Perhaps those of you who live outside the Beltway are not quite as riveted by the pending government shutdown as are those of us who do.

Just in case you have been having a hard time staying awake, the abridged version is that the Congress is very serious about posturing over cutting government spending and determined to be seen to be pandering to their usual constituencies. Much to their collective surprise, they may actually be forced to put our money where their mouths are, and shut down the federal government.

This means that all sorts of services will be shut down - passport services, national parks, FHA loan guarantees, the lot. Fortunately though, the one cancellation that could have moved us inside-the-Beltway leeches to violence is going to be averted: the Cherry Blossom Parade is going to continue. Thank heavens.

(BTW, Congress, if the DC MPD is looking more helpful and adaptable than you, you are Epic Fail. You probably don't even have a rat to play with, far less a pygmy giraffe.)

No-one needed to see the mayhem that would have resulted from a cancellation. Barriers made of discreet but expensive imported cars and cross-overs, imported cheese eat-ins at Smithsonian facilities, and flying molotov cocktails in recently emptied bottles of perky pinot grigios and impudent riojas. The horror. The horror.

However, pretty much everything else is on hold, and it looks like your humble correspondent, as a government stooge, may be at a loose end next week. Your survey of the day: what should I do to keep busy next week?