View Full Version : The Reason (s) Why?
Thread starter.
Answers requested for some of the strange dichotomies of living here.
Argento
The price of fillet steak here is in lock-step with the price of the delicious, filled-fresh pastas such as agnolottis and the local speciality, sorentinos. Currently around ARG35 pesos per kilo. And the price is the same everywhere with-in a few pesos. Normally filled pasta elsewhere in the world is only half that of prime cuts of beef. But imput costs for beef and pasta production are totally different. The cold chain for beef, the growing and handling and the sheer length of the production process mitigates against it ever being sold at the same price as a mixture of flour and water. Sure here the filling, (normally ricotta which is a salvaged product from whey and about ARG5 pesos a kilo, mixed with spinach or walnuts) costs more than 1 peso a kilo but water makes up over half the weight.
Why then is the price in lock-step?
Why do most of the Avenidas and other major roads have white lines painted on them? In most countries they signify and identify traffic lanes but that is patently not their intended use here. And given that traffic streams across them, astride them and with 2 or so cars within each pair of lines, traffic control is obviously not their intended use. And moving by car along an Avenida, one block may have 4 lines and the suceeding two blocks have 5 before reducing back to 4 or even 3 lines. Could it be a clever device, unknown in the first world, to discourage road use or could it simply be street graffiti? Answers sought.
Argento
Daddy Rulz
12-10-08, 19:45
Why do most of the Avenidas and other major roads have white lines painted on them? In most countries they signify and identify traffic lanes but that is patently not their intended use here. And given that traffic streams across them, astride them and with 2 or so cars within each pair of lines, traffic control is obviously not their intended use. And moving by car along an Avenida, one block may have 4 lines and the suceeding two blocks have 5 before reducing back to 4 or even 3 lines. Could it be a clever device, unknown in the first world, to discourage road use or could it simply be street graffiti? Answers sought.
ArgentoThey are there so Los Picateros don't get lost on their marches around the city. If you think about it it makes sense, it's difficult to walk, bang a pot and not get lost at the same time.
A lot of people mistakenly assume they are meant as traffic control devices, don't feel badly about your mistake.
This question relates to the tradition of the local restaurants being screwed once or twice weekly to provide the take-out meals for the local police station. The squad car arrives and takes out, depending on the style of food, a dozen or so pizzas, pasta, empanadas, whatever. Payment is not on the menu and the restaurants get screwed in turn. My local pizza shop reckons that they take more than ARG300 pesos a week and much the same from the surrounding restaurants.
My question. Is it true that the up to 100 police squad cars that are parked, usually illegally around the various precincts, only ever leave the precinct on lunch runs? And further. Is it also true that there is no need for them to do street patrols because the drivers in Buenos Aires rarely commit traffic infringements and there is negligible street crime to suppress?
And a final question. I find it implausible but I was told that the reason that cars rarely leave the precincts is because they are sexual beings and are capable of reproduction. So is it true that being permanently parked around the police station, is a benefit in their gestation?
Are traffic lights meant as a suggestion rather than an order that must be obeyed?
This may apply more strongly to the suburbs, because I haven't seen too much of this in the city (not on the scale as I do out here) although it does happen as well.
Traffic lights are pretty much ignored. Not by everyone, but by a good percentage (40%-50%) In the city you get the occasional twit that runs through a very blatantly red light, but here, lights are very much treated as suggestions, and even then suggestions for looking, which drivers normally don't do.
Also there are lights with like two or three red lights, a couple of yellow lights and a couple of green lights. These come in varieties of round- and square-shaped lights (the lights themselves, not the whole casing) It appears that the round lights are a little more commanding because if the light is square, the run-the-light rate goes up to about 80%
Are traffic lights meant as a suggestion rather than an order that must be obeyed?
This may apply more strongly to the suburbs, because I haven't seen too much of this in the city (not on the scale as I do out here) although it does happen as well.
Traffic lights are pretty much ignored. Not by everyone, but by a good percentage (40%-50%) In the city you get the occasional twit that runs through a very blatantly red light, but here, lights are very much treated as suggestions, and even then suggestions for looking, which drivers normally don't do.
Also there are lights with like two or three red lights, a couple of yellow lights and a couple of green lights. These come in varieties of round- and square-shaped lights (the lights themselves, not the whole casing) It appears that the round lights are a little more commanding because if the light is square, the run-the-light rate goes up to about 80%Yes they are only a subtle suggestion to the drivers of cars. Just as India has 'sacred cows', France has "sacred bicyclists'. Argentina has motoros who are the rider of the motorcycles / scooters. They too are obviously sacred. Traffic lights to them are barely a grimace on the face of God. Lights are ignored, run and at times slowed down for. A further point is the Argentine motocyclist 'handbag'. 50% of the time the safety helmet is carried in the style of a handbag; almost to say when pulled over, 'But officer I was just putting it on'. I guess 25% of the helmets are either worn to imitate a Martian or worn correctly and the remaining 25% don't bother with anything.
Most of course are annual entrants in the Evil Kineval death wish and their indignation at being inadvertently thwarted in their passage is something to behold. Highest motorbike death-rate in the Americas. And rising.
Argento
My hot shot laptop crashed this past weekend. Fortunately, I know a young computer guru living in Martinez who installed a new operating system, all necessary programs, including the latest version of Norton (tons of other programs) all for the absurdly high sum of 180 pesos. He is a hell of a nice kid. Maybe 26-27 years old. How much would that have cost me in the states? At least 10 times as much and likely more than that. Why is Argentina so fucked up? Is this a strange dichotomy? Can I hate Argentina on this thread?
Daddy Rulz
12-13-08, 00:29
About 1/10 to 1/4 of USA prices. You gotta love itI do this shit for my friends for free! 250-600 dollars to reinstall an os and all other programs!
Stan Da Man
12-13-08, 00:44
Or, you could just buy a Mac. My Mac Mini crashed last weekend. The computer is almost three years old. I took it to the Mac Store. I had not purchased any warranty. They reinstalled everything, upgraded the OS, validated my parking and bought me some shmancy coffee drink. All for free. Last I heard, there wasn't an Apple store in BA though, although there are many "authorized" resellers.
The other alternative is to just get a bittorrent client and then join Demonoid. Suddenly, every Windows OS, computer program, game, movie and song ever made is available for free. I've also heard that you can get porn on these bittorrent sites. Probably just a rumor, though.;-)
I swear I don't get this place after nearly 20 years.
Someone maybe can explain many of the contradictions here but I sure do get flummoxed.
Today for example. My base is about 5k out of downtown and most of my tradesmen are close by. I was picking up and dropping off goods and found I had time for a sit-down lunch. No problem. A little cafe opposite one of my tradesman, Calle Thames circa Av Warnes. Lunch special 'escalopes con papas pure o papas frita o ensalada'. No price but what the heck! Un vaso de vino, sifon de soda, pan, hielo and cafe cortado. I had the special with a crisp ensalada mixta. Just great and served with a smile. Asked and was given todays 'Clarin', read the news and enjoyed the meal. About 10 out of 10. Price 21 pesos.
Out on Tuesday night with Sydney at Parrilla Pena. Bife con ensalada for me and Syd had a side of pasta also with a bife. (I know, it sounded strange to me but Sydney thought it quite normal for here). Not important really to the story. Syd's side of pasta hadn't been drained and he was reduced to sopping up the watery sauce with a paper napkin to little avail. My salad was enormous, sufficient for 4 people but certainly at the brown edge stage; ie not prepared fresh. Why so big? Steaks poorly prepared but good quality, cooked as ordered and we had a couple of 1 litre beers. And of course the de rigeur complimentary empanada. The price was 160 pesos.
Parrilla Pena is a welcoming place and always busy. It is no worse and generally much better than the average parrilla downtown. Out of 10, I would give it no more than a 6. But for the life of me I just can't get the price structures here. Especially when you compare today's lunch and Parrilla Pena. No one could convince me that Parrilla Pena was 400% better than today's lunch.
But why the price dichotomy?
Argento
StrayLight
12-20-08, 03:37
I do this shit for my friends for free! I used to, but I stopped because when I did it for free, no one appreciated it. I mean, when I rebuild a system, I do a top notch job: I create separate partitions for applications and data. Set the My Documents folder and all applications to default to the data partition for file storage. Make sure the security features are cranked as high as I think they can easily manage. Do some registry tweaks to speed things up and make it more secure. Network the computers if there's more than one, etc. And when the dust settles, I write a document detailing it all so that if someone else happens to work on it they can clearly see what's what. I used to make that level of effort for my friends, and then nine out of ten times the next time these turkeys wanted help, they'd find someone they'd have to pay who would invariably do a half-assed job requiring multiple house calls. I really don't get it, and I finally just said screw it and stopped offering to help. Now my life's less stressful all around.
Truth.Com.
I used to, but I stopped because when I did it for free, no one appreciated it.
I used to make that level of effort for my friends, and then nine out of ten times the next time these turkeys wanted help, they'd find someone they'd have to pay who would invariably do a half-assed job requiring multiple house calls. I really don't get it, and I finally just said screw it and stopped offering to help. Now my life's less stressful all around.Regards,
BM.
Greetings everyone,
I've moved all the posts regarding Parilla Pena to the thread for Parilla Pena.
http://www.argentinaprivate.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4912
Thanks,
Jackson
Meforu 2000
12-24-08, 12:50
Well you have to know that down town your going to pay much more. Let me give you an example, I live when I'm in town in Chacarita where Corrientes starts one day I get it in my mind that I'm going to walk it all the way to the Obelisco, crazy right? Yea I know, well my tipe stated out good after about 3 bolck I stoped at a corner caffe / bar or what ever was on the corner for a beer ok had a beer whith the nuts and stuff paid 3 pesos left walked about 3 more blocks and stoped at another place for a beer this time it was 4 pesos a beer left and so on I kept stoping every so often and the beers kept getting more expensive evry block closer to the Obelisco. Its becuse the tourists don't mind paying so they let them pay. Well by the time I got down town I was drunk, my feet hurt, the last destination was on the corner of the Obelisco at Pelegrini, and saw all the happy tourists, well just like that I said to get drunk I go up town cheap, good and close to my apt.
But I do like to go down town and walk the streets of Florida and Lavalle but do not like the resturants there and I have been to alot of them, to pricey and not very good food, better at mcdonalds but I come for the food to Argentina and of course the women. Not for fast food.
Please explain.
The last two days here traffic has been the most congested I have experienced. No road restrictions or pickets; just at capacity. To add insult to injury, I figured once I had finished my business downtown that I would slip into Uruguay 343 to nail Crystal. Rang ahead and confirmed she was available but by the time I got there, she was ocupado. Well Karla at 139 is just a hop and a kick down the road. Nope. Ocupado tampoco. I gave up in disgust and fled to the suburbs, Palermo Hollywood. Nice little privado with 4 chicas. 1.00 pm and I was the first client for the day shift. Very pretty Argentina chica, Florencia. Experienced but not hardened. She's a squirter once she gets going but is a bit embarassed about the leche descremado. I may cultivate her a bit.
Rare.
(A) To find an Argentina with a whipping body who is right into the whole damm thing.
(B) Looks elegant even after she has squirted over the bed and is between 2 minds whether to clean you up or herself first.
So no crisis downtown but in the 'burbs, very tranquilo.
Argento
I was speaking today with an employee of one of my contractors who visits and buys things in the states. She made the observation that the quality of apparently similiar items on sale here and also in the states, usually made in China, is very different. The items available here she says, are of an inferior quality and in this I must concur. Interestingly she thought the reason was purely because there are no enforced consumer protection laws here. Absolutely impossible to exchange or get a refund. Not quite true as I have returned some defective items but more times than not, they don't want to know you once the money has changed hands.
So for most items you use such as clothes and consumer durables, buy them in the states.
Argento
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