Earthquake Virgin Economics

At 11:10pm (just three minutes ago) a recently naturalized Californian friend called while celebrating her first, true West-Coast earthquake (a respectable 4.4.) She was most excited about the prospects of her newly purchased shelves collapsing and crushing her two Manhattan-born cats, which would have saved her $1,000 (her condo required a $500 deposit for each feline.)

The New Yorker inside doesn't die easy.