I just wanted to give you an impression of some things I experienced while in LA for Siggraph. As a naive outsider, I found some things amazing..
First thing: I got pwned by the cab drivers. First one from the airport was a nice lady who engaged me in lots of small talk so that I didn't see the flat rate sign in the window...BAM! 70 $ instead of 45 $
The next night I had a huge Armenian guy as a cab driver who, after he started driving told me he would charge me 10$ no matter what the taximeter would say. Cause otherwise he wouldn't drive such a short distance. So instead of 4.50$ on the meter I paid the guy 10$.
Next night a cab driver (who I had already driven with) pretended to not know the hotel's address anymore and wanted to drive by it, so I had to stop him.
Then next day 4 other German guys and me took a private limo to Santa Monica, driver greeted us with SIEG HEIL and believed to be a German from 1933 reincarnated, but over the course of 30 mins we grew to love the guy.
When he saw another driver on the freeway ditch his cigarette he expressed his desire to pop one into his head for polluting the environment.
"We latinos need to outbreed the Americans to get back our LA, my mission is to impregnate as many women as I can"
Other small stories:
-very nice Robocop-esque animated propaganda movie on the plane with Tom Ridge and his Homeland security VISIT US program. I laughed my ass off.
-metal detector screening at the Nokia Theater wow
-Saw a bank security team in Downtown with magnum revolver IN HAND awaiting the transport.
-No white dudes on the subway in Hollywood except us. Felt like I was in Metropolis where the richer you are the higher you travel.
-Wanted to walk to a club and ended up at the Figueroa tunnel which seemed too long and unsecure to walk.
-People from the hotel and other places constantly telling us not to walk east of the hotel or don't walk here or go there.
"You want to walk in LA?" Just amazing.
-One morning a huge black guy joined me in my walk to the convention center and started to talk about how his wife had crashed his amazing AMG Mercedes Benz and now he uses public transportation. And then suddenly told me he was lost. "I'm lost dude, i'm just lost"
As a European used to walk around Berlin on foot, it was a pretty amazing and expensive week. Best evening was the Baseball game Dogers vs Phillies which was a nice show. Maaaaannny Raaaaamirez
First thing: I got pwned by the cab drivers. First one from the airport was a nice lady who engaged me in lots of small talk so that I didn't see the flat rate sign in the window...BAM! 70 $ instead of 45 $
The next night I had a huge Armenian guy as a cab driver who, after he started driving told me he would charge me 10$ no matter what the taximeter would say. Cause otherwise he wouldn't drive such a short distance. So instead of 4.50$ on the meter I paid the guy 10$.
Next night a cab driver (who I had already driven with) pretended to not know the hotel's address anymore and wanted to drive by it, so I had to stop him.
Then next day 4 other German guys and me took a private limo to Santa Monica, driver greeted us with SIEG HEIL and believed to be a German from 1933 reincarnated, but over the course of 30 mins we grew to love the guy.
When he saw another driver on the freeway ditch his cigarette he expressed his desire to pop one into his head for polluting the environment.
"We latinos need to outbreed the Americans to get back our LA, my mission is to impregnate as many women as I can"
Other small stories:
-very nice Robocop-esque animated propaganda movie on the plane with Tom Ridge and his Homeland security VISIT US program. I laughed my ass off.
-metal detector screening at the Nokia Theater wow
-Saw a bank security team in Downtown with magnum revolver IN HAND awaiting the transport.
-No white dudes on the subway in Hollywood except us. Felt like I was in Metropolis where the richer you are the higher you travel.
-Wanted to walk to a club and ended up at the Figueroa tunnel which seemed too long and unsecure to walk.
-People from the hotel and other places constantly telling us not to walk east of the hotel or don't walk here or go there.
"You want to walk in LA?" Just amazing.
-One morning a huge black guy joined me in my walk to the convention center and started to talk about how his wife had crashed his amazing AMG Mercedes Benz and now he uses public transportation. And then suddenly told me he was lost. "I'm lost dude, i'm just lost"
As a European used to walk around Berlin on foot, it was a pretty amazing and expensive week. Best evening was the Baseball game Dogers vs Phillies which was a nice show. Maaaaannny Raaaaamirez
