Had I been raised in a different household in a previous era, knowing the kind of person I am now, I would have sat down each evening and studied the horse racing form guide after dinner or read the stock market trades for the day, and considered future investments. A part of me seems to prefer to spend my few spare brain cycles on these activities rather than on TV as there are more possibilities and general stimulation. My father did very few of these things, and despite a whimsical 3 month spell of betting in my early 20’s (something a lot of Australian males seem to go through), I settled into the family pattern of not thinking about money much, and certainly not spending it on speculative things like Lotto or the stock market. It’s probably a good thing that I don’t do these things because yesterday my free Fantasy Baseball internet league season came to an end, and after six months of daily scores, trades and countless joules burned, I’m tired, burned-out and wonder how much worse I’d feel if real money was riding on it. The yearly competition formed the basis of a minor workplace procrastination habit that saw me checking ongoing MLB game scores throughout each morning. At 7pm each night, all stats would be totalled and I would check on areas of deficiency and (over)correct them, or I’d rejoice in shrewd player pickups that I’d made who suddenly turned into base-stealing bandits or strike-out kings. My own daily roller-coaster ride! 
Congratulations Dave for winning this year. Like last year, I feel an attachment to the real-life players that formed the core of my team. I know them only by the baseball stats they produced and having never seen them in real life, I thought I’d have an advantage over other team owners because I would have no biases, no ethics, no favourites. I got third out of twelve after a slow start. I hit the lead 10 days before the end, but faded due to some terrible pitching performances by stalwarts Carpenter, Webb and a bunch of hasty pickups in the final desperate weeks. Relating my playing style to probable real-life behaviour, it seems I am characterised by the amount of adjustments and trades I make, which in a world of internet sharemarket trading would each cost dollars. I’ll leave that scary stuff to those who have lots to stress or dollars to spare. As for the Preston Tramriders, I’ll see them again next April. 
Next year second?