Never a slave to fashion

Spots and stripes: According to those who analyze such things, mismatched clothes are the big thing for back-to-school fashion.

Excellent. For the first time ever, we can truly say we are ahead of the fashion trends. Wardrobe decisions go so much easier if you simply base them on what is clean rather than what matches.

If you like e-mail (and who doesn't?) and need some organization (and who doesn't?) then Walter Mossberg has a suggestion. It's a new feature for Outlook called Xobni. Sadly, the feature does nothing to organize your home or work space. We're holding out for that upgrade.

The economy has slowed enough that even the rich have noticed. No big deal, though, now that the mismatched look is in. The rich can simply wear Gucci with Prada or Armani with Vera Wang and still be fashionable.

After letting go of his baseball dreams and taking a "real" job, a Jackson High and Gonzaga grad is unexpectedly a pro. He was working as a mortgage consultant and now he's a pro pitcher. We have no snarky comment to add here -- it's just a really cool story.