Posted to (St. Paul Pioneer Press) Bulletin Board, May 25, 2003

"(1) There are various reasons for books to be memorable. I'll remember reading 'Atlas Shrugged,' by Ayn Rand, for two unusual reasons.

"First, it's taken me a year to read it, longer than I've ever spent reading a book. (It's 1,000-plus pages in the small-print paperback I bought used, lost, and bought an exact replacement of to finish).

"Of course, I was reading other books during the year (a lot of them, in fact). It's not a great reading habit, but it makes sense when reading a work of 'Atlas Shrugged' length and weight.

"Second, I had no need for glasses when I started it, but am now getting pretty used to having to grab for those danged artificial appendages in order to do something I've been doing for 40 years: reading the fine print.

"It's only my opinion, of course, but I'll throw it out there to stir up some dispute among those who know the book: If you'd like to read this classic, you can skip the last third of the book. The first two-thirds are great, meticulous writing. The last third is as meticulous and demanding but is a strange turn, not to reveal too much.

"(2) Only a Baby-Boomer/TV Junkie would notice: I noticed it years and years (and years) ago, whenever CBS first began airing a late-night talk-show alternative to NBC. When the guests of one show are being announced on one channel, the other channel is doing the same thing. I know the reason is 'audience retention,' but I'm curious about the behind-the-scenes machinations needed for this to occur. It's as reliable as Greenwich Mean Time!

"For the past couple years, I/we have lived in a two-TV-set living room (it's a great solution in homes where there may be power issues over the remote) and occasionally watch both at once. I'm still wondering what happened a few weeks back when, locally at least, NBC's guest list was shown a full minute behind CBS's. I half expected an earthquake or similar event!

"The incident hasn't happened again since. I suppose someone got fired!"