tired writer/pessimism warning

Today I learned that

Roanoke County school officials have found no environmental cause for the strange twitching symptoms that have affected some students at William Byrd High School, but more testing is planned to begin today.

The preliminary diagnosis is contagious hysteria, but a teacher has it, too. It's been a long time since I was in high school, but my teachers had such finely-tuned bulls**t detectors that I find it hard to believe a teacher would get sucked in by contagious hysteria. I also know a bunch of EIs who used to be teachers. I suppose it could be hysteria, but here is my prediction: the kids will get better, but the teacher will end up on disability.

In other bad news, in February 2008, the TSA will start deciding directly who can have a boarding pass for domestic airline flights, so I understand that we will essentially be entering an era equivalent to Germany in 1934. I think I'll worry about that right after they cancel the elections for which we've been bombarded with weekly debates.