ADD
20 balloons float away while I'm busy permanently tying one to a tree to deal with it for good. Unfortunately, that one balloon was 'land a rocket on the moon in Kerbal Space Program.'
20 balloons float away while I'm busy permanently tying one to a tree to deal with it for good. Unfortunately, that one balloon was 'land a rocket on the moon in Kerbal Space Program.'
This comic appears to be a visual representation of the thought process of someone with Attention Deficit Disorder or ADD (Which has been renamed to ADHD, for "Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder"). Various of Cueball's thoughts or tasks that he must do are represented by balloons which are rising out of his reach. He holds the "math problem" balloon and grabs the "call mom" balloon, but notices "check oven" is rising out of his reach. He abandons the two balloons he holds to dive and grab the "check oven" balloon. Of course, this allows the other two to rise, presumably out of Cueball's reach, as the pullout reveals a plethora of other balloons already rising too high, some of which describe actions required to live, like balloons marked "breathe" or "drink water". This visualizes how ADHD makes it incredibly difficult to multi-task, prioritize, and continually work on one task.
Cueball quickly drops one task to take on another, only to jump to yet another task before that one is done; showing how the person with ADHD feels; that while they are focusing on one task, 20 others are getting away from them. The title text further reinforces this, noting that while committing to actually complete one task (represented by tying a balloon to a tree), 20 others floated away. The task he chose to complete is (as stereotypical for someone with ADHD), a task that results in no necessary accomplishment — the task is to land a rocket on the moon (Mun or alternitively Minmus) in Kerbal Space Program, a PC-based spaceflight simulator and video game. Additional humor comes from the fact that landing a rocket on the moon in Kerbal Space Program would require a lot of repetition through trial-and-error, making a long and involved task during which many other important tasks might be ignored normally.
In addition, the title "add" may also have a secondary meaning that Cueball feels that balloons/tasks are always being added, which does indeed feel like the case as his field of vision expands, resulting in an overwhelming experience.
Here is a list of all of the balloons with explanations for each
- Parking Meter - He may be parked in a public parking area, where paying for temporary parking is common. He may need to refill the meter he is parked at or move to a new spot.
- Taxes - Failing to pay taxes results in many different punishments, which he would almost certainly want to avoid.
- Buy Soap - He is either out or almost out of soap and needs to buy more.
- Phone Call - There are multiple interpretations to this. His phone may be actively ringing, or he is expecting a call. Alternatively, he may have to make a call to someone.
- Relax - With all of his responsibilities, he needs to make time to relax.
- Inbox - His e-mail inbox is likely filling up, and he desires to read or delete unread e-mails(see 2389: Unread).
- Clean - His house is constantly getting dirty, and he needs to clean it regularly.
- Beat Game - There is a game he wants to beat, and he wants to make progress.
- Feed Cat - He needs to take care of his cat every day and, like humans, cats require food.
- Drink Water - He needs to not overstress, and drinking water helps with focus (and keeping him alive[citation needed]).
- Call Mom - He probably hasn't called his mom in a while and wants to catch up with her.
- Math Problem - Given that he is no longer in school (557: Students), he probably is not thinking about math homework, rather a phenomenon he was curious about and is using math to solve.
- Send Card - He would like to send a card to a friend or family member who is far away from him, either living somewhere else or on vacation.
- Check Oven - There is something in the oven and he needs to check it to make sure the food inside doesn't over- or undercook, and that his house does not burn down. Alternatively, he may be out, and is worrying about whether he turned his oven off.
- Engine Light - The "check engine" light in a car generally refers to a non-specific engine issue which needs to be checked. This light in his car may be on, and he needs to take it to a mechanic.
- Read - He may have chosen recently to read more, as seen in 2005: Attention Span.
- Breathe - This is likely sarcastic, as people do not tend to forget to breathe[citation needed].