I’m sitting here reading other blogs, and looking at an old post on tourists over at Frankie G’s (over there on the lower right) where he is discussing tourists in Vegas. I liked one paragraph that is fairly descriptive of what happens when people get here for the first time: “I have a theory about why the Las Vegas tourist is generally less tolerable than others. Resentment can build up fast in this town for a tourist. The first step off the plane is a kick in the head. Las Vegas looks nothing like you imagined. Then you find out that every single step of Las Vegas Boulevard is designed to leave you with less money, the restaurants are twice as expensive as they need to be, the bus system sucks, the cabbies suck, the cops are cowboys, and your proven blackjack system didn’t work. All of your expectations, delusions of grandeur, and preconceived notions are shot down one by one.” Sounds pretty much like Vegas to me.
Locals however know what to expect, and there are a lot of things for us to do that don’t involve the Strip, though we do like to go down and walk around once in a while. Kind of like people that live in southern Florida; how many times do they go to DisneyWorld?
The Union Pacific Railroad had a big hand in starting Las Vegas. This was a convenient place to stop for water for their engines a long time ago, and they quickly put in a big engine yard, station and switching yard. A few years ago the UP gave the city over sixty acres that they didn’t need anymore (and were being taxed on) right across the freeway from downtown. It took the city a while to figure out what to do with this property, and they are still discussing things to put on it. But one of the things that was built is the The Smith Center for the Performing Arts which opened a few years ago. It’s the home to the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Nevada Ballet Theatre, has several stages and quite a few interesting things come through there. We saw Wicked when it came by, as well as several other events. They just announced that the musical version of Kinky Boots will move from Broadway in New York and start touring next year, and this will be their first stop, probably sometime in September 2014. They did a number from the show at the recent Tony Awards, where the show won several awards.
We have seen the movie it is based on several times, and look forward to catching this adaptation when it comes here. It looks like a road show will travel well.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
California trips
We lived down in Southern California for twenty five years before moving here to Las Vegas, and liked California a lot. People have a different attitude in California than in the rest of the country, more adventuresome and accepting, and the weather is marvelous. We fixed up our last house in San Diego, adding a second floor and really making the yard nice. About ten years ago we decided we needed a change; Interstate 15 was completed behind our house and the traffic was becoming very obtrusive, everything was becoming too crowded and it was just too cool at night to really enjoy our yard.
San Diego has a beautiful Mediterranean type climate – the summer forecast (for about five months) was easy to anticipate: “night and morning low clouds, high of 72 low of 65” (22c, 18c). Winter was not much different, just a bit cooler. We lived about five miles in from the coast, very close to the football stadium and just a short ride to downtown. In the fifteen years we lived there it never got down to freezing. We were able to grow just about any kind of plant we wanted – out front were large giant Bird of Paradise bushes and a bougainvillea that had been growing over the driveway arch for seventy years. Out back we had an assortment of bananas (with fruit), citrus trees, lots of flowers and a large garden. At one point we had over two hundred rose bushes, and one year I went wild for heirloom tomato seeds and planted over thirty varieties (from purple to yellow to striped, even some plain red ones). Very lovely, except when the sun went down the fog came in from the ocean (not thick at our place, just as low clouds that made the sky light and clammy) and a breeze came up. 18c (65f) may sound nice but it was just a bit too cool and damp for us to sit out back comfortably. It was dry – under 300mm (12 inches) per year, but as long as we watered the yard we could grow anything.
We looked around the west for a place to move to. We investigated and visited several cities, including Tucson (we had both lived in Phoenix and didn’t want that again), Portland and Las Vegas among others. We wanted more sunshine – B grew up in Phoenix and liked the desert climate, which eliminated Portland and most of the northwest. B wanted a big airport to make it easy to travel, which cut out Tucson. At that time our daughter was living in Vegas, which was a plus for here. There was a big airport with flights everywhere, along with lots of entertainment, a great many nice restaurants, and lots of sunshine. We knew that we would lose our garden – it’s a desert here, with horrible alkali soil and freezing temperatures in the winter. Most plants have no problem with the heat, as long as they get sufficient water.
Two things we didn’t really notice before moving: the wind (lots of wind) and the summer bugs (called water bugs, but really big cockroaches). The wind is impressive – in the summer when it’s 39c (100f) and the wind blows (32kph/20mph steady with gusts double that) when you step out of a cold air conditioned casino it’s like walking into a blast furnace. Coupled with the low humidity, usually around 3%, you really feel dry. The bugs come out at night; they like water and spend the hot days out under the grass, wandering around the yard after dark. We don’t get them in the house, but it is strange when we go to throw something in the compost bin at night and the surface of that is just covered with hundreds of black and brown crawling things about 5cm (2”) long.
In the past few weeks we’ve made several trips back to California. One trip was to the San Francisco bay area where our youngest son got married. This was a nine hour drive through the central valley of California, which was very pleasant in itself. I like driving, and the freeways in California are nice to drive on. Everybody is going fast, and there are off ramps with places to stop and eat every twenty miles or so. I-5 runs along the west side of the central valley up on the start of the coastal mountains, so that you have a nice long view to the east over the farmland and orchards. The weather was fine – sunny skies and warm without the typical Spring bay fog. Last week we went down to Los Angeles for a train show. That’s a four hour drive through the desert and mountains, different than the greens of farmland. We did notice all of the flowers and greenery in the LA area, similar to what we had in San Diego. B misses the ability to have lovely gardens like that and would like to move back to California. I’m not sure I could take all of the crowds and traffic, and the loss of sunshine.
I’m listening to Penn Jillett's Sunday School podcast. Penn is the bigger, more talkative half of Penn and Teller, some pretty good magicians with a permanent show here at the Rio. We’ve seen their show several times, and it is very enjoyable experience – go see it if you come here. Penn is pushing his annual party, Penn Jillette’s Private Bacon and Doughnut Rock and Roll Dance Party , this year being held at the South Point Casino starting at 11pm on Friday July 12. It sounds like an interesting experience which I will try to attend this year. (Free bacon and donuts and live music – wow).
San Diego has a beautiful Mediterranean type climate – the summer forecast (for about five months) was easy to anticipate: “night and morning low clouds, high of 72 low of 65” (22c, 18c). Winter was not much different, just a bit cooler. We lived about five miles in from the coast, very close to the football stadium and just a short ride to downtown. In the fifteen years we lived there it never got down to freezing. We were able to grow just about any kind of plant we wanted – out front were large giant Bird of Paradise bushes and a bougainvillea that had been growing over the driveway arch for seventy years. Out back we had an assortment of bananas (with fruit), citrus trees, lots of flowers and a large garden. At one point we had over two hundred rose bushes, and one year I went wild for heirloom tomato seeds and planted over thirty varieties (from purple to yellow to striped, even some plain red ones). Very lovely, except when the sun went down the fog came in from the ocean (not thick at our place, just as low clouds that made the sky light and clammy) and a breeze came up. 18c (65f) may sound nice but it was just a bit too cool and damp for us to sit out back comfortably. It was dry – under 300mm (12 inches) per year, but as long as we watered the yard we could grow anything.
We looked around the west for a place to move to. We investigated and visited several cities, including Tucson (we had both lived in Phoenix and didn’t want that again), Portland and Las Vegas among others. We wanted more sunshine – B grew up in Phoenix and liked the desert climate, which eliminated Portland and most of the northwest. B wanted a big airport to make it easy to travel, which cut out Tucson. At that time our daughter was living in Vegas, which was a plus for here. There was a big airport with flights everywhere, along with lots of entertainment, a great many nice restaurants, and lots of sunshine. We knew that we would lose our garden – it’s a desert here, with horrible alkali soil and freezing temperatures in the winter. Most plants have no problem with the heat, as long as they get sufficient water.
Two things we didn’t really notice before moving: the wind (lots of wind) and the summer bugs (called water bugs, but really big cockroaches). The wind is impressive – in the summer when it’s 39c (100f) and the wind blows (32kph/20mph steady with gusts double that) when you step out of a cold air conditioned casino it’s like walking into a blast furnace. Coupled with the low humidity, usually around 3%, you really feel dry. The bugs come out at night; they like water and spend the hot days out under the grass, wandering around the yard after dark. We don’t get them in the house, but it is strange when we go to throw something in the compost bin at night and the surface of that is just covered with hundreds of black and brown crawling things about 5cm (2”) long.
In the past few weeks we’ve made several trips back to California. One trip was to the San Francisco bay area where our youngest son got married. This was a nine hour drive through the central valley of California, which was very pleasant in itself. I like driving, and the freeways in California are nice to drive on. Everybody is going fast, and there are off ramps with places to stop and eat every twenty miles or so. I-5 runs along the west side of the central valley up on the start of the coastal mountains, so that you have a nice long view to the east over the farmland and orchards. The weather was fine – sunny skies and warm without the typical Spring bay fog. Last week we went down to Los Angeles for a train show. That’s a four hour drive through the desert and mountains, different than the greens of farmland. We did notice all of the flowers and greenery in the LA area, similar to what we had in San Diego. B misses the ability to have lovely gardens like that and would like to move back to California. I’m not sure I could take all of the crowds and traffic, and the loss of sunshine.
I’m listening to Penn Jillett's Sunday School podcast. Penn is the bigger, more talkative half of Penn and Teller, some pretty good magicians with a permanent show here at the Rio. We’ve seen their show several times, and it is very enjoyable experience – go see it if you come here. Penn is pushing his annual party, Penn Jillette’s Private Bacon and Doughnut Rock and Roll Dance Party , this year being held at the South Point Casino starting at 11pm on Friday July 12. It sounds like an interesting experience which I will try to attend this year. (Free bacon and donuts and live music – wow).
Wednesday, June 05, 2013
Warm spring
Wow, another blog about the weather. Well, it’s something we all do well, and my original purpose in starting this blog was to share photos and happenings around Las Vegas. We had a cooler May, our swimming pool has a cover but no heater, so it does warm up as the temperature goes up and the sun shines on it longer. Usually by Memorial Day (in the US that’s the last Monday in May) water temp is up to where we like it, a nice warm 33c (92f) but this year it only made it up to 32c (90f), but it still felt good jumping in yesterday. June is starting out hot – 44c predicted for this weekend (111f or so) so July, which is traditionally our hottest month, should have some pretty nice days. Usually it doesn’t get above 44c (110f) and then July has most days over that, so hitting that mark early might indicate something.
I’m excited about something else happening here – now getting spam in the comments! I keep deleting them, but do you guys want them left in? How many of you read a comment like
Anonymous said...
Your lymph system only includes to clear on vacation cell
wastes a person have move. You can now earn the income you allow
yourself.
And click over to the link provided? Looks like it goes to a web site in Poland, probably guaranteed to transfer some free programs onto your computer automatically. Sorry to deny you this opportunity. I’m getting two or three a day on my latest posts, and have no idea why somebody thinks these are a good thing to put up. I kind of liked this one though
Anonymous said...
Release Speech: Should regular people be allowed when you need to offend
each new? All the three mentioned rubbish management systems
come about in different money.
We drove down to the Los Angeles area this last weekend to attend the Great American Train Show. My model train group set up a layout, and I had fun playing with trains for two days and looking at some of the amazing things people can come up with and accomplish. We run N scale trains, where the individual cars are about seven cm (three inches) long. We were next to a garden railroad group which plays with larger trains – each of their cars is over forty cm (sixteen inches) . At that scale it’s easy to see and make things, and they had a lot of animation with moving fans and fountains and things and accompanying sound effects, all very pretty, except for having to listen to it all over and over again for two days.
The place where I work is having an ‘exercise’ today. It’s a big government owned compound that takes security very seriously, the guards on our gate wear very worn guns that I am sure work very well. We had some practice last week by building, but today is a full blown campus wide thing, involving local police, fire and rescue organizations. It’s supposed to be an ‘active shooter’ scenario, with (according to the handouts the guards gave us today) simulated weapons fire, response by outside fire/law enforcement and role-players in stage makeup simulating wounded parties. We’re supposed to go lock ourselves in the offices when it starts (almost everyone is in cubes, very few offices so it will be rather crowded for a few hours) and then eventually be evacuated. We’re planning on two hours or so being locked up in those small windowless rooms, then getting to run outside into the 39c (103f) sunshine and stand around for a while. Quite a few people took the day off rather than participate, and many others are working up at our site north of town just to get away from it. It will be a rather unproductive day, expensive too tying up a thousand people and all of those outside agencies. But I guess with what we see in the news it’s better to practice this stuff than to have something really happen and not know how to react.
I’m excited about something else happening here – now getting spam in the comments! I keep deleting them, but do you guys want them left in? How many of you read a comment like
Anonymous said...
Your lymph system only includes to clear on vacation cell
wastes a person have move. You can now earn the income you allow
yourself.
And click over to the link provided? Looks like it goes to a web site in Poland, probably guaranteed to transfer some free programs onto your computer automatically. Sorry to deny you this opportunity. I’m getting two or three a day on my latest posts, and have no idea why somebody thinks these are a good thing to put up. I kind of liked this one though
Anonymous said...
Release Speech: Should regular people be allowed when you need to offend
each new? All the three mentioned rubbish management systems
come about in different money.
We drove down to the Los Angeles area this last weekend to attend the Great American Train Show. My model train group set up a layout, and I had fun playing with trains for two days and looking at some of the amazing things people can come up with and accomplish. We run N scale trains, where the individual cars are about seven cm (three inches) long. We were next to a garden railroad group which plays with larger trains – each of their cars is over forty cm (sixteen inches) . At that scale it’s easy to see and make things, and they had a lot of animation with moving fans and fountains and things and accompanying sound effects, all very pretty, except for having to listen to it all over and over again for two days.
The place where I work is having an ‘exercise’ today. It’s a big government owned compound that takes security very seriously, the guards on our gate wear very worn guns that I am sure work very well. We had some practice last week by building, but today is a full blown campus wide thing, involving local police, fire and rescue organizations. It’s supposed to be an ‘active shooter’ scenario, with (according to the handouts the guards gave us today) simulated weapons fire, response by outside fire/law enforcement and role-players in stage makeup simulating wounded parties. We’re supposed to go lock ourselves in the offices when it starts (almost everyone is in cubes, very few offices so it will be rather crowded for a few hours) and then eventually be evacuated. We’re planning on two hours or so being locked up in those small windowless rooms, then getting to run outside into the 39c (103f) sunshine and stand around for a while. Quite a few people took the day off rather than participate, and many others are working up at our site north of town just to get away from it. It will be a rather unproductive day, expensive too tying up a thousand people and all of those outside agencies. But I guess with what we see in the news it’s better to practice this stuff than to have something really happen and not know how to react.
Friday, May 24, 2013
E's eight!
We recently went up to Portland to visit our daughter and granddaughter. Usually just my wife goes there, but this time I also went along. The reason to go in May is supposedly the chance of having nice weather up there as well as it being granddaughter E’s birthday. This year she turned eight and was very excited. She originally asked for a company cheese cake like the one her mom made before, but then changed her mind and asked for a carrot cake. Dad was up late the night before grating carrots and making one from scratch, ending up with a pretty good cream cheese frosting the next morning. Somebody really liked it.
Yes, she was very excited to be turning eight. Everybody in her second grade class made her birthday cards (the teacher gives them class time and materials to do it) and several of them were of wombats – her topic for a class project and now her favorite animal.
E reads a lot, I’m impressed with her level and her understanding. We try to send her several books every month, and she is moving far past what we thought. She finished the Hobbit (and complained about what was different in the movie) and is on to the Lord of the Rings series. She finished the first Harry Potter book, we watched the first movie when I was there and she pointed out things that were different than the book, things I hadn’t noticed. So in order to skip all of those postage costs we decided to give her a Kindle, so that we could just pick out books for her remotely. The last time B was up there E kept taking her Kindle so B had to resort to paper books (oh my). Her mom is opposed to her getting a web device so we figured a Kindle that just let her go into the cloud and grab new books we purchased would work fine (though we did get complaints).
I think she liked it, especially the backlight so she can read under the covers without mom seeing her room light on. (we also did an Ikea stop while up there, and E ended up with one of their mice)
What is she reading? Well, I had on our Kindle last time The Butterfly Dress by Miranda which E read twice back then, and she wanted to read it again so that is the book she picked. What else is on there? Miranda’s new book the Blue Mermaid, Mieville’s Un Lun Dun, Pullman’s His Dark Materials (she started on the hardcover Golden Compass on her last visit), Heinlein’s Door Into Summer (one of my fav old sci fi books) and I had to include a horse story for a little girl Bryant’s Horse Crazy. We gave her paper copies of the first three Diskworld stories a few weeks ago, and will probably upload some more as she reads up what she already has.
Yes, she was very excited to be turning eight. Everybody in her second grade class made her birthday cards (the teacher gives them class time and materials to do it) and several of them were of wombats – her topic for a class project and now her favorite animal.
E reads a lot, I’m impressed with her level and her understanding. We try to send her several books every month, and she is moving far past what we thought. She finished the Hobbit (and complained about what was different in the movie) and is on to the Lord of the Rings series. She finished the first Harry Potter book, we watched the first movie when I was there and she pointed out things that were different than the book, things I hadn’t noticed. So in order to skip all of those postage costs we decided to give her a Kindle, so that we could just pick out books for her remotely. The last time B was up there E kept taking her Kindle so B had to resort to paper books (oh my). Her mom is opposed to her getting a web device so we figured a Kindle that just let her go into the cloud and grab new books we purchased would work fine (though we did get complaints).
I think she liked it, especially the backlight so she can read under the covers without mom seeing her room light on. (we also did an Ikea stop while up there, and E ended up with one of their mice)
What is she reading? Well, I had on our Kindle last time The Butterfly Dress by Miranda which E read twice back then, and she wanted to read it again so that is the book she picked. What else is on there? Miranda’s new book the Blue Mermaid, Mieville’s Un Lun Dun, Pullman’s His Dark Materials (she started on the hardcover Golden Compass on her last visit), Heinlein’s Door Into Summer (one of my fav old sci fi books) and I had to include a horse story for a little girl Bryant’s Horse Crazy. We gave her paper copies of the first three Diskworld stories a few weeks ago, and will probably upload some more as she reads up what she already has.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Steve Wynn
We just got back from a trip up to Portland, celebrating our granddaughter E’s eighth birthday. Now I’ve got another camera full of photos to extract. We had a good time – which is really nice age for a pleasant kid. She was a joy to be around and we had a lot of fun, tons of giggles with Grammy. We also made both the Blond Duck’s peanut butter oatmeal cookies and the below pretzel butterscotch ones. E did a great job in smashing the peanuts and pretzels, and had a great time doing it. She is also great at mixing.
Warning: Rant ahead. The last time I went up to Portland we drove, which is basically a two day trip from Las Vegas. Well, it’s right on a thousand miles (1600km) which is a sixteen hour drive (plus stops), that’s a little too much for an old guy like me to handle in one go so we break it into two parts. There are a few routes up there, but we drove straight north through most of Nevada up to Twin Falls Idaho, spent a night in a hotel then turned left and drove west through most of Oregon over to Portland. I like driving, so the journey was part of the vacation as well as the destination. But this trip we didn’t have as much available time so we flew. I haven’t been on a commercial flight for several years and the experience is just as bad now as it was before. I really am offended by all of the security crap that the United States government makes everybody go through in order to fly. Come on, why the heck do I have to stand in line for an hour (or more), take off half my clothes and subject myself to all of the searches? Is it all just to make that stupid woman I was standing next to say ‘I feel so safe now’?
Back to this post – we tried something new this time and called a cab to take us from our house to the airport. The trip out went quickly; our cab driver was really friendly and talkative. On the return trip I was very impressed at how cab loading was handled at the airport. There is a line to get cabs with thirty marked spots on the curb in front of each terminal. A security person directs you to a spot, then calls enough cabs from the waiting group line to fill all of the spots; they load up and all leave at the same time as the next round of people are directed out. Then a new line of cabs pulls in to load. It went rather quickly, we arrived on a Monday afternoon which was relatively light and so only ten spots were used at a time. I imagine that Friday and Sunday afternoons are rather busy, hence the thirty spot marking out in front of terminal three.
The cab driver for our return was different than the earlier one; he did not talk, and did not appreciate my suggested route. Note for visitors: around 30% of cab rides in Las Vegas involve ‘long hauling’ or taking you on a route that causes a higher total charge. The favorite one from the airport is to take you via the freeway to your Strip hotel. This will add an additional $7 to your fair – instead of a $5 ride to the MGM it becomes a $13 ride. Anyway, our driver did take the route I wanted, and did not talk at all for the whole ride. This cab had a little drop down screen for the back seat, and played a continuous advertisement for the Wynn resort. Steve Wynn himself was doing the vocal pitch, so for twenty minutes I heard his loop about fifteen times. I know, it was made for the five minute ride between casinos, not for something longer, but I am sure glad it’s over (you can go hear him on the Wynn Resort website). And for some reason I want to have dinner at Andrea’s.
Steve Wynn is really the guy that created the current Vegas – he built (and sold) the Mirage, Treasure Island, and the Bellagio before building the Wynn. Most people admit that without him there would not be the huge resorts and casinos that we have now. I like his progression, gradually building up in class and style. The Bellagio to me is one of the prettiest properties (I do like the Palazzo a bit better though). The glass ceiling in their lobby is impressive, here’s B walking through it last Christmas.
Warning: Rant ahead. The last time I went up to Portland we drove, which is basically a two day trip from Las Vegas. Well, it’s right on a thousand miles (1600km) which is a sixteen hour drive (plus stops), that’s a little too much for an old guy like me to handle in one go so we break it into two parts. There are a few routes up there, but we drove straight north through most of Nevada up to Twin Falls Idaho, spent a night in a hotel then turned left and drove west through most of Oregon over to Portland. I like driving, so the journey was part of the vacation as well as the destination. But this trip we didn’t have as much available time so we flew. I haven’t been on a commercial flight for several years and the experience is just as bad now as it was before. I really am offended by all of the security crap that the United States government makes everybody go through in order to fly. Come on, why the heck do I have to stand in line for an hour (or more), take off half my clothes and subject myself to all of the searches? Is it all just to make that stupid woman I was standing next to say ‘I feel so safe now’?
Back to this post – we tried something new this time and called a cab to take us from our house to the airport. The trip out went quickly; our cab driver was really friendly and talkative. On the return trip I was very impressed at how cab loading was handled at the airport. There is a line to get cabs with thirty marked spots on the curb in front of each terminal. A security person directs you to a spot, then calls enough cabs from the waiting group line to fill all of the spots; they load up and all leave at the same time as the next round of people are directed out. Then a new line of cabs pulls in to load. It went rather quickly, we arrived on a Monday afternoon which was relatively light and so only ten spots were used at a time. I imagine that Friday and Sunday afternoons are rather busy, hence the thirty spot marking out in front of terminal three.
The cab driver for our return was different than the earlier one; he did not talk, and did not appreciate my suggested route. Note for visitors: around 30% of cab rides in Las Vegas involve ‘long hauling’ or taking you on a route that causes a higher total charge. The favorite one from the airport is to take you via the freeway to your Strip hotel. This will add an additional $7 to your fair – instead of a $5 ride to the MGM it becomes a $13 ride. Anyway, our driver did take the route I wanted, and did not talk at all for the whole ride. This cab had a little drop down screen for the back seat, and played a continuous advertisement for the Wynn resort. Steve Wynn himself was doing the vocal pitch, so for twenty minutes I heard his loop about fifteen times. I know, it was made for the five minute ride between casinos, not for something longer, but I am sure glad it’s over (you can go hear him on the Wynn Resort website). And for some reason I want to have dinner at Andrea’s.
Steve Wynn is really the guy that created the current Vegas – he built (and sold) the Mirage, Treasure Island, and the Bellagio before building the Wynn. Most people admit that without him there would not be the huge resorts and casinos that we have now. I like his progression, gradually building up in class and style. The Bellagio to me is one of the prettiest properties (I do like the Palazzo a bit better though). The glass ceiling in their lobby is impressive, here’s B walking through it last Christmas.
Thursday, May 09, 2013
Olives
High allergy season here in Vegas, with all of the flowers and local vegetation blooming. Our yard is a major contributor, with the variety of things we have. The biggest producer of pollen around here are the mulberry trees, which are not native but used to be planted everywhere because of the great shade they provide. But now standard mulberries are banned and only fruitless (non blooming) varieties can be sold in the valley.
The same is true of olive trees, which we do have. Out front are two big olives that were probably planted back when the house is built. We don't eat the fruit, but there is a little old couple that comes around in the late fall and asks if they can pick from the trees. We don't keep the trees cut to a nice picking size but just let them grow, which has resulted in some rather large plants. We do hose them down now, to knock off some of the blossoms and reduce the number of olives produced because they are a mess just falling off of the tree. I was surprised at how fragrant the flowers are.
Here is B hosing down one of them - something she does every other day for the two weeks the blooms are opening.
The same is true of olive trees, which we do have. Out front are two big olives that were probably planted back when the house is built. We don't eat the fruit, but there is a little old couple that comes around in the late fall and asks if they can pick from the trees. We don't keep the trees cut to a nice picking size but just let them grow, which has resulted in some rather large plants. We do hose them down now, to knock off some of the blossoms and reduce the number of olives produced because they are a mess just falling off of the tree. I was surprised at how fragrant the flowers are.
Here is B hosing down one of them - something she does every other day for the two weeks the blooms are opening.
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
Cooking with Joe - no bake butterscotch/pretzel thingies
Back from a quick trip to San Francisco – youngest son got married (finally!). Made an appointment for the countertop fabricators to come out, can’t do it for a few weeks but hopefully we should have the kitchen done soon, still on the details. We put some crown molding up in the front room, and B wants to continue that around into the kitchen, so it’s off to Lowe’s with the hope that our style is still sold and buy a bunch more. It’s the exact fitting that takes so long – with all the long runs cutting something a few millimeters short results in an unusable piece, so it takes time to get it all cut properly and installed.
I told Blond Duck that I would put up something to match her no bake peanut butter oatmeal cookies, these are a little sweeter but still pretty good.
Before we went I made some treats, recipe found at Mamamia who puts up a lot of easy things to make. The description sounded OK – pretzels, peanuts and butterscotch.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups crushed pretzels (about 6-1/2 ounces)
1 (11 ounce package--about 2 cups) butterscotch-flavored pieces
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup coarsely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1. Line a 13x9x2-inch pan with foil. Lightly coat the foil with cooking spray; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together powdered sugar, peanut butter, and melted butter. Stir in 2 cups crushed pretzels. Press mixture firmly into the bottom of prepared pan.
2. In a heavy medium saucepan, combine butterscotch pieces and whipping cream. Stir over low heat until pieces are just melted. – I used a microwave safe bowl, on for 30 seconds and stirred, when it was all soft enough to mix up smooth I stopped heating and spread it.
3. Carefully spoon and spread butterscotch mixture over crumb mixture in pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup coarsely crushed pretzels and the peanuts evenly over butterscotch mixture; press gently. I just used peanuts, figured there were enough pretzels in the bottom.
4. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Cut into bars to serve. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week.
They came out pretty good, fast, and easy enough to show my granddaughter how to make, so I think this will be on my list for the next time we get together with her. Now on to the Duck’s peanut butter things.
I told Blond Duck that I would put up something to match her no bake peanut butter oatmeal cookies, these are a little sweeter but still pretty good.
Before we went I made some treats, recipe found at Mamamia who puts up a lot of easy things to make. The description sounded OK – pretzels, peanuts and butterscotch.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups crushed pretzels (about 6-1/2 ounces)
1 (11 ounce package--about 2 cups) butterscotch-flavored pieces
1/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 cup coarsely crushed pretzels
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1. Line a 13x9x2-inch pan with foil. Lightly coat the foil with cooking spray; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, stir together powdered sugar, peanut butter, and melted butter. Stir in 2 cups crushed pretzels. Press mixture firmly into the bottom of prepared pan.
2. In a heavy medium saucepan, combine butterscotch pieces and whipping cream. Stir over low heat until pieces are just melted. – I used a microwave safe bowl, on for 30 seconds and stirred, when it was all soft enough to mix up smooth I stopped heating and spread it.
3. Carefully spoon and spread butterscotch mixture over crumb mixture in pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup coarsely crushed pretzels and the peanuts evenly over butterscotch mixture; press gently. I just used peanuts, figured there were enough pretzels in the bottom.
4. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Cut into bars to serve. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week.
They came out pretty good, fast, and easy enough to show my granddaughter how to make, so I think this will be on my list for the next time we get together with her. Now on to the Duck’s peanut butter things.
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Yellow birds
Not much going on, but for some reason I seem to have no free time to sit and do fun things. Still working on the kitchen, all of the end finishes seem to take a long time – I guess it’s that way with construction, doing the core work goes quickly but then to make it pretty it takes a lot of details and time at the end. We have the stainless island top in, and picked out the countertop (quartz from DuPont that looks like marble) and installer, so that will be coming soon. B already picked out the tile for the backsplash (mix of small glass, marble and tile strips) and picked up that, waiting in the garage to install after the countertop. Just have the flooring to select; we need a floating floor because of cracks in the concrete slab, thinking of some type of cork to be softer underfoot than tile.
We have three hummingbird feeders scattered around the house. They take a cup of liquid, and this time of year I’m filling them up every three or four days. Besides the local hummers that are here year ‘round we have some migrating ones passing through and there are a lot of nesting ones. I don’t think the first round of hummer babies are out yet, but the nesting finches out front have their first batch of babies already flying around. But the feeders also attract other birds, there is a pair of pretty yellow ones that we first saw last summer and are back again. These guys must have long tongues, as they do spend a bit of time on the feeder and keep coming back. So they are getting something.
We have three hummingbird feeders scattered around the house. They take a cup of liquid, and this time of year I’m filling them up every three or four days. Besides the local hummers that are here year ‘round we have some migrating ones passing through and there are a lot of nesting ones. I don’t think the first round of hummer babies are out yet, but the nesting finches out front have their first batch of babies already flying around. But the feeders also attract other birds, there is a pair of pretty yellow ones that we first saw last summer and are back again. These guys must have long tongues, as they do spend a bit of time on the feeder and keep coming back. So they are getting something.
Monday, April 29, 2013
Spring flowers
Spring is finally here. It’s starting to get light in the morning when I come in to work and the weather is warming up. Supposed to hit 99f (37c) today and be up above 90 from now on. I love Vegas spring and fall. Don’t like the cold of winter, and the heat of summer is OK as long as the pool is available and the air conditioners work, but spring is nice, with the forecast of warmth and flowers blooming.
We don’t have very many native plants that have impressive blooms. The yucca is about the only one, with towers of white flowers at the tips. But people plant a lot of things, and as long as they get water we get flowers. It’s pleasant driving around with the windows open driving through drifts of fragrance coming from the plantings. As long as plants are regularly watered most do well in the heat, but we have lost some plants due to excessive cold in the winter.
These are what’s blooming around our yard this week:
Orange mallow, we also have yellow and red, these have been in a few years, and grow as a low bush, under one foot tall and about a yard wide, spreading out over the driveway.
Mexican primrose are weeds that do have some nice pink flowers in the spring and summer, but the seeds blow everywhere.
Our two olive trees have been in for over fifty years, and are quite large. Blooming olives can no longer be planted in Las Vegas due to the tremendous amount of pollen then produce – our front patio turns yellow from all of the drop.
Pyracantha does well, with very fragrant blooms now and red berries all winter. These are only a few years old, but we expect mounds about a yard high and wide as they grow.
The red yucca does well, as does a very similar one with yellow blooms. These are under a foot high, but put out spikes over a yard tall which will open shortly.
Don’t know what these are, but the flowers are numerous and pretty. It’s very low growing, not more than six inches high but spreading out.
We put out some sweet peas, among some summer snap peas and sunflowers.
Over the front patio we put in a wisteria that we brought up from San Diego. It’s finally filling in and starting to bloom.
That's about it, tomatoes in the raised beds are doing well with a lot of blooms and some starting to set fruit. That all has to set before the high heat comes, when things ripen but a lot of the plants don't put out blooms to get new ones until the fall when it starts cooling off again. Our cherry tomatoes usually produce a lot all year long.
We don’t have very many native plants that have impressive blooms. The yucca is about the only one, with towers of white flowers at the tips. But people plant a lot of things, and as long as they get water we get flowers. It’s pleasant driving around with the windows open driving through drifts of fragrance coming from the plantings. As long as plants are regularly watered most do well in the heat, but we have lost some plants due to excessive cold in the winter.
These are what’s blooming around our yard this week:
Orange mallow, we also have yellow and red, these have been in a few years, and grow as a low bush, under one foot tall and about a yard wide, spreading out over the driveway.
Mexican primrose are weeds that do have some nice pink flowers in the spring and summer, but the seeds blow everywhere.
Our two olive trees have been in for over fifty years, and are quite large. Blooming olives can no longer be planted in Las Vegas due to the tremendous amount of pollen then produce – our front patio turns yellow from all of the drop.
Pyracantha does well, with very fragrant blooms now and red berries all winter. These are only a few years old, but we expect mounds about a yard high and wide as they grow.
The red yucca does well, as does a very similar one with yellow blooms. These are under a foot high, but put out spikes over a yard tall which will open shortly.
Don’t know what these are, but the flowers are numerous and pretty. It’s very low growing, not more than six inches high but spreading out.
We put out some sweet peas, among some summer snap peas and sunflowers.
Over the front patio we put in a wisteria that we brought up from San Diego. It’s finally filling in and starting to bloom.
That's about it, tomatoes in the raised beds are doing well with a lot of blooms and some starting to set fruit. That all has to set before the high heat comes, when things ripen but a lot of the plants don't put out blooms to get new ones until the fall when it starts cooling off again. Our cherry tomatoes usually produce a lot all year long.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Pirates in the desert
This weekend we have a Pirate Fest to attend –
I guess to grab everything it’s a combination of pirates, steam punk and faeries. Sounds like fun, pirates in the desert. The pirate ships have wheels to get around, and after the daytime festivities with the family over at Lorenzi Park most of the pirates will change into more adult oriented garb and invade downtown Fremont Street at night, so whatever your taste is it seems something is happening.
I found their video amusing – I don’t think I’ve seen more crammed into a thirty second spot. And some pretty fast talkers too.
I’m more of a steampunk guy than a pirate –
I guess to grab everything it’s a combination of pirates, steam punk and faeries. Sounds like fun, pirates in the desert. The pirate ships have wheels to get around, and after the daytime festivities with the family over at Lorenzi Park most of the pirates will change into more adult oriented garb and invade downtown Fremont Street at night, so whatever your taste is it seems something is happening.
I found their video amusing – I don’t think I’ve seen more crammed into a thirty second spot. And some pretty fast talkers too.
I’m more of a steampunk guy than a pirate –
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Sunrise
My normal day at work runs from 6 am until 4:30 pm Tuesday through Friday. This gives me a three day weekend every week, which I just love. I have no problem exchanging the extra two hours a day for an additional day off like this. The drive I have in is reasonably short, and does not require me to hit any of the freeways or big streets. There isn’t much morning traffic anyway, but afternoons in Vegas always have crowded roads. Hours like these mean that I’ll never run into Frankie G on one of his 2am food hunts, but I’d rather have a sunny day to play in.
The drive in to work has been in the dark, but now that Spring progresses the sun is coming up earlier. What used to be black (except for the glow from the Strip) is now brighter. The last part of my drive is due east, so I am anticipating that sun right between the mountains directly in front of me, making it a little challenging to see. For now I get a warm glow up there
But soon it will be a bright ball. Heading home I was getting the setting sun dead ahead, but the visor can hide it now. Looks like Spring is here, due to hit 90 on Friday for a high, then 99 (37c) on Monday, with warm temps from then on. Hopefully my pool will be warming up and we can start swimming – I like warm water, usually by Memorial Day (the last weekend in May) water temps are up to 33c where I like it and we can start getting wet.
The drive in to work has been in the dark, but now that Spring progresses the sun is coming up earlier. What used to be black (except for the glow from the Strip) is now brighter. The last part of my drive is due east, so I am anticipating that sun right between the mountains directly in front of me, making it a little challenging to see. For now I get a warm glow up there
But soon it will be a bright ball. Heading home I was getting the setting sun dead ahead, but the visor can hide it now. Looks like Spring is here, due to hit 90 on Friday for a high, then 99 (37c) on Monday, with warm temps from then on. Hopefully my pool will be warming up and we can start swimming – I like warm water, usually by Memorial Day (the last weekend in May) water temps are up to 33c where I like it and we can start getting wet.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Resort construction projects
Las Vegas has been awash in proposals to build a new large stadium. One group wanted to construct one near downtown, the proposal was to build it on city owned property using city money. Another proposal was to build a large stadium complex just to the west of the Strip across I-15. This was to be on private property, but was to be financed with a new area property tax, in essence being paid for by the residents of Clark County. One big stadium was proposed far south, behind the M resort. This was going to be on land purchased from the Federal Bureau of Land Management and funded by a new tax district in the city of Henderson. That one fell through when, a week before the BLM sale, it was found that the person proposing it was planning on building houses on the cheap BLM land instead of a stadium, and the city sued to prevent the sale. These all were to cost around $300,000,000 each and have around 60,000 seats.
Unfortunately these projects all depended on public money, in addition to having to attract some type of permanent resident for the facility. There have been announcements of getting a new franchise for a national football team, but the two big football leagues both said they want nothing to do with Las Vegas, supposedly not supporting all of the gambling. This attitude has been show during broadcast football games, with advertisements for Las Vegas being forbidden, even the mention of the city not being allowed. So unless there is a big change in professional sports it looks like hosting a national team of any sort is not really a possibility.
The proposal that looks to be the closest to happening is for a large complex to be built on the University of Nevada campus near the airport and next to their existing Thomas & Mack Center, which is currently the largest facility in town and hosts the winter Nationals Final Rodeo, which has threatened to move to Texas because it wants a bigger place. The University has plans for a whole complex, with parking garages, new campus housing and a shopping area besides the stadium. Unfortunately the land currently houses several other sports fields and buildings which would have to be relocated elsewhere. The University had a private partner willing to put up a third of the money required in exchange for some control, but they were shut out just a few weeks ago as the University again tried to get a new tax district in conjunction with donations from the larger casino corporations, including Caesar’s and MGM, which did not want to participate if a private company was involved. Cost for this one is around $600,000,000 because of the complexity of the whole project.
One that looks like it will happen is being pushed by MGM. They want to build a smaller 20,000 seat stadium on land behind the New York New York casino, where the City Center construction management building now stands. MGM currently has the largest private venue, the 8,000 seat Grand Garden Arena located inside of the MGM Casino. This one has the biggest chance of being built, mainly because MGM would privately finance it, they already own the land, and they have the cash to proceed. They are not looking to put in a sports team, but would probably use it for conventions and big concerts. We are one of the few cities that are on the Rolling Stones tour; I know that in the past they appeared in the San Diego Stadium, which holds over 60,000 and usually sells out for them. So MGM putting the Stones in a new 20,000 seat should be better than in the existing 8,000 seat place.
In conjunction with the stadium MGM is also going to work on the exterior street between the New York New York and Mirage resorts. It will be turned into an outdoor thoroughfare, with new restaurants, bars and entertainment and lead from the Strip back to the stadium. This will involve major modifications to both casinos, with estimated costs between $100,000,000 and $140,000,000 will be starting now and be done within a year. This is a similar concept to what Caesar’s Entertainment is doing with the Linq project, which is across from Caesar’s Palace. It creates an outdoor area leading from the Strip to the east ending at their big wheel project, along the way providing outdoor restaurants and bars and new entrances to the casinos on either side.
There is a grand opening this week in another MGM property. The MGM Grand resort has completed construction on the Hakkasan nightclub. This will be one of the largest clubs in the world, at over 80,000 square feet in five stories with two restaurants, four nightclub areas and dayclub with pool. The reported cost for this varies from $100,000,000 to $400,000,000, with another $70,000,000 going to pay for celebrity DJs for the first year alone. Rumour around town is that a high roller at a different property dot mad when he was denied his regular table at a nightclub. He said he was disrespected and would teach them a lesson, so he bankrolled Hakassan, throwing whatever it took to be the biggest and best. I’m assuming he will get a booth with his name on it at the MGM facility. So if you’re in town and want to party big, bring your money and hit H.
Unfortunately these projects all depended on public money, in addition to having to attract some type of permanent resident for the facility. There have been announcements of getting a new franchise for a national football team, but the two big football leagues both said they want nothing to do with Las Vegas, supposedly not supporting all of the gambling. This attitude has been show during broadcast football games, with advertisements for Las Vegas being forbidden, even the mention of the city not being allowed. So unless there is a big change in professional sports it looks like hosting a national team of any sort is not really a possibility.
The proposal that looks to be the closest to happening is for a large complex to be built on the University of Nevada campus near the airport and next to their existing Thomas & Mack Center, which is currently the largest facility in town and hosts the winter Nationals Final Rodeo, which has threatened to move to Texas because it wants a bigger place. The University has plans for a whole complex, with parking garages, new campus housing and a shopping area besides the stadium. Unfortunately the land currently houses several other sports fields and buildings which would have to be relocated elsewhere. The University had a private partner willing to put up a third of the money required in exchange for some control, but they were shut out just a few weeks ago as the University again tried to get a new tax district in conjunction with donations from the larger casino corporations, including Caesar’s and MGM, which did not want to participate if a private company was involved. Cost for this one is around $600,000,000 because of the complexity of the whole project.
One that looks like it will happen is being pushed by MGM. They want to build a smaller 20,000 seat stadium on land behind the New York New York casino, where the City Center construction management building now stands. MGM currently has the largest private venue, the 8,000 seat Grand Garden Arena located inside of the MGM Casino. This one has the biggest chance of being built, mainly because MGM would privately finance it, they already own the land, and they have the cash to proceed. They are not looking to put in a sports team, but would probably use it for conventions and big concerts. We are one of the few cities that are on the Rolling Stones tour; I know that in the past they appeared in the San Diego Stadium, which holds over 60,000 and usually sells out for them. So MGM putting the Stones in a new 20,000 seat should be better than in the existing 8,000 seat place.
In conjunction with the stadium MGM is also going to work on the exterior street between the New York New York and Mirage resorts. It will be turned into an outdoor thoroughfare, with new restaurants, bars and entertainment and lead from the Strip back to the stadium. This will involve major modifications to both casinos, with estimated costs between $100,000,000 and $140,000,000 will be starting now and be done within a year. This is a similar concept to what Caesar’s Entertainment is doing with the Linq project, which is across from Caesar’s Palace. It creates an outdoor area leading from the Strip to the east ending at their big wheel project, along the way providing outdoor restaurants and bars and new entrances to the casinos on either side.
There is a grand opening this week in another MGM property. The MGM Grand resort has completed construction on the Hakkasan nightclub. This will be one of the largest clubs in the world, at over 80,000 square feet in five stories with two restaurants, four nightclub areas and dayclub with pool. The reported cost for this varies from $100,000,000 to $400,000,000, with another $70,000,000 going to pay for celebrity DJs for the first year alone. Rumour around town is that a high roller at a different property dot mad when he was denied his regular table at a nightclub. He said he was disrespected and would teach them a lesson, so he bankrolled Hakassan, throwing whatever it took to be the biggest and best. I’m assuming he will get a booth with his name on it at the MGM facility. So if you’re in town and want to party big, bring your money and hit H.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
5 Guys
We have a lot of hamburger restaurants around Vegas. I’ve talked about two of my favorites; The Burger Bar in Mandalay Place is probably first, followed by Bacci Burger for an oriental slant. I have noticed that a number of the big chain places have closed; a Carl’s Junior near my house is no more, as is a Wendy’s near work.
We recently started going to a new chain, one that I hadn’t noticed before – 5 Guys Burgers . Either it wasn’t around or we just flashed by them. The burgers are pretty good, not the small frozen patties like the big chains do, but more fresh hand smashed things. The fries are also good – when you walk in the place there are bags of potatoes along the ordering line, which are washed and sliced fresh with skin, a single order is about four times the size of a Mackie’s large fry. When you order burgers or hot dogs you also select what toppings you want from a dozen options.
There is one near work that the guys go to regularly which is always filled with Air Force guys in khaki, and several reasonably close to our house. They all look the same, the size of two spaces in small strip malls with white and red walls and open seating.
One of the fun things is the soda machines – large refrigerator sized devices with touch screens. You can get hundreds of drink variations with flavorings. I usually get Coke, and you can add vanilla, cherry, orange, lime, raspberry and a few other syrups to the mix. Pretty cool.
The only drawback is the noise – none of the ones I’ve been to put in a drop ceiling, and with all of the hard surfaces it gets really loud when crowded. Don’t bring anyone with peanut allergies as the fries are all cooked in peanut oil and you get free peanuts while waiting – there are boxes of peanuts along the waiting line, you just scoop yourself a tray full and munch. All of the places we’ve been to are very clean, with a lot of employees; there are usually five or six in the open kitchen cooking and prepping away, and a few wandering around sweeping up and wiping tables. Very nice compared to the standard chain fast burger places which have been decreasing staff.
I would recommend them; they are all around the country with over 1500 outlets. Besides burgers and fries you can get hot dogs, cheese sandwiches and veggie burgers. Burgers, fries and drinks for two usually run us around $18, a lot different than Honey Salt, but then the food isn’t the same. I think I’d rather hit 5 Guys five or six times that HS once though.
I like to compete with Frankie G (over there on the right) for restaurant reviews around town. He’s a bartender and usually does after work cheap places on or near the Strip. I assume he gets off around 2am from his shift and hits places then from the way he writes. I don’t see any 5 Guys on the Strip, so it’s more of a locals place to go than a tourist destination.
We recently started going to a new chain, one that I hadn’t noticed before – 5 Guys Burgers . Either it wasn’t around or we just flashed by them. The burgers are pretty good, not the small frozen patties like the big chains do, but more fresh hand smashed things. The fries are also good – when you walk in the place there are bags of potatoes along the ordering line, which are washed and sliced fresh with skin, a single order is about four times the size of a Mackie’s large fry. When you order burgers or hot dogs you also select what toppings you want from a dozen options.
There is one near work that the guys go to regularly which is always filled with Air Force guys in khaki, and several reasonably close to our house. They all look the same, the size of two spaces in small strip malls with white and red walls and open seating.
One of the fun things is the soda machines – large refrigerator sized devices with touch screens. You can get hundreds of drink variations with flavorings. I usually get Coke, and you can add vanilla, cherry, orange, lime, raspberry and a few other syrups to the mix. Pretty cool.
The only drawback is the noise – none of the ones I’ve been to put in a drop ceiling, and with all of the hard surfaces it gets really loud when crowded. Don’t bring anyone with peanut allergies as the fries are all cooked in peanut oil and you get free peanuts while waiting – there are boxes of peanuts along the waiting line, you just scoop yourself a tray full and munch. All of the places we’ve been to are very clean, with a lot of employees; there are usually five or six in the open kitchen cooking and prepping away, and a few wandering around sweeping up and wiping tables. Very nice compared to the standard chain fast burger places which have been decreasing staff.
I would recommend them; they are all around the country with over 1500 outlets. Besides burgers and fries you can get hot dogs, cheese sandwiches and veggie burgers. Burgers, fries and drinks for two usually run us around $18, a lot different than Honey Salt, but then the food isn’t the same. I think I’d rather hit 5 Guys five or six times that HS once though.
I like to compete with Frankie G (over there on the right) for restaurant reviews around town. He’s a bartender and usually does after work cheap places on or near the Strip. I assume he gets off around 2am from his shift and hits places then from the way he writes. I don’t see any 5 Guys on the Strip, so it’s more of a locals place to go than a tourist destination.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Around the Strip
This past weekend was another kitchen work weekend – we drove down to the LA Ikea store last week and picked up some more cabinets, which were put together and in place this weekend. I still have to drill out the drawer fronts for handles and get those on. We decided to extend the cabinets along the whole outside wall instead of stopping where the older cabinets did. This intrudes onto the space where we have a small table, but since we widened the kitchen by three feet putting in two feet deep cabinets would still result in a wider area here. It’s an additional eight feet of cabinets and countertop, so we will have a lot of counter area for prep and working surface.
But before the cabinets went in I had to open the wall (cutting up the newly installed drywall) to install outlets above the newly expanded counter and put in some more ceiling lights to light up the new workspace. I had put in can lights with fluorescents around the kitchen for background light and can lights with led spotlights over the working surfaces. When you turn them all on it’s really bright in there! It’s much better than the old kitchen, with the large area plastic panels with long fluorescent tubes behind, which never quite seemed to light things up very well. But that big window really makes it different, with all of the light that brings in. B wants some kind of covering to close it up for privacy at night, blinds probably, but hasn’t figured out what yet.
There is a lot of construction down on the Strip, with the old Sahara being converted into a new SLS, the camels, big entrance and roller coaster are all gone. Next door the Riviera is undergoing a small (relative to the rest of the Strip) $20,000,000 renovation. The Linq project is proceeding and the FitzGerald, sorry, Bill’s Gambling Hall is now the Gansevoort. The big wheel down across from Mandalay Bay is semi officially dead with just two big posts sticking up out of the ground, more big dreams and no money. With all of the projects under way it’s about a $1,000,000,000 (one billion) dollar change to the Strip. Not as much as City Center cost, but spread around.
The Rolling Stones will be in town at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in May, with tickets going on sale on Friday at noon. Prices range from $150 to $750 plus taxes and fees. If you have bucks to burn you can get a $2100 hospitality package with merchandise and buffet before the show.
Over at Vegas Chatter they’ve declared the new sign at the Aria to be the winner in the Strip sign wars:
250 feet tall, 65 feet wide and 11 million pixels. (the tall red one is the sign). And the world’s most expensive billboard next to it has changed from advertising Elvis to advertising Zarkana, the new Cirque show at Aria. Yes, that hotel is still under litigation, with the owners wanting to blow it up and replace it while the contractor wants to be paid to fix it. Probably years more of court time and lawyers’ fees on that one.
But before the cabinets went in I had to open the wall (cutting up the newly installed drywall) to install outlets above the newly expanded counter and put in some more ceiling lights to light up the new workspace. I had put in can lights with fluorescents around the kitchen for background light and can lights with led spotlights over the working surfaces. When you turn them all on it’s really bright in there! It’s much better than the old kitchen, with the large area plastic panels with long fluorescent tubes behind, which never quite seemed to light things up very well. But that big window really makes it different, with all of the light that brings in. B wants some kind of covering to close it up for privacy at night, blinds probably, but hasn’t figured out what yet.
There is a lot of construction down on the Strip, with the old Sahara being converted into a new SLS, the camels, big entrance and roller coaster are all gone. Next door the Riviera is undergoing a small (relative to the rest of the Strip) $20,000,000 renovation. The Linq project is proceeding and the FitzGerald, sorry, Bill’s Gambling Hall is now the Gansevoort. The big wheel down across from Mandalay Bay is semi officially dead with just two big posts sticking up out of the ground, more big dreams and no money. With all of the projects under way it’s about a $1,000,000,000 (one billion) dollar change to the Strip. Not as much as City Center cost, but spread around.
The Rolling Stones will be in town at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in May, with tickets going on sale on Friday at noon. Prices range from $150 to $750 plus taxes and fees. If you have bucks to burn you can get a $2100 hospitality package with merchandise and buffet before the show.
Over at Vegas Chatter they’ve declared the new sign at the Aria to be the winner in the Strip sign wars:
250 feet tall, 65 feet wide and 11 million pixels. (the tall red one is the sign). And the world’s most expensive billboard next to it has changed from advertising Elvis to advertising Zarkana, the new Cirque show at Aria. Yes, that hotel is still under litigation, with the owners wanting to blow it up and replace it while the contractor wants to be paid to fix it. Probably years more of court time and lawyers’ fees on that one.
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