"Some of the worst mistakes of my life have been haircuts." - Jim Morrison

I tried taking a second drawer front off this morning and the result was even worse. The press-board of the drawer carcass front pretty much exploded. So I took the MDF I had left over from making the new fronts down to the wood shop and cut 10 new pieces. I figured the next eight drawers would bring more of the same.
Unfortunately, I didn't cut the dado for the drawer bottom wide enough. And the wood shop closes at noon on Saturdays. Grrr. So I'll go back Monday.

I'm waiting for the Chris Matthews Show to come on. Until it does there's a kids' show called "Shellworld". Is this show typical of kids' programming? Because if it is I fear for our future. In the last two minutes we were told that billions of years ago the continents were all hooked together, forming Pangea. But the content is outdone by the really annoying "voices" of these characters. Talk about grating! And loud!

Ten days ago, a half-mile into my run, my left calf cramped up so badly I could hardly walk home. I've been stretching it several times a day and it's feeling better. So today I jogged an easy mile to test it. Some twinge near the end but no lockup. Right afterward I went for a bike ride. Almost two weeks without exercise messes with my head.

Last week's TIME magazine had a couple of very good articles about the dangers of football, particularly concussions. This problem seems to be coming to a head, with both the players' association and (finally) the commissioner agreeing something needs to be done.
The main article included a list of several steps that could be taken to reduce the risk of concussions. One of them was to eliminate the 3-point stance that linemen use - in a forward squat with one hand on the ground. I never thought about it, but they said that stance allows them to explode off the line with tremendous force and puts them in a position where they lead with their head. If they were only allowed the two-point stance, with both feet but no hands on the ground, (I s'pose they could stand on one leg if they really wanted to) it would reduce the force of their forward movement and mean they'd use their hands and arms instead of their heads. And if both sides of the line had the same restriction it would be equal for offense and defense.

The article said that as important as it is to change things in the NFL the real need is for change at the youth and H.S. level. Studies show that concussions at that age are far more likely to produce long-term damages, even as the kid shows fewer symptoms.

Seems to be a sensible first step. So does anybody think H.S. athletics departments will outlaw the 3-point stance anytime in the near future?

We're going over to J & A's tomorrow evening to watch the Super Bowl on their wide screen HDTV. (YES!). That means we won't be home until late...too late to blog. So I may skip tomorrow night. But you'll hear from me Monday about how tomorrow went. And I was thinking today about posting on Facebook as the game progresses with real-time analysis of the critical developments...the commercials.