1. Boston Business Network to hold first event February 24
After planning meetings all fall and winter, the Boston Bates Business Networking Committee is proud to present the first in a series of events on Feb. 24 called "Building a Business Network." David Barlow '79, Chairman and CEO of Molecular Insight Pharmaceuticals, and John Grausam, Vice President of Lee Hecht Harrison, are the featured speakers and there will be plenty of time to meet, mingle, and exchange business cards. For event details and to register, click here: www.bates.edu/alumni-events-calendar.xml

2. This month in Bates history: The final episode of M*A*S*H
No, the Super Bowl is not the most-watched show on television. If you're a mid-1980s alum, you probably helped make television history by watching the final episode of M*A*S*H on campus with friends. That Feb. 28, 1983 telecast remains the all-time highest-rated TV program. Watched by 125 million viewers, the show achieved a 60 rating and 77 share. That is, of all television households in the country, 60 percent were tuned to the station offering M*A*S*H, and 77 percent of households actually using their televisions at that time were viewing the final episode. (By comparison, an estimated 89 million people watched yesterday's Super Bowl, with a 44.2 rating and a 63 audience share.) Jon Hall '83, then an assistant editor for The Bates Student, now a reporter and anchor for Channel 7 in Boston, covered the campus reaction to the final episode in the Student. Read Hall's story, "Final airing of M*A*S*H is a source of tears and goodbyes," at: www.bates.edu/x47452.xml

3. Bates included in Kiplinger's 'best values'
Joining the college guide fray, the January Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine ranked Bates 40th in the nation after examining 1,300 U.S. private colleges to determine "which combine academic excellence with generous aid packages and lower total costs." Due to what an editor called a "data production error" Bates' costs were initially overstated by $7,150 in its tables -- a mistake also made with other colleges that state comprehensive fees of room, board, tuition and fees. The editor insists the rankings were not affected, although the methodology isn't clear. In any event, the Kiplinger's Web site figures were corrected and a correction also will appear in the March print issue. www.kiplinger.com/tools/privatecolleges/

4. Bates authors to speak February 3 on Boston sports history
Tom Whalen '86 was featured in a recent issue of Sports Illustrated for his new book, Dynasty's End: Bill Russell and the 1968-69 World Champion Boston Celtics. Richard Johnson '78 has recently published several books, including The Boston Braves, The Boston Garden, and volumes one and two of The Boston Bruins in Black and White. They will be doing a joint talk and book-signing in Boston on February 3. Click here for details and to RSVP: www.bates.edu/alumni-events-calendar.xml

5. More books by Boston-area Bates authors
Speaking of Boston-area writers, two alumni prominent in Hub media circles authored recent books. From Boston Globe columnist Brian McGrory '84 comes Dead Line (Atria Books, 2004), his third political thriller featuring redoubtable newspaper reporter Jack Flynn. "A hymn to the joys of old-fashioned, anything-goes reporting," says The Washington Post. Meanwhile, Boston Magazine editor Jon Marcus '82 goes behind the headlines with Unknown New England (1stBooks Library, 2003). The guidebook brims with extraordinary albeit little-known regional attractions. A museum brimming with Titanic artifacts. Another, in Maine, with a blue marlin caught by Ernest Hemingway while he was writing The Old Man and the Sea. A Cold War-era nuclear missile silo. And, of course, a couple of Bates sites, including Muskie Archives.

6. Exchanging trade winds for wind chill
Even the locals grumbled about the recent one-two punch of cold and wind, Jan. 8-16. So we wondered how our students from Hawaii (four of 'em) were coping. Despite the freeze, Lauren Kawana '06 was euphoric (or maybe hypothermic): "Boring" is how she describes Hawaii's weather (80 degrees every day). "I learned to downhill ski last year and absolutely love it!" she adds. "That's what's best about the changing seasons: There's always something to look forward to." Laurie Lau '05 also revels in the variety. The first time Lau saw frost on the ground, "I rolled around in it -- just for the novelty." But Tamotsu Hirai '06 gives the weather a cold shoulder: "The way I cope with it is to take a really hot shower and walk as fast as possible to classes and meals," he says. Read comments at www.bates.edu/x47459.xml

7. Who's the coldest of them all?
The well-publicized stretch of cold weather, Jan 8-16, got us thinking about meteorological bragging rights. If the Northeast was the nation's cold spot, then the New England Small College Athletic Conference was the nation's chilliest conference. So, what was the bone-coldest college in the most frigid conference? Here's how the list of lowest overnight temperatures at NESCAC schools shakes out, Jan. 8 through 16, according to observations at the airport nearest to each college posted by The Weather Underground:

1. Middlebury: minus 25.1 (Jan. 15)
2. Hamilton: minus 18.9 (Jan. 10)
3. Colby: minus 16.6 (Jan. 14)
4. Bowdoin: minus 15 (Jan. 14)
5. Bates: minus 13 (Jan. 14)
6. Williams: minus 11 (Jan. 15)
7. Amherst: minus 7.6 (Jan. 10)
8. Wesleyan: minus 5.1 (Jan. 15)
9. Tufts: minus 5 (Jan. 16)
10. Trinity: minus 4 (Jan. 16)
11. Connecticut College: minus 2.9 (Jan. 16)

8. Travel the world with fellow Bates alumni
An African Safari... A musical tour of Italy... These are a few of the exciting opportunities to explore the world with alumni and faculty from Bates, Bowdoin and Colby colleges. Join David Kolb, Charles A. Dana Professor of Philosophy, on a journey down the Elbe River through Eastern Europe... Tour a California vineyard with a Bates vintner... Read more at: www.bates.edu/alumni-travel.xml

9. Alumni hockey returns to the ice
The calendar turned back in the Underhill Arena one weekend in January, as 26 hockey alumni from the classes of '65 to '85 answered the call. Relive those thrilling days of yesteryear; read the story and view photos of the 2003 and 2004 alumni hockey games. www.bates.edu/alumni-hockey-2004.xml

10. Time to apply for Barlow travel grants
Made possible through the generosity of David Barlow '79, the Barlow Alumni Travel Grant awards up to $3,500 to fund travel abroad in support of educational and professional goals by a Bates alumnus/a involved in K-12 education who has been teaching at least five years. The deadline for applications is March 15. Apply online at: www.bates.edu/x22487.xml

11. Hip-hop artist GQ '98 on Showtime tonight
The hip-hop artist GQ (formerly known as Jason Postell Pringle '98) will have a significant role in a Showtime television network film to air at 8 p.m. Eastern time Feb. 2. Two of his original songs also will be heard in the film, Just Another Story. The film is written, directed and starring GQ. View information on the film at: www.sho.com/site/schedules/product_page.do?episodeid=119849&include=00main.inc&seriesid=0

12. Alumni debaters needed to judge international tourney
Oxford, Harvard and Yale will be among eight to 10 institutions coming to Bates March 11-13 for an the international debate tournament hosted by the Brooks Quimby Debate Society. Bates Director of Debate Bryan Brito would like to have a good representation of alumni debaters back on campus for (at least) Saturday, March 13. Alumni debaters will be asked to serve as judges for the various debates throughout the day. Guest debaters will depart late afternoon on Saturday, and the day will wrap up with a dinner for the current crop of Bates debaters and the alumni debaters. Please contact debate coach Brito rbrito@bates.edu for more information.

13. MLK Day events on slide show
The 2004 Bates College observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday was filled with performances, workshops and debate. View a slide show highlighting the Bates commitment to commemorate King's life. www.bates.edu/x46760.xml

14. Bates People in the News
Athletics Director Suzanne Coffey and her son Brad, an Amherst soccer player and member of a NCAA committee, turn up in USA Today on opposite sides of an issue: whether or not the NCAA should continue to allow scholarship waivers for Division III schools that compete in Division I sports. In an interview with the popular French magazine L'Express, director Martin Scorsese talks about the important role musician Corey Harris '91 played in his TV series The Blues. Closer to home, the Bates Republicans were in the news as Andrew Simon '04, club president, talked to the Portland Press Herald about youth involvement in the 2004 White House contest, and the Sun-Journal described a visit to the group by Bush-Cheney 2004 national campaign director Marc Racicot. www.bates.edu/bates-in-the-news.xml