The past few weeks at the gym have been enjoyable and I have felt energized afterwards. Today, however, I seem to feel very tired. Perhaps it was the new resistance routines. Now I am very hungry. I am relieved to learn that my trainer will not be pushing the very expensive vitamins and food supplements. I know I will be encouraged to take some of these things but I had worried about high pressure sales talks. I feel better about that now. I will buy some things but will pick and choose very carefully.

Well here is a beauty pagent with a different theme.

I am really in the fog this morning. It is overcast and foggy outdoors and my head is all stuffed up from my first cold in a couple of years. What a combination!

Just looked at the Giants schedule for 2005 and was confused at first by LAD on their website. I guess that would be to differentiate the them from the LAA (Los Angeles Angels)whom they don't play this year. Their webpage also lists the transplanted Expos at WSH while the PDF printout lists them as WAS. Apparently someone in the Giants front office was in a fog while preparing these documents.

I see that the pope is back in the hospital. It is not surprising for someone his age and being in such poor health to begin with. Last year I predicted to some friends that he would be gone by the end of the year. It appears I erred a bit on the timing and I can say or predict that 2005 is not looking good for him. Now the question as to who will replace him. He has packed the College of Cardinals with conservatives so it will undoubtedly be someone as or more conservative than him. Did I hear someone say Ratzinger? Geesh, he would set the church back 500 years.

Another neo-con is stirring things up in Massachusetts as Gov. Romney reverses himself publically concerning gay marriage or unions. Is he the U.S. spokesman for the pope?

I am lucky that I don't feel my age (nor look it too I guess) but I am actually glad that I not twenty or thirty something. The future does indeed look very dark for the world and now I wonder what Bush/Rice have planned for Iran?????

SAD - SAD - SAD!

What is sad? The pope's new book.

Aha, this is an iteresting story about Mr. Bush which you can read here.

What is going on here? Well, I certainly have not been watching the grass grow as some retirees seem to do. After signing up at the gym (24 Hour Fitness) and hiring a personal trainer, I have been stopped cold in my tracks due to an age thing and now must get clearance from my doctor for the training program and the possible use of their food supplements, etc. Oh, I can still go to the gym but there are apparently things involved with the training program which are now of concern to them with regard to possible liability issues. Jeesh...this is frustrating however I will pick up the necessary forms today and take them to my doctor for review. Hopefully I can get clearance in time for my next visit with the trainer on Monday. In the meantime I will spend some more time on the treadmill as part of my cardio program.

Yesterday Donn and I saw a wonderful musical at the Curran. "Caroline, or Change" which is ending its run this Sunday, the 20th. It was very well performed by an excellent cast. They were all good which is not always the case with musicals or even just straight dramatic productions. If there was one standout however, I thought that Anika Noni Rose (as Emmie Thibodeaux) had the best voice in the cast. I would like to hear more of her.

After the theatre event, we went to N' Touch for Happy Hour and that it was after two G&Ts ably mixed by handsome Jason. Grrr... From there we went to Victor's for pizza (don't tell my trainer) and wine. Whee... I did manage to walk back up the hill to my apartment but it was not easy. Now I guess I should spend some extra time on the treadmill.

Tomorrow night I will be going to a concert by the SF Symphony. I decided to buy this extra ticket as they are performing a choral work by Schumann, Das Paradies und die Peri, which is not heard frequently. Also, my next regular subscription series concert is not until March 11th (Mahler's Symphony No. 7). My previous concert was way back in November.

I've not decided what to do this weekend although I will listen to the Met broadcast on Saturday at 10:30 AM on the Internet from KING-FM in Seattle. Saturday night the Chinese New Year's parade will be held but I will watch that on channel 2 as usual. I might go out later in the evening but I'm not sure yet.

Not much planned for the rest of the month at this point except for an Academy Awards party at Bobby's place with the same group that attended his Super Bowl party.

Well, I had planned to use the treadmill today but I am not sure I am ready for it yet after all of yesterday's activities. Perhaps this afternoon after I have had a chance to eat a little more and clear my head a bit.

Right now I need some water.

CU later...

What is going on here? Well, I certainly have not been watching the grass grow as some retirees seem to do. After signing up at the gym (24 Hour Fitness) and hiring a personal trainer, I have been stopped cold in my tracks due to an age thing and now must get clearance from my doctor for the training program and the possible use of their food supplements, etc. Oh, I can still go to the gym but there are apparently things involved with the training program which are now of concern to them with regard to possible liability issues. Jeesh...this is frustrating however I will pick up the necessary forms today and take them to my doctor for review. Hopefully I can get clearance in time for my next visit with the trainer on Monday. In the meantime I will spend some more time on the treadmill as part of my cardio program.

Yesterday Donn and I saw a wonderful musical at the Curran. "Caroline, or Change" which is ending its run this Sunday, the 20th. It was very well performed by an excellent cast. They were all good which is not always the case with musicals or even just straight dramatic productions. If there was one standout however, I thought that Anika Noni Rose (as Emmie Thibodeaux) had the best voice in the cast. I would like to hear more of her.

After the theatre event, we went to N' Touch for Happy Hour and that it was after two G&Ts ably mixed by handsome Jason. Grrr... From there we went to Victor's for pizza (don't tell my trainer) and wine. Whee... I did manage to walk back up the hill to my apartment but it was not easy. Now I guess I should spend some extra time on the treadmill.

Tomorrow night I will be going to a concert by the SF Symphony. I decided to buy this extra ticket as they are performing a choral work by Schumann, Das Paradies und die Peri, which is not heard frequently. Also, my next regular subscription series concert is not until March 11th (Mahler's Symphony No. 7). My previous concert was way back in November.

I've not decided what to do this weekend although I will listen to the Met broadcast on Saturday at 10:30 AM on the Internet from KING-FM in Seattle. Saturday night the Chinese New Year's parade will be held but I will watch that on channel 2 as usual. I might go out later in the evening but I'm not sure yet.

Not much planned for the rest of the month at this point except for an Academy Awards party at Bobby's place with the same group that attended his Super Bowl party.

Well, I had planned to use the treadmill today but I am not sure I am ready for it yet after all of yesterday's activities. Perhaps this afternoon after I have had a chance to eat a little more and clear my head a bit.

Right now I need some water.

CU later...

Saw my dentist this morning for teeth cleaning and I was relieved that he did it instead of the hygeniest who scraped and pushed so hard the last time, that I was nearly ill by the time I left the office. Must go back next month however to have a filling re-done and a chipped tooth repaired.

Say now, the State of Montana has what I believe is the right idea in combating the low wage/big box stores such as Wal-Mart. Maybe this will catch on in other areas if it works in that State.

It has been announced now that SBC Park in San Francisco will host the 2007 Major League All Star game. There were apparently two reasons why it has taken this long to host the game. One is that attendance has been high with Barry Bonds on the roster but he retires at the end of the 2006 season when his contract expires. Also, the original personal seat licenses at the park will be up for renewal so they want to hype the seat renewal and the All Star Game in 2007. Certainly the home run derby the day prior to the game should be interesting in that park. In the meantime the new older players on the roster look interesting so the Giants could have a good year if everyone stays healthy. Also, Bonds will have only two more chances for a World Series Ring provided he does not get caught up in the Jose Canseco steroid scandal. What an idiot (Canseco) whether you believe him or not! Babe Ruth did not need steroids to hit a lot of home runs so why should anyone else?

The Bush says he is willing to listen to any good ideas about fixing Social Security as long as it does not involve raising payroll taxes. Ha! As usual, Bush will only listen to those ideas which are in agreement with his. It is apparently a done deal in his mind. It is again all smoke and mirrors. What is the matter? Is he really brain dead?

Here is a letter to the editor of The Nation, a English language newspaper in Bangkok, that I really enjoyed and want to pass on to you.
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"I probably would have let Eric Bahrt's letter on irrelevancy ["Just who are you calling irrelevant", February 8] go if he hadn't brought up Hillary Clinton. But he did, so I am afraid I must comment.

First of all, mentioning the Democratic presidents of 1932 to 1948 was misleading. Four of those terms were served by Franklin D Roosevelt, the man who led America out of the Depression and started the Social Security programme. The fifth term was Truman, who became an incumbent because Roosevelt died in office. Further, American presidents can no longer serve more than two terms, so that stretch really doesn't mean a thing.

As for irrelevancy, John Kerry was less than irrelevant. He was moot. George Bush was so ripe for the taking that a trained monkey could have beaten him simply by not talking. Kerry's shameless trumpeting of his war record and his "Band of Brothers", not to mention his completely out-of-line mention of Dick Cheney's lesbian daughter so turned off American voters that Bush won by default.

Despite the total lack of a cogent Democratic battle plan, he still got 48 per cent of the vote, which tells you that Americans really didn't want Bush. Those that did vote Bush, embraced him because Kerry did such a wonderful job of turning them off.

As for Hillary Clinton, if Eric is suggesting that she is a viable candidate to run for president, I sincerely hope he is in a distinct minority. The scandal surrounding this woman, who managed, because of female voters, to get elected to the Senate in a state that she knew nothing about, is unparalleled in American politics. Yet Eric is suggesting that she is not irrelevant.

She is not irrelevant, Eric, she is ambitious and dangerous. It is unfortunate that George Bush is president of the United States, but when you consider what the Democratic Party had to offer, it was inevitable."
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I certainly agree with this writer's comments.

Here we are once again. OK, great, now what? Well, today will be a little different and more interesting than most of recent times. First there is the luncheon appointment with former co-workers and a chance to see their new digs on Second Street. Then later in the day I will have the first of five (or is it ten) sessions with a personal trainer at the gym. It is expensive but I don't want to just spin my wheels and kill time at the gym. I want results and I don't want to risk (more than necessary) injuring myself in the process so I decided to opt for this package in hopes of getting off on the right foot and producing some results this time. Other gym memberships in the past have done nothing for me in the sense that I or anyone else could see results. I guess I was also lucky that I did not injure myself as well. This time the love handles must go!!!!!!

Yesterday I received my new 19" LCD monitor which is great. Besides giving me a bigger viewing area, it also takes up much less space on the desk and the picture is really sharp. The old CRT monitor was a 17" which now must be recycled in some manner as well as an HP printer (also in working order) plus an Epson scanner which is not in working order unless someone is still using Windows 95. Lastyear HP had a recycling program around Labor Day which was very helpful. I wonder if they will do that again this year.

Looks like the weather will be beautiful today and tomorrow with spring like conditions with temps up around 63F/17C. It is too bad much of my day will be spent indoors but at least tomorrow is looking promising as I have no daytime activities scheduled at the present time.

Ok, here is an unusual story about a four year old: CLICK HERE.

Monday again, not that it makes any difference anymore. Just a way to count or keep track of the weeks I guess. Actually, I still try to keep the weekends as weekends for point of reference anyway. I certainly do less than and try to enjoy my time more then...I think.

Yesterday I joined friends for a Super Bowl party. That was nice especially since my (hometown) team won but I was almost the only one in the place who was a Patriot fan. Well, that will show to go them, or some such thing. Looking on the brighter side for Eagle fans, at least it wasn't a blowout for the Patriots. It was fairly even throughout and the game could have gone either way.

Last night was a somewhat sleepless night however as I continue to fret over my newly discovered borderline high blood pressure. One source says it is stage one of pre-hypertension, another says it is, but at 148/90, I am concerned no matter what the label. Also, I am not overweight and don't smoke so those two possible causes don't exist. As for my diet, I suppose there is room for improvement there however I don't pig out on junk food all the time so I am not sure what I can (or will?) do there. Perhaps I need more exercise but I can't afford the gym right now so what do I do there? My doctor wants me to participate in about thirty minutes of aerobics, three times a week. I will have to think about that one.

So here I sit and sit and think and think and, oh well, perhaps tomorrow. Ha!

Secretary of State Rice says that an attack on Iran is not on the agenda - NOW. Whoa, wait a minute Madame Secretary. An attack on Iran shouldn't ever be on anyone's agenda. Our standing in the world community plummeted considerably with our attack on Iraq. Should we take the same course of action, the consequences could be far worse. For an article on this matter click here: Reuters.

And here is a news story which will be good news for some regarding same sex marriage or unions. You may read it by clicking here.

Being a cat fancier myself, this news story from the Melbourne Herald Sun really turned my stomach. How can people be so cruel to animals, especially little defenseless cats?

Life is dangerous!

The federal government for the first time has placed X-rays and some viruses on its list of cancer-causing agents along with chemicals formed by frying and grilling meat.

Also on the list of 17 new carcinogens, released Monday, were lead and lead compounds, toilet bowl deodorants and substances in textile dyes, paints and inks.

Great, something else to worry about - not! First the government tells us that we should make sure sure that the heat is high enough to kill off bacteria when cooking certain meats. Now it tells that doing so can cause the formation of cancer-causing agents. OK, guys, which will it be? Death by poisoning or death by cancer???

Really folks...we must get a grip on life and realize that life is and always has been dangerous. Nothing is safe and never has been. You could simply fall down the stairs, break a leg and have other complications which would lead to death. No, I am not saying don't protect yourself but all these governmental warnings over the years, many of which are contradictory, are getting a little tiring.