The more things change...they more they don't, really.

I just got the strangest news. My boss just told me that our department has absorbed another group of operational units within the company, so we've now more than doubled in size as far as personnel. I was told that I won't be handling budgets and administrative work for the newly acquired units, since they bring with them their own support. This reorganization isn't a surprise, and this department once encompassed all of these other areas in the past (before my time), so it really doesn't seem like that big of a deal. But for right now I'm being told that it's kind of a secret, since most of the employees we're bringing into the fold aren't aware of this yet.

I have been nursing a headache for most of the day. Nothing I've taken is helping. I've been getting upset stomachs and really vicious heartburn, again, also. Earlier I had to (gently...ever so gently, for the umpteenth time) remind a supervisor that her work is not my priority - as I do not directly or exclusively work for her operational units - and she cannot expect to monopolize my time with her projects, no matter how important they may seem to her. Not to mention being dragged into passive-agressive jockeying and communication issues between her and the boss's assistant. I swear, we're going to drive the man to drink. Apparently he's been getting very severe headaches and has generally not been feeling well, too. I can sympathize, since I've been suffering the same. And it just reinforces the idea that my job is going to cause my brain to eventually rupture. Good luck getting the custodians to clean that up. Bad enough that during the last week they've been called out to clean up vomit in the halls twice (no - it wasn't me!).

Reading comprehension: not my strong suit

I just read a headline for a story about Mackenzie Phillips being busted for drug posession. At first I thought they meant Mackenzie Astin and was initially both shocked and confused. But then I learned how to read and it all made sense.

Freaking day 3 of the DNC. Do they really need 4 whole nights for this? Oooh - Michael Phelps, gold medal butterface, is going to host the season premier of SNL on September 13th. Here's hopeing that he does the whole thing in a speedo. With a bag over his head. And potraying a half nekkid hooded mime.

Now, for some science and...stuff:

(Science)

Nooo - they be discreditin' my Hobbits!

Here's a previous story done on those Hobbitsesssss

(Stuff)

Speaking of Hobbits...but don't worry - I won't post that video of Leonard Nimoy singing 'The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins'...this time!

Behold, the white whale

The Smithsonian is hosting a traveling tribute to the genius of Jim Henson! Yaaaaaaay!


(Sciency...stuff)

My new favorite blog of the moment: Cephalopodcast

Earlier in the month there was a post devoted to the Giant Squid that included a quiz that reads like squid mad libs - just throw in random verbs and adjectives and let the wackiness commence:


A giant squid’s eyes can reach the size of _(the moon)____.

It’s easy to exaggerate the size of giant squid because _(they're freaking huge)____.

Newborn giant squid, or paralarvae, have been found _(in my drinking water)____.

The bodies of giant squid have washed ashore in _(New Jersey)____.

Male giant squid are _(misogynist pigs)____.

The only known predator of adult Architeuthis is _(Cluthlu)____.

The giant squid is the world’s longest _(binge drinker)____.

You’ll probably never be served a meal of giant squid. They taste disgusting because _(they just are)____.

When threatened, most squids will squirt out a blob of ink to distract the predator. Scientists call this squid-shaped blob of ink a pseudomorph, which is Greek for _('blob of squid ink')____.

One reason scientists don’t believe giant squid rely on great speed to capture their prey is because their _(hairline)__ is thinner than those of better-known, very fast squid.

To put away childish things...

M sent me a trailer for the upcoming The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in which Brad Pitt portrays a man who regresses from old age to childhood:



Some of the scenes in the beginning made me recoil, but overall this might be a very interesting film. I can't say I'm much of a fan of Brad Pitt, but I love Cate Blanchett. The general plot reminds me a little of PK Dick's novel 'Counterclock World', and apparently the movie was based on a story originally written by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the 1920s. So we're adding this to the 'must see' list.

Know your role

It feels like the boss's new "assistant" is constantly questioning how I do my job. This is done with some subtlety...but not quite enough for me not to notice the doubtful and uncertain tone she uses when "checking" to make sure she "understands" something that I'm doing - oftentimes about things that have nothing to do with her job (which I let her do with a minimum amount of meddling...hell, I don't even give her work to do, even though I've been told I'm free to do so). And there's also the "And this is done that way, why?" line of questions, as if I'm being tested - it feels like she's waiting to catch me in an error or outright lie or something. It is incredibly offensive, and I'm actually getting rather tired of it. I don't do that sh*t, so when it is done to me it really tends to just get under my skin and fester.

It's just another indication that everyone around me thinks they can do my job better - and faster - than I can. Well, ya'll are more than welcome to it, if you are really that in need of things to occupy your obvious excesses of free time. Good luck with making this corporate machine function with no one here to tell you how to do something as simple as get a new e-mail address or to even make sure the fax machine has paper. People need to stop worrying about my job and be a little more concerned with their own. Some of them are pretty lucky that they have jobs right now, and should show a little bit more respect for people who have twice the seniority. Some days I want to just smile and say: "Well. If you think I suck that badly, maybe you should trade places with me for a work-week, and we'll see if you feel any differently after you experience what I do in a typical week. Otherwise, either take your issues to my boss or shut the hell up and top wasting my time. Have a great day!".

I've had three cups of coffee and I'm running on about five hours of sleep the last couple of days. Are my frayed edges starting to show? Just a little?

Earlier this afternoon a little gossipy bird told me that the person whose place I took in the job I'm currently doing (at about twice the workload and 10K less in pay, just so we're clear) has applied for another position with the company, after job hopping twice in one year between different departments and up and quitting when it turned out she couldn't hack it. That means she's a shoe-in to get the job.

On top of everything else, one of the other office peons insists on sending me e-mails ALL IN CAPS lately. Someday I'm going to go over there and do terrible, unspeakable things with that jerkoff's keyboard...

The yawning void

You know your week is off to a bad start when even the coffee isn't helping.

Oooh - my boss just stormed back into the office. The computer in the room he was using apparently isn't working and he is pissed. More so than I have ever seen him. So it's not just me feeling very...door slammy. Awesome...

Aha. I got a snarky e-mail from HR about how employee information updates need to be researched before submitting. So I went back through my files, and found copies of the paperwork I forwarded last week, which would be what they are looking for. I would appreciate them not misfiling my paperwork and not sending me critical e-mails insinuating that I'm being careless. I mean, admittedly sometimes I can be careless, but don't accuse me of it when I'm actually doing things correctly.

In honor of doing my best to avoid coverage of the DNC tonight, here's the short list of movies I'd like to see later this year (yes - it really is a very short list - and before anyone asks, no, I still haven't gotten out to see The Dark Knight):


How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (also known as the story of my life...okay, no, I'm just kidding...wink wink...ahem)

The Road (stars a very surprisingly grizzled Viggo Mortensen and WILL BE THE MOST DEPRESSING BOOK-TURNED-FILM SINCE CHILDREN OF MEN...so, ah...bring the tissues, m'kay?).

Australia (kind of reminds me of The Man from Snowy River!)


A reading of the poem 'The Man from Snowy River' by Banjo Peterson, set to video from the film The Man from Snowy River:

Tut-tut, it looks like rain.

We've got some dreary weather hovering over us today. We're getting rain showers and gusty winds from the second coming of The Tropical Storm That Refused To Die as it now moves in the opposite direction and leaves the northern part of the state in its flooded wake.


I work in an office - my title used to be the sensible and all-powerful "Office Manager". I miss having a title that wasn't a string of words that resemble gibberish and didn't cause people to ask me to explain what I do for a living. The world made so much more sense in those days. Sometimes I still get sale offers and literature from vendors and supply merchants. I got this in my inbox the other day:

Seven. Hundred. Dollars. For a chair that makes you sit so awkwardly that it looks like you have chronic inflamed hemmerhoids (I'll look up the correct spelling when I'm not at work...). There is no cushioning support to be found on that hunk of plastic and metal. And forget about the possibility of ergonomic design. This isn't even a brand new, fresh from the factory chair - what they are offering here is to sell you a demo chair. So it was a floor model. Who knows whose expansive rears have tested how "highly-adjustable" it really is while loosening the bolts and punishing the springs.

I just had to call and remind a supervisor to get his employee's timesheets to me or they wouldn't be getting paid. I should have just let him screw up. Damn my scruples! The break room has been torn apart to be cleaned, so the snack machines are all unplugged and I'm at a loss as to what to do for breakfast. There are cookies here, but...I don't really want cookies*.

* I ended up eating cookies.

I spent part of my lunch break talking about the price of an accounting textbook I might need in the spring (over a hundred and thirty dollars!) and wandering around a marine research facility reading tidal charts and sneaking peeks in the open labs. I'm torn between taking business classes (which I find boring to the point of coma-inducing) and taking science and/or literature classes (which are my preference and I would consider almost fun). The problem is that my employer will only pay for some of my expenses if the courses relate directly to my job. The tuition would be covered, regardless, but supplies and books would not. Then there's the issue of scheduling: classes relating to my job could be taken during my regular work schedule as "professional development" if my boss was agreeable -- anything else would have to be evenings/weekends. I guess we'll see how the chips have fallen after the holidays...who knows if I'll even be here then?

Everyone knows that the release of the new Harry potter movie has been delayed until '09. So what do moviegoers have to look forward to, instead? Westerns!

Appaloosa:



Australia:

I'm sorry, I can't hear you...

...over the screeching cacaphony of the blaring of the numerous false alarms.

Okay, people. Threat down. Crisis averted. We got some light rain showers, a bit of wind. It was fun while it lasted. The forcasts are anticipating that Fay might well dump out in the Gulf and manifest herself as a proper hurricane and come back around to wreak her vengeance on us when our defenses are down sometime during the weekend. Frankly, since this storm has not really done a single thing that has been predicted it would do at any point along its track, I'm not sure anyone will be paying that much attention.

My husband's sinus surgery was rescheduled on account of TS Fay. We spent the day moving yard implements from the old shed to the new shed. The old shed leaks and apparently had (or still has) a slight rodent problem. That probably explains why there is a very large snake that has taken up residence underneath the plywood floor. Lately, living in my house is like filming an episode of Wild Kingdon. I am the resident field biologist, so any time an identification is needed or a rescue op is to be undertaken, it usually falls on me. Yesterday we discovered two newly hatched soft-shelled turtles, each about the size of a silver dollar - one in the neighbor's front yard and one in my back yard. Each one was carefully transported to the pond on the next block by me and my son. I'm used to finding red-eared sliders in the pool, so this was a first for me. Later in the day I was called outside to identify a spider that my husband had found in the shed. I thought it looked like a black widow (it had the large spherical abdomen, long thin legs, and red "hourglass" marking), but was paler in color than I had seen before, so I was also thinking it might have been a brown recluse. A little internet research confirmed that black widow spiders are sometimes brown with lateral striping, and that the brown recluse isn't that common this far south. Either which way, nature will try to kill you. Constant vigilence! Then there's the duck that has decided that my yard makes an excellent all-you-can-eat bug buffet. Not even ducks, plural - just one single duck. It wouldn't be so annoying if I hadn't just told the new neighbor that I'd never seen ducks on our street in all the years I'd lived there (and it's been a lot of years, trust me), or if it was a charming species of duck instead of a hideous Muscovy. The ducklings are precious. What they grow into, though, is a hissing, pooping, foul tempered breeding machine that, judging from the results of a quick Google search, some people think is some damn fine eatin's.

Okay people - you know the drill.

Operation Hurricane Watch 2008. The mood is tense. And a little silly. We'll be subjected to non-stop weather coverage from now until the storm makes landfall. Which, according to the most recent track update, could pretty much be right over my house.

Early in the day one of the local news channels was reporting that the schools in my county would be closed Tuesday, which is the first day of school. This was being reported nowhere else, and later had to be corrected after a message appeared on the school district website - in bold red type - that school was to be open as scheduled until further notice. A news caster actually said during their weather report "We're not in the hype business". Hype? No. A little mindless panic? Why the heck not! We've got all of our basics all set (water...canned goods...flashlights...candles...), and it's all about waiting and watching the weather patterns over the next couple of days. They don't call it a "prediction" for nothing, after all. So for now we're sitting here watching gymnasts commit technical errors and have their dreams dashed.

In the spirit of the pending weather, enjoy some flashy boomy video goodness...

This is what happens when meetings get canceled...

No budget meeting today. No Conflict Resolution training today (although I could probably use that, right?). Wednesday is shaping up to be productive, if I can keep the internet from getting in the way.

So there's an open position at work, which would equal quite a leap up the proverbial ladder (not to mention more money...oh so much more money). Except for the fact that 1) I don't want it and B) it requires a higher education level than I posess. So that settles that. I still don't know what's going on with any potential career move for me, and I waffle about the level of interest I have in such a move. Some days I think it would be great to make that move and be mentored and have a boss that is invested in me. And other days I silently count the little blessings that come my way and think I'm better off staying where I am and coasting through for a while. I feel like I've been planning my life in three month increments for the last year and a half. Where am I going from here, and how do I get there...?

Funny...this is also my five year plan!

Overheard: In the Meantime, I Plan to Fake It 'til I Make It

Interviewer: So where do you see yourself in five years?
Candidate: Knowing things. Like, knowing knowledge about everything.

Miller Avenue
Fontana, California
via Overheard in the Office, Aug 11, 2008


Who would win in a shark vs polar bear no holds barred battle to the death?

According to Spaaaaace Ghooooost they are nature's best friends!

And everyone knows that, beyond producing hot predator on predator action, Global Warming = more less pirates! And that's bad. For everyone except ninjas...

So are the stains of our lives...

Today I am wearing on my shirt: toothpaste...coffee...cat hair. You know you're a mom (and a working mom) when your business wear suffers as a result of your scurrying around like mad to start the day - and you just shrug and realize you're doing your part to keep the stain remover companies in business.

One Sunday we had two visitors, which is unusual, and I wasn't at all prepared to have company - the house was a mess and I hadn't put any effort into my appearance, thinking I wasn't even going to be leaving the house. You know that's one of my petty annoyances, right? The first visitor was an old friend of my husband's who has always had the worst luck (much of which he makes himself). He got out of the Army and was working for a defense contracting company which did not get it's contract renewed, so he was terminated. While he was on vacation! He doesn't have a cell phone apparently (seriously, dude, that puts you at a technological disadvantage to most middle schoolers), so no one was able to contact him and he went into work as usual when he got back, only to find out then that he had no job to come back to. Then he wondered why he got a $20 pay check. Turns out the company had docked his pay for the vacation time he had used but hadn't quite earned yet. So he's got a wife and five kids (four of his own and a nephew he's helping to raise) living in another state while he tries to look for opportunites here. Not the most well though out plan in the world, is it? Our second visitor was our new neighbor from a couple of houses down. She's an elementary school teacher with a grown son, and seems very nice. She's very friendly, which is great for other really social and friendly people like my husband. I just end up feeling awkward. She ooohed and ahhhed over our house (even in its cluttered and unfinished-project riddled state), since she's in the process of fixing up hers, which she got at a bargain because nothing had been updated since the previous owners lived there. It still has the old oil furnace and window units instead of central air, and has the original terazzo like our house does, so when she's unpacked she wants us to come over and check it out. Actually, she invited us over Sunday evening, but I hedged. Like I said earlier, I hadn't planned on stepping foot outside of my front door...hopefully I didn't come off as rude by saying no.

My husband has been all hustle this week with projects. He has out-patient sinus surgery next week which will put him out of commission for a while. He won't be able to lift heavy things or do anything remotely strenuous for at least two weeks after next Tuesday. The surgery is scheduled for the first day of school, so I'll have to get up extremely early to take him to the hospital, then drop my son off for his first day of 1st grade, and then go home and wait for the call that my husband is out of surgery and can be picked up. Then pick up my son from school. This is the reason I took the entire day off. I really didn't feel like trying to juggle work time in between all of that. It sounds hectic enough...

M will visit me this Friday. Our plans are a little...seat of our pants. The original plan was we were going to have a night in, full of DVD watching, snacking, and copious drinking. But there is a party I've been invited to at a local bar that night, which may involve members of the Beach Boys and Flock of Seagulls showing up, as well as other local celebrities and music industry folks. So maybe we'll watch some DVDs and snack until midnight, then zoom across town to see if we can get our pictures taken with semi-famous people. Then come back and drink our livers into total submission. Yes? No? Indifferent?

And I had to point out, mostly to M, who sometimes misses out on certain types of news, that our ever illustrious and forward thinking Commander in Chimp (sorry...couldn't resist) is considering altering the Endangered Species Act to allow federal agencies - not scientists and wildlife organizations - to determine whether construction of dams, highways, and other "infrastructure" projects will be harmful to threatened or endangered plant and animal populations. Basically, this change could work to the advantage (and benefit of the bottom lines) of contractors, developers and special interest groups that might have high levels of influence in the halls of government.

Here's a couple of key excerpts from a CNN.com article:

New regulations, which don't require the approval of Congress, would reduce the mandatory, independent reviews government scientists have been performing for 35 years, according to a draft first obtained by The Associated Press.

*****

The proposal would bar federal agencies from assessing the emissions from projects that contribute to global warming and its effect on species and habitats.

*****

Under current law, federal agencies must consult with experts at the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Marine Fisheries Service to determine whether a project is likely to jeopardize any endangered species or to damage habitat, even if no harm seems likely. This initial review usually results in accommodations that better protect the 1,353 animals and plants in the United States listed as threatened or endangered and determines whether a more formal analysis is warranted.

The Interior Department said such consultations are no longer necessary because federal agencies have developed expertise to review their own construction and development projects, according to the 30-page draft obtained by the AP.


The story can also be found 0n MSNBC's website.

This is just the beginning of the last few months of our current "leadership" doing whatever they can to royally screw us over on the way out the door - mark my words!

Mission Accomplished!

Begone foul spirit!

I hate it when my incredibly disgruntled spouse swoops into my office and unloads negativity all over my barely centered chi, leaving behind feelings of bitterness with the lingering scent of apple cinnamon danish. I'm already at my negative emotion threshold when I walk through the door. I don't need him pushing me more into Milton territory than I already am. For pete's sake, people - I just work here! There is nothing I can do about the reigning status quo of ridiculous political jockeying and the giant web of lies and suck.

Now I need more coffee!

Go fly a giant kite

I've been sitting here watching the opening Olympic ceremonies - which I do for every Olympics even if I have very little interest in the actual athletic contests - and I'm just amazed at the show the Chinese put on. It was quite beautiful, and obviously planned out down to the tiniest detail. I just don't remember the parade of nations being this long, or there being this many countries I'd never heard of, or the commentators being so goddamn annoying. I also find it a little ridiculous that McDonalds is calling itself the "official resturant" of the Olympic games. But then there's the Nike ad that uses a song by The Killers (are they going to release a new album soon, anyone know?), so that was a highlight. I watch the games because they represent the best that nations have to offer as they put aside their idealogical differences for the sake of the enduring competative spirit of international athletics.

A little boy who helped rescue classmates from the earthquake rubble is part of China's parade delegation. What an incredibly brave little boy!

And holy crap, they have a lot of competitors - this line is never ending (there are 1,099 members of the Chinese delegation...).

The official website of the 2008 Beijing Olmpics

NBC's coverage of the 2008 games - includes live feeds and medal updates for each contest


And now for something completely different...

Via Laughing Squid: Hamlet, as told on Facebook's news feed

What science makes possible:

Mapping pronounced brow ridges and occipital lobes

Complete fossils

Remains of the meh

Yesterday I had this nagging headache, which had persisted for two days. I had (and still have) work to do, but I just can't wrap my brain around it or attempt to care if it goes undone. So I've been avoiding it by arguing with idiots on the internet. Horray for deep-seeded ignorance and the outlet that allows it to be spewed forth for the whole world to bear witness, and that allows others to mercilessly mock it. Which, I admit, is kind of an effort in futility, but it provides me a modecum of joy.

Some of my coworkers have been getting very tricky lately. It is a known fact that if I am busy I sometimes won't answer my phone - I am even less inclined to answer even if I'm not busy if certain people are calling. So now those certain people, instead of leaving me a voice message when my phone goes unanswered, will then call the receptionist to "check" to see if I'm in. And she promptly transfers their call. Every. Single. Time!

I still don't know if I'll be working here or in the administration hub after the summer. Did I ever mention how much I hate loose ends? And I would hate to have the old "Oh, hey, tomorrow you start that new job we've been dragging our feet on for months. Hope you've got all your projects finished" pulled on me. because that is just crap.

A raven and a writing desk

This week has all the makings of a Lewis Carroll tale.

Firstly, this morning there was a white rabbit in my yard. In all the years I've lived in my house I've seen plenty of creatures on the front lawn - but never a rabbit. If I didn't have to go to work today I would have attempted a rescue op. Now I'll just spend the rest of the day wondering where it came from and how the croquette tournament went.

Secondly, the boss's new assistant keeps venting to me about the other manager's issues. This morning, first thing, to set the tone for the week to come: an e-mail suggesting that the new coworker has "customer service" issues and needs training so that the manager doesn't have to intervene when we have visitors here just looking for information. And this morning, although my coworker was here in time to open the office when it is supposed to be, the manager got here a few minutes earlier, opened everything up and then left again - then called and left a voicemail making it known that no one was here when she expected them to be. I've already expressed to this woman that I can serve up plenty of tit-for-tat as far as that kind of behavior is concerned - and that she'd be better served worrying less about my job and more about her own. I've started re-reading the book on how to work for an "Idiot Boss" that M lent to me, and it has made me realize that this manager is a combo platter of the worst sort, and I'm learning new ways of dealing with that. Between the rising acrimony now developing between our boss's right hand staffer (who may find herself on the outs if she doesn't watch herself) and his assistant (who is not as meek as I am and is going to give the other one a serious what-for if things keep up this way), and the cess pool of angst percolating right next door, someone is going to have his hands full very soon if he's not careful. I've done my part and directed his attention to the issue of supervisor/underling relations, and I can do no more. I'll just sit back and watch the the madness while I try to be grateful that for the most part my direct supervisor is fairly supportive and just lets me do my job.

I feel like the dormouse watching the Hatter let the March Hare conduct the tea party: in the end it's a ridiculous affair no matter who is in charge.

Actually, I think that would make a great painting! I think I just found my project for the weekend. I finally have a use for a couple of my blank canvases. I could do a series in the nursery rhyme/fairytale theme. I think a painting of the Three Billygoats Gruff would be kind of fun.

I feel I should mention that I just noticed an open position posted in Human Resources...for a job in another company! What. The. Hell.

(There is something seriously weird happening with this post. Please be patient while I kick Blogger's ass!)

The drinking will continue until morale improves

Yesterday my employer threw a baseball-themed summer picnic as part of their morale project. They already had some sort of mock game show a couple of weeks ago. (Obviously, someone in Human Resources has been taking corporate team building techniques from past seasons of The Office.) Next week the consulting group they hired - to gauge the corporate atmosphere to determine how "accepting" and "inclusive" and "diverse" it is - will deliver their (presumably scathing) report. There will be a new batch of employee benefits and perks instituted, including an employee of the month program. I suppose these kinds of things appeal to some people...the kind of people who are easily pacified by snacks and door prizes, while the real issues of salary inequity, disproportionate workload, and managerial deficiencies go unresolved. Myself, I don't put a lot of stock in insincere attempts at reparations through offerings of cake and hollow platitudes. Someone else is more than welcome to my piece of cake; while they're busy giving themselves diabetes I'll be scheming to figure out how to justify and execute a way to spend the monies earmarked for their pay increase.


What does excite me is the e-mail I recently got from Amazon:

Dear Amazon.com Customer,

As someone who has purchased Harry Potter products from Amazon.com, you might be happy to hear that The Tales of Beedle the Bard, J.K. Rowling's book of fairy tales written to supplement the Harry Potter series, will be published in two new editions on December 4, 2008.

The Standard Edition features all five fairy tales from the original The Tales of Beedle the Bard, an introduction and illustrations by J.K. Rowling, and commentary on each of the tales by Professor Albus Dumbledore.

Amazon is also thrilled to offer a luxuriously packaged Collector's Edition (available exclusively at Amazon) designed to evoke the spirit of the handcrafted original purchased at auction last December. Housed in its own slipcase--made to resemble a wizarding textbook found in the Hogwarts library--this Collector's Edition includes metal corners, clasp, and skull; a reproduction of J.K. Rowling's handwritten introduction; commentary on each of the tales by Professor Albus Dumbledore; and 10 additional illustrations not found in the Standard Edition (or the original).

I knew there was no way they weren't actually going to release this for sale. After all of the interest in the handwritten version she did for charity, I figured this would have to get published. And as of today there are 111 days until the premier of Half Blood Prince.

I've been sitting here sort-of watching Emma and realizing how much I really don't care for Gwyneth Paltrow and her ridiculously fake British accent. And her stupid cow face that she uses to convey emotion. There has got to be something else on that is more tolerable. Or I could just watch Batman Begins for the third time this week - it is firmly established on my DVR.