The weekend is approaching....yeee-haaa! Time for some serious dissipation. We may go to the gym or food-shopping tonight -- out of the house after work, that counts as dissipation, right?
Time also for all that stuff I can’t eat before rowing. I might be really crazy tonight and have some (gasp) popcorn. I had greasy junk food for lunch today. And tomorrow, we’re going over T2 Hatfield’s to hang out and drink margaritas. I’m gonna have me a ("a" as in "one") drink! Only one, because I still have to coach at 7AM Sunday. Tequila and waking up early don’t mix well for me. Hits me in the gut -- I’ll be glad in some future science-fictiony time when someone has figured out how to put bathrooms in our rowing shells. This will probably be after they put them in cars, which would also be nice.
Just imagine the 5-hour Phoenix to LA trip, say, when we get the cars SF writers have been telling us about for years. Here’s how I picture it:
==wavy fadeout here==
Dichroic and T load up the car and get in. While he programs the destination, she stacks up the CDs. They make a quick stop to pick up some friends, then settle in to the comfortable armchairs around a table, while the autopilot sets a course. The car battery has been charging overnight, and no fueling stop is needed. They draw the curtains -- the sun’s a little too bright and they’ve seen this scenery too many times. One person reclines his seat and puts on a noise canceling headset and is soon asleep. Everyone else grabs a beer or a coke, and talks or reads. For while, two people play a video game. The trip is smooth enough (the car is hovering) that reading causes no queasiness.
After a while, Dichroic asks, "Anyone want some popcorn?" The answer is affirmative, and she tosses a bag in the microwave (yes, it’s microwave popcorn and I prefer the real stuff, but you can’t expect all the comforts of home on the road. An hour later, the beer has an effect on Dichroic - she says, "Scuse me" and worms into the tiny closet in back. She comes out in a minute, looks out the window, and says, "We’re passing through Quartzite now -- about halfway there." She leans on T and falls asleep.
==fade back in== Of course, you’d have the option of manual control of the vehicle, off the major highways, and of looking outside when you’ve got less boring scenery.
Doesn’t that sound like a better way to travel?
Posted by dichroic at May 11, 2001 06:31 PM