As with the run-up to those events (though on a larger scale), what we are witnessing now is simply the inflation of a world-wide bubble, which will sooner or later burst with agonizing consequences.
Anyone who's hopped on a flight at a major airport, or even some land-based transit, knows the agonizing wait that certain agencies demand while they scan for explosives and check boarding passes.
But Michael S. Dell (nasdaq: DELL - news - people ) spent the last half of 2006 agonizing about the company he had built from a college dorm room operation into an entrepreneurial icon and a Wall Street phenom.
As a Mets fan can (and will) tell you, there's nothing more agonizing than playing disgruntled no-hopers in late September who have nothing more going for them than their desire to knock your team out of the playoffs.