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8:30 AM EST, Friday, June 1: I'm finally useful . I figured they'd get to 25 and be independent. Fat chance. What with school fees, apartment costs, living and study money and laptop spare parts, the requests seem endless. But Fathers Day is coming -- real soon. Hint. Hint.

This is Claire last Friday graduating from law school. She now spends an exciting summer studying for the Massachusetts bar. Oh, yes, I'm family photographer, too.

The best deal you can do for your kids: stuff them full of the best education money can buy. And pray. It's worked stunningly so far. An we have an added bonus. Claire looks really cute in that rented outfit, which we had to return about three nanoseconds after they handed her diploma. You guessed right. I'm crying as I write this. Daddy is way proud.

Leap wireless could appeal: I don't have time to check thoroughly into Leap Wireless. But I hear really good things. A reader who works for them writes:

Cricket is a mid size PCS/cell Phone Company. Our nitch is flat rate all you can talk for the local calling area. Although we have expanded our service and now offer unlimited long distance and unlimited roaming in other Cricket markets. We are in about 53 markets and bought about 100 more in FCC auction 66. The company will double in size over the next year or so. Stock symbol: LEAP. Check out mycricket.com. Another company similar to us, Metro PCS, bought the license for New York City.

I their web site and I like Cricket's chart:

What follows a stock market record? More of 'em. When the press discovers endless riches in the stockmarket, you pretty well it's all over. Or is it? From today's USA TODAY

NEW YORK — There is nothing, it seems, more liberating to a stock market shackled by doubt than a run to a new all-time high.

A fresh record, like the ones posted this week by the benchmark Standard & Poor's 500 index after a seven-year wait, is often followed by a string of records (it closed at a record 1530.62 Thursday).

Looking at data going back to 1942, S&P found stocks slump (-0.7%) in the month after busting into virgin territory. But the adrenaline returns. Stocks are up big six months later (+5.2%).

HISTORIC HIGH REACTION In this bull market, it took the S&P 500 nearly three times longer — 57 months — to hit a new high than it did on average in the previous 10 bull markets. Following those 10 previous new highs, on average: S&P change, next 1 month ... -0.7% S&P change, next 3 months .. 2.1% S&P change, next 6 months .. 5.6% Time until next top ...................37 months Source: Standard & Poor's

Perhaps most comforting to investors suffering acrophobia is the fact that, on average, the next market top does not form for roughly three years, says S&P. "Like they taught us in stockbroker school, new highs lead to new highs," quips Michael Farr, president of investment firm Farr Miller & Washington.

Recent stock market action drives that point home. The Dow Jones industrials have notched 47 record closes since October 2006. Those stats, plus the fact that any investor who owns index funds that track the S&P 500 are now in the black and have less reason to sell, suggest stocks have room to run.

With the S&P 500 trading at valuations that are in line with historical levels, signs of excess that could result in a major decline are absent, Farr says.

Typically, a string of records is fueled by a bullish mix of factors: newfound investor confidence; the conversion of market skeptics to true believers; and momentum buying by people who don't want to miss out.

Says New York-based money manager Michael Holland: "Psychology is so important. When the headlines tout new highs, people say, 'I want in!' "

But it will take more than psychology to sustain the rally. Potential drivers:

• Individual investors return. Last year, just $11 billion flowed into U.S. stock funds vs. $149 billion that went into foreign funds, says TrimTabs Investment Research. that trend may finally be shifting, which could provide a tailwind for stocks, says Charles Biderman, CEO of TrimTabs. The past two weeks, $3.4 billion went into domestic funds, boosting the May estimate to $11 billion, just $3 billion less than the full-month estimate for foreign funds.

• New leaders emerge. Market laggards, such as technology and health care, need to show some life. "You don't want to rely on the same old tired leaders," says Jeffrey Kleintop, chief market strategist at LPL Financial Services.

• Skeptics give up. There is nearly $12 billion, a record, betting that New York Stock Exchange stocks will decline. If shares keep rising, those players will have to reverse their bets, creating future demand for stocks, says Mark Arbeter, chief technical strategist at S&P.

Australian miners/explorers keep climbing. My favorites remain Kagara Zinc (KZL.AU), Minara Resources (MRE.AU) and Apex Minerals (AXM.AU). There are reasons:

+ Australia is huge and largely unexplored.
+ Mineral prices are high. Check out nickel and uranium for stratospheric gains.
+ Australia is stable. They even talk a form of English.

Apex has no mineral production. But it just raised A$32.2 million from what it said were "Australian, North American and European institutional and sophisticated investors. "The funds will be used to satisfy the cash component of the Company’s previously announced acquisitions, to substantially advance those projects with the aim of moving toward a development decision and to provide additional regional exploration funding and general working capital."

You get information on Australian miners at www.asx.com.au. All Australian public companies have great web sites. I believe they give out better public information than most public companies in the U.S. You can register on asx.com and configure watchlists of portfolios of Australian stocks. The Australian dollar is worth about 82 U.S. cents. But it's been creeping up -- an added benefit as the U.S. dollar falls.

Proud of recommending Apple. I suspect it will go even higher.

Great statistic: Left to their own devices (well-fed and free from traps and cats), in 18 months two rats could have over a million descendants.

Best amateur wildlife video ever. It's shot in South Africa. Hint: The good guys win. Click here.

Don't cry over milk spilled on your laptop: Or anything else spilled on your laptop. True story: my friend spilled coffee on her laptop. She dried it. But several keys would no longer work -- including A and E. The local computer store wanted several hundreds of dollars to fix it. Fact is laptop keyboards are cheap and easy to replace. I replaced my friend's Dell Inspiron keyboard for $42.99 (including shipping). And I recently replaced my Toshiba Tecra M5 keyboard for $69 (including shipping). Two places to find keyboards: Spare Parts Warehouse and Priority Electronics.

French Open Tennis TV Schedule: Plenty of tennis to watch. There's a six hour time difference to EST and nine hours to PST. Tennis is basically on three channels -- ESPN2, NBC and the Tennis Channel (455 on Time Warner).