A few weeks ago I started taking a Pilates class at the gym. (This simple statement contains a multitude of startling revelations - that I even have a gym of my own, that I would consider taking a class that involves showing up somewhere at an appointed time, and that it would involve something that was trendy within the last 10 years.) The gym offers many variations of Pilates - water, mat, machine. I opted for the machine version that requires you to contort yourself into hurtful and obscene positions, manage the number of springs you're exercising with, and remember when to inhale and exhale. I may never get the breathing part right, always mixing up when I should be doing which. My conclusion after the first few classes is that it does provide a reasonable workout, although Pilates must be German for "exercise and bondage in public".

And, as one of my clients reminded me today, never underestimate the power or public humiliation. I don't remember the context, but it definitely applies to exercise and bondage.

One of the new pieces of information I learned today is that there are an estimated 2,000 tigers in Texas. This makes it second only to India in number of tigers. Texas tigers tend to be in captivity, although that doesn't prevent them from occasionally mistaking a kid for a tiger-treat. Bizarre state...