Finally, Major League Baseball’s

union and owners have agreed to a drug testing policy bent on absolving the
sport of steroid use (and, noted one Sportscenter talking head, the agreement
came without giving anything back to the players).  I’m interested
to see whether the policy has any

teeth.  With so many conflicts of interest in policing
performance-enhancers in athletics, I remain skeptical, a skepticism rooted in a
few challenges from days playing the part of drug testing coordinator, although
by and large we were running one of the most comprehensive random testing
schemes in all of the NAIA.

The lessons from

Mothra (and co.) on the dangers of mysterious growth agents, lost. (See, the
energy field beaming from the satellite dish is like baseball’s drug policy,
metaphorically.)

Other bits, pieces, orts…

From

apophenia, a link to

this list of bloggers who have been terminated from their jobs for keeping
weblogs.  Needed work: a list of bloggers who have been hired for
keeping weblogs (or projecting into a linked webspace).

From

Steve Krause, a link to a user-friendly
database query for
the San Fran C’s.  It includes a savable record; much better than the
PDF schedules from recent years.  Now I just have to figure out how to get
to SF for less than one month’s TA salary.  Might have to convene a family
hug tonight just to let D. and Ph. know that we’re getting through March on
laundry soap and a gallon jar of pickles (oh yeah, with boiled eggs, potatoes
for a treat).  Oof! And it is a two-birthday month (both of ’em).  To
the side: I’m only semi-serious about the strain.  I’ve been fortunate
enough to pinch a couple of different forms of support together from here and
there.  But it’s still damned expensive to travel to the conference.