how much RAM does Ubuntu need to sleep?

[Me - Atlantic]

[snip]
> > john      7691 17.5 68.7 1481404 712036 ?      S    Jul03 621:16
> > python /usr/lib/gdesklets/gdesklets-daemon
[snip]
> Isn't gdesklets a framework for adding little applet type modules on top 
> of it?  If this is the case, do you use all the same applets on the 
> desktop and the laptop?  I'd suggest removing applets until you find the 
> culprit.
yes, it is.  And, interestingly enough, the exact same applets are
running are running on both machines.  I did a fresh reboot of the
desktop this morning, and after all the processes were started, I ran
top again to see if it is a cumulative effect.
 7769 john      15   0 31244  21m  10m S  2.0  2.2   0:04.54 python
 6915 root      15   0  101m  18m 7516 S  1.7  1.9   0:03.51 Xorg
 7611 root      15   0 22040  11m 8524 S  0.3  1.2   0:01.09 firestarter

It appears to me that the problem is when the desktop system sits idle
long enough, the mem usage for python begins to rise.  Since the system
is sleeping, I don't know how long it takes in this mode for python to
build up.  Is there a way to find this out?