It's over

Yesterday I was quite pleased with the results of the election. Then I had a long discussion with my boss and came back to the realization that yes, there was very little difference between the current Republican and Democrat parties. It doesn’t matter who is in office, all they do is make government bigger, give more money away and thus need to take more in. I don’t care if it’s millions a day in a ‘war’ that is never ending and useless or gas for some woman too stupid enough to get a job or a bailout for banks lending to people that should never have gotten a loan to begin with, it’s still my money and I am the one that should have the right to use it as I want to. Do not take it away and say that you are better at spending my money, I know you can do that (the spending part) very well.

And both sides feel it their ‘duty’ to pass more laws, putting more restrictions on my rights. Look, I just don’t care what the heck you do in your house or off on your farm or inside your head; don’t tell me what to do in mine. If I am not hurting you or damaging your property then just leave me alone. If I want to marry who I want to it is my business, and I fail to see how that has any affect whatsoever on your family. If I want to watch movies of frogs doing unmentionable things on the TV set in my house then it is my business, stop looking in my windows. Why the heck do people feel it is their job to force me to conform to their way of thinking? If God is going to punish me for something then it’s God that will do that, it is not your job here to do his job. What, you think you are as good as God and therefore should tell me how to act and what to think? That sounds pretty obnoxious, to compare yourself like that.

So, I will again try not to make this a political place and will go back to why I started, to share my thoughts and pictures about Las Vegas. (Haven’t I said that before?)

When we go for our lunchtime walk we alternate between outside (when the weather is nice) and inside. Whatever path we take it still is about a forty five minute walk. I see some pictures posted by people that get to walk along streams and rivers and canals and trees and yes, I do sometimes wish I was there. But I also like to look at people, and with that concept I am in the right place. There are some trees and flowers along where I walk, even if most of them are plastic. There are waterfalls and canals filled with gondolas, but mostly there are people. And yes, please, if you want to stop to take a picture don’t stop in the middle of the freakin’ sidewalk and block everybody else.

When we walk inside we pass a wide spot amongst the shops where at times people sing and perform. But for most of the day there is a single person dressed all in white, with white makeup, who does nothing but stand there not moving very much. I don’t know why, but people find this fascinating. So there is usually a crowd of people standing looking at somebody just standing. And they take pictures. And they just stand and look and point. Why? I have no idea.


Sometimes they even get up on the little stage and stand with the white person and have their photo taken together. The white person does move a little bit, and usually holds their hand, but otherwise tries not to smile too much. (these photos were taken over a month apart, but I could probably go up there right now and it would look about the same)


Several months ago we had the big fashion show in here. They come by twice a year and fill up the whole place, complementing similar shows around town. Unfortunately this one did not bring any young ladies in swim suits (painted on or real), but the setup was about the same as before. In the middle near the food counter they put out a boardwalk and sand, which then has beach chairs applied. This is just of one side; they do this in four places. The chairs are usually full, with people standing around drinking pretty drinks (hey, it’s Vegas, it is legal to sell alcoholic beverages 24 hours a day) and talking loudly. But during setup those piles of sand in the middle of the concrete floor look rather lonely.


Turning around and facing the other direction you can see the loading doors, where trucks pull in and forklifts drive around unloading crates and pallets. This was the first day of move in, so not much stuff is scattered around, don’t know why the sand went in first. But more trucks will arrive and soon all the shiny aluminum and white plastic booths will come out and be set up, and then the vendors will show up with their crates of clothes and hang it all.


This week there is an auto parts show here, filling up the entire building. Downstairs it’s all foreign suppliers, lots of booths from China and Taiwan and India and Turkey, filled with people talking different languages and hoping their tables of metal parts and light bulbs and rubber belts will be visited by buyers. The show is much larger this year, B says it’s because of the content, this is for ‘after market’ parts. This means replacement parts and repair parts and tools for repair; a market that does better when people hang on to their old cars and have to fix them. So if the economy is down then new car sales decline but car repairs increase, and shows that cater to this market do well.

I just have one tip for the foreign exhibitors: please hire a native language speaker when you go to another country and put up big posters describing how nice your plant is or what your manufacturing plant does or how good your product works. When you take English as a second language, or try to speak in any language not your own, you will not be as good as someone born there. So as to the proficiencies produced by the application of the attitudes and experience in making of products of superior does not always apply to the creation of signs of understandabilities.