Democratized dwellings--A big-time realtor and 34 prestigious architects are planning a new housing tract in the Hamptons, the Long Island, New York, beach area where the big-bucks society folks have their summer vacations, yachts, and other amenities. The homes in the new tract will be limited in size and moderately priced. They won't be big enough to feature customary discos, gyms, servants quarters, etc. But they will be available for $750,000 to $2.5 million.

We did chuckle--A dialog between Dilbert and his boss: Boss: "I'm promoting you to president of our dot.com subsidiary. Your job is to fire everyone." Dilbert: "Would I get a raise?" Boss: "How does a billion shares of stock sound?"

Fast learner--Combining salary, stock bonus, and perks, Kenneth Lay, top dog at Enron, a Texas energy peddler, was paid $18.2 million for 2000. A company statement declared its "philosophy" on executive compensation was to reward performance. Lay apparently tripled his performance capacity rapidly last year. In 1999 he took home a mere $5.96 million.

More than meets the ear--We didn't realize the social benefit of cell phones until we read a USA Today headline: "Cellphones drowning out police radios."

Like 'national security'?-- "Michigan: Lansing--New regulations prohibit materials in the state's 44 prisons that depict sex acts. Publications that contain nude photos are allowed if the model is of the opposite sex from the prisoner. Department of Corrections Director Bill Martin said the change was implemented for security reasons."

And not as if they have other worries--After we remembered who "Cheney" was, we were struck by the headline: "Cheney's health does not worry most Americans." This finding was the result of a combined polling project by Gallup, CNN, and USA Today. They reported that 59 percent were not concerned about the vice president's ongoing heart problems.

Getting chilly--"Consumers increasingly delinquent on repayments--More people fall behind on mortgages and credit cards in a troubling sign of an already cooling economy"--Los Angeles Times business section.

Thought for the week--"I don't think that fine architecture should be limited to the very rich. It should be available to the upper middle class as well."--Hampton real estate operator Harry Brown.  
 
 
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