Last night I went out to dinner with some friends that just got back from Vegas.

Back before pandemic, they went almost every year. But now they say they’re probably never going back.

Every drink they had was watered down. There was no meal they enjoyed, even at the expensive restaurants, because the quality of the food has taken a dive and the portions are much smaller. Slot machines don’t pay out. And there are extra charges, mandatory fees, and additional taxes on absolutely everything.

My friend’s wife said that it was impossible to enjoy their vacation because she spent the entire time counting the outrageous amount of money they were spending on a mediocre vacation.

As somebody who went on work trips to Vegas a few times a year for a decade, this is strange for me to contemplate. People flocked to Vegas to roll like a millionaire on a modest budget. Without that, what’s the appeal? Unless things seriously change soon, I wonder how Las Vegas can survive.

In other news...

Today I had my annual eye exam. The first since my cataract lens replacement. I have 20/15 vision. Which means I'm seeing better than I probably ever have in my life, since my eyesight was less than good even as a kid. Now I want to have another surgery. I'm going to try and trade up to 20/10 with X-ray vision next time.

A shame I need readers, but even there I'm told I only really need 1.25× instead of the 1.5× I've been using.

Such a nice surprise to have good news about my eyes for a change.