*There's a line where common sense crosses over into panic. So let's not panic about swine flu. But let's not underestimate its spread and impact either. Wash your hands. Sneeze into your arms. And do get a vaccine when it's available. Also, don't forget, the "regular" flu shot already is being administered.

*Thought I'd fallen into a crime scene when leaving downtown Albany this morning. I later found out that they're filming a Will Ferrell movie, with extras doing the work on car-chase, shoot-em-up sequences.

*Here's a surprise: Would-be terrorists are targeting stadiums, train stations and entertainment complexes - in short, places where large numbers of people convene and the most death and destruction can be caused. Why does this stun some people? What did you expect, a bombing in a cornfield?

*MacKenzie Phillips says she had a sexual relationship with her father. It's a truly terrible story on a number of levels, least of which is that listening to old Mamas and Papas tunes will never be the same. (For the uninformed, the late John "Papa" Phillips was MacKenzie's father.)

*I can't help but notice comments below some stories at www.dailyfreeman.com saying, in effect, "once again the paper made a mistake," or some variation of that claim. Yet the editors aren't getting calls for corrections from official sources or others aboutthose stories. That says two things to me: The stories were in fact correct and the people spouting off about their alleged inaccuracies are full of it.