You’ve probably heard about this deal where NASA is going to let the Google guys land their jets at Moffett Field. If not, see here. Larry’s furious because he’s been trying to get the exact same deal for years, and he’s offered them way more money than Google is going to pay, and yet NASA has been blowing him off, won’t even talk about it. I ran into him today at our Pilates class and he looked ready to tear someone’s face off. “Jobso,” he said, “I swear to God I’m about this close to spilling the beans on the Black Building at Google. I swear to God. I actually picked up the phone today and dialed Markoff at the Times but when he picked up I chickened out and hung up. But one of these days I’m doing to do it. I swear. Those little pricks!”

FYI the so-called “Black Building” at Google is the one where supposedly a bunch of NSA and CIA spies all work. I say supposedly because as far as I know the place doesn’t actually exist. It’s just one of those urban myths that swirl around in the Valley. Which is what I told Larry, but he just busted out laughing and said, “Buddy, of course it exists. It totally exists. I’ve been in there. Okay? The CIA and the NSA are my customers, remember? They use my software. Jesus. Google is crawling with spooks. Has been from the start. Why do you think they did the deal in China? Think, man. Think. The government is using Google to spy on the Chinese. Jesus. There’s so much creepy stuff going on in there you wouldn’t believe it. It’s a front, basically. Like one of those fake grocery stores where it’s really a bookie joint but they keep the shelves stocked with canned goods so it looks legit. Man oh man. Jobso, you’re a smart guy, but you’re awfully naive sometimes, you know that?”

I pointed out to Larry that even if what he’s saying is true, he’d be crazy to spill the beans. “I know,” he said. “I know. I’m not going to do it. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t love to. Those kids just piss me off, honestly. They really do.”

Anyway we managed to focus in on our breathing and fluidity exercises, and afterward I took him out for a smoothie and that seemed to put him in a better mood.