Brendan's shared items in Google Reader

Afternoon Palate Cleanser: A 2000 Foot Long Hot Wheels Race Track

Brock Keeling — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:20:33 PDT

This is like the Hot Wheels Race Track we had as a kid, only not nearly as long or rad, and it doesn't jump off the track every five seconds. O the envy, it burns! The "Mother of All Hot Wheels Tracks" here is a 2000 foot long Hot Wheels track that races through a suburban home, a sidewalk, and around a pool. [ more › ]

Afternoon Palate Cleanser: 'This Is Halloween' Light Show

Brock Keeling — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:30:10 PDT

Hey, folks! Halloween is just around the corner. What are you planning on going as for the big night? We might dress up a ghost, the color purple, or this. Or maybe even a bottle of Purell. Who knows. Anyway, to get in the spirit we implore you to look at this house boasting an acclaimed light show set to the tune of "This Is Halloween" from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas. Boo. [ more › ]

Google Wallet Picks Up Steam With NJ Transit Partnership

Chris Velazco — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 10:31:02 PDT

The days of scrounging in your pockets for bus fare are over, if Google and NJ Transit have anything to say about it. NJ Governor Chris Christie announced earlier today that the third largest transit system in the country has partnered with Google to bring their wireless Wallet payment system to bus routes and rail lines in the Northeast.

Customers will be able to tap their Nexus S 4Gs at a handful of venues to fast-track their daily commute. So far, the list of supported locations includes ticket booths and windows at New York’s Penn Station and Newark Liberty International Airport Rail Station. Google Wallet can also be used on the 6, 43, 80, 81, 87, and 120 bus routes, with a few buses on the 126 line also packing support.

It was just yesterday that Google announced a handful of new retail partners for their NFC-based payment technology, but this is Google’s first big step into the transit space. It’s a smart, if somewhat obvious move for Google. In order for Google Wallet to be the revolution in transaction handling the company hopes for, it needs to start reaching beyond retail locations.

Integrating contactless payments into transit systems certainly isn’t a new concept, but it’s one that’s expected to drive NFC adoption in areas where public transport is a way of life. According to Vice President of Commerce Stephanie Tilenius, “transit has been a common element of every major successful NFC effort globally and is a critical component of Google Wallet’s success.”

It definitely doesn’t hurt that must-have new handsets like Google and Samsung’s long-awaited Galaxy Nexus will ship with NFC chips onboard. As more and more manufacturers jump on the NFC bandwagon, Google Wallet stands a fighting chance at becoming the payment method of choice for the tech-savvy.

On a more personal note, this comes as very welcome news to a former student of a commuter school. Dealing with lightly-creased dollar bills and finicky machines first thing in the morning often added an unneeded headache while dashing to class. Thankfully for Jersey taxpayers (myself included), the deal isn’t costing them a dime. After all, the price of execution will be well worth it if Google can prove that their payment system can handle thousands of transactions a day without a hitch.

50 of the World’s Best Breakfasts

(author unknown) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:08:34 PDT

Shared by Brendan
Amazing roundup of breakfasts around the world

1. A full English Breakfast – it must have beans, sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, hash browns and toast. Of course, it should all be knocked back with a cup of tea, but black pudding is optional as far as I’m concerned.

2. Breakfast in Iran – it usually features some sort of naan bread with butter and jam. When a light breakfast just isn’t going to hit the spot Iranians eat halim. Halim is a mixture of wheat, cinnamon, butter and sugar cooked with shredded meat in huge pots. You can eat it hot or cold. You can also see the Iranian version of an omelet here too.

3. A Cuban wake up meal – usually consists of sweetened coffee with milk with a pinch of salt thrown in. The unique Cuban bread is toasted and buttered and cut into lengths to dunk in the coffee.

4. Polish Breakfast – known locally as Jajecznica, a traditional Polish breakfast consists of scrambled eggs covered with slices of custom-made kielbasa and joined by two potato pancakes.

5. Quick Spanish breakfast – Pan a la Catalana, or Pan con Tomate, in Spain is simple but really delicious. Just rub some bread with fresh garlic and plenty of ripe tomato, then drizzle with olive oil and salt. Top with cheese, ham or sausage for an extra bit.

6. A yummy Moroccan breakfast – usually consists of different breads with some chutney, jam, cheese or butter. They have a really delicious crumpet-style bread which they make in huge slabs for you to tear a bit off, and a semolina pancake bread called Baghir – both are really tasty.

7. A healthy Hawaiian breakfast – I couldn’t imagine Hawaiians eating anything but fruit to be honest. Of course, there’s the bagel but I’m sure they’d burn the energy from that off in a few minutes on their surf board anyway.

8. Swedish breakfast – often involves a Swedish pancake, known as a Pannkakor. It’s a thin flat cake made from batter and fried on both sides – much like a crepe. It’s usually served with a sweet, fruity filling.

9. Icelandic breakfast cuisine – a hearty and hot breakfast to fight off the dark, icy mornings is what’s needed here. Hafragrautur, or oatmeal, is served with a sprinkle of brown sugar with a few raisins or nuts on top, perfect.

10. Breakfast in Portugal – a delicious and simple affair with stuffed croissants and plenty of coffee served in the sun.

11. Breakfast in Australia – there’s only one crucial ingredient here, Vegemite. Travelling Aussies are often found with a sneaky pot of the sticky, salty brown stuff in their backpack. Just don’t get in the Vegemite vs Marmite war – everybody knows Marmite is better, but let them have their fun.

12. A Brazilian breakfast – mmmm a delicious selection of meats, cheeses and bread is the normal breakfast fare here. Jazzy rosething crafted out of I don’t know what, optional.

13. An Italian breakfast – a nation too fabulous for heavy breakfasts me thinks. Or maybe they’re saving themselves for a big cheesy pizza lunch and a pesto pasta dinner? (Although there’s nothing wrong with having them for breakfast you know) Either way an Italian eats on the run with a ‘cappuccino e cornetto’ aka a cappuccino and croissant.

14. A Welsh breakfast – errrm is it just me or is that cheesy toast flashing me a smile? Welsh Rarebit aka cheese on toast is a truly, truly delicious breakfast. Just the sight of that bubbling cheese makes me want to smother it in Worcestershire Sauce and chow down, mmmmm. Anyway, 36 left, must dash.

15. Breakfast in Denmark – top marks for presentation here. On a Dane’s breakfast plate you’ll often find rye bread, cheeses, salami, ham, pâté, honey, jam and sometimes even thin ‘plates’ of chocolate. It came as a bit of a shock to me but my research has shown that bacon is not actually that popular! Dun dun durrrh. How can this be? Apparently they send in all to the UK.

16. A Philippines breakfast – it’s all about the local fruits here. Mangoes are popular fare to keep you regular. As for keeping your energy up rice is the top choice, or the little sausages, known as longganisa, you can see above. When fried with salt and garlic cloves it’s known as sinangag. The sinangag is then combined with eggs, meats and beans and bob’s your uncle, fanny’s your aunt, a delicious Philippine breakfast is born.

17. An Alaskan breakfast – featuring reindeer meat and an egg nestled on a pancake. Poor old Rudolph, he won’t be able to join in any reindeer games now, will he?

18. A traditional German breakfast – wursts, local cheeses and freshly baked bread is the normal fare for a German breakfast. All washed back with a delicious coffee.

19. The famous American breakfast – home made thick pancakes with syrup and blueberries, topped off with a few rashers of bacon. Anyone not wishing for a coronary usually opts for a bowl of muesli, so I’m told. Pancakes all the way for me!

20. The French breakfast – ah, le croissant, le croissant, how I love le croissant! Pack them with crushed almonds, butter, chocolate or cream, they always taste good.

21. Breakfast in India – here we have rosemary roasted potatoes, Indian tofu scramble, lentils, veggie sausage and banana pepper toast. Breakfast cuisine in India varies hugely depending on the region but if you think of your Indian breakfast somewhere along these lines, you would be correct.

22. A hearty Scottish breakfast – much like a full English and a full Irish, but the country’s USP is the ‘sumptuous’ slab of haggis served alongside every fat-fried egg. Don’t know what haggis is? Scroll down quick if your animal eating habits err on the queasy side. It’s sheep’s heart, liver and lungs minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, salt and stock…

23. Thailand’s breakfast offering – you’ll find this dish at stalls throughout Thailand. It’s a minty spicy fish with a sweet & spicy pork, served with rice. By all accounts it tastes excellent, and it’s cheap at only 30 Bhat. Thai breakfast fare isn’t all that different from what you’d eat for lunch and dinner.

24. An Argentinian breakfast -usually consists of “mate” (an infusion drink made with leaves of “yerba”) or dulce de leche with “facturas,”a croissant-like typical pastry.

25. An Irish breakfast – you’ve had English and Scottish, now it’s time to learn the Irish USP. That would be white pudding and soda bread.

26. A Canadian breakfast – that eggy looking section is actually perogies. Perogies are boiled, baked or fried dumplings made from unleavened dough and traditionally stuffed with potato filling, sauerkraut, ground meat, cheese, or fruit. Then you’ve got some sausages and toast to mop it all up.

27. Breakfast in Mexico – the delightful plate above consists of beef tips, chilequiles and other assorted goodies eaten in Manzanillo. Nachos, cheese and beans always feature heavily and a delicious, spicy breakfast is the norm.

28. A Russian breakfast – oladi is the breakfast of choice in Russia. They’re sort of like pancakes and kind of like Yorkshire puddings, hot, just fried, soft inside and with a crispy edge! They’re best enjoyed with soured cream, honey, jam or fresh berries.

29. Breakfast in Vietnam – usually consists of some meaty treat dropped in a semolina/porridge mixture. What you see above is pork porridge. It features Chinese doughnuts, beansprouts, pork intestine stuffed with peppery pork mince, sliced pork heart, stomach slivers and blood pudding. A bit more interesting than toast and jam anyway.

30. Breakfast in Peru – ceviche is popular whatever time of day, breakfast, lunch or dinner. It’s a seafood dish made from fresh raw fish marinated in citrus juices such as lemon or lime and spiced with chilli peppers. What a feast.

31. Breakfast in Bolivia – saltenas are a bit like empanadas crossed with Cornish pasties. They’re the traditional option for a Bolivian breakfast and usually filled with meat and vegetables, and slightly sweetened with sugar.

32. An Egyptian breakfast – the breakfast of choice here is Foul Madamas. It’s made from fava beans, chickpeas, garlic and lemon. Above you’ll see the dish topped with olive oil, cayenne, tahini sauce, a hard boiled egg, and some diced green veggies.

33. Breakfast in Japan – what do you mean you’ve never had tofu for breakfast? It’s a popular choice in Japan, along with fish and rice. Soak it in soya sauce and you’ve got yourself one delicious, and semi-healthy breakfast.

34. Breakfast in China – a lot like lunch and dinner in China. Expect noodles, rice, sticky coated chicken and fried veggies.

35. Malaysian breakfast – A hot bowl of Mee – noodles mixed with egg, vegetable and tasty spices.

36. Breakfast in Mongolia – it generally consists of boiled mutton with lots of fat and flour and maybe some dairy products or rice. In western Mongolia they add variety to their diets with horsemeat.

37. Breakfast in Belize – fry jacks are a staple in Belize breakfast cuisine. They’re deep-fried pieces of dough that are often accompanied by beans and eggs, or jam and honey.

38. A Hungarian breakfast – always consists of Pogácsa. Well, nearly always anyway. Throughout the year there are festivals dedicated to it and the recipe changes region to region. They have a scone-like consistency and as well as a popular breakfast item, they’re also used to bulk up goulash meals.

39. A Korean breakfast – breakfast is similar to lunch and dinner in Korea. You’ll get a small plate of kimchi, a bowl of rice and a bowl of clear vegetable soup. A good old-fashioned slice of toast is also a popular choice, but that doesn’t make for nearly as good a picture.

40. Breakfast in Pakistan – in Pakistan you’ll get Aloo Paratha for your breakfast. It’ s an Indian unleavened flatbread made by pan frying, wholewheat dough on a tava. The dough contains ghee and the bread is usually stuffed with vegetables. It’s best eaten with butter, chutney or some other spicy sauce. It’s not uncommon to roll it up and dip it in your tea.

41. An Estonian breakfast – curd cheese on a wheat bloomer – known locally as ‘cheese on toast’. The creamy topping can be supplemented with ricotta or fromage fraiche instead, if you prefer.

42. Breakfast in Jordan – the choice varies depending on the are and upbringing you’re from. Labneh, hummous and falafel are all popular choices and are usually served alongside olive oil, lamb sausage, jam and butter, turkey or beef mortadella.

43. Breakfast in Venezuela – empenadas are the order of the day. Fill the little pastries with fresh cheese, minced meat or any combination of veggies and beans.

44. Breakfast in Colombia – there are a variety of regional staples to keep your stomach grumbles at bay throughout the day. In Cundinamarca this changua dish is very popular. It’s made from milk, scallions and cheese.

45. Breakfast in Ghana – the most popular breakfast item in this African country is waakye. It’s basically rice cooked in beans and is found at all the street stalls in Ghana.

46. Breakfast in Uganda – like a lot of large countries the typical breakfasts vary region by region. But a popular dish across the country is katogo – it’s a combination of green cooking bananas mixed in a stew from beef or in a sauce from vegetables. The picture above is banana with cow organs.

47. A Bahamas breakfast – to be a Bahamian breakfast it must contain grits. Grits are dried ground hominy, or corn, for anyone not in the loop. You mix it with boiling water and the grits becomes a porridge. Its popularity came from slavery times when it’s all the slaves had to eat. Nowadays it’s topped with fat prawns and meat to spice it up a bit.

48. Breakfast in Costa Rica – Gallo Pinto is the standard breakfast fare in Costa Rica. It’s made from black beans, rice, optional soured cream, salsa and a corn tortilla. Costa Ricans will often have a bit of avocado, fried ripe plantain or cold meat on the side.

49. Breakfast in the Dominican Republic – you need to try the mangu. Mangu is made from mashing boiled plantains with butter and either salami, cheese or eggs. Top it off with a hot chocolate and you’ve got yourself some traditional Dominican Republic fare.

50. A Turkish breakfast – the full Turkish treatment usually consists of a few varieties of cheese, butter, olives, eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers, jam, honey, and spicy meat.

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What If… Occupy Sesame Street

Hungeree — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 05:46:24 PDT

What if the Muppets joined the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ protests at Zuccotti Park in New York City? via Hungeree.

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YES!

(author unknown) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:46:56 PDT

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"Playa Time: Dust to Dust" - Burning Man 2011 Time Lapse

(author unknown) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 08:42:53 PDT

I liked a YouTube video: (Watch in 1080HD!) From dust to dust, this time lapse covers over 5 weeks including the preparation of the event, from before the trash fence erection and after basically everyone except for DPW trickles out. Other than a few occasional pauses, t...

Lego/Rap: Comments on Woodward Avenue Detroit Light Rail Alternatives

David Levinson — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 17:15:07 PDT

We need more of this type of advocacy:

Comments on Woodward Avenue Detroit Light Rail Alternatives - YouTube: ""

Via SR.

Eau Claire Library Lending iPads

(author unknown) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 12:42:23 PDT

Shared by Brendan
Western Wisconsin on TechCrunch.

The denizens of the green dells of Wisconsin are a bit happier these days, at least in Eau Claire (French for “City Of Very Nice, Quiet People Who Will Smile At You”). The L.E.Philips Memorial Library is now lending out iPads for weekly stints, allowing the good, country stock of Eau Claire to enjoy Apple’s finest between two Sundays. They are also available for in-library use.

iPads are now available for check out at the library thanks to a generous contribution from the Presto Foundation. Each iPad is Wi-Fi compatible and pre-loaded with at least 1,000 classic e-book titles, 10 audiobooks and dozens of free apps and shortcuts to websites. The iPads are available for a 7-day loan period or for a 4-hour in-library use and holds may be placed on the iPads that check out for 7 days. iPads for in-library use only are on a first-come first- served basis.

Folks should also note that you should not place your iPad in the outdoor book return or return them at “area grocery stores” or they’ll charge you $25. If an iPad is three days late (uff-da!), you’re going to have to pay full retail for the thing and “no return is possible,” which is pretty hard-core for Eau Claire.

The question, obviously, is what this hopes to achieve. Aside from being an interesting way to sell iPads, the prospect of having a slate computer in the home, especially a home that may not be able to afford an iPad or any other portable device, is fairly compelling. I’m not a big proponent of computers in learning but these iPads are loaded with 1,000 class titles, 10 audiobooks, and some pertinent web shortcuts: a perfect introduction to the world of ebooks, audiobooks, and the educational web and those lessons and tools can be used to encourage kids to read on less expensive or more common ereader devices. With libraries becoming less storehouses of paper and more sources of bit-based information, it makes perfect sense.

A burning question, however: how do they sanitize these things?

via Dailytech

California Bartenders Now Free to Infuse Their Booze

Andrew Dalton — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:20:59 PDT

Thanks to a bill from State Senator Mark Leno and a big, loopy signature from Jerry Brown local bartenders, mixologists and artisan liquor fans will no longer have to live in fear of having their infused liquors confiscated by the ABC. (Not that anyone actually was, really.) The timing couldn't be better for grassroots organizers Josh Harris and Scott Baird, who also man the board of San Francisco's Cocktail Week, currently in full slosh. [ more › ]

The Twilight Zone: SF

(author unknown) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 03:19:44 PDT

Shared by Brendan
Very accurate

As someone who occasionally works at home, I know this bizarre phenomenon far too well:

[Killing My Lobster via Boing Boing]

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Death Burger

(author unknown) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 02:16:53 PDT

Shared by Brendan
A picture of me signing my rights away to eat the death burger.

Signing the waiver.

Our buddy Zoe (not pictured) had the Death Burger at Dr. Teeth last night:

Zoë: hey
me: yo
Zoë: have you had the death burger at dr. teeth’s yet?
or, mr. teeth
one of those
me: nope
we had a blog post about it though
sort of
yesterday
Zoë: oh really?
it’s insane
me: called “eating the hottest pepper in the world”
Zoë: fucked me up last night
they make you sign a waiver
me: what was it like?
Zoë: well, i got the veggie burger
which is a really loose, meatloafy type patty
they make it there
and it’s covered in this reddish sauce
aka death sauce
and i guess it tastes kind of barbecue-y but i have no idea because it’s just insanely hot
like, it feels more “temperature hot” where you cant really taste anything
anyways, i couldnt finish that thing
the waitress said “a customer got really mad at me yesterday. he said ‘it’s not funny. no really, it’s not funny’ and i said ‘it’s not supposed to be funny’ ”
anyway, i’m never ordering that shit again
but, the rest of the menu looked super legit
we should go!
i saw you on the way home
you were walking from dolores
but i was too deathy to yell at you
me: whoa
yeah i like mr. teeth
so many different ways to get your tots!
Zoë: tot-ally
me: did you take any pics last night?
Zoë: not of food or anything
just of coworkers
oh but one shitty thing
one of the bathrooms was out due to plumbing
but the light was out in the other one
and it was completely dark
i tried doing the cell phone light thing
but people had clearly been peeing all over the place in the darkness
so there were no restrooms working
aka i had to leave
me: dang
quite a night

Now, watch this video Ariel made of Nick Fisher eating chicken fingers with the same gnarly sauce:

[Photo by @juliebadoolie]

Previously:

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Eating the hottest pepper in the world

(author unknown) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 04:21:13 PDT

Shared by Brendan
I ate a burger at this place with ghost pepper sauce. It was hot, but I ate the whole thing. I now have a hole in my intestines.

Local photographer Nick Fisher recently sat at the bar at Dr. Teeth and ate chicken wings covered in a sauce made with bhut jolokia, the ghost pepper.

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NOPE!

(author unknown) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 23:01:06 PDT

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The Hackathon Never Sleeps

(author unknown) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 08:45:32 PDT

Shared by Brendan
They took a picture of me eating Chinese food off of a piece of cardboard.

It’s been a solid 12 hours since the Disrupt Hackathon commenced, and things are getting a bit loopy. For the most part, this place is pretty quiet. We have a few sleepers in corners, and just about every cushy object in this building has been occupied. But the vast majority of hackers are wide awake, coding away.

And with good reason — $500,000 is at stake, among other awesome prizes.

Each table is littered with trash — Red Bull, Doritos, Snapple, and quite a bit of beer. The pizza has been absolutely demolished, and now Chinese food seems to be the main attraction. Unfortunately, a plate shortage led some to take matters into their own hands and rip up pizza boxes to use as make-shift plates.

Another development was the eruption of a massive bungee-dart war. According to the hackers “hundreds of darts were flying through the room.” In truth, I’m pretty sure there aren’t more than a few dozen darts in this building, but I bet it was epic nonetheless.

I’m getting ready to call it a night, but for these hackers this is just the beginning. Progress has been made, but many have also encountered a few hiccups along the way. The Ping Pong Hero app we mentioned earlier is having some Bluetooth issues, while Ryan Tsukamoto’s AR air drums have run into quite the obstacle — the iPad’s craptacular front-facing camera.

Still, determination seems to be the most dominant emotion in the room, and there’s no doubt in my mind that tomorrow will yield many success stories.

need to perfect the trick

(author unknown) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 23:40:52 PDT

please watch all 4 of the videos from michel und sven!
watch them improve the trick!

Try 1

Try 2

Try 3

Try 4

Try 5?

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Posted: Visualizing US expansion through post offices.

David Levinson — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 12:03:07 PDT

Posted: Visualizing US expansion through post offices. from Derek Watkins on Vimeo.

(Via GGW)

Brian Barneclo's 600ft-Long "Systems" Mural Comes to Life

Kevin Montgomery — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:24:30 PDT

After years of setbacks and a long campaign to raise the requite $70k to start painting, Brian Barneclo has finally begun painting the 600x40 foot mural along the Caltrain tracks at 7th and Townsend. The idea is this will be the first landmark Caltrains passengers will see when arriving in San Francisco and cause us to question the systems around us. From the project's website:

Systems Mural Project will explore the concept of interconnectivity via a 600 foot panoramic mural painted by San Francisco artist Brian Barneclo. Systems are found in nature (the water cycle) and systems are created by man (the government). As we move into the 21st century, what have we learned about sustainable systems-what works and what doesn't. Should we revisit ancient technologies? Is the Industrial Age over? It's through this conversation that we gain an understanding of, perhaps the most complicated systems of all, our systems of belief.

All that sounds nice and all, but it's the awe of seeing something so massive that makes it the marvel that it is.

Unfortuantely it was impossible to shoot the entire mural from the street, but you can see check out some panos of the design here.

Categorized: Art - The Streets, SOMA

Tagged: Brian Barneclo, Caltrain

2 Comments

Previously on Uptown Almanac

Brian Barneclo's Quest to Paint a 600ft Long Mural in SOMA

US Braces for Hurricane Irene

Dmitry — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:11:12 PDT

Advertise here with BSA

A man walks across 42nd Street in Times Square in New York as Tropical Storm Irene hits the city and Tri State area with rain and high winds. Irene, downgraded to a tropical storm, swept through the area lacking anywhere near the force that had been feared, but still cutting power to more than a million people, toppling trees and flooding some parts of the city. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

Two men and a dog frolic in the sand-filled sea foam from the Atlantic Ocean that filled the beach after Tropical Storm Irene, downgraded from a hurricane, swept through Long Island, in Long Beach, N.Y. (Kathy Kmonicek/Associated Press)

A resident tries to unblock a sewage grate to free floodwater on Coney Island, and people inspect one of five trees knocked over by high winds from Hurricane Irene in front of the East River Cooperative Village apartment buildings along Grand Street in New York City. The hurricane hit New York as a Category 1 storm before being downgraded to a tropical storm. (AFP, Getty Images)

Chris Swimm retrieves planks from a friend’s deck washed away by waves, right, from Tropical Storm Irene that surged onto Wilbur’s Point in Fairhaven, Massachusetts. (Peter Pereira/The Standard Times)

Jackie Sparnackel abandons her van and her belongings near the Frisco Pier in North Carolina after she drove up to see how the storm-battered structure was doing. Friends tried to tow her out but she was caught in an overwash. Hurricane force winds from Irene battered the island, and power was knocked out. (Chuck Liddy/The News & Observer)

Beach balls flail around under heavy wind and rain as Hurricane Irene passes through Nags Head, top, and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. (Chang W. Lee/The New York Times)

Hurricane Irene churns off the coast of the Carolinas in the Atlantic Ocean. (NOAA via Getty Images)

Although the Tybee Island Ocean Rescue lifeguards closed the water to swimmers on Tybee Island, Ga., because of high waves and hazardous rip currents from the outer bands of Hurricane Irene, surfers, kayakers and paddle boarders still sought the thrill of high winds and choppy waves. (Stephen Morton/Associated Press)

AUGUST 25: A man continues to fish off the flooded Boynton Beach inlet parking lot while rain bands from Hurricane Irene. (Bill Ingram/The Palm Beach Post)

As the storm approaches, residents in a Battery Park City high rise tape their windows, grates are covered in anticipation of flooding near Battery Park, and a storefront is covered with plastic and sandbags near the South Street Seaport. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A road sign warns of inclement weather caused by Hurricane Irene as a pedestrian crosses Canal St. in front of the Manhattan bridge in Lower Manhattan on Saturday. (Mary Altaffer/Associated Press)

Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge are hit by Hurricane Irene early Sunday. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images)

A man walks through the rain in New York as Hurricane Irene hits the city. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

Waves crash around a home as Hurricane Irene arrives in Southampton. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The storm surge affects homes in Bayshore on Long Island. (Charles Krupa/Associated Press)

A sign that welcomed Hurricane Irene in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn was given somewhat of a comeuppance: though damge was far less than feared, areas of Red Hook were flooded, as resident Betty Walsh discovered. (Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images)

Rising water from New York Harbor laps over the seawall at Battery Park in lower Manhattan. (Michael Appleton/The New York Times)

As Irene came through Long Beach it left apartment buildings, cars and planters covered in sand and mud. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

A Beach Patrol Headquarters used by City of Long Beach lifeguards was lifted and moved to the boardwalk by the strong winds. (Kathy Kmonicek/Associated Press)

Irene ripped apart a dock house at Broad Channel in Queens. (Andrea Morales/The New York Times)

After the storm a street is flooded on Coney Island, and a man picks up a small tree branch while walking in flood waters along the East River Bikeway. (AFP, Getty Images)

A woman and child sit on a public bench amid floodwater on Rockaway Beach, and Scott Richheimer, Kitchen Manager of the Allegria hotel, stands outside the flooded lobby in Long Beach. (AFP, Getty Images)

After the storm on Staten Island, Kevin Holligan kayaks across a flooded section of the borough’s Hyland Boulevard, and cars are submerged on Saybrook Street. (The Staten Island Advance, The New York Times)

Residents slip past a barricade to enter Valentino Pier in Red Hook as the skies clear in the aftermath of the storm. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images)

The sun sets in a clearing sky over the World Trade Center site, with One World Trade Center to the right. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

A woman walks through the Times Square subway station after the last subway has left, August 27, 2011. Mayor Michael Bloomberg sternly warned New Yorkers to follow the city’s unprecedented mandatory evacuation orders on Saturday, saying approaching Hurricane Irene is “life-threatening” and “not a joke.” Some 370,000 of the city’s more than 8 million residents are under orders to leave their homes in low-lying and waterfront areas, largely in the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens and in the financial district in downtown Manhattan. (Reuters)

Residents leave buildings before the arrival of Hurricane Irene at downtown Manhattan in New York August 27, 2011. (Reuters)

People line up at Brown’s Hardware in Far Rockaway, New York, August 26, 2011. New York City on Friday ordered the evacuation of more than 250,000 people and prepared to shut down its entire mass transit system, both unprecedented measures ahead of the expected battering from Hurricane Irene. The powerful and unusually large storm trudged up the U.S. East Coast on Friday, threatening 55 million people including more than 8 million in New York City, which was expecting heavy winds late on Saturday or early on Sunday. (REUTERS/Allison Joyce)

Cars pack the westbound lanes of the Atlantic City Expressway, as thousands of people evacuate the barrier islands along the Southern New Jersey coastline ahead of the landfall of Hurricane Irene, August 26, 2011The eastern United States ramped up its alert on Friday ahead of Hurricane Irene and New York City ordered evacuations of vulnerable residents as the broad, menacing storm closed in on the Atlantic coast. Hundreds of thousands of residents and vacationers were evacuating from Irene’s path, starting in east North Carolina where the hurricane, now packing winds of 100 miles per hour (160 kph), is expected to make landfall on Saturday. (Reuters)

Hurricane Irene Police patrols an empty boardwalk after an evacuation in preparation for Hurricane Irene in Ocean City, Maryland, August 26, 2011. National Hurricane Center Director Bill Read said Irene, which will be the first significant hurricane to affect the populous Northeast in decades, would lash the Atlantic seaboard with tropical storm-force winds and a “huge swath of rain” from the Carolinas to New England. (REUTERS/Molly Riley)

The boardwalk at Atlantic City, New Jersey, is deserted as the first rains from Hurricane Irene hit the New Jersey Shore August 27, 2011. Hurricane Irene is expected to hit the Jersey Shore early Sunday. The building at right is pictured with the original state of its facade. (Reuters)

Hurricane Irene A pedestrian passes next to sandbags used to control possible floods at downtown Manhattan in New York August 26, 2011. New York on Friday ordered residents in low-lying areas to evacuate before the onslaught this weekend of massive Hurricane Irene, which churned northward along the East Coast. (REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz)

A woman left a New York City subway station during a snowstorm in January. There will be no subway, bus or commuter train service starting Saturday at noon in anticipation of Hurricane Irene. (Reuters)

A plywood shutter, covering a window of a beachside house, shares a message from a community preparing for the arrival of Hurricane Irene in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, August 26, 2011. Irene, the first hurricane of the season, churned toward the U.S. East Coast. Cities scrambled to prepare, resorts emptied of beach goers, and energy firms like braced for the storm. (REUTERS / Steve Nesius)

Beach workers fill sand bags on Long Beach on Long Island, New York, August 26, 2011. Hurricane Irene, the first Atlantic hurricane of the season, churned toward the U.S. East Coast Friday as cities scrambled to prepare, resorts emptied of beach goers, and energy firms braced for the storm. (REUTERS / Mike Segar)

Scott Grafton takes down letters from the marquee of the Morehead Center for Performing Arts as he prepares for the landfall of Hurricane Irene in Morehead City, North Carolina August 26, 2011. The United States urged 55 million people on its eastern seaboard to prepare for Hurricane Irene on Friday as the powerful storm packing high winds and heavy rain bore down on the North Carolina coast.(REUTERS / Steve Nesius)

A woman walks past an empty battery display at a Home Depot store in Freeport on Long Island, New York August 26, 2011. Hurricane Irene, the first Atlantic hurricane of the season, churned toward the U.S. East Coast Friday as cities scrambled to prepare, resorts emptied of beach goers, and energy firms braced for the storm. (REUTERS / Mike Segar)

A shopper passes empty shelves while looking for bottled water at a supermarket in Long Beach on Long Island, New York, August 26, 2011. As North Carolina braced on Friday for a direct hit from Hurricane Irene, cities along the East Coast were on alert and millions of beach goers cut short vacations to escape the powerful storm. With more than 50 million people potentially in Irene’s path, residents stocked up on food and water and worked to secure homes, vehicles and boats. States, cities, ports, oil refineries and nuclear plants scrambled to activate emergency plans. (REUTERS / Mike Segar)

Empty shelves for bottled water at a supermarket are seen ahead of Hurricane Irene in Long Beach on Long Island, New York August 26, 2011. (REUTERS / Mike Segar)

The top layer of blacktop on River Road lies peeled off due to flooding on the West Branch of the AuSable River in Lake Placid, N.Y., Monday, Aug. 29. (Mike Lynch / Adirondack Daily Enterprise via AP)

Long Beach Lifeguard Patrol members continue cleanup of rescue boards along the boardwalk at Long Beach, N.Y., on Aug. 29. (Craig Ruttle / AP)

A young couple from Germany rests on a cot as other passengers arrive at LaGuardia Airport on Aug. 29. The couple is scheduled to take a flight to Dallas on August 30. New York-area airports reopened on Monday as airlines gradually restored service after cancelling more than 11,000 flights. (Don Emmert / AFP – Getty Images)

Firefighters put out a fire at a rental house after it was destroyed by Hurricane Irene at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Rodanthe, N.C. on Aug. 28. (Jose Luis Magana / Reuters)

Rough surf caused by Irene off the coast of Long Beach Island, N.J., Aug. 28. (Rich Schultz / AP)

Billy Stinson, left, comforts his daughter, Erin Stinson, as they sit on the steps where their cottage once stood before it was destroyed by Hurricane Irene in Nags Head, N.C., on Aug. 28. The cottage, built in 1903, was one of the first vacation cottages built on Albemarle Sound in Nags Head. Stinson has owned the home, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, since 1963. “We were pretending, just for a moment, that the cottage was still behind us and we were just sitting there watching the sunset,” said Erin afterward. (Scott Olson / Getty Images)

With the skyline of New York in the background, people fly a kite at the Erie-Lackawanna Park along Hudson River after the pass of Irene in Hoboken, N.J., Aug 28. (Eduardo Munoz / Reuters)

Officials survey the damage to Route 12 on Hatteras Island, N.C., Aug. 28. Hurricane Irene swept through the area Saturday, Aug. 27, cutting the roadway in five locations. (Steve Helber / AP)

A family inspects a downed tree in New York’s Central Park after Irene dumped more than 6 inches of rain on Aug. 28. (Mario Tama / Getty Images)

Darrell Tarte, a property estimator with Erie Insurance, surveys damage from a tree at a home in Port Republic, Md., on Aug. 28. (Steve Ruark / AP)

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Beluga mariachi fan

Vic Wong — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 16:02:00 PDT

No tip? How rude.

[Youtube via Jerry M.]

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