I think part of my brain is still on daylight time … it wasn’t until I finished this that I realized, “Counter-productive, ineffective” would scan to the Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic Planetary”. Well, I wasn’t about to do the whole thing over (plus I like this song better).
(TUNE: “Happy Days Are Here Again”, Milton Ager and Jack Yellen)
Sweetheart, Tip, and Unity …
Now our incompetence, you’ll see,
Beats their counter-productivity!
Who is ineffective? We!
Since we found this crazy joint,
We haven’t won a single point!
But our team as winners you’ll anoint
Though we do not have one point!
So hear our motto in song!
(Although it seems a bit long …)
So let’s start another day
Of pointless talking and delay,
With the zombie chanting, “USA!”
So let’s shout “hooray” today!
In the late 90s, I worked for an Internet startup which had an official tee shirt with the following printed slogan: “We’re not just the solution, we’re part of the problem.”
Milling about semi-productive when times are good, but big enough that when the excrement hits the rotary impeller they are ready and able (and suitibly sized) to deal with the crisis.
I think of the Korean war – everything had been downsized SO MUCH after WWII that much had to be built/developed from scratch to support the Asian theatre (since the cold war was ongoing in Europe already).
Or like a firehouse – you WANT them there drilling in place – ready to go.
Robert the Addled is right. I work for a public library, and a lot of the work that we do isn’t immediately obvious to the public, but consists of things necessary for when the public wants that next best seller, or information on their stock investments, or that storytime to bring their kids to. Government agencies spend a lot of time and energy on what amounts to an infrastructure.
Now, in the case of Skin Horse, that infrastructure is to create the methodologies for dealing with the results of mad science experiments, so our jobs do differ a little bit there. Most of our local mad scientists clean up after themselves, as required by California law.
It helps that i’m A) Ex-Navy, and B) a defence industry worker.
The history books always speak of the fleets of ships and such – nobody remembers that it can take up to 20 years to design and build a new class of ships, be they warships or cargo.
Highways and Railroads are also examples of infrastructure that everyone takes for granted, but only really notices when they are not available.
I don’t know what happened, but when I tried to use the Firefox/RSS reader add on that I’ve been using, your feed vomited up over 190 or so of your past strips. I’m using Firefox version 16.0.2 and something called “RSS Ticker” version 12. I just checked off an option limiting each feed to 5 items, so that shouldn’t happen again. I hope. :-/
I hadn’t known about Nick’s LJ until it was mentioned here a day or two ago. So now I’m going through it chronologically, comparing it to the Skin Horse archives. I’ve got other stuff I should be doing…. Curse you Shaenon and Jeff! 🙂
It’s odd that Unity only started her log in the LJ a month after the New Orleans mission had ended.
I started it yesterday just before I had to leave the house. Finished it up this morning. I like how it has non-comic stuff mixed in w/ references to the events of the comic.
I DO think that the reason it is erratic is because it is ##@$@ impossible to post at a rate/in synch w/ a comic where a single day may take place over 2 weeks of strips.
I still think that a character commentary like that would add an interesting twist to the books.
Discussion (31) ¬
We are so doomed.
Yup.
I think part of my brain is still on daylight time … it wasn’t until I finished this that I realized, “Counter-productive, ineffective” would scan to the Beastie Boys’ “Intergalactic Planetary”. Well, I wasn’t about to do the whole thing over (plus I like this song better).
(TUNE: “Happy Days Are Here Again”, Milton Ager and Jack Yellen)
Sweetheart, Tip, and Unity …
Now our incompetence, you’ll see,
Beats their counter-productivity!
Who is ineffective? We!
Since we found this crazy joint,
We haven’t won a single point!
But our team as winners you’ll anoint
Though we do not have one point!
So hear our motto in song!
(Although it seems a bit long …)
So let’s start another day
Of pointless talking and delay,
With the zombie chanting, “USA!”
So let’s shout “hooray” today!
“Ineffectiveness trumps counterproductivity.”
Pithier? How about:
“We may not make it better, but we won’t make it worse.”?
In the late 90s, I worked for an Internet startup which had an official tee shirt with the following printed slogan: “We’re not just the solution, we’re part of the problem.”
Too bad the doctors have dibs on “First, do no harm.”
How about:
First, do no harm.
Next, do no good.
—or—
First, do no harm.
Second, do no good.
Third, karaoke!
First, do no harm.
Second ….
Third, profit!
*probably* won’t make it worse.
It does explain so much about life and government, though.
To a degree, that is what is desired in govt.
Milling about semi-productive when times are good, but big enough that when the excrement hits the rotary impeller they are ready and able (and suitibly sized) to deal with the crisis.
I think of the Korean war – everything had been downsized SO MUCH after WWII that much had to be built/developed from scratch to support the Asian theatre (since the cold war was ongoing in Europe already).
Or like a firehouse – you WANT them there drilling in place – ready to go.
Robert the Addled is right. I work for a public library, and a lot of the work that we do isn’t immediately obvious to the public, but consists of things necessary for when the public wants that next best seller, or information on their stock investments, or that storytime to bring their kids to. Government agencies spend a lot of time and energy on what amounts to an infrastructure.
Now, in the case of Skin Horse, that infrastructure is to create the methodologies for dealing with the results of mad science experiments, so our jobs do differ a little bit there. Most of our local mad scientists clean up after themselves, as required by California law.
It helps that i’m A) Ex-Navy, and B) a defence industry worker.
The history books always speak of the fleets of ships and such – nobody remembers that it can take up to 20 years to design and build a new class of ships, be they warships or cargo.
Highways and Railroads are also examples of infrastructure that everyone takes for granted, but only really notices when they are not available.
I don’t know what happened, but when I tried to use the Firefox/RSS reader add on that I’ve been using, your feed vomited up over 190 or so of your past strips. I’m using Firefox version 16.0.2 and something called “RSS Ticker” version 12. I just checked off an option limiting each feed to 5 items, so that shouldn’t happen again. I hope. :-/
I think we had an RSS burp last night. I got a message about it on WordPress, but I don’t know what caused it.
This was GODOT running your RSS feed with Minesweeper. He has shown us all!
Me too – it’s up to 640 extremely historical editions as I type!
Ditto. I’m using Chrome and Google Reader.
800 ish old strips for me. Chalked it up to normal – at least once a month my RSS reader does that w/ one of the comics I follow.
I-Tunes has been known to do that w/ podcasts as well.
They should just stick to the traditional ‘We’re from the government, and we’re here to HELP you.’
That can distill the sum of all fears into a single sentence….
The Auld Grump, I’m from the Internet, and I’m here to help YOU!
I always liked Cartoon Network’s take on it in their show Angry Beavers:
“We work for the government! BWHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
“I am Government Man, come from the government. The government has sent me!”
OKAY, I found Nick’s LJ based on the comments from a day or two ago – does anybody know about any other social media that SH members have been doing?
First off, can I get a link to that LJ thing? xD
Unity’s side story starts here:
http://zerhakker.livejournal.com/2011/05/03/
I hadn’t known about Nick’s LJ until it was mentioned here a day or two ago. So now I’m going through it chronologically, comparing it to the Skin Horse archives. I’ve got other stuff I should be doing…. Curse you Shaenon and Jeff! 🙂
It’s odd that Unity only started her log in the LJ a month after the New Orleans mission had ended.
I started it yesterday just before I had to leave the house. Finished it up this morning. I like how it has non-comic stuff mixed in w/ references to the events of the comic.
I DO think that the reason it is erratic is because it is ##@$@ impossible to post at a rate/in synch w/ a comic where a single day may take place over 2 weeks of strips.
I still think that a character commentary like that would add an interesting twist to the books.
Oh, wait, wrong trip. We never saw the trip when only Nick and Unity returned to N.O., just the Cleveland events.
I need a program.
How about a paraphrase of W. S. Gilbert?
“We do nothing, and do it well.”