Virtual Reality

            On Wednesday morning I finished working out the chords for “Digital Delay” by Serge Gainsbourg. I ran through the song in French and English and then uploaded it to Christian’s Translations. I can’t work on editing it for publication on the blog tomorrow because I’ll be working on my essay, but I should have it done on Friday. 

            I did a shortened song practice by just singing and playing one verse and one chorus for most of the songs. At around 7:45 I started getting my place ready for pest control. Last night before bed I found one seemingly healthy bedbug in a crack in the plaster on the old exit door and another sick or dead one further down. This morning I ran the lint roller over my futon and picked up a small one that wasn’t moving. 

            I swept the floors which didn’t have as much loose dirt as two weeks ago. But when I mopped the floors with some Murphy’s oil soap the water in the bucket turned the colour of stone. 

            I weighed 86.5 kilos before breakfast. 

            I had the place ready by 10:00 but Steve from Orkin hadn’t shown up yet. He was supposed to be here between 9:00 and 12:00 and usually seems to save this place for last. It’s probably nothing personal. He probably starts in one part of town and ends up here. 

            At noon Steve still hadn’t shown up so I decided to call Orkin. It’s a good thing I did. I learned that Steve was not the technician scheduled for today but since only Steve seems to have a key to our building, the other tech Ramone wouldn’t be able to get in. I learned from the receptionist that he’d called the 905 number to get access but that’s the landlord’s number and he’s in India right now. She got my number and said she would call Ramone. About half an hour later I got a call from Ramone and he was downstairs. 

            I’d thought that the technician was going to spray the spores again but Ramone told me that for the follow up they use the regular poison. He said that the spores will start to take effect soon and when I asked if infected bedbugs might also travel to other apartments like Caesar’s place upstairs to infect his bedbugs, he confirmed that they would. That’s good news. 

            I was supposed to leave for four hours and so I went and put my washing in at the laundromat. Then I came back here and ate three oranges in the hall. I went back to the laundromat and put my stuff in the dryer. I went home and opened all the windows and had lunch. I had a toasted five-year-old cheddar and tomato sandwich with a glass of lemonade. The toxicity in the air didn’t seem all that bad while eating in the living room with the windows open. But I didn’t hang around past lunch and headed back to the laundromat. After bringing my clothing and bedding home I headed out for an early bike ride to Yonge and Bloor. 

            I took a late siesta at 17:22 and got up at 18:58. 

            I weighed 85.5 kilos at 19:00. 

            I got caught up on my journal at 20:00 and started making dinner. I fried three strips of bacon, and an egg and had it with toast and a beer while watching an episode of Astro Boy. 

            This story begins with a historic event, the first 3-D television broadcast. But something goes wrong during the transmission and a huge fog creature emerges that is somewhat humanoid in shape but gigantic and with rabbit ears. Astro Boy tries to fight it but he goes right through. 

            Later a man named Dr. Snorkel pays the gangster Wily an enormous sum of money to destroy the 3-D transmitter. Wily’s men destroy the machine but then Wily demands to know why Snorkel wanted it annihilated. Snorkel refuses to tell but Wily has Snorkel tied up and one of his men tickles him until he talks. 

            Snorkel used to have a boy scientist named Rocka as his assistant, but when Rocka developed a way to teleport objects and living things by way of radio waves, Snorkel became jealous. While Rocka was teleporting a fish, a rabbit, a large robot, and himself, Snorkel destroyed the receiving machine, thus trapping Rocka, the fish, the rabbit, and the robot in radio wave limbo. 

           The new 3-D transmitter has a similar technology but it is not powerful enough to bring Rocka back to his original form. Then Wily has his men steal the 3-D television transmitter, but Astro Boy follows them. Wily uses the machine to call forth the fog form of Rocka. He promises him that someday he will bring him back to human form but first he must do whatever he asks. 

           His first task is to destroy Snorkel. Astro Boy arrives in time to save Snorkel but the fog is hard to fight. Astro Boy goes right through it but the fog is able to solidly grab hold of Astro Boy. Astro Boy temporarily disrupts the fog with blasts from his rocket boots and then escapes with Snorkel. 

           Astro Boy goes to Rocka’s lab to try to find the blueprint for his teleportation device but Wily’s men are already there and have found the plans. They attack Astro Boy with flamethrowers but it does him no harm and he mops up the mobsters. 

           Over the next few days, the fog shows up invisibly at several sporting events and alters the course of the competitions. Wily has been using Rocka to help him become a billionaire as he always wins the bets that he makes. 

           When Wily learns that Astro Boy defeated his gang he hires Shark, the best robot smasher in the universe. Shark attacks Astro Boy with his special electronic whip and his skill and the weapon are too much. But just as Shark is about to finish Astro Boy off, Mr. Pompus intervenes. He disarms Shark and then slaps him around until he surrenders. 

           Astro Boy learns the location of Wily’s hideout from Shark and goes there. Wily orders Rocka the fog to attack Astro Boy and so Astro Boy destroys the 3-D TV transmitter. But Wily reveals that he has used Rocka’s blueprints to rebuild his teleportation device. He plans to use it to conjure Rocka the fog anytime he wants him. 

           But when he switches it on Rocka appears in his human form. He punishes Wily and his men by teleporting them from one dangerous situation to another. First, they appear in Africa surrounded by a warrior tribe; then they materialized in a can-can show; then a bullfight where they are chased by the bull; then they are transported to Venice where they are drowning in a canal; they are on top of the sphinx; then on some vigorous horses on a merry go round, and then finally back in Rocka’s lab. Wily says he’s learned his lesson; Rocka forgives Snorkel and they become partners again.

           3-D TV was first demonstrated in 1928 and the first 3-D TV was produced in 1935. But 3-D televisions did not become widely sold until 2010. For a while they were popular and then production ended in 2016. Advances continue in virtual reality and it has increased in popularity during the pandemic.