The government shutdown has already caused thousands of federal workers to be furloughed. Now, a tipster tells us, a rumor is going around among Washington, DC city workers that they could be furloughed as early as Monday. If you know more, leave it in the discussion section below. (Update: The DC mayor's office denies this possibility.)

In solidarity with the government's shutdown, Conan O'Brien decided to temporarily lay off all his non-essential staff members.

Congress still hasn't reached a deal on a continuing resolution to fund the government through September, so we're less than 48 hours away from a government shutdown. Departments and agencies are exhausting most of their time now in panic and preparation. The administration has put out a figure for total furloughed employees: 800,000. Here are more letters from individual federal employees and contractors about how a shutdown would affect them, and what they're hearing. Do you have something to share? Share your greatest fears with newell@gawker.com.

The Way We Live Now: Eking out a hard living in cubicle hell while beauty dies, duh. We work without music. We work without pay. We work without jobs, just to say "Hey, one day."