Today at 8:46 a.m. Eastern Time I was writing an article on laser cutting when it dawned on me: 11 years ago, at that very moment, I was writing a case history on the subject. Like most people on Sept. 11, 2001, I stopped what I was doing. The magazine art director scurried into my office to relay the news. Was it a recreational flier, some careless soul? A few minutes later the truth set in, as did the fear. I didn’t accomplish much the rest of the day. Optimizing laser cut setups (the article’s topic) wasn’t on the top of my mind.
