diff --git a/render-2023-10-11/cmd/cache-service/server.go b/render-2023-10-11/cmd/cache-service/server.go
index 2254926..d8cf3df 100644
--- a/render-2023-10-11/cmd/cache-service/server.go
+++ b/render-2023-10-11/cmd/cache-service/server.go
@@ -54,7 +54,9 @@ func (server Server) serveGetEvents(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	sinceString := r.URL.Query().Get("since")
 	sinceInt, err := strconv.ParseInt(sinceString, 10, 64)
 	if err != nil {
-		panic(err)
+		// todo emit helpful err message
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusBadRequest)
+		return nil
 	}
 	since := time.Unix(sinceInt, 0)