More To Vegas Than Poker

Until recently this sign was among the world’s worst traffic hazards. It sits in the center median, but there was no place to safely stop and park and everyone wants a photo there. Within the last few months a small parking lot has gone in. I waited a few minutes for a space to open.

IMG_8263.jpgMan cannot live by poker alone… or so I’ve heard. We have done other things in Vegas mainly because of Helaine’s voluminous pre-trip research. This is something she does for every vacation and we’re well served by it. It’s amazing what you can find out before you set out which can save you time, money, or both.

IMG_8241.jpgDid you know there’s an airplane viewing area in Las Vegas? I didn’t. It’s a well paved parking lot adjacent to McCarren Airport’s active runway. There’s even a low-power transmitter so you can listen to the tower. It’s a few minutes from the Strip and “Clicky” wanted to go.

The view is excellent. I understand why there’s a chain link fence, making photography a little more challenging, but I wish it wasn’t there. I remember back in the 60s an observation deck at Idlewild Airport (now JFK). There were coin operated radios which played tower comms. Those days are not coming back.

IMG_8256.jpgWe headed back to Las Vegas Blvd and turned north toward the Strip. Our next stop was the iconic Las Vegas sign. Yes, there’s a photo with Helaine, but she is very camera shy.

Until recently this sign was among the world’s worst traffic hazards. It sits in the center median, but there was no place to safely stop and park and everyone wants a photo there. Within the last few months a small parking lot has gone in. I waited a few minutes for a space to open. As you might imagine, it’s a popular spot.

The area in front of the sign is Astro-turfed! There is a burm to facilitate raising people a little closer to sign elevation. Judging by the people I saw most returned with a shot of the giant sign with teeny stick figure people beneath it.

Today we decided to take a walk down Las Vegas Blvd toward downtown–north. Old Las Vegas is too far to walk, but the remaining original hotels on the strip are in this direction.

IMG_8285.jpgWe walked past the Fashion Show Mall and the Wynn/Encore complex. At this point the Strip thins and tawdry’s out. There are a few halted construction projects. I’m seeing a lot of that here nowadays. Huge construction cranes are looking quietly over exposed concrete and rebar.

I’m not sure if this is related, but there is now a company that rents construction equipment for off-road joyrides! Given a little more time I would seriously consider renting a big machine for some fun. Here’s the link, but a warning–it is a noisy site!

IMG_8288.jpgWe walked as far as Circus Circus and walked in. Last time I was there was 1974. Little has changed!

It felt old and tired and in need of a bath. I know there was a time someone thought circus acts, gambling and a kid’s arcade all made sense. They don’t seem to now.

IMG_8315.jpgWe walked back up LV Blvd, stopping at Wynn for a close-up view of the waterfalls. There’s a real emphasis on water features here in the parched desert.

Before I go I will say something about poker. I played two tournaments yesterday. My play is as good as it’s ever been. I didn’t cash in either. Then I sat down at a $1/$2 no limit table at the Venetian and won back my two entries plus a little.

A guy sitting next to me was drinking a beer with a really cool label. I asked him about it and ended up ordering one, though I don’t usually drink! It was a “Fat Tire” amber ale. Alas, it tasted like beer!

I love the label.

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Ever Been To The Register?

Publishing a newspaper is still a dirty, noisy job with little that is anything less than immense.

Ever Been To The Register? That was the subject of an email received last night from Tom Powers. Tom often comments on the blog and we’ve run into each other over the years. He works at the New Haven Register, keeping its mechanical plant working.

Geoff,

I would guess if you are anything like me you want to go home after work. But, I have to go back to the Register late tonight as we are starting some new equipment that puts those little sticky notes on the front of the paper.

If you are up to it and have never seen the insides of the paper, the press run starts at around midnight. I hope to be out by 1 or 2.

This is the kind of invitation I can’t resist. If 50 years younger, I would have been the right kid to give that DVD with nothing but construction equipment at work!

I showed up just before midnight and Tom began to take me around. I’d been to the Register before a few times. When I first visited, the paper was being put together with the help of X-ACTO blades and paste.

I’ve written before about print journalism and my undying love for it. We really do need newspapers, or at least someone to do what newspapers do (the Internet does not). Every day newspapers print some things that interest a tiny percentage of their readers–a handful of people. It’s important to document these little bits of minutiae, though most readers simply turn the page and go on.

Last night’s trip was more about mechanics than journalism. Publishing a newspaper is still a dirty, noisy job with every piece of gear immense. The colored ink comes in cylindrical man sized tubs. The black ink is stored in a silo. Rolls of paper, handled by forklifts with mechanical pincers, are piled high in a warehouse. They are transported to the presses with a sub-floor railway in much the same way your car is pulled through the car wash.

It’s all done with machinery that seems “antique technomodern.” Just like those 1930s movies, spools of paper unwind into the presses while fully assembled newspapers fly overhead in a mechanized march to the delivery trucks.

Tom’s installation worked well. This morning’s newspaper was delivered with a little sticker affixed to the front page.