I am increasingly convinced the book I'm writing on Texas futures-thinking needs to exist. I have not found the story told anywhere: Harris County Sheriff's Department providing a group of Vietnam-era Huey helicopters to a 1999 spectacle production of orchestral music and a multi-story illuminated future cone conceived by a futurist architect, to be interpreted in 2099, and sponsored by Microsoft no less. Or the tangential connection to the crash of a Robinson R22B helicopter at Mercer and W. Alabama that killed two people weeks before the scheduled event.

When I wrote about Houston's helicopter boom in my Kohoutek essay, that detail felt superfluous. I nearly cut it. Now I'm glad I didn't.

My research continues to surprise me. I'm happy. I'm writing the book now.

October 9, 2025

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I've been thinking of a new theme focus. Something more dynamic, more inspired, a tribute to creativity, a fanfare to the spirit of creation. You know, expand the cosmic scale a tad. Trumpets and choppers are only the instruments, the medium... not the message. —Doug Michels