Comfortable

My problem is my weight. All my working life, I have had two wardrobes -- one for when I gain weight and one for when I lose it. Now that I've turned 40, I decided to get rid of the skinny, form-fitting numbers that take up space in my closet.I want to buy clothes that are comfortable -- even if I gain 10 pounds. What should I look for that will still make me look modern?Mario Bandiera, managing director of Les Copains, says you are right to avoid form-fitting fashions and suggests you look for clothes with soft silhouettes in free-flowing fabrics, such as knits and soft cottons.

CLEVELAND -- Once insistent that first baseman David Segui could overcome more than two lost weeks of spring training, manager Mike Hargrove acknowledged his cleanup hitter's sluggish start by resting him yesterday against Cleveland Indians left-handed rookie C. C. Sabathia. "Right now I'm awful," Segui said after batting practice. "Nothing feels good." Segui is sitting on a .111 average that includes six strikeouts in 18 at-bats. His search for timing at the plate is compounded by his need for comfort on both sides.

For blue-chip basketball recruit Nate James, the Great Chase ended in a comfort zone along Tobacco Road.Citing a preference for the family atmosphere of Duke over the chance to play in front of friends and family at Maryland, the 6-foot-6 McDonald's All-American from St. John's Prospect Hall in Frederick yesterday signed a national letter of intent to play for coach Mike Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils."

If you walk around a room full of people using PCs, you'll notice more than a few who seem to be craning their necks and squinting at their screens. This is a sure sign that they're not comfortable using their computers, and that's bad news. Eyestrain is the No. 1 ergonomic hazard involved with extended computer use. Fortunately, it's a problem that's relatively easy to fix with a few simple adjustments to your hardware, software and headware. Even if you think you're comfortable at your machine, pay attention, because what we mistake for comfort is often a case of getting used to a condition that's mildly annoying but can be harmful in the long run. First, look at the height of your monitor.

Q: This sounds crazy but our otherwise happy and mature 10-year-old is still afraid of the dark! After we go to bed, he gets up and turns his room light back on. What can we do to help him be braver?A: Your son's fear is quite normal for his age. In fact, when researchers interview 10- to 14-year-olds, most mention "the dark" as No. 1 or 2 on the list of things they are afraid of. The other top contenders are animals, being left alone, crowds and high places. We urge you to think back to your own childhood.

WASHINGTON -- In 1982, when Ronald K. Noble graduated from Stanford Law School, his ambition was to "join the largest law firm I could and make the most money I could." Instead, he went into public service and teaching. Now he has accepted a position that will never yield wealth, but will not fall short on challenges.As the newly named secretary-general of the international law-enforcement agency Interpol, Noble, 42, until recently a New York University Law School professor, will be charged with breathing new life into an organization that has sometimes fallen behind the times in confronting global crime.

You're standing in the middle of the Baltimore Convention Center. You're hot, your feet hurt. You've forgotten whether the vase you adored (it was a vase, wasn't it?) was at booth 430 or 340. And how much did it cost, anyway? You're experiencing ACC Craft Show overload. What were you thinking, imagining you could see work by more than 650 artisans in a day or so? Fear not, it can be done. But you need what many of us veteran American Craft Council show shoppers have: a plan. Over the years, we've mapped out methods on how to see it all, avoid exhaustion and be happy with what we buy. Call it the ACC Craft Show Survival Guide, and we'll be following it again at this weekend's show.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.-- --Confidence, apparently, has two faces. One looks like a whole lot of fun, and the other I actually trust. In years past, we'd watch these Ravens celebrate a big win, a huge play or a new Jay-Z album with dancing, hollering and a buffet of revelry usually limited to Times Square on New Year's Eve. There's something different now, a post-game locker room vibe that's more smooth jazz than Kool & the Gang. In fact, the mood after yesterday's impressive 20-10 win against the Chiefs wasn't a whole lot different from what we saw a week earlier, after a disappointing loss in Cincinnati.

Get ready, Gap. Move over, A-X Armani. You're both about to get some stiff competition from K mart.Those familiar terms -- classic, clean, casual, basic and comfortable -- often used to describe the offerings of the Gap and the newer Armani Jeans line are the very ones K mart is using to tout its new B. E. collection of clothes for women.B. E., which stands for Basic Essentials, is a line of T-shirts, shorts, tank tops, camp shirts, pants and rompers in orange, fuchsia, yellow, green, turquoise, red, blue, violet, black and white solids, and stripes, madras plaids and Hawaiian florals.

Nobody ever prepared Andrew and Amy Washington for life in a homeless shelter. They had lived comfortable -- yes, sheltered -- childhoods, Andrew the son of a Navy officer and Amy a suburban girl accustomed to flashing her father's credit card at local stores.Around Christmas last year, they moved east from Dayton, Ohio, carrying $500 and the expectation that Mr. Washington would slide into a semi-arranged job as a hotel cook in Baltimore. Then, everything went wrong.The job wasn't there.