Severe weather hit southwestern Minnesota  yesterday—hail, winds and tornadoes . My colleagues in the Wells Fargo History Museum in Minneapolis report that the damage was outside the metro area, and no one they know was affected. Good news.

Above the storm clouds—some 4,583,000,000 miles, that is—Pluto is now looking for planetary work elsewhere after an unappreciated career  in our solar system . This has to be one of the greatest moments in the whole history of hubris . (And how!) We have people arguing about what the truth is about the universe, and we can't even agree on whether or not cars are melting the North Pole. I'm not sure if Pluto knows—or cares —it was laid off by scientists  and is not a planet anymore. If Pluto knows, it would have every right to give us the raspberry as it passes every few hundred years, or whatever.

Let's admit it, we're stuck in an intellectual rut. S.F. Chronicle columnist Mark Morford  writes as much today and has some suggestions as to how to push our tired minds in a new direction. I myself have a better suggestion. We do disaster preparedness as Zen .

Repetition of simple acts is relaxing to the mind and keeps a person centered. That's the gist of yoga, zen and boot camp. So my suggestion is: pick a weekend morning and check your preparedness kit and facilities every week. Do the same things in the same order, every time—check the water, the batteries, the canned goods, the seals on containers. Oil hinges, and clean floors and containers. The same way every time.

And have a mantra. I recommend humming Three Dog Night  tunes (you'll thank me for this, I'm certain) as you care for your preparedness. Who knows, it just might move world karma  toward a new paradigm.

Regardless, you'll sure be on top of an emergency when it happens. Which is better than worrying and arguing about planets, no?