"Yur [sic] brain needs exercise" -- a boost -- like your muscles do. So I finally got around to reading a saved clipping from IBD 1/22/07, pg A4, Leaders & Success (a regular feature) -- "Put Your Brain To Work":
"If you want to sharpen your analytical skills, try flexing your mental muscle on a crossword or sudoku puzzle. ... Learning a second language is especially powerful because it forces your brain to continuously switch between the languages -- a mentally demanding exercise."
Since Sunday my wife has "put the pedal to the metal" with board/card game playing, in an effort to boost our brain power and delay the inevitable loss of mental function. She loves word games like Abstracts (unheard of), Scrabble (her specialty), and Last Word (invented by Random Games), which our daughter left when moving to PA. Looks like I "spoke" too soon when I posted "CES" on January 7, 2011: "I don't play games; but I like to know what's out there ..." Well, now I'm becoming acutely aware of what's in there, meaning my brain, which isn't much. Maybe I just don't like losing constantly, no matter how much fun we have. I get distracted by thoughts of other activities I think would exercise my brain, like watching "Making Stuff: Stronger" on PBS Wednesday night.
"... Explores Spinning of Steel-Strength Spider Silk ... Jan 19, 2011 ... tonight's premiere ... NOVA and New York Times technology columnist David Pogue look at innovative technologies for stronger, sleeker future products, including Kevlar, [and] nanotubes ..."
-- pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june11/nova_01-19.html
As I think about it, my attempts at "fast-food" writing are much less intimidating than playing games, a lot more fun, and better for my brain. Maybe that's another reason why her students always loved her Creative Writing class; (the first two are her fun personality and competitive spirit!)
