Friends in High Places

I have a lot of important friends, but that's to be expected. I've previously mentioned the Upgrade King but he's really just the tip of the iceberg. Another buddy of mine is a bigwig high tech exec in the valley. He's got a personalized license plate on his hybrid vehicle and everything. I'm still trying to figure out what he does down there. It's possible that he's just monkeying around. But that doesn't matter. He's high profile, like me, so that's why we hang out together.

I'm also in high tech. I slipped in the back door during the dot com boom and somehow have managed to hold on to my job although I don't know anything about the business I'm in. I'll give you an example of how obtuse I am. A few years ago I saw a guy walking around our campus with a broach clipped to his ear talking to himself. I called the local authorities because I thought he could be a danger to himself or others. That's when I got an explanation of Bluetooth technology from the local police. That was embarrassing.

I see a downside to technology's advances. We have a guy in our town that drives a 70's sports car and has what appears to be a Bluetooth. My son, who is a particularly savvy 16 year old, pointed out to me that he thinks the guy is an alien who is receiving instructions from his extraterrestrial senior management team via the device. I tend to agree with him. The proof lies in the fact that it takes a civilization more advanced than ours to keep that 70's piece of shit foreign sports car in good running condition.