NEWS - 3.7 EARTHQUAKE RECORDED NEAR PRAGUE OKLAHOMA

3.7 earthquake recorded near Prague

The U.S. Geological Survey recorded an earthquake that struck near Prague Thursday afternoon.

 

FROM STAFF REPORTS    

Published: November 24, 2011

A 3.7 magnitude earthquake was recorded near Prague Thursday afternoon, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The quake struck 5 miles northwest of Prague about 3:11 p.m. Thursday. Its epicenter was 7 miles from Sparks and 45 miles away from Oklahoma City.

NEWS - JUNIOR HIGH APP DEVELOPER IS A PRE-TEEN TYCOON IN TRAINING

Junior high app developer is a pre-teen tycoon in training

 

He might not be ready to submit a college application, but Thomas Suarez of Manhattan Beach, California is already releasing apps for iOS devices. The sixth grader recently gave a talk at TEDxManhattanBeach in which he discussed his love of computers (he got into them in kindergarten), his plans for the future, and the inspiration he got from the late Steve Jobs.
Suarez has released several apps on the Apple App Store since launching his first, a fortune-telling title called Earth Fortune, in late 2010. His most popular app has been Bustin Jieber, a Whack-a-Mole style game where players squish the disembodied head of Justin Bieber. "I created it because a lot of people at school disliked Justin Bieber a little bit," he told the TEDx crowd.
After teaching himself programming basics in Python, C, and Java, Suarez says he took up Apple's SDK and Xcode. "I've gotten a lot of inspiration from Steve Jobs," he says. Inspired, he started an App Club at his school, because "not many kids know where to go to find out how to make a program." As he sees it, "for soccer, you could go to a soccer team, and for violin, you could get a lesson from a violinist." But even parents might not be a resource, since as he rightly points out, "not many of them have written apps."
The club is working with its teacher sponsor to create iPad apps for education, which will eventually be distributed to local school districts free of charge, and sold to others. Oh, and he's even created his own company, CarrotCorp. It sounds like Suarez picked up a little entrepreneurial spirit from Jobs, as well.

NEWS - NEW YORK POLICE PROBE FIRES, GRAFFITI IN JEWISH AREAS

New York police probe fires, graffiti in Jewish area

 

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City police were investigating a possible hate crime in a Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn where cars were set on fire and anti-Semitic symbols spray painted on benches.

Police responded to 911 calls reporting cars ablaze early Friday morning. When they arrived, they found three cars, including a BMW and a Lexus, on fire, according Sgt. Carlos Nieves.

Another vehicle, a red van, had "KKK" spray painted on it, representing the racist group Ku Klux Klan. Police also found eight benches with Nazi swastikas spray painted on them.

"The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is actively investigating the twisted person or people who attacked cars, benches, and a sidewalk on a block of Ocean Parkway," New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in statement released Friday.

The attack happened a day after the 73rd anniversary of Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, when rioters, encouraged by Nazis, vandalized the Jewish community of Germany, burning and destroying hundreds of synagogues, looting thousands of homes and businesses and killing 91 Jewish people, according to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Bloomberg said the timing of this attack may or may not be a coincidence.

"Either way, this kind of hateful act has no place in the freest city in the freest country in the world," he said.

There is no one in custody and police have no suspects.

NEWS - HALO TO RELEASE THE SIX ORIGINAL HALO CE MULTIPLAYER MAPS AS DLC FOR REACH

Halo to release the six original Halo CE multiplayer maps as DLC for Reach

 

It is a good time to be a Halo fan. Next week marks the 10-year anniversary of the release of Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox, and to commemorate the event, Microsoft has two offerings for its fans.

The first is the remastered, anniversary edition of Halo: CE, featuring all new HD graphics, online connectivity for the six slightly reimagined competitive multiplayer maps and one new Firefight map, Kinect voice integration, plus a few other Easter Eggs and surprises. The game will also feature online co-op, new plot elements, 1,000 achievement points and 3D support. For fans of the game, the $39.99 will also allow you to relive the experience using the engine from Halo: Reach.

But if the campaign isn’t your thing, and you are a fan of Reach, you can purchase the six remastered maps along with the new Firefight map for $15 (1,200 MS Points). The maps included as DLC and on the Halo: CE Anniversary Edition disc are: Damnation, Beaver Creek, Prisoner, Timberland, Headlong, Hang ‘Em High and the Firefight map, Installation 04.

Those that already own Reach but are planning on purchasing the Anniversary Edition can download the maps off the disc and access them through Reach as well. Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Edition hits stores for the Xbox 360 on Tuesday.

NEWS - LATEST 'CALL OF DUTY' GAME BREAKS SALES RECORDS

Latest 'Call of Duty' game breaks sales record

 NEW YORK (AP) — By the third time around, it really shouldn't be a surprise. The latest "Call of Duty" video game set a first-day sales record this week, generating $400 million in sales in its first 24 hours in stores. That breaks the record its predecessor set this time last year.

"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" is the third game in the military shooter series to set such a record. Last year, "Call of Duty: Black Ops" raked in $360 million in its first 24 hours on sale. "Call of Duty, Modern Warfare 2," sold 4.7 million copies in its first 24 hours to reap $310 million

The latest installment of the game from Activision Blizzard Inc. went on sale at midnight Tuesday in North America and the U.K.

Activision said Friday the game sold 6.4 million units in its first 24 hours.

A rival shooter game from Electronic Arts Inc., "Battlefield 3," meanwhile, sold 5 million units in its first week in stores last month, making it the fastest-selling game in EA's history.

The figures show there's a big appetite for big shooter games this holiday season, boding well for their publishers and retailers such as GameStop Corp.

Shares of Activision Blizzard slipped 16 cents to $12.82 in morning trading Friday.

NEWS - EARTHQUAKE, AFTERSHOCKS FELT ACROSS OKLAHOMA REGION

Earthquake, aftershocks felt across Oklahoma, region

Multiple earthquakes shook much of central Oklahoma early Saturday, rousing people from their sleep. It was felt as far away as Pleasant Hill, Mo.

FROM STAFF REPORTS    

Published: November 5, 2011

A 4.7 magnitude earthquake rattled homes across central Oklahoma early Saturday.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the initial quake was centered about six miles north of Prague about 2:12 a.m.
That quake was followed by a series of aftershocks. A 3.4 magnitude aftershock was felt moments later followed by another 2.7 magnitude aftershock about five miles southeast of Sparks. Sparks is east of the metro area in Lincoln County.
And those aftershocks continued as a 3.6 magnitude quake struck about 8:36 a.m., also centered about two miles southeast of Sparks.
The National Weather Service in Norman said via its Facebook page the earthquake was felt in Norman and also as far away as weather offices in Topeka, Kan., and Pleasant Hill, Mo.
There have been no reports of significant damage caused by the quake. According to OG&E's System Watch webpage it did not cause power outages anywhere in that company's coverage area across the state. Oklahoma Natural Gas is not reporting any gas leaks or service outages.
Tom Foster was awakened in his southwest Oklahoma City home by what he believes was an aftershock.
"It was a little later than what they say was the initial quake so I think I felt one of the aftershocks," he said. "The bigger quake didn't wake me up. But I know we've already had several phone calls from out of state relatives wondering what happened. I guess it's more interesting than anything that was dangerous."
Heather Spicer of Sapulpa said the quake woke her son and dog up.
"At first I thought and airplane had crashed nearby," she said. "But now I believe it was an earthquake because the whole house just kept vibrating with what sounded like distant thunder outside."
Matt Hoover of Perkins was wrapping birthday presents at 2:20 a.m. when he felt the quake. He thought the experience, his first with a quake, was exciting.
"The whole house started to shake and a low rumble could be heard throughout the house," he said. "It lasted about 20 seconds."

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yup, its true, we FELT this one..weve had reporst the entire time weve lived here of earthquakes, and may have heard a "pop" or a "bump" sound and that was all, but THIS one we felt, and we felt it good.

craig was in the bathroom, daniel was playing a game in the livingroom, and i was right here at my PC when i heard, what i thought was allot of movement and sound from my livingroom, like  rough housing. i was about to ask daniel what the heck he was doing when the floor started to roll...my chair was rolling in circles, and the windows were ratteling, and the house shook for a good 90 seconds..

just after it subsided. craig ran into the doorframe looking at me, asking "DID YOU FEEL THAT EARTHQUAKE?!?!?!" 

umm, yes, the house felt it..lol

then right behind him was daniel running in the same doorway, looking at me saying " WAS THAT AN EARTHQUAKE?!?!?!"

yes...lol

for whatever reason, it didnt concern, me, it was exciting, and different and memorable..and to some degree, fun.

im sure because no harm nor damage was done..but still. i had NO concernes whatso ever when it hit...i just  rode it through..

just as it was hitting and right behind it facebook was all a buzz with connections and status updates and thoughts about it..

it was amazing, to me...

 took a screen print shot of the page the report for the quake was on.

and one 24 hours later (roughly, to show all the aftershocks)

my home location, in realtation to the epicenter of this big earthquake

some humor

MICHELLE

NEWS - CALL OF DUTY TO LET GAMERS COMPETE ACROSS PLATFORMS

'Call of Duty' to let gamers compete across platforms

Mark Milian, CNN
Fri November 4, 2011

(CNN) -- The "Call of Duty" franchise is a perennial blockbuster, with more than 65 million units sold so far in the United States and hordes of fans lining up each fall to buy the latest installment of the war-simulation video game.
Now, Activision Publishing will find out whether fans who are accustomed to dropping $60 on a new "CoD" game each year will also cough up an extra $50 to keep their game content fresh.
The much-hyped "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" is set to arrive in stores on Tuesday. As usual, players get inside the helmets of soldiers -- in this case, fighting a near-futuristic global war against Russian forces who have invaded multiple countries, including the United States.
The storyline, with battles in London, New York and Paris, is a continuation of its 2009 predecessor.
But "Modern Warfare 3" will be the first game in the series to launch with a new member service called "Call of Duty Elite."
Players will be able to sign up for a free social network that encapsulates the new game, last year's "Black Ops" and future "Call of Duty" games. They'll be able to create a profile that extensively tracks gameplay statistics for multiple "CoD" games across the various console platforms for which they're available.

Stat systems are typically maintained by console developers, like Microsoft and Sony, which means Xbox 360 gamers cannot rank themselves against PlayStation 3 players. The Elite service bridges that gap, although gamers still will not be able to play against someone using a different type of console.
Elite users will also be able to share videos or screen shots captured within the game and download "Call of Duty" stat-tracking applications to their smartphones or tablets. Microsoft and Bungie maintain a similar dedicated service for "Halo."
Despite competition this fall from fellow first-person shooter game "Battlefield 3," which sold 5 million units in its first week, Activision is confident the "Call of Duty" franchise has enough muscle to persuade customers to spend the $50 per year for premium services.
"'Call of Duty' is a franchise that's grown every year of its existence," Activision Publishing CEO Eric Hirshberg said in a recent interview. "I think that we are finding that people have a very healthy appetite for content."
Subscribers will be served a new piece of content they can download each month and use to participate in competitions. The content will include new maps and gameplay modes.
"The things that we're charging for are things that we really wouldn't be able to provide if we didn't," Hirshberg said. "It's not modeled after anything. It's kind of a new entry into the model here."
Activision has been working on the Elite service, which was previously called Project Beachhead, for two years, Hirshberg has said. The company formed a division called Beachhead Studio to maintain its development. "Black Ops" players were able to beta test Elite until mid-October, when Activision shut down parts of the service in advance of "Modern Warfare 3's" debut.
Subscription gaming has proliferated in a genre called massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMO, or MMOG), the most prominent being "World of Warcraft." That game happens to be owned by Activision's Blizzard arm, allowing the Beachhead team to learn from the pros.
"There are a lot of big brains that we picked down at Blizzard," Hirshberg said. "They've done this kind of relationship with consumers, with gamers, very well, probably better than anybody."
Sony has tried to marry the first-person shooter genre with vast online worlds in a game called "PlanetSide." It wasn't a hit, but the company announced a sequel this summer. Activision believes it has found a sweet spot that won't muck with the "Call of Duty" formula but will still spur gamers to open their wallets.
"Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" will be available Tuesday for PCs and the PlayStation3, Xbox 360 and Wii consoles. The game retails for $60 and is rated Mature, meaning it contains content suitable for people ages 17 and older.