3:00 p.m. A generic photo of what anyone who lives in my part of the world should be doing today. Shopping. Strolling in the sun. This particular photo shows a street on the island of Catalina, but this little scene could be anywhere up and down the coast.

Some cobblestones, some palm trees, some coinage in your pockets and you are there. Except I'm not there -- I'm here, inside, in front of the machine, at work. In fact, I'm working on this site, among my other tasks today.

I'm going to put this little bit of an entry up just to hold the place for the new month and to test out all my links. Plus, I've got to think up some kind of a joke. Be back in a sec.

Time thief! Gee, that last hour just flew by as if somebody came into our house and changed every single clock, including the microwave and the one in my computer and the one in the fax machine and I just don't know what to think now.

I've fallen behind and I can't get it back? For a procrastinator on a deadline, this is a very serious situation, amended only tomorrow, come six-ish, seven o'clock when it's still light out and yippee kai-yeah. Dancing in the streets.

Has the winter passed quicker than usual this year? Maybe all that fuss and excitement around New Year's day has zoomed us along. And then there's the thrill of writing /00 on checks and on blanks after your signature. That's still fun.

I haven't felt the need to plug in my grow lights, and who-hoo! That time is past. I probably should have gone to the trouble, now that I think about it. There's this extra weight, see?

But I have a new diet tip: ice. I bought some ice trays that make little square ice dice and it is heaven to crunch. Feels like you're eating real food, for some reason. It's free, it has zero calories, and now that there's been no Y2K breakdown of civilization as we know it, it's in good supply.

Let that be the tip 'o the day ... and now I'd better get to bed and sleep faster to make up for that stolen hour.