PANAMA CITY BEACH — You may be in a rut if you can
hit the alarm clock’s snooze button with the back of your knuckle without
opening your eyes or even rolling all the way over.
(Not that I have any experience at that. But I’ve
heard it might be so.)
So anyway, let’s talk about some things that are, to
use the lingo, disrupting the paradigm.
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| Playstation.com |
POWERS
The Internet is fast replacing the traditional
“broadcast” and “network” television approach. Smart TVs, Apple TVs, smart
phones and Chromecast make it easy to watch high-definition web-only shows on
your big screen TV.
Netflix, Yahoo, HBO, Amazon, Hulu and other
“channels” are taking advantage of this in a big way. You may already be a fan
of “House of Cards” or “Orange is the New Black,” for instance.
Tuesday evening, I watched the first episode of
“Powers,” which is exclusive to the subscription Playstation network, but which
was released to the public for free to promote the series. Based on a comic
book by Michael Avon Oeming and Brian Michael Bendis, “Powers” is a lower
budget tale of a world where super-powered humans have become a fact of life
over the past few decades.
The main character (Sharlto Copley from “District
9”) is a police detective who used to have super powers. Other supporting cast
members include Michelle Forbes as “Retro Girl” and comedian Eddie Izzard as
the Hannibal-esque “Wolfe.” The first episode does a decent job of setting up
the world of the series and teasing the major players and storylines.
Tuesday also saw the release of a trailer for
Netflix’s upcoming series, “Daredevil,” based on the Marvel Comics hero and
tied into the greater “cinematic universe” that includes this summer’s
“Avengers 2.” The entire “season” of 13 episodes will be released at one time
on April 10.
SPRING BREAK
2K15
First, what’s the deal with using a “K” instead of a
zero? It doesn’t save space or effort. Are we just trying to look cool? (That’s
probably the reason, and also explains why I can’t seem to grasp it.)
Anyway, we’re neck deep in it now. My part-time neighbors
from the frozen north, who are spending this week on the beach escaping
single-digit weather back home, decided to take a scenic drive along Front
Beach Road “just to see what it was about.”
They won’t be doing that again.
I tried to press them for the details, but the
trauma must have been too much. If the police scanner at work is any
indication, then I understand: We hear the ambulance calls, reports of fights
(and group brawls), public nuisances, wrecks (and roll-overs), swimmers in
distress, partiers unconscious and unresponsive — and that’s all during the
daylight hours.
The calls for help were so overwhelming that the
county ran out of ambulances on Tuesday afternoon. Yes, that’s disruptive, but
not in the good way.
Authorities in PCB and Bay County tried to disrupt
Spring Break by cutting off alcohol sales at 2 a.m. and requiring anyone
drinking on the beach to carry photo ID. It’s still too early in the month-long
party to gauge their success, but I’m hoping something quantifiable will emerge
when all is said and done. If the scanner is any indication, they might have to
change that cut off time to “p.m.” to notice any impact.
Now, that would be disruptive.
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| Totaled. |
TRAUMATIZED
When your “rut” gets interrupted by disaster or
injury, the rut doesn’t seem so bad any longer.
I’ve been dealing with a torn rotator cuff for the
past few weeks (why does that sound like something your mechanic says is wrong
with your car’s steering?), my wife fractured her wrist, and my daughter has
been suffering whiplash after a speeding car slammed into her vehicle a week
ago. All of these occurred separately within days of each other.
Talk about disruptive.
At least the trauma of that last one was cushioned
by the fact that no one was seriously injured. Like I’ve heard a dozen times
since then, you can always replace the car. Yes, you can, and there are enough
used vehicles in the market once again that prices for a decent “pre-owned” car
aren’t as ridiculously high as they were immediately post-buy-back (2009’s
“cash for clunkers” program).
However, if you see us hobbling around a car lot in
the next few days and we don’t return your wave, I apologize. We’ve issued a
waver waiver, due to all the tendon disruption.
Peace.
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