Jersey Girl

Above you can see Jersey Girl racked
and stacked third in line for landing on
runway 25L.

Here she is just about at the theshhold for 25L.

FIRE!

Today I wnet to McCarran to try to
photograph "Jersey Girl". Jersey Girl is
an Atlantic_Virgin Boeing 747-400 that
flies more or less daily as Virgin Flight 43
between Gatwick U.K.(EGKK) and
Las Vegas(KLAS). Somewhere beyond the Allegiant
Aircraft is a rather large fire. Never did figure out
what it was though. I did get some pics of Jersey Girl thoguh that I
will post next.

Mr. Mayor.....

For those that do not know, and maybe don't care...... Mr. Oscar Goodman has been the Mayor of Las Vegas since 1999. In 2007 he was re elected to his last 4 year term with 87% of the vote. I do not think I've ever lived in a place that had an actual "mayor" before. He is routinely reffered to as "Las Vegas' most popular mayor", yet he can be sort of contraversial as seen in this incident:

Goodman was speaking before a group of fourth-graders at Jo Mackey Elementary School. When asked what he would bring if marooned on a desert island, the mayor replied "a showgirl and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire Gin." Further, when asked about his hobbies, the mayor named drinking Bombay Sapphire Gin as a favorite. Later, when asked to comment, Goodman was unapologetic: "I'm the George Washington of mayors. I can't tell a lie. If they didn't want the answer, the kid shouldn't have asked the question."

I can only laugh. The guy has some balls thats for sure. He used to be a lawyer for some big time mob types in Vegas and I guess it shows. He is known to like to drink, not saying he is an alcoholic, but being known to like to drink would be a death sentance for a normal polotician these days. Another great quote from him is:

"I drink like a fish, gamble with both hands, and cavort with showgirls," says the 66-year-old mayor.

note also that:

His day starts at what he refers to as "City Hall East," an old-school Vegas diner named THE OMELET HOUSE (2160 West Charleston Boulevard), where the mayor orders coffee and holds court in his regular booth. (For the best service, he says, "ask for Betty.") Goodman doesn't dine--"I don't eat anything until I drink gin at five," he says wryly. "I don't want to ruin the jolt"--but he encourages breakfast partners to feast on the six-egg omelets and the famous pumpkin bread.

I don't think another mayor in America could get away with that...as they say only in Vegas!

Ozzy is here...

PAD

This is one of those billboard truck that
drive up and down the strip. This driver has built a perch for his feathered friend.

Vegas Right Now!

Remember you heard it here first when you see the first comercial with the new Vegas slogan in it. Apparently tourism in Vegas is DOWN! Way DOWN. Luckily in Vegas, unlike say Detroit, our economy is diversified. In addition to the tourism industry, we also have the construction industry....lol. I probably don't have to remind anyone wha the home construction market is like. Lets just say that the "Forclosure Capital of the USA" is a phrase we are familiar with out here, as in Detroit. Luckily for us though, we also have a large Comercial Construction industry in Vegas. And they are indeed in overdrive right now. Many of the customers I deal with are involved in the construction business in one way or another so of cousre, sooner or later, the conversation often involves the state of thier business. Everyone has said that home construction is dead and that they can't keep up with the "big" comercial construction work out here. Right now the strip is almost one big construction yard. I think there are like 11 major projects going on right now just on the strip.

If you think of, say Detroits economy, three legged stool, the three legs would be:
1 Automobils
2. Cars
3. Vehicles

Along the same lines, in Vegas we have:
1. Tourism
2. Comercial Construction
3. Residential Construction

Now days if you need a carpenter for your house you can easily locate him at the un employment office. The first leg of our economy is coming up short and our stool is leaning heavily to one side.
If another leg goes out, we will fall......

And in the news

the local news that is.

Yesterdsay a California man was arrested after two bank roberies and a high speed chase that ended in a crash(about 8 miles from our house). He is now at the Clark County Detention Center. You might ask why I m posting about this? People get arrested for bank robbery all over the place, all of the time. What makes this different is that it is rumured that he is also responsible for the 5 execution style murders at the Layne Bryant Store in Tinley Park Illinois. If it indeed turns out to be true I'm sure you will hear about it.

Also the gentleman that was nearly killed by Ricin exposure was out of his comma the other day and confirmed that he and his (now deceased)brother did indeed manufacture the Ricin for "self protection". Myself, I'd rather have a Glock or Smith and Wesson. He will likely also be spending some time in Vegas albeit at the Clark County Detention Center as manufacturing Ricin is a 10 year felony here.

Lastly, and most sadly, we had a young California couple that came to Vegas and got married. A few days after that while driving up Interstate 15 in the early AM, they apparently got a flat tire. While on the side of the road an 18-wheeler crossed the white line and struck and killed the young husband dragging what was left of his body for hundereds of feet and kept on going. The truck driver continued to drive to a local truck stop where he washed off the blood and remaining tissue from his big rig and then drove off into the night. He is still being sought. After the young wife saw her husband struck, she paniced and tried to wave down someone to help. In her panic she stepped out into the road and was struck and killed by another big rig. Atleast this truck driver stopped. They were apparently married for 2-3 days when they died. One can only hope they cath the first driver or that the guilt makes him turn himself in.