What was going on when I was born?

''Everything is going tickety-boo so far.'' - Paul J. Weitz, astronaut. (C5:1.)

A ruling that Texaco Inc. overcharged customers about $1 billion for crude oil sold in the mid-1970's was left intact today by the Supreme Court. The Court, without comment, refused to hear an appeal from the oil company and the State of Louisiana. But Texaco, based in White Plains, said it ''will continue to contest'' the allegations of overcharging and that the case against it ''is baseless.'' The dispute is over Federal regulations aimed at controlling the price of ''old oil'' while permitting higher prices for ''new oil.'' Beginning in 1973, the Department of Energy classified as old oil monthly production equal to that from the same property in the corresponding month of 1972. Any additional oil was classified as new and could be sold at a higher price determined by market conditions.

Reflecting the severe problems facing many of the nation's small oil and gas producers, the Saxon Oil Company reported yesterday that its fourth-quarter loss had widened to $41 million. It added that its auditors were ''unable to express an opinion'' on its financial condition because of unresolved problems in restructuring its huge debt. The MGF Oil Corporation, a contract oil and gas drilling company in Texas, also reported a deficit for the fourth quarter yesterday. MGF said it lost $58.5 million in the quarter and received a qualified auditors' opinion on its 1982 results.

President Reagan today asked Congress for authorization to restrict imports from countries that sell to Communist bloc nations in violation of an American trade sanction. The proposed legislation, in the form of amendments to the Export Administration Act, would be the first to empower a President to restrict imports during trade disputes. In the past the United States has penalized foreign companies violating American sanctions by putting them on a so-called ''denial list,'' an action that prevented them from purchasing American goods and services or from importing technology from their parent company.

The head of the corporation building New York City's new Convention Center said yesterday that he hoped to have a greatly expanded work force on the site by summer to help make up for long construction delays. But neither the official, George Schoepfer, nor other Convention Center officials could say how much time they would gain. The center, a joint venture of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and the State Urban Development Corporation, had been scheduled to open in mid-1984, but construction problems could keep it from opening fully until until 1985 or later, according to recent studies.

Four astronauts rode the new space shuttle Challenger into earth orbit Monday and deployed a large satellite that was boosted early today toward a distant point in space where it will be used for tracking and communicating with future spacecraft. The satellite and its attached rocket were sprung free of the Challenger's cargo bay at 11:31 P.M. A two-and-a-half-minute firing of the rocket, beginning at 12:27 A.M. today sent the 5,000-pound tracking and data relay satellite on its way to a 22,300-mile-high orbit over the Equator above Brazil. The operation, the mission's most important goal, was reported to have been successful. A full checkout of the satellite will begin later today after it reaches its ultimate position.

DESPITE the conventional psychological wisdom that domestic disputes are best resolved through mediation, a pioneering study of police tactics in domestic assault cases has concluded that the best way for the police to prevent repeated acts of violence in the home may be simply to arrest men suspected of assaulting their wives or lovers. This conclusion not only goes against the beliefs of many psychologists but also supports claims by feminist groups that arrest is the best way to protect battered women from further abuse. The findings - hailed as a ''first'' by several leading criminologists -also suggest that most police departments may be using the wrong tactics to quell domestic violence. In only a minority of cases do the police arrest anyone for domestic assault, according to the study. Instead, they may try to mediate the dispute or seek to achieve short-term peace by ordering one party, usually the man, to leave the premises for the night. Or, in many cases, they do nothing at all.

The Economy President Reagan asked Congress for authorization to restrict imports from countries that sell to the Soviet Union or another Communist bloc nation in violation of an American trade sanction. The proposed legislation would be the first to restrict imports during East-West trade disputes. (Page D1.) The Supreme Court left standing a ruling that Texaco had overcharged its customers by about $1 billion for crude oil sold in the mid-1970's. The company said, however, that it would press its case. (D1.) The Court also ruled that a job-bias plaintiff does not have to produce direct proof of intentional discrimination. (A23.)

The sole witness to the slayings of four people atop a Hudson River garage last April described the scene in court yesterday but said he could not identify the killer. The witness, Angelo Sticca, provided the first details of the homicides and immediate aftermath at the murder trial of Donald Nash in State Supreme Court in Manhattan. The prosecutor has indicated that Mr. Sticca was the only person besides the killer and victims on the rooftop at the time of the shootings. Mr. Sticca described how he saw the body of a woman being dragged on the rooftop parking lot and then how three of his fellow employees at CBS were shot by a lone gunman.

The New York City Buildings Department ordered the arrest yesterday of 28 owners or managers of commercial properties in Manhattan who it said had neglected to comply with local building-safety laws despite repeated warnings. It marked the first time that the Police Department had been used to round up owners who ignored such warnings, according to Robert Esnard, the city's new Buildings Commissioner. The properties involved in the crackdown that began yesterday morning were used as offices, restaurants and nightclubs and were scattered throughout Manhattan. 14 Arraigned in Court Fourteen owners or managers were arraigned yesterday in Criminal Court in Manhattan and charged with violating three building-safety laws. A Buildings Department spokesman, Barry G. Cox, said the other 14 arrests were expected to be made today.

Vietnamese troops reportedly enlarged their control of Cambodian areas along the Thai border today, overrunning another insurgent headquarters and sending more than 20,000 Cambodians fleeing into Thailand. Refugees told international aid workers in Thailand that the military headquarters of forces loyal to Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the former Cambodian chief of state, had fallen to the Vietnamese after shelling that began on Sunday. But some fighting was said to be continuing near the base, which was at O Smach, a civilian settlement also known as Sihanoukville. A total of 45,000 Cambodians are estimated to have fled into Thailand since last Thursday, when the Vietnamese seized the guerrilla base of Phnom Chat, which straddles the border. The estimates were made by spokesmen for the United Nations Border Relief Operation and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

COMPUTERS, it turns out, will whisper their secrets to anyone sophisticated enough to hear them. Every computer ever made constantly and inadvertently emits radio waves that can be decoded with equipment designed for electronic espionage. The signals - transmitted by everything from word processors to I.B.M. mainframe computers - come off screens, chassis, wiring, and power lines. The trick is to translate what seems like static and learn the precise pattern that gave rise to it in the first place. But the problem has been solved. Technology now exists to do it. And, as a result, an ominous potential has developed for a whole new field of espionage.