Re: What's that smell?

At 11:51 PM 7/24/96 -0400, Ballou wrote:

>... New Yorkers, tell me what the deal is with 
>that smell?

     Well, I'm not a New Yorker and I didn't 
cruise the alleys sniffing dumpsters, but ...

     I noticed a "pungent" aroma that was partially
from dirt & decay, but due mostly to open-air
vendors (why the whole city doesn't die of food
poisoning escapes me) and simply the cast of 
characters milling about in close proximity. People
are not naturally odor-free; New York was more 
crowded but far from the worst-smelling place I've
ever been ...

>The $136 p/night hotel room (at the Pennsylvania) I
>stayed in had chipped paint, ripped carpet and an 
>ever-present dingy-colored water in the toilet bowl.

     Bernd got a $109/night deal; when I heard about
it I pitched a fit and got a reduction from my $119
quote. I saw chipped paint & dingy carpet; the 
water was clear. What floor were you on? I'd agree
that the hotel has a nice facade but is largely 
rotting from the inside, which is why I briefly was
worried that Bernd might use the Polydor Quad as a
weapon instead of handing it to me ...  ;-}

>There's also the matter of how ridiculously 
>expensive everything is ...

     Deliberately avoided parking, and a group
of us hopped a gypsy cab inbound from LaGuardia
for a flat rate. For other things, I found the
prices very comparable to London and *much* less
than Tokyo. Price of being around a big city
with big benefits and problems to match them ...

>I'm no fan of Los Angeles either, but I do believe 
>the next time I criticize it I'll tell myself it 
>could be worse.

     Last time I was in LA, it was sunny one 
minute and 15 minutes later an inversion caused a
smog cloud that limited visibility to about 12 
feet. Methinx I'll stay in the Midwest ...

Bob
Bad defeats Good then self-destructs ...