I just found the answer finally, and I thought some of you might want to know:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=trackpoint&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&c2coff=1&safe=off&selm=MPG.1408c5b48ab8c3109896a5%40nntp.ix.netcom.com&rnum=5
apparently the solution is to not leave your finger on the trackpoint if you're not moving it
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=trackpoint&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&c2coff=1&safe=off&selm=MPG.1408c5b48ab8c3109896a5%40nntp.ix.netcom.com&rnum=5
apparently the solution is to not leave your finger on the trackpoint if you're not moving it