Today your Trail Mix is all shaken up from yesterday's earthquake.
Engineers are spending today making sure everything is structurally sound after the quake.
The Marcellus Shale has about 40 times more extractable gas than initially thought by federal geologists.
July unemployment data is out.
Plus, terrorists react to the "nanocyborg" threat.
Shakedown
A University at Buffalo structural engineering professor debriefs yesterday’s quake (h/t State of Politics), saying it is "significant" from a structural point of view.
Seismologists at Cornell say their instruments were measuring "wild" swings for an hour around the quake (Joyce Gramza, WRVO).
Binghamton is "probably in the least earthquake prone area in the country, or close to it," according to a Binghamton University geologist. I smell a marketing campaign! (Kate Thornton, WICZ).
Earthquakes aren't just good for the sales pitch - they help researchers fine-tune their data collection and maps (WGRZ-TV).
Did you feel woozy after the quake yesterday? It may be because you lost your footing - psychologically and physically (Garth Johnson, Gothamist).
The Democrat and Chronicle has a database of earthquake activity within 250 miles of Rochester since 1973 - in case you were wondering.
Buffalo-area shock absorber manufacturer Taylor Devices got a jolt to its stock price, thanks to the quake, going from $5.25 to a high of $6.03 at one point (Stephen T. Watson, Buffalo News).
Natural gas
There's more gas in the Marcellus Shale - a lot more gas - than previously thought extractable. That's the word from the U.S. Geological Survey, which found time between two earthquakes to release an update its estimate on how much gas can be gotten to in the formulation, thanks to new extraction technologies (AP).
Capital Tonight has video of a former USGS hydrologist who says "the risks of hydrofracking have been exaggerated" (Maureen McManus, State of Politics/Capital Tonight).
Gas companies declined to participate in a hearing about hydrofracking, hosted by state senator Greg Ball, who just recently got religion about the natural gas extraction technique (Nick Reisman, State of Politics).
Want to watch the hearing? The Senate has a livestream (h/t Capitol Confidental).
Unemployment
A new set of unemployment data was released yesterday.
Rochester led the state's metro areas in job creation, with a spread of new jobs coming online at various employers (Diana Louise Carter, Democrat and Chronicle).
In the capital region, unemployment was down .4 percent over the previous July (Eric Anderson, Times Union).
Buffalo's unemployment rate "held steady" (Maryellen Tighe, Buffalo News).
Energy
The state energy research agency is planning to throw $14.5 million in incentives at builders that build hyper-efficient green homes (Eric Anderson, The Buzz).
Energy efficiency has saved the Amherst school district more than $2 million in the past decade (Paul Lane, Buffalo News).
A Buffalo-area firm is helping to turn landfill gas into power (Matt Glynn, Buffalo News).
Business
The fraudster who made a fake bid to buy Kodak is getting his day in (civil) court (Matthew Daneman, Democrat and Chronicle).
The Rochester Regional Veterans Business Council played matchmaker to vendors and employers yesterday (Jeffrey Blackwell, Democrat and Chronicle).
Tech
Rochester's airport is the first in New York to have new software that converts scans of you in your skivvies to a generic "avatar" in its skivvies, for more privacy during security screenings (Alex Crichton, WXXI).
A terrorist group based in Mexico is targeting nanotech centers like the one in Albany, because they're worried about "nanocyborgs" (Scott Waldman, Times Union).
And finally, in other "you can't make this stuff up" news, Planet Money explains why the Tappan Zee Bridge is in the worst possible place. Spoiler alert, it has to do with money - and not saving it.
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