That's Gneiss! #109 ~ Dystopia is Now (and a brief update from South America)
Sometimes I spend my early Sunday mornings enjoying my coffee and reading through essays and articles in search of the best to share with you. I read some really interesting things, and they usually end up in the “Tidbits” section. This morning I found something that deserves some greater attention. A sign that society is creeping onwards towards dystopia!
It’s not the total dystopian state of the many novels or films that have become so popular. It’s much more subtle, often discerned through really paying attention to what’s going on around us.
An article about the global economy and food trucks called Hell’s Kitchens caught my eye this morning, so I dug in for a read.
REEF Technology already owns “a growing network of 4,500 parking lots in the top 25 markets across North America.” Hidden in the pablum of their About Us pitch, the company promises innovative and profound changes to the neighborhood parking lot. They intend to transform parking facilities into “ecosystems that connect to the goods and services that keep us moving forward in a sustainable and thoughtful way.”
Aside from the obvious objection—the only way to “transform” the parking lot into a genuine ecosystem would be to remove the asphalt and let nature take its course—it appears that a core element of their business model is spying or, more in the modern phrase, “surveillance capitalism.”
REEF boasts of its ability to gather data using tools like automated License Plate Recognition in hope of providing “invaluable consumer data for landlords to optimize property value.”
That was not where I was expecting it to go. Apparently this company, REEF, owns surveillance-laden parking lots and provides food for delivery services.
Have you seen something that looks like this?
If you do, please just run as quickly as possible to a real food truck and support a local small business. Unless of course you’d prefer generic food from a suite of generic “restaurants” delivered generically straight to your door (for lots of $$). Of course, if you walk up to one of these and try to order they will tell you to use the app, as reported in “Hell’s Kitchens.” The tables must be for show.
What you’re seeing here is a “ghost kitchen,” a pop-up food truck that makes food strictly for delivery. There’s even a competitor to REEF that calls themselves Ghost Kitchens USA. Same concept - you order your meal via an app, it’s cooked in one location that produces food for a number of so-called restaurants (none of them have actual storefront locations), and it’s delivered to your door.
Imagine you are sitting at home, hungry but not wanting to leave your house. You’re in your pajamas, for crying out loud! One doesn’t go out in their pajamas, unless they live in Oak Harbor! You open Uber Eats (or a similar app) and see before you an array of choices that may include some of the following:
These are not real restaurants. And this is more prevalent than you might think.
I poked around on the REEF website to get a feel for their “brands.” It turns out they’re very similar. You can go to their site and click on some of the icons, and what you will discover is…
They are the same crap with a different wrapper. How many times can we see this presentation of fries? Just move the cup around to a different angle and swap out the dipping sauce, it’s all good.
Maybe the food is okay?
No, not really. It’s also expensive to have it delivered to your door, considering what you get.
Read the first article above if you’re interested in learning more about these ghost kitchens, and how their funding comes from Saudi Arabia. These businesses aim to take over the delivery market with mediocre food that pretends to be international.
Don’t encourage them, don’t buy it.
On a much happier note, let’s take a look at what the world adventurers are up to. I haven’t heard much from them and thought that there might not be anything to report this week, but Mia sent a few photos early yesterday. I have learned to let go and not fret when I don’t hear from them for a few days. Nolan has been a traveler for many years now, starting with back country Yellowstone hikes with his dad when he was still in school. And those back country snowboarding trips - one learns to be patient for updates. No news is good news?
Anyhow, I woke up to photos that had been sent at 3:10 am (my time). Nolan, Mia, and their friends are having an excellent time exploring. This campground looks as posh as a Washington state park! It had apparently been raining all night, but they don’t look too soggy.
Are you jealous of Nolan’s hair? I am.
Here’s Nolan giving his sign of approval in some spectacular scenery.
A clue to their wherabouts! Amanda, Nolan and Grant pose in front of a sign that tells me they are in Calilegua National Park in Argentina!
This is the town of Purmamarca, Argentina. Beautiful! That is some iconic geology right there.
Finally, here is a photo of some lupines taken at 14,000 feet. That’s just shy of the tallest point in Washington state, the peak of Mount Rainier (14,411 feet).
I’m so glad they’re getting the opportunity to explore the world, and I’m happy I can share it with you.
Have a wonderful week - it’s the beginning of the last month of the decade! Make the most of it.
Tidbits
National Register of Champion Trees - find our which species grow near you
Related - American Forests Tree Measuring Guidelines (fascinating!)
There’s nothing much more fun than an abandoned amusement park…
CarveDecember is here! I’m not going to knock myself out, but I am going to spend a bit of time carving stamps this month. Gouging rubber with sharp tools seems like a fine way to end the year.
Holiday gift guide for map lovers (it’s okay if you just buy them for yourself)
Making: not quite yet, check back next week
Recently eaten:
Reading: I went on a right reading binge this long weekend! I will be honest - I was worried that I might not meet my Goodreads self-challenge goal of 50 books this year, so I stocked up on graphic novels. I’m not quite there yet, but I will now easily make my goal, and then some. Here’s what I finished/read completely:
The Calculating Stars - finally! Looking forward to reading the next installment.
Mars Attacks - meh. Paper Girls is better.
Americana (And the art of getting over it.) - Irish comic writer hikes the Pacific Coast Trail, despite never backpacking or camping a day in his life. Adventure and self-reflection ensue.
Videos of the Week
My mood at the beginning of the week - light and somewhat nostalgic…
My mood at the end of the week - BURN IT DOWN
Question of the Week
If you feel like answering the question (or to just say hello), hit reply to this email. Answers will be shared next week - always anonymous.
It’s the last month of the decade - let’s do some review! In honor of the spirit of adventure, what is the most adventurous thing you did or place you traveled in 2010-2019?
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Last week I asked about holiday dishes that evoke horror, wonder, or are just downright tasty. Quite a range here!
Our go-to thanksgiving/holiday side dish is butternut squash & brie. It never turns out the same way twice - sometimes it's runny, sometimes it's like a good mash - but it's always good. :)
I think my mother collected her arsenal of Thanksgiving recipes in the 50's, when marshmallows were first mass-produced in the U.S. . . . because almost everything on our table, except the turkey itself, had a high marshmallow content. (And some years even the turkey seemed suspiciously sweet and jet-puffed).
My family has a tradition of rolled pickles, which is dried beef spread with cream cheese rolled up with a dill pickle. It always gets an eyebrow raise from newbies, but it’s legit a favorite get-together food, and completely unacceptable not to have it at the holidays. I don’t recall any non-familial guest who has tried it not liking it (although mayhap they humor me). My husband likes them so much that now HE makes sure they are on every holiday menu.
My favorite dip at thanksgiving is the one we call Uncle John’s dip. It’s not a dip as much as it is a block of cream cheese covered in shrimp cocktail and served with ritz. As a kid I thought it was sooooo fancy, and begged to keep the tiny jars the shrimp and sauce came in. Uncle John passed away almost 10 years ago, and I still make it every thanksgiving.
A culinary horror etched in my memory took place in Denmark the summer after I graduated from college and traveled to Europe with a friend. Toward the end of our whirlwind 6 week trip staying in hostels and barely bathing, we made a much needed pitstop with my extended family in Copenhagen. My great uncle Axel, who decades before had been a cook in the royal Danish kitchen (really!), prepared a great feast for us - a smorgasbord of pickled herring in sour cream, dense black breads, stinky cheeses, and the pièce de résistance - a pork loin stuffed WITH PRUNES! We very politely tried to eat our servings while longing for a Big Mac. I'll never forget it. And I would happily eat it all up today now that my palate has expanded...but still, ixnay on the prunes.
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