Sunshine and Sharks

This was my second Interop, and my first Adtran party. All I have to say is, what a hoot!

The party was at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay Resort, and the two guys on stage in the roles of Jake and Elwood were awesome!

At one point during the show one of the main Adtran folks named, "Kim" showed up late and Jake asked her where she's been. She said she was still working so they did a complete rerun of the show with little blurps of each song. It was very funny.

Another amusing moment revolving around the same topic was when someone yellled out a request and they said, "We're not doing a show for one person.". Then he looked over at Kim and sai, "Well, maybe we are."

I don't want to delve too deep into the rest of InterOp since there will be plenty of other sources with better overall reviews of the show, and it's not something I want to cover here.

Instead, let me jump into some observations I have made while visiting "Sin City".

I have been to Las Vegas now so many times that the gambling does nothing for me anymore. It.s great that there are other things to do here besides gamble and drink, or I would probably never leave my hotel room.

Watching other people feeding the "one-arm bandits" just reminds me of why I don't. All over the casino.s you see couples where one person is playing and one person is sitting there watching, looking like they are not to pleased with the arrangement.

Next there are those who keep digging for more money and saying a few choice words to the machines each time they play on lose.

Is the lure of Vegas the pretty flashing lights, the feeling that you can drink yourself stupid, or that just maybe this time you'll strike it big? This is not unlike the people that came West to strike gold or silver only to die trying or end up old and penniless.

Then there are the brides. Women everywhere in bridal gowns being followed by their entourage of ladies and gentlemen equally overdressed for the area. I wish them all well, and hope the dream of a happily ever after comes true for them all. I won.t make fun of them because hey, to each their own.

To end this article back on a haapier note, the "Shark Reef" exhibit at the Mandalay Bay Resort was nicely done. I especially liked the tank where the sharks were on display. The shark display gave you the feeling that you were walking out of the stern of a shipwreck, and you were looking through the ribs of this sunken ship and seeing sharks all around you including above and below. Very nicely done.

If you find yourself in Las Vegas in the near future I would recommend you check out Shark Reef.

There it is, my quick observations from the land of sunshine and sharks.