* SIGNS: I sometimes choose to evaluate how a day will go by the first song I hear on the radio. Since it's a Steeler Game Day, I've gotta look at it from a football perspective. This morning's song: "Hard to Handle" by the Black Crowes. Doh. Could go either way, couldn't it? Who's hard to handle? The Steelers or the Jets?

* EARLY REPORTS INDICATE ALCOHOL WAS INVOLVED: How do you get lost on the New York City subway for almost 4 hours? Ask "JC!" This morning, he calls at 5:10 a.m. Weirded out by getting a phone call at this hour, I answer with a friendly "What the hell are you doing awake?!" Expecting to just leave a message, he replied, "What the hell are you doing answering your phone??" Turns out he went to a party right near his Queens apartment, yet somehow found himself on a train headed to Coney Island. He called back at 8 o'clock saying he was just then getting on the correct train! We look forward to his comments on this excursion.

* DIGICAM: Got the digital camera, opting for the slightly better model. It's a sexy little bastard. This will really represent a change for me. I've never been a picture person, mostly because I didn't have a camera, and figured I'd be too lazy to deal with one if I had one. So I'd rely on a disposable from time to time, and then take months to get around to having the film developed. Now there will be no hassles -- and the camera is tiny, making it easy to tote around. Until I drop it and the screen breaks.