TODAY IS

TODAY IS

It's the first full week of spring.

Reese Witherspoon's actual 40th birthday is today. That's 176 in actress years. Doesn't it seem like she owns the keys to Hollywood. Wonder, if eventually, she'll shake things up and change her name to Weatherfork?

Sportscaster Bob Costas turns 64 today.

• We don't mind not seeing him today, since we'll be seeing him every day this summer during the Olympics.
• For Pete's sake, now can he have a pony?
• Just once he'd like to go out for dinner and not have the waitress offer him a booster seat. Just once!

Andrew Lloyd Webber turns 68 today. He wrote "Phantom of the Opera," but the Phantom never wrote him back. For him, "another great score" means a musical achievement, unlike... oh, say Tiger Woods. Completely different meaning.

Guitarist George Benson turns 73 today. He was a big part of the "Smooth Jazz" sound and had a hit with "On Broadway."

William Shatner turns 85 today -- "Star Trek"'s first Captain Kirk:

• But he's hoping to negotiate a lower rate on Priceline.
• He plans to go out for a nice dinner tonight if Priceline accepts his bid.
• Remember Bill, if Scotty beams you up for more than four hours at a time, see your doctor.
• Hard to believe these Star Trek guys are that old. I heard the other day that Leonard Nimoy is going in to get an ear-lift.

According to Playboy, the budget for the TV show "Star Trek" in 1966 was $100,000 per episode. Before it was cancelled in 2005, an episode of "Star Trek: Enterprise" cost $5 million to produce.

Signs that Star Trek is taking over your life:

• Saying "make it so" in casual conversation.
• Indignation because the periodic table doesn't include dilithium and tritanium.
• Able to use "variable phase inverter" in a sentence without excessive thought first.
• More than one pair of Spock ears in junk drawer.
• You have figured out the stardate system.
• Scanning shelves at local liquor store for synthehol.
• The Star Trek theme becomes background music for your dreams.
• Forgetting that present-day elevators don't have a voice interface.
• Serious thoughts about buying that $300 model of the Enterprise from the Franklin Mint.
• You understand Klingon.
• Lecturing any science professor on how transporters work.

National Goof-Off Day -- Americans waste 18 weeks a year goofing off at work, according to a survey conducted by a national executive-recruiting firm, which showed workers throw the most time away by:

• Lounging at the water fountain, coffee pot or smoking area
• Hiding in the rest room
• Gossiping about co-workers
• Complaining about the boss
• Making personal calls on company time
• Daydreaming
• Flirting
• Surfing the web
• Texting friends

This is the day I leave the studio and spend the morning relaxing in a lounge chair outside the studio in a nice grassy spot near the highway, reading the paper, drinking coffee and watching TV.