diff --git a/2013/birken/try.sh b/2013/birken/try.sh
index 1790cfb70..faaa5a513 100755
--- a/2013/birken/try.sh
+++ b/2013/birken/try.sh
@@ -1,6 +1,18 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env bash
+#
+# try.sh - demonstrate IOCCC winner 2013/birken
 
-make clobber everything 2>/dev/null
+# make sure CC is set so that when we do make CC="$CC" it isn't empty. Doing it
+# this way allows us to have the user specify a different compiler in an easy
+# way.
+if [[ -z "$CC" ]]; then
+    CC="cc"
+fi
+
+make CC="$CC" everything >/dev/null || exit 1
+
+# clear screen after compilation so that only the entry is shown
+clear
 
 if [[ -z "$BIRKEN" ]]; then
     BIRKEN="birken.alt"