I like the concurrent story lines...it's a pretty cool juxtaposition.

Which raises the question:

Is Onstad getting all arty and maudlin on us, or is he trying to show new readers he's gained since the outset of the GOF a couple of the extreme sides of Achewood simultaneously?

Ray seems like the kind of guy who'll go on benders of watching "Good Eats" for six or ten hours in a row, stoned out of his mind, without much sinking in, just being entertained by puppets and the concept of a molecule... but whatever actual facts sink in? Really Sink In, y'know? Like they're added to a rolodex of very-specific out-of-context facts in the back of Ray's head that he has to share whenever he can, to prove that he Knows A Thing Or Two.

He'll probably occasionally just blurt out when people are making soup that soup was originally made in an animal skin draped over a fire, the water keeping the animal skin from ever burning. And he'll be absolutely sure that he's completely helping.