"One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don't throw it away.  Stephen Hawking


OK Greetings from Quinta do Lago.... headquarters for bad tennis, world cup viewing,  space exploration and college essay writing. F is -how shall I put this? not that into the idea of writing 50 essays about himself. He has basically finished his main one, and I have to say I quite like it. "Space is no place to leave a friend" is about the downgrading of Pluto and why he cares. The first draft was a dry, point by point rendition of why the science was flawed. Total crap.
"Frederick" I said, "this is supposed to be about you; why does it matter to you." "You have to show a little leg; make us care. "
He wants to kill us.

But then we had a conversation about anthropomorphizing and the Pearls before Swine Comic strip and somehow it is lurching towards being finished.

The Caltech one is a dooozy. It basically asks you to talk about the science projects you have done in your basement since you were a tiny kid; the time you almost blew up the dorm experimenting with nitrogen; and your plan for stopping a near earth object hitting earth. In 500 words or less.
Don't make your reservations at Pie and Burger just yet Kathy!!

He did write a good one for Chicago (how I love them over there) where the prompt is simply "Where is Waldo?" and he compared Waldo to an electron and somehow weaved in Schrödinger's cat. I didn't understand it, but it was amusing.

Ok since this is a travel blog where were we? London was hot and really fun. K and P are in great shape- exciting things ahead for work, and they have a new apartment that looks amaaaaaazing.

Had dinner with Thomas' father's partner Patrick Q.- the closest person I know to the Auntie Mame character. He lives only four months in London now in a house that is so big it used to be a convent. The rest of the time he is in Africa, bouncing between Cape Town and two game reserves he owns. He tells stories in stream of consciousness form, picking up on one word, or a famous person mentioned at the table and running with it. "Richard Branson? good friend, terrible shot, can't hit the side of a barn, was just with him shooting rifles out of the sunroof in the Cotswold's. Almost got thrown in the clink.
David Frost? won't speak to me after that dinner party where we talked about culling animals. Lions? 85% of the time, if you fell out of the jeep , they would run. I have been charged thirty times but then they ran away.  Needed new underpants every time."

But the absolute best story was when he flew Emirates and the plane was stopped on the runaway for a burka clad, obese princess. She entered the plane surrounded by an army of Phillipine maids, while screaming into her cell phone,

Patrick told her to lower her voice, she was disturbing everyone.
She did.

Then, a few hours into the flight, a maid approached from the back of the plane with a bed pan, and- there is no easy way to say this, but you might want to forget about that beer you were opening. ..
put it under the royal burka...after which followed the sound of tinkling. The pan was taken to God knows where on the plane, and another maid approached with a towel for a royal wiping.
Patrick was in her row in first class...alas not far enough away to
miss getting the full picture. His friend was behind them laughing so hard he almost choked.
 "Bastard wouldn't switch seats with me".

No big breakthrough on the meteor project; we will let you know if we find a new planet.

                                                           
Announcement section! please see the trump baby blimp above. Some enterprising- fellow Trump haters have built a giant ballon that resembles Trump in diapers. It will fly over London during his visit. Please donate! They might have enough money to go on a world tour- following Trump where ever he goes.  Claus found it so funny he gave too- and he is not normally into idiotic things like I am. But we are all so inspired. I only hope the blimp can go right up to the window where DT is meeting- hard to keep spewing with that in one's line of vision.             

                   And, in coffee news- Thomas has bought a small espresso machine and placed it in an unused bathroom downstairs. I go there in the early morning and drink an unscheduled overly strong coffee while the Teutons sleep. Not a bad place for a coffee actually...I told the confused and wonderful couple that work here that it was my speakeasy. I don't know how to say that in Portuguese but I think they got the whole bathtub gin concept. They are fully supportive.