by
Chuck and Terry Mencke

With each and every issue, I'll be pointing you to neat and interesting sites that can be found on the Internet and the World Wide Web. What's neat is that when I tell you about a site, I'll also be providing a link to that site. After reading about the site, if you want to visit it, all you'll have to do is click on the highlighted text and you'll be on your way! It's that simple. You won't have to get out the ole pencil and paper and write down the URL (Uniform Resourse Locator).

Of course one of the main focuses of this column will be helping you and me discover all of the new features of Startext.NET. You probably thought that the old StarText had more information than you could ever use. Well, just wait until you start getting into the new StarText! The new Startext is massive and will have more and more features added as time goes on. Starting with the next issue, we'll have a section devoted only to Startext.Net and reader input.

The main purpose of the trip was to see her sister graduate from CAD (Computer Aided Design) school. She graduated with perfect attendance and academic honors. It was wonderful getting to see Betsy, Terry's sister, and her husband, Hank. The girls really needed some time together. The first night Terry and I arrived, we took in a true Las Vegas show, complete with all of the flashy costumes and honest-to-goodness Las Vegas showgirls. We had a great time. We were amazed at all of the lights and the glitter. Even McDonalds and Motel 6 get into the act of all of the glitz and glitter. The golden arches have all of the chasing lights just like the casinos.

Friday morning Betsy and Hank came and picked us up for breakfast. Food in Las Vegas is cheap and abundant. Everywhere you turn there is another buffet. Buffet prices average $2.49 for breakfast, $3.95 for lunch and a whopping $5.49 for dinner. Of course the folks out there don't want you spending your money on food; they want to take it from you in other ways.

There were three or four really high points of the trip. First and foremost was getting the two girls together after not seeing each other for around a year and a half. Next was our trip out to the Hoover Dam. It was breath-taking, an engineering miracle! A project of that magnitude probably couldn't be pulled off today as efficiently as it was back in the 30's. There just doesn't seem to be the pride of workmanship today as there was back then. The dam was actually finished under budget and ahead of schedule and is totally debt free. Today there would be just too much government red tape.

On Friday evening after Betsy's graduation, we took in the Freemont Street Experience. It is hard to describe, but all we can say is that it works. Freemont Street was in the old downtown part of Las Vegas and was pretty run down. The casinos downtown were getting hammered by all of the new properties out on the strip and they had to figure out a way to draw people back to the downtown area. They all banded together and put a dome over a 3 to 4 block area where a multimedia event is shown each and every evening. They have installed an incredible sound system. Beginning at 7:00pm every evening, all of the casino lights go dark and the show begins. It is a must if you ever make it to Vegas.

Another highlight of the trip was the Liberace museum. There are several entertainers that come to mind when someone mentions Las Vegas. Liberace is one of them. He was quite an entertainer. At the time, he was the highest paid Las Vegas entertainer in history. He needed to be, since we found out that some of the costumes he wore cost in the $500,000 - $750,000 range to make. Many of them were on display along with some of his famous jewelry, most of which was given to him by the different families, such as the Hilton's, who owned the big hotels.

We also got to see a wonderful automobile museum that is located in the Imperial Palace. They have over 750 cars in their collection, of which they keep 250 on display. They had cars that once belonged to many different presidents, Elvis, James Cagney, Howard Hughes and even Marylin Monroe. It was all very interesting and educational to boot.

Our last evening after visiting the automobile museum, we started casino hopping on the strip and had dinner at the Oz Buffet (yes another buffet) at the MGM Grand hotel. Wow! What a property. A billon dollar hotel, 5200 rooms, and close to 2000 employees. We also visited the Luxor, the one shaped like a pyramid that you always see pictured with the Spinix in front of it; and the Excalibur, the one that looks like a castle from which Merlin could emerge at any minute.

Terry and I both made it back in one piece with money in our pockets. Getting away is fun, but coming back home is the best! Enough rambling' about the trip and us, let's talk about Net stuff.

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I plan on subscribing. It's free and you might just learn something that will help you in the future.

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