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One sincerely hopes that the adage ‘what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’, is true.

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Having only come to Las Vegs for conventions, most notably CES, I readily admit to having a bias against the place. A study in excess of every sort, it runs contrary to much of what I believe in about design, sustainability, and doing more with less. Culled from the city where more is never quite enough is a series of images which are quite demonstrative of this phenomenon – anyone care to guess exactly how many plastic bottles it took to create a 70sqft poster of this guy?

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A recent trip for business saw our team of four headed into rental car territory. And it seemed perfectly reasonable to this author, and to at least one colleague, that we rent the charming little little go-kart that is the FIAT 500. There it stood, resplendent in white, low mileage, surrounded by regular rental chaff. To the author (also the driver), the choice seemed reasonable – there was ample space in the front, and back seats are an added extra anyway. Saner minds prevailed, and a few protestations later, we streamed out of the Enterprise location at the Portland, Oregon airport in this land yacht. It may not be much of a drive, but it has presence.

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The author at the wheel in Portland, Oregon. Picture by Matt ‘Unstoppable’ Alverson.

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Proper hand pulled espresso at the airport, including one called the Black Tiger, friendly TSA personnel and live music in the security area, good roads and lovely weather, seemingly omnipresent farm-to-table dining at perfectly accessible prices, hills, trees and big skies – the Portland, Oregon, experience has been delightful and one of the best short visits in recent history.

There’s serious industry here, and support systems for business, hand in hand with a really easy vibe. This has been the first visit, and I hope more will follow.