After last night's show, I had to stop and get gas. While I was pumping, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a young black woman was staring at me. She was also pumping gas. She had a nice little sports car.

I watched the digital read-out on my pump for a little bit, then I turned fully in her direction. And it was then that she said, "Nice cape."

I sort of clumsily mumbled thanks, and that was the end of it.

Sometimes I wish I were more debonair. Nice cape. That's an ice breaker if I've ever heard one. Instead, I went home to my cat.

I was just surfing the internet, looking for any interactive magic that could be done through the computer. And I found this site:

http://www.onlinemagicshowroom.com/frhypnotize.htm

Prepare to be hypnotized!

I have recently, as a hobby, taken up the study of mind reading. We all possess the capacity to interpret thoughts. I'm convinced of it. All it takes is a little cultivation and proper practice to draw upon it.

Mind reading is not something I'd wish to do all the time.  Where would the fun be in that? But just during those key moments in life when the interpretation of a person's speech and body language is not enough. When you just have to know. And also, I think a mastery of this skill would greatly improve my magic.

Right now, I have been focusing on a 19th century method that involves placing one's fingers where the pulse can be felt of the person you're trying to read. I've been told to start off having them think of numbers. Once I'm proficient at this, I can then proceed on to names and sentences. So far, I'm impressed with the results. But the process is slow and my accuracy is still well below 100%. I'm keeping a journal to track my progress, and I've yet to go a day where I have not improved.

Should this method prove credible, the only downfall would be the apparent need to feel one's pulse. And how many of those key moments in life are we be able to do that?