Richard V. Rupp

August 7, 2021

Good Saturday morning. I'm author Richard V. Rupp, writing from Burbank, California. Welcome to Rupp's Notes/FBI Special Agent Hartman Series posts.

 

I lost some sleep again as I watched the U.S. Women's soccer team beat Australia 4-3 to take home the bronze medal in Tokyo.  The road for the Olympics was a bit bumpy, but they made it through. Tomorrow is the final day, with the closing ceremony at 4 am in California. Based on the opening ceremony, I'll wait to see a rerun of it. Or not.

 

Looks like I'm going to have to get another Moderna shot. Moderna said its two-dose vaccine remained effective through six months but eventually loses efficacy, so a "dose 3 booster will likely be necessary before the winter season." I'm wondering if they are going to combine it with the annual flu shot?

 

Today's post is really from La La Land. Both physically and mentally.

 

There's a lot of shooting going on in my neighborhood. But, it's the good kind. You want to get into a T.V. show, movie, or commercial, just walk around my neighborhood. You may show up in the background of a shoot. On-location shoot days last week were 620, up from 566 the prior week. Sixty-four percent were for T.V. shows and eighteen percent each for movies and commercials. My son Brian is keeping busy.

 

Apparently, production companies are looking for more horror show scripts.

 

Last night I dreamed of writing a horror story but then decided it already exists. I can hear Rod Sterling's voice from 'The Twilight Zone' or the words of Steven King in one of his novels telling it. It's about an America where everyone must stay isolated to avoid being in contact with others who have a 'viral load' of the supercharged Delta Variant of the Covid-19 virus. Where two towns are destroyed by raging wildfires. Hydroelectric power is no longer generated because the lakes and reservoirs have gone dry. Water is rationed and only available in plastic containers. Most of the stores are shuttered. Some existing restaurants and bars have been converted to speakeasies, where you either have to know the right knock or have a magic entrance card to get in. The only way you can get anything is to purchase it over the Internet. It is miraculously delivered to your front door, maybe by a drone. All your information is from the media. You are not sure if you are watching 'spamouflage' presented by A.I. people and voices or actual people. Marriage is decided by role-playing.

 

You have been in isolation so long you are afraid to go outside. You are worried to find that you are the only one left on the planet. Or that mental illness is running rampant. People have been turned into zombies who laugh as they use a gun to shoot you or run over you with their car.

 

I've been watching too much news. Is it true the horror genre has been replaced by a reality genre?

 

Totally changing subjects. An Executive Order signed by President reminded me of a report I wrote just prior to retirement from the insurance industry. It dealt with electric vehicles or E.V.'s. I remember two comments. First, the manufacture of the batteries for them was moved out of the U.S. to Mexico, and China was the amount of pollution and contamination the process generated. Second, the disposal of the batteries when vehicles were retired could overwhelm traditional disposal facilities. Added to these concerns, the unions are concerned as they could lead to job cuts since E.V.'s require fewer parts, meaning fewer jobs both in the manufacturing process and servicing. These things need to be researched before we expand the use of E.V.'s.

 

Well, isn't this a happy post? To get your mind off these subjects, you might try reading one of my novels.

 

Cheers,

 

Richard V. Rupp, Author

Website – www.richardvrupp.com

Email – rupprisk@gmail.com

Copyright©2021 by Richard V. Rupp