Geomagnetic effects of the storm may cause your cell phone to fritz today, and it might be prudent to back up electronic files more often than usual. I won’t be the least surprised if, when the storm hits, computers at the Office of Management and Budget go haywire; the malfunctioning machines immediately declare that the United States has a $500 billion budget surplus; technicians then say that the computers cannot possibly be repaired until after the November 2004 presidential election.