Comments on: Excuses

By: Seraphine

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:35:14 +0000

A double-layered cake of pun? I like that.
I like Roo. He has wisdom beyond his ears.

By: Seraphine

Tue, 06 May 2008 16:30:52 +0000

I *think* fatigues is a certain type of military clothing.
I’m unsure of the distinctions, but I *think* it refers
to informal military attire, as opposed to formal (or
dress) attire. Isn’t Chronic Fatigue Syndrome the
desire to wear only casual, wrinkly “everyday” clothes?

By: Adam

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:31:01 +0000

The word does indeed have several meanings:

* Fatigue (medical) – tiredness in humans
– Chronic fatigue syndrome – an illness of the central nervous system
* Fatigue (material) – failure by repeated stress in materials
* Battledress – military uniform, also known as fatigues (BDU or ACU)
* Battle fatigue – see combat stress reaction and post-traumatic stress disorder
* Voter fatigue – public apathy about elections

Notice how they can be combined to form ‘battle fatigue’ though… I like that.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome… you won’t hear me making jokes out of that though, terrible thing that it is.

By: Philippa

Tue, 06 May 2008 15:22:52 +0000

They wear them so that you cannot see the bottom half of their body.
They just blend in so well, you see.

People wear fatigues? I’m going to guess this has an alternative meaning to just tired.
Explain, per-chance?

By: Seraphine

Tue, 06 May 2008 14:02:29 +0000

People who wear fatigues strike me
as a bit odd. What’s with camo pants?
Do people wear them so you can’t see
their pee stains?

By: Ben

Tue, 06 May 2008 09:32:26 +0000

I get provided transport to work now, so I don’t really have any excuses to be late.

As for late deadlines, etc, excuses aren’t allowed, so we just deal with the consequences, which is normally pretty interesting.

By: Adam

Tue, 06 May 2008 09:18:01 +0000

I used to do that all the time at University… I’ve sat through some pretty diverse (and often incomprehensible) lectures as a result.

Fortunately no one asked questions.

I always found just standing up and walking out is perfectly acceptable… give no excuse, just pretend that that’s what you’re meant to do.

Either that or try and convince everyone else that they are in the wrong class.

By: Adam

Tue, 06 May 2008 09:07:03 +0000

But… Roo’s strip was an actual spoonerism… it’s a double-layered cake of pun… and funnier for being so.

I also doubt that Randall saw this, but I just wanted to point it out because I get emails saying ‘XKCD has done that comic’ even though it was up here first.

By: Adam

Tue, 06 May 2008 08:54:04 +0000

genius.

By: tia

Tue, 06 May 2008 02:07:15 +0000

i need a good excuse for turning up in the wrong class. i do that a lot.
lately I’ve been getting lost in thought and ending up in physics class

By: Roo

Tue, 06 May 2008 01:29:33 +0000

I tend to agree… Sporks are just funny. It’s bound to happen that multiple people will fabricate jokes surrounding such a funny utensil. And besides, Randy (fellow that draws XKCD) is a friend of a friend of a friend; I’d hate to think he was ripping ideas off other people.

By: beemoh

Mon, 05 May 2008 20:39:38 +0000

It doesn’t always work out, though- someone tried to hybridise the fork with the knife, and wound up with a musical instrument and part of Scotland.

By: The Great Joe Bivins

Mon, 05 May 2008 20:32:17 +0000

Also I tend to think the xkcd thing is different enough because it ends in a bloodbath. I think since the first spork was created certain odd people have had the hybridizing of utensils on the brain. I think it’s a science in its own right by now.

By: The Great Joe Bivins

Mon, 05 May 2008 20:30:20 +0000

I don’t generally make excuses, because I don’t really lie. Partly because I’m not good at it, partly because I can’t keep track of them at all. I don’t usually need excuses, though, as I’m rarely late. I hate being late for things. When I am late I usually have a genuine excuse. The last one I recall was that my alarm didn’t wake me up and my scooter wouldn’t start. I don’t ride the scooter anymore, though, so now it’s all about the unreliability of the local public bus system.

By: Philippa

Mon, 05 May 2008 20:03:11 +0000

Currently, my best and also my most truthful excuse would have to be “Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”.
It’s not funny or witty, but it works.

By: beemoh

Mon, 05 May 2008 19:28:16 +0000

I used “lag” as an excuse for turning up to a college lecture late once.