Let me begin by noting I know a few people peripherally (writers, producers, actors) involved with the creation of the show “Big Bang Theory” (BBT). I also know many nerds who are the subject of, impacted by, or otherwise in the orbit of the show itself.

BBT, as has been typical in the past, was nominated for some Emmy awards. The show is a prime time big market television show about nerds (geeks) and geek (nerd) culture.

Let us stipulate for the moment that all of the above are facts.

I’ve heard a lot of criticism of the show itself over various topics.  In fairness and out of a sense of nerd completionism, I will list the prominent ones here. Please click and read the arguments to understand my points later.

It’s not funny, comedically lazy, and laughs at nerds not with them.

It’s misogynistic and potentially homophobic.

And a host of other complaints.

As a side note and personal pet peeve, many people have characterized the show as “geeksploitation” or “nerd blackface”, which are actually pretty terrible descriptions from a hyperbole standpoint. Society didn’t spend centuries lynching, enslaving and demeaning nerds so to use the “blackface” term is a disservice to how hurtful and horrible blackface is from a racial perspective. It also speaks to a level of defensiveness I’ll talk about in a second.

Big Bang Theory is now in its 6th year.  And while there’s always been a small undercurrent of nerd criticism it strikes me that its amped way, way up in the past year (as the show has reached a critical level of popularity) from “it’s not a funny show” to “it offends me and exploits my culture.”

The latter sort of mystifies me.

To be clear, I’m not asking anyone to find the show funny, nor am I saying you’re wrong for not liking what I like. However the sense amongst some people that the show is insulting and exploitive strikes me as a bit defensive. I feel somewhat like an ER technician watching a doctor rant about how exploitive Scrubs is.

No one that I know involved with the creation of the show would want to make a single new episode of it if they thought they were creating it A) for money and fame to the detriment of the subject matter and/or B) if the show itself caused material harm to the subject matter. The sheer amount of effort alone they put into the math, science, comic continuity, etc are not throwaway references and I think really speaks to the dedication of getting things in the culture right. They might stumble, but it’s not for lack of effort.

Likewise I take issue with the shorthand criticism that the show is laughing “at” geek culture rather than “with” geek culture.  Comedy is not a zero sum game.  Prime time comedy has to do a lot of both laughing at and with the things it is examining.  A show that did nothing but laugh “with” geek culture would actually not be all that good.

Even moreso I wonder if the defensiveness of insisting geek culture shouldn’t be mocked or poked fun of (the "BBT laughs ‘at’ geek culture and that’s wrong!”) comes from the fact a lot of geek culture has routinely been mocked and made fun of since we were kids.  Maybe it’s hard to believe that in the end Big Bang Theory isn’t some sneaky plot by the jocks to make us all feel bad.  We’re all geek versions of Carrie at the prom, just waiting for the pig’s blood.

Here’s the reason I don’t think the show is exploitive:  The people I know who watch it (who aren’t what I would call geeks) tune in to see if Leonard will get back with Penny, or what is going to happen to Walowitz in space. They don’t tune in to “see what those stupid nerds are up to this week.”

They watch it for the characters, because they like them.

Over the course of the six seasons the characters have meshed and grown, pulled together and pulled away. Like most long lived sitcoms, the setting could really be anywhere.  The nerd culture aspect gives me something to enjoy on top of the melodrama. Granted the arcs are shallow. We’re not talking deep level social commentary here.  It’s a sitcom.  But I really struggle to find the harmful exploitation. You want to see exploitation of a genre, watch some episodes of Archer. They spin exploitation into comedy gold over there.

If you don’t think the show is funny that’s one thing.  Certainly the humor variant over the six seasons goes up and down like any other comedy. If you think it’s sending the wrong message in character development about gender or orientation roles that’s fair criticism. Penny bothered me for a long time until I really got it that she’s a caricature of counterbalance to the caricature of nerds. The hamhanded “in the closet” references between Rajesh and Wolowitz are so telegraphed sometimes they can’t be forgiven as commentary. And don’t get me started on the laugh track.

But offense over perceived exploitation just strikes me as a bridge too far. People point to shows that “do it better” like Community.  I argue I don’t think a show like Community would have been greenlit if Big Bang Theory hadn’t had three seasons of success before Community aired. Keep in mind how prime time works.  If broadcaster A has a hit formula it’s not long before B and C come out with their own flavor. Furthermore Community does its own share of laughing “at” things, it’s a formula all shows have to use at some point.

In the end I suppose I’m not going to sway any opinions here. And again I’m certainly not saying anyone should like something they don’t like.  If it’s not funny to you it’s not funny to you. I remain puzzled by the reaction that a highly rated popular prime time comedy lasting six seasons that centers around geek culture should be dismissed or is offensive because it is exploitive at its core.

Isn’t this the cultural victory we kind of dreamed of when the rest of the world dismissed us? Millions of people nerds and not laughing about Lord of the Rings and science jokes!

Tell me what you think in the comments.

I sometimes think I was born too early. It’s unlikely that the most basic questions of our inter, or intra-stellar existence, will be answered before I die.

And sometimes I feel I was born at as good a time as any.

I turned 40 this week. And on the eve of the anniversary of my birth humanity performed the equivalent of launching a golf ball from New York and landing on the green in mainland china: the Mars Curiosity Rover touched down safely while me and my friends all watched via HD streaming from 14 light minutes away.

It’s a clear crisp night where I live, some 50 minutes from Seattle in the foothills of the foothills of the Cascade mountain range. It’s mid August, but the temperature is 62.

I’m sitting outside watching meteorites overhead. Not as many as I would like, but many all the same. A thousand years ago, humans would view these spectacular reminders of how amazing our universe is by attaching punishment or superstition to them. Where I can appreciate the luminescent destruction of fragments of dirt and ice, someone in 1100 CE was probably sacrificed or burned alive because of its perceived meaning.

Today, we can appreciate the science. But complain about the cost or the fact that the initial haz cam pictures from Curiosity on Mars were low res black and white. Everything is amazing, and no one is happy Louis CK says. Good news is we’re not burning people, at least literally, over science.

As I sit in my back yard with a tablet computer connected to all of humanity via the Internet while I watch a spectacular reminder of how awesome the universe can be, I can be happy. Because all I can think of right now is Morgan Freeman’s voice saying “titty sprinkles“

For the vast majority of my life I’ve worked at a single place, specifically a corporation working on software.  Now that my book is finished (more news on that later) I’ve been looking for a new opportunity.  Writing and consulting are still very important to me, but along side that I went looking for a class of experience as opposite to what I had previously done as possible, all while remaining in the gaming industry. Plus I think Rochelle is tired of having me around the house all day.  <g>

So I’m very excited today to announce that effective immediately I have accepted a position as Director of Operations and Product Management with Gaming And Entertainment Mobile Systems (GAEMS, inc.).

GAEMS are the makers of the g155 system that you’ve seen myself and e raving about. I still remember the day after the Xbox 360 launched I had to leave for two weeks on a business trip.  The hottest piece of gaming hardware on the market sat idle at home.  I dearly wished for something like the g155 to make that gaming experience portable. As I was looking at various opportunities, working on a product that I believe in was paramount in my mind.

So for the first time I’m joining a startup company which gives me a chance not only to apply my skills in a new environment, but also to learn a metric ton about how the gaming hardware business works. (I was never really plugged into the hardware manufacturing side of Xbox). Those are really the key reasons for taking another job: getting a whole lot of new experience, and working on something I like myself.

Not much really changes with my other activities of course, I’ll still be writing and performing! But now when I’m on the road I’ll be gaming too. I’m super excited about the opportunity and can’t wait help them bring some cool products out!

Most geeks, sort of by definition, are at least some part socially awkward penguins. Which means in a sense that many situations that a lot of people find perfectly normal we might find daunting and will therefore approach from our typical analytical viewpoint as to how we can undaunt the daunting or at least blunt it somewhat. When we establish the rules or conditions for these types of situations, it’s important that we share them with others so that we can all learn.

Which brings me to pooping at work.

Now let us establish, for the purposes of the discussion, that pooping is a very private act. The very posture of the body is a vulnerable pose. While often protected by some form of visual privacy, there is rarely any aural privacy. And as we all know, pooping is second only to sex for the body to make loud noises it doesn’t normally make. Sounds one might find interesting, even humorous in the lone privacy of the home pooping scenario quickly become fraught with anxiety and panic in more communal situations.

Now pooping at work isn’t terribly different from other shared bathroom scenarios, but it’s the one I have the most experience with having spent 18 years in a 9-5 corporate style job.  Further, I should note this discussion will be restricted to the male bathroom experience. Not unlike your purses ladies, your restroom is a complete mystery to us.  I picture tasteful wallpaper.  Perhaps some scented candles.  Pink or magenta colored stalls, and a nice loveseat and duvet in the corner just for sitting and chatting.

By contrast the typical corporate men’s room is a sterile environment. Black glossy countertops.  White tile walls. A typical two urinal and three stall configuration, where if the designer was feeling particularly saucy the stalls are taupe instead of grey.  The entire men’s restroom design feels like its creators firmly believed at some point it will be necessary to blast clean the entire place with a high pressure hose.

So you’re at work, and you have to poop.

There are several initial scenarios to consider upon entering the bathroom.  First and foremost is the best case scenario: Totally empty.  Two blank urinals and three open stall doors.  This is the prime condition for pooping at work. This is where you can let your poop flag fly.  Despite your desire to take the oversized handicap stall however (or as I refer to it: The Luxury Suite) one shouldn’t, as awkwardness reaches new levels when you exit the handicap stall and the only other person in the empty bathroom is someone who actually requires it.

Much like the Urinal Rules, the situation becomes more complex if one or more of the stalls are occupied.  REMEMBER IT IS OK TO ABORT. However if your level of awkwardness isn’t that high or your need is too great, where possible try not to take a stall next to someone.

Once in the stall, assuming a certain level of cleanliness, there are only ever two things you need to be sure about: Presence of an adequate amount of toilet paper (self explanatory), and the quality of the lock on the stall door.

I cannot impress enough how equal these two items are, a point I will return to shortly. Sometimes you are faced with a condition I call “Shoddy lock” where the latch or lock on the stall door is worn or broken, allowing you to close it but giving you no firm confidence it will hold under any duress.  If there’s no other available stall I repeat my guidance that it is ok to abort.  Otherwise you are playing a dangerous game my friend, a most dangerous game indeed.

All right, all things being equal you are in your stall and now ready to poop.  At this point the situation changes somewhat because no matter what happens from this moment until you are finished, you are severely constrained in your ability to deal with any adverse situations.  You are at your most vulnerable during the actual pooping.

A side note about styles of pooping: We’re not going to dive into mechanics here, but one protip to share is that sometimes we can’t always be in control of when the business end of the pooping business is going to have a loud and forceful argument with the toilet bowl. Where possible it is useful to try and time those expellatory episodes with the flushing of other stall toilets or urinals to minimize auditory crosstalk and the subsequent embarrassment.  Your only other recourse if you cannot do that is simply not leave the stall until everyone who was in the restroom during your situation has left and been gone for at least five minutes.

So!  Now you’re pooping. It’s here that you may encounter several denizens of the male bathroom, I have classified them accordingly:

The Juggernaut.

A normal person entering a bathroom and encountering one or more closed stall doors will assume those stalls are occupied. Even if one assumed the doors were somehow stuck and the stalls empty, normal behavior would have them stoop low enough to look for the presence of feet.

Not the Juggernaut!  The Juggernaut barrels into the bathroom, selects one of the closed doors and rams it with his shoulder. The Juggernaut will typically do this not once, but twice. This forces you to shoot your legs out straight from the toilet to brace the door. The stress of the situation will cause you to call out in your least outraged and indignant voice “Occupied!”

Assuming the Juggernaut did not hear your mouse-squeak, they will eventually conclude the stall is occupied and move on.

The Beholder.

The Beholder is much more courteous than the Juggernaut but subtly more terrifying. Most restroom stalls have a gap between the door and its frame.  While the Beholder won’t test the door, they instead will hover at the gap and peer through one eye into the stall to see if it is occupied, which always looks like this to me when I, in mid poop, look up and see their eye floating in the gap of the door:

One trademark of the Beholder is the abnormally long time it takes them to discern that yes, the shocked and fearful looking person on the toilet does in fact mean the stall is occupied.

The Shadow.

The Shadow is the most disconcerting member of the menagerie.  You clearly hear someone enter the restroom. You can even hear them approach the stalls and not the urinals.  You know the other stalls are occupied.  Then you hear…nothing.  The Shadow makes no noise.  And yet they are there.  Who are they?  How badly do they have to go?  Are they waiting patiently or impatiently?  Oh god, are they thinking I’m taking too long?  How long have I been in here?

The Shadow compounds your anxiety with their very silence.  Until you finish and rush out of the stall, being sure not to make eye contact as you mumble your apologies for taking so long.

Most of these scenarios are fairly benign, and I think by sharing this with you we become more comfortable and knowledgeable. The only real problems occur when some of the scenarios and denizens combine.

The cure for constipation by the way, no matter how bad it is, is the combination of shoddy lock and The Juggernaut.