While Working, I and II

Today at work, I was at the stage with this report that meant reading through it, but not a lot of typing or 100%+ concentration required; in other words, I could have hockey on as a kind of background music. Not that the NHL games are during the day, but the IIHF world championships, currently going on, are in Russia this year, meaning that the quarterfinal games were today at 9:15 and 1:15 Eastern time. Perfect!

Especially as three Bruins made their country teams. This morning I saw (or mostly listened to) Frank Vatrano* and Team USA eliminate David Pastrnak and the Czechs (bye, Pasta), and this afternoon Brad Marchand and Team Canada eliminated Sweden.
*To the rest of the audience, I'm sure it was Auston Matthews, presumptive top NHL draft pick this summer, and Team USA, and I grant you, he is very impressive

It was during that game that something struck me for the first time. The announcers were talking about how Sweden has two players named Erik Gustafsson--and they're both on defense, even, if I was the coach I would not be able to resist playing them together. But it's certainly unusual, though back when I was a kid, I remember that the Bruins and Montreal had players with the same first and last name at one point. More often, a team will have two players with the same last name (see: the Bruins years with Bob Sweeney and Don Sweeney) or opposing teams will have players with the same last name (see: play-by-play announcers having to specify, "Carolina's Rask takes a shot, easy save for Boston's Rask").

Anyway, that thought apparently bounced around my subconscious and later led to this thought: that must be why, at the NHL draft, they don't give the player's name first. They always say they are picking, from the BC Eagles or whatever the team is, John Smith, and that must be so that if there's more than one John Smith, the wrong one doesn't get excited. Interesting. I never thought about why they do it that way, though I've always vaguely felt it was awkward. Nice to think there's a good reason for it.

Since I was at the not typing much stage, and my hands always get itchy doing nothing, I decided to kill two birds with one stone: it's been bothering me that my desktop is chilly, and I decided to knit a kind of place mat to keep on it, so my arms and wrists don't get cold. And yes, I look forward to the weather improving to the point where I don't need this! In the meantime, I pulled out a skein of yarn and cast on.

I started with 52 stitches, but soon decided that was a little wider than I wanted.

So I ripped it out and cast on 42. By the end of the day, I had used the same amount of yarn, but it fits the space better.

Simple solution, knitter style.