New bookofjoe interactive feature about to go live

You read it here first.

But then, where else would you read it first?

Huh?

What do I take you for, anyway?

Never mind.

You may recall that from time to time I lament how much I hate running these days, my regular 38 minutes every 24 hours.

It's just so darned boring compared to everything else I do, such as creating bookofjoe and reading and watching NFL football.

Besides which, it hurts and makes me tired while I'm doing it, though I always feel no worse and most of the time much better about everything once I'm done.

The trouble is I've now relegated my run to the early evening portion of my program, around 7 or 8 p.m., so I have to think about it and how much I don't want to go all day long, besides which I can't eat anything for three hours or more before I finally mobilize my lazy butt.

Anyway.

Today I finally figured out a way to make my run interactive — with you.

Yes, you — I'm talking to you.

Who else would I be talking to?

You're the only one here.

Anyway.

I stopped by Seven-11 and bought a Virgin Mobile prepaid cell phone for $29.99.

That's not a misprint: For $29.99 you get the phone, a battery, a charger, an instant phone number and some talk time.

The one I got is pictured up top.

The guy who sold it to me said feedback was good on it (meaning people who bought it said good things about it, not the sound of fuzz and Jimi Hendrix-type effects and oh, never mind...) and that I should immediately plug it in for 16-20 hours to charge it up.

Done.

As soon as the phone's powered up and I figure out how to get it activated — it can't be that hard, can it, if Seven-11 and Richard Branson are behind it? — I'm gonna post its number here along with a day/date/time window when I'm gonna take your call(s — assuming, of course, that anyone decides to drop a proverbial dime on me) during which time I will be out for my run.

How's that for turning lemons into lemon soufflé?

w00t!