Don't Panic — It's Just A Test!

Don't get upset if right when you're settling in to watch some "Maury" or "The People's Court" today a message comes on your TV telling you, "This is a test."

You shouldn't be concerned since, well, it's only a test.

At 1 p.m. today, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, along with the Federal Communications Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will conduct the first ever test of the nationwide Emergency Alert System.

In the interest of brevity, you could also just say that FEMA, the FCC and NOAA are doing an EAS test.

So for those of us lucky enough to be home on the couch watching some "Days of Our Lives" or "12 Corazones" around 1 o'clock, you're going to miss out on about a minute of your stories while the government makes sure they are able to let you know if the end of the world is coming, and that they can tell you what to do in the event that happens.

Incidentally, radio and television personality Glenn Beck suspects the feds are really doing this "as a back-door way to take control of radio and TV stations," according to the NY Daily News.

In an apparent effort to make sure that no one gets unnecessarily alarmed, the has been disseminating messages via email and Twitter to ensure the public is aware of the test.

So don't worry. It's only a test.