 Why does the writer evoke the NASA by saying that "there was word from the pad that the launch sequence was initiating"?
More Bang for the Buck A friend of mine offers a theory about why Bill Clinton's poll numbers stayed so high throughout the Lewinsky scandal: The news made it possible for serious-minded people to spend lots of time--at the office and over lunch--talking about semen stains, vaginal insertions, and blow jobs. Deb and I have what seems to us to be a perfectly fine amorous life, yet everywhere I turn the culture tells me--almost mocks me-- you can do better! What would happen to our sex life then, if Deb (who participated in this story because she loves me and because she has tenure) and I tried for the first time to make something happen to it? The idea behind shops like these is to make obtaining the materials of sexual experimentation as ordinary as purchasing plumbing supplies or housewares. Which sort of works--the only sexual thrill I got from the visit was knowing that Microsoft just bought a cock ring. Most of them came in presized sets of three. I couldn't figure out which would fit right and intuited that try-ons weren't an option. But then I got to thinking: Under battlefield conditions it doesn't get out anyway. And while I should have been paying more attention to other things, this led to thinking about the old joke with the punch line "... and right ball go POW."
 Because the writer and his wife engaged in and completed sexual intercourse.
 Because the writer and his wife did not enjoy playing strip poker or with the dirty dice, they decided to roleplay that they worked for NASA and were initiating a launch sequence.  Because a rocket was about to be launched into outer space.  Because the writer and his wife engaged in and completed sexual intercourse.  Because the writer is attempting to give diverse perspectives on the issue he is describing.