I'll second what @avclub-60dd44fc5944d2c8eb5bc7b7b9a3a70d:disqus  said.  I see a line from Blackadder to Bean, in the sense that Bean has a prominent nasty streak that wouldn't be at all out of place in Blackadder's world.

I'll always describe that final episode of Season 4 as one of the best series finales ever — legitimately in the same grouping with Six Feet Under and Newhart.  But, @avclub-3db41011acc2d229176bf6a92202728d:disqus , I agree that the writing gets a little tired by the fourth season, everything runs according to the…

Dachshunds always look sort of chagrined, anyway.

"Spearfishing" has to be the most bad-ass-sounding hobby.  I'd say "bear wrasslin'," but we all know those bears are tame and trained.

@avclub-3db41011acc2d229176bf6a92202728d:disqus : Oh, I know what I'm talking about — at least in this case. I grew up on deep-fried everything, Bar-B-Q, and Tex-Mex.  I'm from Oklahoma, which is South-Adjacent without question, and which has parts (especially the eastern parts) that are definitely Southern in…

I was on the bus in Milwaukee, minding my own business, listening to my mp3 playa when this guy across the aisle waved at me, and motioned for me to take my earbuds out.  He called me by a name that isn't mine, and I just shook my head.  Before I could say that he must have me confused with someone else, he says,…

Nope.  We are legion.  I haven't had my talk show yet, and I ain't gettin' any younger.

Sean Connery's would have a kittenish burr.

Wait, that's going to be a show on TV in the fall.  On NBC?

When it's done this well, there's no need for an apology.

"it turns my travel time into productive/pleasure time."

I live in La Crosse.

Twenty feet away?  Nope.  That guy wasn't in line.  If he was in line, he would have been out in the sun like anyone else waiting at the ticket window.  You were in line.  He was standing in the shade, enjoying — well, maybe not enjoying the day, but doing whatever it is that assholes like him do on a sunny day.  I'm…

As a committed misanthrope, you'd think I would hate mass transit.  But, as an urban planner, I am passionately interested in it and a constant advocate for it and more of it.  So I actually like taking the bus.  Sure, if there's a subway or El, those are more glamorous, easier to understand the routes, faster, and…

I was at a diner counter once, in college, back in about 1995, sitting next to a guy who looked two days older than dirt.  He started talking about his time on a diesel-powered submarine in World War II, how it was so hot that everyone was walking around in nothing but their underwear and shoes (because the metal…

Hmmm.  Maybe starting a literature gathering or demonstration (i.e., a Lit Rally) is something you could do.  Online even, making it a virtual Lit Rally, and everyone could attend or listen via Skype, or some other such video interface.

I think that's an important point.  I mentioned above that I found a field I like in urban planning; but within that, I really want to be involved in mass transit and bicycle planning. Well, those jobs are few and far between; most transportation planning jobs are about moving large volumes of cars down interstate…

I'd like you to say that part about writing being an "awesome skill" to people who do the hiring all over America, because there are way too many people who are only semi-literate put in charge of external communications in far too many instances.  It's bad for our country.  We need to do what this guy is talking…

Recently around here, I called it a moral victory that I was able to wake up and put both feet on the floor and get out of bed each morning.  So now your traffic-engineering study has me thinking…

Blogs are like lawyers: yes, there are too many of them, but good ones will always be welcome.