Day 4 and a little of Day 3
Messages in the Sand
Driving by the great salt lake there is this huge piece of beach by the highway, with an occasional "keep off" sign planted in the sand. So, naturally, there are foot prints all over the place, but the interesting part is that there are all these messages left. People stop, gather up little blac
k stones, sticks and what not and make pictures or words in the sand. WHO can read them??? Not the people in cars whizzing by at 65 mph. You'd be craining your neck to make out the writing, miss the turn and vault yourself into the sand, crushing a "keep off" sign. It couldn't be an aerial message, because it is not near large enough --though I think that is the intent. People have NO sense of scale. So there's this pilot in a small sesna, trying to make out the messages in the sand, groping around for binoculars, misses the proximity warning for the mountains surrounding the Great Salt Lake, crashes, scattering debris and landing on the "keep off" sign, and depositing more message making material. Truckers could probably read them, but who wants to talk to Truckers anyway. Do ya think they are trying to send messages to Aliens???
Zombie Slots
Rather than search all of Salt Lake City for a dinner spot, we decided to push on to Wendover, NV and eat at a casino. Years ago, I won't say how many -- you could count on good food and food service at a casino. We walked into the Montego Bay -- Whoa boy -- talk about sensory overload. Just to find the restroom, you are required to walk the perimeter and immerse yourself in aqua and pink neon. The entire central area was filled with electronic 'slot' machines. I'm not sure why they still call them slot machines, since so few of them actually have coin slots, and the 'arm' is basically a superfluous device. Hell, you don't even put coins in the damn things any more. Now you get a digital card, on a flexible lanyard which you PIN to your shirt, so you won't lose it (because you become so STUPEFIED that you don'
t know what you're doing anymore!) Anyway you plug this card into the machine and PUSH a little button to 'play'; all wins and loses are registered on the card. Geeze oh man these guys really know how to have fun! Slot machines have changed from a mechanical device to a digital version of a slot machine, it is bright, busy and makes mutant electronic noises (which sometimes will NOT stop!) The players push the button and stare at the screen with a slack jawed expression. They have been transformed from human to ZOMBIE.
In the old days the players would be smokin, drinkin, talkin, while putting coins in the slots and pulling on the handle, some of them were SO active they needed a wrist wrap! A passer by would hear all the mechanical sounds the rollers would make as they turned and then fell into place, the sounds of the machine arm as it bounced back, and -- oh YEAH -- the big one -- bells (actual buzzers) ringing and coins dropping into the tray.
These poor fools today, just sit there with blank expressions, and register NO emotion, whatsoever. I think that there is probably some subliminal messaging going on here and the whole use of the card to register the wins and losses makes it even easier to control the VICTIM "just puush the button, thaat's right, you feel gooood, relaaaxed, the button is your friennnnd, your only source of pleassssure, yesss you won, but you waaant the button, just push it again, thaaats it"
Which brings me to Opulence and Decadence vs. Shiny and Sparkly. Jim Foxworthy observes that rednecks LOVE things that are shiny and sparkly, so I guess ca
sinos are going for the redneck subculture -- good move -- let's attract the people with the least amount of money. You walk into any casino now and everyone thinks its so luxurious, so opulent, and all the casino owners had to do was to keep it fairly DARK and spend a few hundred dollars on neon lights and lights that flash. Actual opulence isn't cheap to pull off. You have to use REAL wood, nice furnishings, classic floor coverings and subtle (not dark) lighting. The drink girl is well dressed and has a nice wood tray with a crystal tip jar, not service station coveralls, and 2 styrofom cups on a cafeteria tray, sprayed with glitter. Instead of good service and fine dining at the restaurant, you get a trough and they fill it up -- boy that's decadence. Then they forget you are there, you then have to look for them and beg to pay. Everyone walks away from the huge portions and gigantic desserts commenting on the portions, and "they know how to treat you right"
Showerheads and Water Conservation
Winnemuca NV -- so I'm taking a shower this morning (boring details unnecessary) -- the second shower in this hotel. They've installed a 'conservation' shower head, which gives a TRICKLE of water, forcing me to substantially lengthen the amount of time I spend in the shower and consequently user MORE WATER. Brilliant move. I can just imagine the conversation between the manager and the maintenance man " yeah George, these water saving shower heads don't seem to be saving us any water" "Well, sir, I told you last year, give 'em the water full force, sand blast strength and they'll get in and outa there fore you know it. They'll even turn the water down more. Just tell em that its one of them special massage shower heads and they'll be happy, and we'll use less water!"
Aliens and the Water Planet
Driving through Nevada, I started thinking about desert areas, area 51, and ali
ens. The aliens never came back because they flew over Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and came to the conclusion that there's NOTHING here but a few lizards, some snakes and scorpions. "Whoa, this doesn't look anything like it does from space, you sure we're in the right place???" "Hey, I turned right at Jupiter and Left at the Moon -- just like you told me" This starts over Nevada, continues through Arizona and results in a CRASH in New Mexico. Radioed back to the Mother ship to look elsewhere for intelligent life. See aliens are just as short sighted and stupid as humans! I guess they didn't see the messages in the sand at the Great Salt Lake!
Driving by the great salt lake there is this huge piece of beach by the highway, with an occasional "keep off" sign planted in the sand. So, naturally, there are foot prints all over the place, but the interesting part is that there are all these messages left. People stop, gather up little blac
k stones, sticks and what not and make pictures or words in the sand. WHO can read them??? Not the people in cars whizzing by at 65 mph. You'd be craining your neck to make out the writing, miss the turn and vault yourself into the sand, crushing a "keep off" sign. It couldn't be an aerial message, because it is not near large enough --though I think that is the intent. People have NO sense of scale. So there's this pilot in a small sesna, trying to make out the messages in the sand, groping around for binoculars, misses the proximity warning for the mountains surrounding the Great Salt Lake, crashes, scattering debris and landing on the "keep off" sign, and depositing more message making material. Truckers could probably read them, but who wants to talk to Truckers anyway. Do ya think they are trying to send messages to Aliens???Zombie Slots
Rather than search all of Salt Lake City for a dinner spot, we decided to push on to Wendover, NV and eat at a casino. Years ago, I won't say how many -- you could count on good food and food service at a casino. We walked into the Montego Bay -- Whoa boy -- talk about sensory overload. Just to find the restroom, you are required to walk the perimeter and immerse yourself in aqua and pink neon. The entire central area was filled with electronic 'slot' machines. I'm not sure why they still call them slot machines, since so few of them actually have coin slots, and the 'arm' is basically a superfluous device. Hell, you don't even put coins in the damn things any more. Now you get a digital card, on a flexible lanyard which you PIN to your shirt, so you won't lose it (because you become so STUPEFIED that you don'
t know what you're doing anymore!) Anyway you plug this card into the machine and PUSH a little button to 'play'; all wins and loses are registered on the card. Geeze oh man these guys really know how to have fun! Slot machines have changed from a mechanical device to a digital version of a slot machine, it is bright, busy and makes mutant electronic noises (which sometimes will NOT stop!) The players push the button and stare at the screen with a slack jawed expression. They have been transformed from human to ZOMBIE.In the old days the players would be smokin, drinkin, talkin, while putting coins in the slots and pulling on the handle, some of them were SO active they needed a wrist wrap! A passer by would hear all the mechanical sounds the rollers would make as they turned and then fell into place, the sounds of the machine arm as it bounced back, and -- oh YEAH -- the big one -- bells (actual buzzers) ringing and coins dropping into the tray.
These poor fools today, just sit there with blank expressions, and register NO emotion, whatsoever. I think that there is probably some subliminal messaging going on here and the whole use of the card to register the wins and losses makes it even easier to control the VICTIM "just puush the button, thaat's right, you feel gooood, relaaaxed, the button is your friennnnd, your only source of pleassssure, yesss you won, but you waaant the button, just push it again, thaaats it"
Which brings me to Opulence and Decadence vs. Shiny and Sparkly. Jim Foxworthy observes that rednecks LOVE things that are shiny and sparkly, so I guess ca
sinos are going for the redneck subculture -- good move -- let's attract the people with the least amount of money. You walk into any casino now and everyone thinks its so luxurious, so opulent, and all the casino owners had to do was to keep it fairly DARK and spend a few hundred dollars on neon lights and lights that flash. Actual opulence isn't cheap to pull off. You have to use REAL wood, nice furnishings, classic floor coverings and subtle (not dark) lighting. The drink girl is well dressed and has a nice wood tray with a crystal tip jar, not service station coveralls, and 2 styrofom cups on a cafeteria tray, sprayed with glitter. Instead of good service and fine dining at the restaurant, you get a trough and they fill it up -- boy that's decadence. Then they forget you are there, you then have to look for them and beg to pay. Everyone walks away from the huge portions and gigantic desserts commenting on the portions, and "they know how to treat you right"Showerheads and Water Conservation
Winnemuca NV -- so I'm taking a shower this morning (boring details unnecessary) -- the second shower in this hotel. They've installed a 'conservation' shower head, which gives a TRICKLE of water, forcing me to substantially lengthen the amount of time I spend in the shower and consequently user MORE WATER. Brilliant move. I can just imagine the conversation between the manager and the maintenance man " yeah George, these water saving shower heads don't seem to be saving us any water" "Well, sir, I told you last year, give 'em the water full force, sand blast strength and they'll get in and outa there fore you know it. They'll even turn the water down more. Just tell em that its one of them special massage shower heads and they'll be happy, and we'll use less water!"
Aliens and the Water Planet
Driving through Nevada, I started thinking about desert areas, area 51, and ali
ens. The aliens never came back because they flew over Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and came to the conclusion that there's NOTHING here but a few lizards, some snakes and scorpions. "Whoa, this doesn't look anything like it does from space, you sure we're in the right place???" "Hey, I turned right at Jupiter and Left at the Moon -- just like you told me" This starts over Nevada, continues through Arizona and results in a CRASH in New Mexico. Radioed back to the Mother ship to look elsewhere for intelligent life. See aliens are just as short sighted and stupid as humans! I guess they didn't see the messages in the sand at the Great Salt Lake!
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