Live from Las Vegas

Note: I had to post this after I returned from my trip due to the lame cable modem in my hotel room. Who knew I'd need my LAN card? I'm so used to Wi-Fi!
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I'm writing live from the Luxor hotel on the Vegas strip. The hotel is not only shaped like an Egyptian pyramid, it is a bit larger than the Great Pyramid at Giza. Visitors are greeted by a Sphinx that is larger than the real one, and pass beneath it to enter the opulence of the hotel. The rooms are accessed through inclinators which travel sideways along the outside corners of the pyramid.
Already I've seen the replica of the Tomb of Tutankhamen, created by an Egyptologist who leads a center for recreation of traditional methods of crafts and art in Egypt. The exhibit is correct to every detail. (Believe me, I had a fixation on Howard Carter's discovery of the tomb when I was in elementary school.) I enjoyed seeing the recreation of the conopic jars where the internal organs of the late king were stored after he was prepared for burial, and the replicas of his bed and favorite chair.
I spent several hours at the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton. Words do not do it justice. I mingled with a Ferengi, a Vulcan and a Klingon at Quark's bar. The Klingon stole my Klingon Blood Draft beer and challenged me to fight him for it. He conceded and gave it back only since I was unarmed.
The first night I was here Fear Factory was playing next door to our hotel at the House of Blues. Talk about cruel irony. I've been up since 4:30 AM, and I don't have the stamina for five hours in a death metal mosh pit. (There were several opening bands, including Decapitated.) I took solace in the fact that I've moshed to Fear Factory before. I watched the groups of headbangers filing into the House of Blues from the chi-chi wine bar overlooking the House of Blues. I got a chance to see the L.V.P.D. in action, as Las Vegas police kept an eye on the crowd and scanned the occasional troublemaker with a metal detector. That was pretty exciting just in itself. I've seen the L.V.P.D. on COPS so many times, watching them handle terrible situations with calm and compassion, that I have a real respect for the work that they do.
This has been a wonderful vacation. I didn't drop a dime in the slots, but I bought a snazzy new watch and a totally unessecary pair of fur lined slip-ons, which is nearly as wasteful. I hope the slip-ons will keep me warm as I head back to frigid Minnesota, and remind me of the balmy nights in Vegas.