Vegas

Prior to Vegas I was thinking about how I need to be reading more fiction. I read something the other day talking about how reading is exercise for your brain. I don't know if it is true, but I liked the idea. Supposedly it creates connections in your brain, strengthening certain things (I can't remember what). I imagine studying math has a similar effect on logistical analysis, even though most math has little practical application.

So here comes Vegas, a truly awful place. A gigantic scam if there ever was one. The only question in Vegas is how much of your hard earned money will you manage to escape with. Thank God for ATM daily limits, the greatest financial tool ever invented by Bank of America. Most of the TV shows and movies featuring Vegas treat it comedically or romantically. This is wrong. Vegas is a villain. A serial killer villain that simply needs to avoided and survived. It should be treated the way the outdoors is treated in survival movies, as a menacing environment where one is lucky to get out with their dignity and wallet in tact.

But back to the brain. See, Vegas is like the opposite of reading. It is reverse exercise for your brain. It turns people into delusional maniacs. The entire place is built upon an irrationality - betting. Everyone knows the casino will win. The entire strip and downtown area functions on this certitude. And yet, we all toss our money into it, someone expecting this time will be different. It never is.

Dehydration. Hot desert. Static-y interiors. "Free" drinks. Salty food. Air conditioning. I'd like to see the hospital statistics on how many people die of dehydration each year in Vegas.

I won't be going back for at least a year.