Monday, July 25, 2011

Deere looks for Directions


Here's an interesting story from USA Today - Virginia based Lightsquared is proposing to build out 40,000 new cell towers in rural areas. On the face of it, a really good thing. But it turns out, this may be a hindrance to GPS signals which farmers rely on to guide their tractors, among other things. So a fight is on, championed by none other than John Deere who makes many of those tractors. From the paper: "Deere chairman and chief executive officer Samuel Allen has aligned the manufacturer with military and aviation interests against a broadband proposal...Allen said LightSquared's proposal...would push the global-positioning systems in farmers' tractors and combines further down the band, compromising movements across the fields."

John Deere Fights Against Cell Towers that Disrupt GPS: http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/2011-07-24-john-deere-cell-tower-fight_n.htm?csp=obnetwork

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Where the locals eat - Las Vegas edition


I'm always looking for places where the locals eat - chain restaurants are the same everywhere (which I suppose is their appeal). Nowhere is this more true than Las Vegas. Everywhere a traveler goes is greeted by chains, cheap "bargain" places that scare me, or fancy culinary experiences that may be great, but not necessarily affordable by a family of four. That's why it's worth finding what the locals like. Nora's Cuisine is such a place.

Our first mistake was not making a reservation - its very busy on a Saturday night with an active, upscale bar crowd and live music. We sat in one of two other rooms which was also very nice and not too noisy.

The food was quite good and very reasonable, especially considering that the portions were large and filling. The menu was varied and interesting, so my two picky eaters were happy.

Make no mistake; I've had much better Italian food, but this place was comfortable, friendly, not too fancy (Jeans OK, shorts no), and good service for a decent price. The next time in Vegas, I'll probably return.

Noras Cuisine -6020 W Flamingo Rd, Ste 10,Las Vegas, NV 89103 (702) 365-6713 www.norascuisine.com/ Yelp reviews

Vacation (finally)!

For the next two weeks, I'm on vacation with the fam. We're starting in Vegas, traveling to the Grand Canyon, seeing lots of National Parks in Arizona and Utah, and finishing up in Denver where we'll fly back to Virginia. Here's the kicker - we're camping all the way (...shudder...). Looking forward to an interesting and fun experience with lots of family time and road food. More later...