Be ready for a few days of less-than-inspired blogs. I’m out of commission for at least the weekend. I cannot taste a thing. I’m a train wreck with all the classic symptoms of sleep deprivation. For some reason I can’t drop off, I wake up every hour and a half. Hmmm, since this can’t be some weird karma, this is one painful stretch of good old bad luck. I’ve been using the insomnia to read the 500 page “Atlantis Code”.
It is fast-paced though clearly written for the movie rights. Some of the geek-talk is annoying, like “brill” for “brilliant” and “fount” for “fountain”. And unlike my research, the good guys in this tale have an unlimited budget for five-star hotels and sumptuous feasts. I’m lucky if I get a Happy Meal and back here before dark. What is odd is that it took these people half the book to figure out the bad guys were following them by their cell phone chips. This is one of the reasons I find it so strange somebody would activate a phone with their real name.I finished the book a few hours later, the conclusion was predictable. Everything is resolved in the Church’s favor with no disruption of their claims to power and legitimacy. There is never an explanation why only Catholics have these types of deep, terrifying experiences and close calls.
As with the Da Vinci code, it helps if one knows the command structure of the Vatican. I don’t. To me, it is the Pope and after that a bunch of large-nosed men in funny hats. And right now, it is Pope Hymen MXYZPTLK. He can be banished to the Polish zone by tricking him into spelling his name backwards. You see, the real reason they didn't like Galileo was not his heliocentric theories, but they want it under wraps that Popes of the time, in self-defence, never learned the alphabet.
At least the weather was perfect, I was able to stay inside all day with the windows open and enjoy the warm breeze. I’m just a mile from the ocean here and the best weather comes from that direction. Also the worst. I’m pumped with some serious cold medicine so reading and dozing off was my major physical exertion. And I love it. Taking it easy whenever you need to is one of the major rewards of good planning.
On-line I read about the sheer hatred the Middle East terrorists have of killer drones. I mean, they would hate them, wouldn’t they? Cowards can’t suicide bomb something that’s five miles up in the air. The often asked question is whether drones will take over from piloted craft and I say of course, beyond a doubt. I further think we could have done it forty years ago if the military had been thinking right. But they remain stuck on this “top gun” macho nonsense.
The flyboys could still have their egos, because the drones are not really robots. They possess guidance systems and autopilots, but they are still controlled by a human via satellite communication. And they are cheap. Even the larger units are basically a model airplane kit with radio control. I saw a news broadcast with one of the Predators in the background that was flexing in the wind. It is either made of plastic or awfully thin metal. Since they neither fly nor make a kill decision without a human operator, maybe drone isn’t the right word. But who cares, as long as they get the job done.
Much later, like 11:00 PM, I began to get some of my taste buds back. It’s one of those things you don’t miss it until you don’t got it. Did this have any effect? Sure. I ate half a jar of garlic dill pickles, that was flavor. And remember that box of apricot chocolate liqueurs I bought for Estelle? Well they are just a memory now so remind me to get a replacement tomorrow. I’m not over this yet but when I do, I’m going to eat like a horse for two days.Trivia. Anyone remember the Bobby Fuller Four? That’s the group that recorded “I Fought The Law”. I did not know he was murdered. He was found dead, beaten up and soaked in gasoline in his mother’s car at age 23. The police ruled it an accidental death. In other words, a kid with everything to live for and no drug habits punched himself to death. Sounds like LAPD again. Not a penny to trail the known baddies until they are caught red-handed, but always a half-million to search for the body.
[Author's note 2017: This is the first picture I ever saw of Bobby Fuller. It's now clear now that the hit was meant for his barber.]
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