Happy birthday to my wonderful daughter R., who turned 6 today!

We had a little setback on her recovery from foot surgery today. She was allowed to put weight on her foot for the first time in nearly five weeks, and she had quite a bit of pain. A. took her back to the hospital, and the surgeon's opinion was that the pin in her foot was causing the pain and that when it gets removed next week it should be better.

Not much of a birthday present for R., and it's simply adding to the already high level of stress around here. I'm praying that it really is just the pin, but I'm learning not to take anything for granted.

20-some years ago, National Public Radio did a radio adaptation of the first Star Wars movie. Of course, I listened to each episode. Immediately following Star Wars was an imported British science fiction radio show called The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. Writer Douglas Adams had a brilliantly warped take on the universe, coupled with my love of his type of dry British humor made me an instant fan. Now, with the big screen Hitchhikers movie coming out, I dug out my old tapes (yes, audio casettes, really!) of the original BBC radio show and have been listening to them the last few days. They still hold up really well, and I'm enjoying "rediscovering" them. I hope the movie is a good adaptation. The fact that Adams isn't around to supervise things makes me a bit nervous.

Barry Bonds announced, in a very emotional press conference, that he probably would not be back from his second round of knee surgery until at least mid-season, and maybe not until next year. Bonds sounded very much like a man who had had enough of the constant media scrutiny and made comments about how "tired" he was and how he just wanted to get away and enjoy his son.

This is a guy who should be on top of the world and sounded like he was at the end of his rope. He already has one of the most legendary records in sports and is chasing another one. He makes more money than he can possibly spend in several lifetimes. He plays the world's greatest game for a living, and most of us would give almost anything to have a fraction of the guy's talent.

I actually think it would be good for Baseball if Bonds retired now. He's really the poster child for steroid use, and his pursuit of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron would just serve to put the whole thing front and center constantly.