The latest DeLay delay of his Ken Lay-like downfall - don't believe it for a second.

Tom DeLay's out. "Retiring" to the lobbying and the speechifying circuit. In pre-disgrace. And his home District is still in play. Wowza. My take on all of this is simple, contrary to what many newzers are saying - DeLay's facing a probable Federal indictment based on the actions of his Office securing votes for bribes. This step was an anxious sidestep, entirely intended to surprise the chattering class and hopefully undersell the problem. But I'd bet my third nipple that The Hammer's got that much more to fear than just the possibility of losing re-election for his seat in the House. I think he's looking at the prospects of a seat in the Big House. I'm reminded of my favorite "why DeLay is gonna eat it Big Time!" story from a few years ago. After drunkenly trying to light up cigars (I'd bet they were Cubans) in a DC Ruth's Chris Steak House housed in a Federal Building where smoking is not allowed, DeLay protested that "I AM the Federal Government." Or rather, you "WERE". I look forward to "The Hammer" being listed just after MC Hammer in history's tabulation of those fallen from the loftiest of heights sometime very, very soon.

Baseball season started yesterday. The New Brew Crew won a great home opener against the Pittsburg Pirates, 5-2, after some smart moves by the Brewers' increasingly smart Manager, Ned Yost, and a welcomed returning player, Jeff Cirillo. The SF Unnaturally Large and Increasingly Awkward Giants lost in front of unusually caustic crowd in San Diego (a fan threw a plastic syringe at Barry Bonds in the most clever display of inappropriate fan protest in years). Beats getting hit with a snowball packed around a D-cell battery. But not by much.

We're back from Seattle, feeling damn good about the sort of places we started seeing to move into upon our return. No slam dunk yet. Not even a lay-up yet. More of a good dribbling drill. One assessment I can offer, though - the suggestion that the demise of realtors is imminent is premature. Over the past few months, we've religiously used Redfin.com and Zillow.com to search for homes. They're great search tools, to be sure. But not exactly ready for prime time. Still, we met two really nice agents, one of which we're going to utilize and one who we feel somewhat guilty about cutting out of any prospective deal. And we met one DEEEECK of an agent who tried to play us a tune on a kiddie piano (so to speak) that sounded shallow and utterly ridiculous. Case in point - if your real estate agent gets lost on numerous occasions "leading" you around the neighborhoods you're interested in, he might be a redneck (apologies to all of humanity for the Jeff Foxworthy reference). Or at least a cheeseball. Regardless, we feel damn good about what we might find, even if the market there won't deflate anytime soon given the influx of new folks and re-strengthening of the local economy. Compared to San Francisco, Seattle's Boise. Stay tuned for more of our stories of real-ity estate travails.

Hope your own searches bring well-targeted results today. Rock on.