Tuples and Attributes

For those of you wondering about why this blog is called what it is, here’s a definition from Techopedia: “In the context of relational databases, a tuple is one record (one row). The information in a database can be thought of as a spreadsheet, with columns (known as fields or attributes) representing different categories of information, and tuples (rows) representing all the information from each field associated with a single record.”

I was teaching database theory many years ago and had just rescued a dog from the shelter. I was trying out various names for her: Chip, Byte, etc. and thought that “Tuple” would roll off the tongue nicely and was almost guaranteed to be unique. Tuple was with me from 6 months old to 17 years old.

When it came to choosing a name for this blog, I thought back to Tuple and figured “tupleandattributes” was likely to be free for a domain name. And so it was!

Here’s Tuple:

Amazing how pets take over your heart. Tuple’s been gone for seven years now and yet I’ve started crying as I type this.

Her ashes are in a box with my dad’s and he would have approved; he, too, loved her with all his heart. As my dad was weakening, I would take Tuple with me over to the nursing home and she would put her paws up on his bed so he could pet her.

On the day before he died, I left her home as I knew he was very weak and fading in and out. The very last words my dad spoke to me when I walked in were “Where’s Tuple?” And I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Lake Las Vegas is right on the border of Lake Mead National Recreation Area. As such, we have a lot of critters around here. The south shore of the lake has a herd of big horn sheep (although I have yet to see one) and there are quail and rabbits and coyotes everywhere.

Sunday while my friend and I were taking our early morning walk with Brindy in tow, I turned to find a large coyote about 15 feet in back of us. We have talked to someone who was stalked by several coyotes and ended up having to call security after she took refuge on the porch of an empty building.

We crossed the street, but he crossed with us. I turned around and yelled out him and he walked off a ways, but as soon as we turned to walk on, he was back. Brindy didn’t seem to notice, thankfully, and we continued down the street alternating sides and yelling.

Finally, one of the security patrols came by and we flagged them down. Nothing they can do, but I figured, correctly, that the coyote would not want to come closer with the car there. Security stayed while we walked on and got back to the more populated part of the area.

Would love to have taken a picture, but thought keeping the dog in hand was just a bit more important.

After we got home, Brindy decided to try out a new position on the chair.

Yesterday we had our first rain in months. Loved it! Also at least six inches of snow in the nearby mountains. I like that our seasons here are a bit more defined than they were down in the low desert.

Friday night a few of us went on a “foodie” tour in downtown Las Vegas. The Downtown area has changed a lot since I last spent any time there more than ten years ago. The tour was great fun and we learned some interesting history, but the focus, of course, was the food.

First up was Carson Kitchen. Here’s their blurb: “Opening in 2014, Carson Kitchen was the creation of Las Vegas’ hometown favorite chef Kerry Simon and chef/restaurateur Cory Harwell. The plan, to develop the first urban casual eatery inside the repurposed mid-century John E. Carson Hotel—a skeleton of Downtown Las Vegas’ yesteryears and now home to an eclectic mix of tenants including a sushi bar, tattoo parlor, pilates studio, creative agencies, donut & coffee bar and Carson Kitchen’s playful interpretations of American comfort food.”

Here’s our menu and the dishes:

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I loved the deviled eggs, but most surprising to me was that I took a 2nd helping of the beets; I didn’t even think I liked beets!

After a little walking around, it was on to Therapy: I would have happily made a meal of just the Devils on Horseback and, especially, the In the Gnudi.

Next up, Inspire, “a multi-venue complex situated in the center of downtown Las Vegas at Las Vegas Boulevard and Fremont Street. With the emphasis on nightlife, dynamic programming, entertainment, and unique guest experiences, Inspire has much to offer including; convention/conference space, multiple cocktail bars, outdoor patio areas, a 150-seat theater, and roof-top bar.”

At 6 in the evening, not much was happening, which was a good thing as we got to poke around in nooks and crannies and had the rooftop bar all to ourselves. I can’t speak to their drink offerings, as I was the designated driver for the night, but they looked interesting.

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From there, it was on to the Container Park; I’m definitely going back there to do some more exploring.

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Last stop for the evening was 7th & Carson. The bread was fabulous, but the chocolate brownie was about the best I’ve ever tasted.

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We had a great night. The same company offers tours on the Strip; think I’ll do one for my birthday.

I’ve just read the second opinion piece in a week about how we need to fix Mexico’s drug cartel problem. This latest screed suggests it would be perfectly ok for us to send in strike teams to take the cartels out. I have another idea:

How about we Americans stop using illegal drugs.

Thinking about the women and children killed last week in Mexico, my first reaction was not to blame Mexico; it was to blame an American society that has winked at drug use at parties; an American culture that makes using drugs a fixture in everything from movies to music.

Do people really think that we could send in troops to take out the drug lords and that all the violence would somehow disappear? The only thing that will stop the violence is to stop the flow of drugs and the only real way to do that is to dry up the market by either making them legal or stopping their use.

How would we Americans feel if Mexico sent strike teams into the U.S. to stop the illegal smuggling of weapons and bullets? Because, in case you don’t know, the guns and bullets used in Mexico are almost entirely U.S. made and smuggled over the border into Mexico.

Every time we condone drug use or turn a blind eye, we are the problem.

Every time we support a celebrity who normalizes drug use, we are the problem.

Every time we buy illegal marijuana because it’s cheaper than the legal stuff, we are the problem.

Stop the violence in Mexico? We have the solution and it’s not sending in troops.

Sunset last night from porch; sunrise down at the lake this morning.

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We spread mom’s birthday celebration over many days; that way she got to enjoy a lot of her favorites. Here she is at her last ‘official’ birthday dinner.

Here’s one of the most surprising things about the Las Vegas area: there is not a single upscale grocery store here! Given that this area has many times the population (3,000,000 compared to 300,000, this seems very strange to me.

Within 5 miles of my previous home in Palm Desert, we had Jensens, Bristol Farms, and Gelsons. None of those stores are here. The best we’ve found so far is a decent Smiths, which is part of the Kroger family. We do have Trader Joes and Whole Foods but they don’t match something like a Bristol Farms.

I first realized this when I went looking for a prime pre-marinated tri-tip roast; a staple from Jensens or Gelsons. Not to be found here. Ended up with one from Costco that was just ok.

Thought I might have better luck with prime flat iron steaks. Hah! Whole Foods didn’t have any and told me those steaks were no good anyway. I got much the same reaction at Costco. Fortunately, I have found an actual butcher shop that cuts them up once a week and whose proprietor agrees that flat iron steaks are just about the best thing you can grill.

I have no idea where I’m going to get really fine fresh fish. How can a town so known for its fine eating establishments have no place to buy fine food?

Here’s what my building looks like. Mom and I are in the 2nd floor unit. One unit to each floor, so only three per building. I like the 2nd floor best of the three: it’s bigger than the 1st floor and the balconies are covered rather than being open to the sun like the 3rd floor.

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