Don't get me wrong. I'm not a Patriots fan in any real sense. If they ever play the Redskins in the Superbowl, I needn't even think about who to support. But I like watching them play, for two reasons. First, I like good football, and second, because I like really good anything. Mastery is a positive thing.

But this is an age of parity in professional football - the league intentionally engineers rules and salary restrictions to make sure that no one team dominates the league over time. So why have the Patriots managed to avoid overwhelming rules changes against them so far? Indeed, why does the league seem happy to have them win?

To put it simply, I think it's because the Patriots always look vulnerable, but aren't. Yesterday, for example, I'm sure that if the Eagles had managed 31 points, the Patriots would somehow have scored 34. They're just better. But apparently seeing no need to score more than they do in any particular game, Belichek and his players appear content to leave games close, injecting occasional bits of drama. They kick field goals in the snow to win, or rely on last second interceptions from linebackers who entered the league as pass rushing defensive linemen. Yesterday, they gave Donovan McNabb the opportunity of a lifetime - the chance to equal John Elway's famous "drive" with less than a minute remaining, and a Super Bowl in the balance. Sure, the Patriots stopped him and won, but the point is that their games are rarely the 42-10 romps we've seen so much in the past. They are, in other words, the NFL's dream team. Always the underdog, and often champion.

I went out to dinner Saturday night at the Lime Leaf in New York, an ostensibly Thai restaurant. However, the only noticably Thai feature in my meal of cashew-crusted tilapia and avocado salad was the generous use of a basil-based condiment, both as the dressing for the salad, and as a sauce for the fish. So far as I could tell, the basil dressing consisted merely of finely-minced basil, olive oil, and a touch of salt. The basil alone provided enough bite to offset the oiliness of both the avocado and the olive oil, and while the dressing was very mild (the better to showcase the perfectly ripe avocado and the red oak lettuce) it was still flavorful. Moreover, I suspect it couldn't be easier to make--simply mince the basil in the food processor with salt, and add oil until the flavor and consistency are agreeable.

However, I noticed the restaurant experienced the same difficulty as did I when I attempted to crust tilapia with cashew--the nuts didn't stick to the fish. I know it's possible to achieve a perfectly even cashew crust, because I've seen it done at other restaurants. However, soaking the fish in milk, and pressing it in a combination of cashew nut pieces and flour is clearly not the way to go.

The Austin Bramwell article I discussed earlier is now online.

Via Waddling Thunder I see that some blogger from Harvard is complaining about a proposal that members of a student group ought to dress up a little in order to honor the group's elections. The student's reaction, in part:

Elections are a time when we want to hear a multiplicity of voices from all sources, and I worry that encouraging people to conform in wearing formal attire at this time may subtly operate to discourage this diversity of viewpoints.