals or pharmacies may only use other symbols such as green or blue crosses, never red ones.

There is an exception to this, in that the Red Cross occasionally endorses use of the red cross symbol on small, promotional items. I will assume that the LEGO Group obtained this permission in order to produce minifigures with the red cross on them.

2025-10-06 Rerun commentary: "Completely legitimate organ dealer". So much humour in just four words. Fortunately if I ever need a transplant of some sort, the Australian Government will pick up the tab.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2909.html

Irregular Webcomic! #2908 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2908.html

Anyone who has ever been to a scientific presentation will know about this. Actually it's probably true for anyone giving a talk about anything, anywhere, any time.

If we could add up all the minutes that speakers went over their allotted time, we'd probably find that we've collectively wasted more time than there has been since the universe began.

2025-10-05 Rerun commentary: What's worse is the session chair who ignores the time limits and allows the speaker to prattle on without cutting them short. I've been to a couple of conferences where they were actually super strict about this. You got a warning bell with two minutes to go, and then two minutes later they escorted you off the stage, whether you were done or not. It was really good!

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2908.html

Irregular Webcomic! #2907 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2907.html

The first appearance of Death of Being Stabbed By A Cutlass since #1537, about 3 years and 8 months ago. Yeah, he doesn't get much work these days.

2025-10-04 Rerun commentary: Or worse, expelled! In my current Dungeons & Dragons game, one if the PCs has a magical jewelled cutlass that used to belong to a legendary pirate king. Nothing bad has come of this. Yet.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2907.html

Ping

https://xkcd.com/3150/

Progress on getting shipwrecked sailors to adopt ICMPv6 has been slow.

https://xkcd.com/3150/

Irregular Webcomic! #2906 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2906.html

Well that answers that question. What else are you going to do with a trove of gherkin jars?

2025-10-03 Rerun commentary: We always had gherkin jars when I was growing up. They were used for all sorts of things. Keeping spare buttons. As vases for flowers. Also for growing herbs. Storing nails and screws. Etc. What's a home without a dozen gherkin jars?

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2906.html

Irregular Webcomic! #2905 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2905.html

Yet it made perfect sense when I wrote it.

2025-10-02 Rerun commentary: That bench is in a park not far from my home. It's a popular spot for people to sit and have lunch, watch their dogs or kids playing, or just relax and take a breather from modern life. I wonder if any of the people who use it realise that Death itself has sat there.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2905.html

Measure Twice, Cut Once

https://xkcd.com/3149/

"Measure zero times, cut zero times." --carpenter who has achieved enlightenment and realized the wood is fine where it is

https://xkcd.com/3149/

Irregular Webcomic! #2904 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2904.html

If you find yourself in an awkward silence...

Fill it! Say something! Anything!

You will never have a better chance to make an awkward situation even more awkward!

2025-10-01 Rerun commentary: "Napoleon of crime" is a phrase applied to various criminals or ne'er-do-wells over time. I must admit I first heard it in the musical Cats, applied to Macavity, the Mystery Cat, the lyrics of which come from T.S. Eliot's 1939 book of poetry, Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. But its use predates that by almost a century, to a newspaper report in 1850. The phrase was subsequently used to refer to other real world criminals, and also to the fictional Professor Moriarty in the Sherlock Holmes story The Final Problem (1893).

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2904.html

Irregular Webcomic! #2903 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2903.html

Not that sort of camp!

You know, growing up as a kid, I never really noticed that Batman was anything other than a deadly serious superhero show.

No, I lie. It was always patently obvious how ridiculous it was. But it was fun.

2025-09-30 Rerun commentary: Notice how greenish the model bases are in the second panel? After taking photos, I habitually do an auto-correction in Photoshop, which can adjust the contrast and colour tone. Usually it does a decent job, correcting for colour casts caused by different lighting conditions. But sometimes it messes up and adds a weird colour cast, like here. Usually I'd notice it and undo the auto-correction and go for something less drastic like just auto-contrast. Looks like I didn't do that here.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2903.html

100% All Achievements

https://xkcd.com/3148/

I'm trying to share my footage of the full run to prove it's not tool-assisted, but the uploader has problems with video lengths of more than a decade.

https://xkcd.com/3148/

Irregular Webcomic! #2902 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2902.html

Don't argue with Isaac Newton.

Seriously. People might think you're crazy.

2025-09-29 Rerun commentary: Especially don't do it in Westminster Abbey.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2902.html

Irregular Webcomic! #2901 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2901.html

There should be more "Axes of X" in the world. There's an Axis of Evil, an Axis of Insanity, an Axis of Justice, an Axis of Time, an Axis of Awesome, an Axis of Weasels, an Axis of Perdition, an Axis of Hope, and a handful of others, but there should be more, more, more!

An Axis of Dereliction! An Axis of Schadenfreude! An Axis of Dromedaries! An Axis of Banana Cream Pies!

2025-09-28 Rerun commentary: New Axes since this comic was first published! Axis of Advance! Axis of Eden! Axis of Eve! Axis of Evol! Axis of Resistance! And most meta of all, Axis Of!

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2901.html

Irregular Webcomic! #2900 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2900.html

I believe this is the first time I've ever used a straight "Meanwhile:" without some other qualifying phrase after it. I tried checking with the search page, but it looks like "meanwhile" is a stop word on my database's search. A site-restricted search on Google didn't find any bare "meanwhile"s on my domain, so I think I'm good.

2025-09-27 Rerun commentary: Waiting for an organ transplant must be one of the most awful things. Consider registering to be an organ donor, folks. And talk to your family about it, so they know your wishes.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2900.html

Hiking

https://xkcd.com/3147/

Every downhill walk is a waterslide that might have been.

https://xkcd.com/3147/

Irregular Webcomic! #2899 Rerun

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2899.html

We are delighted to provide this link to Wikipedia.

2025-09-26 Rerun commentary: Oh wow, there's also a TV Tropes page about it. English isn't the only language that uses a royal "we". It comes from Latin, and also exists in French and German. And there are examples of rulers or gods using different pronouns to regular folks in Hebrew, Arabic, Chinese, Hindustani, and some other languages. And theres another Wikipedia article on nosism, the practice of using "we" to refer to a singular person in specific situations.

https://www.irregularwebcomic.net/2899.html