Hurricane Irene

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General information

• Projected to hit NYC as a Category 1 hurricane Sunday morning.
• Track the hurricane, along with other data via Google's

5.9 Earthquake (Virginia) felt in NYC

Quick Post: A 5.9-magnitude earthquake on the Richter scale was felt at around 2 P.M. here in NYC.  At first, I thought it was just strong winds blowing at my house but upon looking outside the trees were calm.  The house was creaking.  But after a few seconds it repeated and this time the floor shook for about 3 seconds.  The chandelier in my dining room was swinging back and forth for back and forth 10-15 degrees off its normal position. Perhaps because we New Yorkers typically don't experience major earthquakes as often as say, Californians do, so Facebook and the internet lit up in the moments after. Local and live coverage here: 7 online - 5.9 earthquake hits Virginia, rattles NYC, east coast As of this post, over 9,500 people have "checked-in" to Foursquare - Earthpocalypse. Facebook statuses: "ahhhhhhhhh earthquake!!!"..."Uhh, did anyone else just feel that earthquake?"..."I just felt a very small earthquake! did anyone else felt that?"..."Earthquakes are the coolest things ever. I'm moving to Cali."..."totally freaked out right now."..."Too hungover to notice the earthquake."..."Missed the earthquake back home. Laaaame"..."i thought i was too heavy for my chair" Submit your reaction to the USGS' site to help them evaluate the effects of the earthquake here: USGS - Did You Feel It? - http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/dyfi/events/us/c0005ild/us/form.en.disabled.html Post 209 (Dated today, see 200th post for reason) EcstaticE.blogspot.com

Linkdump: Windows & Apple(s), Google & Paying More

Taking a cue from Second Avenue Saga's recently titled post "Vacation Linkdump", I'm posting a bunch of links with brief descriptions which have been sitting in my "To Be Posted" bookmark folder for a loooong while.

2009
PC World - 23 Years of Wacky Windows Launches - A great amalgamation of videos of Windows launches from Windows 1.0 to Windows 7.  Truly history-making and is remarkable seeing how something so simple eventually made all of today's technology possible.

Seattle Times - Precocious 5-year old gives Windows 7 pitch - Continuing with the Windows theme, this kid has been the talk of the town as Microsoft launched one of its most successful TV ads in awhile.  From critic reactions, they're finally getting it right to fight back against Apple's successful 'Mac vs PC' ads.

Personal note - And have you ever seen the classic ad from Apple that told people to "Think different"?  The ad is available for your review here; also see the infamous 1984 Superbowl one showing everyone following Windows and Apple helping break that monotony.  But today, things are different, indeed.  Today, Apple's products look alike.  Basically all white, all in a plastic case.  The same design for mp3 players, the same phones, the same desktops, the same notebooks.  This standardization

EcstaticE 2.0

After some experimentation, this blog finally has a new look!  After 3 years, 5 months since my first post (quite short) of the same, somewhat bland, blue and green and white backgrounds, it has a fresh design, using Blogger's somewhat new template designer.  Links you haven't yet visited are in an easy-to-find Red, while ones you already have clicked on turn to Blue.  I chose blue instead of the default darker color to still allow you to be able to find a particular link in the future.  In addition, a more concise footer (eliminating the redundant comment info), instant feedback, and new share toolbar! Also started using a page break feature to help redirect traffic to the site when people use RSS/shared links - Subscribe to see for yourself!
Let me know what you think by commenting!  And take a look at the before/after comparison after the break to judge for yourself!

Instead of a Picnic on Governor's Island

Arghh forgot to take pictures of the two loverly couples!!!  [two pictures here] We were supposed to go to Governor's Island to have a picnic, but with the threat of a thunderstorm later in the day, we opted to stay in Manhattan instead. Well anyways, today got off to a pretty long train ride to 14 St.  My buddy J and I walked to Union Square before heading back to 7th Av to meet up with his girlfriend and his two other Columbia friends, G & D.  As we passed by the L train stop at 6th Av we coincidentally saw his gf emerging from the exit.  Greetings exchanged - this is E, this is JC!

Went to a really cozy but humble restaurant, Elephant & Castle (not the bar chain) in Greenwich Village to have brunch.  Apparently, D was able to tell from the restaurant's decor and age of the furniture that the venue has been open since 1976.  Or maybe because we all saw the menu, dated 1976 and with the pre-inflated prices on it, hanging by the entrance! :)  The menu wasn't too expensive for the food we received.  $11.50 for the "Canyonland Poached Eggs (two), with Balsamic Jus, Fresh Tarragon, Tomatoes, Avocado and Wild Mushrooms, and Toasted English Muffin."  I felt that the best part about the restaurant was the restaurant physically stretched from one street to the next because of the relatively awkward block geometry (windows on both sides!).  Also the antique cash register - it had rows of push-buttons with some going from 10 to 90!  All 4 of us treated J, with my total coming to $18 - not bad compared to Jean-Georges last year haha.

Afterwards, we walked back to Union Square to