Story and Photos by Rodent {phocagallery view=categories|categoryid=759|imagecategories=0|}

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, how true in this monument to losers from the entire planet, paid to build this zoo. Winners didn’t contribute a dime, they took the money and ran. Like Kenny Rogers sang;
You got to know when to hold ’em,
know when to fold ’em,
Know when to walk away and know
when to run.
You never count your money when
you’re sittin’ at the table.
There’ll be time enough for
when the dealin’s done.
The Rodent gets into the CES (Consumers Electronics Show). Whew! Getting a Secret Service White House Press Pass would have been easier. We were in town for the Bonhams Motorcycle Auction so we decided to hangout and do the CES deal and see if any new toys would be of interest to bikers for use on their person or on their ride.
The show is like a 100 Daytona & Sturgis Main Street Vendor Malls, totally 1.6 million sq. ft. of show floor, equal to the floor space of more than 150 Super WalMarts. Needless to say, it is huge! One realizes how much the little transistor invented in part by a long ago fellow New York motorcycle rider’s father, Dr.William Shockley at Bell Labs, in New Jersey. His son Bill hung out on W4th St. In the West Village and terrorized the streets of Manhattan with us while his father, who had won a Nobel Prize in 1956, became a professor at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California. At that time we had no idea that Bill’s dad had helped substantially change the world.
In looking for products that might be useful, we found one. We found a video camera built into a pair of goggles that were introduced at the CES using mini SD cards up to 32 gigs. You could shoot your entire trip in high-def video though your own eyes as you ride. Called Liquid Image it is due to be released to the public within the month. I was real impressed with these super lightweight video goggles that can be used with or without a helmet. I hope to get a sample pair to do a full test for Daytona. With the thousands of vendors it was almost impossible to track down products.
We have the CES program and directory and it’s probably wise to research on computer and inquire via email. Most of this huge show was stuff that didn’t relate to motorcycles but sure related to the lifestyles we will be living in the very near future. The press preview was like none that I have ever attended. Thousands of media types from the entire world pushing and shoving to get in front and up close to vendors. Crazier than Black Friday at Wallyworld. One redeeming feature was that the jumbo shrimp they served were delicious.
The sheer size of this made it very difficult to cover. And I was over Vegas and it’s crowds, it’s attitude, and as far as I’m concerned “whatever happens in Vegas should definitely stay there.” So I left.
For more information on the CES, or to look into attending next year’s show, visit them at www.cesweb.org.