Saturday Links

Las Vegas' mothballed projects, including the Fountainbleau, which we have previously mentioned.

Lots of people have recommended the Cornelius Vanderbilt book, The First Tycoon. NYT review: "Vanderbilt essentially invented the modern corporation through his purchase and consolidation of New York’s major railroads, and brought, Mr. Stiles says, the American professional and managerial middle class into being."

NYT: "In March, local officials inaugurated a new airport in Castellón, a small city on Spain’s Mediterranean coast. They are still waiting for the first scheduled flight. [...] Castellón Airport, built at a cost of 150 million euros ($213 million), is not the only white elephant that now dots Spain’s infrastructure landscape."

Selective laser sintering using Saharan sand as the medium and sunlight from a Fresnel lens in place of laser.

Gary North on the Bernanke press conference: "his remarks did not vary much from the press release issued by the Federal Open Market Committee, which had been meeting for two days. What was significant was this: he felt compelled to hold a press conference, yet he had nothing to say beyond what the FOMC's press release said. Why? I think it was because he wanted to be there in person to calm the members of the press, because the FOMC's words were not cheery." He also references an amusing 1931 short film by Robert Benchley that anticipates Bernanke.

Has anyone used Scrivener software for putting together a book?