In this note we consider the Dirichlet energy integral
in the variable exponent case under minimal assumptions
on the exponent.
First we show that the Dirichlet energy integral
always has a minimizer if the boundary values are in $L^\infty$.
Second, we give an example which shows that if
the so-called "jump-condition", known to be sufficient,
is violated, then a minimizer need not exist for
unbounded boundary values.