I returned in time to get my picture in the Helena paper. There was a section on "Doers and Thinkers: Helena Entrepreneurs," and Jerry, the guy I work with in Helena, got a write up for his all-but-imaginary little company. The three of us, Jerry and a guy named Bill Crane and I, were posed next to a Mac, looking confidently into the future.

There has also been some excitement for my two cats, Aristippus and Greymalkin. They are now about 95 in cat years and until now have never done a lick of work. But I am proud to announce they've learned how to catch mice. Aristippus caught two small ones and left them for me in the middle of the living room, and Greymalkin caught two large ones with nasty yellow fangs and left them on the front porch. They are becoming country cats.

My big news is that I've finally joined one of those nationwide computer networks (see VC 19 John 7.) Since penning that card I have had many astonishing adventures. I've been logged on to the system almost every night (at $5/hr!!!!) and I've made some interesting new friends. At some point I will sit down and mull over these experiences, and perhaps draw some conclusions in a future voice card. The system is kind of like a real-time Archipelago with ten thousand participants. There may be some interesting implications for the future of Archipelago.

I'd like to do some travelling this summer, and I'm also giving serious thought to trading in my SE for an LC. Since all these things require money, I will soon be making another consulting trip down to Idaho. Maybe I can at least stop my VISA bill from getting any worse.

See you all in May!