Instead of having the nation circling themselves wondering where, when and how another terrorist attack might arrive, Homeland Security officials said Sunday financial and international organizations in New York, New Jersey and Washington D.C. could be possible targets. A specific threat based off of new evidence. Finally.

While it's refreshing that the government is giving its citizens something more specific than the usual vague anytime and anywhere warning, some of the suggestions on how to react to the new alert are almost laughable.

According to a story on CNN.com, the officials suggested several precautions that companies listed as possible targets should adhere to. These aren't bad ideas, but the awkward wording seems to oversimplify a complex situation:

• "Be wary of visitors who appear lost or disoriented, and people asking directions to sensitive areas."

Almost every visitor to New York is lost and confused, and identifying them should be a great use of time. Someone asking directions to a sensitive area should raise a red flag already.

• "Challenge and identify maintenance workers when maintenance has not been requested, and watch for unanticipated deliveries."

Were companies not doing this before? Hopefully they weren't letting people off the street perform random acts of maintenance throughout the city.

• "Quickly engage loiterers."

That's right - we'd better engage these loiterers. Fire torpedoes at them. The few people in New York who are loitering should be taken care of without a problem.

There are more pearls of wisdom issued by officials, but discussing them would only confuse all of us even more. Besides, those should be enough to think about for a while.