You can bet on it

Well, I lost five thousand dollars in Rock Scissors Paper last weekend.
Phil Gordon

When you're in a place like Vegas with a group, you go out and do stuff. You gamble, go drinking, go to clubs, etc. When you're by yourself, well, not so much. Getting drunk with a bunch of friends in a bar is a blast. Doing it by yourself is sad and somewhat pathetic. So, when I was in Vegas, I mostly just walked around. I might end up chatting with a fellow conference attendee who happened to be eating at the same restaurant, but that was it. I spent the rest of my time walking around the casinos and hotels sightseeing.

One thing I was amazed by was the volume and variety of gambling options. I knew Vegas offers almost limitless gambling options, but I was still unprepared for the scope and scale as seen firsthand. I was once in the AT&T Global Network Operations Center. It had a huge wall lined with screens showing the status of networks and servers all over the globe. It had nothing on the sports betting room in every casino I saw. They were bigger, had more screens, and were more impressive. I stood looking at those walls unable to comprehend all the numbers and stats, each of which represented a bet someone could place. People will bet on anything.

Which brings me to an episode of This American Life I heard back in September, though it was originally broadcast in 2001. Meet the Pros does just that, including professional gamblers in Act Two, where Phil Gordon explains how Rock Scissors Paper is in essence the same as Texas Hold 'Em. Check it out, it's a good one.

Out damned Carrot Top!

I can't go to work this morning, you know it haunts me. It haunts me!

Neo Pseudo

I am staying at Luxor, and Carrot Top is everywhere! He's on signs by the elevator. He's on walls in the casino. He's on the little TV screen in the tram. He's on the big TV screen in the lobby. He's on my Do Not Disturb sign. He's on my room key! Everywhere I look I see that face.

Sometimes, I see him with my eyes closed....

Vegas

Life springs eternal on a gaudy neon street.

Sheryl Crow

So I'm in Vegas, defying Luxor their $13 a night by using my phone for internet access. I'm here for a the DevConnections conference at Mandalay Bay. I'm not staying at the Mandalay Bay, I'm next door in Luxor because the Mandalay Bay was booked. (How many times can I type Mandalay bay?) Many people are even further away in MGM Grand.

I've been sending photo dispatches home. Here are some highlights:

The Sphinx at Luxor and a headless Lenin statue in Mandalay Bay:

The roller coaster at New York New York and some guy sitting with live lions at MGM Grand:


By the way, the coaster is way cool. I had some time to took around on Monday and see all this. Today was more conference stuff - all day in fact. But I did get free food that should offset the awesome sushi at Jpop Sushi at (one more time) Mandalay Bay.

Oh yeah, here is the really big tub in my room:

For some reason my youngest wondered if I sing in it.

No, not yet. But there's still time.

Do you like corn?

And He Who Walks Behind the Rows did say, "I will send outlanders among you...."

Children of the Corn

Outlanders are welcome to "walk behind the rows" at Howell Living History Farm's 11th annual Corn Maze, but you'll need to get there soon. The final three days are 11/3, 11/4, and 11/10.

I went looking for an aerial shot of a past maze. Google and MapQuest imagery is from the wrong time of year, but Microsoft Virtual Earth has a great shot of last year's windmill maze.

We were there two weeks ago, and we had a great time. We also set a new family record of 1 1/2 hours! Beat that!

Update: I was wrong. Our maze time was 1:05, not 1:30. Sorry to have sold my family short!

Couldn't even hear the whistle blow

Lord I'm one, Lord I'm two, Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four,
Lord I'm 500 miles from my home.
Hedy West

Sunday morning I began my day 1000 miles from home. It was the last day of our vacation in Florida. Sunday evening we boarded our 6:20 PM flight back to NJ. Sunday night found us safely home and in bed.

By 5 AM Monday morning, I was already up and back in Newark, boarding the 5:20 AM flight to Charlotte, NC. At 9 AM, I was in Greenville, SC. I was 700 miles from home. I made the return trip that same day, arriving home at 9 PM.

By 10 AM Tuesday I'd driven 75 miles to White Plains, NY. The traffic gods smiled on me that evening, and I was home by 7:30 PM.

In three days I travelled 2,550 miles through five different states (not counting the ones I flew over). I went through three international airports. I drove two rental cars, flew two different airlines, and rode on three different planes.

Some observations:

• I would fly JetBlue over U.S. Air any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
• The Chevy Cobalt was better than I thought, the PT Cruiser less than I hoped.
• I should have asked for an economy car. They never have them, so I'd have been upgraded for free.
• Orlando is a really nice airport. Charlotte is okay. Newark is getting better.

Yesterday, I went to work. It's 21 miles each way, and I don't have to leave the state.

Vacation's over

Vacation's over.
President Bartlett

Yeah, still here. Been on vacation for a week - Lake Winnipesaukee in NH. It was a great week. I swam every day, canoed, kayacked, and hiked.

One hike was up 2033' Red Hill. The hike was 5 miles, round trip, with an approx. 1700' ascent. This describes the hike (though on our descent we followed the Teedie instead of Eagle Cliffs trail). The trail is impeccably maintained by the Squam Lakes Association. The other hike was up 1067' Mt Fayal. The trail is part of the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center, which also houses members of local species unable to return to the wild because of injury or overexposure to people.

We ate well, enjoying meals from:

• The Woodshed in Moultonboro. If you eat beef, eat here. The lobster crepe was also delicious.
• The Town Docks in Meredith. Great casual seafood fare. Lobster Rolls and Smutty Nose IPA on tap. Mmmmmm.
• Canoe in Center Harbor. Get the lobster mac 'n' cheese, but split it with a friend. They do take out. (Safe those food containers!)
• Walter's Basin in Holderness. Lakeview dining on "Golden Pond" (yes, the "Golden Pond"). Tukerman's Pale on tap.

And you have to be touristy now and then. We did our part by taking a cruise on the M/S Mount Washington. It was a beautiful day with great weather out on the lake. The kids had a blast. As a bonus, the bar had Harpoon IPA on tap.

So yeah, I guess you can tell we did our part to support the local breweries. Smuttynose and Tuckerman's topped my list of favorites, and both were available at most supermarkets and convenience stores.

So that covers my abscence last week. Before that, blame these guys. I'm all for providers and factories, but do you really think anyone's going to run this thing on Oracle? But I digress....

What I did on my vacation Pt. 2

Swimming, swimming, in a swimming hole,
When days are hot and days are cold,
In a swimming hole.
Side stroke, back stroke, fancy diving too.
Wouldn't it be great if there were nothing else to do
Camp Song

Okay, I've realized that I never posted part two. I figured I'd add something here before I'm off on another vacation. We did do a lot of swimming. The lake was a wonderful temperature, and very inviting in the hot weather. The kids were in every day for hours.

The day we left, before heading home, we stopped at the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center. We figured it was a small nature park, maybe a few small animal, etc., so the admission (Adults $12, Kids $9) seemed a little steep. It turned out to be more than worth the price. The center is home to all sorts of animals indigenous to the region. For one reason or another they cannot be released back into the wild. Many were injured (especially the birds). Several were kept as illegal pets. They all live now in large naturally furnished enclosures. At each enclosure, there is lots of information about the animals, how they live, and how to protect them and their habitat. It was all very well done, well maintained, and highly recommended. The kids had a great time.

After the center, we ate lunch at a great restraint in Holderness, seated at a window overlooking the lake.

There's probably more, but I can't think of it. I really wanted to mention the nature center. It was great. If you're up there, you should go.

What I did on my vacation Pt. 1

I long for wildness... Woods where the woodthrush forever sings, Where the hours are early morning ones, And there is dew on the grass, And the day is forever unproven... A New Hampshire everlasting and unfallen.
Henry David Thoreau

The quote was on a sign at the entrance of Lost River Gorge and Boulder Caves. When I saw it, my first thought was, I need to remember that for my blog. Of course, I forgot the exact quote, but googling '"lost river" thoreau' turned it right up.

Last week was the family vacation. My family, my brother's family, and my parents all rent a house on Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. It was a lakefront house (pictured). It was taken from the pontoon boat we rented (but I'm getting ahead of myself). There plenty of bedrooms for everyone, a great view of the lake, a dock, beach, and use of the canoe and kayaks. The lake was great for swimming, and we did plenty of that.


Other activities included the aformentioned pontoon boat. They're nice in that there is room for everyone to sit and space for the kids to walk around a bit without fear of them falling out. The house is on a section of the lake named Moultonboro Bay. Getting the boat from the rental place to the house is fun because you have to navigate through The Graveyard. Yes, it's really called that. There are more than 1000 markers on the lake warning you away from rocks and boulders that would, if struck, significantly increase the rental cost of the boat.

We explored Lost River, as I said. We also did a bit of hiking. Right next to Winnipesaukee is Squam Lake, and the Squam Lake Association maintains a wonderful and diverse set of trails. The "Bridle Path" trail takes you up West Rattlesnake to an elevation of 1220'. All the kids made the trip up, where you are treated to wide vistas overlooking the lake. The picture at the right is the view from the top. We headed down shortly after, ahead of the approaching thunder storm. We all got doused by some rain, but everyone still had a great time.

Sharon and I also got a hike of our own in. We took the SLA trail to Eagle Cliffs. The trail climbs up the mountain, traversing Eagle Cliffs as it goes. There's one spot where you can even climb the cliff for 0.1 mi. The view was great there too, although it was cloudy that day. There was a neat point where we ascended into the cloud. It was suddenly quiet and foggy.

Well, time to head off to the cousin's house for Independence Day fun. I'll post more later.

Stuck in traffic

Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike,
They've all gone to look for America
Simon and Garfunkle

I wish I was on the New Jersey Turnpike. I am 7.1 miles north of the Maryland House rest area on I-95, just past a bridge labeled MD Route 155. I'm blogging now thanks to the USB modem cable on my cell phone. I admit, I'm doing this mostly because I can, geek that I am. However, it's one more way to kill time while I sit, engine off, waiting....

I just openned the sun roof and, standing on the seat, could see no sign of movement. There is an interesting person in a pimped out Chevy Cavalier who is talking to his friends on the bullhorn he has installed under the hood. There is person in a Honda insight enjoying his big battery as he reads. I'm saving gas myself, having turned off the engine ten minutes ago....

Ah well, back to H.M.S. Surprise. They've just seen an albatross. This can't be good.

Anniversary day

I'm sorry we couldn't spend the day thinking about how much we love each other, instead of trying like crazy not to vomit.
Sharon

For our anniversary we had front row tickets to Democracy, dinner reservations for the Firebird Restaurant, and plans for a stop to see The Gates.

The morning of our anniversary started out when I hear my one of my kids crying in her room. Sometimes this happens when she has a bad dream. Unfortunately, this time it was because she had wet the bed.

I got her all cleaned up. While we were downstairs loading her sheets and blankets into the washer, I heard activity upstairs. I figured it was her older sister, so I headed upstairs. She was in our room throwing up.

It turned out that whatever she had hit my wife also. Several drugs later, we decided we should give it a go. My mom was staying with the girls. She's a retired pediatcric nurse, so she was fine with my sick daughter. My wife and I headed to the station to catch the train. She spent the trip alternately fighting nausea and dosing off. We got a little soup before the play, a relatively safe lunch.

The play was excellent. I recommend it to anyone who has the chance.

We left the theatre started uptown towards Central Park. After a block, my wife said, "Let's just go home." That was a good idea. We turned back and walked down to Penn Station. When we got there, we immediately saw the "All Aboard" call on the board for a Trenton bound train. We rushed to the platform, which was empty. Back upstairs, we now saw the "All aboard" for a different gate. More running, this time to watch the train pull out. Apparently they were having a little trouble updating the screens. The next train wasn't for another 45 mintues, so we headed for the waiting area.

That was when it hit me. By the time we boarded the train, I was feeling mightly low. Someone had a hot dog with saurkraut on the train. That was more than I could take. I spent the ride home in the vestibule between cars trying desparately not to get sick. I sang Green Day to myself as a distraction (still my favorite). By the time we got home I had a fever and chills.

So, not the romantic Saturday in the city we hoped for. Oh well. We both know there are plenty of next years to make up for it.

Without a barrel

The family and I went to visit friends in western New York this weekend. On Saturday, we went Niagara Falls and had a really fun day of it. We did some walking and rode the Maid of the Mist.

Among the factoids that they tell you about during the boat ride is the story of Roger Woodward. He went over the falls wearing only a life vest and lived. It sounds like an urban legend. In fact, it has mutated somewhat. When I was in Buffalo, most people told me it happened "a few years ago." In reality, it was in 1960.

My wife actually found the link when we were trying to figure out whether he was seriously injured. The narration on the boat only said he lived. It never said he was unharmed, leading us to wonder if he was paralyzed or something. In fact, he only suffered a mild concussion and is now a 50 year old father of three.

While searching the net for Woodward's story, though, I found this article. It quotes Woodward, but it's about Kirk Jones. According to Jones he was depressed and tried to end it by going over the falls. Things didn't go as planned, though. He survived virtually unhurt. He says he not as depressed now. Now that's extreme therapy.

On a side note, I got to take a spin through my old campus. It was a healthy bit of nostalgia and I thank everyone in the minivan for indulging me.