EMC World

Wow - I've been to conferences before, but never one on this scale. Heard there are something like 15,000 people attending it! Lots of information available and have already learned a lot about Data Domain and other EMC technologies we use at DTE. I used to think a "large" conference was over 1000 participants, but those were puny in comparison. I'm still getting used to the size and scale of this one and have 2 more days to go. You can tell this show has a computer (geek) audience - they have both an iOS and Android app for your conference agenda as well as scan codes for each session and for a wide range of topics. Right now I'm on one of at least 12 dozen Macbook pros hooked up for attendee use and they have a large wifi network available as well. Time to head to the next session...

Solar eclipse

Tonight we went to the university of south Nevada where the had an eclipse party. They had some telescopes setup, but the easiest viewing was on a guy's homemade viewer. These pictures  are from that device.

Red Rocks and Hoover Dam

Today we did an area tour around area, seeing Red Rocks Canyon and Hoover Dam before heading back to eat at the Treasure Island buffet before seeing Mystere.  It was a very enjoyable day!

 But the big attraction was the Hoover Dam. We took some pictures from the top before I took the full "Dam Tour" that went inside the powerhouse and the dam.

Looking up the face of the Hoover Dam from a vent part way up the dam.

Looking downstream from the bridge with the new Hoover Dam bridge 

Full view of the dam from the new bridge.

Looking at an active 30' inlet pipe inside one of the original 50' diversion tunnels.

Once we got back to Bally's, we got cleaned up and headed to Treasure Island for the buffet and to see Cirque du Soleil's Mystere.  The show was very entertaining and featured amazing acrobatics. 

On our way back we stopped and saw the Volcano show at Mirage and the Water Fountain show at Bellagio.

Las Vegas

Mary and I caught a late afternoon flight to Las Vegas on Friday. We have the weekend to sight see before my conference starts.  Tonight we drove the Strip, checking out all the hotels. Words cannot  adequately describe the scale of this place! Times Square on steroids!
Ceasers Palace must be 1/2 mile  long. And the hotels are HUGE. One of them probably had as many rooms as all the hotels in downtown Detroit.
It's been a long day. Time to get some shut-eye.