The wind outside is whipping across the e-Coast as we now enter the "blow-dry" phase of the Floods of '06. Absolutely everybody had at least a couple inches of water in their basements, but so far as I know, most eCoast tech businesses survived the week-long washout. From a PR perspective, I believe the local and regional news media became preoccupied with the floods, and rightly so; however, as with any crisis, we all long for a return to normalcy.

With that in mind, here are a few of the local stories I'm still following, albeit with aquatic puns thrown in.

Savvy Software continues its powerful surge. They've got new clients seemingly every day, plus a newly redesigned web site, which looks fabulous, a new iteration of the Savvy CM (3.0), which includes a very cool image manipulator, and even a new blog, authored by ColdFusion Guru Josh Cyr. Perhaps most interesting, however, is how their web content management solution was put to good use by the Town of Exeter during the floods. One of the towns hardest hit by the flooding, Exeter town officials used the Savvy CM to post immediate news about which streets were washed out, updates on the town water supply situation, school closings, and other flood-related news. It's always great to see technology being put to good use and helping people, rather than just being technology for technology's sake. And given the media's misreporting of the "breached" dam in Milton, it speaks to the value of getting your information directly from the source, doesn't it?!

Also making waves are our old friends at Hatchling Studios, who have spoofed the DaVinci Code with "The Rockwell Code." Producer Marc Dole is quoted saying, "We researched real things about Rockwell's paintings that mean nothing and then slanted them." It's all in good fun; see for yourself here. It's a lot shorter than DaVinci Code, and it's a lot cheaper than Hoyts.

Meanwhile, plans to reluanch the free wi-fi hotspot in the downtown kiosk last week were doused due to technical difficulties. I haven't had a chance to get downtown to check it out but rumor has it June 1 will be the new launch date. I'm also looking forward to floating the idea of expanding the wi-fi to the City Council. Stay tuned. And stay dry.