Holdings hands ...

Back from Vegas ...

I spent four days in Vegas, and a full 30-something hours of that playing poker. I ran great, played fairly well and ended up booking a decent win for the trip. I miss poker.

I've been out to Vegas about once a year for the last seven or eight years, but this is the first trip I feel like I really noticed how the crappy economy has impacted the city. Sure, the high-end spots are all doing ok but otherwise you can definitely tell the money doesn't come here like it used to.

The run down motel in the top photo is 300 yards away from one of the largest casinos on the strip. But the nighttime skyline is still the Vegas everyone knows.

I want to be back there now. It's a bubble, no bearing on real life — unless it is your real life — and I think that's why I love it. 7 a.m. poker sessions, no need to go outside, sleep when you want, eat when you want. The anonymous whirlwind never stops and you can happily get lost in it.

When I got home, I found a few chips at the bottom of my bag. Guess I need to go back to cash them in.

Some mornings ...

... you just feel like this.

On the other hand, I'm currently loading the new Kindle Fire with video for a long flight to Vegas. And that right there is 100% awesome. It's been almost two years since I've been, and right now that seems impossibly long.

Photo is downtown D.C., at Metro Center one morning a while back.

Korean Tacos, Jamon Serrano @ the Curbside Cookoff ...

I don't typically stand in long lines. Anything over a few minutes and I tend to just come back another time or day.

At the Curbside Cookoff on Saturday, at RFK Stadium, there were dozens of food trucks to sample but one had a ridiculous line that never seemed to get shorter. And unfortunately, my friend swore the wait was worth it. So we did, and of course, it was. We waited for 30 minutes in that line, talking to people about other food trucks — all with such tantalizingly short lines.

The tacos killed it. TaKorean was fantastic, and absolutely worth the wait. Slightly spicy, rich, unexpected.

Also really good was the jamon serrano and manchego flauta from Jose Andres' truck Pepe. It was salty, crunchy, toasted, with a slightly flavor of olive oil cutting through. I was afraid the sandwich would be too much bread, losing all the delicate flavors in a mass of crusty baguette, but instead it was small, manageable, and crisp.

Great event, but I'm not so sure about the location.

I really liked the event. Despite being in a disheveled parking lot at the dilapidated and far-flung RFK Stadium, there was a lot of energy. Some 40 trucks or more, a good crowd, a band on stage doing bizarre covers. DC Roller Girls were out, there were screens to watch the Caps game, someone set up cornhole and the DC Bocce League showed up as well.

It reminded me of the vibe in Portland, where food trucks ring downtown blocks, it feels like everyone eats outside and there's no telling what kind of crazy fusion will appear. It was a good reminder of how much is going on in D.C.

My one complaint is the location, combined with metro track work which made taking public transportation a real challenge. Why not pair this up with the closed off streets around Nats Park? Or the parking lot at New York Ave., downtown? Anything to keep it more centralized, and with far fewer potholes.

If nothing else, maybe design it differently? By taking all the trucks and ringing them around a huge two-section parking lot, the place always seemed empty and dispersed. Maybe setting them up in rows would have made things feel a bit more intimate.

I hope this even keeps growing. If nothing else, I want more tacos.

San Juan at midnight ...

Love the architecture, the streets, the lights. Sometimes I check out CraigsList Puerto Rico and wonder what it would be like to spend more than a few days there.

Family, Food Trucks ...

I always liked this photo. Shot it in Chinatown a ways back, off the hip as they passed by. I love the shadows.

Checking out the food truck festival over at RFK today. Listening to Damian Marley now. Spent yesterday night on H St., before ordering pizza at home. Weekend is off to a good start.

Found Object #9 ...

Nothing to add.