Back from the blackout (my neighbourhood was essentially powerless until Sunday morning) with some links. (I have posted a description of the first day and night without power along with some pics.) As Toronto powers ahead at (please, please) half-steam, here are some links for your consideration:

• Holovaty.com notes how CNN.com and the Chicago Tribune covered the news of the blackout. The Globe apparently managed to post some news, as well — read Jack Kapica’s description of the efforts by Kenny Yum and the team to update globeandmail.com.
• Asterisk* unveils an elegant new design (built from the ground up, too).
• Dan Cederholm adds shape to his clever Mini-Tabs.
• Redesign the most infamous usability site in the world! ReUSEIT us calling all designers to “create a work of art which still reflects the importance and influence of [Jakob] Nielsen’s work” I may play with this one, but I still have little faith in my design skills.
• Bob Easton valiantly tries to clear the fog surrounding screen-readers by setting up a test to determine what is and isn’t pronounced.
• MozillaZine has an excellent overview of the latest features in Firebird including a promising replacement for the traditional Mozilla sidebars.