From: Wales.Larrison@ofa123.fidonet.org
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: The end of the lurking /description
X-Sender: newtout 0.06 Jan  3 1993
Date: 23 Jan 93  22:04:44

   Wales has been sitting quitely at his table in the back of the
bar, watching the goings on between Laz and the creature.  As it
appears that sudden mayhem is not going to occur, he sits back and
places two items on the table top, which he had been carefully
holding out of sight under the table.
    He kicks his canvas satchel out from under the table, and starts
to stow the items away.  First is a large can of "RAID" with a spray
nozzle.   Wales figured it looked insectoid, had an exoskeleton (the
active chemical in most household insect sprays attacks the
respiratory system of insects through their exoskeleton), and
figured it'd be worth a try.  Stashing the can back in the satchel,
he picks up the "Streetsweeper" he had in the other hand beneath the
table.  He ejects the clip from the semi automatic shotgun (loaded
alternately with solid shot/tracer, and 00 buckshot), and works the
pump to clear the action.  They also go back into the canvas bag.
   Wales looks thoughtful for a moment, and then reaching deep into
his satchel pulls out what looks like two seltzer bottles, loaded
with milky fluid.  He turns and yells "Mike!".
   Mike looks up from behind the bar, also moving his hands from a
hidden location down below the countertop.  Wales tosses the two
bottles underhanded to Mike, who fields them.  Mike reads the
labels, grins, and places them on the corner of the bar.
   Wales turns and addresses the bar.  "Let's be a little more
careful in who we invoke in this bar, O.K.? "  Wales toes a little
of the debris from the broken wall with his foot.  "It seems a bit
hard on the bric-a-brac, and might get dust in the beer."
   "By the way, the two bottles on the bar are alkaline solutions to
deal with any acid spills from the creature.  One's baking soda in
soda water, and should deal with any small spill.  The other's NaOH,
and can handle strong spills, but use that one carefully."
  
   Wales sits back down, wraps his hand back around his beer, and
puts his feet up on his satchel.  "We're going through introductions
and descriptions again.  Allow me to introduce myself --- name's
Wales Larrison. That's a pseudonym (due to various reasons, I prefer
a pseudonym on the nets), but my RL personality is pretty close.
Fundamentally I'm a very private person, and in VR my persona image
includes a large Fedora, a set of mirror shades, and a long high-
tech trench coat."
    "I'm usually found at a back corner table in Callahan's, sipping
a beer, and watching the crowd with my up feet upon a large canvas
satchel.  The satchel contains just about damnall everything and
makes a dandy footstool.   My drink is either a good domestic US
beer (usually Sam Adams this year) or a good California burgundy
(CabSav, Zin, Merlot, Barbara, Shiraz, Pinot, etc.).
   In RL I work in the space biz - been just about everything from
marketeer/salesman to design and analysis to financial analyst. Got
a MS in physics and a MBA in finance and strategy.  Now I'm chief
engineer on a new project to develop and install some significant
pieces of space hardware. (I'm being a little bit vague here since I
carry on an active role in sci.space and don't want to get personal
and professional opinions mixed up.)  Live in Southern California.
   Physically I'm 6'1", mid 30's, curly lt brown hair, and beard.  A
bit chunky (200 lbs), but I've got some broad shoulders left over
from weight training and a small set of love handles I'm trying to
run off.  Hobbies are voracious reading - primarily SF, although
with large chunks of history, hard science, biography, and modern
culture thrown in -, the gym after work <grimace - painful but
necessary>, writing, and fencing.
   As a last note, you'll note the moniker "Space Technology
Investor" next to my signature line.  I publish an irregular column
on the commercial space program on sci.space (just uploaded the 20th
issue), publish and advise various space policy groups for
commercial space activities in my spare time, and am an active
investor in commercial space ventures.  Space Technology Investor
describes my perspective on the space program - I figure (and I've
done the academic research to back up this opinion) space
investments offer the potential for some really substantial profits
to individual investors over the next couple of decades.  And I'd
like to retire wealthy (or at least "well off").
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 Wales Larrison                          Space Technology Investor
  

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