11:49am: There was a 5.8 magnitude earthquake in Southern California about 3 minutes ago.

It shook my building fairly well. I was going side to side for about 5-10 seconds.

When I felt it, I immediately posted it in the forums (literally during the shaking), but so far, I am the only one I know in Vegas that felt the shaking.

Update 11:57am: I heard from a few other people who felt it. Very few people on the ground felt it, but those of us on higher floors felt it distinctly. The higher up they were, the more strongly it felt to people here in Las Vegas. That was a fairly good jolt considering it was over 150 miles away.

Large containers of water are the best indicators of vibration, so I just walked outside to look at the pool, and it’s still sloshing around quite a bit.  I think even the imperceptible aftershocks are causing the water to rattle around in the pool a great deal.

I felt some very mild aftershocks after the initial quake, and still feel one here and there.  It is because I am paying attention to them.  Most people probably wouldn’t notice.

They are in the 3-4 magnitude range.

Update 12:10pm: Now it’s all over the major media. It was a fairly major earthquake near LA.

Update 12:37pm: I have gotten some concerned emails. There was very little (if any) damage and I have heard of no injuries here in Vegas, even via the scanner. It was definitely disconcerting to those of us in high floors, but everything is still standing in Vegas, and it is 100% business as usual.

I took these photos of the Vegas Strip at exactly 12:34pm. As you can see, everything is exactly the same (butt ugly).

Somewhere on this planet that Richard Blackwell dude is wretching.

Christina Aguilera may make his worst-dressed list practically every year, but imagine if she worked for the Las Vegas Convention Center.

I don’t know if it is a referendum on the tough economic times, or simply a giant “fuck you” to the workforce … but do you know what uniforms the LVCC gives its security guards when it rains?

Garbage bags!

Oh sure, the garbage bags say “Las Vegas” on them, but it doesn’t disguise the fact that they are, indeed, garbage bags.

I spotted these poor bastards this weekend as they were doing a sweep of the Convention Center parking lot.

Can you imagine being a car thief and seeing these guys coming at you?

You would immediately drop your screwdriver and begin rolling on the ground laughing, so I suppose on some level it works. It certainly does deter crime, just not in the “I’m an authority” way … more like the “Oh shit, two guys dressed in garbage bags spotted me! Let me get a picture of this on my Boost Mobile phone and send it to my baby mamma.”

Seriously, that’s just wrong.

LVCC … get the men some proper rain gear.

You can’t expect people running around screaming “Respect my authoritaaaay!” in freaking garbage bags.

And I thought I had no fashion sense.

P.S. Just so you don’t think I am being a fashion snob, this is a photo of my own attire taken less than 10 minutes ago. This is my “good pair” of jeans, and is what I usually wear throughout the day. I assure you that I am not kidding.

Nothing quite warms the heart of a Las Vegan like looking 10 miles into the distance and seeing a storm obliterate Henderson.

This particular downpour happened to hang over The District for a good half an hour.

For whatever reason, when it rains here … Henderson always seems to get the worst of it. Supposedly, moisture is attracted to douchenuggets.

Personally, I like to sit back and fantasize that it is a mushroom cloud. I pretend that the nuclear rumors about Iran are true, and a meeting is called to decide how best to test the new warheads.

“Henderson!”, shrieks some guy in a turban. “We can strike America, but vaporize an area that they will not actually miss. Rather than risk retaliation, we will be showered with gratitude and praise by the American people. It’s win-win!”.

So the decision is made, and I get to sit back and watch the results.

At least that is how it plays out in my head.

Because of the weather, the planes at McCarran also landed the “wrong way” this weekend … landing from the West instead of their usual Easterly approach.

This actually looks somewhat disconcerting to East Side residents, because we aren’t used to seeing the planes descend toward The Strip. More than a few people do a “Holy shit!” double take as the aircraft passes the Mandalay below roof level.

Once you get used to the fact that they aren’t really going to knock the Mandalay over, it’s actually kind of cool to sit and watch for awhile.

If you ever anticipate landing from the West, I would advise bringing along a pair of binoculars.

You get a great view of the Morea topless pool, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with rubbing one out just before touchdown. As long as you are in the upright position … if you know what I mean.

I am getting ready to head out, and figured I would click on the scanner weather channel before leaving, and happened to catch the tail end of an incident on the police channel.

Cops are being dispatched to the Hilton valet lane.

Apparently, there is a 415 in progress, which is LVMPD code for “assault”.

I don’t know who is doing the assaulting, or who is on the receiving end, but it just seems like a strange place for such behavior.

I can just imagine the car being pulled around and this taking place.

Owner: “Uh, dude, there used to be a stereo in here.”

Attendant: “Stereo? Stereo? I didn’t see no steeeeeeeeeeeenking stereo!”

Or perhaps the attendant really, REALLY was unhappy with his tip?

“Twenty five cents? I spit on your twenty five cents. I sir, challenge you to a duel!”

Also, in the three minutes I have spent typing this, someone else threw a Molotov cocktail at their neighbor (no, I am not kidding at all).

Another has just overdosed on Heroin in an apartment adjacent to The Strip.

You thought I was joking about this town.

And no, it wasn’t me who OD’ed on the smack.

If it was I wud not b abl to tpe this vy wel

It has been an incredibly busy weekend. I have been here, there, and everywhere around Vegas.

The weekend was schizophrenic. It started out cloudy and drizzly, and ended up hot and sunny (with some humidity here and there). I even managed to get some pool time in.

I got some cool pictures of Henderson getting dumped on again 10 miles in the distance, and that alone made the whole weekend worthwhile.

Anyway, I am wrapping some thing up, so for the moment, take the one minute of Vegas zen that I present to you above.

This short walk to Bally’s was fairly representative of The Strip crowd as a whole, which is why I chose the clip.

I’ll just let the video speak for itself.

Are there more people? Are there less people?

I’m losing count.

You decide.