Today was a bright, warm, clear day.

Just like it was on Sept. 11.

I found it interesting how this one-month anniversary of the attacks was practically a mirror image of that day -- weatherwise. Mid-70s is fine for Sept. 11, but not normal for New Jersey in October.

So the President decided today that he needed to speak to the nation in a press conference at 8 p.m. And the Fox network decided that it needed to broadcast the press conference, and to do so, decided that it needed to force the Yankees-Athletics playoff game to begin at 8:45 instead of 8:17 p.m. So this all means that I'll be at work until 1 a.m.

I spent the warm day reading some magazines that have been piling up, awaiting my perusal, while I lounged in the tree chair my parents bought in Maine this summer. It's a swinging/hammocky sort of thing that hangs from a sturdy branch. Has a footrest so that you can stretch your legs. Very comfortable. I went through old issues of the National Parks magazine and National Geographic Adventure -- and both reminded me that although George Bush is doing a great job with this international terrorism crisis, someday it will all be just part of the routine and our concerns will once again be about drilling for oil in Alaska and how polluted our air is. Since Sept. 11, all the news out of Washington has dealt with terrorism and how to fight it. But when that's not the hot topic anymore -- and that day will come again -- we're going to have to deal with a president who came from a state with bad public schools and a horrible environmental record.

And I am sure that in questioning Americans about how the President is handling his job, that 92 percent voicing its approval is not considering how to protect our rivers and lakes from development or how to improve our schools, but how to protect all that from hijacked airliners. And he is doing a good job with that, and he has won re-election.

Let's just hope that he doesn't have to use the skills he's now developing to handle another crisis like this one.

Emode's new tests are sketchy, at best. In taking the Which "Friend" Are You? test, it told me I'm Ross, when I'm definitely Chandler. No question. The jokes, the dating (or lack thereof) history, the third nipple -- I'm so Chandler. (The third nipple was a joke. Really.)

The other test was What's Your Theme Song? and I somehow came out of it with "Back in Black" playing. Not so much. Should probably be "I Feel Good."

Now I'm going to find out What My Monster Match is. Oooh, it's a good one:

You're a fun loving prankster, always with a joke up your sleeve. That's why your monster match is a ghost. Your bag has more tricks than treats, but you can take it as well as you can dish it out. You're a witty spirit who loves a good hoot, and echoing laughter like you'd hear in the halls of a haunted house. Part ghoul, part Beetlejuice, you are the ghost with the most, the phattest phantom, a real graveyard smash. Whether you're going to a costume party or throwing your own BYOB s�ance (Bring Your own Ouija Board), you mingle with different social groups as if walking through walls. But you ghosts take care. You love getting a good behind-the-door scare almost as much as you love giving them, but those with bad tickers and tempers might not appreciate your spooky sense of humor. Use your inner poltergeist sparingly and you'll never have to worry about getting "busted."