Where were you when the lights went out?
9:56 p.m. update. Okay, more on the other companies below Wednesday, for right now, more on Bechtel, courtesy of writer Tim Will:
"Most people do not know that in 1971, Bechtel was not only an investor in MCI Communications Inc. but also was building the MCI microwave system. Since MCI was up against the largest corporation in the world, AT&T, the Bechtel investment of $1 million was risky but 11 months later on June 22, 1972, the MCI IPO returned to Bechtel $10 million, plus another $64 million to MCI in loans from 4 banks to build the entire system. Included in the MCI IPO was also the first domestic satellite corporation: MCI Lockheed Satellite Corp.(MCIL). Thus putting Bechtel in proximity to building a space port."
"Six months after the MCI IPO, Comsat buys into this domestic satellite startup and creates Comsat-MCI-Lockheed (CML). Since Edgar Kaiser had participated in creating Comsat and Steve Bechtel's Jr. Dad had built the Boulder Dam with Henry Kaiser -- CML was a reunion of sorts -- only this time in outer space and telecommunications."
5:38 p.m. I lost electrical power this morning at 8:00 a.m., just as I was getting ready to write the daily notes. Power was not restored until 10 hours later. I was going to write a little about other hidden wireless telephone companies, as described below. In Bechtel's class there's General Dynamics, Alcoa, and a privately held company called Black & Veatch. Let me see if I can write a little about them tonight. Until later . . .