Good
evening, 919 Gang.
JAY JOHNSON writes:
Speaking of money (Chuck Boyd et al),
I recently traveled to Bali for a week -- my first time trip to Indonesia. At
Changi Airport I exchanged $700 Singapore dollars (SGD) for Indonesia Rupiah
(IDR). I figured $700SGD would be about
right for a week to cover things I couldn't buy with a credit card (I can hear
the 919ers snickering now -- no, NOT those things). I was given back 5.5
MILLION rupiah. The exchange rate is 7,830 IDR for $1 SGD; or 9,705
IDR for $1 USD.
It took a while to get used to prices
in Bali. Prices often are marked without the "000" (thousands) at the
end -- so something marked "300" would mean 300,000 rupiah, which
would be about $31 USD.
After a day or two I thought I had the
hang of quickly re-calculating IDR prices into USD$ until one night when I got
my bill for one beer at tourist bar. I was floored -- 37,500 rupiah! I
sputtered at the waitress, "This is outrageous!" Then I paused. Wait,
that's $3.80, not $38. "Oh, sorry. All good."
Renting a minivan and driver for the
entire day, gas included, cost 450,000 rupiah ($46 USD). So there were a lot of
bargains. By the way, I read a lot about rising gas prices in the U.S. Gas is
subsidized in Indonesia and costs about $2 USD a gallon. There were huge riots
last year when the government announced plans to increase the price to $2.40.
But that's understandable; about half of Indonesians live on $2 a day.
REBER: Mary's brother is a composer of classical
music. One year he won an international contest which earned him a trip to
Trieste and a cash prize which he said made him a millionaire. Of course, it
was a million lira. Can't remember how that translated, but he was far, far
from a millionaire when he came home and converted his prize to Canadian
dollars.
DAVID FARMER writes:
Some memories and observations about
currency and measurement: in Britain they use one-pound and two-pound coins,
with no equivalent bills. I think it's great, since as Chuck Boyd pointed out,
coins last longer and taxpayers save money on printing. Buying a small item
with a coin is more convenient, too. You can reach into your pocket or purse
and tell the denomination by feel alone.
We'd switch to coins if the government
simply announced it was withdrawing dollar bills, and then did so over a year.
We'd similarly switch to the metric system of measurement, which is more
rational than ours. Now, we sometimes end up using both systems, since some
tools are metric and others aren't.
I think the U.S made a few lame moves
toward metric a generation ago. I remember a sign halfway across the George
Washington Bridge leading to New York City in the early 70s. It gave the speed
limit in kilometers. I could picture motorists trying to convert their speed
mentally, and plunging into the Hudson River while distracted. (At least, I
would have.)
And don't get me started on fahrenheit
vs. centigrade. The Brits use the latter, which makes sense, but they do have
one odd practice. They sometimes figure their body weight in stones, not
pounds. A stone for this purpose is 14 pounds.
Those were the observations; now the
memory. When I worked for The AP in Las Vegas in 1962-63, the casinos and many
other businesses gave change in silver dollars, not bills. They must have
figured you'd prefer to stick the coins in a slot machine rather than carry
them around. After the first transaction when I walked away with a five-pound
lump in my pocket (no rude remarks, please) I always demanded my change in
bills.
----------------------------------------
WELTON JONES writes:
What has happened to the UT item
columnists? I don't remember seeing either Dianne Bell or Matt Hall lately.
Don't they usually run a "day off" box when they're missing?
REBER: A check of the U-T web site shows each had
a column dated Feb. 27. I presume that means the columns will appear in the
Thursday newspaper. I really appreciate the home page's link to all staff
members, allowing you to see when and what they have written.
---------------------------------------
REBER: I made a smart aleck remark about soda
jerks and coffee jerks. I don't believe soda jerk was ever derogatory.
JAY JOHNSON writes:
I believe the term "soda
jerk" came from the motion the server made when pulling the handle to add
the "soda" (carbonated water) to a glass into which he or she had
already poured the syrup (the flavoring for the soda) -- not from being a
"jerk" in the pejorative sense.
According to the Online Etymology
Dictionary, that meaning originated with our beloved short-fingered carnies
(thanks, Austin Powers!), as follows: "American English carnival slang, of
uncertain origin. Perhaps from jerkwater town (1878), where a steam locomotive
crew had to take on boiler water from a trough or a creek because there was no
water tank [Barnhart, OED]. This led 1890s to an adjectival use of jerk as
"inferior, insignificant." Alternatively, or influenced by, verbal
phrase jerk
off "masturbate" [Rawson].
Isn't
the proper term for Starbucks servers and their ilk "baristas"?
------------------------------------------
TIM WILSON forwards:
The
story goes that if you can complete the puzzle found at the link below, you are
not a candidate for Alzheimer’s disease.
Move
the pieces around in the box to fill it in completely. They fit together
perfectly. The pieces do not have to be turned.
When
they are put in place the puzzle makes a clicking sound. Here is the link: http://tinyurl.com/6g6xy
P.O.
Box 2239
Ramona,
CA 92065
U.S.A.
