The oddity of these encounters that happen when the personal space of the most protected people on the planet is violated -- the bizarreness of the moments when they are reminded that nothing in life is guaranteed -- can be both mesmerizing and haunting.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Engineering can suggest elegant answers or art can be crafted with engineering precision, but nothing is guaranteed.

FORBES: Asset Allocation and the Efficient Frontier

About the only good thing that can be said about the PBGC is that the guaranteed pensions that they provide are better than nothing.

FORBES: PBGC Pension Termination: A Worker's Perspective by Terry O'Rourke, United airlines (December 15, 2007 )