So, how was Albuquerque? It was a unique community that I have never seen in my travels before. Most of the cities that I visit push strongly on design, fashion, and beauty. I felt that Albuquerque, NM relied more on their cultural heritage. It was really cool to see it!

Most of my time was spent resting and bowling, but there was a little time that I got to see other parts of the area. By the convention center was Central Ave. I only walked down a few blocks of it, but it looked like it had a lot of great places to visit. On this street was a pizzeria that I felt had a great atmosphere, and was just a lot of fun to hang out at! Further down the street were a few bars that I would have loved to have seen at night, but there was not time for that.

The local cuisine was a lot different than I am used to. I found it odd to have a burrito, and have everything but the meat on the outside of the tortilla...even the sauce! I asked one place to make it the way I am used to (everything inside), and it was one of the best burritos I have ever had.

I made sure to visit the casinos in the area. Is a vacation really a vacation without a little gambling? Their slot machines do not pay out very well (80%), so I spent more time with video poker and the tables. My favorite casino was by far the Route 66 Casino. It was a little more modern, had a great theme throughout the casino, and was just a great place.

Other than the bowling and gambling, Albuquerque was a very inexpensive place to visit. If other bowling tournaments come to the area again, I will make the trip...but next time I will make sure to voyage out a little more and also make sure to visit Nob Hill!

Today's map image: Albuquerque, NM

I feel that this section of a day blog has been neglected recently. The maps are fun to look at, but I have found they are getting harder to find and write about!

I saw on Flickr someone posted a map image that included the Vitruvian Man in it! It was cut out of a field in Germany. I have to say this one of the coolest things I have seen so far on Google Maps!

Today's map image: Vitruvian Man

I have never been very good at astrology. I remember a lot of evenings while we were camping that I would stare out in the sky and have to ask everyone to point things out to me. Most of the time I would just say "Oh, I see that" or some other phrase to make me sound not so dumb. Sadly, the truth is even with them pointing to constellations, I still had no clue what I was looking at!

I might get a little better at looking for things in the sky after I use Sky Maps in the Google Earth Application! Google has now added all of the stars and the sky to their application so people can explore all of the galaxies and worlds outside of ours. I have a feeling I will be using this application at nights while sitting outside trying to match things between the sky above me and my computer...this will be fun!

Today's website: Google Sky

When most people think of Nascar racing, they think of a big oval that the cars go around multiple times. Sure, most of the races are on tracks like this, but over the weekend was not! Yesterday, Nascar started their engines on the Watkins Glen International track. The track is a road course, and because of its shape has a lot of unique turns that the racers have to maneuver through. These turns cause a bunch of spin outs through the race including one at the end that cost Jeff Gordon the win. On the second last lap of the race, Gordon came into the first turn too quick and saw his win vanish as he did a 360. Tony Stewart ended up taking the lead from Gordon's mistake and held onto for his win! Another exciting part of the race was when Harvick and Montoya crashed into each other. When they had their cars under control, they got out and exchanged a few words and a few pushes. I know that this is not a normal action on the track, but I found it enjoyable. It was a great racing weekend at Watkins Glen, and maybe next time Nascar is there, I will take a ride and watch it live.

Google map image:

It was really nice to wake up yesterday and waste the morning away watching tennis! Wimbledon is in full session right now, and that means some great matches. With us getting closer to having a champion for the 2007 season, the matches now playing are great! I watched 2 matches yesterday. The first match was more lop-sided than I had wished for when Venus Williams beat out Maria Sharapova in 2 straight sets. The next match was very close between Justine Henin and Serena Williams. Even though Serena said she was only about 50% healthy to play, she played a great match that took 3 sets. Henin got the win, but it showed how strong the Williams sisters are on grass! I was hoping to watch a little bit of men's singles, but all of the rain delays have really messed up the schedule.

I personally think that Wimbledon is the best tennis tournament of the year. I love the grass courts, the fans, and especially the class that everyone has when they step into the surrounding areas of Wimbledon! The tournament is held every year at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in London. Some day I know I will be taking a trip to watch a few days of the Wimbledon Tennis Tournament!

Google map image: Wimbledon

Paris Hilton was released today from jail for her 23-day sentencing. She was placed into the Century Regional Detention Facility because of a second violation of driving without a license and a reckless driving charge. These past 23 days, Paris has been the hottest celebrity news. They have talked about her being allowed to go home after just 3 days, getting celebrity treatment, allowed to be kept away from the other inmates, etc. I really just have one question. Will this experience really change her? It could be a start, but I think it will take more. It will be interesting to see how this pans out...

Google map image: Century Regional Detention Facility

One thing that I was worried about with the new Google Maps - Street View was that pictures of people doing "incorrect" things would be found on these images. Website have already been popping up all over the place with images like this. To be honest, I love them! They are a great waste of time, and most of them bring me a good laugh. A friend of mine sent me an image of one of these, and I realized they would be great to show on the Map section of aDayBlog!

Last time I checked, peeing in public is not a legal activity. Well, the guy in today's map image was caught by the google picture van on Cabrillo Highway in the San Francisco area. I wonder if he just had to go, or if he hated that the speed sign on this highway was only 45 miles per hour...

Google map image: Street View - Public Peeing

There are a few companies that people should get excited about when they hear something new is going to be released. This small group of companies really try to push technology to be at its best, and you know that when something new comes out it is going to be really an awesome idea or something that was done to perfection.

The newest release that is dropping most people's jaws is the Street View that was added to Google Maps. There are currently 5 places in the US that you can go right down to the street and view images that make you feel like you are there in person. The 5 areas shown right now are San Francisco, Las Vegas, Denver, Miami, and New York City. I wasted a lot of time yesterday virtual walking around 5th Avenue in New York City and also walking around the Las Vegas Strip (The map image that I have this post linked to is of New York New York on the Last Vegas Strip). Two cities on different sides of the country, and no jet lag!

When you get into the street view, there are a few nice features. First, you can zoom in on anything you see. Use the zoom bar on the top left of the image to do this. Second, you can move forward/backward on the street by clicking on the arrows that are shown right over the street. Last, if you click on the image and swivel the mouse, you can rotate to see different angles of the street. Using these 3 features really show off the streets in great detail and give you an experience of being right there and sight seeing!

Even though there are just a few cities to see right now, I can see this growing in popularity very quickly, and a ton of uses for it. We will be seeing this on many other websites in the near future!

View Google's Newest Map Feature: Street View

A couple weeks ago, I was searching around Google to see if anything has come out under my radar. I found a page in the Business section that allows you to submit your business address (Local Business Center). I thought this would be another good addition for the publicity of my company. It could help people find my location, get directions easier, and maybe even help someone find out about my company for the first time! I filled out the information needed and was told to wait for a postcard in the mail to confirm that it was my address.

A few days later I received a postcard from Google with an access code on it. I entered the code on their website and my company was added to Google Maps! I guess the coolest part about this was having my company added, but my favorite part has to be getting a postcard in the mail from Google! Anyways...make sure to check out my company, Nalod Associates, LLC on Google Maps!

Google map image: Nalod Associates, LLC

The vacation is finally over! I have to get back to the "grindstone" and get some work done for my clients. Before I start doing that, I figured I would talk a little about my trip to Reno, NV. The main purpose for the trip was to bowl in the USBC 2007 Championships. The tournament consists of a team event (5 people per team), doubles and singles. Almost everyone that goes bowls in all events, and then qualify for the all-events category (where they take all your scores from the 3 events). All of these are held in the National Bowling Stadium found in downtown Reno. I did not do so well. I know I have not been bowling as well as I used to since I came back (I took 2 years off to try to enjoy the game again), but this tournament really showed how rusty I am. I shot decent in doubles (620), but nothing in the other 2 events. The other side tournaments around town were just as bad for me!

But what about the rest of the time? I spent most of the time that I was not bowling hanging out with friends that came to the tournament (most also bowled, but there were a few that just came for the vacation) and gambled. We stayed at the Atlantis that is located a little bit out of the city. I am really happy for this since the city casinos scared me! We went to a casino that was right down the street from the stadium (I think it was called Cal Neva), and I was afraid I was going to get mugged inside the casino! I highly suggest that if you visit Reno, try to stay at a casino with a great reputation...may I suggest the Peppermill?

After visiting Reno, Las Vegas, and Atlantic City, I would only recommend someone to go to Las Vegas if they are going on a Casino-based vacation. Sure the others suffice for gambling and trying to win some money, but the atmosphere is something Reno and Atlantic City cannot compete with.

Google map image: National Bowling Stadium