Hurricane Irene, which became tropical storm travelled along 1,100 miles of US coastline leaving a trail of destruction as reaching far inland. Irene remnants began to dissipate over Canada while storm left behind at least 44 deaths, widespread flooding and millions of houses and buildings without power.
People started to get back to work as officials tried to clear the roads from fallen trees and train tracks and clear flooded tunnels. Airports have started to operate again but had to deal with around 9,000 flights cancelled as Irene struck.
Over 250 roads were closed in Vermont as the state experienced its worst floods for 75 years. Governor Peter Shumlin declared the state a federal disaster area as hundreds of people received evacuation orders.
“We prepared for the worst and we got the worst in central and southern Vermont,” Governor Shumlin said.
“We have extraordinary infrastructure damage.”
Hurricane Irene travelled along 1,100 miles of US coastline leaving a trail of destruction as reaching far inland
New York City escaped from the predicted flooding. Most of the New York subway lines were running by Monday morning.
The New York Stock Exchange opened as normal, though many employees faced problems getting into work.
But flooding was reported in all five boroughs, with the suburbs hardest hit and roads washed out in the Hudson River valley.
Flooding was expected in New Jersey along the Passaic and Ramapo rivers until Tuesday, according to authorities.
“The inland flooding … has been almost as much of a concern of mine as the coastal flooding,” said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
Atlantic surge and rainfall has caused severe flooding in the state. Governor Christie said the damage could reach tens of billions of dollars.
More than 1 million power outages in New Jersey and Pennsylvania as Irene swept through with hundreds of thousands still being without power on Monday.
The same situation was in Rhode Island, where 500,000 of residents, about half of state population, were without electricity on Sunday but most had it restored by Monday.
North Carolina was the most affected region, as it suffered the biggest blow, with at least 7 people killed in the state and 444,000 households left without power.
“Overall, the destruction is not as severe as I was worried it might be,” said North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue.
“But there’s still lots and lots of destruction, and people’s lives have been turned upside down.”
Comex, the teenage hacker who developed JailbreakMe, an iPhone tool for users to download applications that have not been approved by Apple has been hired, of course, by Apple.
Nicholas Allegra or Comex, as the hacker is better known among iPhone users, has launched JailbreakMe 2.0 last year, the tool that made a lot of problem to Apple.
Comex, now 19, claimed he has been hired by the technology giant as an intern.
Comex, the JailbreakMe developer claims he has been hired by Apple.
Comex wrote on his Twitter page:
“It’s been really, really fun, but it’s also been a while and I’ve been getting bored.
“So, the week after next I will be starting an internship with Apple.”
Apple made no comment on whether or not Nicholas Allegra has become its employee.
Jailbreakme 2.0, which has been developed by Comex, works on all iPhone’s types which are running Apple’s iOS4 operating system.
The download tool, launched in 2010, was the first that can be accessed through the iPhone’s own system rather than via an external computer.
Users can simply visit JailbreakMe.com on their iPhone and download the application and its instructions of use. It can be also easily removed, as the jailbreak’s developer claim.
Comex explained at that time:
“A jailbreak is simply the ability to run apps and use themes and tweaks not approved by Apple.”
“Jail-breaking doesn’t slow down your device or use any extra battery, and is fully reversible (just restore in iTunes). A jailbreak lets your device be how you want it.”
Jailbreakme 2.0 allows iPhone owners to legally unlock their devices, so they can run software applications that are not approved by Apple.
If they don’t unlock their devices, they could only download applications from Apple’s iTunes store.
Software developers must get such applications pre-approved by Apple, which sometimes demands changes or rejects programs for what the developers say are vague reasons.
In 2010, the practice known as “jail-breaking” has been allowed through a legal decision. It was one of a few exemptions from a 1998 US law that prohibits users from bypassing technical measures that companies put on their products to prevent unauthorized uses.
The Library of Congress, which oversees the Copyright Office, reviews and authorizes exemptions every 3 years to ensure that the law does not prevent certain non-infringing uses of copyright-protected material.
However, the new government rules will not stop Apple from continuing its practice of disabling jail-broken phones with software upgrades.
Subsequently, owners of such devices might not be able to take advantage of software improvements and they are still under the risk of voiding their warranty.
Hundreds of thousands of participants dancing and having a good time in Rio de Janeiro-style have been on West London streets for Europe’s biggest carnival of Notting Hill.
Drumming groups, colorful girls, floats and sound systems were all taking centre stage.
Scotland Yard put a record of 6,500 police officers on duty in first big test since the latest England riots. Officers were patrolling the streets each day of the event as Scotland Yard continued its unprecedented security operation just few weeks after the riots.
Hundreds of thousands of participants dancing and having a good time on West London streets at Notting Hill Carnival 2011
Yesterday, 17 people had been arrested by afternoon at Notting Hill Carnival, bringing the total held over two days to 99.
Police made more than 40 pre-emptive arrests last week and agreed an earlier finish time for the carnival with organizers.
Commander Rodhouse from London Metropolitan Police said:
“Traditionally, Sunday is children’s day, thousands of people came out in Notting Hill to take part in this vibrant event which is so important in the capital’s calendar.
“Through effective stop-and-search, we believe we have deterred and prevented trouble from taking place.
“We’ve worked closely with event stewards and have seen huge support from all carnival participants to meet that really important earlier closedown.
“Our intelligence picture has not changed and we will make sure that our officers are out stopping the right people so everyone else can take part and join in the fun.”
For Notting Hill Carnival 2011, the biggest carnival of Europe, London police put in place a Section 60 order, which means the officer are allowed to search individuals to prevent serious violence, and a Section 60 AA order, giving officers the power to require any person to remove items that conceal their identity.
More than 4,000 additional officers were in other important points of London “as well as the thousands who are normally on duty”, Commander Rodhouse said.
And he added that troublemakers used to plot disruption via social networking technology.
Notting Hill Carnival 2011
London Mayor Boris Johnson issued a rallying call before the festivities began to “let the true spirit of London shine through“, hoping the carnival will help heal wounds left by the riots.
“It’s right that the carnival goes ahead so we can show the world that the overwhelming majority of London’s people are decent, law-abiding citizens who respect the law, love their city and want to celebrate our vibrant, diverse and historical culture.”
Boris Johnson attended the carnival this afternoon.
As today was the “adults day”, Notting Hill Carnival participants have enjoyed more than they did yesterday, also taking advantage of the good weather.
Beyoncé has announced that she is expecting her first baby at the MTV Video Music Awards 2011.
Beyoncé, 29, made the surprising announcement by revealing her baby bump on the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night.
She worn a long orange dress by Lanvin and clutched her visible bump while was telling the press: “I have a surprise!”
Beyoncé revealed her baby bump on the red carpet at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sunday night
Beyoncé didn’t let her pregnancy prevent her from bringing the house down with an energetic performance.
The singer cheered on her husband Jay-Z, who performed new single Otis with Kanye West, before taking to the stage herself.
Beyoncé took the stage in a purple glittery blazer and black trousers by Dolce & Gabbana and said:
“I want you to feel the love that’s growing inside of me.”
After she performed Love On Top, which attracted a standing ovation from the audience, Beyoncé ripped open her jacket and proudly rubbed her baby bump.
Beyoncé ripped open her jacket and proudly rubbed her baby bump after she performed Love On Top
In the next moment, cameras moved on the audience, where Jay-Z was beaming, as his friend Kanye West jumped up and down, smacking the future father on the back and shaking him.
Beyoncé performed two weeks ago at the Roseland Ballroom in New York and covered up her stomach with a special costume that draped lightly across her protruding bump.
“Now I’m a woman, and because I gave it my all, I can focus on my marriage,” she said.
“I can decide I want to have kids. I can be the mother I want to be and dedicate myself to my children.”
Beyoncé, who married rapper Jay-Z in 2008, said during an interview she gave two months ago:
“I always said I was going to have a baby at 30. I’m 29 now.”
“But I also said I was going to retire at 30. So I don’t know,’ she said, adding: “I am not retiring, I tell you.”
And she continued: “Only God knows, only God knows.”
The 28th Annual MTV Video Music Awards 2011 (VMA 2011), was held in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theatre on Sunday August 28.
Adele's Rolling in the Deep was the biggest winner at MTV Video Music Awards 2011
Adele, 23, English singer-songwriter, won four awards for Rolling in the Deep: Best Direction in a Video (Director: Sam Brown), Best Art Direction in a Video (art director: Nathan Parker), Best Editing in a Video (editor: Art Jones at Work), Best Cinematography in a Video (director of photography: Tom Townend).
Another big winner of MTV Video Music Awards 2011 was Katy Perry, 26, singer-songwriter and actress, was awarded three times. Firework became Video of The Year. E.T. (Katy Perry featuring Kanye West) received Best Collaboration and Best Special Effects in a Video (special effects: Jeff Dotson for Dot & Effects).
Katy Perry was nominated ten times, while Adele and Kanye West were nominated seven times.
Lady Gaga, 25, pop singer-songwriter, won Best Female Video and Best Video
Katy Perry's Firework became Video of The Year at MTV Video Music Awards 2011
with a Message for Born This Way.
Britney Spears, 29, singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer, received Best Pop Video for Till the World Ends and the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
Beyoncé won Best Choreography in a Video (choreographers: Frank Gatson, Sheryl Murakami and Jeffrey Page) for Run the World (Girls).
Beyoncé, 29, R&B singer, actress and fashion designer, announced that she was pregnant with her first child.
Justin Bieber (Best Male Video for U Smile), Tyler, the Creator (Best New Artist for Yonkers), Foo Fighters (Best Rock Video for Walk), Nicki Minaj (Best Hip-Hop Video for Super Bass), Maná (Best Latino Artist of 2011 for Lluvia al Corazón).
On Sunday, hurricane Irene passed over New York without major damage to the city, but the storm still caused deaths, serious floods and power blackouts affecting more than a million people as it swept up the US north-eastern seaboard.
Hurricane Irene weakened quickly after making landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey, at about 5:30 a.m., local time. Four hours later, it made landfall again at Coney Island.
Meanwhile Irene had been downgraded by the National Hurricane Center to a tropical storm with winds at around 65mph – much weaker than the 85mph that was forecast late on Saturday.
Irene’s biggest impact was felt on Sunday night in upstate New York and New England where many communities suffered devastating floods after rivers burst their banks and torrential rains fell on ground already saturated by unusually high downpours earlier this month.
Irene had been downgraded by the National Hurricane Center to a tropical storm with winds at around 65mph
In the Catskills mountain town of Windham, where Irene dropped 10 inches of rain starting on Saturday night, the downtown area was “wiped out” by flood water.
In nearby Prattsville, National Guard soldiers rescued 21 people who had been trapped in a motel by fast-moving water that blew out bridges and roads all over the county, according to Reuters.
Vermont was also experiencing its worst flooding in almost 40 years, according to local reports. Many towns, including Brattleboro, Wilmington, Rutland and Grafton, were under water on Sunday night.
President Barack Obama warned over the storm and its aftermath:
“This is a storm that has claimed lives. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost loved ones,” Barak Obama said.
“Many Americans are still at serious risk of power outages and flooding which could get worse in the coming days. I want people to understand that this is not over.”
Irene killed 3 people as it passed over the north-eastern seaboard.
In New Jersey a young woman was found dead in her car on a flooded rural road. The woman, 20 year-old, who has not yet been identified, had earlier called police after she and her car were washed away by a flash flood.
“She left her house, went in her car and was swept away,” said New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.
About 30 miles (48km) north-west of Manhattan, in New York’s Rockland County, a man was electrocuted by a downed power line after he tried to save a child who had gone out into a flooded street that had live wires, officials said. The child is now in hospital in a serious condition.
In Prospect, Connecticut, another person was killed in a fire that investigators believe was sparked by fallen wires.
Irene death toll now stands at more than 15 with lives lost all along the storm’s track from the Carolinas to Virginia and up through Pennsylvania, where a man was killed in his tent by a falling tree, to New York and beyond.
A nuclear reactor in Maryland was shut down after it was damaged by wind. Others were taken offline or were operating at reduced capacity as precautionary measures.
More than 6 million homes and businesses lost power as the storm passed up the east coast. 2 million people were warned or received evacuation orders.
Flooding is likely to be the major problem this week. Parts of Philadelphia were heavily flooded, with water reaching street-sign levels in some areas. Flash flood warnings were issued up and down eastern and central Pennsylvania.
Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania governor said on Sunday: “The rivers may not crest until Tuesday or Wednesday. This isn’t just a 24-hour event.”
New York’s public transport system is likely to be disrupted next week. On Sunday, transport workers waited for winds to die down before they were able to inspect train and subway lines.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said it was too early to say when normal service would be resumed.
The region’s major airports were closed on Sunday and were likely to be closed for at least part of Monday as airlines waited for transport systems to be restored so passengers could reach them.
Tyler, the Creator won Best New Artist at VMA 2011.
Odd Future leader, Tyler, the Creator, received the most votes for his single Yonkers at VMA 2011.
Other Best New Artist nominees were Big Sean (featuring Chris Brown) with My Last, Foster the People (Pumped Up Kicks), Kreayshawn (Gucci Gucci), and Wiz Khalifa (Black and Yellow).
Tyler, the Creator (Tyler Okonma) , Los Angeles rapper, was awarded for Yonkers, the single from his album Goblin, produced by Tyler with some help from OFWGKTA member, Left Brain.
The 20-year-old singer was very excited to get the award. After his mother embraced him enthusiastically, Tyler, the Creator went to the stage with his group. He received Moonman statue from Selena Gomez and Taylor Lautner, said he had not prepared any speech and encouraged the fans to pursue their dreams. Tyler’ speech was bleeped by MTV, but that seemed to be the essence.
“Yo, I’m excited as … right now, yo. I wanted this … since I was nine. I’m about to cry. This is for my little brother Earl. He’s not here right now. I really can’t believe I’m here right now. I didn’t write a thank you speech. I don’t know. … To all the kids watching, you can do this … Thank you.” Said Tyler, the Creator.
Goblin (2011) is his second album, the first was released in 2009 (Bastard). The black-and-white video from Goblin was directed by Tyler under the name Wolf Haley.
Tyler, the Creator was also nominated for Video of the Year along with Katy Perry (Firework) who took that award, Adele (Rolling in the Deep), Beastie Boys (Make Some Noise), Bruno Mars (Grenade).
Tyler, the Creator’s third album Wolf (with instrumentals that Tyler has been making since he was 15) will be launched in 2012.
Tom Jones, the charismatic veteran singer, has been forced to cancel a concert in Monaco due to a “severe dehydration”.
The “Sex Bomb” singer, who is now recovering at Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco, denied that a heart attack played a role in the cancellation of the Saturday, August 27 concert, as British media reported.
Tom Jones, 71, apologized to his fans on his website:
“There are NO heart problems, as has been reported in the press,” the singer’s website stated.
Tom Jones, who burst to international fame in 1964 with “It’s Not Unusual” and other hits, blamed his illness on 3-month successful “Praise & Blame” tour, “where many of the shows were in locations that were in the throes of high summer heat”. Monaco show was supposed to be the finale of his long tour.
Tom Jones, the charismatic veteran singer, has been forced to cancel a concert in Monaco due to a "severe dehydration"
“Sir Tom was ordered by doctors not to perform in Monte Carlo yesterday evening due to severe dehydration,” the statement continued.
“This was extremely disappointing for Tom, the band and all connected with the tour.”
Sources said that Tom Jones was admitted to intensive care on Saturday but he was moved to a regular room the next day because “was doing well”.
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Sir Thomas John Woodward, known to the public by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer, particularly noted for his powerful voice. Since the mid 1960s, Tom Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records.
Tom Jones, whose charisma onstage earned some comparisons to his idol, Elvis Presley, made his singing debut at three.
In 1967, Tom Jones performed for the first time in Las Vegas at the Flamingo. His charismatic performances and style of dress (increasingly featuring his open half unbuttoned shirts and tight trousers) became part of his stage act. Women would swoon and scream, and some would throw their knickers on stage. Soon after he began to play Las Vegas, he chose to record less, instead concentrating on his lucrative club performances. At Caesars Palace, his shows were traditionally a knicker-hurling frenzy of raw sexual tension and good-time entertainment. It was there that women started throwing hotel room keys on stage.
Tom Jones and his idol Elvis Presley met in 1965 at the Paramount film stage, when Elvis was filming Paradise, Hawaiian Style. Afterward, they became good friends, spending more and more time together in Las Vegas and even duetting until the early hours at Presley’s private Las Vegas suite. Their friendship endured until Elvis Presley’s death in 1977.
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Tom Jones held onto his sexy image for decades, only recently agreeing to perform and be photographed without touching up the gray in his hair and beard.
However, Tom Jones still plans for this year a short tour of central and Eastern Europe starting in November.
Burning Man 2011, the week-long festival of free spirits, starts on August 29 and ends on September 5.
This annual event is held in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada (on an ancient lakebed, known as the playa). On Saturday evening a large wooden effigy is burnt and this is the ritual from which the name of the festival came.
This year tickets sold out before the event (on July 24) for the first time in the festival history and 50,000 of attendees are expected.
Burning Man is about community, self-expression and self-reliance.
Lots of artists will perform at the sound camps of the Burning Man.
Robot Heart: D. Ramirez, Damian Lazarus, Deniz Kurtel, Lee Burridge, Erica Rhone, Destructo, Magda, Soul Clap
Burning Man began as a bonfire ritual on the summer solstice.
Now the project is focused on community, artwork (mutant vehicle), absurdity, decommodification and revelry.
Bicycles and tricycles are very popular, especially mountain bikes.
Burning Man has ten principles: radical inclusion, gifting, decommodification, radical self-reliance, radical self-expression, communal effort, civic responsibility, leaving no trace (ecologically), participation, immediacy.
The impact of this event has been so profound that a culture has formed around it. Burning Man has over two thousand volunteers who work before, during and after the festival.
The family of Marian Graham, the mother of five murdered in Turkey, near Izmir, have spoken for the first time of their “absolute devastation”.
Marian Graham, 52, was found stabbed to death on August 18 alongside her best friend Cathy Dinsmore in a remote wooded area close to the city of Izmir, near Kusadasi in Turkey.
Marian Graham 15-year-old daughter Shannon, whose boyfriend, Recep Cetin, has been arrested for the brutal double murder, has revealed that the Turkish youth had NEVER asked her to marry him.
Shannon Graham revelation explodes claims that Cetin murdered the women after Marian refused to allow him to marry Shannon. In her eyewitness account of the events of the fateful night, Shannon details how Recep Cetin – known as Alex – cynically tried to cover his tracks with an extraordinary claim he had been kidnapped by the Turkish Mafia.
Marian Graham and her daughter Shannon.
With the approval of her elder siblings, Shannon explained in detail what happened on the day of the double murder.
Alex, who worked in a Kusadasi restaurant called Victoria, was sharing an apartment that Marian, Shannon and Cathy had been staying in since July 16.
On Thursday, August 18, Alex had organized for Shannon to go on a boat trip with a friend.
“The boat trip was for 9 o’clock,” said Shannon.
“But Alex and I woke at 7.30 because he had to be in work for 8 a.m. I went in to Mum to get her to tie my bikini. We left and I went down to Alex’s restaurant to wait for my friend. Alex was cleaning the restaurant and when 9 o’clock came, Alex and I started making our way over to the boat. That’s where I met my friend Sandy. Me, Sandy and Alex went up onto the top of the boat. He stayed with us for about 30 minutes and we took pictures and stuff like that. He told me to ring him during the day to let him know how I was getting on. There were no signs that day, nothing unusual. It was all normal.”
Later, while enjoying her boat trip, Shannon decided to call Alex.
“I first rang him at 12 o’clock but his phone was off,” she said.
“I thought his battery was dead. I rang him again at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. but it was still off. The trip finished at 4.30 and we went back to Alex’s restaurant, round the corner. I thought Alex would have finished his break by then. I asked his boss where he was and he said he wasn’t back from his break. So we waited.”
At 5 p.m., when Alex still failed to show up, Shannon left and went to another restaurant with her friend.
“Then Alex rang me,” Shannon said.
“He was panicking on the phone. He said, <<Come home now – there’s a problem>>.
“I said, <<What’s the matter?>> and he said, <<I’ll tell when you come home>>. Then he rang again and said, <<Where are you?>> and I said, <<I’m waiting for the bus. Why, what’s the problem?>>. He said, <<Me, mum and Cathy’s been kidnapped but I got away>>. Just as he said that, the bus came. When we got to our house, I saw Alex lying outside in the garden. His hand was all bloody. He was shaking. I asked him to explain.”
“He said, <<Me, mum and Cathy were walking to the supermarket and a big car, like a jeep, stopped and these three big Mafia men came out.>>
“I asked him what they looked like and he said they had long hair and moustaches. He said they first took Cathy and that Cathy was in the car pulling her hair and screaming but mum kept grabbing onto Alex so they wouldn’t take her. Alex kept grabbing onto mum and that’s when the kidnappers sliced his hand.”
Recep Cetin told Shannon he woke up in a “ditch” close to where it happened. He claimed he was making his way back to the house when a taxi driver saw him and took him home.
“All the neighbours were there at that stage,” said Shannon.
“I took Alex into the house because he wanted to change out of his clothes. He said he didn’t own them and I had never seen them before. He said the kidnappers changed him into them. We went up to the bedroom and I put his own clothes on him. Then I put the clothes the kidnappers put on him into a bag and I took them downstairs for the police.”
Both Shannon Graham and Recep Cetin (Alex) were taken to the hospital and later to the police station.
“That was the last time I saw him,” Shannon said. She still had no idea that her mother and friend were dead.
“The next day, Friday, me, Alex’s dad and the taxi driver got into a police car. We first went to the hospital but then we went to Izmir. A translator asked me what happened and I told him. After that, we went to the court house and a girl from the Irish embassy told me that mum and Cathy had been found in a forest. She told me that they had been killed. I was so shocked. I was crying. I couldn’t believe it. I was trying to ring my brothers and sisters because I didn’t think they knew.”
Shannon Graham and Recep Cetin who has been charged for Shannon's mother stabbing
Along with Shannon’s father, Raymond McGuinness, from whom Marian separated 10 years ago, her brother David flew to Kusadasi to bring his little sister home.
Shannon Graham and her mother had been going to Turkey for the past eight years, with Cathy Dinsmore joining them for the last three.
Every summer, Shannon, Marian and Cathy excitedly booked their flights for Turkey.
“We stayed there all summer,” said Shannon. “It was something I looked forward to. Cathy did too. When we first went, we stayed in a little apartment beside Ladies’ Beach, then sometimes we stayed in the town but this year, we just rented. We were all well known in Turkey. Mum knew everyone and everyone got on with her. We used to go on trips, go to the shops and off to the swimming pool. We made friends and it was like home from home. I had a second life out there.”
It was during one such holiday that Shannon Graham met Recep Cetin, who would later become her first real boyfriend. But contrary to press reports, she had not been sharing an apartment with him since she was 12.
“I started going out with him more than a year ago,” she said.
“But I first met him four years ago. Mummy knew him for the same length of time. I wanted to go out with him two years ago but Mummy wouldn’t let me because I was too young. She said okay last year so we started going out.”
According to Shannon and her sisters, Marian Graham “trusted” her daughter’s boyfriend.
‘”he was with him a lot of the time,” said Shannon.
“We always went into his family’s restaurant where he worked. Alex and my mummy got on great. He called her Mum. He used to kiss her on the cheek and say, “Goodnight, Mum.”
Shannon Graham insisted reports last week suggesting that Alex had been violent towards her were “totally untrue”. “We argued, like most couples but he never hit me,” she said.
“My mum wouldn’t have let me stay with him if he did. One day we were in the living room and Alex and I were upstairs. Mum thought I was crying but really I was laughing. She was downstairs with Sandy and Sandy said she never saw her jump off the sofa as quick because she thought something was wrong.”
More significantly, the Shannon Graham dismissed claims that Recep Cetin (Alex) had asked to marry her and that her mum had refused.
“That’s why I would just love to know why he did it,” said Shannon
“The marriage part isn’t true. The first thing I heard of that was in the papers. He didn’t ask me to marry him and to my knowledge he didn’t ask my mother either.
“I was wearing Mummy’s ring on my engagement finger when I came home but that has nothing to do with him. He didn’t ask me to marry him.”
On the day of the murders, Marian, Shannon and Cathy had planned to book their tickets home after Shannon returned from the boat trip. They were due to return to Newry this week.
“Mum was supposed to have dinner ready for me when I got back,” said Shannon.
“She wasn’t going anywhere that day. Alex must have planned the shopping trip when he left me. She was sick that morning – she had an upset stomach and would have said if she was going out. Alex just planned that at the last minute. He probably just said, <<Shannon’s away, we’ll do something instead of sitting around the house>>. The last thing she said when I was going out that morning was, <<Give me a kiss and take care>>. She was so affectionate. She loved you to cuddle her a lot.”
For Shannon Graham, who plans to return to school next week, the loss of her mother was difficult to articulate.
“I was always with my mum,” she said. “We went everywhere together. In Turkey, during the day we went to the beach or the pool and at night we went to restaurants – that was our wee routine. I was the baby so I was spoiled but Mummy was strict in some ways. I knew not to cross her but she would have done anything for me. She would have spent her last £20 on me.”
Shannon continued to tell the story:
“I wanted to speak to Alex but the police wouldn’t let me, she said.
“The only thing I wanted to know was why he did it, because I don’t know why he did what he did. When I heard what he did, I couldn’t believe it. He never asked me to marry him so why did he do it? What was going through his mind? Did he ever think twice about what he was actually doing? Did he ever think to stop? And why did he lie to my face about what happened?”
When asked if she ever go back to Turkey, Shannon Graham said:
“I have been going to Turkey for nine years and have good memories there with Mummy.”
“There was a place in town Mum loved. She would sit at the summer seat by the water for hours and hours… I would nag her and try and get her to leave. My memory of her sitting there is a happy one. That’s what I think of when I think of her… happy in Turkey.”
American Samoa, the tiny nation, is better known for producing football and wrestling stars, but never gave any winning sprinter.
That didn’t stop Sogelau Tuvalu, 17, competing in one of the 100 m races at the IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) World Championships in Athletics in Daegu, South Korea.
Sogelau Tuvalu, the American Samoan sprinter was twice the size of the other six competitors and was the only athlete not wearing spikes on his shoes, risking a false start.
But despite setting off perfectly, Sogelau Tuvalu immediately trailed behind the competitors by a distance of about 40 m at one point.
Sogelau Tuvalu was twice the size of the other six competitors and was the only athlete not wearing spikes on his shoes
The American Samoan sprinter finished last with a time of 15.66 seconds, being 6 seconds slower than winner Mohammad Noor Imran A Hadi from Malaysia.
Wagering websites had listed Sogelau Tuvalu’s odds of winning at 50,000-to-1.
Sogelau Tuvalu’s time is the second slowest in the history of the championships.
Despite setting off perfectly, Sogelau Tuvalu immediately trailed behind the competitors by a distance of about 40 m at one point
2003 World champion, Kim Collins, from the Carribean nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, failed to qualify for the event in Athens in 1997 with his time of 21.73.
Sogelau Tuvalu is the latest in a line of athletes from American Samoa, which has a population of 67,000, who failed to qualify for the shot put.
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Athletes from tiny countries are not required to meet the qualifying standards for track events.
In an interview with French television, Sogelau Tuvalu said he trained 4 hours a day for one month leading up to the meet.
The sprinter achieved his personal best and was upbeat about his efforts.
A reporter asked him: “Did you believe that one day you could race in a world championship?”
Sogelau Tuvalu replied: “I believed in myself. This is a dream come true.”
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At the 2001 championships in Canada, spectators did a double take when Trevor Misipeka – who weighed about 135 kg – took to the track.
He was nicknamed Trevor the Tortoise after finishing last in his heat with a time of 14.28 seconds.
Trevor Misipeka, 32, plays now in the Arena Football League for the Quad City Steamwheelers in Moline, Illinois.
In 2009, in Berlin, 100 kg weight Savannah Sanitoa, then 22, found herself in a similar situation.
She crossed the finish line at 14.23 seconds, losing her heat by nearly 3 seconds.
But Savannah Sanitoa still managed to escape being the slowest in the 100 m on the day. That honour went to Tioiti Katutu from Kiribati, another nation of the Pacific, who clocked 14.38 seconds.
The 28th Annual MTV Video Music Awards (VMA 2011), held in Los Angeles at the Nokia Theatre on Sunday August 28, will pay tribute to Amy Winehouse, who died one month ago.
Amy Winehouse never appeared on the MTV Video Music Awards during her short but celebrated career, but it was announced as news of a tribute to Amy on this Sunday at MTV VMA 2011.
Amy Winehouse has hit another milestone following her tragic death as second album, Back to Black, has become the best-selling album of the 21st century in UK.
Britain’s Official Chart Company announced the further success of her Grammy-award winning album, which includes the singles “Rehab” and “Love Is a Losing Game”, and said it had overtaken James Blunt’s 2005 debut album, “Back to Bedlam”, to claim the crown.
Tony Bennett, who spent time recording with Amy in March this year, will lead the tribute to Amy Winehouse and introduce never-seen-before footage of their time together at London’s famous Abbey Road Studios.
Amy Winehouse last known recording session was with the 85-year-old crooner. The duo recorded Body and Soul for Bennett’s upcoming album, Duets II, which is released on September 20.
There are also rumors that Amy Winehouse’s parents might attend the show, but MTV’s officials could not confirm their appearance.
Singer Tony Bennett said: “It was a thrill to record with Amy Winehouse.”
“And when you listen to the recording of Body and Soul, it is a testament to her artistic genius and her brilliance as one of the most honest musicians I have ever known.”
VMA 2011 will pay tribute to Amy Winehouse, who has hit another milestone following her tragic death, as second album "Back to Black" has become the best-selling album of the 21st century in UK
The tribute to Amy Winehouse at VMA 2011 will likely be the rare moment of reverence in a show that is calculated to be as irreverent as possible.
This year, the current queen of sexy daffiness, Katy Perry, is poised to be the belle of MTV’s annual ball: She’s up for a leading 10 moonman trophies, including video of the year for her inspirational “Firework”.
Another star set to be celebrated at VMA 2011 is pop star, Britney Spears.
At the age of 29, it is rather unusual for the singer to be presented with a special tribute award, but her fellow pop stars obviously disagree.
Madonna, Britney Spears’ friend will present the award, as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj and Janet Jackson, will combine their talents to perform a spectacular musical tribute.
Britney Spears will also take to the stage herself to perform recent hits, “Hold It Against Me” and “I Wanna Go”.
It has been reported that the tribute, which is normally given to artists of an older age and longer career, has been arranged to ensure that Britney actually turns up to the event.
An insider speaking to RadarOnline.com said: “Britney’s young to receive an award like this, but the producers know that it will force Britney to come to the show.”
Other talent that has been added to the star-studded line up include Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Lil Wayne, Pitbull, Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, whose star continues to brighten two years after it was tarnished by his attack on Rihanna, and soulful singer, Adele.
Adele is also a top nominee, being the year’s best-selling artist so far with her album “21”. She is nominated for seven awards for “Rolling in the Deep”.
Adele is also a top nominee at VMA 2011
Kanye West also has seven nominations. He is not expected to perform at the VMA 2011.
VMA 2011 show is being held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and broadcast live on MTV from 9 to 11 p.m.
MTV President Stephen Friedman said some VMA 2011 performers from the East Coast arrived in Los Angeles early to avoid the storm and resulting airport disruptions. But he was hopeful viewer disruption would be minimal.
“Our hope is our audience is cuddled up with their family and friends and don’t want to be outside and want to watch the best night in music,” he said.
On August 27, AFP announced that Goethe had been voted the greatest
German of all time in a poll of 2,000 people.
The survey was conducted by the Forsa institute for the daily Bild newspaper.
Konrad Adenauer, West Germany’s first chancellor after World War II (1949-1963) was the second choice of the readers, while Albert Einstein was the third.
There were only two living personalities who received votes: Helmut Kohl, longest-serving leader (1982-1998), in fifth place and Helmut Schmidt, Social Democrat leader (1974-1982), in seventh.
Goethe and Schiller monument in Weimar, Germany
August 28 marks Goethe‘s 262th birthday anniversary.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832) is best-known for his epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther and his long poem Faust, but he was a polymath, or Homo Universalis (universal man), as he tried and succeeded to cover a lot of fields of culture (philosophy, literature, science).
The Sorrows of Young Werther (1774) was somehow autobiographic novel and belongs to the Sturm und Drang (storm and urge) period in German literature. The novel started Werther-Fieber (Werther Fever) with young men adopting Werther’s dressing style and led to some copycat suicides.
Goethe in someway regretted he had written this novel because he had exposed his youthful love. The Sorrows of Young Werther became almost the only work for which Goethe was known.
Goethe came up with hundreds ideas that later became widespread. He created poetry, essays, criticism, a theory of colours and early work on evolution and linguistics. There is even a mineral goethite (iron oxide), named after him, because of his studies of mineralogy.
His philosophic writings stimulated philosophers, such as Hegel, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Jung. Goethe’s poetry inspired Austrian and German composer like Mozart, Mahler, Beethoven. He also influenced French drama and opera.
Fantasia (1940 Disney film) was based on the story from Goethe’s poem Der Zauberlehrling (1797), which is translated The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Mickey Mouse plays the apprentice. The movie was so popular that Fantasia 2000, a 1999 sequel, followed.
Goethe and Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller were leading personalities of Weimar Classicism.
Iggy Pop, one of the greatest rock legends and veteran of punk style performed Saturday, August 27 on Tuborg Main Stage at Peninsula Festival 2011 in Targu Mures, Romania.
Iggy Pop came for the first time to the Romania’s largest music festival with his band – the Stooges, founded in 1986 – bringing songs from the great inspiration 1972 album and many others that have influenced generations of artists and excited millions of fans.
Thousands of “peninsulars” gathered in front of the main stage, willing to listen live hits as “Real Wild Child”, “Candy,” “China Girl” or “The Passenger”, which have delighted millions of fans over the years.
Iggy Pop on Tuborg Main stage at Peninsula Festival 2011 in Targu Mures, Romania, August 27. (photo City News)
Peninsula Festival 2011, also known as Tuborg Green Fest Peninsula, which took place in Transylvania, Romania, near the banks of the river Mures between August 25 and August 28 had other big names in the lineup. Guano Apes, Kasabian, NOHA, Within Temptation are part of the group of artists who entertained the mix crowd during the four days of the event.
“Tuborg Green Fest Peninsula is Romania`s largest festival. The unique blend of international stars, local flavors, a beach and non-stop fun makes it the ultimate festival experience, but its greatest asset is and always have been the festivalgoers, because they are the ones that make this event an island of freedom, fun and friendships,” the organizers described the event.
In the past years Peninsula Festival, now at its 9th edition, has brought to Romania international acts like Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, Korn, Tiesto, Tricky, Ska-P, Apocalyptica, Nero and The Rasmus, just to name a few.
Iggy Pop performing "Real Wild Child" at Peninsula Festival 2011 in Targu Mures, Romania. (photo City News)
“After having 63,000 visitors in 2010, Peninsula is back in 2011 with a fabulous line-up on four stages. Between August the 25th-28th, Iggy and the Stooges, Kasabian, Guano Apes, Within Temptation, Hammerfall, Gentleman, Danko Jones, Dub FX, K`s Choice, Markus Schulz, Tiga, Nick Warren, Chase & Status and MC Rage, Andy C, Foreign Beggars, Borgore and dozens of Romanian and Hungarian acts are waiting for you in the beautiful city of Tirgu Mures for four days of wild concerts and crazy parties at the riverbank of Mures…
And we didn`t even mention the beautiful girls and handsome boys coming for the biggest party of Transylvania… You better check it out for yourself!” organizers added.
Peninsula Festival 2011 lines-up:
Thursday, August 25:
Guano Apes, Tankcsapda, Foreign Beggars, K’s Choice, Zdob si Zdub, Palotai vs. DJ Vasile, Parno Graszt, R.O.A., Magashegyi Underground, Urma, Stereo Palma, Recycle Bin, Katapult, Kid Chriss, Gojira
Friday, August 26:
Kasabian, Danko Jones, Markus Schulz, Andy C, N.O.H.A, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Belga, Intim Torna Illegál, Tündérground, Grimus, Reality Engine, Les Elephants Bizarres, The MOOoD, Fading Circles, Dj Fülöp & Lobenwein
Saturday, August 27:
Iggy & the Stooges, Chase & Status and MC Rage, Nick Warren, Subscribe, Ska Cubano, Şuie Paparude, Moby Dick, Anima Sound System, Vad Fruttik, Alvin és a Mókusok, Luna Amară, Horace Dan D, Goranga&Missile, AIM, Sterbinszky
Sunday, August 28:
Within Temptation, Hammerfall, Gentleman and the Evolution, Dub FX, Tiga, Borgore, Pokolgép, Ganxsta Zolee és a Kartel, Compact, Vunk, Guess Who, Mihai Popoviciu, Toulouse Lautrec
Peninsula (in Romanian) / Félsziget (in Hungarian) is an eclectic festival, with stages for different musical styles: rock, metal, pop, electro, world music, folk, hip-hop, blues and jazz. Today, the festival gathers yearly some 10 to 15 great bands and some 40 to 70 bands coming from most of the Central and Eastern European countries as well, bands which are more or less known outside their countries’ borders.
Besides, the festival features a number of other activities: about 30 sports (football, table tennis, badminton, beachvolley, chess, sumo, paintball, archery, zip-line, kayaking, swimming etc.) including some extreme sport facilities (bungee jumping, climbing etc.), movie projections in partnership with the Transilvania International Film Festival, theatre shows, stand-up comedy shows, graffiti contests and other creative activities, ecological workshops, volunteering workshops and training etc.
All these make Peninsula/Félsziget one of Romania’s largest music festivals.
The first edition of the festival goes back to 2003. Organized by some members of the team of Sziget Festival, Peninsula or Félsziget has grown steadely in terms of audience (from 20,000 in 2003 to 63,000 in 2010) as in the number, the variety and the quality of the bands: at the first edition there were only Hungarian and Romanian bands, while today there are bands from all over the world.
Although you won’t be able to find th HP tablet in stock at regular retailers, Canadian or US, there is one more place where you will find it at less than retail prices which is still going to be a bargain.
$99 HP TouchPad Tablet in stock links below:
HP’s fire sale on its TouchPad tablets in stock this week has killed all inventory from Canada, and details on U.S. stock remains a bit unknown, but there is still hope for a bargain. Read below for a HP TouchPad in stock at on-line and off-line retailers. Please bookmark this page and come back for updates.
For all those who missed out the first time.. Bit more as it’s bundled with case and charging dock but still worth it if you felt like you missed out before!!
Use code TABLET5 for 5% discount – total price £189 delivered.
Updates for 9/7: B&T, Datavis, POSGlobal
– RueDuCommerce sold 1000 units in 10 minutes. The TouchPads are gone!
Les 1000 Touchpad sont principalement partis entre 7h10 et 7h20. Avant 7h10, personne n’avait les liens (cf le cache sur la home Tablettes)
There is still a chance that new tablets will surface in the next month. The limited quantity will come from assembled spare parts. Bookmark this page or sign-up to be notified!
“HP will be manufacturing a limited quantity of TouchPads with webOS during our fourth fiscal quarter 2011, which ends October 31.”
Team TouchDroid installed the latest Android version with touchscreen drivers capability. 10 point multi-touch, watch the video below:
[youtube MZwhbJiad8Y]
Android 2.3.5 with working touchscreen drivers!
This was made possible by our team member Flemmard.
Updates for 9/5: Erwin Comp, Expansys USA, HHGregg, HP Home/Office, HP Small Business, KMart, NewEgg, Office Depot, PC Mall Gov, PC Richard, POSGlobal, Staples
Hewlett-Packard (HP) plans to launch a second sales promotion for its 9.7-inch TouchPads in late October in an attempt to clear out inventories of components in the supply chain, according to industry sources.
HP originally released orders for 900,000-1.1 million 9.7-inch TouchPads to Inventec and has taken deliveries of 800,000-900,000 units, said the sources, noting that the shipped TouchPads were nearly all sold out after the vendor slashed the tablet’s price to US$99.
In an effort to mend its relationship with component suppliers and channel operators, HP decided to help them clear out inventories, including touch panels, batteries and chassis, equivalent to 100,000-200,000 units of 9.7-inch TouchPads, the sources pointed out.
HP has apparently abandoned its production plan for a 7-inch tablet PC model, with its ODM partner Inventec noting at a recently held investors conference that there will be no more follow-up orders for TouchPads from HP.
“Since we sold out of the current stock, we are building new units in order to fulfill orders received through 4am Monday, Aug 22. This means a delivery date in the 6 – 8 week range. Your order will be fulfilled.”
Order was placed Saturday August 20th 3:50 PM.
Updates for 8/29:
No update from HP yet and they have stopped taking email notifications. Every other retailer is sold out at promotional price.
Directron briefly had units, possibly sams, but both now OOS
Newegg has a limited quantity and contacted people who set up alerts for the touchpad. This is first come, first serve – another batch will go out tomorrow if Newegg still has more to sell.
Updates for 8/28:
Staples also says “Out Of Stock”, because Touchpads are Out Of Stock. Staples sold out on Touchpads a week ago and did not get any more in. You cannot order any online or at a kiosk contrary to their site. SDers have gone to Staples and at the kiosk it is OOS also. They do not have Touchpads.
Updates for 8/27:
– Most Best Buy stores have no lines even as late at 7-10 am. There were a couple of exceptions in FL, VA and TX. Most stores have no new orders inbound. Come back to this article for the most up to date info.
Please stop Quoting BrynaAtHP. There has never been any specific information given out by Bryna so far. It’s all something we already know. Unless a HP rep confirms it, its all speculation(while I agree Bryna/Mark seem to be little more then patsy’s for unwanted attention, they are in fact HP reps).
— So the notification site at HP is not specific information? Unless you can come up with something better than an HP employee, I think that’s the best there is for now.
We have been working all day on getting these orders shipped!!!! We began with 1247 and have now stopped on Order Number 2115 we are awaiting for the bulk upload on the tracking numbers to enter into the database as soon as we receive those. We will be imputing those in. We will begin in the morning with order number 2116 and will update as we go along thanks to all customers for you patience ad understanding throughout this whole HP Fiasco.
– 9/6 7:51 A.M. – By Timothy Lawson
Quote from Timothy Lawson :
Good Morning!! Had a wonderful Holiday,hope you all had one as well! We are now at the end of this HP Mess as I call it.All Orders will begin to be shipped today as promised. We will start with the order number 1247 once we begin you will see your status change from Awaiting fulfillment to awaiting shipment once we receive the tracking numbers your order status at that time will be Shipped please be patient as we have a lot of orders to process today please hold all calls unless it’s to cancel or place a new order for products other than the HP Touchpads!For questions or updates we will be Updating Facebook, Twitter, and Site throughout the day. Thanks for everyone’s patient’s and Understanding we hope to got out as many orders as we can today and finish the rest by tomorrow! we will let everyone know which order number we stopped with and which one we will begin with in the morning.
Update 09/01/2011 4:58PM By Timothy Lawson Called HP as promised this morning, left a message for Renata Wallace and Stephan Jensen the have not returned my calls. I called them again and Left Messages Still no returned call. I just called one more time for both and Left a final message to call me first thing in the morning. I will also call them first thing in the morning as well and try to get a definative answer from them. I have also had a meeting with Dell this morning for the Streak 7 will have a definative answer on those Tuesday due to Monday being a holiday. I have also been in negotiations with Toshiba on the Thrive today as well as Fujitsu on the Q550’s to hope to have some good news for all of you guys tomorrow everyone have a blessed night. Timothy Lawson
– 8/31/2011 3:22 PM from Tim Lawson Per the phone Call I have had with HP today. The lady who has our PO on Hold will be in the Office first thing in the morning and she will release the hold and get our Purchace Order shipped to the warehouse tomorrow.
– 8/30 – 7:49 PM EST HP is still saying we as partners will receive our shipment this week what was placed on the site is just some extra information we received from them to keep you guys updated on all HP news
– 8/30 – 12:35 PST Called B&T and spoke with Tim Lawson. They said they are still expecting a shipment to be received this week. however they are unsure of the exact date. He stressed that if anyone wanted to get a refund to please call them and they would do so right away.It sounds like they are still going to be shipping out as soon as possible, and that they were in talks with other brand companies that make tablets just as a backup.
– 8/26 – 10:00 AM PST Just spoke with B&T, they said they have confirmed shipment from 3 different distributors, however, they are closing the office immediately to prepare for hurricane as it was about to hit them (they were already getting strong winds and heavy rain), and they expect the hurricane to interrupt business and deliveries for about 3 to 4 days, maybe longer. They are still going to attempt a mid-next-week shipment for the touchpads, but safety comes first, and they may miss that target date depending on the hurricane damage and how long travel/deliveries are out, and the damage at their distributors. Be Safe B&T Employees, and Everyone on East Coast!
– Twitter Update on 8/25
Quote :
Update: We have received a conformation email for HP!!! all orders will be processed no later than middle of next week as Promised!
– Note that they are charging $129.99 for 16GB. Price match to $99? — They will NOT price match – price will remain at $129.99.
– Received an order email from both Lawson Electronics and Paypal confirming order was placed…it is in Awaiting Fulfillment status
Quote :
Subject: HP UPDATE FROM CEO
All Customers Who have placed an Order for the HP Touchpads we will be honoring all orders and not cancel any orders. All Orders are currently in the Awaiting Fullfillment Status. what this means is that we are waiting on HP who has allocated 7000 16GB and 7000 32GB Pads to deliver to our warehouse. As soon as we receive them we will then process everyones shipment and email tracking numbers to all. We are asking all customers to please be patient as we will have all orders shipped by middle of next week so please bear with Us! If any one has any Questions or concerns please call us at 1-888-887-7892 M-F 8:00am to 5:00pm EST
or email us at bt.c@live .com also if any wish to cancel their order please email the Order number and name to Kathy and we will process all refunds as soon as possible! Keep in mind that nobody else have these in stock! Be Very Careful of Scams! Make sure to please research all companies before paying your money! Thanks to all for your Business! Hope to make a lot of customers for life.
Timothy Lawson
CEO
Lawson Electronix
Barnes & Noble
UPDATE — IF YOU ORDERED A TOUCHPAD FROM BN.COM and the order was CANCELED, CHECK YOUR EMAIL — YOU MIGHT HAVE RECEIVED A $20 eGiftCard from Barnes and Noble!
B&H
– Some have received UPS tracking numbers showing delivery as early as Wednesday for most and even Tuesday if you live close to NY
Best Buy
WARNING: Watch out for anyone who claims to be able to provide you with real time inventories for stores. Please do not fall for this trick.
8/26 UPDATE: Lots of Best Buy B&M stores had stock on a first come first served basis. People stood in queues 3 hours prior to store opening & got one unit per person. Two of my friends & I were personally was at a BB B&M & was able to get 3 total 32GB touchpads. NO MORE STOCK EXPECTED. Some stores might still have it on Saturday! YMMV.
8/25 UPDATE : Picked up two from BB B&M this morning, and apparently there IS additional stock coming into *SOME* BB B&M. (Best way to find out is to go into a BB, with the SKU of the Touchpad you want, and ask them to LOOK UP THE SKU only. Dont mention Touchpad. See which stores have some “in transit”).So far I’ve gone to about 5 Best Buys and most tell me the same thing “We aren’t selling them anymore”, “No more are coming in”, “Our display models are showing up as in-stock online”. What this really means is that they are holding them until the morning so they can hand out vouchers (or holding them for employees). So far two stores that told me they will not get any more in did vouchers in the morning when they showed up as “in-store only”. In addition, being pushy with a manager made him change his story from “We aren’t getting any more in” to “Well we are getting them in, but we don’t know when”.
– Many B&M purchases. The majority of purchases from a B&M store will be from here. BB’s are getting sporadic shipments at MOST of their stores throughout this week.
If you want to try and get a HP Touchpad at BB you need to use the links below to check the 16GB & 32GB BB store inventory. If the tracker shows ‘in store only’ inventory late at night or early in the morning, it’s a good chance that store will have them available for sale and will hand out vouchers before they open. Expect a big line and you will need to camp out at least 2-3 hours before the store opens to have a chance. If you get a blank page after entering your zip code/city try using a different browser or clearing your cookies for the tracker to work again:
– Got back from BJ’s 08/23 12.30 pm with 1 successfull price match(purchase with full price on sunday). BJs drop price on website now. Sorry Sold Out
Aaron’s B&M HP Tablet In Stock
-Aaron’s has recently slashed the price of their in store HP TouchPad tablets. This has only been advertised in store and might not last long. I have successfully bought two 16GB HP TouchPads for $140.30 each after taxes. Please note that these include a pleather case and not the OEM one like in the title. As seen on this thread, only the Corporate stores are participating in this deal (deal won’t be available in franchise stores). You might find a hard time getting your hands on one because overzealous Store Managers want to bundle this with the lease of other items. There have also been reports of Store Managers refusing to sell it for the “retail price” that I paid. The only reason I believe the thread has negative votes is because I could not upload the proof [imgur.com] until I got home.
Buy.com
– Price was never lowered on website. Some users bought at full price on Friday/Saturday FROM Buy.com (not another vendor)–those orders are starting to ship as of Monday, 8/22. Buy.com has sent out emails confirming they will be crediting back the difference in price (at least, for the 16GB model), so customers will only end up paying $99 shipped.
Edit: I have not received an email yet (my full price order has shipped), so I did an online chat, and they did confirm that they will credit back the difference
User who bought full price seems to be being price adjusted for a couple of SKUS, but not for others. I bough full price and they admantanly refuse to adjust mine. Gave me a pre-paid return label for retuen, so i dont need to pay return shipping.
BuyDig
– NONE
CDW
– Several have reported shipment, while many others have reported cancellations
CompUSA/CircuitCity/GlobalComputer
– At least one order confirmed shipped from CC for 16g
-One order for a 16g has already been shipped and received from Global Computer.
CostCentral
-Up to date information about shipments on this thread. Go there and collaborate.
Costco
– All stock was sent back, but if you paid full price while they were in stock, there was an recent email from Corporate sent to EVERY store with a coupon to scan giving $350 off the purchase price. Just bring your original receipt. Some stores are still unaware of the email, and will tell you they will not price match ever. They are wrong, but call ahead to make sure. My refund actually included tax, so my full refund was $380.63. Total price pad for 32GB TP w/ a sleeve was $141.
Datavis
– 9/6 – 8:08 AM EST – Received email from DataVision stating a system error mistakenly regenerated a second email confirmation. They are removing the order from their system but are retaining contact information to re-notify when new shipments arrive.
– 9/5 – 7:15 PM EST – Just received an e-mail from DataVision “thanking” me for my order for the HP TouchPad even though it was previously canceled. Did they end up getting some in?
DataVis’s Facebook page
– 8/30 – 7:40 PM EST Datavision is cancelling all remaining orders. They have offered a 20% off coupon (up to $50) toward your next Datavis eBay purchase, and first crack at any additional touchpads they may receive. Please note that it is NOT a $50 certificate, but a 20% off coupon worth up to $50. This was confirmed by DataVision on Facebook. HP TouchPad Tablet letter
– 8/30 on Datavis Facebook Wall
From Datavis facebook comments: Some people are now reporting that all orders will be cancelled as confirmed by reps over the phone. Can anyone here confirm as we I trust the users here more than those on facebook.
Datavision just deleted all comments from their facebook page regarding the touchpad issue.
Thanks again everyone. Nothing is being swept under the rug or deleted. We are fully aware of what was sent on record on email blasts, etc. It has to do with cursing, threats, and accusations. We are doing our best here to answer each person and email.
8/29/2011 8:38 on Datavis Facebook Wall
Thank you for your patience, and we are sorry for the delay. This was our first day in from being closed for Irene. We unfortunately have not received the tracking as I hoped to have passed on to you at this point. The money has been drawn from our account, which we assumed was a good sign. We will give this another day or two before we decide what to do. If you have questions, please EMAIL us directly, as your names do not have contact info/order details and we would like to address everyone.
8/26/2011 on Datavis Facebook Wall
We would like to again reiterate this should be a constructive venue for updates and comments. Threats for feedback will not make anything move faster. If you firmly believe HP’s problems which created an earthquake through their Authorized Dealer Networks is worthy of tarnishing one’s company 7000 times over. It is your prerogative.
Continued: The way HP works for LARGE inventory is they allocate goods in distributor warehouses for US. We stock 99% of the items, including touchpads. The extended quantities are sometimes offered on hotter items as we have allocation and we can utilize their warehouse space.
When the floodgates opened on Saturday (with no notice from HP), we sold this massive # in a short time. When we went to pull our stock, the distributors did not want to ship, though our goods were PAID for and confirmed. It took longer than expected and some legal threats, but the money was deducted from our account x 9500 units, which COVERS ALL OF YOU.
Touchpads are in route and we will post a copy of our Bill of Lading as proof hopefully today. In addition, the bulk of the tracking #s will update tonight, with movement soon after. Please keep in mind we are working as fast as we can, we realize this will literally MAKE or BREAK our business. Please keep that in mind when you comment, threat, etc. tHERE IS ALSO A HURRICANE coming up our way, and we are not sure how much staff will be able to make it on Sunday. Again we will keep you posted.
Lastly, with regard to more units after the committed batch. We believe we will get 1 last shot of them as HP is building more. YES they do cost more than $80-$90 and everyone that HP sold for $99 was a loss. You will get your item AT THE CHEAPER PRICE YOU PAID. The next batch for new orders will be considerably more. We do not know the higher price, but please also keep that in mind when complaining. Once again, thank you once again. This is one in a million $*#& storm that nobody could ever predict. We are confident it will be handled properly.
Another mass email will also summarize the above and have further details later this evening.
– 9/1 – I have not had my order cancelled or anything. Still showing no shipping information. I ordered mine @ 8:13am on 8/23.
Touchpad product page now says “OVERSOLD ON THIS PRODUCT. WE APOLOGIZE FOR ANY CONFUSION OR COMMUNICATION ISSUES THAT HAVE NOT BEEN MET IN A TIMELY MANNER.” erwincomp.com
Order cancelled 8/26
Update 8/28: I had an amount from ErwinComp pending on my card since I ordered it on 8/23, I finally got around to emailing them last night since I havent been able to get through via phone. I got a reply back from the Sales Team with the following message:
“We understand that you have questions regarding the availability of the Touchpad. Unfortunately, we are completely sold out of this unit at this point. Because we cannot guarantee delivery for this product within a reasonable amount of time, we have canceled your order. We have not charged your account. Pending authorizations are only temporary and should automatically drop from your account within 3-5 business days.”
– Update 8/31 Just got a cancellation email after never having tried to contact ErwinComp. It seemed until this point that only people who emailed to ask about the status of their order got the cancellation emails…I suspect everyone will be getting this:
Quote :
“Unfortunately, we are completely sold out of this unit at this point. Because we cannot guarantee delivery for this product within a reasonable amount of time, we have canceled your order.”
Expansys-usa
– Update 9/2
Quote :
Dear Customer, With regards to the HP Touchpad, We are currently still backordered on this product. There is no solid update from HP or our suppliers as to when this tablet might be avialable to fulfill your order, but the moment we receive any news we’ll update everyone. If you would like to keep your order in line we’re glad to do so, or you may cancel your order by emailing us at [email protected], or contact us at the number below. If you paid via a cash method, such as Paypal we can refund your payment at your request. Regards, Order Processing
Was told they are still waiting for stock and are hoping to ship out orders this week
email in response to inquiry of more stock: “We are expecting more stock” 8/29/11 9:30am
Frys.com
– NONE
FuturePowerPC.com
No longer listing the 32GB tablet. My order changed from “New Order” to “Processing”
order canceled. checked in paypal transaction history. ordered on 8/25 7:39 ET
HHGregg
– 9/4 – some people have reported success at stores in very limited quantities. Some stores report no stock YMMV
HP Home/Office, Academy, EPP
– 9/2 1:47 PDT – HP H&HO currently has the HP Touchstone Charging Dock back in stock for $55.99
8/26/2011 – MarkAtHP and BrynaAtHP confirmed that there will be no word on stock of TPs today or over the weekend.
8/25/2011 – 4:15a-4:30a – HP switched status from Coming Soon to OOS; there was never an option to buy.
Quote :
MarkAtHP: We have confirmed there will be no news today on #HP #TouchPad availability. There was no sale last night. #breatheasy cc: @brynatahp
BrynaAtHP Bryna Corcoran: K, you want the good news first? @markathp and I found out there was no sale last night. #phew
– Hit or miss for those that ordered Friday night
– Anticipating new stock Wednesday, along with many other retailers
FedEx Reference TrackingIf your order “In process”, you may be able to track shipping. Put your order number into the “reference” section (beginning with H), then your country, then your zipcode.
– @HP Chat @8:43am EST 8/24 – Genevieve G. – Unfortunately no Touchpads will be released today. It would be by Monday, next week.
– when released TPs will be limited to one per customer/household Update Noon Aug 25,I had been trying FedEx Reference Tracking with no luck. Logged in to HP Website and status was shipped. Still tracking number not in Fedex database.
HP Small Business
–9/2– Place my order on 8/20. Received email this afternoon
Quote :
Your order will be fulfilled at the discounted price. As we sold out of our existing stock very quickly, we are in the process of re-allocating stock to SMB customers. We should receive this stock within 2 weeks, at which time your order will then ship with free ground shipping. You will receive a shipping notification with a tracking number once your order has shipped. We apologize that these timelines are longer than indicated on the website at time of purchase.
– 9/1 – Many of my friends, including myself, have had HP change their original order number for a variety of reasons and now cannot use the order status link as-is to track their order. Mine was because they credited me the expedited shipping since they didn’t ship it out in a timely manner. Because they credited my order, they also changed my order number. Using either of the order status links above takes me to the original order, but does not link to the new order number. If for whatever reason you get a message indicating that their VISTA system cannot locate your order, log in to the order status link #1 above. From within that window, paste the following javascript code into your browser, updating your customer ID (begins with an H) where the “@” symbol exists and your order number where the “#” symbol currently exists. This bypasses the initial order status update link and goes directly to their order processing system.
– So most of the orders placed during the weekend at SMB will be fulfilled. Wait for 72 hours to get the shipping notice. Even the SMB reps cannot exactly give you the status of your order because their inventory systems are overwhelmed by the number of orders that were placed so far and it needs to go through each order to acknowledge it and send out a notification to the purchaser.
– They are working on processing orders still
– They will NOT be restocking ever
– FedEx Tracker by Reference:https://www.fedex.com/AltRefTracking?cntry_code=us << Enter your HP order number as the reference, and select destination country and zip code. Shipments from Olive Branch are likely just paper. (Thanks to Divine_Madcat) ** I Ordered just the TouchPad and it’s coming in from Olive Branch, MS. So it may be TouchPad **
If package is 3.5lbs, it is the Touchpad.
If package is 5.8lbs, it is the paper for those that ordered it.
Order placed ~2pm PST on 8/20 arrived yesterday from SMB. Package weight showed as 5.0lbs (touchpad only, no paper)
Update 08/29 3:33 PM CST: I just got off the phone with HP SMB, they were not willing to give me a time more accurate then 6-8 weeks before I’d see my touchpad. Ordered 4PM CST on the 20th (Saturday)
Update 08/30 11:00 AM CST: Just got an email response from HP: “Since we sold out of the current stock, we are building new units in order to fulfill orders received through 4am Monday, Aug 22. This means a delivery date in the 6 – 8 week range. Your order will be fulfilled.” Ordered Saturday August 20th 3:50 PM.
– 9/1 Update. BrynaAtHP on Twitter – “The US SMB team is working to fulfill orders made prior to Monday, August 22 at 4am CT. Expect an email in the next 48 hrs updating you on delivery dates if you made the cut off time. Sounds like a shipping delay of a few wks.”
– I ordered 8/21. Status showed waiting for credit approval. Later, status showed credit approved 8/23, order date 8/23. Status then showed order cancelled 8/24, order date 8/24. Later on 8/24, got conformation email. Even later on 8/24, got cancellation email. Online status still shows confirmed with order date 8/24 and ship date 8/28.
From HP SMB WebsiteFAQ [hp.com] –
If you placed an order prior to 4am CT Monday, August 22, we are working through the large volume of orders, verifying payment details and seeking to source inventory for fulfillment. This process is taking longer than first anticipated. At this time, we cannot guarantee supply to all these orders but are working to supply as many orders as possible. If you saw a reserve hold for the amount of your order on your credit card and your order cannot be fulfilled, no actual charges have been made, and this reserve hold will be released if the order is cancelled.
Howard Computers
– Price has gone back up on their site. Those who got orders in at the discounted price are showing ship date of August 30th. *Edit* some orders are now stating “Estimated Ship Date: UNKNOWN ”
– Those who used Amazon checkout seem to be getting their orders cancelled
~
received this email august 24th
Quote :
Thank you for ordering from the Howard Technology website. As stated on our website, the HP Touchpad is on back order.
We here at Howard Technology Solutions are committed to fulfilling your order. The first 1,000 orders for the HP Touchpad have already shipped and we are in contact with Hewlett Packard and our vendors in an effort to fulfill our back orders. You will be notified when your order can be processed.
Jonathan Sieling
E-Commerce Manager
Howard Technology Solutions
Talked with their customer support in the morning. They said mostly the order will be cancelled and money will be refunded. It does not sound like they are going to get the inventory from HP. They might have an update end of day today or tomorrow morning. I guess we are not going to get much from them!
Insight
-UPDATE: Ordered one TP on Aug 22 at the full price. Called insight.com, and CSR refused to do the price adjustment. Requested to talk to his manager and 5 mins later, the manager said “no” to me. AND 10 mins later, this manager called me again and told me they will credit those who bought TPs on Aug 22 at the full price! I believe this is official policy of insight.com
– Orders being Canceled. Your order will adjust to “Completed” and read $0.00. If you see this, you will NOT be getting a touchpad.
– I got a confirmation e-mail from Insight 8/22 @ 11PM CST. Site is back up. I can see my order in my account, no tracking.
– Talked to CS rep, everybody’s orders are on a 2 day credit hold. The orders that people can actually pay for will be processed. It is a first come first serve basis meaning if you ordered on the 23rd you probably won’t get a Touchpad as all the orders from the 22nd will take up their available inventory. Refunds will be issued for those who ordered but due to inventory insight will not be able to ship out the touchpads.
– Got an order shipped email at 4:47 AM PST; Fedex tracking number at website.
– Order was shipped on 8/23. Received it on 8/24.
J&R
– Out of stock. As of 4pm on 8/24 they’re saying they will NOT reimburse the price difference. See this thread.
Kheelan, Business Electronics
Kumputers.com (SHA Matrix, INC.)
Had some onsale for $50 above MSRP. site still shows 26 instock for the 16GB, likely OOS but worth a try. Placed an order for 3 16GB Touchpads and received a receipt/order confirmation instantly.
LaunchPadOnline.com
– Announced as live at approximately 10:40AM PDT on 8/25/11… Currently OOS!
– The site started showing this on their pages: **WE DO NOT HAVE HP TOUCHPADS IN STOCK!!**.
– Prices are currently listed as greyed-out with “CALL” next to the item listing.
– People have called in and were told that the TouchPad is OOS, and that existing orders would be canceled.
– Their item listing seems to indicate that they had inventory at one point in time, although it is extremely unclear how many they had.
– Online orders which were placed prior to the “Add to Cart” option being disabled are currently listed with a status of “Submitted”.
KMart
– 9/2 – Got a call from Kmart, they ran out of 16GB and offered free upgrade to 32GB but limit 1 per order. I have two 16GB in my order. It is the only option and I have to take it. One 32GB for $99 is not bad but I still want two 16GB for $99 each.
– Several people have reported successful price adjustments. For example see this post. +1 I had my 2 32gb PM, they are still in transit due in 8/29
– Update on an order (still listed as “Open”):
Quote :
Shaw: Christian, I have checked your order for Touchpad 16G WiFi 1 2GHz, the amount of $598.02 is refunded. Shaw: I checked for order status and see that the item is not shipping as this item is temporarily no stocked, however, it will be shipped as soon as the item is stocked. Christian: Are you expecting to receive more stock of the TouchPad? Shaw: Christian, I have checked the stocking details and see that the more HP Touchpad 16G will be stocked, as your order is already processed, the item will be shipped to you as soon as it is stocked and it will take 6 to 7 business days.
– Received a call today from Macmall saying my order will ship today 9/1/2011. My order was previously cancelled due to OOS, so you may be one of the lucky ones. If you see a call from California, make sure to pick up even if it has no caller ID.
– Just check order status, shipped with tracking number. Ordered before price drop; CSR called to confirm order and also lower the price.
– Orders made on 22nd are shipped! Even if you paid the cheapest ups shipping, it will be delivered in 2 days!
– If you ordered from the Macmall site before it went down on the 21st, and even got an order confirmation, they still likely canceled your order because they did not get the system with those orders back up until after they shipped their entire stock.
– Called MacMall 8/25 and was told shipment was cancelled after placing order on 8/21 (charges pending). Checked again online 8/26 and now shows a UPS tracking number that UPS says it can’t locate. MacMall placed another temp authorization on my card since my original one fell off.
Meijer
– Meijer is getting them in one at a time it seems. My dad works at Meijer and called me about 3:30pm on 8/25 to come buy the only Touchpad that they had. He said that he saw two other stores each had one in the area. We called the closer one and they had sold theirs. Also it seems they are only getting the 16GB in stock. Best bet is just call Meijer and ask someone in electronics to check inventory at the current store and nearby ones as well.
MicroCenter
– B&M stores will price match if you ordered online for pickup for the 32 GB version
– 9/2 – I got a call from Newegg on 08/31 and they shipped me the same day (I had placed the original order with them on August 21st but refused shipment since they did not price match so the customer service called me back and gave me a chance to re-order the same item) . Received the touchpad Yesterday. Thanks to Newegg for their excellent customer service.
– 9/2 – I got a call from Newegg at 11:08 AM Pacific (8/31) and ordered my 16gb Touchpad from Newegg. Delivered on 9/2.
– 9/1 – I got a call at 11:08 AM Pacific (8/31) and ordered my 16gb Touchpad from Newegg. Shipped UPS last night & should be delivered on 9/2.
– 8/31 – Newegg is starting to call people – $99 for 16 GB and $149 for 32 GB. I got a call from them 15 minutes ago. They are going to ask you for your e-mail and they are going to place the order online. I responded to neweggs email on 8/29/2011 at 6:33 PM pacific discussion thread
– 8/31 – I got a call at 11:08 AM Pacific and ordered my 16gb Touchpad from Newegg.
-Newegg currently has deactivated all of the TouchPads, their future status is unknown.
-Late in the week (Thursday/Friday), their inventory fluctuated between out of stock and in stock, people ordered with mixed results (stories of success and problems)
Newegg posted this on facebook during the week:
Quote :
Hi Fans! We want to let you know we are aware of the recent price drop on the HP Touchpads. We also want you to know that we will be reaching out via e-mail very soon to offer an appropriate price adjustment to all of our customers who have purchased HP Touchpads from Newegg – regardless of the date of purchase.
We apologize for the delay and appreciate your patience as we work through the details!
-While it appears that newegg will be honoring the HP price drop, if you want to plan to not risk the order, here is some information.
– NO RESTOCKING FEE. free return label. Do NOT open the package.
– If your package from Newegg is being sent via UPS, you may take delivery, and if you DO NOT OPEN the package, you may give it back to UPS within 5 business days to count as REFUSED.
08-29-11 NewEgg Got this Email around 9pm:
Dear Valued Customer,
We’re pleased to inform you that you are eligible for a very limited-time opportunity to purchase the HP TouchPad tablet.
We have decided that the fairest method of selling our remaining inventory is to offer it to customers who requested an auto-notification, beginning with the earliest auto-notification request received for either model of the HP Touchpad. We are providing you with a limited window of time to purchase one (1) HP TouchPad tablet at the discounted price. Due to limited inventory, we cannot guarantee the availability of your preferred model. We want to make this opportunity available to as many customers as possible, so if you do not take advantage of this opportunity by 5:30pm PDT, 8/30/2011, your opportunity will expire.
Please reply before 5:30pm PDT, 8/30/2011 to this email to indicate your interest in purchasing an HP TouchPad. Include your desired contact phone number and time during the day you are most available. If you reply by this time, we will contact you over the phone to complete the order. Please note, that all sales will be final and Newegg will not issue refunds or exchanges for any reason.
We appreciate your patience and understanding while this decision was made. Newegg is dedicated to offering the best service possible in all situations.
Sincerely,
Newegg.com
Office Depot
– 9/2 – Received the following email:
Quote :
Great news, we now have inventory available to fill your recent order for the 32GB HP Touchpad Tablet. We have received some cancellations of confirmed orders, making a limited quantity of 32 GB Touchpad Tablets available to fill backorders. Orders will be filled in the order that they were placed, while supplies last, and subject to approval from your credit card provider. We want to be able to fill as many orders as possible so we are not accepting any new orders for this product. If you still want to receive your order, please reply to this email to confirm your interest. We must receive your reply no later than 11:59pm on Tuesday, September 6th. We expect to ship orders the week of September 12th and you will receive an updated email notification at that time. If you no longer want us to fill this order please reply to let us know and we’ll be happy to cancel it immediately. Thank you for choosing Office Depot.
– The above email is suspicious. I called OD and they confirmed that their official communication would mention the order number and their CSRs would be able to verify every email sent out on an order. Don’t respond with any personal info/Payment info.
– 8/28: I received 2 Touchpads that I ordered using my account on 8/26. By the time, my wife ordered using her account, it was back-ordered. On 8/23, she received an email that said her order would be cancelled.
– 8/24 – Some people who got ship confirmation are not receiving product on delivery date and refunded. Check status, says not on truck for delivery. fiasco.
-Office Depot is price matching orders once they are rec’d by the customer. They will match $99.00 for the 16gb and $149.00 for the 32gb (Confirmed)
– My order from 8/20 4:07AM EDT delivered today 8/24 6:30 PM EDT. (1-32GB)
– My order from 8/20 1:11AM PDT has changed to “Delivery Scheduled” and then “Shipped” (8/23 10:30PM PDT)
– My order from 8/20 1:21AM PDT just shipped (8/24 2:44AM PDT)
– My order from 8/20 2:31AM Central RECEIVED – Called OD and they Refunded $30 to my credit card. THANKS OD!
– Some have called Customer Service and have been told that their order has either been shipped or is going to be shipped the following day and have been told to call back later for tracking #.
– Email received regarding back order :
Dear Customer:
Unfortunately, we regret to inform you that we are unable to fulfill your back order for the HP Touchpad Tablet.
– at least one shipping confirmation.
– Two shipping confirmations now. Shipping from Tukwila, WA, United States wherever the heck that is.
– Rep at 8AM said that they had 42 32GB items in stock, and 23 32GB back ordered, and they were likely going to cancel the back ordered item.
– My full price order of $435.19 for the 16GB that I made Saturday Morning shipped yesterday (8/22) and is out for delivery today (8/23). Called customer service and they gave me a $326.40 credit.
– 8/24: This is to inform you that your item 23119509 on your order # XXXXXXX is shipping from a different warehouse. If there is a delay over 7 days we will contact you with an estimated ship date.
– 8/24: Orders made before 12:15 on 8/20 should be shipped today, according to the CSR. Orders made after this might be delayed.
– 8/25: Just received cancellation notice from OfficeMax, and page states it is canceled. Previously told 3 times I would receive one the next day.
– 8/26: email response: “Thank you for your email. As far as we know, we will pull the Touchpads from every possible location. We are waiting for our sources to advise if we will receive more stock. I apologize for this inconvenience.”
– 8/30: email response: “Due to HP discontinuing their TouchPads, no longer being able to source the item, and the depletion of our stock; all backorders related to these items are being canceled. ”
– 8/31: email response: “It was brought to our attention that HP may be shipping additional inventory to its suppliers. Our Merchandising team has contacted HP and is pushing to acquire enough stock to cover the orders we had to cancel. We have saved all canceled orders, and if we are successful in attaining additional HP TouchPads, we will contact you to fulfill your order. ”
OnSale via Amazon.com
Here is consolidated links where you can raise your voice regarding Onsale, pl note civilized language with reasoning is effective than cursing
8/27 Don’t understand all the backlash on onSale but not on other companies that also cancelled many orders. I remember this forum was buzzing that there’s no way onSale had that much inventory in stock and expected their orders to be cancelled. Yet, folks continue placing orders and now trying to destroy the company. Guess I was lucky or early to the party. Received mine 16GB within 3 business days of order.
Huge wave of cancellations went out on 8/24 just after noon PDT. Amazon has completely removed the order from my history, no sign that it ever existed A handful have received notice that their order has been shipped. OnSale thread is thread. A few have reported receiving credit from Amazon for their trouble.
IF YOU GOT BURNED BY THIS SHADY COMPANY MAKE SURE TO MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD. IT TAKES 2 MINUTES. BE SURE TO ALSO LIKE “CUSTOMERS AGAINST ONSALE” IF YOU WERE CANCELLED OR AFFECTED” http://www.facebook.com/onSaleprotest
A lot of people seem to be under the mistaken impression OnSale is being rated down for simply canceling orders or being overwhelmed by demand. This is not the case at all. Reasons people are upset include:
By most accounts, they in fact DID NOT fulfill orders on a first come first serve basis–despite statements to the contrary on their Facebook page. There are reports from folks who ordered 1 or 2 hours into the sell receiving multiple tablets while many ordering a single unit right as it went live were unceremoniously canceled.
By some accounts, their Amazon inventory actually went OOS a few times throughout the course of the sell but was quickly replenished. Many take this to suggest they either had a manager monitoring the sell in real time (knowingly overselling) or a script auto-replenishing inventory.
There are allegations that Macmall (parent company of the OnSale and presumably pulling from the same warehouses/inventories) also fulfilled many orders that occurred AFTER the Amazon onslaught. Many suggest this was done to avoid the percentage Amazon takes out for their Marketplace service.
OnSale posted on their Facebook page that people who “Liked” them would receive order priority.
To date, OnSale themselves have attempted ZERO communication with their customers. After withholding funds for 3-4+ days with no contact whatsoever, Amazon.com has been the sole author of any and all correspondence (including cancellations). OnSale hasn’t even issued a simple apology.
Approximately 1/4 of Slickdeal members who voted in the poll received their touchpads. Interesting enough any comments that are positive from this company keep getting edited out of the wiki. That’s equally shady. OnSale screwed the pooch with overselling but MANY people did get their orders.
PC Connection
– Ordered as soon as the link went live, then posted here. Ordered 2 32gb tablets, both have shipped and should be here Wednesday.
– 9/3 – Confirmed receipt of the shipment from 8/29. Got my 16GB touchpad! Two more 32GB on their way.
– 9/2 – They appear tired due to end of government fiscal year orders (non-TP). Nice rep admitted they had gotten in ~300 and had contacted orders first come first served. Said they maybe had 50,000 orders. Only one person apparently has control of stock so others cannot talk CSRs into an order. Originally was told price was original, then said if called price will be the sale price. This one is wait & see again.
– 9/1 – There have been reports that several people are getting calls from PCMallGov asking if they’re still interested in buying TPs. Personally I ordered 2 more 32 GB models and I already have a shipping number.
– 8/31 – PCmall shipped mine on 8/29 received 8/31 Ordered on 8/21 at 8:30pm (status showed discontinued for over a week. Received no cancellation emails rec 2 TP today)
– Ordered at 4:33 PM PST on Saturday August 21st. Order actually had a shipped on 8/23/11 notice, however this is not the case. Up top on order status it shows CANCELED. No confirmation of anyone receiving a shipment from pcmallgov.com (on of the sister sites of PC Mall, Mac Mall, On sale, etc.).
– 8/27 – Order previously showed Cancelled, now shows “In Process, Automatic CC Auth”. Might be shipping soon, might be cancelled again.
– 8/29 – 3/4 of my order was cancelled (2 of each model), got a tracking number for a 16GB. Shipped! (not received yet) Scheduled Delivery on September 2nd.
PCmall shipped mine on 8/29 received 8/31 Ordered on 8/21 at 8:30pm (status showed discontinued for over a week. Received no cancellation emails rec 2 TP today)
– 9/2 – Call from PC Richard Salesperson, TouchPad available for PICKUP ONLY. Store 65.
– 8/31 – Multiple quotes from twitter:
Quote :
We will not be canceling orders until we are 100% certain that we will not be receiving more TouchPads. Still waiting to see.
– In reference to the last twitter posting, this confirms < 20 touchpads were given to online orders on the 30th. They treat the online store as a single B&M store.
Quote :
Yes For this circumstance we’re counting our online orders as another “store” so they’re getting the same piece of the pie. 11 hours ago
– 8/30 – Update from twitter regarding brick and mortar orders. I email them and they said check back at the end of the week for online order.
Quote :
We received a shipment yesterday and each store will soon be getting less than 20 pieces each to fulfill orders in the order they were received. If you ordered from the East Brunswick store and were one of the first to do so, you’ll be hearing from them soon.
– http://www.tweetdeck.com/twitter/PCRichardandSon/~OxvqR
– 8/29 – Talked to CSR – He said they won’t know anything until Friday. They expect to get more touchpads from HP, just not if they’ll get enough to fill all the orders. Should know by next Monday whether orders will be cancelled or not.
– E-Mail received at 10:11PM EST:
Quote :
Dear Valued P.C. Richard & Son Customer: Due to the overwhelming and unexpected demand for HP TouchPad tablets, we are sold out. It is currently unclear whether our existing purchase orders with HP or any additional orders will be fulfilled. We are waiting for a definitive response from HP on the status of these orders and will contact you again by e-mail with more information as it becomes available. We do apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your patience in this matter. If you wish to cancel your order, you can write to us at [email protected] with your name, contact and invoice numbers or call us Monday through Friday at 877-727-1909 [] from 9am to 7pm for a full refund. Otherwise, please look forward to our update. Thank You, P.C. Richard & Son Internet Team
– For people who ordered over phone. My local PC Richard & Son called me this afternoon (August 25) and said that since I ordered more than 1 HP TouchPads, I have to put more deposit down (more than 10% I initially had) or pay in full to keep my order. Otherwise my order will be cancelled. If I pay in full, my order will be put on hold guaranteed if they receive a shipment. They don’t allow paying in full over phone, have to go to the store for that.
POSGlobal
– 9/6 – The remaining order are being cancelled as expected. Both my orders placed on 9/5 at 6:04 am EST with CC’s have been cancelled.
– 9/5 – Many orders placed overnight. Those placed with credit cards received order confirmations and number immediately. Monday morning page was removed and cancellations are expected. Page appears legit but also looks like a drop seller or at least does not carry in stock. Other products on their site listed quantities whereas the touchpads said “call for availability”. By afternoon many have received cancellations although either mainly later orders and/or those using Google Checkout.
ProVantage
– NONE
Radio Shack
– NONE
Sam’s Club
– Off and on stock today (Mon)
– As of this afternoon (8/23), Sam’s Club has started sending out shipping confirmations including FedEx tracking numbers for orders placed on Saturday, 8/20.
SeaBoom
– Drop ship seller, hold charge on Paypal, no confirmation email.
– Paypal cancelled temp hold on behalf of SeaBoom’s request.
Sears
– one lucky guy got price match by chat for 16gb – mrkk http://slickdeals.net/forums/show…ount=35447
– I bought one on Saturday full price. Called on Sunday since I saw the price reduced to $149.99 on their website. Got the email with the credit given yesterday – waiting for my tablet in the mail
– Price match by calling. got price match and refund right away. took less than 5 min!!
-Out of stock forever, confirmed.
Staples
– 9/3 3 AM EST As of 3 AM EST Staples has pulled the HP TouchPad 32 GB. In-store kiosk no longer has this product.
– Staples inventory checker link.
– They had some 32GB models in store on Saturday (8/20). Some people picked some up, others did not. Most stores were OOS by Sunday (8/21)
– Never had stock online when price dropped, the people that got it for $49 bought it before Friday and got it price adjusted.
Target
– NONE
TigerDirect
– Shipping notifications have been sent out to those who were able to buy one. Check order status to confirm.
The Products Store
–16 GB [theproductsstore.com]
-32 GB [theproductsstore.com]
-Ask about availability before you order <<<< no guarantee you’ll get it quickly
-Now showing “site under maintenance” after being unresponsive all day. We actually managed to break the website. Who’s next, newegg?
Walmart
– Mostly B&M purchases
Zones.com
-08/24/11 Spoke with CSR Kevin during my first call. Apparently, they received 4500 orders for 1000 units. They have not shipped any out. They are currently going through the order and canceling all orders with multiple units ordered. That in addition to people who have been canceling they feel they will be able to finally release the 1000 units to ship by tomorrow. He said call back this afternoon as more information will be available and they may be receiving more stock from HP depending on their final order amount.
8/26/11 Spoke with CSR. She said today is when they should be learning how much they were able to receive from their incoming stock. They will use this stock to try and fufill those ordered that were backordered. If your status has changed from backorder to in process there is still no guarantee that it means you’re getting one. You can call to have a CSR request updated order status for you and they can call/email you the information.
-8/26/11 E-mailed Zones about order status. Received this e-mail:
Our current inventory is fully committed. We are working with HP to secure additional inventory if it becomes available to fulfill any backorders. Unfortunately, your order is currently on backorder status. At this time we do not have an ETA for the ITEM.
Items on backorder will not be charged to your credit card until they are shipped.
I ordered a 32GB @ 12:54PM EST on Monday. Order has been “In Process” all week, never listed as BO. Also selected FedEx 2nd Day.
-8/26/11 3:30 pm CST: my order status changed to “shipped” with a fedex tracking number. received an email confirmation of shipment about 30 minutes later. i ordered one 32gb at 11:34am CST on 8/22. Order # is 1547xxx. CSR told me this morning that my order was “in the warehouse” and that this meant the order would get shipped today. shocked to see that she was right.
Talked to Zones customer service. Apparently the cutoff was 9.00 am PST on 8/22. Mine was 8.55 am for one 16GB which shipped today. They got orders of 50 and 100 which threw their systems off. They now limited max one could order to 10.
8/27/11 9:36am MST: I got a shipping confirmation email and tracking number for my 32GB model. I ordered mine on 8/22/2011 around 10:00am MST. When I called they had just ran out of 16GB and had a few hundred 32GB left according to the CST. Yea, good luck to others still waiting.
EDIT: DEAD. Just called at 6:30PM EST and they are OOS on the veer and Pre 2
All HP smartphones are also on sale for a special $49.99 if you call SMB and ask to buy one. They show “out of stock” in the home and office store, but I just ordered one and the rep told me it would be shipping later today. Received a confirmation immediately after the phone call. Wait times are currently about 5 minutes. Pre 3s are still not available in the US, but they have dropped to $74.99 in the UK if you wish to buy one.
Too bad it’s late again for many of us. I just called and waited ~10 mins. The rep told me they’ve been taking phone orders all the time till about two hours ago. I left my contact info and hopeful that they’ll get some more phones and call me back
You can try ordering one online from SMB and then calling for a pricematch, but this is not guaranteed!
Retailers of the smartphones have not yet begun to drop their prices, but keep your eyes out for that.
How Greedy? How Many Have you Purchased? Poll Which one did you get? Poll Why did you buy one? PollWhat OS will you ultimately put on your Touchpad? Poll Would you buy a Touchpad(s) last week if HP discounted 50% off instead? Poll Watching movies(avi,mpeg etc)/hulu on your Touchpad
To watch hulu, movies etc.. on your touchpad, you can use your home PC as the intermediary to do so. Make sure your firewall is properly set to do this.
Out of the box, Hulu.com won’t let you watch movies. But you can watch Hulu directly on your Touchpad by following these directions: http://claptop.com/2011/08/make-hulu-work-on-hp-touchpad/
I advise you to first overclock your Touchpad to maximize the performance you’d get from Hulu.com. Wayne Brady, Son!
Install Tversity media server on your laptop/desktop. After installation, add the files you want to view on the library tab. To add an avi file, go to Library, File system, Files and click add item on top. After the item is added, open cmd prompt on your computer, and type “ipconfig”
There you should find your IP address. Note this down.
There you should be able to browse your folders to find the video you are looking for. One problem is that you can’t rewind/forward etc.. I’ll still take it
I just was toying with my 32gb Touchpad and have discovered that Amazon Video On Demand/Prime Videos works and runs rather well (SD haven’t tried HD yet). Audio holds up well but it did take me using the pop out function on the player over full screen to get it to fill the screen and not go wacky/upside down and hang. I did have it hang slightly when first starting it up but pausing and allowing it to buffer allowed it to self correct. I have video I took of it playing Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas I will try and upload (or if someone wants I can e-mail it to them to upload here).
“9.7” LCD Screen Protector For HP TouchPad 16GB 32GB” $3.90 shipped for one.
“3x LCD Screen Protector Guard For HP TouchPad WiFi 3G” $6.69 shipped for three.
“3pc LCD Screen Protector+Stylu?s FOR HP TouchPad Tablet” $6.99 shipped for three + a stylus.
“Hard Shell EVA Case (Black) for HP TouchPad” $10.99 shipped for a hard case.
Best Buyaccessories [bestbuy.com] Best Buy has slashed many accessory prices to 50% off. Note: Save an additional 15%- 20% if you purchase 3-4 or more. Automatic discount when you add quantity of 3 or more to cart. Thanks whitedit & Digitaltj
HP TABLET KNOWLEDGE BASE
@ all the people confused about tracking #’s that show as delivered. Large companies get a pool of tracking codes that they get to use that are usually recycled. Once a company receives an order it sends the shipping company confirmation that it will use that number. you are given that # but since it is recycled it will not update the tracking info until the package is scanned at the distribution center. For people in this situation i would assume you will be receiving your package. It basically means your item is packaged up and a label has been printed it just hasn’t been scanned in by the shipping company
===============
DEMO MODELS
YMMV. As of the afternoon of 8/22/2011, several users have reported success activating their demo units with the assumption that HP has released the lock that they had against Demo models. Previously, it was not possible to create a WebOS account from a Display / Demo unit. However, some users still have no success. Fortunately, HP technical support has officially posted instructions [hpwebos.com] to contact them to ship demo units to their repair facility.
* (HP.com) $30 off $150 – use coupon code SAVE30HP (for 32GB model add a cheap filler such as paper [hp.com] and order them one at a time) – YMMV
* (HP.com) $15 off $75 – use coupon code SAVE15HP – YMMV
* (HP.com) $30 off $150 on Online Orders with Coupon Code: TECHBARG30 – YMMV
BrynaAtHP Bryna Corcoran [twitter.com]
Update from SMB: If U ordered b4 2pm ET on Sat. U were in the 1st batch orders. Well done you were ahead of the curve. #justthemessenger
They are out of stock forever, so do not bother ordering from them now. It is uncertain how many of the weekend orders will be fulfilled, but they are trying their best to process them still.
Here is the status description table:
Field Name
Description
Admin
Your order has been received and validated by the HP order desk.
Production
Your order has been moved into manufacturing and is in the production stage.
Production Done
Your product has been built and is ready for shipment.
Consolidation
The consolidation order status appears for all orders that have been produced and have moved to the consolidation hub. Consolidation occurs for those products that need to be bundled together before shipment.
Shipped
The products have been shipped from the HP premises and are on their way to the customer.
Delivered
The products have arrived at customer facilities and Proof of Delivery is returned to HP. There may be orders for which HP is not able to receive a Proof of Delivery in which case the status of the order will remain as ‘shipped.’
===============
TouchPad Details
* 9.7″ 1024×768 IPS screen, 1.2ghz Snapdragon dual-core
* Discontinued by HP (along with all other WebOS devices) just 7 weeks after launch (7/1/11 US) * There WILL BE an android port available.
Things to be careful while trying to install ubuntu:
Installed ubuntu(+xfce). Pics here: http://s1200.photobucket.com/albu…/skmslick/
This is not meant for the faint hearted or linux noobs. Must know jargon (ssh, chroot, novaterm). Try at your own risk.
Caution: 1. You MUST backup your profile to webos server before beginning with meta doctor (creation of ext3fs) but AFTER installing preware. Otherwise after creating ext3fs and rebooting, when you go to first start screen with webos credentials, your preware will be GONE
2. Also, you MUST build the metadoctor after uncommenting the line INSTALL_WIFI_PROFILES = 1. Otherwise you cannot connect to wifi.
3. Guides on lilliputing, infogenra are fairly simplistic. You must read each link they refer to and follow the instructions carefully (must definitely have an idea of architecture in which you are building – important for installing novacom drivers/palm SDK).
TouchPad battery is not user replaceable. – I guarantee you someone will make a touchpad battery available for sale and someone else will find a way to replace it.
How to improve the performance of your new HP TouchPad
How to make your HP TouchPad faster:
The first thing a new TouchPad owner should do is to minimize the logging done by the OS.:
Go into Settings and click on “Device Info”
On the top left menu (named “Device Info”) click on “Custom Application”
Enter ##LOGS#
On the subsequent Collect Logs screen, select Change Logging Levels
Hit the Set Logging To Minimal and confirm
Another method of quitting out of apps (Minimize) without pressing the button?
When you are in an App, put your finger as low on the screen as possible, then quickly swipe upwards, this will do the same as pressing the button. Also, if you do it on the home screen then it will switch to the Launcher.
If you are having problems updating your HP. Get the latest webOS doctor. You may need to do this as current load on webOS servers is extremely heavy due to the huge influx of new touchpad users. To do this, go to your main PC (NOT your touchpad) and first visit your palm profile and log in (same username and pass as your HPTouchpad)
From there, go to device options, and select webOS doctor. Once it’s downloaded, run the program.
Now, take your touchpad (still not plugged into the computer) and turn it off. Insert the USB cable into the touchpad but NOT into the computer just yet. Hold the volume button while turning on the touchpad. This will bring up the USB picture on the touchpad. Once you are at this point, run webOS doctor up until the point where the “next” button is greyed out and it asks you to plug in the touchpad.
Now plug your touchpad into the computer via the USB cable and like magic you’ll have a properly updated touchpad.
As of 8/24/2011 @ 11:00am
Update on the Android on Touchpad project:
On top of that the current project took a sour turn when they lost their best dev… many speculators believe this may be the nail in the coffin for Android on HP. http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391767,00.asp
Response: Just because one member of the group stole money doesn’t mean the project will stop. All they did was shut down the twitter account and say they’re still developing but going into “stealth” mode
Counter-Response: I know the devs and without the missing dev, at best this is going to put a HUGE delay on Android.
Counter-Counter-Response: Who said they are the only devs working on porting android to the touchpad. There is even a touchpad that was shipped with android from HP, here is some proof [youtube.com]
Response: You are reading into your proof. Most experts and analysts believe they were just using the Touch Pad hardware as a testing ground for a future device and the hack has little hope of seeing daylight. http://www.geek.com/articles/gadgets/qualcomm-already-had-android-running-on-the-touchpad-20110823/
Counter-Response: From the article you linked “I’m given to understand that this might take out a lot of the steps in between having a stock TouchPad and having an Android TouchPad, and the guy who owns this tablet is rumored to now be working with the RootzWiki team. Maybe a step-by-step to getting Android onto the TouchPad is now much closer than before. I guess we’ll find out soon enough!”
Response: http://www.touch-droid.com/statement.pdf
-Regardless, the project has been dominated by internal fighting and finger pointing almost from the start so that it’s not immediately clear how quickly (if ever) an Android port will be available.
Look here to find out how to find your onsale/amazon order number to check its status on their webpage.
NOTE: thread provided as a service, source: SlickDeals
Hurricane Irene killed last night at least ten people, including two children, as the storm hit North Carolina and Virginia. More than 2 million people from South Carolina to Maryland were without power as the giant 580-mile-wide storm brought widespread flooding and high winds that knocked down power lines.
Meanwhile Irene’s power was downgraded to category 1, but as it approached New York, forecasts warned it would hit the city at or near hurricane strength.
According to the National Weather Service, conditions were ripe for tornadoes in the city, Long Island and southern Connecticut, as twisters were reported touching down in Delaware and Maryland.
In Maryland, officials warned of a potential dam failure late on Saturday, they warned “may cause significant flooding that could threaten people, homes and roads downstream from the St. Mary’s Lake Dam”.
Hurricane Irene path along East Coast
St Mary’s County Government urged residents in the immediate downstream area to move family and pets upstairs or to a high place with a means of escape.
Deaths due to hurricane Irene included two children, an 11-year-old boy in Virginia, killed when a tree crashed through his roof and another child from North Carolina, who died in a crash at an intersection where traffic lights were out.
Another man in Onslow County, North Carolina, suffered a heart attack and died while boarding up his windows, according to the Charlotte Observer.
Hurricane Irene killed last night at least ten people, including two children, as the storm hit North Carolina and Virginia, and more than 2 million people from South Carolina to Maryland were without power
A man in Nash County was killed outside his house after he was struck by a tree limb picked up by the strong winds.
An identified man, who went to feed his animals outside his Nashville, North Carolina home, was killed by a tree or branch which fell on him.
In Florida, a surfer was killed when he was knocked off his board at New Smyrna Beach, where surfers had flocked to take advantage of 10-foot waves.
Other two people died in car accidents in North Carolina on Saturday night as a result of the hurricane.
Another man died in Chesterfield County, Virginia, after a tree fell on his home.
In Queenstown, Maryland, a woman died after a tree knocked a chimney through the roof of her home, crushing her.
Sandbags laid down in Manhattan which will be used to control possible floods
Tornadoes were reported touching down in Delaware and Maryland.
In Lewes, Delaware, Governor Jack Markell said at least 17 homes had been damaged by a twister. In total, up to 40 houses were damaged in the town because of the storm.
The National Weather Service reported a tornado touching down in Nassau Station, Delaware, and Maryland State Police said there was an apparent tornado on the lower Eastern Shore of the state.
Andrew Cuomo, the New York Governor raised the number of National Guard soldiers deployed to New York City to 1,900.
The soldiers, who have been mobilized from across the state, will assist with traffic control on bridges and tunnels, sandbagging operations at the World Trade Center site, evacuation shelter operations in New York, the construction of barriers for railway yards and train tunnels, and other hurricane emergency efforts.
Hurricane Irene came ashore near North Carolina’s Cape Lookout around 7:30am EDT, and then chugged up the coast on a north-northeast track.
Irene stirred up 7 feet waves, and forecasts warned of storm-surge danger on the coasts of Virginia and Delaware, along the Jersey Shore and in New York Harbor and Long Island Sound.
Snacking regularly on biscuits or cakes can significantly increase women’s chances of developing womb cancer, a British study shows.
Women who eat biscuits or cakes two to three times a week were 33% more likely to suffer womb cancer than those who rarely served such sweets.
Among those women indulging more than three times a week, the risk of developing womb tumors is increased with 42%.
However, their overall chances were still low as the odds of the average woman in the study developing uterus cancer during 18-plus years of the research were just over 1%.
The British researchers described the size of the effect as “modest” but said it warranted further investigation.
British cancer experts emphasized that it is too early to draw any firm conclusions.
Biscuits and cakes increase womb cancer risk by 42 percent
The scientists from Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute explained the link between increased sugar levels and womb cancer.
The researchers studied data from thousands of women who, between 1987 and 1990, had answered dozens of questions on diet, lifestyle, weight and general health.
In 1997, those still alive answered an even more extensive battery of questions on their eating habits.
In 2008, the researchers matched up the women’s answers with their medical records, specifically looking for diagnosis of endometrial cancer – the most common form of womb cancer. They found 729 cases out of the 61,226 women studied.
There was little or no increase in risk from eating certain high-sugar items such as sweets, soft drinks, jam or marmalade.
But women who snacked frequently on cakes, buns or biscuits were up to 42% more likely to get uterus cancer than those who had them two times per month or less.
It is not clear why some sweets were linked to the womb cancer developing but others were not.
The study looked at how often volunteers ate such sweets but not specifically how much. However, those exceeding a total intake of more than 35 grams of sugar a day – equivalent to about seven teaspoons – faced a 36% increase in tumor risk.
The Swedish scientists from Stockholm’s Karolinska Institute said there are two mechanisms that high levels of sugar could raise the risk of the endometrial cancer. One is that increased quantity of sugar makes the body release more insulin, which has been shown to stimulate the growth of endometrial stromal cells, the lining of the womb
Another mechanism is that high levels of insulin may also increase levels of free estrogens through decreasing concentrations of circulating sex hormone–binding globulin, which has been shown to trigger the uncontrolled growth of cells, a key characteristic of cancer.
The Swedish study findings were published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
Yinka Ebo, senior health information manager at Cancer Research UK, said keeping a healthy weight and staying physically active were the best ways to reduce womb cancer risk.
She added: “This study shows eating lots of sugar and certain sugary foods may increase the risk of womb cancer, but we would need to see these results repeated in other large studies like this before we can draw any firm conclusions.”
Endometrial cancer affects around 6,400 women a year in the UK and kills an estimated 1,000 annually.
Risk goes up with age, weight and with having a mother who had the disease. However, having children appears to lower the risk.
Hurricane Irene hit Atlantic beach of North Carolina and one man was killed outside his home this morning.
The man was hit by a tree limb that blew down while he was walking around his house this morning in a rural area of Nash County, where winds were roaring at more than 60 mph, county Emergency Management Director Brian Brantley told the Associated Press.
Hurricane Irene hit Atlantic Beach, Cape Fear and the Outer Banks of North Carolina with Category 1 winds and rain and made landfall in Nags Head, North Carolina.
Hurricane Irene hit Atlantic Beach, Cape Fear and the Outer Banks of North Carolina with Category 1 winds and rain and made landfall in Nags Head
The center of hurricane hit the coast of North Carolina near Cape Lookout with Category 1-force winds of 85 mph.
Hurricane warnings for the next 48 hours have been issued for North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, coastal Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Until now, eastern North Carolina has already seen three tornadoes in the past few days, and the majority of the state and areas of Maryland and Virginia are under tornado watches through Sunday.
Stacy town, on the coast of North Carolina, is seeing 93 mph wind gusts this morning.
The far end of the fishing pier in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina collapsed overnight.
The 100-foot long pier is still standing, but its end has disappeared into the ocean.
About 200,000 homes in North Carolina are experiencing power outages, according to Power Energy.
Winds up to 85 mph have ripped power lines from their poles, causing many of the shortages.
“Our crews are restoring service as quickly as possible, where it is safe to do so,” Power Energy tweeted.
The hardest hit areas were Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
On Augus 27 is the 82th birthday anniversary of Ira Levin, mystery and suspense writer, dramatist and songwriter, awarded with The Grand Masters Award by the Mystery Writers of America in 2003.
Ira Levin‘s work generated a worldwide interest and inspired lots of famous movies. Rosemary’s Baby (the best known novel), A Kiss Before Dying (Edgar Allan Poe Award), The Boys from Brazil, The Stepford Wives, Sliver, Deathtrap (the best known play), This Perfect Day (Prometheus Hall of Fame Award) are among his writings.
Ira Levin became early attracted by mystery and writing.
When he was twelve Ira Levin was fascinated by the magicians of Tannen’s Magic Shop in Times Square and he learned about concealing reality behind illusion. He liked detective stories and had a collection of mystery books. Anagrams played major roles in Rosemarys’s Baby and Son of Rosemary. Ira Levin continued the tradition of using the transposition of letters (Lon Chaney Jr. in Son of Dracula) and basics of cryptology (Poe in The Gold Bug).
Ira Levin said he had considered being a writer from the time he was fourteen or fifteen years old. “Before that I wanted to be a magazine illustrator – I probably would have painted Gothic scenes.”
He was accused thinking ahead to the movie script while writing. He denied saying he is a playwright at heart.
Ira Levin's "Stepford Wives" entered the common vocabulary
Ira Levin‘s first novel, A Kiss Before Dying (1953) won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America as the year’s best first mystery.
The Underground Gourmet published in 1954 was adapted for TV and appeared on G.E. Theater, hosted by Ronald Reagan.
Rosemary’s Baby (horror, 1967) was a best-seller (over 5 million paperback copies in the U.S.) and it was translated into lots of languages. It became a horror classic and a milestone. It was followed by books and movies about Satan (The Omen, The Exorcist and others). Ira Levin felt somehow responsible for the rise in Christian Fundamentalism, but “I didn’t send back any of the royalty checks,” he said.
Ira Levin read Future Shock (Alvin Toffler, 1970) and was fascinated by its references to domestic robots. The animated figures in the Hall of Presidents at Disneyland also enchanted him. In this way The Stepford Wives (satirical thriller, 1972) emerged. It tells about men’s desires. The way they found to fulfilled them was considered insulting by Women’s Lib Movement. The word Stepford entered the common vocabulary, with meanings from someone who allow his/her role in society to be dictated to someone resembling an automaton, someone conformist, submissive, or unemotional, mechanical.
This Perfect Day (heroic science fiction, 1970) was often compared with Brave New World (Aldous Huxley), and 1984 (George Orwell). Generally, Ira Levin just tells the story without making any judgements regarding the basic state of the human race, but in this novel he talks about absolute control over the human emotions and desires.
Ira Levin saw an article on cloning that included a picture of Adolf Hitler and that was the beginning of The Boys From Brazil (thriller, 1976).
Three of his mystery novels begin with similar facts: Rosemary Woodhouse is sure she would enjoy living at the Bramford (Rosemary’s Baby), Joanna Eberhart thinks she has found the perfect home (The Stepford Wives), Kay Norris is delighted to move into 1300 Madison Ave (Sliver, 1991).
The basic premise of Ira Levin’s Deathtrap (1978) is: How far will someone go to have a hit play? and it was a hit play, it ran for 1,792 consecutive performances.
“Ira Levin makes the fact that we’re going to die okay. That’s one of the things that horror novels in general do.” said Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk.
Ira Levin died from a heart attack on November 12, 2007.
A saggy-pants clumsy beer-thief, accused of stealing beer from a Polk County convenience store earlier this year, was arrested on Wednesday, August 24.
Juan Luis Gutierrez was charged with petty theft and booked into the Polk County Jail, Florida, after he was identified based on convenience store surveillance system recordings.
Juan Luis Gutierrez, 27, tripped on his baggy pants while trying to steal beer earlier this year.
Saggy pants clumsy beer-thief was arrested in Polk County, Florida.
Polk County police said Juan Luis Gutierrez from Lake Wales, tried to steal two 18-packs of Bud Light from the E-Z Food Store, 15 Acuff Road in Lake Wales, on April 27.
As thief Juan Luis Gutierrez ran toward the get-away car, he tripped on his baggy pants and fell, and dropped the beer.
The driver was later identified as Angel Miguel Ortiz, 22, who was arrested on August 18 and charged with one count of petty theft. He has since bonded out of jail.
Polk County police said saggy-pants Gutierrez admitted to the incident.
A very rare signed copy of the Beatles hit single Please Please Me is expected to make thousands of pounds at Beatles Memorabilia auction.
The seven-inch copy of Please Please Me is described as “very, very rare” and has an estimate of £7,000 to £8,000.
Beatles Memorabilia, the annual auction which takes place in the band’s home city of Liverpool, also includes a number of times belonging John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr as well as their manager Brian Epstein.
A very rare signed copy of the Beatles hit single Please Please Me is expected to make thousands of pounds at Beatles Memorabilia auction
Other highlights of this year auction are 3 rarely seen photographs of Beatles taken at Newcastle City Hall and the Sunderland Empire as Beatlemania was sweeping the world in November 1963.
The pictures were taken by Keith Perry, a freelance photographer, and the negatives were forgotten for 48 years.
Each photo is being sold with full, worldwide copyright and they are expected to attract a frenzy of bid.
A cap belonging to John Lennon is also expected to attract huge interest and carries an estimate of up to £4,000.
Among the more unusual items up for sale is a compulsory purchase order issued for the famous Cavern Club before it was filled in with concrete in the early 1970s.
The order, dated November 17 1970, carries an estimate of up to £5,500.
Other Beatles Memorabilia collected from the Mathew Street venue include a piece of the stage, which could fetch £1,600 to £1,800.
A programme of the Cavern Club reopening, carried out by then prime minister Harold Wilson in July 1966, has a guide price of £80 to £120.
The auction is also inviting bids for a telegram addressed to “Mr. G Starkex” sent by comedy star Peter Sellers to Ringo Starr and first wife Maureen on August 21 1968.
The message is to let them know that the weather is holding up for Sellers’ visit to see them.
“The annual sale, part of the Beatles Convention in Liverpool, is attracting huge levels of interest,” the organizers said.
Stephen Bailey, manager of the Liverpool Beatles Shop which is staging the sale, said:
“The memorabilia has just kept coming in and there’s a lot of excitement building.
“We have several signed singles this year and they always attract a lot of interest from fans and collectors.
“But it’s always the more unusual items which capture the imagination of the buyers.”
There are a total of 322 lots being sold in the auction, which will take place today in the Paul McCartney Auditorium at Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts.
New York City authorities issued an unprecedented order on Friday for the evacuation of about 370,000 residents of low-lying areas at the city’s edges ahead of hurricane Irene.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare” aliniat=”centrat”]
New York residents will be evacuated from the expensive apartments in Battery Park City to the roller coaster in Coney Island to the dilapidated boardwalk in the Rockaways, as evacuation order warnings that Hurricane Irene was such a threat that people living there simply had to get out.
New York officials also announced plans to shut down the city’s entire transit system Saturday — all 468 subway stations and 840 miles of tracks, and the rest of the nation’s largest mass transit network: thousands of buses in the city, as well as the buses and commuter trains that reach from Midtown Manhattan to the suburbs.
President Barak Obama approved a request from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo of New York to declare a federal emergency in the state while the hurricane was still several hundred miles away.
“The hurricane, 290 miles of fury dancing angrily across the Atlantic Ocean toward the coast, was actually advancing more slowly than most late-summer storms,” the National Weather Service said.
New York City hurricane evacuation zones.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mic” aliniat=”dreapta”]Friday night Weather Service forecast said rain associated with the storm would begin in Manhattan after 11 a.m. Saturday with conditions worsening into Sunday.
“You only have to look at the weather maps to understand how big this storm is and how unique it is,” New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference on Friday at City Hall.
The increasingly ominous announcements from officials — and the wall-to-wall coverage — sent New Yorkers hurrying to buy staples like canned food and candles.
Shoppers in places found that the shelves had been cleaned out. In shore towns in New Jersey and on Long Island, touristss waited in lines at gas stations and watched as bulldozers built berms on low-lying beach roads.
The announcement about the transit shutdown and the evacuation of what the city called Zone A low-lying areas prompted a cascade of cancellations for Saturday and Sunday: Broadway shows, the Mets’ games against the Atlanta Braves at Citi Field, the performances by the Dave Matthews Band on Governors Island and the outdoor showing of opera movies at Lincoln Center, among others. Even the New York Aquarium and the Bronx, Central Park and Prospect Park Zoos closed for the weekend.
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]Starting at noon Saturday, all three major airports in the New York region will be closed to arriving flights.
They will remain open for departures, pending changes in the weather, but most of those scheduled departures have already been canceled, according to Steve Coleman, a Port Authority spokesman.
Authorities announced the subway shutdown was prompted mainly by wind estimates that suggested the hurricane could rock subway cars in places where they run above ground. The commuter rail lines that serve Long Island, Westchester County and Connecticut will also be shut down, as will New Jersey Transit operations. New Jersey Transit will suspend train service at noon Saturday and will stop bus service six hours later.
New York mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that 91 evacuation centers and shelters opened on Friday for people who could not stay in their homes. The Nassau County executive, Edward P. Mangano, said 20 shelters would be open by the time the storm hit.
Consolidated Edison warned that it would have to cut off power to some customers if underground pipes and cables became submerged in water. To be ready for repairs, Consolidated Edison said it was bringing in 800 additional workers from as far away as Texas.
Mayor Bloomberg said no one would be fined for violating the city’s evacuation orders. “Nobody’s going to go to jail,” he said, but he warned that the storm’s consequences could be fatal.
[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]Wiltshire police are hunting for a woman who was caught on CCTV smashing up an ATM with her stiletto heel shoe.
A blonde woman was caught on CCTV repeatedly hitting the cash machine with her stiletto heel shoe in Chippenham, Wiltshire, South West England, late in the night.
Apparently, cash machine was malfunctioning and woman decided to solve the problem by hitting ATM almost 50 times with her high heel shoe.
Machine’s keypad and the screen were damaged in the stiletto attack which left it out of order.
Blonde woman hitting ATM almost 50 times with her high heel shoe
Machine’s keypad and the screen were damaged in the stiletto attack which left it out of order
[googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]Police, who described the incident as “senseless and inane” are searching for the woman who has blonde hair and was wearing a white top.
The blonde woman had been standing at the machine for several minutes before she started to hit it with her high heel shoe.
It was unclear exactly what had happened to trigger the shoe attack.
Detective Constable Richard Gardner said:
“This was a completely senseless and inane act which caused sufficient damage to make the machine unusable for other customers.
I would like to hear from anyone who recognizes the woman shown in the CCTV or who has any information in relation to this incident.”
The high heel shoe attack happened on July 2.[googlead tip=”patrat_mare”]
Shannon Graham, the 15-year-old girl, whose Turkish boyfriend is the prime suspect in her mother’s murder, attended Marion Graham’s funeral service in Northern Ireland this morning.
Marion Graham and her best friend Kathy Dinsmore, both 53, were stabbed to death in a forest near city of Izmir, 75 miles north of the Turkish holiday resort of Kusadasi last Thursday.
Marion Graham’s funeral service took place this morning at St Mary’s Chapel in Newry, County Down, Northern Ireland.
Sad Shannon Graham, victim’s daughter, worn a ring on the third finger of her left hand, but it was unclear whether is an engagement ring.
Turkish waiter, Shannon Graham‘s boyfriend Recep Cetin, originally thought to be 17, but who may be older, is the main suspect in the Izmir double murder.
Shannon Graham (center) attended mother's funeral service in Northern Ireland this morning
[googlead tip=”lista_medie” aliniat=”stanga”]Recep Cetin allegedly killed the women after being refused permission to marry Shannon Graham.
There were hundreds attending the Marion Graham’s funeral service at St Mary’s Chapel in Newry. Marion Graham funeral service was timed to allow mourners to travel to Kathy Dinsmore’s funeral in the nearby town of Warrenpoint.
Sad Shannon Graham attending mother's funeral at St Mary's Chapel in Newry.
Father John Byrne told the mourners in Newry:
“Both families are united in their grief and it is natural that they have so many questions but so few answers.
Losing someone so close as a mother and a dear friend has caused numbness and confusion.”
Father described Marion Graham, who had five children, as “a loving mother and great friend”.
“She lived her life to the full and enjoyed the company of friends and neighbours,” he said.
“Marion was still young and had much more to give in life but any plans and expectations for the future have been cruelly cut short and it will take time for her loved ones to come to terms with this life-shattering episode.”
Marion Graham and Kathy Dinsmore bodies were flown to Dublin on Wednesday and Shannon Graham was among those who accompanied the coffins on their way home.
Canon John Kearney of St Peter’s Church from Warrenpoint, said during Kathy Dinsmore’s funeral service:
“For so many people in this church today, the death of Kathy has turned their world upside down.
We are shocked as individuals and we are visibly shaken as a community when we learned about the unexpected and tragic death of Kathy who was born and reared here in Warrenpoint and was known by so many.
We do not want to believe or accept that a person who was known so well and loved so much is now dead.
In a sense we are paralyzed. We are suspended in disbelief.
Today there is a huge emptiness in our hearts because Kathy has been taken away from us in this way.”
Some regional politicians attended the both victims’ funerals.
Marion Graham and Kathy Dinsmore were very close friends and were on an extended stay in Turkey when the stabbings took place.
Recep Cetin is the prime suspect in Shannon Graham's mother murder.
Recep Cetin, the chief suspect in women’s murder may be held in prison until the end of Ramadan after a prosecutor was appointed to oversee charges.
Recep Cetin, whose true age is not known, will be held in custody for at least another week as the Islamic holy month ends on August 30.
The Turkish waiter, who has eventually confessed to killing the two women in a forest near Izmir, earlier tried to cover up their murders by claiming they had been attacked by a gang of men.
Recep Cetin is alleged to have driven Marion Graham and Kathy Dinsmore to the woodland area of Buca, near Izmir, and killed them. Marion Graham was stabbed in her heart and Cathy Dinsmore had her throat cut.
Reports claim Recep Cetin told police he had pleaded with Marion Graham one last time in the woods to let Shannon Graham stay in Kusadasi and marry him.
But Marion refused, claiming Shannon Graham was too young, and was supported by her friend Kathy.
Several packs of Nurofen Plus were found to contain Seroquel XL, a powerful anti-psychotic drug used to treat schizophrenia, on Thursday.
Friday, after a safety alert was issued, pharmacists have been told to check each package of Nurofen Plus to look for anti-psychotic drugs after sabotaged packs were found in Boots stores across London the day before.
Nurofen Plus packages containing Seroquel XL blisters have been found in Boots stores in Victoria, Beckenham and Bromley.
Several packs of Nurofen Plus were found to contain Seroquel XL in pharmacies accross London
It is speculated that militant activists for animal protection carried out the sabotage operation with the intention of damaging Nurofen Plus’s producer, Reckitt Benckiser.
The pharmaceutical company may have been targeted because it tests some products on animals, although not Nurofen Plus.
Reckitt Benckiser said Friday that it didn’t know where the drugs had been switched.
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Nurofen Plus packages containing Seroquel XL blisters have been found in Boots stores in Victoria, Beckenham and Bromley.
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Boots’ spokeswoman told the Evening Standard:
“We are working closely with the MHRA to aid investigations and we have communicated with our stores and asked our pharmacists to be extra vigilant by checking the Nurofen Plus packet before selling it.”
The “sabotaged” Nurofen Plus packs – containing a total of 500,000 tablets – have been sent to pharmacies across the UK.
It is suspected that blister strips containing the tablets have been changed while in a wholesalers’ warehouse.
On Thursday, 3 tampered Nurofen Plus packs were discovered in south London, and an immediate investigation is under way to identify whether a group or an activist acting alone was behind the action of changing blisters.
Siân Boisseau, director of Virgo Health, the PR company which represents Nurofen, told the Mail:
“There has been a suggestion that the packets were deliberately put in the wrong boxes.
It was not discovered until the packets arrived in store. It was not in the manufacturing process or supply chain. It is not a mix-up and is still being investigated.”
A Virgo Health spokesman added police were not involved so far but could be in the future.
Patients who accidentally take the antipsychotic Seroquel XL may experience sleepiness and are advised not to operate any tools or machinery until they know how the tablets have affected them.
AstraZeneca, producer of Seroquel, said those who had mistakenly taken the drug should contact their GP and bring the blisters back to the pharmacy where they bought it.
Seroquel XL side effects include dizziness, headache and sleepiness, which affect more than one in ten users.
[googlead tip=”lista_mare” aliniat=”stanga”]Nurofen Plus and Seroquel XL are packaged differently – the blisters containing large capsules of Seroquel XL 50mg tablets have gold and black packaging while the Nurofen Plus pills are smaller and have silver and black packaging.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has asked pharmacists to check 32-tablet packs of Nurofen Plus, which is sold only in pharmacies.
There are three batches of Nurofen Plus which were affected by the alert.
They are: batch number 13JJ, expiry date 03/2014, licence number 00327/0082; 57JJ, 05/2014, 00063/0376, and 49JJ, 05/2014, 00063/0376.
Each batch contains 4,000 -7,500 packages, amounting to around 500,000 tablets.
It said that not all packs are affected.
Ian Holloway, from the MHRA’s defective medicines report centre, said:
“People should check to see if they have any affected packets of Nurofen Plus. If you do, return them to the pharmacy where you bought them from.”
Reckitt Benckiser said “serious investigations” were under way to establish how and who switched the blisters, especially as Seroquel XL is manufactured by a different pharmaceutical company.
Reckitt Benckiser added:
“After careful review of the manufacturing system, manufacturing errors by the makers of Nurofen Plus or Seroquel XL are not thought to be part of the cause at this stage.
We are taking this matter very seriously and are working closely with the regulatory authority, the MHRA, and pharmacies. The MHRA are investigating the issue, and have considerable law enforcement powers.
Nurofen Plus is not available for self-selection from the shop floor – and therefore pharmacists are able to check packs and greatly reduce the likelihood of affected packs being sold.”
Dr. Aomesh Bhatt, medical director for Nurofen Plus, said:
“We are taking this matter extremely seriously and we are working closely with the MHRA.
Additionally, we are in the process of working to ensure the Nurofen Plus packs are double-checked by pharmacy staff before they are handed to customers.
We encourage consumers of Nurofen Plus to be vigilant and, while it is very unlikely, should they find they have a suspect pack or if they have any other concerns, we advise them to speak to the pharmacist where they purchased the product.”
Dr. Bhatt added that Nurofen Plus had a “firm policy” of not testing on animals.
For this circumstance we’re counting our online orders as another “store” so they’re getting the same piece of the pie. 11 hours ago
“I’m given to understand that this might take out a lot of the steps in between having a stock TouchPad and having an Android TouchPad, and the guy who owns this tablet is rumored to now be working with the RootzWiki team. Maybe a step-by-step to getting Android onto the TouchPad is now much closer than before. I guess we’ll find out soon enough!”
