Tsunami hits Hawaii

The first of what could be several waves generated by a 7.7 magnitude earthquake off the coast of western Canada have arrived in Hawaii, with officials saying the highest waves so far are about 1.9 feet and no damage has been reported.

All of Hawaii remains under a tsunami warning that officials had said could bring a wave as high as seven feet to certain harbors. However, Gerard Fryer of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center told The Associated Press Saturday night the first waves hitting shore are smaller than expected.

He cautions the first waves are usually not the biggest for tsunamis in Hawaii and that it could be as long as seven hours before the warning is canceled if waves get bigger.   

The National Weather Service says there are reports of water quickly receding in bays, including Hilo Bay on the Big Island.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center originally said there was no tsunami threat to Hawaii, but then issued the warning late Saturday. It remains in effect until 7 p.m. Sunday and a small craft advisory is in effect until Sunday morning. 

Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie issued an emergency proclamation directing authorities to keep residents off the coastal areas, and people in designated tsunami inundation zones were warned to move to higher ground at least 30 feet above sea level. All roads connecting to these zones have been closed. State officials called for evacuations in low-lying coastal areas, especially in northeast areas of the islands

In addition, the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center says parts of coastal Oregon and northern California have been placed under a tsunami advisory.

The alerts came after the U.S. Geological Survey said the 7.7-magnitude earthquake hit in the Queen Charlotte Islands area Saturday night.

A tsunami warning means an area is likely to be hit by a wave, while an advisory means an area could be hit.

A small tsunami was barely noticeable in Craig, Alaska, where a four-inch wave was recorded.

Dennis Sinnott of the Canadian Institute of Ocean Science said a 27 inch wave was recorded off Langara Island on the northeast tip of Haida Gwaii, formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands. Another 21 inch wave hit Winter Harbour on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.

"It appears to be settling down," he said. "It does not mean we won't get another small wave coming through."

The  temblor shook the waters around British Columbia and was followed by a 5.8 magnitude aftershock several minutes later. Several other aftershocks were reported.

The U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska said it was trying to warn everyone with a boat on the water to prepare for a potential tsunami.

Lt. Bernard Auth of the Juneau Command Center said the Coast Guard was working with local authorities to alert people in coastal towns to take precautions.

The quake struck 25 miles south of Sandspit, British Columbia, on the Haida Gwaii archipelago, formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands. People in coastal areas were advised to move to higher ground.

Urs Thomas, operator of the Golden Spruce hotel in Port Clements said there was no warning before everything began moving inside and outside the hotel. He said it lasted about three minutes.

"It was a pretty good shock," Thomas, 59, said. "I looked at my boat outside. It was rocking. Everything was moving. My truck was moving."

After the initial jolt, Thomas began to check the hotel.

"The fixtures and everything were still swinging," he said. "I had some picture frames coming down."

Natural Resources Canada said in a statement that a major earthquake was felt across much of north and central British Columbia but that there were no immediate reports of damage. PrayForCanada became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter.

"I was sitting at my desk on my computer and everything just started to move. It was maybe 20 seconds," said Joan Girbav, manager of Pacific Inn in Prince Rupert, British Columbia. "It's very scary. I've lived here all my life and I've never felt that."

The quake was felt on the mainland in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, which is across the Hecate Strait from the islands.

"Everyone felt it here," said city recreation director Rudy Kelly, who was setting up an evacuation center for people from the city's low-lying areas. He said the work was in anticipation of a tsunami wave.

Prince Rupert resident Grainne Barthe said fire trucks had blocked access to the waterfront when she came out of a restaurant.

"Everything was moving. It was crazy," she said. "I've felt earthquakes before but this was the biggest. It was nerve wracking. I thought we should be going under a table."

Residents rushed out of their homes in Tofino, British Columbia on Vancouver Island when the tsunami sirens sounded, but they were allowed to return about two hours after the quake.

Yvett Drews, a resident of Tofino, said she and dozens of others had gathered at the local elementary school where they were told by police that they could return home.

But while on the way home, Drews said she heard the tsunami sirens go off again.

"Well that just freaked me out, hearing the siren and the voice," she said.

Carsten Ginsburg, a resident on British Columbia's mainland in Bella Coola, said the quake lasted for about 40 seconds.

"It shook everything. The electricity went out, the power lines were swinging all over the place and stuff was falling off the shelves."

Ginsburg owns the Float House Inn on the public wharf in Bella Coola and had about six customers celebrating a birthday party.

Canada's largest earthquake since 1700 was an 8.1 magnitude quake on August 22, 1949 off the coast of British Columbia, according to the Canadian government's Natural Resources website. It occurred on the Queen Charlotte Fault in what the department called Canada's equivalent of the San Andreas Fault -- the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates that runs underwater along the west coast of the Haida Gwaii.

Saturday's quake is the strongest in Canada since 1958 when a 7.9 magnitude quake struck along the B.C.-Alaska border about 300 miles northeast of Saturday's quake, according to the website.

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Historic Sandy whirls offshore !!!

2:10AM EDT October 28. 2012 - Hurricane Sandy has one-sixth of the nation on edge.

As 50 million people in the storm's path await the outcome, Sandy is making its way slowly along the Eastern Seaboard from the sea off North Carolina.

President Obama was monitoring the storm and working with state and locals governments to make sure they get the resources needed to prepare, administration officials said.

Governors from North Carolina, where heavy rain was expected Sunday, to Connecticut declared states of emergency. Delaware ordered mandatory evacuations for coastal communities by 8 p.m. Sunday.

On Saturday evening, Amtrak began canceling train service to parts of the East Coast, including between Washington, D.C., and New York. Airlines started moving planes out of East Coast airports to avoid damage and adding flights out of New York and Washington on Sunday in preparation for flight cancellations on Monday.

Officials issued a mandatory evacuation for New York's Fire Island. About 200 permanent residents of the summer haven have until 2 p.m. Sunday to leave the island that officials say is prone to flooding. "It's a thin strip of land and it borders two sides of water," says Inez Birbiglia, spokeswoman person for the Town of Islip, which has partial jurisdiction over the area. "They need to evacuate so that resources during the emergency can be allocated to other needy places on the mainland."

Sandy took a short breather early today and weakened into a tropical storm, but only for a couple of hours before it roared back to hurricane status.

It is expected to push heavy rains into most of the region by Monday. The storm's center is likely to make landfall somewhere along the New Jersey or Delaware coast late Monday or early Tuesday, according to computer forecasting models.

In Rehoboth Beach, Del., city workers are on the beach, removing benches, trash cans and anything else that could become a dangerous missile.

The storm's winds, rains and potential snow could cause widespread havoc. Weather forecasters predict up to 10 inches of rain in some regions, snowstorms in others and widespread wind damage that could down power lines.

As of 11:00 p.m., the center of Hurricane Sandy was located about 360 miles east-southeast of Charleston, S.C., and about 305 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C., according to the National Hurricane Center. It remained a Category 1 hurricane, with a wind speed of 75 mph. The storm is moving to the northeast at about 14 mph.

High-wind watches and warnings are in effect for all the Mid-Atlantic states and southern New England.

AccuWeather is reporting that Hurricane Sandy remains on track to become a historical storm, with places from Norfolk, Va., to Washington, D.C., to Boston bracing for catastrophic impacts. The worst is forecast to be Monday through Tuesday.

If Sandy hits near New York City, as one weather model predicts, the storm surge will be capable of overtopping the flood walls in Manhattan, which are only 5 feet above mean sea level, according to Weather Underground meteorologist Jeff Masters.

Storm surge is the massive mound of water that builds up and is pushed ashore as a hurricane moves over the ocean. Sandy's storm surge may be higher than Hurricane Irene's, Masters said, and has the potential to flood New York City's subway system.

The storm's landfall along the Mid-Atlantic coast "would likely be a billion-dollar disaster," Masters says. He also noted that the full moon will occur Monday, which means astronomical tides will be at their peak for the month, increasing potential storm surge flooding.

The American Red Cross is readying shelters, volunteers and supplies to help coastal areas from Virginia to New England. "We want to make sure we're ready to spring into action as soon as we're needed," spokeswoman Anne Marie Borrego says.

The Red Cross has been shipping blood to hospitals in the affected region.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has sent incident management teams to Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont to help local emergency managers prepare for the storm and its aftermath. The agency also sent liaison officers to emergency operations centers in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. The Defense Department has sent
officers to deploy with the FEMA teams to coordinate possible search-and-rescue missions.

"This is a big storm with potential impacts beyond coastal areas. Know your risks, have a plan and be prepared," FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate says. "Now is the time to update your family communication plans, check your supplies, and stay informed."

FEMA has stockpiled supplies, including generators, blankets, water and food, throughout the Eastern Seaboard and at military bases in the region, including Fort Dix in New Jersey.

National Guard soldiers have been mobilized in several states, including North Carolina, Virginia, and Connecticut.

In North Carolina, 75 members of the National Guard have been positioned around the state to provide emergency relief if needed, says Julia Jarema, a spokeswoman for North Carolina Emergency Management.

Soldiers in Raleigh, Tarboro, and Washington, N.C., may be called to hand out supplies, perform rescue missions or help with general operations.

National Guard soldiers and state troopers are taking pre-storm positions in Virginia. Contractors, including those who remove debris, have also been readied.

"We're about as ready as we're going to be able to be," Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell says. "Our biggest concern remains that this will be a storm of lengthy duration."

The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va., has canceled Monday classes but promises students that food service will be operating no matter what.

In Connecticut, the Naval Submarine Base in Groton prepared to install flood gates and pile up sandbags to protect against flooding while its five submarines remain in port through the storm.

"Sandy could pose an enormous threat to major metropolitan areas in the Northeast, like New York City and Long Island, Atlantic City and Baltimore," says Howard Botts, vice president of CoreLogic, a research and consulting firm based in Santa Ana, Calif.

AccuWeather meteorologist Tom Kines says winds could have the biggest impact, causing widespread power outages. "You've got to be concerned since it's an area with such a large population," Kines says.

Storm surge remains one of the biggest threats from the storm: Data from CoreLogic shows that more than 261,000 homes valued at more than $80 billion are at risk from potential storm-surge damage in the coastal Mid-Atlantic states, assuming the storm hits the coast as a Category 1 hurricane.

"This will be a long-lasting event, with two to three days of impact," says James Franklin, branch chief of the National Hurricane Center. "Wind damage, widespread power outages, inland flooding and storm surge are all likely."

Sandy is gearing up for an assault from South Carolina to New England. Weather forecasters say the storm is likely to run into a cold front approaching from the Midwest, which could dump up to 2 feet of snow in parts of West Virginia and Virginia.

In the final weeks before the U.S. presidential election Nov. 6, the storm was presenting a challenge to the campaigns of President Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney.

Romney scrapped plans to campaign Sunday in the swing state of Virginia and switched his schedule for the day to Ohio. First lady Michelle Obama canceled an appearance in New Hampshire for Tuesday, and Obama moved a planned Monday departure for Florida to Sunday night to beat the storm. He canceled appearances in Northern Virginia on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday.

The storm could also affect voting.

Absentee voters lined up by the hundreds in Virginia on Friday to cast their ballots, some motivated by the fear that Tropical Storm Sandy may make it more difficult to get to a polling place.

"I think it ( the storm) just encouraged me to go ahead and turn up and vote rather than wait until later," voter Tania Sebastian says.

Early voting in Maryland and Washington, D.C., is underway, and some voters have found long lines.

Delaware was bracing for a threat rivaling the March 1962 nor'easter that has stood as the state's worst storm. Collin O'Mara, secretary of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, says Sandy could unleash record waves and tidal flooding along the coast."The potential on this is greater than the defenses that we have in most places," O'Mara says. "We're taking this as an extremely significant problem, probably the most significant we've seen in decades."

Insurer Allstate is expanding efforts to prepare, spokeswoman April Eaton says."We are currently rolling our catastrophe personnel, mobile claim centers and catastrophe response vehicles to Raleigh, N.C., for staging," she says. "Staging allows us to get our national catastrophe team members and units positioned in a safe place, but close to areas that may be impacted by Sandy.

"Once we see where the hurricane makes landfall, and authorities allow us in, we're able to move from the staging area or holding pattern and go into the heavily damaged communities to help Allstate customers begin the claim process."

Eaton says Allstate will send nine mobile claim centers to Raleigh, N.C., and Allentown, Pa.

The National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning as far north in Florida as St. Augustine and parts of North and South Carolina.

Pepco, the electric company that provides service to Washington, D.C., and parts of Maryland, has activated emergency teams and begun scheduling workers who might have to assess damage, restore power and coordinate with other power companies in the region, spokesman Marcus Beal says.

"We're already making plans and working as if this is a definite event," he says.

In New Jersey, officials told people to be prepared for several days without electricity. Today Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency. The emergency declaration will force the shutdown of Atlantic City's 12 casinos for only the fourth time in the 34-year history of legalized gambling there. Atlantic City officials said they would begin evacuating the gambling hub's 30,000 residents at noon Sunday, busing them to mainland shelters and schools, and officials advised residents of flood-prone areas to stay with family or be ready to leave. Airlines said to expect cancellations and waived change fees for passengers who want to reschedule.

Workers at the Francis Asbury Manor assisted-living facility in Neptune Township are helping about 110 residents prepare for an evacuation at 10 a.m. Sunday. Most will be bused to a sister facility in Newton, says Jan Carrato, a spokeswoman for United Methodist Homes, which operates both facilities. Some will go to nursing homes inland and some will stary with relatives.

New York City began precautions for an ominous but still uncertain forecast. No decision has been made on whether any of the city's public transportation outlets would be shut, despite predictions that a sudden shift of the storm's path could cause a surge of 3 to 6 feet in the subways.

"We want to make sure we are connecting with everybody and that we will have a game plan in place if the storm requires us to respond," says Paul Shipman, a spokesman for the American Red Cross in Connecticut and Rhode Island. He added that volunteers have been called to be on alert.

Shipman encouraged iPhone and Android users to download the Red Cross' Hurricane app.

At least 43 deaths in Cuba, Jamaica and Haiti were in Sandy's wake, including a 4-month-old Cuban boy crushed when his home collapsed.

Opinions vary on the amount of damage the storm could cause. Mike Smith of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions is expecting the worst.

"I expect the total damage (including loss to the U.S. economy) to be worse than Katrina," he says.

What's creating this monster? A combination of Hurricane Sandy and another storm over the eastern USA, writes meteorologist James Cisco of the Hydrometeorological Prediction Center in an online report.

The winds from Sandy, Cisco writes, will be "incorporated into a hybrid vortex over the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast next Tuesday." This "unusual merger … should settle back toward the interior Northeast through Halloween, inviting perhaps a ghoulish nickname for the cyclone along the lines of 'Frankenstorm,' an allusion to Mary Shelley's gothic creature of synthesized elements."

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SKYFALL : The Next Bond ???

"Skyfall" isn't out in theaters for another two weeks, but that doesn't mean plans for the next film aren't already in motion. According to the James Bond website MI6,"Skyfall" screenwriter John Logan is already working on the 24th Bond film, and unlike the 23rd outing, he'll write it alone. Logan worked with Neal Purvis and Robert Wade on the script for "Skyfall."

Of course, nothing about the project is known, but perhaps you can expect some of the Bond franchise's newest cast members -- like Naomie Harris and Ben Whishaw -- to return for the next film. In an interview with HuffPost Entertainment, Whishaw, who plays Q in "Skyfall," said he was interested in another go-around with MI6. "I'm excited to see where the character is going to evolve to," he said.

"Skyfall" has already gotten rave reviews, with many hailing it as one of the best Bond films ever. Not that anyone should be too surprised. Logan is a three-time Oscar nominee who also wrote "Gladiator," "The Aviator," "Hugo," "Rango" and the upcoming Darren Aronfosky film "Noah."

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'Frankenstorm' headed !!!

A monster hurricane that has killed at least 40 people and is lurching toward Pennsylvania could bring wind gusts up to 60 mph and drop as much as 6 inches of rain overnight Monday into Tuesday in Northeast Pennsylvania.

Dubbed the "Frankenstorm" by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hurricane Sandy could blend with other weather fronts crossing over America's Heartland and transform into what "could certainly be a once-in-a-lifetime" storm, AccuWeather senior meteorologist Tom Kines said Friday.

"People should not put their guard down," Mr. Kines said. "It can bring major damage."

On Thursday, Hurricane Sandy pummelled Cuba, killing at least 11 people there, including a 4-month-old boy who was crushed when his home collapsed on top of him, The Associated Press reported.

The Category 1 storm is expected to move along the eastern seaboard over the weekend, then turn inland and strike Pennsylvania on Monday. New York and other U.S. eastern seaboard cities are expected to be hard hit.

"We can handle up to 2 inches of rain without too much difficulty. Three sort of flips us on the borderline," said Robert Flanagan, Lackawanna County's director of emergency management. "Anything above that starts putting us in the problem area. Six inches, forget it. Six inches - I don't think we can handle in any way, shape or form."

While early forecasts called for snow, it appears the chance of that is now slight.

Forecasters also believe Hurricane Sandy will be downgraded to a tropical storm by the time it arrives here.

"My gut feeling is it won't be a hurricane when it comes ashore, but I don't think people should focus on that," Mr. Kines said. "Whether or not it's a hurricane, the damage will be the same."

Anywhere from 2 to 6 inches of rain could fall Monday through Tuesday night. Wind gusts of about 20 miles an hour and a chance of rain is possible Wednesday as the stronger elements of the storm track north out of the region.

The National Weather Service, however, warned that "significant uncertainty still exists with the track of the system."

If the current forecast track holds, the downpour could bring widespread flash flooding in a region still recovering from the devastating blows of Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee last year.

"I suspect the Susquehanna River can handle it," Mr. Kines said. "The smaller creeks and streams - that may be a different issue. I'd be prepared."

On Friday, the NWS issued a statement warning of the likelihood of urban flooding.

Leaves could clog storm water drains, exacerbating the flooding.

And after the storm moves out, there is the possibility river levels could still rise into minor and moderate flood ranges by midweek, the NWS reported.

Gauges on the Lackawanna River near Forest City and Archbald on Friday reported above normal river levels - still well below concern for flooding, according to U.S. Geological Survey data on Friday.

A gauge on the Lackawanna River in Old Forge reported normal conditions.

More than 120 million gallons of water per day will be released from the Neversink Reservoir in Sullivan County, N.Y., into the Delaware River to make room for the expected heavy rainfall from the hurricane, state Department of Environmental Protection officials said Friday.

The reservoir holds drinking water for New York City residents.

"Residents along the Delaware River may see higher than normal river volumes in the coming days in advance of the storm," DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said in a statement. "But this release now will help prevent the possibility of much higher river flows and flooding later on in the course of the storm event."

Areas with poor flood protection defenses, like communities near the Lackawanna River in Carbondale and Old Forge, could be susceptible to rising waters.

Besides the threat of flooding, local emergency responders and public works departments are bracing for more destruction from the storm's winds.

Forecasts on Friday predicted sustained winds of 20 to 40 miles per hour Monday night into Tuesday and wind gusts up to 50 to 60 miles per hour. This could bring massive power outages and countless downed trees.

The city of Scranton will call additional DPW workers in and pay overtime if the storm knocks down several trees, forcing the closure of city streets, or if flooding becomes an issue.

"If I have to bring in the guys, I'll bring them in. I already talked to the mayor about it," DPW director Mark Dougher said. "Safety is number one. It's a matter of life and death sometimes."

The American Red Cross is planning for the worst. Local volunteers are now preparing to open shelters, placing disaster workers on alert, and readying vehicles and supplies.

"Two weeks ago, we thought the storm was not going to hit. A week ago, maybe. And now, pretty definite," said Carmon Flynn, executive director of the American Red Cross of Northeast Pennsylvania. "When EMA calls and says it's time to open a shelter here, we're ready to do it."

If need be, Mr. Flanagan said officials will activate the county's emergency operations center in Jessup to help coordinate and mobilize resources.

The county's 911 center is also considering calling in additional dispatchers.

"The question of major flooding is still up in the air," he said. "We have to keep an eye on that."

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Windows 8 revealed

As it launches Windows 8, Microsoft's challenge is not only to convince longtime Windows users they should use an operating system with an interface very different from what they're used to. It's also to convince those in the market for a mobile device that they should give Windows 8 a go.

NEW YORK — The moment Microsoft has been building toward for years has finally arrived: the launch of Windows 8, the radical overhaul of the company's flagship operating system and its great shining hope for the rapidly expanding mobile market.

Now comes the really hard part: getting people and businesses to buy it.

Windows 8 became available for sale via download, on software discs and on new Windows 8 devices starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday.

Microsoft's challenge is not only to convince longtime Windows users they should use an operating system with an interface very different from what they're used to. It's also to convince those in the market for a mobile device that they should give Windows 8 a go.

Microsoft has not said how much it's spending on advertising and marketing for Windows 8, but estimates have placed the figure at more than $1 billion.

Microsoft executives at Thursday's launch event, held at Pier 57 by the Hudson River in New York, gave their best shot at making a convincing case for the new operating system.

"Windows 8 shatters perceptions of what a PC really is," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said.

Ballmer talked about the different form factors inspired by Windows 8 — from tablets to ultrathin ultrabooks to convertible/hybrid devices that can change from tablets to laptops.

He talked about how the new Windows 8 interface "lights up" users' lives and keeps them connected by displaying on the tiles in the start screen everything from friends' social-media updates to news updates.

And he talked about how Windows 8 works well with Microsoft services, including Xbox music and games and its SkyDrive personal online storage service.

At Thursday's event, Microsoft also showed off Surface, the company's first branded computing device, which also is available starting Friday. This version is called Surface with Windows RT, a "lite" version of sorts of Windows 8 that's meant for devices with ARM-based processors. (Such processors are notable for conserving battery life.) The Surface starts at $499 and goes up to $599 and $699 for versions that include super-slim covers which double as keyboards.

Microsoft executives Thursday made a point of highlighting some positive reviews about Surface — especially regarding its software — but made no mention of the negative reviews, especially over the Windows RT software.

They also reiterated some of the highlights of Windows 8, from its swiping gestures to features such as "snap," which allows more than one app to be on the screen at any time, and the ability to easily share items within an app. None of that was new to people who've been following the development of Windows 8, but may have been new to some in the audience of 600 bloggers and media attendees from around the world.

The explanations from Microsoft execs are a way for them to shape the story around Windows 8.

"Microsoft's idea is that they want to create one seamless user experience across all devices," said Americus Reed II, an associate professor of marketing at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business. Reed teaches a class that has focused on marketing challenges with Windows Phone, a device platform that shares a common user interface with Windows 8.

Microsoft's biggest challenge, he said, is "making sure you're communicating a consistent brand identity across these different delivery platforms."

The company will have to "figure out exactly what the right story is to tell people about what it represents as a brand, when people think about this new way of interfacing with Windows."

Apple's iPhone, for example, is "about creativity and being hip and about being easy to use and intuitive," while Google's Android devices are about "customization and 'you can do what you want to do with it,' " Reed said.

But the challenge for Microsoft right now, he said, is that for most people, "it's hard to identify what Microsoft is beyond productivity software."

So if Microsoft wants to expand its footprint in the mobile arena, it needs to focus more on what in its Windows 8 user interface is different and how those changes "allow people to have a more enhanced life," Reed said. "If they can tell that story, in a consistent way, over time, across multiple devices, then they have a chance."

How crucial it is to get people to buy in to Microsoft's story — and buy its products — is evident in some figures recently released by research firm Gartner.

Currently, Windows is the dominant operating system across devices (including PCs, tablets and mobile phones) worldwide, operating on about 1.5 billion. But Gartner predicts that Windows will lose that lead to Google's Android by 2016, when Android will be installed on 2.299 billion devices and Windows on 2.284 billion.

That's why Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg says that the real challenge for Microsoft isn't about what happened Thursday: "It's tomorrow, next week, next month, next year."

For Microsoft, the challenge now is the marketing and getting consumers to understand how Windows 8 is different.

"This is about evangelizing and educating," he said.

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Emanuel Steward : The Fighter no more

Emanuel Steward, one of the most eminent boxing trainers of the modern era, whose stable of fighters included Lennox Lewis, Tommy Hearns, Evander Holyfield and Wladimir Klitschko, died on Thursday in Chicago. He was 68.

His companion, Anita Ruiz, confirmed the death, saying only that Steward had been hospitalized in Chicago for several weeks.

A coal miner’s son from West Virginia, Steward was known in particular for his long association with the Kronk Gym in Detroit. A basement boxing gym in a down-at-the-heels neighborhood, it became famous for the string of marquee names it produced under his supervision.

Steward, who eventually owned the gym, trained more than 30 world champions there and elsewhere, among them Julio César Chávez, a six-time world champion in three different weight classes; Oscar De La Hoya, who won 10 world titles in six classes; the former heavyweight champion Leon Spinks; and, most recently, Klitschko, the reigning heavyweight champion.

Among Steward’s crowning achievements as a trainer were Holyfield’s upset of Riddick Bowe to regain the world heavyweight title in 1993 and Lewis’s eighth-round knockout of Mike Tyson in 2002 for the heavyweight crown.

Steward was also a longtime commentator for HBO Sports.

A genial, fatherly presence in a sport not known for soft speech, Steward had an eye for up-and-coming fighters and a Balanchinian skill at molding movement.

“I keep things simple, and I give everybody their own individuality,” Steward told The Commercial Appeal of Memphis in 2007. “You never see all my fighters fight the same way. I find the best punches and movements that are the most natural for the coordination of their body types.”

Steward was by his own account as interested in what made a fighter tick outside the ring as in it. He typically visited boxers in their homes or took them to live in his. If he determined that they were not eating well enough, he cooked for them.

He even tried to confer a sartorial advantage on his fighters. When Lewis first came to him, one of the changes Steward made immediately was to jettison the black shoes he wore in the ring.

“You can’t feel quick in black shoes,” Steward told The Orange County Register in 2000.

Emanuel Steward was born on July 7, 1944, in Bottom Creek, W. Va., and began boxing at 8 after receiving a pair of Jack Dempsey gloves for Christmas. When he was about 11, his parents divorced, and he moved with his mother and sisters to Detroit.

Fighting as a bantamweight, Steward compiled a 94-3 record as an amateur boxer, winning the national Golden Gloves championship in 1963. He was considered a contender for the 1964 Olympic team, but, needing to support his family, he left boxing and became an electrician for Detroit Edison.

Then, in the early 1970s, Steward’s teenage half-brother, James, came from West Virginia to live with him. James wanted to box, and the two of them found their way to Kronk, where James became Emanuel’s first disciple.

Soon other fighters were coming to the gym to train with Steward, and before long he was driving the Kronk team to bouts around the country. Those were lean years: Steward once had to sell his watch to buy gasoline.

His illustrious stable — the trainer gets a percentage of the fighter’s purse — would eventually make him wealthy. Over time, Steward owned Rolls-Royces, a Lincoln and a Jaguar. (In 1998, he was obliged to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $1 million in back taxes, penalties and interest.)

Steward’s marriage to Marie Steele ended in divorce. Besides Ruiz, the executive director of the Kronk Gym Foundation, his survivors include two daughters, Sylvette Steward and Sylvia Steward; and two sisters, Diane Steward-Jones and Laverne Steward.

The Kronk Gym closed in 2006; Steward continued training fighters elsewhere in Detroit.

Steward, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996, appears to have retained his eye for talent to the end. As Steward-Jones told The Detroit Free Press on Thursday, he spent much of his recent hospital stay trying to sign the male nurses he encountered there to fight for him.

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'Zombie Obama' and 'Zombie Romney' are targets for Halloween entertainment

Friday, the video promoting "Zombie Elections" was released, featuring Mitt Romney and President Obama. Thursday, a self-professed neutral voter released a video"Romney vs. Obama: The Flesh-Eating Zombie Debate." It seems that recent political debates have sparked media debate and creativity centered on the zombie-like presidential candidates.

Political pundits have described the Presidential debates as lackluster and nicknamed Obama as "Zombie Obama"because of his "ghastly" performance in the first debate. Some have said that Obama is coming back from the dead.

  Video skits and comedy routines have erupted, including a    comedic rematch of the political debate and one video which feature Mitt Romney as a zombie. Photos include Obama as a zombie and news stories have described Obama's handling of the economy as zombie like.

 

  

    

Don't miss the video in the box to the left, and for extra treat check out the trick headline banner on this site.Examiner's automated change of zombie headlines to Presidential debate headlines is amusing.

Watch, if you dare the video to the left, "Romney vs. Obama: The Flesh-Eating Zombie Debate." The creator describes his piece, writing:

"I don't see anyone crossing over to the other side on this one; you're either a RomDroid or an Obamautomaton, no matter what. So I made this using the public-domain masterpiece Night of the Living Dead.”

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Baseball-Tigers get Motown humming about World Series

DETROIT, Oct 18 (Reuters) - The Detroit Tigers swept past the New York Yankees and into the World Series on Thursday giving Motown something to sing about after years of hard times.

Detroit was in full party mode after the Tigers mauled the Yankees 8-1 to complete an unlikely American League Championship Series sweep and return to the World Series for the first time in six years where they will face either the St. Louis Cardinals or San Francisco Giants.

More than most American cities, Detroit has felt the full force of America's economic meltdown and painfully slow recovery but fans and players alike are hoping a first World Series title in 28 years can help lift the city.

"We did it, Detroit," said Detroit slugger Miguel Cabrera, the first Triple Crown winner in 45 years leading the American League in home runs, batting average and RBI. "It's what we worked for all year, trying to get to this point.

"Hopefully we'll win the World Series for Detroit.

"We always believed we could do it and we believe we can do it in the World Series, four more wins."

Despite a lineup that included Prince Fielder, who signed a massive nine-year $214 million deal in the off season, a return to the World Series seemed unlikely as the Tigers sputtered towards the end of their inconsistent 162-game season.

After running away with the Central division last season and strolling into the playoffs with a 15-game lead, the Tigers were expected to dominate again but instead spent large parts of the campaign languishing below .500 chasing the Chicago White Sox.

Detroit's 88 victories were the joint fewest of any of the 10 teams to qualify for the playoffs and if not for a fantastic surge that saw them win eight of their last 10 to overhaul the crumbling White Sox (loser of 11 of their last 15) would have watched their season end in bitter disappointment.

"I just reminded everybody when we took our punches all year, let's just wait till the end and then if we have underachieved, I will be the first one to admit it," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "But let us play out the schedule to see if we underachieve.

"So hopefully we've quieted some doubters now.

"The guys just stepped it up when we had to. We caught a couple breaks when the White Sox couldn't win a couple of games they needed to win.

"We never lost sight of what we were supposed to do."

With the National Hockey League Detroit Red Wings locked out, the National Football League Lions fighting to find their form and the NBA Pistons rebuilding, it has been left to the Tigers to restore the city's sporting pride as they chase their first World Series since 1984.

Despite the tough-times and one of the United States highest unemployment rates, Tigers fans have been among the Major League's most loyal, passing three million in attendance for the third time in six seasons this year.

"Great fans," said former Tigers' catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

"I spent four and a half or five years here, very good years, and the fans here, they're unbelievable.

"They support the team from day one all the way into the end of the season.

"I look forward to going outside and saying hello to them. They are great fans. I respect them. I respect the organization, the city." 

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Which Presidential Candidate Is Ruling the Email Election?

 Email may seem old-school when compared to this year’s digital election forerunners of Twitter and Facebook. But nonetheless, the inbox has still proved a crucial tool for this year’s presidential candidates, especially when it comes to crowdsourcing campaign funds.

But inboxes, and their users alike, have grown accustomed to receiving a political pleas via email, making it that much harder for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney to slide by spam filters and reach their constituency.

Email analysts Return Path dived into the data surrounding each candidate’s message to see if what they send is actually being read.

They found that GMail users tend to favor Obama and Yahoo! users skew Republican. Data also showed 5% of Obama’s sent election emails were being marked as spam in the inboxes of their receivers, whereas only 0.8% of Romney email recipients would categorize the GOP as a spammer.

Return Path also found that Obama’s campaign slogan “Forward” didn’t apply very much to his email strategy — only 0.04% of the President’s emails were being forwarded to other readers. Romney, on the other hand, had 6% of his emails sent along to a new person.

But Obama does have a larger email pool to draw from: He has five times more email subscribers than his Republican counterpart — that could explain his larger percentage of ignored mails. Nonetheless, Obama’s more substantial email contact list means more chances at raising more funds through the Internet. Romney stands to make less than $2.3 million from emailing, which is less than one-tenth of what Obama’s messages draw.

Check out the infographic below for more details.

Is there a digital election strategy that you think one of the candidates are using really well? Tell us what you think in the comments below.

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USA Presidental Election:Third-Party Candidates Turn to Google Hangout for Debate of Their Own

Only two of America’s political parties are represented in this year’s “official” presidential debates: the Democratic and Republican parties. That leaves the dozens of alternative candidates out of the show.

What’s a third-party candidate to do for some debate time? Hop on a Google Hangout.

The Independent Voter Network, an online alternative news outlet geared towards voters of all political persuasions, is hosting the first-ever entirely online presidential debate. During the event, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson will square off against Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein.

“We’re trying to get these candidates more out in the open and trying to give them a forum to speak to independent voters,” said Matt Metzner of IVN. “I think debates should be open to as many candidates as possible.”

IVN’s using social media to bring in outside participation as well: At least ten questions received via Twitter, Google+, Facebook and/or article comments will be asked of the candidates. That’s something that can’t be said of the mainstream debates.

Another first in presidential debate history: the two candidates are joining in from separate states. Johnson will be participating from Laramie, Wyoming and Dr. Stein’s telecommuting from Seattle, Washington. IVN is working with the Google Politics team to ensure the whole thing goes smoothly.

The debate is scheduled for Thursday evening at 7 p.m. ET on IVN’s YouTube page. Can Google Hangouts offer third party candidates a forum to have their voice heard? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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October 15: Tribute to Charlie Chaplin's "The Great Dictator"

On 15th of October 1940 the film "The Great Dictator" was released starring Charlie Chaplin. This film was one of the most controversial movie in the history of Hollywood. This film totally criticized the Nazis and Adolf Hitler, Chaplin excoriates Nazis in the film as "machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts".

Chaplin as "The Phooey", Adenoid Hynkel

The film is all about an unnamed Jewish private and a barber by profession(Charlie Chaplin), fighting for the Central Powers in the army of the fictional nation of Tomainia, comically blundering through the trenches in combat scenes.

The film had also got many recognitions from many parts of the world supporting him.

Awards

The film was nominated for five Academy Awards:

• Outstanding Production – United Artists (Charlie Chaplin, Producer)
• Best Actor – Charlie Chaplin
• Best Writing (Original Screenplay) – Charlie Chaplin
• Best Supporting Actor – Jack Oakie
• Best Music (Original Score) – Meredith Willson 

At it's 72nd b'day too the film is remembered as a tribute to the great Charlie Chaplin.

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Science sunday : Some eminent quotes

Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe.

~ ALBERT EINSTEIN

There is no bigger question than why there is something rather than nothing, which of course accounts for why you are reading this installment of Science Sunday with your morning coffee.

Michael Shermer, a college professor, prolific author and publisher of Skeptic magazine, provides a nuanced -- and for the most part testable -- series of answers to that question in a post at Big Questions Online. Herewith a condensed version with apologies to Mr. Shermer.

(1.) GOD

The theis'’s answer is that God existed before the universe and subsequently brought it into existence out of nothing. But this collides with the Judeo-Christian tradition and scientific worldview, so God would have to exist outside of space and time.

(2.) WRONG QUESTION

Asking why there is something rather than nothing presumes "nothing" is the natural state of things out of which "something" occurred, but maybe "something" is the natural state of things and "nothing" would be the mystery.

(3.) GRAND UNIFIED THEORY

In order to answer the big question, we need a comprehensive theory of physics that connects the subatomic world described by quantum mechanics to the cosmic world described by general relativity. If someone asks you what really happened at the moment of the purported Big Bang, the only honest answer would be: "I don't know."

(4.) BOOM-AND-BUST CYCLES

Our universe may be just one in a series of boom-and-bust cycles of expansion and contractions of universes, with the current iteration just one "episode" of the collapse and re-expansion in an eternal cycle.

(5.) DARWINIAN MULTIVERSE

Our universe may be just one of many bubble universes with varying sets of laws of nature. Universes like ours give birth to baby universes with those same laws of nature, some of which develop intelligent life smart enough to discover the Darwinian process of cosmic evolution.

(6.) INFLATIONARY COSMOLOGY

Our universe may have sprung into existence from a bubble nucleation of spacetime. If so, then there may be multiple bubble nucleations that give rise to many universes that expand but remain separate from one another without any causal contact.

(7.) MANY-WORLDS MULTIVERSE

According to the many worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, there are an infinite number of universes in which every possible outcome of every possible choice that has ever been available, or will be available, has happened in one of those universes.

(8.) BRANE-STRING UNIVERSES

A multi-dimensional universe may come about when three-dimensional "branes" -- membrane-like structures on which our universe exists -- moves through higher-dimensional space and collides with another brane, the result of which is the energized creation of another universe.

(9.) QUANTUM FOAM MULTIVERSE

Universes are created out of nothing, but in the scientific version of ex nihilo the nothing of the vacuum of space actually contains the theoretical spacetime mishmash called quantum foam, which may fluctuate to create baby universes.

(10.) M-THEORY GRAND DESIGN

This theory is based on the assumption that our brains form models of the world from sensory input, that we use the model most successful at explaining events, and that when more than one model makes accurate predictions we are free to use whichever model is most convenient.

Shermer concludes:

"In the meantime, in answer to the question Why is there something instead of nothing?, it is okay to say 'I don’t know' and keep searching. There is no need to turn to supernatural answers just to fulfill an emotional need for certainty and comfort. Science's uncertainty is its greatest strength. We should embrace it."

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