I've heard that people should withdraw enough cash to last awhile in the event of a debt default. Some people fear the banking system might freeze up, which nearly happened back in '08.

Rumor has it (OK, Twitter) that the House GOP are about to cave on the shutdown. Dunno if it's true.

Anne, the Maple-Walnut pie:

Combine:
3 large room-temperature eggs
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp flour
pinch salt

Beat in:
1 cup maple syrup (I like grade B)
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup heavy cream, at room temperature

Stir in:
1 1/3 cup fresh walnuts (or pecans), coarsely chopped
5 Tbsp melted butter, cooled

Pour mixture into a pie shell. Bake at 425F for 10 minutes, reduce to 325F, bake for another 30 or until set.

Thanks, Consuela.

I've heard that people should withdraw enough cash to last awhile in the event of a debt default. Some people fear the banking system might freeze up, which nearly happened back in '08.

I'm not comfortable having that much cash lying around.

Yeah, I can't believe they'd let it get bad enough to hurt themselves. Unless they're stupid...

Oooh, that looks yummy.

Yup. Clipped to Evernote!

Also a lot of people withdrawing cash could bring on problems of its own. Here is the thing: if they are not stupid enough to hurt themselves, the pundits are right. If the pundits are wrong, then it is hard to guess at this point what to put money into instead of normal investments if you are lucky enough to have such investments. Incidentally, whatever the deadline is, it is not Thursday. Because of the shutdown, the Feds have not spent as much money, which means default is delayed a few days to a week.

However, if you want to put some pressure on Congress, call your bank or credit union. Tell them you have heard because of the danger of default, the best protection is to close all accounts and take all your money out in cash. Banks fear a bank run a great deal, and if whereever your money is deposited gets enough calls like that the bank or CU manager will freak out and transmit that freakout to Congress. In a small branch (even a small branch of a large institution) even one phone call may cause a freakout. I would advise against actually taking out cash, but I could be wrong. The two rules of a "Panic". 1) Don't panic. 2) Panic first. A friendemy of mine Robin Hahnel wrote an excellent book on this call (appropriately enough) "Panic Rules".

I'm not comfortable having that much cash lying around.

I'm thinking enough cash to get by for a week.

But the House caving is a better option.

And tapioca.

Hmm, I've never used tapioca as a thickener. I'm pretty sure I made that pie w/ just apple and blueberries because it was still pretty runny.

Night Vale: okay, but, seriously, what IS Cecil?