The
USA
At
various
times,
mostly
when
I
was
living
in
the
UK
and
working
in
the
real
world
my
old
company
(whose
Name
Must
Not
Be
Mentioned
lest
some
dreadful
fate
befall
me
-
like
working
for
them
again!)
sent
me
on
short
trips
to
the
USA
(NJ)
to
write
and
install
software,
train
staff
and
otherwise
make
a
nuisance
of
myself.
Well,
staff
singular
-
hi
Rob!
-
and
not
so
much
train
as
terrorise
with
my
first
C++
program,
a
10K-line
pile
of
horse-manure
.
I
caught
the
bus
into
New
York
a
couple
of
times
and
saw
house
numbers
which
must
have
come
from
Texas,
the
rubbish
bin
(sorry,
trash
can)
from
Hell
and
the
Maori-esque
final
destination
of
all
known
junk
food.
The
US
has
many
sophisticated
innovations,
including
(but
not
limited
to)
non-confrontational
warfare,
the
yellow
taxi-cab
and
mysterious
red
objects
which
occur
nowhere
else
in
the
world.
Japan
isn't
the
only
country
where
one
finds
quirky
English.
I
confirmed
the
long
harboured
secret
antagonism
of
the
US
toward
British
literature.
I
had
nagging
doubts
about
the
word
optimal
in
this
sign,
but
couldn't
confirm
them
initially
because
optimal
isn't
in
the
Australian
MacQuarie
Dictionary.
Webster's
defines
optimal
as
"most
desirable
or
satisfactory".
Assuming
the
definition
correct
I
am
forced
to
conclude
(in
the
absence
of
an
objective,
universal
standard
for
ranking
space)
that
most
is
taking
on
its
secondary
meaning
(in
US
english)
of
almost.
