diff --git a/examples/python/ENV b/examples/python/ENV
index d8fea44..cfbc599 100644
--- a/examples/python/ENV
+++ b/examples/python/ENV
@@ -1,6 +1,13 @@
+# variables are global and can be replaced
 SETTING1=True
 SETTING2=${SETTING1}/Maybe
+
+# addr:port
 PORT=9080
 BIND_ADDRESS=0.0.0.0
+
+# the max number the worker will process
 RANGE=10
+
+# worker sleep interval between prints
 INTERVAL=1
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/piku.py b/piku.py
index a14672a..4939dd3 100755
--- a/piku.py
+++ b/piku.py
@@ -307,7 +307,7 @@ def parse_settings(filename, env={}):
         
     with open(filename, 'r') as settings:
         for line in settings:
-            if '#' == line[0]: # allow for comments
+            if '#' == line[0] or len(line.strip()) == 0: # ignore comments and newlines
                 continue
             try:
                 k, v = map(lambda x: x.strip(), line.split("=", 1))