The balloting in our comment contest from Buck-a-Hit Day was close -- remarkably so -- and PJB's one-word pronouncement narrowly edged out some lengthier, and darker, verse from LucsAdvo. Graciously, however, PJB has ceded first place to Lucs, and so the latter is hereby declared the winner of the contest. If Lucs would be so kind to let us know who his or her designated charity will be -- it has to be an organization exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the tax code -- we'll get the $250 check out along with the rest, which will go out in just a few days.

Meanwhile, on the contribution front, we picked up five bucks from a Sunday straggler, and one of our match sponsors has thrown in some additional dollars to Ronald McDonald House to bring us to an even $9,000 for the day. Quite a haul, and we're most grateful.