Even for a guy who went into 2008 with half his net worth in put options, this is stunning to watch unfold.

Here are a series of 3-month charts that show the shift in mood from August’s complacency and hope to today’s moderate terror:

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Worry, worry, worry…PANIC.

The Dow. Look at the bottom drop out today:

Bigcharts.com

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Insurance gets expensive after the storm rolls in.

CBOE Volatility Index (only ‘87 was higher):

Yahoo! Finance. Click image for larger view.

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Getting ahead of the curve.

30-year Treasuries broke solidly through 4%:

Yahoo! Finance. Click image for larger view.

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Who says cash is trash?

90-day T-bills. They would have stayed lower if Paulson hadn’t bailed out MM funds:

Yahoo! Finance. Click image for larger view.

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No stock is immune:

Wal-Mart:

Bigcharts.com

Toyota:

Bigcharts.com

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After the strength and breadth of what we saw today, I don’t think even this stage of the panic is over. Today I sold off most of my near-term puts, since I don’t like to press my luck, but I’m still holding a boatload of 2010s.

This is just the beginning of the middle. You’ll know we’re near the end, years from now, when stocks drop 5% in a day and it doesn’t even make headlines since nobody is in the market anymore.

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Today was an historic day, but nothing out of character for the bursting of an historic credit bubble. It was like all the other down days, only more so. There will be more to say, but I’ve been up since 4AM and need some sleep.