Jos and Robert and I all worked out regularly at Gold's Gym. I arrived earlier than Robert and would do some cardio work 'til he got there--after which he and I usually lifted together. While we lift, we usually talk about work, we complain about lifting weights, and we (sorry to be so stereotypical) pay a lot of attention to the women who are working out.

Jos worked out earlier than Robert and I did on most days, but our paths would usually cross for a few minutes. Often, Jos and I would be discussing some idea we'd been working on lately, and a pretty girl would walk by, at which point I'd usually make a comment to Jos, suggesting he look over there, or something like that. Jos would, but he'd turn back and say, "Joel, the thing is that I'm not wearing my glasses, so I can just barely tell that it's you I'm talking to right in front of me. I can't see that far."

But one day, Jos approached me, wearing that happy look of his which showed he had something important to say. "Joel, I've got contacts on today---it's a whole new WORLD in here! Why didn't you tell me?! Look at her: brown hair with highlights...I think she loves me!" (that being a phrase that Robert, I, Jos et al. often used--again, sorry we're all so juvenile).

Anyway, after that, Jos generally wore corrective lenses of one type or another, and (paradoxically? pun intended?) his workouts were less focused. Ahem.

Did you know how good Jos was at video games? We had a long spell of lunches at which we had to eat quickly and then come back into the building so that Andy and Jos could have major battles at Robotron--they're both very good at this game, and they both make me laugh because they'll carry on incredible conversations while accomplishing new levels of robot massacre.

After awhile they got bored with the game--they opened the front panel and altered the settings so that the game played on the most difficult level, and awarded the player no additional characters, regardless of how high the score went. They played this "Man's Version" for a few days, and then drifted away from the game...having defeated everyone in the world, as far as I know. Except for Yun, who seems to have video game ROMs embedded in his brain.

Though Robert tends not to get into argumentative discussions much, one day he and Jos got into it over gun control. Robert was born in England, and lived there throughout enough of his childhood to have some British views: he believes that America is still a wild and wooly sort of place inhabited by cowboy types. He believes that gun control is an important step toward curbing violence in America.

Jos was a proud Libertarian--need I say more? He also enjoyed stirring things up. Among other things, he hurled back at Robert the fact that the conflict in Rwanda had resulted in an enormous number of lost lives--despite the 'benefit' of the combatants not having firearms.

The argument went on, and got a bit hotter than they usually do, so Jos and Robert stopped--and they agreed not to discuss the matter again.

Except that Jos ran right out and bought a copy of "More Guns, Less Crime," which he intended to read...and then present to Robert as a gift. Troublemaker. ;-)