Satisfying feeling.

Want a feeling of nerd accomplishment? Do what I do. Swing out to Rifftrax.com and buy a riff. It's the guys from MST3k and they sell you their commentary to play while you're watching the movie. The most I've ever seen one go for is $4. If you buy a riff for a movie you already own, the hard part is pretty much done.

Then it's just a matter of ripping your own movie, extracting the sound track, mixing it with the riff audio, re-encoding it and slapping the whole thing back together. It sounds really complicated, but it can all be done with freeware and some kind soul has typed out step by step instructions for the confused. The hardest part is waiting for one step to finish before starting the next.

It's pretty cool to know that you've made a disc that nobody else has and you did it the fair an honest way. Now I can watch Plan 9 with commentary by one of the guys, all three or the original soundtrack in all its glory. Definitely worth the effort.

Office Funnies

As something of a foodie and Office fan, this could be the greatest two minutes I've ever seen on the show.

$17,840,000,000,000,000,000,000

Not sure if you saw this in the news, but I got a kick out of it. Apparently, an unsatisfied Bank of America customer is suing them for 1784 million, billion dollars. Of course he'll also require an additional $200,000,000 for fees and stuff. Oh, and he'd like it all in his account tomorrow.

I'm not even sure I typed it right, since he just made up a number and went with that. Scary to think that this person actually can get this into the legal system, even if the judge has told him he has to make his case less incomprehensible or it'll be dropped. First thing he needs is a real number, since not only is it not a real number, but it's more money than the entire world's GDP. Even better, I don't think a bank we're all bailing out is really the best well to be pumping, if you get me.

You'd think he would have learned the last time he sued someone. In January he sued his landlord for 892 million billion dollars. A much more reasonable number, to be sure, but still more than the average landlord is worth. Well, probably more than every landlord on the planet is worth put together. Here's his actual accusation:

Manerment nor mainterntmen had no atcuse's to go in my apartment what so ever I had to keep a lock no the kichen cabernit.

For some reason, his courtroom documents seemed to have been typed up by an illeterate Cockney. It was dismissed.

And let's see how I did

Amazing Race is over for this week. Let's see how I did.

Parent/Child Pair

-Check. Older guy and a punk son. Actually really liking these two.

Homosexual Pair

-Check Twice. They also are the sibling team I predicted.

Older-Than-All-The-Other-Teams-Pair

-Check. Also newly dating.

Seperated couple deciding their relationship on the race

-Check. Dating off and on for years now.

Newly dating couple

-Check. And also satsify the religious couple requirement.

I was off on the pair of college age guys, but that's still not a bad accuracy rating. One thing I don't really care for is the inclusion of contestants who don't need the money. I know it's a competition and they don't base the reward on need, but when I recognized a constestant last year when I saw him on an episode of Pushing Daisies I realized how often this happens. This year we have a pair of Harlem Globetrotters and two women who are national poker players. Funny enough, nobody so far has recognized the guys, but the women, who were telling everyone they work for the homeless, were spotted in an airport in Tokyo. It just feels like a cheap attempt to have antagonists early on, since I just can't root for people who are doing exceptionally well in their careers.

Right now I've got to predict the gay brothers for the win. Much more functional than most of the other teams. I'm rooting for the father/son pair, but he's older and frail looking while the son seems impulsive and a little heavy and at some point that'll be their undoing. The poker girls have only made enemies so far, the old people always drop off fairly early, the perfect pair are too prissy to get the job done while the Globetrotters are walking with bullseyes on them the whole time. I'll keep you updated to see just how good I am at this.

Maybe I need to get out more

Sunday night's the premiere of the Amazing Race. I'm going out on a limb here and guessing there's a parent/child pair, a homosexual pair, an older-than-all-the-other-teams pair, a seperated couple whose relationship hinges on the race, a young couple who are very new to each other, a team of siblings, and a pair of college age guys. Sure it'll be pretty much the same thing they've had the last ten years or so, but I'm always enthralled. I love the team dynamics, especially when one team mate has decided he's in charge and it's painfully obvious he shouldn't be. Even better seeing how Americans react to the rest of the world. I just remember last year, when they were in India one girl was just crying at the poverty because there were a lot of starving dogs running around. Didn't seem to care or notice the people dying in front of her, but the poor puppies! This was the same lady who, in typical ugly American fashion, spoke foreign languages by just yelling English louder and louder until they understood. In all fairness though, this was the same technique she used even when in the US. Sure it's more of the same, but that's exactly what I'm hoping for.

Pay attention!

Just so we all know, Friday night's the new season of Smallville! I'm looking forward to it, and so should you. Without giving too much away, Clark has an actual costume (not THE costume, but it's getting closer), the Wonder Twins have been cast, Green Arrow's going to get a sidekick (I'm going out on a limb here and guessing she's cute, but troubled with a good heart) and some of the Justice Society will be swinging by too. Oh, and some guy named Zod's going to be dropping in to make everyone kneel. Sounds a lot more exciting than watching Lana cry again.

Eating better at home

I’d like to ruin eating out for you. The next time you’re at a restaurant, check a few things out. The first thing I always notice, no matter where I’m eating is how the server or cashier handles the glass/cup. I HATE it when the cup is handled by the rim, since it’s likely they’re also the ones handling the cash, I’m now rubbing their money hands on my lips. Does this Coke taste a little like George Washington to you?

How is the food given to you? Do you have to pass every plate around like you’re sitting at a baseball game? Do they even know who ordered what or are they just auctioning off a tray? Do they tell you what it is or just throw it down on the table? And how is it placed on the table? Do they put that medium rare steak just below your nose or do they think your interest lies in the over cooked peas rolling around the plate? Sure, most of it’s minor, but that means it takes even less time to do it the right way.

And before you touch anything, look at your food. Take a big long steamy gawk at it. Are the French Fries stacked attractively or does it look like they were shot out of a cannon? Is the sandwich symmetrical or will you run out of meat or bun before the other? Is the pretty side of the fish up or are you looking at the salmon fat? You would have eaten it anyway, but grey streaks on my fish just aren’t nice to look at.

Here’s where a lot of this comes into play. When you figure out what you would have done differently, make a mental note. Even better, make the note about WHY you would have changed it. And the next time you entertain a date or family or party, plate the food for them. It makes the experience that much more complete when your food at least LOOKS better than a restaurant. Besides, you can always put the leftovers on the table and leave the second helpings up to them.

I think that’s one of the reasons I’d preferred eating out my whole life, especially now. It’s nice to feel like your meal was lovingly created, instead of everyone just sitting around the trough. Try it the next time you make dinner and even your macaroni and cheese will taste just a little better.

Much safer now

So I started work at the airport today, and while most of it was dull (I spent about five hours listening to two people talk at me), I managed to get a little bit of enjoyment out of the training videos. Maybe I'm nerdy, but I needed something to keep my attention and sometimes mockery is just the way to go.

The first video is all about security. Watch for suspicious things or people. Check for badges and make sure your badge is displayed. Most of it was pretty common sense stuff, but nice to have it all in one place. They showed things I should be particularly watchful for. A woman dressed in a huge parka in the summer. A man taking pictures of security with his cell. And the oh-so-popular unattended luggage. A few minutes later, there's a short quiz (not interactive) to see if I understood. Do I see anything suspicious in the following pictures:

1. A woman dressed in a huge parka in winter
2. A man taking pictures of security with his cell
3. Unattended luggage

The answers are

1. The woman dressed in a huge parka in winter
2. The man taking pictures of security with his cell
3. The unattended luggage

Not only were the answers literally the only thing shown on the screens, but they were the EXACT same footage shown when introducing the idea. Even if you'd never been to an airport in your life, you could have gotten the questions right just by saying what you saw.

Another favorite moment comes when discussing badge placement. Basically, wear it like you should, not like you're hip. It shows two blue collar workers walking along and chatting when the shorter one suddenly stops and halts his partner. Shorty points to the young punk's badge (carelessly clipped to the bottom of his shirt), and then points to his shirt. He points to his own so the youngin' has a perfect example to follow. The badge situation is reconciled and they start walking again. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's funny to think of two guys hanging out when one insists the other moves his badge around before they can take another step. Even worse, it looks like he's had it wrong all day and it took this long for the other one to notice. I'm thinking these two would be better off working directly for airport security.

Another waste of time

Just so you all know, DMI 3.0 kicked off this week. You don't have to watch the Office, but it helps. They've really upgraded the look of the site and they're trying a few new things out. For instance, you can apply for a branch only after you've earned so much money. Right now, there are a lot of distraught DMIers wandering around the forums without a home, it's kind of a sad sight. I know a lot of you tried before, and I'm hoping you try again. They're trying to make it more friendly to the casual user and new joiners get $1000 to spend on desk crap. dundermifflininfinity.com is where the action's at. See you there!

Just me?

So I'm at McDonald's today and I'm curious, why the huge wad of napkins in the bottom of the bag? My first thought is they were thrown in there with anger. Bad day, in a rush, just chuck a fist full of paper in there and be done with it. But they're all neatly stacked in the bag. One sandwich, 15 napkins. They were deliberately placed in the bag, no inmpulse napkin throwing here. Are they really being considerate? Well, maybe. It's nice to have napkins given to you, especially since other places now make you ask for forks and napkins even if it's painfully obvious you'll need at least one, if not both. But if they're showing they care or take an interest in my order, then why the huge difference? I think even the worst eater would only need five napkins for one sandwich, so the workers obviously aren't taking a personal liking to my order, just dumping in napkins. Kind of ironic. A gesture that's supposed to demonstrate customer care and personal service ends up being everything but.

Makes me wonder

So I have a stack of books I'm always working on. For some reason, it isn't going down at all, no matter how much I read. Anyway, a few months ago I was browing my comic store and noticed a shelf full of paperbacks. There weren't any prices, so I offered the guy a buck for hardcovers and half that for softcovers. Now I have a stack of Batman and Superman novels and I've read a few of them and I've come to realize something. If it's a comic book character in a book with no pictures, put it down and walk away.

One was a collection of Batman short stories, and that was my favorite so far. I think that's because the badness was pretty short lived. No matter how awful the story was, 15 pages gave me a fresh start and new hope. Even worse was another Batman one about an indian who was actually a werecar. To add to the tention, it turned out to be the only other character who wasn't Batman, really gripping stuff. I think the bottom of the heap was the Lois & Clark tie-in novel. It reads like an episode of the show, but it's obvious why it was never filmed. It'd be really expensive and it's boring. Buildings are collapsing and Lois talks to Lex in prison (like Hannibal Lectur without the personality or interest) while Superman helps a small village in Russia avoid a mudslide. Now, milk that out for another 200 pages and that's what I slogged through.

I'm still not sure exactly what makes these books so bad. I bought them because I like the characters and the descriptions on the back sound interesting, but the actual execution sucks. I think, at least for the most part, it's because the books go even further away from reality and then describe it to you bit by bit. The current Batmobile flies. How do I know? I can see it every month or so. But to read how a man's hands curl into a fist and then grow and turn dark until they turn into tires just accentuates how far fetched the whole premise is. The other problem is the novels have no connection to reality, so I know there will be no major changes and no point of reference in the whole DC Universe. It's just an isolated incident, nothing more. As for the L&C book, sometimes it helps to have something happen in the book. That's my preference anyway.

One foot in the door

Got fingerprinted for my new job at the airport today. Quite an odd setup. I chase down a future boss where she signs my paperwork and gives me a check, which was given to her, so I can give it to the security people. Seems like an extra step or two are involved.

Then I go through security (the worst part about being in an airport no matter what the circumstances) and take off for the security office. I show my ID for a third time and take the elevator up and wait in line to check in. I'm in luck, there's nobody in line ahead of me. But, bad luck, everyone at the counter apparently hates their job and life. After seeing nobody else was going to, he flags me over and checks me in. He checks me in for a solid three or four minutes without saying a word to me. Finally, he tells me to take a seat and wait for my name to be called.

The hallway has four chairs, a sign reading "Fingerprint waiting area" with an arrow and four more chairs. Not wanting to miss anything, I assume the arrow was posted for directional purposes. I was wrong and ended up wandering through offices and around copy machines. Turns out, the arrow indicates I was supposed to sit in the second group of chairs. There's no telling what would have happened if I'd sat in one from the other group.

The lady who does the fingerprinting is quite nice and knows what she's doing. It's easiest if I just let my hand go limp and let her dow whatever she wants. She's rolling it and turning it and twisting. She'll email my boss once they double check to make sure I'm not a terrorist. Then I'll get the call to come in for badging and THEN I might actually be able to start work. I suppose it could be more difficult, but right now I don't know how.

Something I've noticed

I was in the line at Subway last night when I noticed there's something it seems we all have in common. The second we past the first pane of glass in the Subway line, we all immediately become modifying experts. I'm just as guilty of it as everyone else. "Some mayo, a few onions, a handful of banana peppers and a whole bunch of spinach." Anywhere else that's considered something special and there are those who won't order that way, feeling it's an imposition. But for whatever reason, Subway WILL make the sandwich as we want. If I have to ask for black olives three or four times until my personal sandwich artist gets it right. And I have no problem asking for him to scrape off onions. Yes I'd like some, but I'd also like to taste something else in the coming week.

On a related note, when someone is elected the bag man for a Subway run, then all modifiers are off. Nobody writes all of that down and the bag man only cares about one sandwich. And then when he doles out the sandwiches, he gets that happy, satisfied feeling. After all, he gets to watch everyone else eat a lunch made without care and love while he eats exactly what he wanted. As a bonus, there's at least a chance they screwed up the sammys so bad that he'll never be elected to go again. Next time you're out there for your 12" for $5, listen closely and smile to yourself. Most people put less thought into their doctors than they do creating the perfect sandwich.

Maybe I'm sick

Just wanted to mention how much I now enjoy working on the weekends. I'm missing all of the rush hour traffic which I manage to hit every weekday (both ways even) AND we're a whole lot slower. Those two days make everything better. We're all more relaxed, the word is a lot better instead of being rushed and when I start my other job, it'll still feel like a day off instead of working a week and then getting blitzed at my other job. Is it wrong that I keep waiting for everything to just collapse?

Terry Fator

I had to put in a good word for Terry Fator here. The guy won America's Got Talent, and there's a reason for that. He's a singing ventriloquist. Oh, and he does dead on impressions. His big finale when he was with a turtle dressed like Roy Orbison singing "Crying." And he sound exactly like Roy.

His new DVD really shows off everything he's got. It starts with a girl puppet singing "At Last" by Etta James and it is perfect, almost to the point of being scary. He goes through a few different puppets and styles, from the Bee Gees to a yodeling cowboy. It's a strange feeling watching a puppet sing a great "Let's Get it On" when you know it's coming from the disinterested looking guy standing next to him.

He breaks it up a couple of times in different ways. He sings a straight song, and that's all nice. Then he comes out dressed like Michael Jackson and sings a duet with a puppet and it's a little uncomfortable. Even if he was still alive, the skit just drags on and on and the song isn't that great of a payoff and his Jackson isn't all that great. The best break for me is when he grabs an audience member and puts a mask on him, where Fator controls the mouth. It's like audience participation without him actually participating. Even better, he dresses the guy up like Cher while Fator puts on the Sonny wig and sings "I've Got You Babe" with himself.

I have to say, I don't think he's as funny as Dunham. The jokes are alright, but a lot of them are pretty standard and others you could feel coming a mile away. As if to seal the deal, the writing credit on the end doesn't go to him. Even odder is the mix of sweet little songs peppered with crude jokes. I'm not sure if he feels he needs to dirty it up since he's in a Vegas casino or what, but he's not doing himself any favors. That said, I'd say he's at least as talented as Dunham. Singing is hard. Singing without moving your mouth is difficult. Singing while looking like you aren't singing is pretty much impossible. He sings things most couldn't not matter what the circumstances.

So check him out. The DVD was $10 at Target, but it's at least worth a NetFlixing. I've wasted an hour in worse ways.

Just saying...

After tonight, I'm officially done shopping for groceries at Wal-Mart. The company is trying to cut down on inventory while looking more like a department store instead of a warehouse, and that's all cool. The new home appliance section looks really nice and even some of the ghetto stores here are looking pretty inviting. But there aren't a lot of things they can do for the grocery aisles, but they still cut back there. Today we were shopping for chips, since we're having some company over tomorrow night, and all I could do is wonder where the rest of the chips are. Instead of one or two facings of chips, now there are three or four, sometimes two shelves worth. If the space is going to stay the same there, all they're doing is advertising the lack of selection. Even in the dairy section my choices seemed to be one name brand or the generic. That's it. Too expensive or low quality, which is more important?

Even worse for them, the grocery stores here keep having better and better sales. Those ribs I love making? Buy one, get two free. King crab legs are running $6 a pound and often times 12 packs of pop are 5 for $9. Why go through the hassle at the Wal, especially when you're rewarded with two checkout lanes who really aren't interested if you shop there or not?

On a side note, they got rid of those handy shelves for the $5 DVDs and we're back to digging through dumping bins like hobos seeking out a bear claw. Lots of changes, but few for the better.

Do yourself a favor

Making this a quick one. When you buy cheese, buy a brick. Typically it's a little cheaper and a whole lot better. Those bagged ones are alright (except for that brand in the brown/maroon bag) but it's always better when you shred it yourself. You can pick the right size bits, still get slices for sandwiches and, most importantly, it's more moist. That maroon bag stuff is so dry it doesn't melt, it just crusts over. Get a little satisfaction in your life and grate your own cheeses.

As a bonus tip, did you know you don't have to microwave everything on high? See, those power levels are there for a reason, but our culture made foods to be cooked in 2 minutes, not 2 minutes and 30 seconds. So once you've grated cheese for nachos, or especially if you're still using that bagged grub, nuke it on level 6 or 7 for a little longer. You'll get closer to restaurant quality nachos instead of the kind you always end up with a crusty cheese cap that only sticks to one chip and leaves you with a plate of slightly warm, but naked, tortilla chips.

Too much bacon?

The Taste of Colorado was this weekend and while I didn't get a chance to go, the news only had one story to report every day. The Famous Dave's booth was serving bacon.

First off, I have to assume it's good. Famous Dave's is good. Bacon is good. Famous Dave's bacon has to be at least good squared. But the big deal wasn't just the bacon, but how it was served. They dipped it in chocolate first and the interviews were mostly positive. A few seemed scared or disgusted, but most seemed almost shocked that they liked it. The other way was a little less exciting, but to me, it was a little more gross. Chocolate ice cream cones topped with bacon bits. I think it grosses me out because I really don't like bits in my ice cream. Sure I'll eat cookie dough ice cream, but chocolate chip leaves me cold and even the M&M ones freeze too solid for my taste.

They also made mention of cotton candy being fried in bacon grease. It sounds impossible and I didn't find anything in the full 45 seconds I spent on Google. Even scarier are the other things I discovered. Bacon wrapped in cotton candy. I dunno, it might taste alright, but I think that'd have an awfully strange texture, but maybe the grease will balance out the sticky sugar and you wouldn't have to wash your hands after. The other creation takes it further and just makes the cotton candy bacon flavored. Sounds repulsive and the smell would have to send small children running.

So while bacon may be the greatest food ever, some foods might not need that much support.

Mr. Zero

I wanted to follow up a little bit on the whole Riddler thing, specifically how the TV show took a minor villain and turned him into a huge part of the entire Batman mythos. Today I'll spend just a few minutes on another baddie turned bigger baddie.

Ever hear of Mr. Zero? Probably not, he only made one appearance clear back in '59 and faded into history. He was a scientist working on a freeze gun. Then he spilled the crap on himself (as they always do) and found out he needed sub zero temps to survive.

Sound familiar now?

Yup, it was the TV producers who took a one shot nemesis and recreated and renamed him and thus was born Mr. Freeze. The show borrowed heavily from the comic, especially the idea of Freeze walking around in a bathrobe when he wasn't on the job and hot and cold zones in a room, so he could hang out with his henchmen. Eventually a lot of this changed and that's probably for the better. Ian fact, he changed a lot in the show. Only special guest villain I can think of who was portrayed by a different actor each show. Pick a favorite and defend him to the death with your friends!

I think the need for these changes is pretty obvious. Only the Joker smiles more than this guy, and I'm not so sure that's voluntary. Zero's constant smile makes him either psychotic or stupid. Oh, and Batman not only escapes Zero's death trap, but also cures him in the process. Ah, for simpler times.

Improve your meal

After eating steak a couple of times in the last few days, I thought I'd offer a little advice to all. What's the point of cooking and eating a meal you don't even look forward to finishing? Today I've got just a little bit on steaks. For the record, I'm going to assume you've got some lesser piece of meat. There's a reason some cuts are $40 and others are $6. I'm also going to assume you'll grill it. A few weeks left of decent weather and you'll want to do this while you can.

For starters, instead of spraying Pam all over the grill, the coals, the steak and anything else in the line of fire, rub your steak down with some olive oil. It'll prevent sticking and help it retain heat and moisture. Also it'll hold the rub on.

After oiling it, hit it with some rub. I'm tired of eating just a plain ass piece of gray muscle. A rub doesn't have to be complicated. Salt and pepper make a fine rub (use a little more salt than you think is needed). And they don't have to be expensive. You can grab Emeril's if you like, but mixing it at home will give you a feeling of accomplishment. Just remember, it's mostly salt and then whatever else tastes good. I typically throw in cumin, onion powder, garlic powder and a little bit of cayenne. Rub it on generously, you'll be glad you did.

I'm not going to get into the finer aspects of the actual cooking process here. Personally, I'm big on really high heat to sear the outside but leave the middle pink, but that's me. If you like it...well...burnt, cook it on high heat and then move it somewhere else on lower heat to more or less roast.

And finally, I can't emphasize this enough, when it's done grilling LEAVE IT ALONE. Make the sides, set the table, watch tv. Do something that doesn't involve cutting the meat. Let it sit on a plate and rest. I know people who take it straight from the grill and cut the whole piece into tiny bits and I just watch the plate fill up with grease and moisture. Think about it for just a second. That moisture is coming from somewhere and if it's on the plate, what's left for the meat? Not much. Letting it rest will allow the meat to finish cooking and redistribute the juices. It'll leak less and taste better.

Sure there are other things you can do to make your food better (marinades come to mind), but these are easy changes involving things you probably already have or breaking bad habits. As I was taught, anyone can make great food out of expensive ingredients, but it takes skill to make delicious food from lesser items. Even your WalMart steak will impress.

Your condensed ads

Since some of my family know me for my shopping skills, I figure everyone can benefit a little from this. As most of you probably know, season 5 of the Office comes out on Tuesday and here's your handy buying guide. Prices are rounded 'cause I don't want to wear out my 9 key.

F.Y.E.

• Normal Set - $27 (After the rebate they have on EVERYTHING)

Target

• Normal Set - $33
• Exclusive Set - $40 Comes with a script, a 45 minute writer interview and some magnets

Best Buy

• Normal Set - $32
• Exclusive Set - $42 Comes with a Schrute Farms T-shirt, door hanger, mouse pad, stress ball AND magnet all in a Schrute Farms box

My pick has got to be the Best Buy special this time. I'd normally go for the Target special, since I like having extra discs of stuff (THREE discs worth of Anchorman, baby!), but the content doesn't seem that great, especially when $2 more will get me a ton of stuff at BB. Target's previous season had a dvd of the Office convention with a Q&A and some extra stuff while BB just had a shirt and water bottle. Nice to know every season means competing extras instead of just finding the cheapest place.

P.S. BB is selling older seasons at $18 each if you need to catch up. And you still might want to swing by Target. In what I'm sure is a coincidence, new Office stuff is showing up in the See Spot Save section. It's an awesome way to stock up on supplies or pick up little stocking stuffers for the Dunderheads in your life.

Starting to get really nervous to drive out here. Two weeks ago an asphalt truck rolled into a smaller river and they spent about a week chiseling asphalt out and setting up nets to catch pieces and all that jazz. Last week, more asphalt. The same river. Even the same destination.

Yesterday a fire truck was on the move during rush hour, which would make him the only car on the move at the time. Instead of riding the shoulder on the interstate, he decided to merge and then get in the passing lane. Unfortunately, he had a fire to get to so the driver didn't have time for ALL those lanes in between to clear out. The city's traffic was screwed up for hours.

And this morning a semi was rolled again. Took a curve while speeding and that was that. Oh, and when they finally drug it back out of the ditch the cab STILL smelled like booze.

I'd take a bike, but that'd be more like a step backwards. Maybe a tank or something. I'd work at home, but that's not really what Chipotle is known for. Besides, there's also been a recent rash in cars plowing into homes...

Try this on for size

As you all know, if I find something I really like then I'll share it. Think of the Tom Jones you've heard, the Spam you've eaten and the odd shows you've all watched at some point. Here's another one that I just discovered and I can't sit on it anymore.

Yes, it's another Britcom and it's called The IT Crowd. It's IT as in Information Technology not IT as in...it. Two basement nerds work for a newly hired woman who has no clue about computers (She lists in her computer experience such things as typing, clicking and double clicking) and hilarity ensues. Let me put it to you this way, one review called it a combination of the Office (doesn't matter which, I assume BBC) and Seinfeld (The US version) and that's about right. It always starts at work and each character wanders off on his own and they all tie up in the end in Seinfeldian fashion.

Still not sold? Would it help if it was produced by the original the Office guy? What if I told you it was the same writer as Father Ted (Who's only gotten better over time)? It's really over the top, but there a lot of nerd references slipped in there for people like me and some I don't get like the nerdier or extra Britishish ones. I'll throw a little sample in here so you get an idea of what I'm talking about. It's not the funniest bit, but it's good since you need no reference to the show to understand why it's funny.

The IT Crowd


So if I've tempted you at all, check it out. It's an instant watch on Netflix and, if I may offer some advice, watch the first season until you meet Richmond and then jump straight into season 2. It isn't that the first season isn't good, but the second is so much better that it's a much easier sell to newbies. So invest 20 minutes in it one night and you'll thank me. Or at least you will once you've watched 'em all (Two nights max).

An honest living

Just wanted to tell you all I finished my second day at my new job. I'm working at Chipotle, just a few blocks awar from Ocean, where I did my externship. It's nothing glamorous, but I'm actually enjoying going to work again. Sure it's fast food, but I'm using my education more here than I was at the Sumo.

I got the job with hopes of being the kitchen manager, though I can't exactly tell you what that means yet. It's a little complicated since everyone is either a crew member or a manager or something and while each is a manager of service or kitchen or whatever, it's really just a very confusing way of organizing the levels.

Basically, I spend all day making and seasoning rice and beans or cooking and cutting the meats. Since they're huge on freshness, it takes me all day because I make the same thing fifteen or twenty times a day in tiny batches. Nothing too hard, but always enough to keep things interesting. I guess I like the whole thing so much because it's everything I'd wanted to find in a place. Insurance for all, vacay, bonuses, tips and an actual organized system for everything.

So yeah, I went to school to work fast food, but that's alright. I'm enjoying what I do and I'm still better than I was.

Reflections - Detective #140

Now most know that Batman showed up first in Detective Comics and he's been there ever since (save the last few months, thank you Batwoman) and that series is a great place to find a lot of hidden treasures or references to future events and the like. #140 is important to Batfans because it's the first appearance of one of Batman's biggest foes, the Riddler.


Batman villains are notorious for having hazy origins. The Joker gets a new origin or new version of a previous one every few years. Catwoman's is even less specific and the Penguin turned to a life of crime after being born ugly. The Riddler's is pretty straightforward actually. He's in school and the teacher offers extra credit on putting a puzzle together. I don't know what kind of school offers that, but he cheats and does it. He eventually makes a living at cheating with puzzles (who knew there was cash to be made in seperating twisted nails?) and then makes the logical jump to a life of crime.

First he makes a crossword puzzle on an advertising sign which is impressive since that technology isn't even seen in Las Vegas in the present day. Ignoring that, the clues lead to crimes and there's always a twist so he gets away with it, eventually escaping the Dynamic Duo in a glass maze. In fact, the one thing the Riddler doesn't do is offer riddles. In fairness, he does ask one question, but even that was rhetorical and didn't lead to any further crimes. He's actually pretty lucky he wasn't named the CONundrum or the Puzzler or something equally revolting.

The highlight for me is seeing the Riddler actually threaten someone's life. He'd typically put across as much more of a word and puzzle man, rather than a homicidal maniac, but he didn't start that way, as you can see here.Read it again. Aside from the crazy setup (this was decades before the TV show), this man's very life is being threatened by the gag. I don't know if the Riddler is using old Wal-Mart bags to make sure the hostage doesn't talk or maybe that poor man has an awful cold and is actually going to die at the hands of his own nose. Maybe I'm just growing up in a jaded time, but I think anything would have made this situation more dire than just a gag.

So it's not a bad story, but far from great. I actually understand now why people credit Frank Gorshin with popularizing the Riddler. The character made TWO more appearances until finally making it big on TV. I'm amazed anyone saw potential in this throwaway character and even more amazed at how well he actually worked. So while the comics were the basis for the show, Batman readers owe a lot more to the idiot box than most realize, as we'll see later on...