Good morning all:

This week I had access to, and choked on, all the 24-hour news and with it the tons of Guerrilla Marketing techniques spewed out by the major political parties. As massively obscene amounts of money are being spent to create an almost religious ‘white heat’ of political fervor, especially that of extremist views touting another massive shift towards a more socialist state—then remember what has made America unique in the world. That of a nation with a history and unparalleled growth by being a centrist nation with a population desiring a minimalist government, with minimal intrusion in our lives; one which instead allows for the freedom of self reliance to be the main determinant of every citizen. Remember this as you vote during the next few days.

“People living under the yoke of corrupt governments tend to want … more government regulation. It’s a vicious cycle: in trusting societies, people act civilly and expect less government interference. In distrustful societies, people act selfishly and expect tighter regulation. But, more government corruption leads to less-trusting societies, and people will generally “prefer state control to unbridled production by uncivil firms”—even when they know their leaders are crooked” — “Regulation and Distrust” National Bureau of Economic Research

Last night Marcia and I arrived home from a week in Las Vegas. It sure is great sitting here with my own White Castle mug of steaming coffee rather than the highly overpriced hotel version.

This past week, upstairs in our hotel room the news talked incessantly about recession. Downstairs, the casinos, the restaurants, and the shows were jammed to capacity – day and night. It certainly is an unreal world. Our final night we walked the complete length of the strip – at 11 pm on a Friday night – and the sights, sounds, and the people watching is beyond belief. This is assuming one can navigate the gauntlet of ‘south of the border’ migrants hired to try to and thrust a bit of porn touting one local escort services or another into every passer-by’s hand.

Marcia and I managed to escape the virtual reality of Las Vegas by pure luck (using a Vegas term) by stumbling on a street vendor who had escaped the corporate life by setting up his own start-up business. John Yeager III builds, sells, and rents a two-seat 3-wheeled scooter built on the core of a small single-cylinder moped. He picked us up at eight Friday morning and along with one other couple we set off for the nearby Red Rock Canyon national park. The park offers a 13 mile scenic loop with a series of breathtaking and spectacular out-look vistas. This we drove for a self guided tour in our tiny 3-wheeled scooter (Marcia actually tested and had no difficulty dragging her knuckles on the pavement by reaching outside our tiny vehicle). The weather was perfect and the skies clear. The 5-mile drive, from the storage facility to the park entrance in a vehicle that tops out at 40 mph was made on a public highway. This little extra jaunt gave an already amazing experience an additional rush of excitement. (click on each of the photos for an expanded view)

Then so much thanks to our friend Susannah who, as a cast member having access, gave us prime seats at Cirque du Soleil’s ”Love” which is built around the music of the Beatles. Having seen several Cirque shows this one tops them all. As one would expect, the acts are amazing but it is the production, staging, and then the music that makes for an unforgettable experience. The fact that the sound-system – built over and around everyone, including each and every seatback – means that you’ve really never heard Beatles music performed like this.

Then the topper was the behind the scenes tour and introductions to cast members. The offices for ‘Love’ are built in what had previously been the apartment used by Siegfried and Roy – a show which we took in a number of years ago. This gave the whole evening a bit of special “oomph”.

Hey, Vegas can make anyone feel like a “high roller’. Even us little folk were upgraded to a suite complete with a nice gift basket. And this for two ‘gamblers’ – one who never placed a quarter in a slot machine – me, and Marcia who won maybe thirty dollars total. I picked up a brochure detailing the odds, which each casino has to publish. Just know that the odds are in the house’s favor for anything you play.

Make it a great week. Now, being home, there is appreciation for the daily routine and grind – enjoy yours.

Cheers,

Dirk