Vegas, Baby

Good morning from Las Vegas.

Stef’s birthday is Sunday. Helaine and I are here to help her celebrate.

Maybe I need to back up. Though Stef lives in Hollywood she’s an associate producer on a show shooting six weeks in Vegas. Sometimes it just all works out!

Good morning from Las Vegas.

Stef’s birthday is Sunday. Helaine and I are here to help her celebrate.

Maybe I need to back up. Though Stef lives in Hollywood she’s an associate producer on a show shooting six weeks in Vegas. Sometimes it just all works out!

We took the Bradley-Las Vegas non-stop and got in a little after 5:00 PDT. The temperature was 106&#176. It felt great.

The problem is this kind of heat creates lots of turbulence and our 737 bounced its way through the last half hour of flight.

We’ll spend a few days here at the Mirage then hop across the street to the Palazzo.

My cousins Michael and Melissa came in from Orange County with their son Max. They, Stef and her boyfriend Sam, Helaine and I had dinner at BLT. Burgers and shakes, but very good.

After dinner I played poker. Surprise.

At one time the poker room here at Mirage was the top spot in Las Vegas. That was before the poker boom, before Bellagio, before a lot of stuff. Now it’s just another room without a great deal of traffic.

I played for a few hours and won.

Helaine asked me if they were locals or tourists? I’m not sure. I do know John, the dealer at my table when I walked in, used to deal to me twenty years ago when 7-card stud was ‘the’ game.

One more thing before I go. As I got on the plane I started sneezing and haven’t stopped yet. I’m not sure if I have a cold. It’s a pain. You shouldn’t be sick on vacation.

Child Update

I just spoke with the child. I can’t always write about her, but have been given permission tonight. She is in Las Vegas. She is on location. Production begins tomorrow.

Stef moved to California a few years ago. I’d like to tell you I helped get her first job. I cannot. I tried. She got it on her own.

For the last year and a half she’s been the assistant to the principals in a busy production company. They do reality shows. They have at least a handful in various stages of planning or production that I know about. Stef’s office was on a small studio lot in Hollywood. Disney Channel shoots a few shows there.

She lives in Hollywood too. She’s in an apartment where everyone looks like they’re from central casting and no one has any body fat.

Stef has been promoted to associate producer. She’s out in the field helping make sure all the pieces come together.

I can’t divulge the show she’s with. It’s on a major pay channel where it’s run a few seasons already.

When you’re on the road for an extended stay the production company arranges for housing. Stef’s staying in a suite in a nice hotel. This will be her home for six weeks. She says it’s the nicest hotel room she’s ever been in.

Tomorrow is their first shooting day. They’ll be out-of-doors walking through Vegas with cameras rolling. I’m guessing Stef will be doing a lot of walking backwards.

Her boyfriend and dog are both back in L.A. That part is tough.

Forgotten Photos From The Vegas Trip

Everything in Las Vegas is oversized. Usually that largeness is hidden. Not so at Aria. They embrace their massiveness!

Sometimes while on a trip I’ll have photos to show, but no blog post to show them in. That was the case with Las Vegas earlier this month. We met my Cousin Melissa at the Aria Hotel on the Vegas Strip.

Everything in Las Vegas is oversized. Usually that largeness is hidden.

Not so at Aria. They embrace their massiveness!

Here are a few shots from Aria’s main entrance.

One Last Look At Vegas Before We Go

. It is the ultimate contradiction that these beautiful hotels in the desert are defined by their relationship with water.

A few quick shots of the pool at Mirage before we go. It is the ultimate contradiction that these beautiful hotels in the desert are defined by their relationship with water. It’s sunny, hot and dry and the pool is jammed!

By the way, the first photo is a Photosynth 360&#176 panorama. Use your mouse to pan around.



My Geekiest Photo Ever

While playing poker at the Venetian (fav place to play) I noticed texting on your cellphone was OK. “Are laptops OK too?” I asked semi-kiddingly.

While playing poker at the Venetian (fav place to play) I noticed texting on your cellphone was OK.

“Are laptops OK too?” I asked semi-kiddingly.

They are! I uploaded the photos for my last blog entry while playing poker at the Venetian.

With the laptop on my lap I passed my cellphone to Dan, sitting next to me at Table 26. His picture is my geekiest photo ever!

In some states photos like this are grounds for divorce!

Some Vegas Nightshots (photos)

It’s been windy in Las Vegas–windy, hot and dry. I am suffering from “Vegas Throat.” (and nose). The air is so dry it just sucks the moisture from your body.

Yesterday was my mid-trip collapse. I was tired early. I called Helaine to tell her I was taking a little walk before going to sleep. She decided to come along. So did “Clicky.”

It’s been windy in Las Vegas–windy, hot and dry. I am suffering from “Vegas Throat.” (and nose). The air is so dry it just sucks the moisture from your body. Dew points have mostly been in the 5-10&#176 range with relative humidity under 10%.

I remember while growing up the gossip columns would often feature stories about Las Vegas entertainers taking time off for “Vegas Throat.” It was always in the middle of a contract/money dispute. “Vegas Throat” is real, but also an easy excuse.

Elvis Sighting, Baby

It was a wedding party with two of the groomsmen dressed as Las Vegas’ iconic “King.”

As we were walking back into the Mirage Helaine called out, “Elvis sighting!” Sure enough there he was… uhh… there they were. It was a wedding party with two of the groomsmen dressed as Las Vegas’ iconic “King.”

“Thanks,” I said. And then I remembered. “Thank you. Thank you very much.”

Vegas: Four Photos From My Hotel Window

Here’s a little gander of what we can see from our room on the 27th floor.

We are safely ensconced at Mirage in Las Vegas while some very smelly work goes on at home. It’s cloudy at the moment and very windy. With a significant chance for severe thunderstorms in Connecticut today I’m sure I get no sympathy!

Here’s a little gander of what we can see from our room on the 27th floor.

360 Degree Panorama Of The Aria

It’s beautiful. Everything is massive and yet understated.

My Cousin Melissa is in town so we headed up Las Vegas Boulevard for a light dinner at Aria. It’s owned by the same company that runs the Mirage and MGM Grand. It’s beautiful. Everything is massive and yet understated.

I played poker. Not a good night. Everything I could do someone else could do better!

On our way out I took out my cellphone to snap this 360&#176 panorama of the main Aria entryway. Use your mouse to move the photo

Las Vegas — We Have Arrived

Their goal I was told was to have a good enough time that the birthday girl wouldn’t remember it.

We’re in Las Vegas. Helaine is washing for dinner, so not much time to post. We flew from opposite coasts and met at Baggage Claim 6. It’s our furtive rendezvous!

My plane from Burbank to Las Vegas originated in Sacramento. That’s where the five ‘kids’ opposite me got on.

The girl in the sash and tiara is celebrating her 21st. Their goal I was told was to have a good enough time that the birthday girl wouldn’t remember it.

OK. Clouded logic. If it can be accomplished it surely can be accomplished here.

Viva Las Vegas.

How Children Upset Their Parents

After the paramedics were done with me I told her she was very cruel and now out of my will.

Just got a call from my daughter. She was invited to a trade show and wasn’t sure if she should attend.

“Have you heard of CES,” she asked?

After the paramedics were done with me I told her she was very cruel and now out of my will. Then I told her which parts of my anatomy I’d give to be the one going.

All of a sudden she seems convinced it might be fun. God speed Stefanie.

I Almost Forgot – AT&T The Biggest Vacation Disappointment

Often my phone would show full signal yet be unable to originate or receive calls. Data was pretty spotty too.

It was my intention to totally depend on my iPhone 3Gs’s cell service for voice and data while on vacation in Las Vegas. Like everyone I’ve heard horror stories, but my service here in Connecticut is mostly good. Unfortunately, I have also documented trips to New York, Los Angeles and Boston where service was frustrating. Add Las Vegas to the list.

Often my phone would show full signal yet be unable to originate or receive calls. Stef’s BlackBerry and Helaine’s Samsung suffered a similar fate.

Data was pretty spotty too. Sometimes my phone would display “3G.” At other times it was the slower “E” or mysterious “O.” Often there was no data indicator at all! Unfortunately even seeing a data indicator didn’t mean there was access!

I ran an online speed test a few times. Once it wouldn’t work because there was no data access. Other times it was so slow as to be unusable for any purpose other than establishing how slow it was!

This is just nuts. There’s no excuse for this. Cell service is supposed to be a mature product. How can AT&T be the only company that hasn’t mastered this?

A Few More Vegas Pics And Their Stories

Las Vegas is very photogenic. That’s indisputable.

Las Vegas is very photogenic. That’s indisputable. In addition I’ve found it very conducive for HDR photography. HDR is the technique which extends the range of brightness levels seen in a photograph by compressing the range. I know–confusing.

Your eye sees can see dark darks and bright whites at the same time. Cameras can’t. HDR produces a photo closer to what the eye sees. The raw material is usually a series of three photos taken in rapid succession.

Using different shutter speeds you end up with one underexposed, one overexposed and one properly image. A computer program combines the three produce the HDR.

Unfortunately it’s easy to overdo HDR and come up with some “Elvis on Velvet” results. I read complaints from the photo cognoscenti all the time. I mostly agree.

The reason I thought this shot would work was because of the bright clouds above and deep shadows within the Mirage Volcano. A standard photo would show detail in one or the other but not both.

I’ve already posted one photo from our little journey to Blue Diamond, NV. It was very dark and very cold! We really had no idea what we’d see. Actually the photos from Blue Diamond produced detail not visible to the naked eye. It was just too darned dark!

I am disappointed in most of this series of photos including the one I posted earlier. The exposure was too long allowing the Earth’s rotation to smudge the stars. This is one of the shorter exposures–only 22 seconds which cuts down on the motion.

For those interested it’s f/3.5 ISO 400 using a Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 lens at 44mm. I tried manually focusing by looking at stars, but mostly just trusted the infinity mark on the lens. There’s a little help from Photoshop in bringing down the ambient brightness of the sky and helping illuminate the dimmer parts of the butte.

I have no idea how close the butte is, but probably a mile or more away. We were standing on Bonnie Springs Road just off Route 159 pointing reasonably north.

One night we went downtown to Fremont Street. Years ago before the Strip was developed Fremont Street was the heart of Las Vegas. Nowadays it’s an open air pedestrian mall surrounded by older, seedier casinos. There’s entertainment in the street and a pretty good atmosphere.

As we waited for the overhead lightshow to start this guy walked by! I have no idea what he was doing or why he was there. I only had one shot! What you see if what I got with no cropping.

My Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 lens was on the camera. That’s a lot of lens for a darkened area. I dialed up to ISO 1600 and 1/250 second for the shutter. The image still needed a little Photoshop help boosting the levels and killing the noise. It looks a little soft and runny to me probably more because of ISO 1600 than anything else. It’s still worth showing.

In the movie this guy will be played by my friend Rick Allison.

Finally a shot from our first night in town. We went to dinner at Mon Ami Gabi a restaurant attached to the Paris Hotel with an open air patio overlooking The Strip.

It was cold that night! Luckily Mon Ami Gabi (and loads of other places) have these radiant gas heaters.

This was a shot I visualized before shooting. It came out just as expected. The soft background is what I wanted and very pleasing.

This was shot with my Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 lens wide open and fully extended. ISO was a noisy 1600 and the shutter speed was 1/125 second.

Friday In Las Vegas With The Sun Shining

Foolishly I headed toward Las Vegas Boulevard only to find horrendous traffic! The rest, mostly forgotten now, had the potential to be a major family dust-up. I can tell you a RAV4 is too small for five adults and a full vacation’s worth of bags!

Greetings from Las Vegas. The Sun is shining, but it’s chilly. Helaine, who has already been outside, tells me you warm quickly in the desert sun.

I’m in our room now. We’re on the 39th floor with a northwest view. That’s away from most of the Strip action, but a nice shot of the mountains to our west.

It looks like there’s a little snow on Mount Charleston. It’s still early in the season.

We arrived yesterday and were met by Stef with her boyfriend and visiting friend. That was one stuffed RAV4!

Stef asked me to drive since I know Las Vegas. Foolishly I headed toward Las Vegas Boulevard only to find horrendous traffic! The rest, mostly forgotten now, had the potential to be a major family dust-up. I can tell you a RAV4 is too small for five adults and a full vacation’s worth of bags!

The five of us were joined by my California cousins and had dinner at Zeffirino an Italian restaurant in the shopping area at the Venetian. We’d been there before for Thanksgiving. They throw out the menu and serve an unbelievable holiday buffet. I don’t have to eat for the next month!

I played a little poker after dinner at the Venetian. This might be my favorite poker room anywhere. It’s big and comfortable with action around-the-clock. The service is attentive and quick.

I sat down at a new table that was just opening and watched the dealer convert a few grand from the ten players into chips. It was a thing of beauty as he methodically parceled out the chips in a way that allowed him to retrace his steps and account for each dollar should there be a dispute or error. This guy was an all-star. He elevated poker dealing to an artform.

I played for a few hours losing for a while then coming back almost to even. Almost… that means I lost, right?

Today is Helaine and my 27th anniversary. More to come.

Note: Internet and simple cell access via at&t has been horrendous. Often we’re seeing full bars, but no service!

Sneaking A Dog Coast-To-Coast

When I last spoke to Stef this afternoon she was waiting at Bradley. Roxie was acting as if she’d just downed a gallon of espresso.

Stef and Roxie are back in California. They flew BDL-LAS-LAX on Southwest this afternoon/evening. The plan was to sedate Roxie for the flights. Right. That trick never works!

When I last spoke to Stef this afternoon she was waiting at Bradley. Roxie was acting as if she’d just downed a gallon of espresso.

As it turned out that’s when Stef met Linda.

I don’t know much about Linda except she was on her way to Vegas, saw Roxie in the terminal and began to talk with Stef. When Stef explained how Roxie had flown west-to-east in her lap Linda said she and her friend would love to share a row with them. They loved dogs!

And so, contrary to every rule ever published, Roxie was out of the bag and on Stef’s lap all the way to McCarren!

Things went just as well from Las Vegas to Los Angeles. Stef took the window seat and a man wearing (what’s been described to me as a) turban sat on the aisle. He too loved dogs which is how we come to the attached photo of Roxie in the middle seat! That’s probably his hand (because it’s definitely not Stef’s)

I’m not going to attribute this one to Southwest’s friendliness, because I’m sure Stef hid Roxie under a blanket when the flight attendant approached. This was 100% through the friendliness of her seatmates.

It could have been the trip from hell. After all it was Roxie who ate her way out of a travel bag while flying this same route in January!

And they all lived happily ever after.