Communication Gap


Posted On: Thursday - December 1st 2022 10:18AM MST
In Topics: 
  Curmudgeonry  Artificial Stupidity  Muh Generation



It's time to mix things up a little bit here. I mean, why is it always China, China, China?! OK fine, this one comes from a few weeks back, when I was traveling.

I took an "illegal cab" to LaGuardia Airport based on the advice of somewhat I'd met. I put that in quotes because, Libertarianism. The guy was taking me from point A to point B for money, which is pretty much the definition of a taxi ride. Whether someone needed to pay a million dollars and/or a bribe to the City of New York for some cab medallion* doesn't have much bearing on the matter for an individual like me.

The guy was Brazilian per the Brazilian guy who recommended him, and his charge was less than half of the official fare. (It was also higher than what the 1st Brazilian had told me it would cost, but, yeah... that's probably a Brazilian thing ...)

After I determined the guy knew enough English to understand the deal, he told me "Yes, I take you. It will be about 15 minutes before I pick you up." He told me where to be and I had plenty of time no matter what.

About 15-20 minutes later, I called to check on this guy. Instead of answering the phone, seemingly easier if you ask me, he texted back "5 minutes." Sounds like a plan. The weather was beautiful - I stood outside waiting.

"??" came another text from this number. Thinking the guy had fat-fingered something, I stood outside in the beautiful weather waiting.

Now, he calls. "Hey, what's going on?" he asks. "Nothing. Are you here?" "I text you, but you didn't write back." "The question marks?" "Yeah." "OK, I'm not 14 years old, man. I'm an American. I told you I'd be outside, and I'm outside. What you do is show up when you said you would. That's how it works, or used to." "Well, I didn't know if ..." "I'm here. Where are you?"

He drove right up, still on the phone. Rant only partly over, I just said nicely that it used to be that one said something and the other guy trusted him, with no constant texting necessary. Though the guy in my file photo above is not of the same nationality, he's probably in the same age range. This guy was in his 40's. He ought to know the old ways, shouldn't he?

OTOH, This guy may deal with Millennials all the time who can't deal with not being in continual communication. He may in the future want to try to distinguish those people and those of us who grew up without the constant communication ability available. "Mom, I was supposed to meet Gary here at the front of the store at 6. He'll probably call you. Tell him I'll be right inside the store, but if he doesn't come by 7, I'm heading to his house."

Or, we could go all MENA (Middle East/North Africa) and just not worry about the exact timing of our lives. We wait for the whole afternoon shooting the shit and eating the khat. If he doesn't show, we don't care. Nothing gets done in places like this though. However, how do the Millennials get anything done when they spend half their time staring at 5" screens?


* For the amount I've read, something like a million bucks, those medallions had better be made out of platinum! At least a couple of pounds of .999 gold would be nice. I don't know if there are many of those sweatsuit gold-chain-wearing imported Middle Easterners(?) there that Steve Sailer sees in LA, but that'd suit them well. "I got my track suit and my 2 lb. gold medallion, and I'm wearing sunglasses. Hit it!" No, the gas pedal, not the hot dog stand!

Comments:
Moderator
Friday - December 2nd 2022 1:36PM MST
PS: Thanks for the videos, Adam. We'll have to go off for a day, but I'll check them out tomorrow eve.
Adam Smith
Friday - December 2nd 2022 11:11AM MST
PS: No Comment... 🙃

Just a little off topic goodness for all the guitar players in the room...
(From a few of his comments I know that Achmed is a bit of an aspiring guitarist, Mr. Hail. Maybe you are too?)

Jeff Martin on Alternate Tunings...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJtswHxx-Yc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8DCDe7XL_c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwzrhm_UsFo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qr7URDBe-YM

I hope you all have a great afternoon! ☮
Moderator
Friday - December 2nd 2022 9:51AM MST
PS: Alarmist, that Ron Unz spoke so highly of that site in his posts on his Covid theory made me wary of Moon of Alabama. (Mr. Unz only praises people who agree with him on 100%)

I just read most of that page per your link, and I'll be straight with you. I can't stand the attitude of the guy. Just like Mr. Unz, everything wrong is America's doing, and China (even the CCP) can do no wrong. Here, for example:

"Exactly three years ago Wuhan reported the first case of an unknown type of pneumonia. China had since then adopted a whatever-it-takes stand against the spread of Covid. While the zero-Covid measures at times seem harsh they are also a necessity. The Chinese medical system is still underdeveloped and can not handle large outbreaks in multiple big cities. Not all Chinese elderly are vaccinated. A free running epidemic would cost several million lives and would leave tens of millions hampered with long-Covid conditions."

At least on this topic, I think Moon of Alabama knows nothing and is talking through his ass. He ought to be SENT to China to live for 10 years and then report back to us. It'd be quite a different tune you'd hear.

That said, I do want to write a post that relates to Sam J.'s opinion on the matter, as speculated by John Derbyshire recently too. Unfortunately that one's not from his "Monthly Diary" that just came out - he write very well, so I look forward to these. This one is from the transcript of his latest or 2nd-latest "Radio Derb".
Moderator
Friday - December 2nd 2022 9:41AM MST
PS: I can answer your 2nd comment, Mr. Hail.

Firstly, though one might think "hey, we had a deal, dammit!" as far as the 10-year visas, I'm pretty sure they've been at the least suspended right now. Who knows if they will be honored in the future? I'm not sure if the Americans are doing the same - it's usually a tit-for-tat thing. (I think it's extremely foolish for the country to have ever issued long-term visas - it's not like we have good exit controls and can find these people.)

People spend $250 or more, and a half-day's worth of trouble (pp-style photos, and some forms) to get these visas, and many will get screwed out of the use of them.

I have not traveled to/from China on any Chinese airline, though I've been on (guessing here) 5 or 6 trips within China. I'm guessing on the points, they will help the Chinese customers out more than then will any Americans, regarding their points, if they even have them. (I don't know.)

Things have flipped in 20 years, Mr. Hail, on which country gets and which people get the respect. I noted that in '09, the meals on the planes (again, American-based airlines) had America cuisine. The same airlines had more Oriental-Oriented food 5 years later. When they were coming into the US in the morning it was "do you want the omelet or the fruit and croissants?", but later "do you want the rice or the noodles?" (or something like that). It must be that the big bucks are coming mostly from the Chinese customers.
Moderator
Friday - December 2nd 2022 9:24AM MST
PS: Mr. Hail, regarding your 1st comment on this thread, I will have to state "no comment" on all of it. OK, that's except that we do travel by air a few times a year as a family and I do much more than that on my own.

Sorry to be so vague on this.
The Alarmist
Friday - December 2nd 2022 6:30AM MST
PS O/T

Here’s an interesting take on Zero Covid in China:

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2022/12/china-protest-instigators-and-zero-covid-policies.html#more
Hail
Friday - December 2nd 2022 5:52AM MST
PS

Airport-related & China-related, double-whammy comment:"

I still have a valid China entry visa--multi-year issued a few years ago. Any breaching of the corona-communist-bamboo curtain is still, I assume, very difficult, a giant headache at best.

(And anyone who opposes such difficulties too loudly gets disappeared. The account that the one man, identified by surveillance footage and informants as the man who first shouted "Communist Party, Step down!" at the Shanghai protest last week, has disappeared -- he was reportedly "vanned" while at his job two days later, abducted and not seen since.)

With all the talk about China at Peak Stupidity and elsewhere, I wonder if their airlines have blocked their own "air mileage points" systems from expiring given difficulty of entry.

Do Chinese airlines even do "mileage" systems? The model of all Chinese airlines, as best I can tell, is the model of most all their entries into the global economy: cheap, cheap, cheap. Undercut the bigger, established players. Maybe they don't even run "mileage" systems to keep everything bare-bones from the start.
Hail
Friday - December 2nd 2022 5:41AM MST
PS

I think that you, Mr. Moderator, travel more by air than just about anyone I've ever heard of. And you have spoken of your field and you are NOT a pilot or flight-attendant. That makes you I supposed by default what we call a business traveler.

Your family trip to the British Isles for two weeks this past summer: free via saving up all that "mileage"?
Kulak Acres Ranch
Thursday - December 1st 2022 7:59PM MST
PS MENA will be paradise compared to the Fundamental Transformation.
Discussing the action packed zero vs. nil feetsball would be too distracting for the driver in the maggot infested big apple.
Section 8 Favelas will be coming soon so that he can feel at home in the Chiquitastan.
Regarding the fondle telescreens, Orwell said there would be no revolt as the lumpen proles drooled over their screens.
Moderator
Thursday - December 1st 2022 1:50PM MST
PS: Dressing down is a good idea, Alarmist. It was daylight, and I did have an idea which way we were going, as I've been on the route before. Something about "the Van Wick" reminded me of Seinfeld.

Nah, we didn't talk about the Futebol. I recall we didn't talk that much as his English wasn't great and I got a phone call from home. He was a decent guy though and got me there.
The Alarmist
Thursday - December 1st 2022 12:42PM MST
PS

The only potential problem is that, as a White, guy you might find yourself taking a ride to the South Bronx. When I lived in NYC, I’d occasionally take what we called “gypsy cabs,” but my Spanish was good enough to be aware of what was going on, and I always dressed for the occasion (shabby, not chic).

Did you chat “Futebol e vida” with him?

I”m sure Über and Lyft have knocked a place or two off medallion asking prices.
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