From work

"Hey! How come your imagination's working?"

Strong Bad answers an email from work.

Cast (in order of appearance): Strong Bad, Bubs, Strong Sad, Homestar Runner, Pom Pom

Places: The Office

Computer: Corpy NT6

Date: Monday, April 9, 2007

Running Time: 3:34

Page Title: Corpy NT6!

DVD:strongbad email.exe Disc Six

Transcript

{Close-up of the lower half of Strong Bad's face. He holds his hand over his mouth.}

STRONG BAD: {whispering} Shhh! Shut up, you guys! I'm checkin' email from work today, and I can't let The Man know what I'm up to!

{Cut to Strong Bad typing on a computer with a grey monitor that reads "Corpy NT6"}

STRONG BAD: {singing} Oh, tiptoe your fingers 'cross the keyboard for the quietest email you can check.

{The DELETED buzzer is heard. An error message with a picture of a hand blocking a basketball appears with the text "BLOCKED! Back to work, drone!" The box shakes when the buzzer plays.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Oh, man. They got everything blocked now. Even those awesome pop-up insurance ads with the cool mini-games in 'em. I tasered that gnome like ten times! {stops typing} Good thing The Cheat hooked me up with this Cheatware!

{Strong Bad holds up a yellow 3.5" diskette with black spots; the label reads "Cheatware ver. 2.1" and has an ASCII-art-like[#Remarks *] drawing of The Cheat. He puts it in the computer. The computer makes a whirring sound and the text "Grandmaw Edgar's Corporate Firewall Get-Arounder" appears on the screen with a picture of an old woman and a brick wall. A short synth-banjo tune plays. The screen changes to an animation of the old woman pole vaulting over the wall into an envelope. The words "Running..." appears at the top and changes to "Done and done." as the animation finishes. A progress bar at the bottom progresses from yellow to red.}

STRONG BAD: Oh, nice work, pixel-Granny! Undermine those corporate oppressors on witcha bad self! {brings up email}

>Dear Strong Bad,
>If you could have any job in the whole
>world, regardless of how much it pays, what
>would you have?
>From The Nitwon

{Strong Bad reads "The Nitwon" as "The Nittle One"}

STRONG BAD: {typing} You ask like I haven't told you guys a million times... {drumroll sounds; Strong Bad clears screen} I'd be a 2nd 2nd Assistant Space Whale Scrubber! {"tada" sound effect; the words "Space Whale Scrubber" flash in many colors} Cause those are the ones that get to wear that glittery pantsuit and use a lazormop to scrub all the nudules and crudules off the whale's dorsal ridge! {Crickets chirp. Strong Bad looks around.} Umm, shouldn't we be seeing some of this by now?

BUBS: {offscreen, imitating buzzer noise} Baghh!

{Cut to view of Bubs standing behind Strong Bad, who is facing him}

BUBS: Sorry, Strong Bad! The suits had me install a firewall on your imagination! All that free thinking was wasting the company's cost money!

{Close up of Strong Bad's face}

STRONG BAD: Oh, that's it! I am totally never gonna quit this job but start complaining about it a little bit more! {he thumps the desk with his fist four times}

{Back to view of Strong Bad and Bubs}

BUBS: Well, I'd better get back to taserin' that gnome! Err, I mean, {Bubs starts walking offscreen} upgrading the... taserin' that gnome! ...server.

{Return to view of Strong Bad in front of the Corpy}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Well, I guess I could try and describe it using work approved methods. Let's see: {clears screen, brings up a blank graph. Continues typing, the words appear in red above the graph} Why 2nd 2nd Assistant Space-Whale Scrubber is My Dream Job. {an image of a space-whale appears in the background} Twenty percent pantsuit, {a green bar comes up from the bottom of the graph with "20%" written on it and "pantsuit" written under it} seventeen percent space-whale proximity... {a shorter purple bar comes up with "17%" written on it and "space-whale proximity" written under it}

STRONG SAD: {offscreen} Hey, cube neighbor!

{Cut to Strong Sad looking at Strong Bad over the side of his cubicle}

STRONG SAD: My work staysh is asking me if I want to log off or log out. Which one do I choose?

STRONG BAD: Pffft! Stupid temp. You don't know the difference between logging off and logging out?

STRONG SAD: Well, no. Back when I was in charge of the {starts drumming his fingers} schwa sound at dictionary.com they used to...

STRONG BAD: {interrupting} Look, just hold down escape, control, tab, alt, both shifts, num lock and the little squiggly until your screen turns blue. Then, stare at it until your shift ends.

STRONG SAD: Oh, thanks!

{Strong Sad goes back down into his own cubicle. Cut back to Strong Bad in front of the Corpy. The chart has gone away.}

STRONG BAD: {typing} Okay. Back to the, back to the sbemail. Let's talk about dorsal ridges!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: You wanna know what—

{Cut to Homestar Runner behind Strong Bad}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: —my dream job would be?

STRONG BAD: No. I mean, no. I mean, no.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: I'd be the guy—

{Cut to a shot of blue sky with clouds, as happy fantasy music plays in the background}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: —that flies around {Homestar Runner falls onto and starts riding a large flying goldfish} on that big plastic goldfish, {an oversized toothbrush appears next to Homestar, who uses it to paint clouds in the sky} painting the clouds with an oversized novelty toothbrush!

STRONG BAD: Hey! How come your imagination's working?

{Homestar stops painting clouds, and the music stops. Cut back to Homestar Runner and Strong Bad}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh, I got admin privileges! It helps when you're best friends with the Big Cheese!

{Zoom out; An annoyed Pom Pom is behind Homestar with sunglasses above his eyes and carrying a bicycle with the text "[...]IG CHEESE"}

POM POM: {bubble noises}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Agh! {jumps, turns around} The Big Cheese!

POM POM: {bubble noises}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {bends over with a downtrodden look} Yes, sir. Sorry, sir. Right away, sir. Hallelujah, sir. {Pom Pom begins to bounce away, with Homestar shuffling behind him} I'll have that DNA evidence on your desk by five.

{Back to Strong Bad in front of the Corpy}

STRONG BAD: Nevermind, Nitwit. Checking sbemails at the office is not worth the trouble. I dunno how all those bloggers do it. Oh well. I guess I'd better get back to woik.

{Screen clears; a message appears saying "Would you like to:"; there are two buttons, one that says "Log off", one that says "Log out"}.

STRONG BAD: {mumbles, typing noises} 'Scape... tab... squiggly... {with each type, a word appears onscreen: "esc.ctrl.tab.alt.shift.shift.numlock.~.<"}

>TEMP LOG OFF/OUT ERROR 

> Oh you are SOOOO not
gonna work here again!

{The Paper comes down. After about 7 seconds, Strong Bad continues:}

STRONG BAD: Oh, gonna be a long one. I haven't even taken my first sit-in-the-men's-room-and-play-Tetris-for-an-hour break yet.

Easter Eggs

Low rates, percent signs, I dunno...

• Click on the comic strip on the wall of Strong Bad's cubicle when Strong Sad appears to see a Dullard comic.
• Click on "work" at the end of the email after Strong Bad's comment in order to play "Taser the Gnome For Low Rates!"

Fun Facts

Explanations

Back to work, drone!

• A firewall is a computer system designed to protect one or more computers from unwanted connections, and can be configured to restrict the same computers from accessing certain external resources. However, it is occasionally used (incorrectly) to refer to a proxy server, often used at workplaces and schools to restrict access to non-work related websites, which appears to be the system used in Strong Bad's workplace.
• Cheatware is an example of a proxy or anonymizer, which can be used to bypass firewalls or restrictions placed by the administrators of the network.
• A temp is a short-term (or temporary) worker.
• A blog, or "weblog", is a journal-like user generated website.
• A schwa is an unstressed, neutral vowel sound, represented by an ə (an e rotated 180 degrees).
• The "squiggly" (~) is known as the tilde.
• The dorsal ridge is a raised line or hump on the back of some whales (in place of a dorsal fin).
• A taser is a non-lethal weapon used for subduing a person by administering an electric shock.
• Admin is short for Administrator.
• Strong Bad complaining that "everything is blocked" refers to the fact that many businesses block things online for various reasons including to keep network security healthy and to force workers to keep focused on their jobs.

Trivia

• The preview on the TV Time Toons Menu is not a scene from the email, but just simply a shot of the Corpy NT6 with a blank screen and a blinking cursor.
• Despite making multiple appearances since August 2006, this is the first time in six months Pom Pom broke free of the standby role he held in toons such as Decemberween Short Shorts, unnatural, and your funeral.
• The summary for the Podstar Runner RSS feed reads, "Strong Bad tries to check his email from work."
• The Corpy has the same error beep as the Compy.

Remarks

• The sound made by the computer when the Cheatware disk is put in is the noise made by many old 5.25" floppy drives. However, the Cheatware disk is a 3.5" floppy disk.
• The tune to the opening email song that this email has is similar to that of trading cards.
• Several fluorescent lights can be seen in the Corpy's reflection. This can be seen most prominently in the "Loading..." screen.
• The ASCII art-like image of The Cheat is not possible to make with ASCII art. Parentheses are used sideways, and the characters do not align correctly with a fixed width font.
• Though most Edgarware programs are used as security devices, "Grandmaw Edgar's Corporate Firewall Get-Arounder" is the first designed to circumvent security devices.
• Although Strong Bad seems to be concerned with the volume level at the beginning of the email, he seems to disregard any semblance of noise control for the rest of the email, especially when he yells at Bubs.
• The image of the Dullard comic on Strong Bad's wall before it is clicked is the same image used in the email dullard. This can be seen in the fact that the comic resembles a rough sketch of the first Dullard comic, with characters handing each other a piece of paper and the dog-like character in the last panel.
  • This same image was used in 4 branches.
• In the gnome-tasering game, there are 2 rows of state abbreviations. One row has 24 states and the other has 26 states even though two rows of 25 states could have been used.
• The gnome-tasering game's score system is only meant to hold five digits, and hitting 100,000+ will result in the last digit getting cut off.
• In the gnome-tasering game, the ka-ching sound plays when you click the mouse down on the gnome, and the buzzing noise and score only happen when you let go of the mouse. If you move the mouse off the gnome before letting go (or the gnome moves out from underneath the mouse), the buzzing noise won't play, and you won't get any points.
• The keyboard is making a noise heard only in this toon, where the noise sounds like he has to press down harder.
• This cartoon appears to take place on a Biz Cas Fri, because Strong Bad and Homestar are wearing their "T-shirts they got from various software companies"; however, the logos are missing from the shirts.
• After the first firewall pops up, Strong Bad starts typing what he's saying, even though he is not answering the email yet.
• On a standard US QWERTY keyboard, the key combination to trigger the temp log off/out error can only be reasonably typed if one of Ctrl or Alt may be pressed on the right side of the keyboard.

Goofs

Six digits.

• The Dullard comic is not visibly attached to the wall in any way, as the thumbtack does not actually go through the comic.
• The reflections of the lights above Strong Bad's cubicle overlap the reflection of his head, which should not be possible since his head would block any light coming from that direction.
• When Strong Sad goes back to his cubicle, his head disappears prematurely.
• When Homestar blinks, white overlaps his head.

Inside References

• This is the fifth email in a row to mention DNA evidence.
• Strong Sad previously said "staysh" in Lappynapped!.
• "Grandmaw Edgar's Corporate Firewall Get-Arounder" is another program in the Edgar family.
• Using a lazormop to scrub all the nudules and crudules off the space whale's dorsal ridge is another example of Lasers.
• The space whale has the same kinds of spots as the space lobster from Drive-Thru.
• One of the items in Bubs's tool belt is a permanent marker.
• Bubs spoke of The Man in Cool Things.
• Homestar saying he'll have the DNA evidence on Pom Pom's desk by five is a reference to the first Dullard comic.
• "Done and done" was last seen in radio.
• "Corpy" is a portmanteau of "corporate" and "Compy".
• The goldfish Homestar rides in his daydream resembles one of the sketches of the Drive-Thru Whale, who may also be related to the "space whales" Strong Bad discusses.
• Strong Bad saying, "No. I mean, no. I mean, no." is an example of a joke in the form X, I mean X, I mean X.
• Strong Bad saying "woik" is another example of "Er" pronounced as "Oi".

Real-World References

• Tetris is a well-known and often imitated video game created by Alexey Pajitnov, and has been ported to many video game consoles, digital organizers, and cell phones.
• The "Corpy NT6" could be a reference to Windows Vista, which is Windows NT version 6.
• The Man is a term from the '60s used to describe authority figures. It is often associated with a negative connotation, as '60s movements which used the term tended to resist the influence of individuals who could be considered "The Man."
• The way Strong Sad peeks over his cubicle wall and says "Hey, cube neighbor!" is a reference to Wilson on the TV sitcom Home Improvement.
• "Insurance games" is a reference to online advertisements from companies, like LowerMyBills.com and FreePay, that feature Flash-based games which lead to the company's website when played.
• The screen turning blue is a reference to the Blue Screen of Death, a Windows system error screen.
• Strong Bad's log off/log out key sequence is a parody of the key sequence used to unlock Windows NT work stations, Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and of the Novell 'Four Finger Salute' <Left Shift><Right Shift><Alt><Esc>.
• Dictionary.com is an online dictionary.
• "2nd 2nd Assistant Space Whale Scrubber" is a reference to the 2nd 2nd Assistant Director on a film set.

Fast Forward

• A deleted scene from this email would be featured in the short Sbemail 169 Deleted Scene.
• The DNA scene would be revisited in the big toon DNA Evidence.
• The "yes, sir, sorry, sir, right away, sir" line is used in the holiday toon Trogday 08.
• The Corpy NT6 would later be used in imaginary as a temporary replacement for Strong Bad's exploded Lappy 486.

DVD Version

• Taser the Gnome game now plays automatically to 1600 points.
• The DVD version features hidden creators' commentary. To access it, switch your DVD player's audio language selection while watching.

Commentary Transcript

(Commentary by: Mike Chapman, Strong Bad, Homestar Runner)

STRONG BAD: Shh! Shut up, Mike!

MIKE: Oh, I just... Okay, what's the—

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Shut up, Mike!

MIKE: What's the problem?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: You're being really loud in the commentary.

MIKE: {simultaneously} I—

HOMESTAR RUNNER: At work.

MIKE: {simultaneously} Oh, sorry!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: We're at work during this commentary—

MIKE: {simultaneously} {unintelligible}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: —about Strong Bad checking his email at work.

MIKE: It's my— it's my job, I'm supposed to be doing this.

STRONG BAD: Oh, yeah, maybe you should be doing your job better!

MIKE: Okay, uuhhm...

STRONG BAD: Oh, man! I gotta tell you, those insurance Flash pop-up ads—

MIKE: Yeah, I—

STRONG BAD: ...Those things are some good games.

MIKE: That, yeah, there's a few that I—

STRONG BAD: A putt-putt, one time I did a putt-putt.

MIKE: Yeah?

STRONG BAD: I won four PlayStations.

MIKE: {laughs}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: One time, I saw a computer, and I kicked it in the rear.

MIKE: In the wheel?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: In the rear.

MIKE: That wasn't a computer...

HOMESTAR RUNNER: {simultaneously} I kicked—

MIKE: {simultaneously} ...if it had a wheel on it.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: I kicked it in its rear end.

MIKE: Oh, in the rear!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: In the rear.

MIKE: Oh in the rear, okay.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: My car has four wheel... drive.

MIKE: {chuckles}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Four rear ends drive.

MIKE: Alright, alright...

STRONG BAD: What do you think about that space whale, Mike?

MIKE: Uh, I like—

STRONG BAD: {simultaneously} Have you ever worn a glittery pantsuit?

MIKE: I haven't.

STRONG BAD: You {unintelligible}

MIKE: I have worn a, um, speed skating suit, a white speed skating suit.

STRONG BAD: You did, reall—

MIKE: With a hood, yeah.

STRONG BAD: One time?

MIKE: Tried it on.

STRONG BAD: Ooh!

MIKE: Yeah.

STRONG BAD: Good— you didn't take pictures, did you?

MIKE: I did...

STRONG BAD: I hoped he didn't take pictures.

MIKE: There's a picture of me holding my infant daughter wearing the {unintelligible} speed skating suit.

STRONG BAD: Ugh, I didn't know that existed.

MIKE: Yeah, you wanna see it?

STRONG BAD: No!

MIKE: I'll bring it to work tomorrow.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Okay, Mike. I want you to bring it to work, and then see it!

MIKE: {laughs} Okay.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Okay. Why was Bubs wearing some type holster? Is he an undercover cop?

MIKE: No he was, he's a, um... I.T... geek.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Ohh, like the it-girl?

MIKE: No, I.T.

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Like {laughs} Sinéad O'Connor?

MIKE: {laughs} Sinè—

HOMESTAR RUNNER: She's 2008's it-girl.

MIKE: Really?

STRONG BAD: No Homestar, you're talking about— you gotta talk about like, Lassange a Benon.

MIKE: {chuckles}

STRONG BAD: She's 2008's it-girl.

MIKE: Lassange a Benon?

STRONG BAD: She must be French, Mike.

MIKE: Apparently.

STRONG BAD: Yeah. Oh, man, when Strong Sad was temping next to me, that was the two worst weeks ever!

MIKE: Yeah?

STRONG BAD: Yeah. One time, he asked me— he asked me how to un-staple one butt.

MIKE: {laughs}

STRONG BAD: He was like: {imitating Strong Sad} Oh, can you tell me how to stap— {laughs} un-staple one butt?

MIKE: How did he get one butt stapled, {simultaneously with Strong Bad} I wonder?

STRONG BAD: {simultaneously} Yeah, I— {after Mike finished} I have no idea.

MIKE: I wonder! Being in the cube next to you...

HOMESTAR RUNNER: One time, Mike, I was in this email, yellow shirt man, yellow shirt. It's— {shouting} Ohh, oh!! It's my dream come true! {normally} One time, I made a video game where I was a goldfish, tooth-brush and Homestar Runner, all big lips!

MIKE: {laughs}

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Jiggling in the wind.

MIKE: Uhm, big—

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Oh dang! I got in big trouble this day.

MIKE: Yeah?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Pom Pom fired me, re-hired, raise, severance, sabbatical, tenure and... what's the opposite of tenure?

MIKE: Uhm...

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Adjunct!

MIKE: {laughs} There you go!

HOMESTAR RUNNER: That was... that was the insult to injury.

MIKE: Did you say sabbatical?

HOMESTAR RUNNER: Uh... sabas...tiogal.

MIKE: Uh-oh!

STRONG BAD: Ohhh!

{pause}

MIKE: Oh—

STRONG BAD: Ep!!

MIKE: {laughs} We're still going.

STRONG BAD: Dep dep tep tep!!

MIKE: We're still going! Strong Bad, say something good here!

STRONG BAD: I gotta— I gotta try.

MIKE: Come on!

STRONG BAD: Oh... {unintelligible}

This DVD commentary transcript needs to be checked for transcription errors. You can help the Homestar Runner Wiki by proofreading it.

Fun Facts

• Homestar asks why Bubs is wearing "some type holster".
• Sinéad O'Connor is a Grammy Award-winning Irish singer-songwriter.
• Strong Bad mentions and speaks some French.

External Links

• watch "from work"
• watch "from work" on the old Flash site
• view the Flash file for "from work"
• forum thread re: "from work"