--Steven Johnson of the Chicago Tribune on the CBS Show "Big Brother." "The show is taking the country by calm."

---The $99 i-opener web browser from Netpliance has a "pizza" key on its keyboard.

--There are more English speakers in China than the U.S.

--"Nobody roots for Goliath." (Shaquille O'Neal)

--"A gig of RAM may not be enough." A mid-90s quote from a prophetic Richmond programmer.

--RE the human genome map: "There is no DNA basis for race; genetically, we are all humans." (L. Douglas Wilder)

--"The Diana Ross tour suffered from microphone problems. Apparently the Supremes wanted one, too." (Jay Leno)

--More Leno: You've heard the adage you should earn your age in thousands. "Backwards," said comedian Mark Gross. "Act the age you earn."

--Still more Leno: a pretty funny ethnic comedian who's name I never snatched while dial flipping. "They say opposites attract. Well, if that's the case, it's time for a rich white woman to make a pass at me."

--"God is the killer app." A Richmond dot-comrade on the idea we are just a few years away from a computer that will exceed human thought.

--Radio caller on Dr. Dean Edell's show. "Of course the insurance companies want to move some anti-cholesterol drugs to the over-the-counter market. Insurance doesn't cover over the counter."

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Wasn't it a giant rat?
   President Clinton calls his male member Willard. Ironically, G.L. Marshall uses the term "Mr. President."

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Banner headlines

   What P&G does believe in is moving product, and with that in mind, check out www.reflect.com, a state-of-the-art web site in terms of information design, graphic design and mass customization. Women can answer a few questions and get customized cosmetics. I showed it to a focus group of one -- my girlfriend -- and she dug it. Look for reflect ads in mags like Cosmo. And look for it to make some money.

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Priorities
   For those paying attention, under current economic standings in the United States, 20 percent of the population is responsible for 80 percent of the wealth. According to some estimates, the top one percent controls nearly half.

   So with that in mind, keep in mind Congress, in racng toward summer recess, passed a $30 billion tax break for the top 1 percent. You know that of all the problems facing our country, tax breaks for the super-rich must be the most pressing issue of all.

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The rule of 70
   A classic way for women to ruin their man's sports-watching experience. In 70 percent of all hockey games, the team that shoots the most in the fiirst period wins. In 70 percent of all baseball games, one team will score more runs in one inning than the other team will score in the entire game. And 70 percent of all NFL teams will lose their next game whenever they have won three games in a row.

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Diamonds are a terrorist's best friend
   The British government wants to ban diamond imports from Sierra Leone because the gem sales are financing a civil war. History shows it's apparently okay for terrorists to finance their enterprises with hashish, cocaine, heroin or opium.

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   G.L. Marshall believes the second best thing to being funny is being insightful.

   --From Tawni O'Dell's "Back Roads," a gritty, crushing story tucked inside absolutely brilliant writing. Gets my vote for best first novel since Charles Frasier's "Cold Mountain." ... It's the fourth time I've pulled a book from Oprah's club, and each one has been excellent. Oprah, aside from being one of the most successful people on the planet, has excellent literary taste. ... Should novels come with warning labels? My 78-year-old mother was willing to give credit where credit is due, but she also described this book as "filthy."

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   ---A carpenter slave in Richmond, Virginia was sold for $4,000 U.S. dollars in 1863, and if you find that price truly mind-boggling, remember that highly skilled slaves of this fellow's ilk were often owned by three or four people. That's a staggering sum in way-back-when dollars, and it only makes it worse to think that people would spend that kind of money to own a human being instead of paying them a fair living wage to begin with.

   The source of this factoid, by the way, is L. Douglas Wilder's weekly WRVA radio show, an island of quality in an industry dominated by huge syndicates pushing hang-up-on-callers nonsense.

   Radio has become so bad, thanks to play-it-safe conglomerates such as Clear Channel Communications, I have no fear that my low-bandwidth web-page style will become obsolete considering the boom in high bandwidth connections. I firmly believe that all that new bandwidth is going to be eaten by radio downloads, and offer WRNR in Annapolis, Md. as Exhibit A.

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