InterStellar News Network

981121
Flew back today from Vegas. Fun, but tiring trip. But, instead of sleeping early, I'm off to the wedding of my friends Lon and Jenna. This one was going to be one of those "everyone you know will be there" weddings. And it was. Jenna looked radiant in her gown and Lon just had that silly grin of his plastered from ear to ear.

I was dang tired by the time I got home. Eating, dancing, laughing, celebrating. Whew! But this was one of the more fun weddings I've been to in some time ...

Congratulations Lon & Jenna!!!

Click here for some shots I took at the reception.

981120
Another whirlwind tour of the Comdex show floor today. Picked up Ming and her friend Lee from the airport last night after poker. Did the quick drive by tour of the Strip since neither of them had ever been to Vegas before and then grabbed a late night dinner at the Hard Rock Hotel. Got maybe four hours of sleep and then, off to the show.

I saw most of what I needed to see, talked to who I needed to talk to yesterday so, guess I went to do what everyone else does ... get free stuff!!! Had to take care of all of you who asked me to bring something back, right?

After the show, we went to do Star Trek: The Experience. I had done this the last time I was in town but Ming and Lee hadn't (and Lee turns out to be a serious Trekkie) so ... what the heck ... I can do this a second time. After all, everyone considers me one of those "really serious sci-fi types". And my response has been "So, what's your point?" <G>

Well, it was an experience for them. All of you who have done the Experience know what I mean. I have to admit that even I enjoyed doing it a second time, despite knowing everything that was to happen. We ate at Quark's afterwards for the full experience and shopped in the Promenade. Stuff at 70% off is a great incentive to buy and ... yes I did.

"M" of the Mareciless Universe has a whole section devoted to the Experience that is so cool that I'm not even gonna try to put one together! Click here to check it out! It rocks!

Stan had to catch his flight so we carted him off to the airport and then checked into the Tropicana. I would have loved to stay at the LV Hilton but it's just too dang expensive. And the Trop is closer to the airport anyway ...

Then, I tried to take them for the tour of the Strip. We started at Bellagio (where else?). Watching those water fountains dance to the music is always an experience. As was watching the serene movements of the jellyfish. More pictures ...

L: Water fountains dancing to music. R: Jellyfish dancing in the Shintaro restaurant.

But, alas, the call of the slots proved too much for Lee and he succumbed to their beckoning. Ming and I, on the other hand, went to stroll the corridors and found a place to rest, talk, and people watch.

The hotel is probably one of the most elegant places I have ever seen. Everything, from the inlaid marble floors to the grand balconies and staircases, conveys such a touch of class it is quite impressive and breathtaking. I am not surprised at the $1.8 Billion price tag of this resort. ===:o

Strangely enough, we never did the chance to check out the other resorts. I did give them the drive-by downtown tour later and we grabbed a late-night meal then called it a night. I didn't even gamble at all today (of course, that was Ming's goal all along)! Geez, I must be getting too old to pull these all nighters ... NOT!

981119
Oh, what a day. My first day at Comdex. I still can't believe the stuff people can dream up to impress us with. This year seems to be the year of the flat screen and HDTV-like video. I have never seen so much stuff dedicated to a single technology in all the years I've come to Comdex (and that's 10 years, folks!). But, being able to afford to *buy* this stuff is a whole different matter. Most of the "inexpensive" HDTV units are going for the $5K range. And you throw in the high-end flat screen 35" with the 16:9 aspect ratio, etc., then we are looking close to your year's salary. *SIGH*

Stan flew in for the trade show today. I think he's done this gig with me for 4-5 years now. Of course, he comes for the free stuff ... mostly. Since there was a lot of focus on the multimedia stuff like I mentioned before, he was in heaven (he teaches a media class at his junior high school)! Pretty far out stuff I'm sure he'd like to get for the school if they ever get enough dough to let him buy some.

Since we had to cruise over to the airport around 10pm, we decided to take it easy tonight and go play poker instead. I can sense some of you thinking "taking it easy by playing poker?!?" 'Fraid so. You read it correctly. For me, it's more of a mental exercise since you don't see your money disappear so quickly like it can when you play craps or blackjack. And you have a greater degree of control since you know to some degree what is out there, what has been played, and what your odds are on beating the other guy. Of course, short of a really bad run of cards, you can't really blame anyone but yourself either.

On that note, I did bluff my way through quite a few hands tonight. And got really lucky one time when I beat this woman with two pairs cuz she *thought* she had three of a kind. And I played it as if she didn't. *WHEW* Of course, life isn't perfect and Stan nailed me once pretty savagely and forced me to fold on another.

For the evening, I'm $9 closer to breaking even. Pretty good for a guy that doesn't play regularly, eh?

981118
$121 down. $40 up. $47 up. Guess that leaves me $34 down at the moment. And a new appreciation for bad karma. That $121 down was done in 10 minutes. All because half the table couldn't resist rolling a 7 shortly after the point was set. Talk about a bad run. Raffie, where are you when I need you, dude? I need a 'yo', man! Come out to Vegas and throw me those 11s!

Took a quick gander through Bellagio tonight with my friends Grace and Scott. Grace works as an IS analyst (*!!!applause!!!* we need more women in the field!) and Scott is an engineer, electrical if I recall. Scott seems to find some of the greatest deals in computer toys. I gotta go shopping with him one day and see what we can find at the local ACP warehouse.

Scott and Grace, by the way, are engaged. Congratulations!

Bellagio also had a breathtaking water fountain show that runs every half hour. I'll have to check it out more thoroughly tomorrow or Friday. And get better pics too.

981117
Just one more day to Vegas. I guess I better refresh my memory on basic strategy rules! <G>

I was looking around at Fry's today for the latest and greatest in digicams. So far, nothing. I've concluded that the ideal camera would have a megapixel capability, *optical* zoom, various levels of compression, a decent flash, SmartMedia, viewfinder, fit into a pocket, and cost less than $500. Pluses would be a screw mount on the lens for other accessories. Anybody know where to find something like this, let me know. I know I'm probably gonna be out of luck for another year ...

I finally got the Psi Corps section up. Progress, eh? I guess my motivation was a poem a friend sent that really moved me, especially considering my mind was in a bad state of flux (someone said 'really fluxed up') the day I got it. And, rather than spam everyone, why not put it up? So, it's here. And I threw in a few other things to lighten the mood there too.

In light of that, I want to thank each and every one of you who's been supporting me through a lot of the tough times I've been going through lately (you all know who you are). Your thoughts, words, and actions (and willingness to commit unspeakable acts on my behalf) mean a lot to me. I love you guys!

Next time you hear from me will be from Sin City! I'll see if I can upload some cool shots!

981116
Just another Monday today. Except that almost nothing broke. YES!!! If this can hold on for the rest of the week, then I'll be a very happy camper ...

Comdex is just 2 days away ... I can't wait to see what new toys are coming out, check out all the new casinos and resorts, and win lots of $. Well, at least the first two.

For those of you who don't know what Comdex is, think of 250,000 to 300,000 computer enthusiasts packed into Vegas for a week. The city more than doubles in size. End users trying anything to win a t-shirt, much less a notebook computer. Vendors trying desperately to get people to visit their booths. It's ABSOULTELY INSANE and I sometimes wonder why I go year after year. I usually can get everything I need to do, talk to everyone I need to talk to, see everything I need to see probably in a day and a half but, I guess I do it for my friends who usually come along for the "stuff". It's always fun to see what they bring back.

One year, one of the gals managed to snag 14 t-shirts plus countless other buttons, pens, knick-knacks and things no one could figure out. That's about 1 shirt every 30 minutes. Incredible.

Oh yeah, that same trip, one night, 9 people packed into my suite at the Las Vegas Hilton. I can probably imagine what the folks at the front desk were thinking when we kept asking for more towels ...

Another year, one of the guys snored so loud, he kept me from sleeping (which is almost impossible to do) and we almost put him into the hallway (we decided to "mack truck" him instead). In a truly twisted way, it IS fun. Any of you gonna be there?

981115
Had lunch with Will and Art today at The Cheesecake Factory before Will's flight back to Denver. Art and I went shopping and then watched The Waterboy. I know that every review panned this one but my take on it is: "It's worth the matinee." Sandler fans won't be disappointed. I was starting to believe the reviews until it started to pick up after the first half hour. I think that "stupid enough that it's funny" would describe this flick. The Cajun accents start wearing on you soon enough and the retard jokes go thin after a while, but Sandler and cast manage to hold it together well enough for me to go from lame to okay.

Later, everyone. Got to work early tomorrow ...

NAVIGATION

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