I'm glad baseball's trade deadline passed without the Mets giving up prospects for anyone of marginal value, like Danys Baez or Alfonso Soriano. I clicked reload on ESPN.com, Baseball Primer, and Baseball Prospectus way too frequently the last couple of days. My fantasy teams are doing ok lately too, except for the one in the league where I didn't realize there was an innings maximum.

I'm reading "Everything Bad Is Good For You," by Steven Johnson, which says that video games help kids think better and TV shows are so much more complicated than they used to be. Pop culture is resulting in smarter people. A controversial thesis, but the book's an interesting read. Makes me feel less guilty for playing Funky Truck. Although I don't think that's really the kind of video game he's talking about.