-

We are back from a road trip to Las Vegas. We met my brother for his birthday out there. The last time I was there was in 2006 My blog post from 2006. I don't feel any strong intrinsic need to go there then or now. But it is a well known destination and certainly the road trip from SoCal to Vegas is the iconic American road trip. We stopped in San Bernadino to visit the original site of McDonalds. While in Vegas, we may have enjoyed "downtown" better than the strip. I didn't even know it existed, but there are neon signs, cheesy clubs, cheesy casinos, cheesy buffets and even cheesier people.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

California, Berkshire NY, Baltimore Maryland and Washington DC

-
Image
I am back from a speaking engagement at a familiar conference (CIDM) in San Jose California. Afterwards, I met Angie at the ATL airport and headed to the farm and to see my cousins, Aunt and Sister (and my newest relative) in Baltimore and Washington DC. It was a densely scheduled trip, but nothing compared to our typical overseas vacation trips. I have been having educational fun with my recent birthday gift. It is a Radiacode 103. It is a very sensitive scintillation radiation detector. Loads of fun. The 1k µS/hr spike shown is what the carry on baggage x-ray machine doses out. I am glad I wasn't inside the x-ray equipment. Stopping at some antique stores along the way, I found a number of uranium glass pieces. Yes, they are radioactive. Yes, the dose is comparable to that you get from riding in a commrecial airplane. I took a couple of pics of property in Upstate NY. Un believable. It will beat out images of the best trailer trash anywhere. And yes, the vehicles are systemic...
Read more

Busy and Busier

-
Image
It has been busy and somewhat stressful. I am reflecting on the comparatively relative low stress of traveling alone in Southern Africa last year at about this time. I mean in Africa, I only had to worry about getting in car accidents (maybe running someone over), missing flights, getting robbed or attacked. All of these possibilities in a very unfamiliar land. Now interestingly, I seem to have more stress -- over what? It is probably a very good example of good stress versus bad stress. Good stress comes from calculated self-directed challenge. Bad stress comes from captivity and what we feel we "should" be doing. "Should" indicates there are external forces we are beholden to --without our own devices or agency. In April, I am speaking at CIDM Convex in San Jose CA. https://convex.infomanagementcenter.com/ . I also learned I am speaking at LavaCon in October https://www.lavacon.org/ . There were 150 speakers considered and only 40 selected. It will be my first t...
Read more

Rituals versus Routines

-
Confucious impressed on us the importantance of ritual. The modern world demands our attention more and more. The external grabs of attention continue to expand and our time is very finite. We cope with our limited attention by shorthanding, by repeating what we can do over time, hours, minutes, days and years. Although the words ritual and routine are quite different. Maybe the concept is the same.
Read more

Non, Je Ne Regrette Pas Rien

-
Image
[Chorus] No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing Neither the good that was done to me Nor the evil, I couldn't care less No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing It's paid for, swept away, forgotten I don't care about the past [Verse] With my memories I lit the fire My sorrows, my pleasures I'm no longer in need of them Swept away the loves With their tremolos Swept away forever I'm starting over [Chorus] No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing Neither the good that was done to me Nor the evil, I couldn't care less No, nothing at all No, I regret nothing For my life, for my joys It starts with you  today Non, rien de rien Non, je ne regrette rien Ni le bien qu'on m'a fait Ni le mal Tout ça m'est bien égal Non, rien de rien Non, je ne regrette rien C'est payé, balayé, oublié Je me fous du passé Avec mes souvenirs J'ai allumé le feu Mes chagrins, mes plaisirs Je n'ai plus besoin d'eux Ba...
Read more

Ends and Odds and Other Executions of Word Order

-
Image
We made some Chakalaka stew recently. I had a can from South Africa and it was time to eat. Canned foods taste better after a year or two. It was quite tasty and I thoroughly enjoyed pronouncing Chakalaka. The Tesla has an impressionist side for its full self drive robot. The screen shows a string of buses as a train passes ahead. I kinda like it. The robot definately likes to consider objects with people rather than just objects. The weather really turned nice at least for a few days. The leaves are really popping out, as well as the pollen. It was a good oportunity to run the whole fleet. I am planning the radio systems for the Humvee and getting my electrical problems sorted out. I am still quite angry about the shop that decided to hook up the batteries incorrectly and cause some issues. It's fun to drive, not comfortable. Almost the exact opposite of the Tesla.
Read more