Cruisin’ for…

Don stood us up. It veered south overnight so we haven’t seen any effects from the storm at all. Apparently Houston proper received significant rainfall, but not a drop where I live. Yet, anyway. Maybe we’ll see some overnight. Can only hope.

I had a Big Bruiser (pictured) as a kid. Actually, I had it as an adult, too, as it stayed in my room at my parents’ house until we cleaned it out a number of years ago. The light worked, I’m pretty sure it had a siren, too, and the tow truck made a growling noise, like that of a heavy engine. The associated pickup truck could be equipped with a rumpled fender and a flat tire to complete the simulation. The back of the tow truck had two different ways to hook up the pickup, including a hook dangling from a heavy piece of twine. The lift was also battery operated. Hey, look, here’s the original commercial. Cool. Blast from the past.

That’s apropos of nothing except I found a very large bruise on the back of my shin last night. About the size of a hockey puck (I’ve been comparing a lot of things to hockey pucks lately). It looks like it’s been there for three or four days. I have absolutely no idea how I got it. That’s troubling. I kept going over everything I did since I got back from NECon but I have no recollection of hitting my leg or being hit. Hmmm.

I’m still getting caught up on DVR’d shows from NECon and in the days subsequent. I think I’m down to to series left: Burn Notice and Covert Affairs. Rizzoli and Isles is one of those shows that, with a little tweaking, could be very good. Most of the tweaking would involve getting rid of one character and completely changing the nature of another. Minor. I’d get rid of Rizzoli’s mother. She’s just another in a long line of annoying TV mothers who’s only there to provide something akin to comic relief, but not really. And I’d change Isles from an oblivious know it all into, you know, a real human being. Rizzoli is real and credible. Why not Isles, too. Instead, she just spouts statistics and facts that no one else cares about and acts inappropriately. I also think the resolution of this week’s episode was lifted from NCIS. The guy who’s told to stay in the car at a crime scene who uses his car to catch the fleeing bad guy while remaining within the strict confines of his orders. Jimmy Palmer did the same thing once.

Wil Wheaton and Stan Lee were guests on this week’s Eureka. Wheaton was playing to type as the mildly annoying scientist who has invented the perfect food for the Titan mission. A foil for Fargo. Lee was another competitor in the space program challenge. Dr. Lee, in this case, though he preferred the title “Generalissimo.” He’s been experimenting with the effects of gamma radiation, of course. “I’ve produced some surprising results.” When Fargo suggested that he might be a little old for space travel, Lee responded. “Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” The episode was inspired by Minority Report, I guess. A new gizmo allows law enforcement to perceive threats to the space program well in advance. “You’re accusing me of something I might do?” Parrish asks. In a neat twist, though, the gizmo predicted a catastrophe that was caused by a flaw in the gizmo itself.

Also an interesting concept on Haven, the little Maine town where people have strange afflictions. Enter a character who is able to take someone’s affliction for his own use, but only one at a time. As soon as he steals someone else’s affliction, the previous one is returned to its rightful owner. He needs Nate’s deficiency in his sense of touch so he could commit a robbery that had a painful method of getting in. Another character’s affliction causes people who see her to see the thing in their lives that scares them the most. Duke sees the person who’s going to kill him. Audrey Parker #2 sees a clown who looks very much like Pennywise, sharp teeth and all. Audrey Parker—our Audrey—is immune. What did Nate see? We don’t find out. For now anyway. Nate’s actions at the end were inspired. I didn’t see that coming. I kept waiting for the guy to reach out and touch him but instead, Nate rescued someone else. Nicely done.