La Vida Vegas

Obstacle Avoidance Device

2012-01-28T22:32:00.000-08:00

According to D, wearing this while bicycling magically creates a large, clear area around the bicyclist, displacing most hazards including autos, pedestrians and animals.

I need to get one.

The Family Unit

2012-01-26T20:41:00.000-08:00

"Put your unit in our pool"

Any Day Now

2012-01-23T20:50:00.000-08:00

We're still waiting, daddy

Back side view of the unfinished Echelon.

Yin and Yang

2012-01-19T19:14:00.001-08:00

Becoming Mrs Kravitz

2012-01-16T18:15:00.000-08:00

St Louis Court

2012-01-15T14:55:00.000-08:00

An apartment building celebrating St. Louis' extremely abysmal design talents.

He probably should have stuck to crusading, although he wasn't actually setting records there, either.

OK Cthulhu

2012-01-15T07:33:00.000-08:00

Make Up Your Mind

2012-01-14T07:13:00.001-08:00

Hotel Formerly Known as Hilton

2012-01-08T20:19:00.001-08:00

As of January 3rd, 2012, the licensing deal that Colony Park Resorts (owner of the former Las Vegas Hilton) had with the Hilton hotel company has expired.

The building is now known as Las Vegas Hotel (LVH) and Casino.

Waiting to see how it looks on the sign.

I took the shot above in January of 2011.

Strippers

2012-01-06T05:34:00.001-08:00

So that's where they keep them.

Creepy Train

2012-01-04T19:42:00.000-08:00

All Aboard!

Son Down

2012-01-03T18:50:00.000-08:00

The recession claims another victim.

The Jesus store on Las Vegas Blvd. closes its doors.

Up on the Rooftop

2012-01-02T09:58:00.000-08:00

"Don't do it, Santa!"

End of an Era

2011-12-31T18:10:00.000-08:00

My humble 5 megapixel Pentax Optio S gave out about three weeks before Christmas.

It was somewhat coincidental; I got the Optio for Christmas in 2004.

I suppose seven years is not bad for a point-and-shoot camera.

Still I'm sad to see it go.

Just about every photo on this site was taken with the Optio - right up until this one.

The odometer turned over on the Optio in August. The next picture after the above ( both shots of Wayne Newton's digs), was IMGPX0001.

I replaced the Optio with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FH27 which I picked up at Costco for $99.

It seemed like a good price - everything else in its class was going for about $150.

So I spent $100 in 2011 to replace a camera (also purchased at Costco) which cost $300 in 2004.

What's different?

Well, primarily, the Optio had in-camera image effects. There were about nine different effects that could be applied to any image in the camera's memory. The camera would make a copy of the original and then apply the effect.

The Lumix, although lacking the effect application (it will apply effects as pictures are taken, no post-production), has image stabilization and 720p video.

There's a few small things lacking in the Lumix: no histogram on the display, most controls are in the touch-screen, not in buttons. Only two custom controls can be "favorited" to the touch screen as opposed to four for the Optio. But the audio and video are light-years ahead of the Optio.

So, a decently superior camera for a third of the price.

[Update]

A few more minor nits, in case someone finds this page by searching on the camera model:

1 - The display always has at least two icons on it - you cannot view images without those two icons in the way.

2 - and this may be debatable as a detraction - it uses a proprietary rechargeable battery. So, in order to not get left out of juice, you'll have to cough up about $10-20 for an extra battery and be sure and take the charger with you on trips.

3 - The lens always comes out when the camera is turned on. There is no way to select a "view only" mode. (It retracts a few seconds after image viewing is chosen from the touchscreen icon) Other cameras I've had experience with allow you to select "view only", usually by pressing two buttons in tandem, and the lens stays put. This means that simply viewing images will put extra wear on the most mechanically complex parts of the camera.

Genius

2011-12-30T05:56:00.001-08:00

This is why America rules.

Grocery Dog

2011-12-26T10:24:00.000-08:00

Grocery Dog is on patrol.

Terrist Attack

2011-12-22T05:42:00.000-08:00

According to officials, terrorists carried out an attack on the Easter Island Apartments in Las Vegas last week.

Spokesmen for the FBI and the DHS say that a plane loaded with explosives was flown into the building.

Several neighbors say that they think the building was hit by a drunk guy in an '84 Monte Carlo.

Results of forensics tests won't be available for several weeks.

Meanwhile, agents will be scouring the neighborhood, looking for people to waterboard.

Early Morning Welding

2011-12-21T20:11:00.001-08:00

I took this shot from the walk bridge over the offramp from I-15 at Flamingo while riding to work.

It was about 6AM and frickin' cold. I had to take off my gloves in order to work the camera, but I thought it was worth the effort.

It really was quite spectacular.

Roman Santa

2011-12-20T16:21:00.000-08:00

Roman Santa makes elves out of the tears of bad children.

Roman Santa's belly shakes like a bowl full of greek fire

Roman Santa's Naughty/Nice list is chiseled in granite

Roman Santa's favorite reindeer is a wolf

Roman Santa doesn't live at the North Pole, he winters in Sicily

Roman Santa delivers live, born-again lions to the homes of born-again Christians

Roman Santa actually doesn't give a shit if you've been naughty or nice, he just wants to know if you've paid this month's tribute

Chang Fart

2011-12-18T18:16:00.001-08:00

Checking out the image stabilization on the new camera.

A visitor to the strip was happy to oblige by climbing up on the horse in front of PF Chang's at the Planet Aladdinwood.

First Light

2011-12-18T06:25:00.000-08:00

This is the very first picture I took with my new Panasonic Lumix camera.

I believe it serves to establish me as one of the premiere Lumitographers working today.

Coming Soon

2011-12-16T06:18:00.001-08:00

Which describes the state of real estate ventures in Las Vegas as well as my new camera.

My Pentax Optio S, which I had seven years, died a couple of weeks ago.

Bolt Buster

2011-12-07T20:03:00.001-08:00

This is how I ride.

It took me two weeks to figure out that a broken axle was the reason the rear wheel on the Stumpjumper kept sliding to the right while I rode.

I came damn close to stripping the threads on the axle in repeated attempts to re-align the wheel and not have it slide again.

Finally, this morning, in the pre-dawn, 29° chill, while trying once again to re-align and tighten, I noticed that while turning the wrench on one nut while the other was firmly tight, one half of the axle rotated with the wrench... the other did not. Hmmm....

Brothers by Different Mothers

2011-12-05T17:52:00.000-08:00

Old Flame

2011-11-30T21:40:00.000-08:00

If I am not mistaken, this is a Suzuki GS-850 shaft-drive.

I've owned only one motorcycle in my life and that's what it was.

I bought a brand-new, 1979 GS-850N in March of 1980. After several years of really stupid high-speed inanities, I sold it to an acquaintance in order to raise money for a down-payment on a house.

This is how we grow old - one sensible decision at a time.

Shot in the yard of the Dynamite Gardeners, coincidentally.

Farmer Handicap

2011-11-29T19:22:00.000-08:00

Billie Jean

2011-11-28T06:06:00.001-08:00

Billie Jean's

Not my mother

She's just the one

Says that I am her son

But the woman's not my mom

Barnaby Wilde (No Relation to Oscar)

2011-11-21T21:23:00.001-08:00

Lookin' for a run-in

Head out on the highway

took it for a venture

and whatever come what may

Ooh yeah we're gonna make shit happen

put the world on a lovin' plane

File all of our gum in wrappers

Explore out in space

I like smokin' lighters

Heavy metal thunder

Racin' with the wheel

and I'm feelin' for some lumber

Barrr-na-bee Wiiiiilde

Ya Think?

2011-11-19T19:01:00.001-08:00

"Parking" probably would have been sufficient.

Destiny

2011-11-17T19:48:00.001-08:00

Some people go to heaven...

Little Death Coupe

2011-11-11T20:42:00.001-08:00

I was smart-mouthing from my bicycle seat around these guys who were trying to get this car off a flat-bed truck.

Saying stupid things like, "Does it get rubber in all four gears?", etc.

It wasn't until after I had taken this shot that I realized how big the guy behind the wheel was. He could have snapped me in half like an offending chopstick.

I can only suppose that it was either - A) too much trouble to get out of the car or, B) he had too much to do - to be bothered with shooing me away.

Word Choice

2011-11-11T06:43:00.001-08:00

A Simple Story

2011-11-05T18:53:00.000-07:00

One day, I went looking for a man.

Once I had him drugged and properly restrained...

...I broke him and made him mine

We did everything together

Watching porn after our plastic surgery and hair dyes...

...his-n-hers race-change operations...

We stalked starlets together

Cloned the ones we liked...

..made shoes from the skin of the ones we didn't

We separated our meat from our vegetables using our tongues

We wrote to each other, earthy tomes of lust and fascination

We swam in effervescent pools of nitrogen

Gave money to Ron Paul

But then, the money began to shrink

He laughed when I told him of my worries.

We began to sink in an abyss of debt

I was at wits end

I found that a simple shower head can be an efficient distributor of powerful chemicals

One day, I went looking for a woman...

I Can Has

2011-11-04T20:00:00.000-07:00

Beanie Club

2011-11-04T19:34:00.001-07:00

Occupy Fawkes Street

2011-11-04T19:28:00.000-07:00

The Invertichrist

2011-11-04T19:02:00.001-07:00

I Kid You Not

2011-11-04T05:50:00.001-07:00

Actual (doctored) screen grab

White Welcome

2011-11-03T21:53:00.001-07:00

Overtime

2011-11-03T21:20:00.001-07:00

The Jaws of Cain

2011-11-03T21:05:00.001-07:00

Breakthrough

2011-11-03T20:37:00.001-07:00

Under Pressure

2011-11-03T17:48:00.001-07:00

Dry Gulch Excalibur

2011-10-28T06:15:00.001-07:00

Another in a continuing series.

All the major properties on the Strip must, from time-to-time, drain their various water features for maintenance.

...and, of course, to rake up the tons of coins.

Family

2011-10-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

I just don't know what to make of this...

"The family that pees together..."?

"Family Time Out"?

"The Final Solution"?

"The Don's Locker"?

Cozy Gone

2011-10-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

The elegant Cozymel sign is gone, waiting to be replaced.

From the looks of things, the FogoChow sign will not be as nice...

Power for Change

2011-10-23T20:59:00.001-07:00

Why We Ride

2011-10-17T19:04:00.000-07:00

This is why we ride bikes. So we can ignore signs like this.

Cozy Cover

2011-10-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

So they finally got around to covering up the beautiful Cozymel sign

Thou May Turn Now

2011-10-12T20:22:00.000-07:00

He He

2011-10-10T18:35:00.000-07:00

Or, "hue hue"

Not sure.

If Only

2011-10-09T17:10:00.001-07:00

If I could get beer and wine delivered through the internet, I wouldn't have to leave the house.

Well, I would still have to go to work

I suppose now that Steve Jobs is gone, there's no one left to help deliver on the internet's promise of Beer over Fiber (BoF).

After all, what do you think the UniverSalBeer (USB) port is for?

It's time for the internet to move beyond pictures and sounds - it's time for the actual digitization and delivery of real products - we need alcohol, medical marijuana and Handi Wipes™ to go along with our porn videos and hip-hop mp3s.

Mit Flops

2011-10-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

Smokin' Hope

2011-10-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

Democrat Road

2011-10-07T05:55:00.001-07:00

Tennis Anyone

2011-10-04T06:13:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not, this is a tennis court built over a storm drain.

Although that is not a storm drain, but the Flamingo wash, molded and folded by the excessive application of concrete into a squared-off channel for the occasional transportation of Summerlin flotsam to the east side.

Of course I had to bicycle across it.

(This is not a shot from yesterday's - 10/3/11 - downpour. This was shot in August of 2010)

Cartborg

2011-09-25T08:57:00.000-07:00

I'd be more worried about the cart growing a face.

2016

2011-09-21T17:51:00.001-07:00

Elvis Sighting

2011-09-19T06:03:00.001-07:00

Strip Sleepin 11 #6

2011-09-16T06:12:00.001-07:00

Happi Gone

2011-09-14T19:23:00.000-07:00

Updates on the removal of the Happi Inn

Water Closets

2011-09-14T06:04:00.001-07:00

Gen X Retirement

2011-09-13T05:52:00.001-07:00

Libby

2011-09-08T05:52:00.001-07:00

Extreme Gardening

2011-09-07T05:54:00.001-07:00

Strip Sleepin' 11 #5

2011-09-04T08:08:00.000-07:00

The summer is slipping away, but it's still warm enough to catch a few early morning winks next to the ancient Venetian canals.

Succor

2011-08-31T05:06:00.000-07:00

These Beatles definitely could use some.

You'd Be Home By Now

2011-08-29T18:20:00.000-07:00

What More Do You Need

2011-08-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

This place has it all!

There's even a dumpster so you don't have to throw your syringes and Hostess™ wrappers on the ground.

...and parking!

Fog of Chow

2011-08-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

Progress on the restaurant(?) being built on the bones of Cozymel's

Instruction Manual

2011-08-17T19:35:00.001-07:00

Play Fate

2011-08-15T06:22:00.000-07:00

Strip Life

2011-08-14T07:58:00.001-07:00

Only the Best

2011-08-13T18:48:00.000-07:00

If you gotta have smog, might as well get the best, most patriotic damn smog you can find.

And who's going to know better from patriotic smog?

Why NASA, of course!

Better Shot

2011-08-11T19:31:00.000-07:00

Better shot of the Cozymel sign.

Clenching Dissected

2011-08-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

On 08/09/2011 07:25 PM, D wrote:
>
> Subject:This clench you right up
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5aHCXJhY_Y
>
>

Sweatshirt and jeans! Poor bastard.

No boots, to boot.

That shadow is the beginning of exit-over-handlebars, or, an off-the-cycle-experience.

In the background, Sweatshirt Man on his knees, yet to realize the massive amount of road-rash he's incurred.

Instant Karma. Full leathers (and boots) for the aggrieved.

Snap It Up!

2011-08-08T18:12:00.000-07:00

Now's the chance to make the deal of a lifetime!

Won't last long!

Koolsville

2011-08-07T18:00:00.001-07:00

It's where I'm at.

Well, it was where I was at earlier today.

Lacking the 3G gadgets the kids have, I can't update from the bike seat.

Hell, the kids don't even have blogs anymore. They have twitters and gircles

Blogging is so... 1999

Achtung!

2011-08-02T05:57:00.000-07:00

How, exactly, do they tell if you are at the Subway's?

What happens if you're at the Jack In the Box, instead?

Do they firebomb your car?

Strip Sleepin' 11 #4

2011-07-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

Accommodations

2011-07-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

This is (what's left of) the sign of the Happi Inn which is being destroyed to make way for a ferris wheel.

I'll Kick Your Ass

2011-07-21T05:51:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles is full of tough characters.

Happi No More

2011-07-19T18:28:00.000-07:00

The Happi Inn is making way for a ferris wheel.

Keep in mind this is right next door to the short-lived "Balloon Ride".

Maybe they'll have better luck.

Lost its Sizzle

2011-07-19T05:39:00.000-07:00

"Opening early summer... 2010"

Trust Jesus, but Obey the Police

2011-07-17T16:20:00.000-07:00

These people were driving down the Strip Friday evening, using the contraption on the top of their mini-van to exhort the crowds to abandon their drinking, gambling, adulterous ways - right in the middle of their friggin' vacations no less - and follow JayZus!

Unfortunately, the blue lights accompanying the loudspeakers were apparently too much competition for Metro. The followers of Babby were forced to remove the device and put it in the back of the van before they could proceed.

New Construction

2011-07-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

Who's afraid of a silly little recession?

Not Las Vegas!

There's new construction on the Strip.

In the shot below, going up next to the P-Ho on the Blvd at Harmon, is a new Walgreens!

Yay! Let's go to Vegas and visit the Walgreens!

Ain't nuthin' but a Pharmacy, baby!

Further north, next to the confused abomination that used to be the TI, is a Starbucks!

Bet you didn't see that coming, didja?

Dry Gulch Venetian

2011-07-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

Times are tough.

They drained the canals at the Venetian so they could scrape up the loose change for the mortgage.

Hooker on the Strip

2011-07-11T19:19:00.001-07:00

She's ready for action.

Best Gas Prices in Town

2011-07-08T05:47:00.000-07:00

Turd Water

2011-07-07T05:41:00.001-07:00

So, you're riding your bicycle along a peaceful boulevard in Southern California when you hear the sound of machinery.

You peek through the bushes and what do you see?

A pond of smelly, brownish water being churned by freakishly large electric motors.

The whole thing looks like some sort of demented boating scene in a really weird old movie.

Apparently, this is turd water being - as the handy graphic below illustrates - evaporated.

At least, I'm assuming those round, green things are water molecules. Turds don't evaporate... right?

The sign doesn't appear to mention where they go, but I do so hope those are blue drops of water being rained down on that house.

Worlds Largest Taco Bell

2011-07-05T21:09:00.000-07:00

The smallest vehicle allowed in the drive-thru is a tour bus.

The lobby has room for 7500 customers. There are 368 cash registers and 1277 trash cans.

Believe it.

Man Van

2011-07-01T07:43:00.000-07:00

There can be only one.

What's the Time

2011-06-30T18:32:00.003-07:00

It's time to get steel!

Mel's Other Place

2011-06-30T05:41:00.001-07:00

There is another Mel's.

Out in Boulder City...

Strip Sleepin' 11 #3

2011-06-29T17:35:00.001-07:00

There's also Seattle Sleepin', as well. By the former Vegas Rex!

Cozy No More

2011-06-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

CozyMels, a fabulous Mexican seafood eatery on Flamingo is no more.

How fabulous was it?

Well, it was probably mucho fabuloso, because I never got to eat there.

If it were plain, then it would probably still be around, right?

Daylight just doesn't do justice to that sign. Hold on...

...mmm, better.

Anyway, they are replacing it with something called "Fogo do Chao", which I believe translates to "Fog of Chow".

Sort of like "Fog of War" where the participants are so involved in what they are eating that they lose track of where they are, etc.

Sounds good. Can't wait to try it, seeing as how I never made it to Cozymule's.

Odd Neighbors

2011-06-28T05:36:00.001-07:00

Frame Lock

2011-06-27T05:49:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing Columbus didn't try to bicycle to the New World.

Treehouse of Doom

2011-06-26T18:38:00.000-07:00

Rules of the Tires

2011-06-24T06:03:00.000-07:00

Whatever it is that you weren't supposed to do with the tires, you can do now. The sign is finally illegible.

Have at it!