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SEMA 2024

Well, we are back in PA. Glad to be back. Vegas was OK. There are some really cool things to see, but it is a city designed by morons. Nothing flows. Nothing is cohesive. Everything, even to get out of your hotel, is a 10-minute walk at minimum. It is the most technologically lagging city I've ever been in. It is far from handicap accessible. It is insane. I got my Vegas fix for a while...maybe for a lifetime. It would have been a fun trip for my 20 or 30-something self and friends when I was drinking. Now I only want to go back again for another SEMA show.

We are all exhausted. We left Vegas Wednesday night at 10:30 PM and got in at 6:00 AM on Thursday or something like that. The flight out on a Boeing 737 was fine and smooth as can be. I took one antianxiety pill at the beginning and that smooth flight gave me hope that I could do flying again no problem. Then on the way home we hit every bit of turbulence and the Airbus A321 was loud AF! I hated it. At one point the plane was rocking and shaking from turbulence and all these red lights inside the cabin illuminated. I thought we were going down. 🖕 flying!

I was worried I'd run out of cardiac/aerobic stamina from all the walking in Vegas because of my old AF transplanted heart. That wasn't the case at all. I didn't get tired in that way which is a good thing. My legs on the other hand are done. We walked an average of 4.25 miles per day, which doesn't seem like a lot, but I am a fairly sedentary pencil pusher these days. And some days in Vegas we walked almost 7 miles and that walking was on a bum left knee and bum right ankle. I hope to not walk for the entire weekend so I can rest. LOL So how did I get the bum knee and ankle? On Thursday evening my girlfriend took her father's mobility scooter rental to dinner (she has a twice-broken bad ankle with unconnected tendons). On the way back I was sitting on the scooter and she was driving it from my lap. As we went through the automatic doors into the Luxor hotel, the door shut and I took the edge of a 1" thick glass door directly to the kneecap while full speed on the scooter. It hurt so bad I got nauseous for a second. That knee bothered me the entire trip and still hurts. Then the next day, her mom and dad, both on scooters, tried to get on the ******* piece of ******* shit monorail and the door was shutting. Her mom panicked and gave the scooter the beans wide open and slammed my opposite ankle between the scooter and monorail door. The hotel, elevator and monorail doors close on you even if a scooter is halfway in. It is retarded. So a bum left knee and bum right ankle was the start of my Vegas trip.

What really started it off was her dad slipped on the bathroom floor getting out of the shower and spent the first full day in the ER. Thankfully he was only bruised. He stayed behind in the hotel that night for dinner which is why we had the use of his scooter. The Luxor hotel is run by morons. My girlfriend tried getting an accessible room for her 78- and 84-year-old parents at the time of booking, again before we even left PA then again when we checked in. Each time she was told they didn't have any accessible rooms open and didn't show "anything in their records" regarding the request. Real effing convenient. They didn't even give him a bathmat for getting out of the shower. The parents tried using a towel, but that didn't prevent him from falling. Then after he fell and his trip to the ER, numerous pleas from my girlfriend only got them one tiny mat to cover the entire, slippery tile floor. Then my girlfriend asked me to come downstairs with her to talk to the manager and I had to be the dick. He was a douchebag prick and kept trying to talk over me and cut me off, but I wasn't having any of that BS. Suddenly he found an accessible room on a different floor. Imagine that! They comped 3 days of the stay totaling just under $1,000. That's it. The managers don't have the power to do any more than that. Shows how powerless those guys are. I wasn't there for this, but my girlfriend said another manager basically said if you don't take this offer and sign our paper, good lucking suing us. The lawsuit wasn't worth it because he, thankfully, didn't get seriously injured, but I wouldn't have signed it pending the ER bills. Just beware of the Luxor and the morons working there. The room and even the bed were good for us though.


If you like meat there is Fogo de Chao somewhere on the strip. Brazilian style steakhouse. Basically guys walk around with big sticks of meat and ask if you want more. May not be so great for your heart either. Might be better steaks elsewhere if you're feeling less glutinous.

I also am not much for just seeing sites but you can go down inside the Hoover damn and check out the workings and how massive it is from the inside out. As a mechanical engineer it's fascinating. Especially considering the difference in engineering and construction technology of the time it was built.
It's funny that many of the places in Vegas are also located not far from me - Maggiano's, Fogo de Chao, etc. I guess that's one of the very few good things about living an hour and a half away from Philthy.

I probably could have enjoyed the mechanicalness of the dam and the engineering involved, but I'm not fascinated with it. I did see a sign that said the construction company was given 7 years to complete it and they finished it 2 years early and it has withstood the test of time. That shit doesn't happen anymore. Now things run long and over budget or they are a crap finished project.

Good on you for the no drinking part man, really it's for the best and a longer you!

As for Meow Wolf, There's really no way to describe it, other than to experience it. It's quite fun, and not so crowded if you go mid weekday. There's all sorts of odd trippy things, stories, and some puzzles throughout that build to a larger on. I think pre-teens and teens would have a blast there. I went in there, got a decent buzz and the 3 of us walked in to explore.

My avatar here, is a cartoonized version of a photo I took against one of their art walls. I thought that since I work in CyberSecurity it was an appropriate photo.
Thanks, but I've never been a health nut. I eat like a child since I'm so picky and hate most foods. It's not a choice. I just think my taste buds are so much different than the average person.

Meow Wolf absolutely sucked ass. I absolutely hated it. It is a high school art project designed by and for psychedelic drug users. And it is extremely overpriced. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have even paid $20 to get in and it was $187 for two adults and a 10-year old boy.

You could always go rent a RZR at Sand Hollow...
I would have loved to do this. There just wasn't any time.

Same for me but for different reasons. My wife was "raised" by alcoholics and she was terrified that I was a boozer when she finally came to my house for the first time. I had a half finished 6pk of beer ( maybe Shiner Bock) and a bottle of 1800 in the cupboard. When she described with tears in her eyes what she endured as a kid, I hugged her and smiled and proceeded to pour it all down the drain. Haven't had a drop since and that's been just over 11 years ago. I kinda miss an occasional local IPA but I wasn't an alcoholic so it wasn't that hard. And I lost a parent to alcoholism so my wife's story genuinely resonated with me.

Good on you, Jato for looking out for the longevity of your health.
My late girlfriend experienced something similar so I understand. I am a DD for my girlfriend. She likes to have drinks with dinner. I've tasted some of the sour beers she enjoys and I really wish they had those back in my partying days. I absolutely love sour candy and the sour beers are right up my alley. So I'm jealous I can't enjoy those beers with my girlfriend, but oh well.

Another former drinker here. Stopped agreeing with my body and the day long hangovers aren't worth it to me.

Funny part is my wife still has an occasional beer or drink when we go out for dinner. Waiter almost always sets it down in front of me.
I rarely got hangovers. I think I had two in my life. I was good at knowing when to say when with my body. The last time I got drunk, the hangover lasted 2 or 3 days though. That was the only time I have ever been blackout drunk.


Pics of SEMA to follow. I took over 400 photos. We also saw the Mob Museum (awesome), Michael Jackson One by Cirque du Soleil (OK. There wasn't much typical acrobatic Cirque-type stuff. It was more dancing. But the show was stopped for 30 minutes about 30 minutes into the show because one of the performers got yeeted and got injured so we are thinking that affected the rest of the show), Awakening (Very cool theatrical performance that typically isn't my thing, but we all really enjoyed it) and Blue Man Group which was awesome.
 
Oh yeah... the turbulence! Must've slipped my mind lol. But to be fair, I didn't want to mention that. Turbulence can really mess with you.. especially if you're over the wing and you see it shaking... definitely unsettling. I've typically only experienced it when descending through cloud banks or flying through storms. Been a while since I've flown and back "in the day" it didn't bother me although not sure how anxious I'd be these days. I'm happy to stay on the ground tbh.

My wife says that seven miles is approx 16,000 steps in case you're curious of the breakdown. She averages about that per day... sometimes as high as 20,000. She was showing me her step app and for the month of Oct she did 281,000 steps/ 120 miles/ 56 hrs total walking time. To be completely honest, I don't think I've walked 281,000 steps in the past three years! I don't know how she does it. My bones and joints are in pretty ragged shape these days and the damn pain... whether sharp, dull, throbbing, sore, etc... is just a constant reminder of my youthful indiscretions.

Really sorry for the bad experiences that you had on your trip. Hopefully though, you had enough salvageable/ redeeming moments to make it worth it. Really a shame though... the knee injury and having to deal with the idiots at the hotel. The older I get, the fewer great memories I experience ( and the more I have to bite my tongue dealing with dummies)... maybe just one of the more melancholy pitfalls of aging, I dunno.

And on a final note regarding my drinking days, one of the worst recollections was when I wound up sending a flood of puke across a police sergeant's desk... onto his lap. Landed me in a whole lot of trouble. I've been blackout drunk on more occasions than I'd like to admit but into my late 30s I really started to slow down. I was pretty active and the drunken nights and hungover mornings just made doing almost anything suck. Gin and lime, whiskey-sours, and certain beers were my weakness... especially when I was around women that were drinking. Fell in with a good woman ( ex g/f) and that slowed me down into my 30's. By my 40's I was done with all that and drank only on occasion. Then I met my wife and stopped the dripping spigot for good.

Anyway... glad you made it back safely ( although unfortunately not unscathed) and we can't wait to see some pics.
 
Meow Wolf absolutely sucked ass. I absolutely hated it. It is a high school art project designed by and for psychedelic drug users. And it is extremely overpriced. Knowing what I know now, I wouldn't have even paid $20 to get in and it was $187 for two adults and a 10-year old boy.
Whoa. Last time I went it was $40 a person. Yeah I don't blame you for your review. That absolutely sucks, I know they change things up to keep it new and exciting. I'm wondering now how different it is. Yet thanks to your review, I sure as heck won't be paying to see it!

Sorry to hear about the bum knee and ankle. But I totally understand on the elevators and POS Monorail they're brutal and usually over crowded - I avoid the Monorail like it's the plague, Same with the High Roller dealio too.

I'm excited by your comment on the Mob Museum. It's the one thing there I've been looking forward to checking out and never had the time to get to it. Now I have a goal to achieve next time I'm there.

Glad you're back safe (mostly), and I can't wait to see the SEMA pics!
 
Oh yeah... the turbulence! Must've slipped my mind lol. But to be fair, I didn't want to mention that. Turbulence can really mess with you.. especially if you're over the wing and you see it shaking... definitely unsettling. I've typically only experienced it when descending through cloud banks or flying through storms. Been a while since I've flown and back "in the day" it didn't bother me although not sure how anxious I'd be these days. I'm happy to stay on the ground tbh.

My wife says that seven miles is approx 16,000 steps in case you're curious of the breakdown. She averages about that per day... sometimes as high as 20,000. She was showing me her step app and for the month of Oct she did 281,000 steps/ 120 miles/ 56 hrs total walking time. To be completely honest, I don't think I've walked 281,000 steps in the past three years! I don't know how she does it. My bones and joints are in pretty ragged shape these days and the damn pain... whether sharp, dull, throbbing, sore, etc... is just a constant reminder of my youthful indiscretions.

Really sorry for the bad experiences that you had on your trip. Hopefully though, you had enough salvageable/ redeeming moments to make it worth it. Really a shame though... the knee injury and having to deal with the idiots at the hotel. The older I get, the fewer great memories I experience ( and the more I have to bite my tongue dealing with dummies)... maybe just one of the more melancholy pitfalls of aging, I dunno.

And on a final note regarding my drinking days, one of the worst recollections was when I wound up sending a flood of puke across a police sergeant's desk... onto his lap. Landed me in a whole lot of trouble. I've been blackout drunk on more occasions than I'd like to admit but into my late 30s I really started to slow down. I was pretty active and the drunken nights and hungover mornings just made doing almost anything suck. Gin and lime, whiskey-sours, and certain beers were my weakness... especially when I was around women that were drinking. Fell in with a good woman ( ex g/f) and that slowed me down into my 30's. By my 40's I was done with all that and drank only on occasion. Then I met my wife and stopped the dripping spigot for good.

Anyway... glad you made it back safely ( although unfortunately not unscathed) and we can't wait to see some pics.
I was aware of turbulence, but this was the worst I've felt for sure! Not fun for a wuss like me.

No sorry necessary. Overall, I had a good time and SEMA made it all worth it! Vegas isn't a bad city. It's just not ideal for me at my point in life. I don't drink or gamble. I didn't put a single dollar into the machines. Thank you though! (y)

It's crazy how a good woman, a truly good woman that wants to see you flourish and be happy, will change your life. I've been lucky enough to meet more than one. So many men think any controlling bitch with a hole is a "good" woman. I guess some men don't know any different. But I will never understand men that like to be controlled. How can one live with being told what to do by another person?!

Whoa. Last time I went it was $40 a person. Yeah I don't blame you for your review. That absolutely sucks, I know they change things up to keep it new and exciting. I'm wondering now how different it is. Yet thanks to your review, I sure as heck won't be paying to see it!

Sorry to hear about the bum knee and ankle. But I totally understand on the elevators and POS Monorail they're brutal and usually over crowded - I avoid the Monorail like it's the plague, Same with the High Roller dealio too.

I'm excited by your comment on the Mob Museum. It's the one thing there I've been looking forward to checking out and never had the time to get to it. Now I have a goal to achieve next time I'm there.

Glad you're back safe (mostly), and I can't wait to see the SEMA pics!
Thanks for the kind words.

We asked some of the Vegas locals about Meow Wolf and they didn't understand the appeal. I think Meow Wolf keeps its mystique and draw by appearing online as bright and flashy colors and not having a true definition. They must work very hard at this and at getting rid of the bad reviews.

The Mob Museum was awesome. I'm somebody that has always been intrigued with criminals, their minds and their actions so it was right up my alley. My girlfriend loves murder shows as well so we both enjoyed it. There are some really cool artifacts such as an actual gun and the wall from the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre. We didn't have time to go down to the basement, but I definitely recommend this museum!
 
So as I said, I took over 400 photos at SEMA. I will embed some of my favorites here and then link to the album and you guys can flip through at your own pace.

Without further ado...

The 1:1 RC10 gold pan! I was happy to see this at SEMA again this year. Like most RC addicts, I've already seen the photos, but it was cool to see in photos. AE also had some RC10's there including the new green (WTF diarrhea?) edition. I did get a free keychain from AE. That was the best swag I scored. Swag was definitely lacking.












This dude was pulling himself around SEMA with an Axial SCX6.
 
Traxxas was also represented. They had a large booth with a TRX-4M mini crawler course. Again, no swag that I saw. I guess they're too poor :rolleyes: to be able to afford that. Really missed marketing opportunities from the RC companies IMO.

They had the new Mini Maxx and JATO 4x4 which really has my interest despite it being a rehash.









 
Here's my proof I was at SEMA 2024! The tired-looking, ugly fuck in the middle is me, sandwiched by Brian and Hailie Deegan. They were two of the celebrity guests at my girlfriend's employer's booth. I didn't want to take the photo. This shit is awkward for me, but I did it for my cousin who loves Hailie. I just don't get fawning after other humans that I don't actually know and love. Brian is a surprinsgly small dude, but he's done some crazy crap on a dirt bike!




Here's Smoke AKA Tony Stewart who is arguably one of the greatest all-around race car drivers to have ever lived. I was going to get an autograph from him for my mom, but he was wrapping it up as I stumbled upon him. His wife, drag racer Leah Pruett, was walking out as I approached.

 
I didn't want to be the Debbie Downer and tell you how I really feel about Vegas before you went. I hate it and only enjoyed going there for Interbike since I got to see all my bike industry friends and catch up and go party. I have no desire to go there for "vacation" and the one time I was forced to go was with my wife's family who I don't generally enjoy or have much in common with so the Vegas tourist crap was a good distraction from that.

Interestingly, I tend to have really smooth easy flights when on Boeing planes and rough turbulent ones when on Airbus planes. I am sure it is just coincidental and also worries me since Boeing has had so many issues.
 
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