Arguably, MSNBC had the most eyebrow-raising evening yesterday during their marathon election coverage. Right out of the gate at seven o'clock they began calling races. There was the Michele Bachmann hypnosis moment and the related Chris Matthews tingle moment. (And an unrelated but still enjoyable Chris Matthews "Name the Cuts!" moment, and a Joe Scarborough "You're Not Listening to the Facts!" moment.) It was colorful television because MSNBC decided to stick largely with its center-left stance, covering the elections through a panel helmed by a sarcastic Keith Olbermann and featuring an irate Matthews and a quizzical Rachel Maddow. The Wrap even gave the network its highest grade for the evening. But entertaining television or no, in the ratings, it was absolutely stomped by Fox News.

The power lunch is not the sole province of established New York industries like media and finance. But rather than rubbing dinosaur elbows with print types at Michael's or trying not to look directly at Jamie Dimon's pillowy lips at the Grill Room at The Four Seasons, the city's newly crowned emperors of tech seem to prefer to congregate a little further downtown. Charlie O'Donnell, First Round Capital's man in New York, mapped out the 25 spots where you're likely to run into a venture capitalist at lunchtime. Union Square Venture's Fred Wilson, the godfather of tech investing in New York City, has described O'Donnell, First Round's entrepreneur-in-residence, as someone "who makes it a practice to be everywhere something interesting is happening," so the man knows of what he speaks. By and large, the VCs prefer to eat where they work, which means the corridor around Park Avenue South, from Union Square to the low 30s. Inventors of the next Foursquare or Gilt Groupe, start making reservations.

A Dinevore list that can get you funded: Where do New York VCs eat? [This Is Going To Be Big via Business Insider]

You remember Google Buzz, right? That incredibly useful new feature Google introduced that automatically enrolled Gmail subscribers to a real-time information bonanza of tweets they already saw on their friends' Twitter, pictures they already saw on their friends' Flickrs, status updates they already saw on Gchat, and so much more! Well, Gmail users received an e-mail last night notifying them that an $8.5 million settlement had been reached in a class-action lawsuit about privacy concerns, like the fact that users had to opt out to stop Buzz from exposing users' frequent Gmail contacts. (Yahoo Mail — where it's still safe to e-mail your mistress!) Before you attempt complicated math like $8.5 million divided by everybody, all the money is going to an independent fund that will support privacy education and policy groups. It seems unlikely the funds will make the trip across the pond considering the U.K.'s ruling today that Google did indeed break the law when its Street View cars accidentally snarfed up more data than originally revealed from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks as its cars rode by. Seems like that new "build now, correct later" privacy model we were talking about is really catching on.

Google Alerts Users of Google Buzz Settlement [PC Mag]
U.K.: Google Breached Data Laws [WSJ]

A group of Brooklyn designers are staging a fashion show, called Nutria-palooza, in Bushwick, which will feature clothing made from the fur of nutria, the giant rodents that have overrun Louisiana. According to the Brooklyn Paper:

The show will feature two dozen designers, including “Mad Men”-era cocktail wraps, wintery coats, and even a fur-lined wedding dress.

We're not sure what the more offensive thing about this is, the idea of rat fur next to your skin or the fact that they are using the pelts of imported rats. Can't they skin some of ours?

Nutria — if you can’t beat ‘em, wear ‘em! [Brooklyn Paper]