In This Issue - Society for the History of Technology

SHOT Newsletter 3
July 2006
Before you run off to make plans, though, let me note
two important SHOT society matters. In this
newsletter, you’ll also find the ballot and other
material for our annual SHOT elections – many
thanks to all our candidates, plus our Nominating
Committee members and especially chair Mats
Fridlund. If you prefer electronic to paper, you can
vote online through the SHOT website. Finally, also
in this newsletter, you’ll find a proposed
Constitutional amendment to be discussed at the
SHOT business meeting (open to all members),
designed to improve and extend SHOT’s international
outreach programs. See you in Vegas!
Amy Sue Bix
Iowa State University
The SHOT web site has moved to a new location in
cyberspace, http://www.historyoftechnology.org,
where you can also find exciting new "eTC" features
and electronic versions of some recent T&C material.
Please update your links and bookmarks, and check
the new address regularly for the latest on the annual
meeting and other information.
WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS
A Quick Guide to Las Vegas
SHOT's Annual Meeting will be held at the Imperial
Palace, a smaller hotel/casino located in the center of
the Strip. The IP is bounded by Harrah's to the north,
the Flamingo to the south, and Caesar's Palace across
the street. The Paris, Bally's Las Vegas, Bellagio,
Venetian, Mirage, and Treasure Island (TI) are all
nearby as well, within a ten to fifteen minute walk.
The new Las Vegas Monorail's Imperial
Palace/Harrah's station provides a convenient way to
access the more distant reaches of the Strip.
Locals live and play in the rest of the city, which
sprawls out in all directions from the tourist-based
alternate universe of the Strip. That's not to say that
the Strip is bad – far from it. The finest restaurants in
Las Vegas (and, in some cases, in the world) are
located on the Strip, as are world-class entertainment
venues, top-notch shopping, hip nightclubs, fun
amusement rides, and limitless opportunities for
observing the human condition. The high-end stores
in the Bellagio and the Forum Shops at Caesars are
truly remarkable, as are their customers. Thrill rides
(think “amusement park,” not “craps table”) at New
York-New York, the Sahara, and the Stratosphere are
worth the time of any adrenaline junkie. The Eiffel
Tower and the Stratosphere both provide expansive
views of the Strip, and the Bellagio fountains are not
to be missed. The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art and
the Guggenheim-Hermitage Museum at the Venetian
both bring traditional fine art to the Strip, and the
newly opened Wynn Las Vegas is loaded with fine
art as well. Don’t miss the motorcycles on display at
the Harley-Davidson Cafe, the memorial to the
victims of 9/11 near the Statue of Liberty outside the
New York-New York, Madame Tussaud's Wax
Museum at the Venetian, the headless statue of V.I.
Lenin outside the Red Square vodka bar in the
Mandalay Bay, and “The Drive” -- a new attraction
behind the Sahara where you get to drive new GM
vehicles at high speed over a performance test track.
There are plenty of attractions located off the Strip as
well. Foremost among them is the Fremont Street
Experience, a high-resolution canopy, billed as the
largest TV screen in the world that stretches for five
blocks over a pedestrian mall linking the downtown
casinos. The screen plays a video light show hourly,
and is free. The downtown casinos tend to attract a
different crowd than the Strip resorts, and have an
older, homier feel to them. The Hard Rock Hotel,
located off the Strip near the airport, has become a
Las Vegas icon; across the street is the Hofbrau
House, the only location of this venerable beer hall
outside of Munich. The University of Nevada, Las
Vegas is located in that area as well. Las Vegas has
several small museums in addition to those on the
Strip, accessible if you have a rental car. For desert
lovers, the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation
Area offers hiking, biking, or drive-by viewing of a
spectacularly colorful geological area, only a short
drive from Las Vegas, and the Lake Mead National
Recreation Area, formed by Hoover Dam, is a
popular outdoor area as well. If you have an extra
day and a rental car, consider making the six hour
drive to Ely, Nevada, to see the Nevada Northern
Railway, which is an extraordinarily well-preserved
steam railroad, with original buildings, rolling stock,
locomotives, and archival records. Check their
website for information about train schedules and
locomotive rentals. The tourism infrastructure of Las
Vegas is enormous. In 2005, 38.5 million visitors