Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Succession Power Rankings - The Munsters

 

This week on Succession … Logan celebrates a birthday, Ken, Shiv, and Roman make a play, and Greg gets a little kinky. And now, the Power Rankings:


1. The Rebel Alliance (final Season 3 ranking: T-8): Team work makes the dream work and if you had spent this episode honing your pitch, locking down graphic design, and securing more high end talent for The Hundred instead of pilfering PGM from Logan, your dad might have (grudgingly) acknowledged how nice it was to see the three of you all fist bumps and hugs and kisses working together. Was it all peaches and cream? No. The subtle digs, eye rolls, and skepticism borne of a lifetime in competition with one another were all still there, but … less so. Every argument did not lead to someone storming out or screaming profanities. Consensus, or at least what passes for it, was the name of the game and when Tom inadvertently dropped some intel you could monetize, you saw the appeal of a turnkey operation that has fallen on hard times as a better (albeit more expensive) bet than a start up that may or may not be the revolutionary news media concern of the 21st century. To be sure, the flaws are still there - Roman’s dismissive treatment of the staff, Ken’s overinflated view of his business acumen (like his buyout of Vaulter, he is paying more than he should), Shiv’s inexperience - but you knew Nan likes Shiv, hates your dad, and for all her kvelling that money is a construct, wants to get paid. So, you made a conversation ending offer that has the added benefit of denying your dad an acquisition he desperately wants. We shall see if this united front remains intact when the bill comes due for the asset you wildly overvalued. 


2. Logan Roy (final Season 3 ranking: 1): Instead of asking why everyone is so happy, pause for a minute and ask why you are so unhappy. Oh right, maybe it is because you treat every relationship in your life as transactional, which explains why the only people celebrating your birthday are the sycophants, hangers on, and, in your words, pygmies, who rely on your largesse for their livelihood and are naturally reluctant to take you up on your offer of an impromptu roasting while you await word on the deal for PGM. Your family (aside from Connor, who needs *another* $100 million bridge loan) is nowhere to be found. That you need to enlist your security guard for a philosophical discussion of the afterlife and cold call Cyd to complain about the ball sack in a toupee you see on your TV screen as you watch ATN’s late night programming says something about your isolation and your head space. It is natural for a man to ponder his mortality as he ages, but perhaps you also realize the legacy you have assiduously worked to create is crumbling. While you unleashed venom at your kids, dismissing them for just saying the highest number, you ignored the fact they absorbed your business philosophy - "money wins."  


3. Nan Pierce (final Season 3 ranking: NR): Yes Nan, numbers are confusing, and we get that you are at sea. The man who offered you $25 billion back at Tern Haven is now treating your family business like its in the bargain bin at 75 percent off. But not to worry, his overeager children have swooped in with a face-saving bid at the eleventh hour. Is there still a red dot on the price tag? Sure, but when you want to sell and begin a comfortable retirement, is it really your job to worry that some fourth-generation-from-now Pierce heir might have to <gasp> do actual work instead of living off the interest on the deal you are about to make? 


4. Kerry Castellbate (final Season 3 ranking: 5): With Marcia off in Milan on an indefinite shopping trip, you have done a nice bit of rebranding. While the more puritanical might tsk tsk your arrangement with Logan, you have become a “friend, assistant, and advisor.” A hostess who intercepts non-vetted party guests. An intermediary who tries to bridge the gap between your boss and his now estranged children who openly ridicule you. And a confidante who has been brought into the fold for counsel when deals hang in the balance. It’s a grey area, but you are showing your elbows are as sharp as the cut on your bangs. The Power Rankings are taking note. 


5. Tom Wamgsgans (final Season 3 ranking: 3): Betraying your wife has paid dividends. You no longer have to look over your shoulder worrying she might cock block you as she did at Argestes. Logan has entrusted you with landing the plane on his post-GoJo plan to acquire Pierce and focus exclusively on his media empire. But is this really you Tom? Another rich guy in New York City putting notches on his bed post uncertain whether Logan will even keep you around once you and Shiv divorce? You have been around the Roy family long enough to know that there is a clear division of labor in Logan’s world. Family is never truly exiled while the hired help are always on tenterhooks wondering if the axe will fall on them. Attempting to straddle that line so your future is secure requires a level of deftness and tact you may not possess, especially when the Pierce deal blew up because you told Shiv about your dinner with Naomi. If there is a silver lining, that heart-to-heart with Shiv was a good reminder why your marriage did not work. While you tried to be earnest, she was gas lighting your entire relationship, pretending she did not treat you like a disposable meat puppet.


6. Cousin Greg (final Season 3 ranking: 4): We get it, Greg. Once upon a time, the Power Rankings were up and coming in the world of politics, seduced by the sudden presence of women who showed us interest. Your confidence is sky high and you have no qualms about pulling out the family card when Kerry questions your plus one at the birthday party or engaging in some below-the-equator rummaging with Bridget in one of the many guest bedrooms in Uncle Loge’s townhouse. But you need to bring more to the table than newfound swagger if you want to advance in this game. 


7. Colin Stiles (final Season 3 ranking: NR): When it comes to security, you do it well. You are discreet, keep your mouth shut, and do not ask a lot of questions. When the job description drifts into the existential realm of the meaning of life, you are not quite as sure footed. Thankfully, Logan does not actually care about what you have to say as much as he values your mere presence while he ruminates. But not to worry, as soon as you get back to his mansion, Kerry has a cell phone for you to go through to scrub any record of a party Logan barely bothered attending. 


8. Cyrus Tellis (final Season 3 ranking: NR): The blinding insight you learned at Harvard Business School was that a company is worth what the highest bidder is willing to pay for it. Perfect. Thank you, Captain Obvious. In the real world, you will quickly learn that working for the Roy kids is not so different than working for the Roy dad. They are demanding, mercurial, and will toss you overboard faster than you can say “no real person involved” if things go south even if it’s not your fault. If you don’t quit, your only other option is to grin and bear it while the math on your multi-million dollar deal fee dances in your head.


9. Connor Roy (final Season 3 ranking: 7): You are nothing if not consistent. Time after time you have shown yourself to be the world heavyweight champion of losing your fortune. Whether it was blowing a quick $10 million on political consultants, millions more on tons of mite-infested sand for your faux girlfriend’s failed play, or the nine figures you have burned through for one whole percent in your quixotic, third-party quest for the White House, you are like a one-man economic stimulus package for people who know how to take advantage of you. 


10. Bridget (final Season 3 ranking: NR): Are you a hostile corporate asset or just a social climber gutsy enough to click a selfie with Logan to goose your social media presence? Either way, getting frisky in the home of one of the most powerful business leaders in the world is the kind of thing to check off your bucket list on what we expect to be you and your capaciously large handbag's one-and-done appearance on the Power Rankings. 


Not Ranked: Marcia Roy. Willa Ferreyra. Gerri Kellman. Shakespeare Frank Vernon. Karl Muller. Naomi Pierce. Bun Pierce. Cyd Peach. Lukas Mattson. Mondale the Dog. The Disgusting Brothers. Brass Bands, Confetti Canons, Jet Packs, and Bum Fights. Crunchy Peanut Butter. The Old Wacky Tabacky. 1933.


Seasons 2 and 3 Power Rankings 

Tuesday, January 3, 2023

Thirteen Days Of Fitness

One of the biggest changes COVID wrought for me was losing access to my gym. It was closed for about six months and even after it reopened, I made the difficult decision to cancel my membership. This was not a small thing for me as I had been a regular (3-4 times per week) gym-goer for about 20 years. While my gym was closed, I started doing at-home classes through LES MILLS, whose branded classes were ones I had done at various gyms and was familiar with. I soon realized (with the benefit of working from home for more than a year) that working out at home was both more convenient (working out when I wanted to) and cheaper (a LES MILLS subscription is $13 a month, my gym was $70) that what I had been doing. Yes, I did miss the camaraderie of group fitness and the competitiveness of working out with people younger than me, HOWEVER, I was not prepared to risk my health for whatever benefit those things offered.

So how did I do it? For about $100 I bought an array of hand weights and I cleared out a roughly 15x15 area in my basement to work out. In other words, if I could figure out how to jerry rig a part of my house to work out and for not much money, so can you. I also came to realize that the convenience of working out at home resulted in my working out more. I now work out six days on, one day off (most of the time) and just finished thirteen days in a row while I was off from work for the holidays. Here is what I did:

Dec. 22 - Grit Athletic 37

Dec. 23 - Grit Strength 34

Dec. 24 - Grit Athletic 28

Dec. 25 - Body Combat 80

Dec. 26 - Grit Strength 36

Dec. 27 - Body Combat 88

Dec. 28 - Grit Strength 38

Dec. 29 - Body Attack 116 (30 min.)

Dec. 30 - Grit Strength 28

Dec. 31 - Body Attack 114 (30 min.)

Jan. 1 - Grit Cardio 36

Jan. 2 - Grit Strength 39

Jan. 3 - Body Combat 80

One of the things I like about LES MILLS is the variety of classes. The "grit" programs are high intensity interval training (HIIT) classes in three varieties - cardio, strength (weight training), and athletic (which usually has a combo of cardio and strength), body combat is basically kick boxing, and body attack, is HIIT-adjacent and mostly cardio focused. In other words, you can mix things up and always feel like you are getting a good workout. I am sure there are other companies offering similar types of workouts, but LES MILLS is the one I use. 

Best of luck to all trying to reach their fitness goals!

Friday, December 30, 2022

2022 Year in Books

Here's my list. Books 1, 3, 9, and 19 were probably the best of the bunch. I read a lot about baseball too, I think I just needed some easy reading to pass the time. Three years of a pandemic and it's like, eh, I don't want to keep reading heavy books about our screwed up world. Anyway, happy reading in 2023! 


1. Master of the Game, Martin Indyk 

2. Four Thousand Weeks, Time Management For Mortals, Oliver Burkeman 

3. Shooting Midnight Cowboy, Glenn Frankel

4. Half Empty, David Rakoff

5. Hitler’s American Gamble, Brendan Simmis

6. The Nineties, Chuck Klosterman 

7. The Power of Regret, Daniel Pink

8. 100 Things We Have Lost To The Internet, Pamela Paul 

9. Watergate, A New History, Garrett Graff

10. The Year That Broke America, Eric Rice

11. Ten Days In Physics That Shook The World, Brian Klegg

12. How To Be Perfect, Michael Schur 

13. A Block In Time, Christiane Bird 

14. The Magnificent Masters, Gil Capps

15. Tracy Flick Can’t Win, Tom Perrotta

16. Our Team, Luke Epplin

17. Meet Me By The Fountain, Alexandra Lange

18. The Secret Life of Groceries, Benjamin Lorr

19. Picasso’s War, Hugh Eakin

20. The Last Days of Roger Federer, Geoff Dyer 

21. 1972, The Series That Changed Hockey Forever, Scott Morrison

22. The Greatest Game, Richard Bradley 

23. Down and Out in Paradise, Charles Leerhsen 

24. Electric October, Kevin Cook

25. Miracle at Fenway, Saul Wisnia 

26. Adrift, Scott Galloway

27. Democracy’s Data, Dan Bouk 

Monday, December 12, 2022

Quiet Quitting Twitter

Like a lot of people who rely on Twitter for everything from social interaction to breaking news, I was concerned about Elon Musk’s buyout of the company. When it looked like he was going to blow up the deal, I was relieved, when it was back on, I sank. It turns out I (and others) were right to worry. The first few weeks of Musk’s stewardship validated our fears – hate speech proliferated and the predictable reinstatement of Donald Trump’s account came to pass. Musk has become a sort of troll-in-chief, sparking outrage by signal boosting lies about an assailant’s attack on Paul Pelosi, attacking companies that scaled back their advertising, and, most recently, sending out a tweet calling for the prosecution of Dr. Anthony Fauci.

In short order, Musk has made Twitter a more noxious place than it was before he bought the company. The natural question is “what to do.” And, if my follower count is any indication, some people made the understandable decision to leave. Others have, as they say, “tweeted through it,” noting the worsening conditions while fighting the good fight against the disinformation and conspiracy theories that have proliferated over the past month or so.

I was on the “tweet through it” side (without the lengthy threads) until the Fauci tweet. Not because of the tweet itself, which an egg with 9 followers probably sent back in 2020, but because it so neatly exposed the cynicism behind Musk’s thinking about the platform. You see, we are the product on Twitter. Its currency is engagement, the best way to ensure we stay engaged is to outrage us, and we take the bait over and over.  

Whether Musk legitimately believes Dr. Fauci should be prosecuted or Ron DeSantis should be President, or any of the other troll-ish statements he has sent out to the 110 million people who follow him (not to mention the press coverage he receives) is literally beside the point; Musk wants to make sure we stay logged on and pissed off. Whatever qualms companies may have about the site’s direction and whether to send their advertising dollars to it will be assuaged if Musk shows that people are as active as they were (if not more so) than before he bought the company.

And even if advertising dollars do dry up, I doubt Musk will change course. Why? Much has been made of the money he borrowed to buy the company, but even if the site went under and the banks called in their loans, Musk is the richest man on earth. While it might not be great to take a “three comma” loss, he can afford it and the investors he brought in – the sovereign wealth funds and the billionaires who dot the Forbes list of richest people in the world – can too. In other words, Musk has not only told you who he is and how he will run the site, but there is no leverage that can be applied to make him change.

So I have landed on a middle ground decision. I am quietly quitting Twitter. I do not want to leave the site entirely because for all its faults it remains a singular location where I can find and follow accounts about the wide range of things that interest me. I am simply going to spend less time on the site and even less time engaging in the outrage of the day. I am going to take that engagement currency Musk relies on and spend it elsewhere. I think it is in the spirit of Twitter to do something that is right for you while not expecting you will change any minds by doing it.


Wednesday, July 27, 2022

Gus Walks Into A Bar

There was a scene in a recent episode of Better Call Saul that hit close to home. Gus Fring, ordinarily a murderous drug cartel kingpin (*note, this is not the aspect I related to), was having a quiet moment drinking a glass of red wine at a bar. Soon enough, a sommelier appeared and he and Gus went on to have a conversation sprinkled with the kinds of small nods and “I remember you telling me” type comments indicating familiarity and comfort. Gus does most of the listening, reveling in the story telling of his companion who reminisces about a long ago trip to Europe and how the types of soil grapes are grown in affects the wine that they produce. Their conversation is lightly flirtatious and when they discuss a wine Gus purchased at the sommelier’s recommendation and for which Gus was waiting for a special occasion to open, it appears a more intimate conclusion to the evening is afoot. But when the sommelier excuses himself to retrieve another bottle of wine he wants to share, Gus discreetly reaches into his pocket, peels off four $100 bills, and asks the bartender to tell the sommelier he (Gus) has been called away.

 It is a sad coda. Here is a lonely man so emotionally distant from the world that he is willing to pay for a few minutes of enjoyable conversation but deny himself physical pleasure. I have a person like this in my life. Someone I get together with from time to time to just talk, mostly about what is happening in her life, her job, family, challenges she faces in working her way through the world. We go out to dinner or a movie, sometimes we just got ice cream at The Bent Spoon. It is all very innocent and a small respite for me from the reminders that I am unhappy in my own life and yet I feel awful every time I see her. She is lovely and engaging – that is not it – it is my own self-loathing that I am so damaged I need to pay someone to keep me company knowing they are (at best) just sort of nodding along.

Friday, July 8, 2022

The End of Ambition

 

There comes a time, often without notice, when you quietly transition from someone with ambition to someone who accepts that certain things will not happen for you professionally. I have been thinking a lot about this lately because I realized I am now on the other side of things. As the old saying about bankruptcy goes, it happens gradually than suddenly. Some promotional opportunities I did not get that chipped away at my self-confidence (maybe I am not as smart and talented as I thought I was). A whisper or two about being difficult to work with (sorry for having high standards of the people who work for me). My own bad decisions when presented with options and choosing the wrong one.

The story has layers and I cannot point to any one thing that led me to this place, just an accumulation over time. Mike Ehrmentraut observed that we all make choices and those choices put us on a road that leads in a certain direction and that sometimes those decisions seem small but they are choices nonetheless. I think there is a lot of truth to that. Personally, I think of it more like being on a road headed in a certain direction – you have some goal you are trying to reach, for me, it was to become a judge – and you make decisions you think will get you closer to that goal. Over time, your choices get you closer to, or, in my case, completely out of reach, of that goal. Worse, those decisions, ones you made and ones others made for you, affect your day-to-day livelihood. The annoying clients. The endless office bureaucracy. The assignments you do not like but cannot turn down. The dipshit partners who think you are simply a cog in the machine and could not give one tiny shit about your well-being. It all piles up.

And if that was not enough, being of a certain age tempers your motivation to change things. Why go on a job search for something else that will make me unhappy in different ways when I can just wait a few years and retire? Am I willing to give up the things that I like about my job (or at least view as selling points) such as the short commute, decent retirement benefits, and health plan, for a job that I might have to drive longer to do, will contribute money into a different retirement account instead of just staying here and investing in the one I have, and might make me change doctors who are not in whatever plan this hypothetical other job uses. And that is before I even get into looking for such a job and going through the interviews, etc. etc.

Not to mix metaphors, but all of this also has that frog in the boiling pot of water vibe to it. You know that one – a frog put in room temperature water will be slower to jump out as the heat gets turned up but if you dropped a frog into a pot of already boiling water, it will jump out immediately. Things have sucked for a while, except they always seemed manageable but now I just feel so deeply unhappy knowing that there is nothing ahead of me but day after soul crushing day of misery until I can quit this shit job and it just makes me fucking miserable.

Thursday, June 16, 2022

(Almost) Ran Into A Rain Storm

Having an anxiety disorder is not fun. Take the following: yesterday, I was watching the local news. During the weather forecast the meteorologist reported that heavy thunderstorms would be coming through the area right about the time I would be leaving for work this morning. I generally do not like driving in heavy rain storms (who does?) and so I immediately became stressed out about it. How did this manifest further? Trouble sleeping. I woke up at 2 A.M. and then tossed and turned until around 4 A.M. My plan was to see how things looked and leave as early as possible for work if the rain had not started before I left. 

The skies were very overcast and rain looked imminent. The morning weather was not of much help as it suggested the rain would come a little later. Not wanting to risk anything, I left very early (about 6:15 A.M.) Sure enough, five minutes after pulling into the parking garage, a deluge started, which I watched comfortably from my office window thinking "finally, my anxiety helped me."  

Sunday, June 12, 2022

2022 So Far ...

I was almost killed (twice, and in completely unrelated ways), got a $28,000 raise at the job I hate, and the only physical contact I've had with another human being was when the old guy who mans the self-checkout at Shop-Rite gave me a hug when he told me he was retiring. How is your year going? 

Saturday, May 21, 2022

The Hardest Office Trivia Quiz On The Internet

Over the last 3 months or so, I have been posting a trivia question each day about the TV show The Office. Take this quiz if you dare and see how much you know about our friends in Scranton, Pennsylvania:

1.    In Casino Night Pam and Jim square off in a hand of Texas Hold 'Em. What

hand does Jim have? What hand does Pam have? And who wins?

2.    On Valentine's Day, Michael and the other regional managers go to New York

City to meet the company's new CFO, David Wallace. Michael shows David a

video. What is the title of the video? What is the name of the song Michael uses

in the video? And what is the name of Michael's production company?

3.     What is Angela's middle name?

4.    What is Michael and Jan's safe word?

5.    What is Kevin's favorite movie?

6.    What does "IAATG" stand for?

7.    What online screen name does Nellie use to troll Andy in the comment

section of the office's promo video?

8.    What is the name of the receptionist at Dunder Mifflin Utica?

9.    What was Pam and Roy's wedding date?

10.  What were the last two movies Robert California screened in his home

theater?

11.  As a member of Here Comes Treble, what is Andy Bernard's signature

song? 

12.  In Beach Games, Michael splits the office into four teams to compete for his

job. Who were the team leaders and what were the team names?

13.  Michael has a neon sign in his condo. What brand of beer is featured on it? 

14.  What is Dunder Mifflin Scranton's mailing address?

15.  Name the members of the office Dwight brought with him to Tallahassee to

launch the Sabre store.

16.  What is Mrs. California's first name? 

17.  In Season Eight, the gang goes to Philly for a bar trivia night. Name the

members of the winning team and their team name.

18.  Who was the Michael Scott Paper Company's first customer?

19.  Who was in DeAngelo's inner circle? 

20.  In the first season episode Basketball Jim and Pam discuss their respective 

plans for that weekend. What was Pam going to do? What was Jim going to do?

21.  Meredith brings her son into the office on Take Your Daughter To Work Day.

Three part question: What is her son's name? Why did she bring him to the

office? What nickname did he give to Dwight? 

22.  What is Dwight's favorite movie? 

23.  When Andy first arrives in Scranton, he mentions three things he will do to

become the number two guy in the office. What are they? 

24.  What does Flankerton translate to in English? 

25.  At Schrute Farm, Dwight has three themed bedrooms for guests. What are

they and which one did Pam pick when she and Jim stayed there? 

26.  In the movie Threat Level Midnight, who plays the role of Goldenface? 

27.  In Season Nine, what was the name of the Scranton-area artist Pam was

competing against for the commission to paint the Irish-American Cultural Center

mural?

28.  What was the name of the bar where Michael and Concierge Marie met? 

29.  In the board game Belles Bourbon and Bullets, who is the murderer?

30.  What is Dunder Mifflin's stock symbol and according to Oscar what does it

stand for?

31.  Where did Erin work before she started working at Dunder Mifflin? 

32.  What is Michael's nephew's name and what are his two favorite movies? 

33.  What is Pam's favorite yogurt flavor?

34.  In the Season Two episode The Dundies what does Phyllis win an award

for? 

35.  In Business School, Michael mentions five "goliaths" America is facing. Name

them. 

36.  What are the five possible conflict resolution outcomes? 

37.  What is Andy's WiFi password?

38.  What song does Angela walk down the aisle to at her wedding to Dwight? 

39.  What is Pam and Roy's song? 

40.  At whose concert did Michael think he got high accidentally?

41.  What are Pam's five desert island movies?

42.  Which branch won the weight loss contest?

43.  What does the acronym "HERO" stand for?

44.  What is Pam's middle name? 

45.  What was Jim's golf score when he, Andy, and Kevin played a round with

Phil Maguire?

46.  What was Michael's room number at the hotel he stayed at in Philadelphia

during the third season episode The Convention?

47.  In the Martin family, what is “Looks like someone took the slow train from

Philly” code for? 

48.  What is Ryan Howard's middle name?

49.  What real-life actor appears in the Sabre welcome video?

50.  What was Jo Bennett's mom's occupation?

51.  When Dwight becomes acting Manager in Season 7, what job title does he

give all his co-workers in the office?

52.  What was the dress code for Andy's garden party?

53.  What is the cash value of a Schrute Buck?  

54.  What is the name of companion piece to the Vagina Monologues that Andy

wrote?

55.  What is the title of Pam's YA book and the name of the main character?

56.  What are the names of Dwight's siblings?

57.  During what month does the office go on a booze cruise of Lake

Wallenpaupack?

58.  According to Ryan, what is Michael's greatest fear?

59.  What part time job does Andy's Season 3 girlfriend Jamie have?

60.  When Meredith brings her son Jake to the office for take your daughter to

work day, what phrase is on his t-shirt?

61.  At beach day, who won the hot dog eating contest and how many hot dogs

did the winner eat?

62.  What is the secret code to enter the office Dwight gets wrong after becoming

Regional Manager?

63.  What is Erin's first name?

64.  Name the song performed by the cast of Glee during the episode Viewing

Party.

65.  What is Karen's husband's name and what does he do for a living?

66.  What was Andy's SAT score?

67.  After Jim temporarily steps away from Athlead, where does the company

relocate to and what is its new company name? 

68.  According to Kelley, what do three, four, and five dots at the end of a text

message signify, respectively?

69.   What is Gabe's middle name?

70.  Who are the bosses of the Scranton Business Park's Five Families? 

71.  When Val joins the office she is in a relationship. What was the name of her

boyfriend and what did he do for a living?

72.  While doing karate, what did Dwight name his fists and feet?

73.  When the office met a sales goal in Season Eight, Andy agreed to get a

tattoo. Two part question: where on his body did he get the tattoo and what was

it?

74.  What is Jim's roommate's name?

75.  What is the name of the Hooters waitress who served Michael and Jim in The

Secret

76.  What is the last word of the poem Michael wrote for Pam before she left to

study at the Pratt Institute in New York City? 

77.  What year was Dunder Mifflin formed?  

78.  Who are the founding members of The Finer Things Club? 

79.  How old was Michael when he lost his virginity?

80.  What did Michael originally give Toby as a going away present and what did

the note attached to that gift say?

81.  At the 2005 Dundies, what award did Pam win?

82.  What musical instrument does Robert California play?  

83.  Where is Ryan working when Michael recruits him to work for the Michael

Scott Paper Company?

84.  What are the nicknames Michael gives the employees of DM Utica when he

presents to them as part of his lecture circuit?

85.  What restaurant does Michael take Erin to for Secretary’s Day?

86.  What medical ailment does Andy suffer from?

87.  What is the name of Pam’s friend who Dwight hooks up with at Pam and

Jim’s wedding and what does she do for a living?

88.  Which members of the office invest in Ryan’s business idea, WUPHF.com?

89.  What does “BTB” stand for?

90.  When Dwight becomes acting manager in Season Seven, he obtains a new

desk. Whose desk is Dwight’s desk modeled after?

91.  What is the office’s computer server password?

92.  What does Nate have written on the other side of his resumé?

93.  Which member of the office is allergic to dairy products?

94.  Which tournament did Kevin win at the 2002 World Series of Poker?

95.  What is Karen’s favorite brand and flavor of potato chips?

96.  What is the name of the fake salesman Jim and Dwight create to get around

Sabre’s commission cap and which actual office employee claims to be him

when Harry Generale from DM Syracuse comes to visit?

97.  When Andy first transfers to DM-Scranton, what kind of car is he driving?

98.  Name the song Michael and Jim performed a duet karaoke version of in E

mail Surveillance.

99.  Name the song Pam and Meredith performed a duet karaoke version of in

Lice.

100.  Name as many of the eighteen pretzel toppings offered on Pretzel Day that you can.