We had a nice technical piece that was going to unveil one of our raare msitakes here in the Creative Section at Socotra House. We thought we had a hot lead a month ago about what would happen if the Iranians ran out of oil storage and had to stop pumping it out of the ground. We were assured by petroleum experts at SUNOCO that if they stoppped pumping, water would penetrate some of the rock layers and the wells would be degraded. Accordingly, time was against them.

A pal with Aramco time heled us out yesterday. We were relaxed at the Green Pig Bistro to commemorate one of those awkwaard holidays. We have lost pals and buried a few at Arlington already, so we take the day seriously even if we decide on another crisp white wine after the Indy 500.

So, word is that during the Iran-Iraq war the Iranians learned how to sequence pumping to keep things working despite periodic shut downs. So they have time, and if they can hang on, the terrorist regime will be able to keep power, re-arm and be back in the nuclear game in months.

Which is only slightly behind the news that the cease-fire may be shuddering. Two Iranian fast boats were sighted attempting to lay mines and were attacked and sunk in self defense. Which is a little bit of a stretch to the concept, but accurate in a larger strategic context. Which is why Deirdre insisted on running the scampi recipe she has been sitting on since the big pork chop project got started. It lasted across all of Operation Epic Fury and the upbeat conclusion.

This week week we seem to be back to really speedy motorboats racing in the dark in waters that used to be international. Since we are liable to be feeding roating crowds ovee the net few weeks, this will be a crowd pleaser since it can be done almost blindfolded. Except don’t do it that way in my Galley!

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