At dawn today I went outside and put my big flag in its holder, feeling a sudden wave of emotion.

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Wrapping my coat around me, I went outside into the cold pure air of the winter morning, careful not to slip on the icy steps.

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"When I went outside to get some food and medicine I noticed that the streets are almost empty, " an activist named Lena said from the Mazzeh neighborhood on the west side of the city.

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Needing a break from the keyboard, I grabbed a bucket and some sponges and went outside to wash my dinged-up Volkswagen Rabbit.

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In a successful attempt to cheer myself up, I went to an unpretentious campus that is a techie nirvana just outside Cambridge, to talk to Warren East, the chief executive of a British company, ARM, that is an acknowledged world leader.

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And then, next thing I know, all the lights went out, and it got dark outside.

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It was still dark outside when I got up, but by the time I went down, dawn was breaking over Tolly.

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