60 Minutes apparently ran a story on the "Millenials," the supposed nom de unlikely of the group born between 1980 and 1995 who are, if the story is to be believed, a bunch of worthless slackers that make "Generation X" look like diligent coal miners by comparison. Link is to the web companion story.

I may have technically missed this by one year, but only one year so that means that I'm some sort of "Millenial," and I've rarely seen a piece of reverse-ageism so offensive in my life. A bunch of so-called "experts" giving anecdotal evidence of why these damn kids should get off my lawn is not real journalism, it's useless pablum to tide retirees over until Andy Effing Rooney comes on at the end and makes some "timely" observation about how he sure gets a lot of junk mail - and say, everyone says "holiday" instead of "Christmas" these days.

Doesn't this happen every time they coin a name for the current generation? They did it for my brother with Generation "X" and now they're doing it for me, but the story is essentially the same: Ego-centric, drag-ass, and tantrum-prone, but gawrsh they shore do know them computers better'n us so can't live without 'em huh?

Perhaps most disturbingly, the reversed priority of being family- and lifestyle-minded rather than singularly career-focused is presented as odd. And the desire to be rewarded, in however small a way, for a job well done (the core of so many books about management I've glossed over, and just plain human nature) is presented as selfish and spoiled. Sorry, no I didn't walk uphill in the snow both ways to school. I grew up in Texas. And the bus was invented at some point in the years leading up to my birth.

If you need any proof that this is a load of complete nonsense (I sincerely hope if you're reading this then you don't), have a look at the 90% of my blogroll that falls into the "Millenial" category.

The best show ever, or at least the best one put on by socks. If you miss Sifl and Olly, check out Liam Lynch's video podcast which is just about monthly or at least when he's between Foo Fighters videos and Tenacious D movies.

If you don't have a TiVO or DVR, you're missing out. Especially if you have a dog. My wiener dog, Dottie, is no smarter than most dogs (so... not very smart), but the killer instinct is still in there somewhere. I'm pretty sure she'd get vicious on something if she actually got a hold of it (just ask her toys) but she's not fast or especially observant, so most things get by.

Last night during House a fantastic Dyson commercial came on. To show that other lightweight vacuums are underpowered, the commercial features them making squeaky noises. Just like one of Dottie's squeaky toys. The result was amazing. Dog stopping what she's doing (sleeping). Dog jumping. Dog running in random circles, looking up at the sky like she's on some killer peyote. Dog whining at me to just produce the toy already.

I'm convinced that, while any book will tell you dachshunds were bred to hunt burrowing animals (it means "badger dog" in german), they were in fact created for the sole purpose of devouring squaky toys.

Yes, it's true, thanks for asking, this magical DVR thing has in fact changed my viewing habits. Used to be, by the time I stopped working in the evening, the only thing playing on the telly (God bless 'em, the Brits and my favorite word of theirs) were some Aqua Teen reruns I'd seen 8 times and maybe some Family Guy I'd seen 12 times. Yeah, the Foreigner Belt episode was damn funny, but only so many times. Thanks to the DVR, I'm ... oh no. Oh no. Fred Sanford help me.

I'm a standard television viewer.

I watch all the hits! It's true-- I know! First you work for a giant corporation, then you start watching NBC prime time. My friends were right. I'm pratically Rupert Murdoch now, without the money. But here's what's on the DVR.

• Lost. Frankly, this season has me a little frustrated. not knowing what's going on isn't enough to make me keep watching something that's barely written. I think the writers are stalling. Because if they don't know what the crap is going on, neither can we.
• Medium. This is really more Erika's, but I end up watching it. It's not bad. Not always well-written, but Patricia Arquette and Jake Weber (from the Dawn of the Dead remake) are great actors. Which, if you ask the Amazing Randi, the real Alison DuBois is also.
• Heroes. I still get the feeling that I want to like this show a lot more than I actually do. Plus, it's in widescreen, and I can't stand to waste the sides of my TV. It's getting better than it was when it started, so I suppose I'll hold out just because it's about some X-men.
• Studio 60. Yeah, but other than Alex, I'm the only one, so I don't think I'll be watching this anymore. Aaron Sorkin isn't doing his best with these stories, but his dialog is consistently amazing. And Chandler? Not so bad.
• Doctor Who. And what of it? I work on the internet, I'm allowed to be a total nerd. I grew up on Tom Baker reruns, so this is near and dear. And unlike all the series revivals since the 80s, these last two seasons have been really good. Christopher Eccelston was a very different Doctor (and speaking of Heroes, he's the invisible British guy), but really good. And David Tennant? Best since Baker, hands down. Being in a Harry Potter movie only gives him bonus points. We'll see how the thing does without Billie Piper, but being in the US we'll probably have to wait 3 years to find out.
  
• Torchwood. With no Doctor right now, I'm forced to watch reruns and check out the spinoff. Yes, a spinoff. This is supposed to be "edgier" or... something. Russell T. Davies insists you not call it "Doctor Who for grown-ups," so I'll call it what it looks ilke to me: Buffy The Vampire Slayer with F-bombs. But sadly, much as I hate the Buffy genre, British accents and F-bombs are enough to keep me watching.
• Monty Python's Flying Circus. Thank you, Mister Rogers. Why? Well, he was a great man. But he also invented PBS, and were it not for PBS, I would not see Flying Circus on TV. If only there were more F-bombs.
• Law and Order. The core series, any spinoff, doesn't matter. It's great because there is very little back story to the characters, no serialism. You just come in when you feel like, watch what you want, and come back whenever you can. And you know what? Robert Anton Wilson watched Law and Order, I think it's ok for me, thank you.

Now you know. Through this rambling bit of total banality, you have seen my weak side. Principles cast aside. Well, you can't play music while you work, but you can watch Jack McCoy work his legal magic.