Binary in America

When you visit a foreign land there are traditions and customs native to the people that may seem different from where you come from. Many develop over time, as a result of the choices available to the public and a need to simplify and codify standards that would be most efficient. Used to be when smoking was still fashionable and some restaurants or hotels would ask if you preferred 'smoking' or 'non'; same with food being served as Veg or Non Veg (specifically in India).

Here are a sampling of what I have encountered in the good ole USA -

Paper or Plastic - largely the phrase used by retail baggers (or cashiers) not so much for the form of payment tender (although it could apply in that case)
'For here' or 'To go' - Generally reserved for fast food purveyors this phrase used by your cashier tells them to pack your meal in a bag for the road or serve it on a tray to eat in house
Ice or No Ice - Most dining establishments will ask for your preference of water (to be served with our without) unlike in Europe where it is 'Flat or Sparkling'
Black or White - Political types constantly seem to be enamored with this subject in terms of race relations which after 250 years of becoming a democracy the country still seems confused about
Republican or Democrat - Most of American history has seen a two party system governing the country without too many shades of opinion in between
English or Spanish - a choice offered by some businesses on their IVR or phone support to allow non English speaking people access to receive customer service
Aisle or Window - Ideally a plane ride should only have that choice (without a middle seat) but we all know that is not always the case
Apple or Android - you got to have a gadget to exist in today's world

Comments

New England is gleaming in the fall

This autumn the weather gods cooperated as we took a family trip in the northeast to see six states that qualify or makeup what is known colloquially in America as New England. Mass, Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island (tiniest state in the union). The outing helped tally up the states we either lived in, visited or have worked in to 47. Guess which three have eluded this intrepid traveling family. Any rate the drive was all in about 1,800 miles and included some memorable geographic wonders or points of interest. Easternmost part of state of Massachusetts being one. Furthest drivable road east in Mass being another. Visit to all Ivy League schools (term harkens to a collegiate athletics conference and generally regarded as elite academic institutes of some repute worldwide) is another random bucket list item of which this trip afforded the chance to knock two more of the list. Dartmouth in Hanover, NH and Brown (and its sister institute the RISD - school f

Searching for a lavish 'fill in the blank with other adjectives and gender' in bed

Many of the readers of this blog have experienced this. Strange sounding messages popping up in your text or WA or emails all day long from some exotic sounding locale with an out of this world individual looking for love, sex, money or other paraphernalia to get a high. I mean granted that electronic spamming is a low cost enterprise and all but the sheer volumes and the variety in these exhortations is beyond imagination. Having a desire to engage you in some sort of sexual payola or invest in some arcane crypto scheme must be a profound algorithm that someone from Oklahoma to Odessa is cranking on through the night and watching one in a few million fall for. Otherwise this nonsense would not exist I suspect. It would be funny to watch the lifecycle of some such persona that creates said content and that of a prospect for this invite becoming an unwilling or willing participant. Then that whole thing could go on some social channel and earn likes and subscriptions for someone else a

Lakeside frivolities

We moved to the Charlotte area not knowing where exactly our new home would be. Turns out it was by a popular lake formed by the damming of the Catawba river which flows north to south in the Carolinas. Local electricity generation utility built a series of dams along the waterway for hydro and couple nuclear plants as well to supply the state grid. The lake our house butts into is Lake Wylie. While tract home build has picked up in the Carolinas the developer often carves out parcels that they can get their hands on leaving behind privately owned lots that the individual owner may not want to sell. Our house is part of a subdivision but backs into actual lake front yardage that has always been part of legacy family owned properties who chose to build a cabin or getaway and did not sell to a corporation wanting to build in the hundreds. As such we can see the water through the year but it does not afford actual water access. That privilege is to our neighbors who still maintain thei

Brown Motion

Search This Blog