Pensions

* One of the biggest issues going forward, will be pensions. Many large corporations have already converted their pensions to defined contribution plans, much like a 401(k) system. Those who still have defined benefit contributions are having problems. Look at what happened to United Airline workers who thought they'd have nice pensions. The unions negotiated big pensions with full medical benefits, and it helped send the airline to bankruptcy. What good is your pension if the company goes out of business?

* Absent new network TV last night, I checked into the cable show 4400. Have you seen this one? 4400 people are abducted by aliens or whoever over the last 100 years or whatever, and return to earth. Their mission is to save earth, but nobody seems to know what that involves. I missed the first season, but I hear it's out on DVD. What the heck. Last night was 2 hours worth, and I actually kind of liked it in a sci-fi suspense kind of way.

* Apple may switch to Intel chips. So that means a bunch of geeks somewhere will load XP on 'em.

*Government pensions will be a bigger debacle.
A grand jury in Santa Clara County found pension costs there have gone up almost 50 percent during the past three years, from $66 million to $95 million. Oakland is proposing a 3 percent across-the-board cut in services, including police and firefighters, to cope with its $15 million jump in pension costs. The City of Richmond has sent pink slips to nearly half of its firefighters in recent years as it struggles with its own pension debts.

At the statewide level, California's two largest pension funds, CalPERS and CalSTRS, are each underfunded by more than $20 billion. Because of their very design, any defined-benefit pension with a deficit the stock market can't cover puts taxpayers on the hook. The state's general fund contributions to CalPERS alone are expected to jump from $160 million in 2000 to $2.6 billion this year and to $3.5 billion in 2009.

* Enya's music is relaxing. Like a mental enema.

* Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger podcast.

* In CA, recalled Governor Gray Davis really screwed the taxpayers when it comes to public pensions.

* Dwayne Wade's injury having a big impact on the Miami Heat. But they do have home court for Game 7. Did you hear that Shaq was picking up the funeral costs for former Lakers center George Mikan? What a good guy.

* 11% of the workers in Contra Costa are managers. As a friend says, that's probably because it takes a lot of people to manage the bad employees they have. Hah.

* Somebody might have to give taxpayers an enema once they see the tab on those public sector pensions. Taxpayers might get a little clinched up.