Happy Mothers Day

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Day 34 in Las Vegas

The Red Rock Resort and Casino were packed with Mothers today, all standing in line to get their freebies: a rose, cookies, champagne, and other odds and ends. People, most husbands, were carrying around foot-massagers and kitchen items, including something that looked like a food-smasher of some kind. The line at the give-away counter was enormous, snaking around the casino amid the slots like a serpent wagging its tail.

I left.

Don't get me wrong...I love Mothers. I miss my own Sainted Mother terribly. But a casino full of hundreds of Mothers can be dangerous. The Fathers in the crowd all seemed a little perplexed, sad mainly, and you could tell most of them preferred to be on the golf course or watching the NBA playoffs. But on Mother's Day what are you going to do? Tiger Woods and Kobe will have to wait.

As I walked toward the parking garage I passed thousands of slot machines stacked high with all kinds of goodies. One lady was hammering away at the 1-cent slot trying to balance her roses in one hand, a cookie, a box containing a foot-massager, and her purse. Another slot had three foot-massager boxes stacked high on top of it, with Mothers nearby laughing and playing and drinking champagne.

I was never so happy to climb into my car and find a nice quiet Starbucks or Coffee Bean.

The Past Week in Review

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A look back over my shoulder at this past week:

1. Watching people salivate over a drawing at the Red Rock Casino has me laughing...because I'm just like them. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights we all stand around and wait for our club card number to appear on a video screen. Ten people receive $1,000 each, plus there's a drawing for a new $75,000 Escalade.

2. A move to tax legalized prostitution in Nevada failed, as predicted. The brothels were willing to pay $5 per "client" as a tax in exchange for some respect. But the state legislature balked. They are willing to make prostitution legal, but don't want to tax it like a legitimate business. Brothels are good for tourism. But treat them like a normal business? Nope.

3. It snowed one morning, for ten minutes, on my way to Starbucks.

4. The Coffee Bean is my new favorite hang-out.

5. The MGM Mirage survived another week. As The Strip's largest employer, the developer of CityCenter keeps plugging ahead without the help of its partner, Dubai World. Will they file bankruptcy and attempt to reorganize a $13 billion debt? Will CityCenter open this fall as expected? The answers depend on what you read and who you talk to.

6. The local economy is in shambles, but some say they see signs of recovery. Housing sales are increasing, mainly due to prices dropping through the floor. If you're looking to buy real estate, bargains exist on every street corner. Example: condos selling for $275,000 can be had for $160,000. The number of foreclosures has more than doubled.

7. My right thumb still hurts. I did something to it before I left Carmel two weeks ago. When I bend it at the knuckle, a pain shoots down to the palm of my hand.

8. I met a very nice lady at a UPS Store. She's taking over a new store in June. UPS Stores in general do fairly well if they are managed well and are located in the right area. While shipping is down, the other services they offer help keep the cash coming in.

9. I like Facebook. I hate MySpace. I like email. I hate cell phones.

10. I sold a domain name through GoDaddy's Auction Service and found it to be a pain in the groin, mainly because the buyer was a city government.

Easter Boredom

Day 6 in Las Vegas
Starbucks, somewhere west of town

Can someone tell me why Starbucks must keep it so cold? I know it'll be handy when it's 113 outside, but today was very nice. I walked around The Trails Park in Summerlin and enjoyed watching some fathers teach their kids the finer points of baseball. But now I'm freezing to death in a Starbucks walk-in meat locker and wishing I had stayed and had coffee at the park.

Back to baseball. I noticed the Rangers are up to their old tricks. They start off winning the first three games at home then lose the first two on the road. The Rangers have to be the worst road team in the majors.

And speaking of majors...where was Tiger at the Masters this weekend? Golf is boring to watch unless Tiger is in the final pairing. I suppose his knee is still bothering him. He's no good coming from behind in major tournaments, so I knew he was done when he double bogied the first hole, third round.

And speaking of round...the Jr. Whopper is the best hamburger in town that cost only a dollar. Wendy's would probably be a close second.

And speaking of Wendy's...I almost lost my car in the wind storm the other night. Or at least I thought it might be blown to bits while I was walking around the Red Rock Casino. Some of the highest winds I've ever seen...er...heard (winds can't be seen I guess) made it hard to walk through the parking lot.

And speaking of parking lot...what's up with all the signs in the shopping centers that say "2 Hours Only...or You'll Be Subject to the Big Tow Truck." I saw a McDonald's employee park and walk into work. Unless he works less than two hours, something tells me they don't enforce the parking regulations. So if you don't enforce the rule, why have the rule? Just to make people nervous? Another silly example of code violations posted on real property to make people behave a certain way only to see people doing what they want to do anyway.

And speaking of silly...I plugged in my iPod for a recharge and I thought the entire thing was going to blow up. A spark or something caused the screen to flash, then go blank. I was really ticked until I shut it off and prayed over it. Then I let it cool off...which wasn't hard since I was in Starbucks. Finally I hit the reset button and all was well. Take away my iPod and I'm toast...even in Starbucks.