Have been out of it for most of the day today. Ambulatory surgery for a hysteroscopy. Apparently polyps are involved. But I digress.

I heard from my dad during Bush II's PC Tuesday night. He called -- as someone from my family usually does when something of political significance is happening -- to ask me about Bush's tie. We laughed about it that night -- both realizing that no one -- NO ONE -- in the WH had the experience or the sense to look at that tie and say -- wait a minute boss, those checks are going to wreak havoc on television monitors across the country. It's so basic in this day and age that I'm almost at a loss for words. With everything else going on with me, I forgot about it until I read Newsday's funny little mention about it today.

Another Newsday opinion column reminded me of something my friend David N. always said about web production: take care of the small things before they turn into big things. While I'm not sure the tie will ever become a big thing, it certainly shows me (not that I needed more evidence) that no one's paying attention to the details at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.