February 4, 1996 Subscribers: 2 Volume 2, No. 4

BRRRRRRR: We're not down to 60 below . . . but it sure is cold out there! . . . after our little dusting of snow . . . just 8" . . . almost nothing compared to the blizzard we had a couple of weeks ago . . . it's so cold my nose hairs froze when I ran out to get the paper this mornin' . . . guess I won't be doin' that again . . . I don't see how the norhtern plains states stand it . . . why do people live there? . . . there seems to be a large amount of banking facilities there . . . like where they process credit cards . . . big operations centers . . . is it because the people there are so desparate for a warm place to stay? . . . they'll work inside all the time . . . except for the one day of summer . . . they all take their vacation on that one day . . . nasty stuff!

SKATING: Went ice skating last week . . . no . . . not on my street . . . actually went to a rink . . . second time in my life . . . thought I was a star . . . I'd been watching the Nationals on TV . . . had the urge to do a triple lutz . . . ended up doin' the double klutz . . . I could get goin' OK in the forward mode . . . then some little smart-alecky kid would dart in front of me . . . make me flinch . . . good thing I have additional padding on my front . . . we went 'round and 'round . . . for two hours . . . my feet didn't blister . . . but the back of my ankle where the skate hit . . . looks like someone stuck a curling iron on my leg . . . took me 3 days to get where I could actually walk halfway normal . . . the muscles on the inside of my thighs hurt so bad I had to lift my legs out of the car seat to get out . . . went through a lot of Ibuprofen . . . I think I'm ready to do it again!

GEEZERS ON THE 'NET: Now I'm allowed to say that . . . I'm almost a geezer myself . . . some major computer manufacturer (unnamed - in case they don't like what I say) . . . has put together a package aimed at the AARP community . . . a box of hardware . . . pull it out . . . plug it in . . . log on . . . send e-mail to the grandkids! . . . neat idea . . . I hope it works . . . I was thinkin' how much easier it'd be if everyone had e-mail . . . I don't know why . . . but I find it a lot easier to jot a note in e-mail . . . press the send button . . . rather than print it . . . find an envelope . . . a stamp . . . walk down to the mail box . . . here's my vote for makin' this work.

NORDIC TRACK: Sold my soul . . . to the Nordic Track salesman . . . we've got one . . . oh my gawd . . . what a torture machine! . . . they shoulda had these in the Middle Ages . . . along with the rack . . . the Iron Maiden . . . what's worse . . . we've even got a Dungeon Master . . . she's known as the Nordic Track Police . . . monitors the useage of us all . . . gets nasty if we haven't "done our time" . . . sheesh . . . it makes 30 minute shows seem like an eternity . . . I didn't realize how aggravating "Grace" can be! . . . her scenes are extra long when you're tryin' to get through the 30 minute walk! . . . I've tried the news . . . it's a little better . . . tried listening to hard rock . . . makes 'em even longer . . . tried self-hypnosis . . . but I kept slidin' off the back of the track . . . I am starting to feel a little difference though . . . maybe some day I'll be fit!

"Don't ever admit you're wrong - no matter how obvious it is. Silence preserves that shred of uncertainty in other people's mind." --Mikey, Thinking Too Hard