When Susie and I moved here to Chapel Hill, my first effort
at daily exercise was a half hour on the treadmill at the nearby Wellness
Center. I used one of those machines
that allows you to set the speed, in tenths of a mile per hour and the angle of
incline in degrees. Over a period of
several months or more, I ramped the machine up to maybe 4.2 or 4.3 mph and an
angle high enough so that I was in effect climbing a hill. Meanwhile, right next to me, like as not,
was some young thing running 7 miles an hour [I peeked] up a hill I could not
have managed. Very discouraging.
When I mentioned this to my son, Tobias, he gave me some sage
advice. Tobias, by the way, at 45, is in
way better shape than I have ever been at any time in my life, even when I was
in the Army. "Dad," he said,
"you have to ignore the others at the gym, because there will always be
someone running faster or lifting more weights than you. You just have to focus on raising your
personal best."
Which brings me to the computer game of FreeCell.
I have on occasion mentioned that I play a good many games of FreeCell [and other
computer card games]. On my present computer,
which I have had for maybe three or four years, I have played 14,560 games,
according to the little statistics recorder.
It is not a difficult game, and my
win ratio [without using the undo or takeback facility !] is 97%. I am currently working on an unusually good
run of wins. A few moments ago, I
recorded my 187th win in a row. The
computer tells me that my personal best is 240, and I am holding my breath as I
get within hailing distance of that score.
Now, a little Googling tells me that there are people who
have actually played every FreeCell game contained in the program. They have discovered that every one of them
can be won except for a single game, for which no one has ever found a solution. For these FreeCell professionals, my 187 win
run would be the equivalent of a slow walk on the treadmill with no angle at
all.
But I must hold to my heart Tobias' advice, and concentrate
on my personal best.
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