Just like that, Andy Pettitte is now one of my favorite baseball players! Takes a lot to turn down the money and prestige that comes with being a Yankee, taking significantly less money to play closer to home and family. Surely he saw the writing on the wall that says the Yankees' better days are in the past but that doesn't lessen the integrity of his decision. You taking notes, A-Rod?

Some Yankee fans are complaining that he never intended to stay in NY, that he had one foot out the door at the end of the season, as if that's somehow a bad thing on his part. I read one article that speculated that it was his wife's "fault," that she pressured him to sign with Houston. Reminds me of some of my single friends who don't understand that sometimes I really do just want to go home and spend time with my wife and kids instead of hanging out after work. Not because I have to, but because I want to.

On the D&D front, I've got five people interested so far, unfortunately, three of them don't live in the area! Though I've always liked Austin - one of my Top 3 "If not NYC" places to live, along with Miami and Providence - I'm not moving again until Isaac and India no longer fit in their bedroom! One of the three may be moving back to the City soon, though, so I'm hopeful he'll be able to play. It'd be nice to find an interested female to balance the game a bit - most guys tend to want to do the hack-and-slash thing more than actual role-playing - but if I know any personally, they've kept it a pretty good secret.

Speaking of D&D, my Amazon.com boycott was really hard to stick to this week when I went shopping for my annual Christmas present to myself, picking up the DM Guide, Player's Handbook, Monster's Manual, a DM Screen, Miniatures Entry Pack and a set of die from Forbidden Planet, all at full price. Conviction costs!

I DO need to find somewhere else for my wish list, though, as one person overlooked my note posted on it (Unique Facts: Please don't shop from this Wish List until Borders offers their workers a fair contract and allows them to unionize!) and bought me something through it anyway!

On a related note, Overstock.com and their fair-tradish subsite, Worldstock, are my new favorite e-tailers. Good stuff, great prices, cheap shipping.