Half Assery as a Strategy

One thing which has surprised me about the USA (surprised me most, I think) is how half-assed everything is. I never thought of Oz as a particularly efficient place, but it's comparatively a model of doing stuff right, by the book, it's pukka. May be the colonial heritage.

May also be a function of how much in Oz is done by government (which is at least theoretically accountable for the provision of services,) in contrast to the USA's reliance on private contract to accomplish the same kinds of function. Cutting corners seems to be regarded as the way contractors get their equivalent of a tip.

One example is that I've had to send 5 copies of a fax (yes, a fax, technology circa 1910) from three different locations before it (I hope) arrived.

Another example is the shambolic publication of information about the San Marcos wildfires. In Oz, I can go directly to a government website which gives me maps, loci (or foci) of activity, descriptive text. I can go to the ABC (a venerable institution recently defunded by a Tory madman) to get details, events, advice, and cross-links to other information sources.

Here ... it's a parade of blondes with big tits ("There's a 30% chance that it's already raining!") asking inane questions and interviewing feisty local residents who are standing to fight the fire in their own backyard, for the american way of life. Oh, and the traffic ... nothing can happen in SoCal unless it's related to a major road, with a minutely detailed analysis of how traffic conditions will be impacted. It's infotainment and blather.

One surmises this kind of thing goes from top to bottom in the USA. No wonder so much stuff doesn't work, and good luck running that empire, guys.

Third Base!

I went to a ritual event the locals call a 'ball game.' While there I partook of the sacred food (being a footlong dawg with mustard and ketchup.)

What I observed was interesting, and seemed to involve a lot of setup for a scant moment's energetic interaction between a ball and a randomising device called a bat. The purpose of this interaction was to distribute the ball among the gathered faithful sitting in the bleachers.

I captured some of this ritual here: http://goo.gl/FkG2Vm

At the conclusion of the event, apparently two bases were "loaded" at the bottom of the ninth, a base hit was achieved, with two strikes and one out to go, at this point the guy on second (whose name may or may not have been "Watt") decided to go home.

Those assembled erupted in joyous celebration, as their Padres had won. All agreed it was a good match.

There's also a sub-ritual called a 7th innings stretch, which entails the communal singing of a song celebrating the tribe's special relationship with their local deity. I attempted to video it, but didn't want to appear too interested, as such scrutiny may mark one as a tourist, and the tribe is at war on tourism.