Businesses and governments worldwide have invested an estimated $1 trillion in mainframe software, for everything from corporate bookkeeping and payroll ledgers to Federal tax records.

It was there, in the cellars of Ballycastle, that she found them-a set of black payroll ledgers, stashed away in an old cabinet.

A deleted scene in The Godfather shows former consiglieri and family attorney Tom Hagen reviewing the payroll ledgers and finding both Neri and Lampone being paid much more than their jobs are worth.

If I were running for re-election, you'd have every reason to doubt my independence; consequently, on May 29, 2005, by mutual agreement with executive editor Bill Keller, my name will disappear from the head of this column and from The Times's payroll ledger.