I had a few days off from my usual media exposure and inevitably found all heck breaking loose. Rational adults around me were suddenly talking about buying duck tape and plastic wrap, as if ordinary life was morphing into some perverse Christo project.

I haven't figured out all the logistics yet, but in the meantime, I thought I'd share this, one of the first Weblog-type articles I ever read, back in late 2001. In those nasty, anxiety-ridden days, it was one of the few things that made me feel better. It's still timely today:

So we keep reading the news. We open our eyes. And then, in spite of that, we grab our coat and shades. Maybe they’ll get us tomorrow, sitting in a bar, ordering our pints of beer, our glasses of seltzer. Suddenly a flash. Our drinks explode in our hands, tables splinter, our feet and hands are found a block away. Or maybe we’ll make it out, only to die beneath a falling safe. Or maybe we’ll fall in love and die of happiness.