Many of you have asked me to update the email method that I use to keep in contact with you. With that in mind, I am phasing out the Yahoo group and switching to this more professional, more attractive electronic newsletter. I hope you'll share it with your friends and colleagues.

Your continued patronage and referrals are important to me. I will not abuse your contact information, or embarrass you by abusing your friends' information. You will receive updates from me about upcoming appearances, opportunities to provide referrals (and receive referral bonuses), and occasional news that I believe will be useful to you in your business or personal life. I appreciate your continued support and encouragement, and I thank you for helping to make 2004 my best year ever. 2005 is already shaping up to break the records again.

Thanks to the great folks at H & W Printing and Brainstorm Design Works, our new brochure was also completed in late 2004. If you'd like a new brochure for your resource file -- or better yet, if you'd like one to share with others who need my services -- drop me a line and let me know. I'll get a couple in the mail to you immediately. In the meantime, you can view the brochure in PDF format online by clicking here.

The big news to start off this year is that I have been booked for a week at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. The Magic Castle is a private club for magicians and is in many ways considered the center of the magical universe. It has a variety of performing venues showcasing magic of every type and scale. For those who have never visited the Magic Castle, it can be described as "Carnegie Hall for magicians." It's very exciting to be asked to perform there.

Mark your calendars for May 9-15 and come see me working the early shows in the close-up gallery. As the Castle is a private club for magicians, you'll need to contact me to get a pass. Be aware that there is a dress code -- you can find out more at their web site.

Are you experiencing spyware problems? I spent the weekend cleaning spyware off my wife's desktop computer. It is horrifying to see how many little bugs and viruses can come in through normal use of the Internet. Here are three programs I recommend:

1. AdAware SE is free from www.lavasoftusa .com - get the "Personal" edition.
2. Spybot Search & Destroy is another free program that cleans a LOT of junk out of your computer's file system
3. PestPatrol costs about $40, but it was the only program I found that would eliminate the VX2 Trojan, which is a very new and VERY nasty bug that the other programs wouldn't fix.

I was blessed with an abundance of wonderful shows in 2004, but I really got to close out the year in style as the exclusive provider of magical entertainment at the Fox Theatre's 75th Anniversary gala. Over 20,000 people attended the once-in-a-lifetime event, and it was an honor to be their official magician! I was originally going to be performing walkaround magic throughout the entire facility, but due to the overwhelming turnout, I remained at my own mini-cabaret stage for the entire six hour gala. I performed a variety of sleight-of-hand and mentalism routines, including some magic that was actually first published during the year that the Fox Theatre opened in Atlanta.