TV Kinda Sucks This Year  

(well, new shows, at least.)

Now that we're a couple of months into the new TV season, I can safely say that it has been amazingly underwhelming. I usually find a handful of new shows that make it into permanent "season pass" status on the ol' DVR.

This year, only two shows have made the jump.

Boardwalk Empire (on HBO) is the new fancy hour-long series on HBO. It's a solid show and, in a weak year, is getting a good amount of acclaim. More than I think it would in a more "normal" season. The show is just so weighed down by its historical references that I just don't find it to be enjoyable the way The Wire, Deadwood, or the early seasons of The Sopranos were. I don't care about most of the characters, don't care about the story, and find myself easily distracted during each episode.

And that still makes it the second best show of the year.

The best is Terriers, on FX. It's a modern noir-style detective show about two friends who've do some detective work to make ends meet. It's constantly funny, but almost every episode has moments that have you on edge, not sure where they will go next. Better yet, it all feels entirely organic. Nothing feels forced. Created by the guy who wrote the Ocean's Eleven movies and Shawn Ryan (who created The Shield), the show flies by each week and moves the grander story arc along in new, interesting ways. It is certainly the best new show, and it is probably already better than Sons of Anarchy and Justified, two more FX shows that were the best shows from the past couple of seasons.

That's about it. Everything other new show has been basically mediocre to appallingly bad.

(The only other new show that I find myself watching is Better With You, but only because I wish it was the far-better Committed.)

(As another aside, a bunch of returning shows from last year have been great, most notably Cougar Town. For reals.)

Something to Think About When You Vote on Tuesday   ⚐

Don't buy into the hype. Know the facts.

Questions:

• What was the average monthly private sector job growth in 2008, the final year of the Bush presidency, and what has it been so far in 2010?
• What was the Federal deficit for the last fiscal year of the Bush presidency, and what was it for the first full fiscal year of the Obama presidency?

Answers:

• In 2008, we lost an average of 317,250 private sector jobs per month. In 2010, we have gained an average of 95,888 private sector jobs per month. (Source) That's a difference of nearly five million jobs between Bush's last year in office and President Obama's second year.
• In FY2009, which began on September 1, 2008 and represents the Bush Administration's final budget, the budget deficit was $1.416 trillion. In FY2010, the first budget of the Obama Administration, the budget deficit was $1.291 trillion, a decline of $125 billion. (Source) Yes, that means President Obama has cut the deficit.

We're in a crappy economy. Don't make it worse by turning the reigns back over to the folks who put us there.

(Via Daily Kos.)

Twitter Updates for 2010-10-31  

• @ESPNForsberg @KristineLeahy Old Man
  Celtic costumes far > than "Doc Rivers" in reply to ESPNForsberg #

Twitter Updates for 2010-10-30  

• Who would have though it would be so hard to find yellow pants? #
• @fraggle22 Indeed it is. I'm trying like hell to not get yellow paint on my keyboard. in reply to fraggle22 #
• Halloween group costume success. No idea how we won, but we did. I'm going to get unyellowed. #
• @fraggle22 -- @wintermatt won a contest and @sudds got into the mummy stuff. That's worth multiple props. in reply to fraggle22 #

Twitter Updates for 2010-10-28  

• Cs win. Much closer than it should have been. Offense lagging way behind the D. Just like the Red Line is lagging now in taking me home. #
• Opening night http://twitpic.com/316u24 #
• @fraggle22 Free shirts. That was 15 min before tipoff. in reply to fraggle22 #
• I know one thing: the Heat won't be going 82-0 #
• I always feel bad when folks launch a new website and it crashes horrifically (i.e. wbez.org). #

Twitter Updates for 2010-10-27  

• Can the Giants just get Bradshaw in the end zone so I can go to bed feeling assured of my fantasy victory over @wintermatt? #

Twitter Updates for 2010-10-26  

• New Guster: really good pop album. Just doesn't stand out as much as it used to. New Ben Folds/Nick Hornby: sounds a lot like Ben Folds. #
• (regarding new Ben Folds) -- which I like. It's just not as big a departure as I expected. #
• @laraswanson Not that it's a bad thing. I'm good with getting some new Ben Folds. Just expected something grander. in reply to laraswanson #

More On How Much OmniFocus Rocks   ⚐

Shawn Blanc sums it up better than I can.

And he turns me on to OmniFocus' free sync server, and themes. So now my OmniFocus looks bad-ass to go along with keeping me sane by allowing me to throw everything I need to do in it.

Basically, every day, I find out something new about OmniFocus that makes my life a bit easier.

Twitter Updates for 2010-10-24  

• I just paid some bills and then documented them on a Google Spreadsheet. From my iPad. #
• These are the Hokies I love to watch. Defense, special teams, and a pretty good offense. #

Twitter Updates for 2010-10-23  

• Had new and improved Boston Market yesterday. Was a great experience ... for about an hour. Then it was same old Boston Market. #
• @wintermatt It had nothing to do with the amount of time spent there. Much more to do with the amount of time before the food revolted. in reply to wintermatt #
• Man the CFL is so much more fun than the UFL #