Smart

Rep. Roscoe G. Bartlett, a Western Maryland Republican, will sponsor the fifth SMART PROC conference, which will be held in conjunction with SMART ( Strengthening the Mid-Atlantic Region for Tomorrow) from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 2 at the FSK Holiday Inn in Frederick. Registration will begin at 7 a.m. and a continental breakfast at 7:30 a.m. Lunch is included. This free event is designed to help small businesses succeed in obtaining contracts with the federal government. The event will feature 58 confirmed speakers and 46 exhibitors and sponsors.

Stewart Nickel looked at the odds board at Laurel Park yesterday and couldn't believe what he was seeing."8-1," he said, referring to the odds of his filly, Smart 'n Noble, who was about to make her 11th stakes start in the Barbara Fritchie Handicap, richest of the track's races for fillies and mares."

GEOGRAPHY QUIZ-- The North Platte and South Platte rivers meet in which state -- Montana or Nebraska? (Answer below) QUIZ ANSWER (FROM ABOVE) Nebraska. Source: National Geographic Bee.

Stewart Nickel seldom misses a race run by his filly, Smart n' Noble.But yesterday, the Grateful Dead won out.Being the devoted Deadhead that he is, Nickel skipped a trip to Laurel Park to see Smart n' Noble try to regain winning status in the Very Subtle Handicap and opted for a Grateful Dead concert at RFK Stadium.Smart n' Noble didn't miss him a bit.Under regular jockey, Mario Pino, the bay filly methodically picked off the front-runners and splashed to an easy 2 1/2 -length score over Cherokee Wonder on the sloppy track.

I am running a 2-Ghz Dell PC with Windows XP. I have partitioned the hard drive into several partitions. I usually keep the PC on all the time. However, when I turn it off and restart, I always get a message that one of my disks (Drive K) needs to be checked for consistency. If I let the computer check the disk, there are no problems encountered and Windows starts. If I hit Enter to abort the disk check, Windows starts. Is there something that I can do to solve this annoying problem? You may be in bigger trouble than you think because that warning message you are getting usually means that there is a mechanical problem with a hard drive and there is a strong chance that it will fail sometime in the future - probably the near future.

Smart 'N Noble, the Maryland-bred 2-year-old champion filly of 1993, spent most of last year nursing a sore knee on a Baltimore County farm.But yesterday, she burst back on the racing scene with a gutsy, three-quarter-length upset over favored Queen Suite in the $54,625 Francis Scott Key Stakes at Laurel Park.The 4-year-old daughter of Smarten, owned by Pat Nickel and her two sons, Steve and Stewart, of Timonium, is now considered a prime contender for next month's Barbara Fritchie Handicap, centerpiece of Laurel's winter season.

YOU MAY FEEL pretty good about your stock and bond portfolio lately, but here's news: The smart money is not thinking so much about American stocks and bonds these days, and when it is, it's often thinking they'll go down as well as up. The smart money has instead put big dollars into emerging international markets. The smart money also likes nonpublic stocks and complex hedge funds. The smart money believes megaprofits are still to be had by boarding technology startups at the ground floor.

Q: You recently asked men if they prefer women of lesser intelligence for partners and what bothered them about being with a woman of substance.I'm 76 and claim no particular wisdom because of age. But I have discovered that one looks back with a different perspective, perhaps with insight missing at an earlier age.In my opinion, intelligent men like and look for intelligent women. But there is a big however after stating that: how the woman comes on. In my experience in the last several decades, too many gals of intelligence and competence come on so strong that the attitude is not at all attractive.

If Art Modell is smart, he won't insult our intelligence. He won't shamelessly evoke the Colts' past trying to sell permanent seat licenses. He won't hire Don Shula to operate Baltimore's new NFL team.No, if Modell is smart, he'll take a page from his new neighbor, Orioles owner Peter Angelos. He'll hire a strong coach and strong general manager, then step back while they rebuild the franchise.Shula's time has passed -- he isn't the right man for either job, much less both. Besides, Modell doesn't need a publicity stunt to sell his PSLs.

LACKING A contract with a television station whose managers never should have let him out of the parking lot, Chris Thomas left Baltimore against his will. That was nearly 16 years ago. And yet his death at the age of 55 from cancer in Tampa on Wednesday night was mourned here as the sudden loss of a local treasure, as if Thomas had just finished a broadcast on TV Hill and died in transit to spring training with the Orioles. No knock against any of the television sportscasters who stayed or came on the scene after his departure for another TV gig in Florida, but Chris Thomas was the toughest act to follow in Baltimore sports since Brooks.