Are you really having an existential crisis, or might it be something else?

Maybe it's an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, or an underdone potato that's putting you in a tailspin.

Two things coincidentally, and you may not believe them.

1. In my little notebook of ideas, I contemplated writing a few articles in response to reader emails and questions.

2. I contemplated it because I had done something similar back in August 2007 on my original blog.

And now it has happened: a reader has sent an email asking a question, and the rusty gears …