There you are sitting at the computer looking at all of these dating sites and thinking, wow, what a bunch of beautiful people out there, whether you're a man or a woman. How to date safely. This is doctor Paul, author of Boomer Girls, boomermans' guide to men and dating. On my radio talk show, nation wide, I often get responses about people who have been on line, people who have been in bars, and the bottom line is this. People can lie as effectively in bars or clubs as they can on line. How often have I had a woman call saying, I met this guy on line, he's awesome, his picture is terrific and then I met him and I didn't know who he was. The picture belies the person, same thing with men. Or they come on strong and suddenly you discover their probation officer is probably looking for them. So when you go on line or if you're talking to somebody personally and you get their number, first things first. Make sure you have a number you can reach them at, and it's probably a cell phone number, maybe an email and check them out. If you meet somebody on line, you go to a public place with a friend of yours, be you male or female, because it could be a set up for a mugging, you never know. I know that sounds pretty drastic but it happens. You go with a friend of yours to a public place, have lunch and let the other person say nothing. The person that you're talking with wants to know about you. Let that person who is more objective, not meeting this person, do the evaluation and later you'll find out what their thinking is. Remember, keep it safe. This is Dr. Paul, may your fantasies of today be your realities of tomorrow.