Ed Brayton is a journalist, commentator and speaker. He is the co-founder and president of 
ScienceBlogs is upgrading their blog software to the latest version of Movable Type on Friday and Saturday. After 1 pm on Friday, you probably won't be able to comment nor will new content be added until sometime on Saturday, possibly even Sunday morning. And that jives pretty nicely with me leaving for vacation in Las Vegas, which I do on Sunday night.
Never fear, though, I have lots of great guest bloggers lined up to bludgeon your minds: Radley Balko, Chris Rodda, Jon Rowe, James Hanley, Kevin Vicklund and the infamous DarkSyd. I may pop in and post something here and there when I take a break from fleecing the tourists at the poker tables, but my main goal for the next week is to relax and enjoy my first real vacation in quite a while (no conferences, no speaking engagements, just fun).
This is going to be a fun trip. On Saturday, I go to Detroit where I'll be spending the evening with a bunch of old friends from the debate world, a group of former (and current) coaches who get together a couple times a year to play poker and eat steaks the size of our heads. They all play pretty badly, so they'll probably fund half my trip for me (yes, these poker games are usually proceeded by a few weeks of trash talking by email).
Then on Sunday I'm off to Vegas. I decided last night to change my accommodations. I had reservations at the Orleans, which is a place I like. It's back off the strip kind of behind New York New York and it has one of the largest poker rooms in the city. That was an absurd $25 a night. But with the recession, they're desperate to get people out there right now and the prices of rooms has been dropping like mad.
I decided to switch to the Mirage, which also has a big poker room but is a nicer hotel in a better location right on the strip, for an equally absurd $67 a night. So I'll be spending my days (and nights) at the 1/2 and 2/5 no limit holdem tables at the Mirage, attempting to successfully negotiate my way between the Scylla of local rocks and the Charbydis of drunk tourists. I'll be back on Friday the 15th, though probably not until later in the day. I may pop in now and then from my hotel, however, so I won't be a complete stranger.
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Comments
I need my Dispatches fix now!!!
*grrr*
Posted by: doctorgoo | January 11, 2009 12:05 AM
Good choice! I've stayed at the Mirage three times now and enjoyed it very much-- be sure to get a beer or two from the sports bar for the ginormous cups that come with it. I know you don't really drink, but it's worth it just for those cups. If the volcano is working (last I heard, it was being upgraded), so much the better. Am guessing that you won't be checking in from the hotel, though, since they charge an arm and a leg for internet access...I assume because they figure if you're up in your room doing things on the internet, you're not downstairs gambling.
Posted by: Gretchen | January 11, 2009 4:01 AM