Show The Herald Journal Logan Utah Monday March 29 2004 — A9 'Umar prime ireall Man truly believes moon will GARDNERVILLE Nev (AP — On US Highway 395 which cuts straight through this little town Dennis Hope sells undeveloped land for the bargain price of $1999 an acre There are spacious lots near grand locales: The Sea of Tranquility The Sea of Serenity Not a neighbor in sight all the way to the horizon Granted there is no air and no water The daytime high: 225 degrees The nighttime low: minus-24- 5 degrees Behold the moon Hope’s real estate boon Millions have already purchased prime parcels They have nicely framed certificates to prove it The moon seller is a former actor ventriloquist purveyor of e mobile homes and deli counter worker By his estimate he sampled 96 occupa-lion- s before opening his company Lunar Embassy It is the biggest success of his many careers By lightning turns he is blunt verbose defensive and' testy When he first started doing this 23 years ago his tongue was firmly planted in Life soon be colonized his cheek Now lie says he truly believes the moon will soon be colonized by Earthlings opportunity" He sits in the office of Lunar Embassy where plaques and maps herald his company’s right to homestead outer space — and where all of the above are available for purchase His back is ramrod straight his elbows planted his fingers drumming the walnut veneer of a conference table He looks as if Explaining what he does constitutes a monumental waste of his time “I’m no different than any other business person in the world” he says “The only is the product that I sell doesn’t exist here” That’s a rather large differ-encc “I don’t see it as a huge difference” he says his voice turning to iron And therein lies his sales pitch r ' Hope’s transformation from cynic to convert might be the logical outcome of inordinate hours spent iii the company of space junkies Star Trek disciples and entrepreneurs determined to travel outer space in privately built vehicles rts The smart ones he says will arrive clutching deeds issued by his company “I believe with every particle of my being that I’m selling property that belongs to me’’ ' he says “We believe what we’re doing is real” Lunar Embassy licensed by the state of Nevada boasts 25 million property owners in 80 countries More than 1300 corporations have purchased plots including Safeway supermarkets in Great Britain which resold 20000 lots togrocery shoppers Lest the entire enterprise seem all harmless fun consider the impoverished country of Romania where the average mdnthly salary is $100 Some Romanians are willing to spend half that amount for the promise of living on the moon “I don’t consider myself to ' be a scam artist” Hope says “I don’t consider myself to be anything other than a businessperson that has found an one-tim- esttafte dif-feren- ce NOW span of a bill A V A I SOURCES: NASA: US Geological Survey L ABLE IN LOG AN Paper currency goes through rigorous testing when it comes off the presses to see haw the bills hold up over time Each denomination has been found to age at a varying approximate rate $i - $5 VC 22 months £ $io :iifi 16 is ‘ 20 '' as® 24 IttiSSJI 60 $100 BifaiDSSZw 192 $50 AP SOURCE: Bureau of Engraving and Printing Continued from A1 - ' crumple test Gupta said “It is more serious because pep- pic will take a note and fold it and stick it into their pocket’’ he said “That is a much more likely scenario in actual use” In that test physicist Virgil Huber cuts a fresh $20 bill into three pieces so it will fit ' into a special metal contrap- tion' He rolls one slice like a cigarette and inserts it into the device which squashes if into a pellet Each crinkly wad is then carefully unfolded and examined A bill is tested seven days to ' 10 days after it rolls off the : printing press to provide suffi- - QWESTXHOICEi WIRELESS CROSS COUNTRY ©©GulaME) phone plus JREE Jongtdistanceat home 3 cient time to make sure “the ink is cured” said Valentino DeVito who also holds a doc- torate in chemistry and is' manager of technical services If ink flakes off the bill can look worn In general the bills hold ujp well because “we ' ' have very excellent ink these days’ DeVito sard The same tests are run regardless of the bill’s denom- i nation Only one type of test y is J applied to a selected bill the same note never goes ' throughlhe entire battery of tests No one knows when' the torture Callanywhereinthe country on the nationwide wireless network v ' Caller ID73-Wa- y Calling wireless One simple bill for If s-- Voice Mail and Call Waiting both home and wireless you already have wireless you can keep yourcurrent number testsnowused first frstaiX 'f (n the laundry test the 25 hills eight terry y ' towels and standard laundry y tossed into lop--''are detergent load washing machine The ’ mix of bills and towels slosh y and spin through a regular - v ' V' wash cycle in about 14 gallons df hot water v’V The water temperature is i about 142 degrees Fahrenheit : plus or minus 4 degrees When 7 the notes comb put of the r washing machine they are air i dried and then Examined'': iv " The ink on the front of the vJtiil is more likely than the ink on the back to take a hit from y the laundry test DeVito said '7 The portrait areas on the front’ of bills such as the face of Abraham Lincoln on the $5 or George Washington on the $1 — have the heaviest ink and Jean be more susceptible to ink flaking and visible damage DeVito said i all-cott- on - '' “ - CallJoTsign"upJodayJ:877453l9406lorIvisit qwestcomwireless L 0 CA-Liiv- 0 N G 7 0IS T A N C"E' W I 'R D' ' ElE iS V vjD I G I T A'LTV Puces do $35 activation feegnd minimum Crew Cowilnr JtaK Requires ere approval conouwe handsel agreement with $200 Qweat Chafe and nunibisr pcbkngportabity fee of $1 :25) and nther fees that vary hy market These plaris require leeaaf S1:7&porhanilset(E91t ' and handting charges taxes surcharges monWytosl-rKwei- y not metude-srappincalls are included provided calls are made or the network tn Home Coverage-Are- a handsel to accommodate automatic software upgrade! 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