More random stuff around town

This has been a busy month out here. I’ve been working on a web site for the big boss’ birthday party, just 500 of his closest friends off to Macau. One of the managers of the big hotel next door supposedly failed to mail out information packets to the guests, so I had to make up a web site that they could use to see what was going on, and to sign up for optional activities. It’s taken the past three weeks, including weekends, to get it the way they want it – obviously if it’s for the big guy it has to be perfect, and we did end up getting daily emails from his wife about things to change. The biggest one wasn’t my doing – it was the logo designed for the event. There were signs and shirts and bags and handouts and basketballs (one of the events is one of the US basketball team’s Olympic finals), but when she finally saw the logo she didn’t like it at all, so everything had to be thrown out and started over, including my basic designs. The events start today, so I hope the requests for changes are done, even though I was still hopping on it yesterday. I kept a sequence of emails from my boss that took place one Friday evening, starting at 7pm after I got home running until midnight, 28 emails with changes – as I fixed one and emailed him back it was done there was another request. Ah well, it’s what I get paid for.

For the past week E and mom have been down from Portland on a visit. I was given two comp days to stay home, but ended up in front of the computer more on those days then when I’m here at work, but we did get a little time in. Last post were some pool pics – we went swimming almost every evening, that’s the reason they came down, because she wanted to swim in the warm water. It looks like she enjoyed herself; she was laughing and smiling the whole time that she was in the pool. Those little floatie things for her arms kept her up, and she really had a good time paddling around.

It has been a strange July around town as well. A few weeks ago we had some lovely sunsets, thanks to all of the fires out in California blowing smoke this way. It also provided a few strange orange days and some air quality alerts, but I’m sure it was a lot better here than further west. Sounds like the coastal fires are under control, now it’s moved in by Yosemite. Oh well, that seems to be the cycle, Smokey the Bear says put out all fires, which then leads to a buildup of brush and dead trees which then take off and really burn on those dry years. This has also been the first July since we’ve moved here that the temperature hasn’t gone over 110f. (43c)

Going through my list of unused photos, here are a few from around town that I thought at one time were interesting,



Some familiar things here in Las Vegas, tall construction cranes. These were up alongside the Palazzo, now completed and open for quite a while. I’m sure these cranes are now raised up over another project, as there are several dozen visible when standing in the same spot.

They might even be one of these, which I drive past every day on my way in to work.


It’s the site of the old Stardust, I think it’s the new Echelon, $4,800,000,000 construction project with several hotel and condo towers, casino and convention center. This view is off to my left each morning, as I zip over 15 on Desert Inn. No place to stop and take pictures, so you get a blurry one taken out of the car window. A big parking structure is going up right along DI, attached to what looks like a power plant and cooling facility, currently being filled with big pipes and lots of equipment. Across the strip from this is the Fontainebleau, another $2,900,000,000 project.

Last week we had some humidity and thunderstorms across the valley. We didn’t get much rain at all at our house, but the water was deep in some areas. The increase in humidity caused our sage brush to flush out with purple blooms (supposedly the increase in humidity prompts the blooming). We have a row of them right outside the kitchen window, with most being seven feet high, so we can see the little purple blossoms from just a few feet away while standing at the sink. The hummingbirds try to hit every flower, and there are some little finches that flash in and eat the aphids and small buts, filing the bushes with movement. The hummers are slow and graceful in comparison to this group, hopping and flitting around and chirping away, making a big production as a group of them move from branch to branch down the row of plants. Back a few months ago the wisteria we brought up from San Diego was in bloom,


It’s all green and leafed out now, with a random flower head put out once in a while after the first big bloom.