So sorry to hear about Steve, Dina. When you hear about the layoffs around you, they're always just statistics until they affect somebody you know. Then it begins to hit home. This recession has been merely a minor nuisance for me until today. Now it's real. I suspect, however, that it's a phenomenon that's going to touch some of us more than once in life in this savage world of unchecked capitalism. When my Dad was out of work in 1984, he hid it extremely well, but it really shook him as he was the only one in his surroundings to be hit by what was a relatively new practice: rationalization. But I wouldn't be surprised if it happened to me or those around me a few times over the span of our careers.

To help take your mind off your travails, here are some wonderful and absurd quotes from notable people, called Moments of Zen. My fave was from The Tick, on why there are so few evil morning people. Obviously, he's never met Jean-Luc...