Etc...

I FEEL SO GUILTY

There are people who bask in Hawaii vacations, sampling the Aloha State's delights with nary a regret except about having to return home. Then there's the person who wrote to the Automotive Management Division the other day. The envelope, which was mailed in Lansing, Mich., bore more than enough postage to make sure it reached its destination. Inside were an unsigned letter and a $5 bill. What: a Hawaii vacation doesn't cost enough already? Not, apparently for the sender. He (or she) confessed to overstaying the time on a parking meter outside 'Iolani Palace in Honolulu and wanted to make amends. Said department chief Harold Sonomura: "This is a first."

Speaking of vacations, if you haven't yet booked a transatlantic cruise on the QE2, you might want to call your travel agent soon. Cunard Line, its owner, has announced that the famous 1967-vintage luxury liner will stop sailing between Britain and New York after April 2004. That route will be assumed by the company's new flagship, the Queen Mary 2, which still is under construction. In store for the QE2: shorter cruises from its Southampton, England, base.

For a seventh straight year, Emily was the name more parents preferred for their new daughters, according to the Social Security Administration, which tracks baby names by card applications for newborns. Jacob was the most popular choice for sons, displacing Michael for only the second time since 1963. The top 10 names in 2001, for boys and girls, respectively:

1. Jacob 1. Emily
2. Michael 2. Madison
3. Matthew 3. Hannah
4. Joshua 4. Ashley
5. Christopher 5. Alexis
6. Nicholas 6. Samantha
7. Andrew 7. Sarah
8. Joseph 8. Abigail
9. Daniel 9. Elizabeth
10. William 10. Jessica
– Associated Press