Thanksgiving

It's not really a travel photo, but with Thanksgiving right around the corner, who can really resist pumpkin pie? :-)

--Rob

One of the first things that struck me about Las Vegas, on my first trip there back in the 1990s, was the garish carpeting in all the casinos.

Apparently, I'm not the only one to have wondered about this. In fact, David Schwartz, director of the Center for Gaming Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has devoted significant time to studying the psychological impact of this floor covering, as seen here: http://www.dieiscast.com/gallery/carpet-essay/

Anyway, I decided to do a little photoessay of my own, the last time we were in Vegas:

Not my greatest shot from my DC trip a few years ago, but a reminder for those few who do pass by the blog to get out and vote tomorrow no matter which side of the aisle you stand on.

--Rob

Hoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. (from wikipedia)

We passed through about two years ago on our way to Las Vegas for a 5-day vacation in the Luxor hotel. There was an enormous traffic jam so we jumped out of the car and shot a few pics while we were waiting. At the time, they were working on an bypass that will avoid this bottleneck.

And speaking of that bypass...it's done as of tonight:

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2010/10/14/20101014arizona-hoover-dam-bypass-dedication-ON.html

--Rob

Yeah, it's kind of a boring shot, but I love clouds...and we don't get clouds like this in Arizona. Taken in Miami this summer before a big rain storm on the beach.

--Rob

With my day job I spend a lot of time traveling with a football team and really don't have much to do for the first quarter of any game (I edit game film) so I do what any fan would do. Run to the sidelines with my camera in hand. I won't post many football shots here, but this one was too good to pass up. Sadly, we lost the game, but it was damn close. Many more cool shots from the area to follow as we spent 3 days in Madison, Wisconsin before the game.

--Rob

Saddle-like airline seats? No way!

"The new airplane seat, to be unveiled next week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas conference in Long Beach, would give passengers an experience akin to riding horseback.

They'd sit at an angle with no more than 23 inches between their perch and the seat in front of them — a design that could appeal to low-cost airlines that have floated the idea of offering passengers standing-room tickets on short flights."

Read the full article...