Little Bitty Pretty One

2007-04-30 - 12:07 p.m.

Well, last night I got to go back to work and upgrade our laser tag equipment. We changed over from nickel-metal-hydride batteries to lithium-ion batteries. So I got to change the backpack covers (the charge ports - the jack where we charge the batteries - also got changed), the batteries, the charging machines, and the cords.

It took about two hours to do thirty vests, but the end result will be worth it: the Li-Ion batteries hold a charge longer, and the new chargers have been reconfigured. The old NiMH battery chargers went to a trickle charge after the battery was fully charged. This sometimes resulted in overcharging, overheating...and subsequent bursting of the battery. I'll take some pictures of the old batteries and show you another day. The new chargers will actually shut off the charging port so they batteries can't overcharge.

Once all that was done, I came home and watched some Monty Python on DVD. At midnight I was planning to head off to bed, but I did some channel surfing...and came across a familiar face on CSI. The episode was called "A Little Murder". A man is hung by his neck in a hotel casino theatre. What makes it tougher is the rope was anchored about seven feet off the floor...and the hotel is hosting a convention of "little people". The victim is also a little person. The suspects are all little people. So how did the rope get anchored that high up?

Anyway, one of the suspects is played by a very talented and lovely actress named Meredith Eaton. I'd seen her before in an episode of NYPD Blue as a prostitute whose "business manager" provided "specialty acts": little people, large women, elderly, amputees...you get the idea. Anyway, Eaton's character starts out as antagonistic towards Our Heroes (especially Det. Greg Medavoy, who at one point offers her a phone book to sit on), but later softens up. She and PAA John Irvin have a nice little scene together, and at the end of the show she gives Medavoy a business card and tell him to call her if he "ever needs her help again". After that, she's never seen on the show again.

I think the producers made a mistake there. She could have worked as an informant. There could even have been a relationship with Medavoy, the eternally skittish nervous cop. For you fans of Blue: wouldn't it have been great if a relationship with a little person (Eaton is 4' 3") and the subsequent teasing gave Medavoy a little more steel in his spine? Not enough to make a fundamental change in the character or in the squad chemistry, but just enough to give him a little more confidence? Medavoy had had moments before that showed that there's more to him than just the squad clown. IMHO, the Blue producers squandered an opportunity there.

Anyway, back to the CSI episode. If you've seen Eaton's work - her role on Family Law was created specifically for her - you know how good she is. Never mind her lack of stature. She's really good. If you get the chance, look for her.

Side note: the murder victim in the CSI episode was played by Eaton's then-husband, Michael Gilden. Sadly, Gilden committed suicide last December.

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One of Johnny Carson's greatest straight-men has passed. Tommy Newsom was the band sax player in the Tonight Show band. Sometimes, when Doc Severinsen was off, Tommy would take over as bandleader. It was a striking contrast: Doc wore flashy suits and was very flamboyant, and Tommy wore muted colors and was very quiet. A lot of the comedy came from Johnny making fun of how bland Tommy was, and Tommy's awkwardness about speaking on camera played into it perfectly:

JOHNNY: Are we wearing the same outfit? No, your trousers are darker...the coat's about the same. Where'd you get yours?
TOMMY: [pause] Well, it was in my closet at home, Johnny.

Condolences to Tommy's family, all the folks from the Carson era who knew and loved him, and all of us out there who watched and loved him.

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And now, from the Seen Elsewhere Dept.:

From Hud's blog comes news of an unusual beauty pageant...where all the contestants are camels.

Well, considering all the women must be covered up at all times, what ELSE would they judge?

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Much to do today.

Be seeing you.

artgnome - 2007-04-30 15:28:15 - http://artgnome.diaryland.com
nickel-metal-hydride batteries totally suck. I learned this working tech support for Kodak digital cameras. as for the camel beauty pageant, it just goes to show you what those tools value more.

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