So much for getting any sleep tonight. There was an earthquake at 5:27 this morning, which was strong enough to shake the place up here on the 4th floor, and after the quake hit, there was a rolling aftershock. Definitely the strongest one I've felt since moving to Sunnyvale in 2003.

Preliminary results have the quake coming in at a 4.7... not too high, but more than 10 times stronger than the 3.5 we felt here a year or so ago - the previous "best".

USGS Update on the Quake | USGS Quake Map

I've yet to be in an earthquake that made me nervous, and have to admit we've enjoyed our minor to moderate quakes. Hopefully I can continue saying that in the future as well...

Years after lying dormant following the Web pioneer's acquisition by AOL, Netscape.com is relaunching itself as an alternative to Digg (and Slashdot) with user-generated news taking over the current portal. Jason Calicanis of Weblogs.com is leading the charge. Currently in beta at beta.netscape.com, naturally, it should roll to the Netscape home page in a couple weeks.

Red Herring and TechCrunch have coverage so far.

Listening to ''Escape Velocity 007 (12 September 2005)'', by DJ Irish (Play Count: 2)

More in an irregularly occurring series...

So George Bush goes to Iraq... of course it's a "surprise visit", because if he or any of his henchmen told the Iraqi people they were going to come in advance, it could get kind of ugly. I'll be more impressed if he goes over there for an announced, scheduled visit, and nothing happens. Of course, the Republican spin machine is saying how this is an amazing move for Bush, prompting one of the wire services to issue a story on how "Democrats are in Disarray as Bush Basks In Glow of Iraq Trip." Somehow I doubt they're really in any kind of turmoil. The only question is, how come Bush's "tour" wasn't extended 3 or 4 times the way our enlisted men are forced to do? That would be something.

Hot off all of the press resulting from his announcing that he was to be leaving Microsoft, Robert Scoble analyzes why he thinks Wall Street knows Steve Ballmer is full of it. He argues that in contrast to Google and Apple, Microsoft didn't win over the hearts and minds of the people who matter in the grassroots. He says that Microsoft also doesn't get blogging and is leaning too heavily on traditional PR. May be something to that after all.

As mentioned earlier, Digg is looking to cover more than technology. Valleywag happens to be the first to unveil screenshots of the new site. Check it out.

Internet Outsider scoffs at eBay's new interaction with Skype, sarcastically saying that eBay should now buy FedEx and Verizon as well, to better increase communication between buyers and sellers. For $4 Billion, one should hope eBay gets more than just what we've seen so far.

And you've no doubt seen the Macintosh vs. PC commercials that are getting serious airtime. Not only has Apple issued three new commercials, which you can see here, but it looks like Microsoft is aiming to address the company's historically poor stability issues through finally evaluating third-party drivers, in part due to feedback from Crash Reports. Ars Technica has more.

Listening to ''When You're One (Friday Night'', by Soraya (Play Count: 6)

Part of being an Oakland A's fan is perpetually hoping for the best, while expecting the worst, and when things don't turn out to quite be the calamity you had anticipated, you are in a serious state of shock. Surprisingly, after a swath of injuries threatened to tear the team's early season asunder, the club has rattled off a series of big wins, and none more impressive than today's 2-0 thriller in Oakland against division rival Seattle, as the team walked on the precipice of danger before roping in the victory.

After seeing starter Joe Blanton hold the Mariner hitters at bay for a strong eight innings pitched, the A's held a 2-0 lead going into the top of the 9th, but things threatened to fall apart when Blanton allowed the first two batters to reach base, the second of whom had nailed a double, pushing the lead runner to third, all with nobody out. What had once been a promising lead was on the verge of disaster, and Blanton's night was done, as closer Huston Street was summoned to work miracles and wrap up the game.

Yet Huston didn't make it to easy when he plunked the first batter with a pitch, loading the bases, still all with nobody out, and set himself up to face the heart of the Mariners' order. After striking out the next batter, the one following did the same, and Huston convinced the final batter, Carl Everett to pop up to left field, extinguishing the threat, and putting a cap on the A's win, which had only seconds before seemed like all was lost and would be yet another point we could look back on at the end of the season and wonder what might have been. Instead, the team moves on with its fourth straight victory, Blanton gets the win, Street looks like he communes with deity, and the A's find themselves only a half game out of first place, behind Texas, who lost earlier.

As a fan, I loved the outcome, and wonder why the team continues  to keep my stress level at a constant high point. Of course, it could be worse. I could have been a Seattle fan. And thanks to SportsBlogs Nation, we can see just how both sides took it.

Lookout Landing: 6/13 Open Thread, Part 2 | Athletics Nation: Short and Street

Listening to ''Just One Fix'', by Ministry (Play Count: 9)