I've noticed a few changes in myself since Sue got pregnant which my wife ascribes to a combination of surging testosterone and nesting instinct. I've found myself with a growing desire for an honest-to-God work bench, an admiration of power tools, and a hankering to watching professional football.

As a result, I went out and bought myself some sawhorses to build my workbench, picked up some ever-useful C-clamps for, well, clamping stuff, and organized my basement in such a way that I now know where most of my tools are. And on Sunday, I even watched an entire Giants game ... and was disappointed that I only got to watch the first quarter of the Eagles vs. the Seahawks.

All of this from a guy who would much rather play with computers than drills, and would much rather play D&D on a Monday night than watch football.

Bizarre.

So what's going on here? Well, I know the answer regarding football -- last year's Super Bowl, which was damn good, and probably the closest big game I ever watched, was thrilling to watch. It piqued my interest in the same way that the Mets' playoff excursions in 2000 and 2001 did -- I can't help but appreciate skill and determination on the playing field. It appeals to something primal in me while at the same time resonating with my philosophical values. The fact that the Eagles are kicking ass this year also helps -- watching Donovan McNabb play on a broken ankle through most of a game, while leading his team to victory, was inspiring. I'm not about to ditch my gaming stuff for football jerseys, nor will I try and sneak a radio into weddings so I can listen to the game, but I do want to see more Sunday games.

As for the power tools, well, that's a little more complicated. Part of it, I think, is a desire to make something real. I spend my days creating Web sites and manipulating data, which are real in their own way, but they're nothing you can physically handle. As the mom, Sue actually gets to