Vegas

We were comped by Emily to 3 x $160 seats.
The show was excellent !!!
There was a lot of magic with the smoke and mirrors, fake floors, and doves up the sleeves, but the effects were terrific.
The dancing, the screens, the theatre itself, and the people all made the show work.
We even shook hands with Criss Angel (or his look alike).
It was a lot of fun to watch.

The air has cleaned up a lot. You can see the mountains now!
Its just as busy as it ever was. It is still crowded.
About 1 out of every 20 houses I've seen is a Bank Repo.
There seems to be fewer tweakers and street walkers.
I've only met one local that didn't speak any English (it used to be maybe 1 out of 5 people spoke Spanish only).
Driving is still crazy. The same roads are still under construction.
There still are a lot of rude people here. Very few people have been friendly outside of the casinos.
I think its gotten better, but, it is still probably not a good place to live.

Eyewitness News has learned Nevada now tops the list of states with the highest number of homeowners who
Owe more than their house is actually worth.
So many Americans now owe more than their homes are worth that there's even a new term for it.
It's called underwater borrowers. "That means they owe more than their house would sell for on the open market," said Jack Woodcock with Prudential Americana Group. And it comes as no surprise to local real estate experts that Nevada once again leads the nation in the number of underwater borrowers at a full 48-percent.
That means nearly one out of every two Nevada homeowners is now in this negative equity category.
But local experts who know the market say just because a lot of residents are underwater right now, that doesn't mean they're all going to drown.
"You don't have to drown. Time is on your side," said Woodcock. "It's just a matter of holding out for a while."
Woodcock says those with stable mortgage rates will be better able to stay afloat, but those with adjustable rate mortgages that are due to reset in the coming months are the most vulnerable to foreclosure.
"They need to look at the benefits being provided by the bailout plan right now," he said. And while experts may differ in the length of time they predict it will take for the economy to see any meaningful recovery -- six months to two years -- those who know the southern Nevada market best are confident about one thing,
"I'm absolutely confident that if we're not at the bottom we're very close to it now."
Underwater homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages can contact any real estate or mortgage professional for more information about your refinancing options.
Contact the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors

We stayed at the HorseShu in Jackpot, NV. Jackpot is a casino town on the Nevada/Idaho border
The rooms are very cheap ($39) and very nice. This mountain has live entertainment and is open 24x7.

The Monte Carlo caught fire today.
I missed most of the coverage on this. However... MGM Fire

The Mgm caught on fire 11/21/1980.
I was there. The smoke from the fire killed 87 people. It was by far the most tragic event I'd even seen in my life. Huge helicopters pulled people off the roof. A couple tied a series of sheets together that didn't make it all the way down to the ground. A lady fell to her death at the end of it, her husband broke his leg. At the time, it was said to be the 2nd worst hotel fire in history. I took 36 pictures of it, but my ex (Lisa) thought she deserved them more.

This time, there were no sad good byes. GMa and Paul should be in Seattle around March. We've got to come back to take care of our taxes. Also, if I work in Seattle, for a year, I should have enough saved for taking two years off. Life is good! However, if I get a reputation at my new job, I could end up managing a system somewhere. And that could be very sweet!!!

New Mexico is pretty when it snows.

Boulder Damn! It takes more than an hour to cross it, even at 10pm on Sunday night.

After 32 hours of driving, we made it back to Home-Sweet-Home, in Las Vegas

And they're not in Las Vegas!
Louisville's Channel 6 news said there are more than 400 fires in Nevada this morning.
But Las Vegas's Channel 3 and Channel 8 said nothing about it.
I first heard about them last week.
It's national news!
So I was surprised when, after I talking to Sonny, he didn't know anything about it.
Wanna know something about where you're living?
Look at another city's news headlines.

- Family
- The Strip
- The mountains
- The proximity to Los Angeles and the ocean
- Local casinos
- All of that R rated adult fun out there
I've got 33 years of memories here. That's a lot of Christmas's
I've lost friends and relatives here.
I'll always be a Las Vegan.