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I'll admit it. I am a whore for comments.

I love checking back every eleven minutes or so to see if I got any new ones. And I try to leave comments of my own on other people's sites.

It's astonishing to me to recall that for the first year and a half of verbungle.com's existence, I had no comments section. I was too stupid to figure out how to implement it, so every day was basically just me going blah blah blah blah blah and a few people clicking on my site and saying to themselves hmm or uh-huh or holy crapshorts that's stupid.

Remember when I had those sad little reader challenges, in a desperate attempt to manufacture some interactivity? Those were fun.

Then I got the comments up and going and it's been good like baked potatoes.*

And I'll be honest, I post the little whodats and whydats and breakfastcerealdats and all dat for two reasons:
1) I like games, and I like making up games.
2) I like getting feedback.

So even if it's just an answer to a trivia question, I do get a tiny, pathetic thrill every time I go to the page and see that the comment number has increased. I do it with the other sites I read, too.

I think maybe it's because we're all deeply lonely or hungry for approval or bored out of our fucking heads by the stacks of paper on our desks, but I suspect that most people who put shit up on the internet are the same way.

Verbungle.com Ring of Triumph inaugural inductee Pete B. has a sign declaring "We Live for Your Comments."

And the consistently brilliant Oak Park Mastermind recently sent out a straightforward plea for more comments.

See. It ain't just me.

So if you're ever in the mood to leave a comment but you're not quite sure what to say, say anything. Tell me what you ate for lunch or describe the smell surrounding your cubicle or find new ways to bitch about Jeter's fielding or just tell me how great I am. The number will go up by one and the world will be a better place.

As for me, I have devised a new system for leaving a comment when someone posts something that I find particularly insightful or witty or just really good for one reason or another. I am taking my cue from the late 80's, because it's 2006.** Back then, when I was playing basketball, if one of my teammates made a particularly good play, like maybe driving all the way to basket and flipping up a high-arcing finger roll for a score over some tall kid, or maybe drawing two guys and then dropping it off for a layup, I would sometimes slap them on the ass -- yes, I would occasionally slap my friends on the ass! -- and say, in cringetacular jock voice, "Good shit!"

I no longer say that out loud. I rarely slap asses. But from here on out, when I really like something somebody posts, yet it doesn't inspire me to comment in a specific way, they will get a "Good shit!" Not every day, just when they go above and beyond the typical level of excellence. Watch for them on your upcoming posts.

Dipak wins SuperDat XL with a combined point differential of 13. He'll collect 15 GP's for the win and another 8 for answering on the first day (technically he was a half hour late but he is in the central time zone so he gets the B.O.T.D.). Well predicted, D.

For ten genius points, and no googling, tell me how many movies Clint Eastwood's character dies in. TV shows don't count. You can consult a list of his films but not read up on any of them. Closest guess gets the ten points and an exact answer gets fifteen. Also, Vic's Gristededat challenge from yesterday's comments section is still in effect.

* For 50 GP's, tell me what my original phrase was at the end of this sentence. In other words, Then I got the comments up and going and it's been good like (insert answer here).*
**Speaking of which, I have adjusted to the fact that it's 2006, and even to the fact that 2005 is now "last year" but I simply cannot accept that 2004 is no longer last year but now two years ago. That seems like bullshit to me. 2004 was just happening like a few days ago. Somebody check that out.