What was going on when I was born?

Daghe S.A., a computer dealership, had a plan of expansion that was supposed to be completed in 45 days. But 45 days turned out to be a bit too long- range for doing business in Argentina's chaotic economy. Under the plan, the five-year-old company was to inaugurate in late November one of the nation's first all- purpose computer stores, stocked with home computers, accessories and a broad selection of software. But as Gabriel Fagnilli, chief executive officer and part owner of Daghe, flew back from the United States two weeks ago after placing purchase orders, the project was unceremoniously derailed by Argentina's foreign debt crisis.

International The threat to oil supplies posed by the Iran-Iraq war is serious, especially in light of Iran's repeated assertion that it may close the Strait of Hormuz. But oil traders and industry analysts say the world could cope with a loss of the six million barrels of oil a day that pass through the strait. (Page D1.)

The three-year-old war between Iran and Iraq, neighboring nations that sit on top of some of the world's largest oil reserves, is posing the most serious threat of disrupting international oil supplies since the Iranian revolution in 1979. But, for now, the oil market is stable, and many experts are saying that industrial nations could take such a disruption in stride. Fears of an interruption were sparked by unconfirmed reports last week that France, a supporter of Iraq, had delivered five Super Etendard jet fighters to that country. Saddam Hussein, Iraq's president, responded in Baghdad by saying that that delivery of the jets had been ''delayed,'' but that he expected them by the end of October.

Wanda Rivera and Nilsa Velasquez, seniors at Washington Irving High School, were trying to convince an eighth grader that their school was the best. ''In 11th grade, you can work in an emergency room and everything,'' Wanda was saying, explaining a nursing program available at the school. She held the eighth grader, Gayle Bond, by the arm and leaned over the table that stood between them. ''I saw all those cuts and stuff,'' Wanda said. ''It was really good.''

''A while back, a lot of games like Pac-Man I used to like a lot.

The Long Island Lighting Company could be bankrupted if it were forced to absorb as much as $1 billion of the $3.5 billion estimated cost of its Shoreham nuclear plant, according to the draft report by the staff of Governor Cuomo's special commission on Shoreham. The report, issued last week, also concluded that if the reactor were abandoned and Lilco allowed to collect its entire cost from ratepayers over several years, the company would still be driven into bankruptcy unless it were permitted to collect a return each year on the part of the investment it had yet to recover. The study was prepared by utility analysts borrowed from the New York State Energy Office, the Consumer Protection Board and elsewhere. The 13 members of the commission got the study at the end of last month, and are using it and other materials to draft their own report. That final report, originally due at the end of August, is now supposed to be finished before Nov. 1.

Maclean Hunter Ltd., the Canadian publishing and communications company, is apparently succeeding where Time Inc. failed. Time Inc.'s TV-Cable Week, a brightly written program guide for cable television, folded last month after five months of publication and some $47 million in losses. But Program Guide, Maclean Hunter's two- year-old cable magazine, says it became profitable several months ago and that it will gross $6 million in the year ending Dec. 31. The monthly, digest-sized magazine, which combines cable and broadcasting listings, claims to have 450,000 paid subscribers through 13 cable operators in 15 market regions.

South African defense forces said today that a ''small task force'' of troops attacked buildings used by members of the exiled African National Congress in Maputo, the capital of neighboring Mozambique. A statement issued by Defense Minister Magnus Malan gave no details of any casualties in the attack, which was said to have taken place in the early hours of the morning in a residential area close to one of several palaces where President Samora Machel maintains a residence. The statement indicated that the attack, the first reported since a South African air strike in the Mozambican suburb of Motola in April and the closest South African forces have come to the city center, was in reprisal for a bomb attack on oil storage tanks in the small South African town of Warmbaths a week ago.

NewsAnalysis MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Oct. 16 - The United States demonstrated what is described as a ''two-track'' approach to Nicaragua last week as a ranking State Department official arrived to talk to Sandinista leaders and rebels reportedly backed by the Central Intelligence Agency raided two major oil ports. The actions - diplomatic persuasion on the one hand and military pressure on the other - left little doubt which had the greater short-term effect and raised new concern here over the United States' long- term intentions. The Reagan Administration insists publicly that it is only trying to ''harass'' the Sandinistas into dropping their support for guerrillas battling the United States-backed Government in El Salvador. In a country dependent almost entirely on energy imports, however, the rebel actions, which left less than a month of oil reserves, are viewed here as akin to cutting off the oxygen to a critically ill patient. The Sandinistas are convinced that they are facing a growing war.

A Federal regulatory agency has proposed rules that could bar Philippine cargo ships from American ports. The move would be in retaliation to Philippine procedures that, according to American exporters, cause shipping delays and excess charges. At issue are Philippine laws that the Federal Maritime Commission describes as intended to induce companies trading with the Philippines to put their cargo on Philippine-flag ships. American shippers are complaining that the Philippines has tightened its system of issuing waivers from these laws and is discriminating against America-flag vessels.

President Reagan has chosen Robert C. McFarlane as his national security adviser, a White House official said today. The selection was reported to have angered Jeane J. Kirkpatrick, the chief United States representative at the United Nations, and to have persuaded her to reject any offer of another post in the Administration when she leaves the United Nations position this year. A White House official said Mr. Reagan had selected Mr. McFarlane, currently the deputy national security adviser and special Middle East envoy, for the national security post after assuring Cabinet members that Mr. McFarlane would have access and authority equal to other top White House aides. Alternative Post Suggested Presidential aides said further that Mr. Reagan was hoping to offer Mrs. Kirkpatrick a post as a senior foreign policy adviser in Washington, where she lives. Mrs. Kirkpatrick had been the choice of conservatives within the Administration for the national security post.

At least 29 Americans are in Saudi prisons, and many of them have charged that they are being physically and psychologically abused. The United States protested to Saudi officials in Jidda two weeks ago over the charges of abuse, including beatings and other mistreatment. The protest cited cases of abuse involving 10 individuals that had been documented by American consular offices in several regions of the country. The protest also expressed concern about the Saudi Government's reluctance to notify the United States Embassy when Americans are arrested and about the lack of access to prisoners, especially during questioning involving drugs, according to embassy officials. Ibrahim al-Awaji, the Deputy Minister of Interior, which controls internal security and prisons, said in an interview last week that the Saudi Government had started an investigation into the charges of mistreatment but that no evidence of any abuse had been found to date.