In summary, Shut up, waitress

Holy crap. What are in the after-dinner mints in today's strip that a handful of them contains 3000 calories? I would really, really love to know what the actual suggestion was for today's strip. Because I could see someone declining dessert and then taking a few mints, and I could also see how a waitress/waiter might look askance at that (if the waiter/-ress was, you know, judgemental). But honestly, declining a dessert that's hundreds of calories vs. grabbing a few mints that might be a hundred calories total? There's no real comparison there.

And do restaurants honestly have signs that point out that they have mints? I've never seen that before. Most people are observant enough when it comes to those things.

I don't want my car to have a specific make, Al!

In today's strip, we learn that people treat themselves differently than they treat their cars. Shocking. I guess it's bad because Barfwell treats his car better than he treats himself? Eh. I don't understand why Mrs. Barfwell is all, "How could you?" I mean, he's eating a lot--and randomly (oysters, chili, hot dog, and custard pie? Barfwell's going to live up to his name real soon)--but it's not something to get that worked over. I guess it'd be a concern if he always ate like that, but it almost seems like Mrs. B is more upset about him looking gross in public. That could just be my take, though.

And shouldn't it be "What kind of gas and oil I put in this car"? It's not like you put gas or oil in a car; you put in both.

Also, "din-din" is what a dog eats. Most of us humans have "dinner."

Return to Rachel Ray

Should we look at today's strip, or should we simply flash back to last October? I'm at the point where I kind of hope that Al looks at his suggestions and is all, "Seriously, another one complaining about tv chefs? I just did a strip about that! Don't you people have anything original to complain about? *sigh* At least it's not about waiting at a doctor's office."

Well, at least Al could be a bit original about it. But he's not. He uses the "turn the egg whites inside out and beat counter-clockwise" in both strips. And for some reason, Mrs. Barfwell is confused about the "counter-clockwise" part. If it were me, I'd be hung up on the "inside out" part of that instruction. I'm just happy that in today's strip, there is a valid complaint in that the chef actually said that the recipe would be simple, and it apparently isn't. That beats the previous strip, when the home chef just thought it would be easy. Although I will say "zucchini pot pie"? Ew.

Anyway, just check out what I said last October. Who knew this would get easier as time went on? This is going to get to the point where I just have to link to previous entries.

What's up with the sock in the filing cabinet?

We've seen today's strip before, right? I actually thought that the Seattle Post-Intelligencer had messed up and repeated a strip. But no. Once again, it's just a case of someone insisting or being neat one place, but not another. We've seen it time and time again. The only thing that makes this even a little different is that this time, a husband is yelling at his wife! Excellent! I'm not really sure what kind of work Barfwell is referring to--cooking? I know I let my kitchen get a bit cluttered, but if I'm going to cook, then I clean up first. It's a wacky system I have.

The thing that gets me is that Mrs. Barfwell had to know that the home office was in that state--she probably watched it devolve to that point. And the second he got into it about the kitchen, she could've actually said something to shut him up instead of later just having the urge to vacuum his hide, which actually doesn't correspond to anything else in the strip--the state of the two rooms isn't one that calls for vacuuming so much as just straightening up in general.

Do that many restaurants close between lunch and dinner?

Wow. Today's strip marks the second retirement-focused strip in less than a week. I assume that we're supposed to shake our heads at Barfwell. Always late for dinner! You'd think that after a while, his wife would realize this and perhaps push dinner back. And why not be annoyed with him? It's not like it's his job that provides money to pay for the food. It's not like he can't tell how long his commute will take--because both driving and public transportation are so predictable! The solution would be to do what my dad does; namely, he calls my mom when he's leaving so she has an idea of when he'll be home.

And wow, he got there before the early bird dinner? What time is it--2:30? Maybe he's not going for dinner; maybe it's a late lunch. Mid-afternoon snack? And now he can be early because he doesn't have to work. It sure doesn't look like he was willfully coming home late for dinner, just to spite his wife. Plus, he's saving money! Everyone wins!