Hi, machal. And hi, anyone else new that I have not greeted because I am clueless and/or have CRS*.

• Can't Remember Stuff.

Another real-world nitpick on Eureka: When Jack was out sick and Jo was off playing paintball, who was left to guard the town?

Yeah, I'm with DX on this one. When I lived in a small town it had no police force at all. The state loaned the town a highway patrol officer, and in exchange the town gave the officer an apartment rent-free. He didn't really do much but patrol the highways, but in a real emergency he was the nearest assistance. Of course, that town didn't have nearly the emergencies Eureka does.

There were things that bugged, but I'm going to mention the things I liked, most specifically, The Look. The way Jack looked at Allison after she's just backed Stark up and said the scientist hadn't broken the law. That was a good moment. It underlined that Allison (who seems to need to be needed [I think Salli plays straightforward flirtatious or really cranky better than torn-between-two-lovers]) had chosen Stark in the previous episode, and the whole set-up, with Henry deciding to leave and Allison making her choice, made Jack realize again that he was still an outsider--that their culture was not his, and the friendships he'd made might not be enough to bridge that gap. That jagged moment of awareness was well done.

(I have to say that SARAH came back too easily, especially considering that Jack did nothing to the generator. It made me wonder if, rather than BRAD taking over, she was using that AI--imperfectly, perhaps, considering the pizza guy--to make sure that everyone still liked her after it was all over and she'd, hopefully, gotten her way.

I wish I understood how payment works in Eureka. Carpe Diem is free but you have to pay for pizza and chocolate? I am confused.

I was also really pleased with Henry and Nathan's interaction in the kitchen. I liked that Stark had a real reason for what he did, and LOVED that Henry thought of him as his star pupil. The whole thing added some nice texture. Henry can't know about the artifact (other than the fact of its existence, which I think everyone knows by now) and yet, whatever his words, Stark's drive there is all about knowing, not about application.

As someone said, the main potential trouble spot already has their own security force.

This is an interesting point, although they seem to need Carter a lot. Like to rescue burning scientists. But the paintball/sick day thing bothered me too, and I'm satisfied with the above explanations.

My ex was a detective in a sheriff's department in a small county, and even with more officers, the job is more reacting to calls than patrolling. This works pretty well, because in a small town, everyone knows everyone else's business, so if a stranger started taking things out of someone's house, his neighbor would call the sheriff. Jo had her pager, and I'd bet that every person in town has both their home numbers.

I'm willing to handwave that whacking the generator just turned the AI off momentarily and reset the programming. It really didn't look like a generator you could destroy with a baseball bat. I can also handwave that they're staying in the house because Fargo added that back door to the programming and and programmed in more failsafes. My wrists are getting tired, though.

I wish I understood how payment works in Eureka. Carpe Diem is free but you have to pay for pizza and chocolate? I am confused.

My guess would be that they have some kind of online account for each person. If you go to a restaurant (or, I'm assuming, whatever they have that's a grocery store), you scan your little display unit or whatever and it charges your account. Zoe probably took it without letting anyone know. Maybe Jack didn't want to use his card because he was sick of Eureka and all its tech?

::handwaving makes a nice breeze::

Maybe Jack didn't want to use his card because he was sick of Eureka and all its tech?

Or the cash part was actually just the tip. I have a friend who always tips with cash, rather than adding it to the credit card bill.

This is an interesting point, although they seem to need Carter a lot. Like to rescue burning scientists.

That's the part I don't get. Security is always available to chase after missing congressmen and to retrieve the bodies of employees, but I can't recall ever seeing it used within the facility itself other than down in Section 5.

I don't think the bat whacking could really do much damage, but if it interuppted the power flow long enough for the AI to drop offline and let the back-up (BRAD) take over. That's my handwave and I'm sticking to it.

Another real-world nitpick on Eureka: When Jack was out sick and Jo was off playing paintball, who was left to guard the town?

If Eureka were to have full time coverage, it would mean that Jack and Jo would each have to pull 12 hour shifts seperately, 24-7, 365.

Maybe Jack didn't want to use his card because he was sick of Eureka and all its tech?

Tipped employees have to report all credit card tips because they're trackable and hence taxed. Some people will pay with credit cards, tip with cash so the employee has the choice of how much to declare for tax purposes.

Not that I've ever committed such heinousness myself. *cough*

The bat-whacking was like when you hit the side of the TV to make it stop scrolling or whatever.

I've got tons of PTO days left here at work, so I just scheduled next Tuesday off so I can tape the Eureka marathon and get it all on one 8-hour tape by zapping the commercials (yes, I haven't entered the 21st century yet by getting a Tivo). Oh, and there's a book coming out that day, too, so I'll probably be reading and watching at the same time (as usual).