It may seem early to start thinking about the shopping bonanza that is Black Friday 2010 but as Labor Day weekend nears and fall approaches it’s never too early to get clued up for the traditional start of the Christmas shopping season.

Black Friday as you will know, falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving so this year’s Black Friday will be November 26. We want to give you some information about two sites that will give you everything you need to make the best of the shopping spree and you’ll be able to come back to them on the day itself for the latest news and updates.

Black Friday will no doubt see huge crowds of people at the stores and lines before the stores open for the usual rush, but if you use these resources you can find leaked and official ads and know the best places to go for the bargains you want. The first place to go is blackfriday.info and as we get closer to Black Friday you’ll see sale information and Black Friday ads displayed here, the official site for Black Friday.

Another site well worth a look at is bfads.net. You can subscribe to a mailing list for Black Friday offers, find store hours, adscans, message boards and buying guides, shopping list and much more. Do you enjoy the thrill of bargain hunting on Black Friday? You may already be saving for spending on the day but as times have been harder than usual for many of us this year maybe you won’t be taking part in the day as avidly as usual? We’re always interested to hear from you so please feel free to send in your comments or share any tips you have.

More On: Black Friday, Retail, Sales, shopping

Over the past month or so we’ve been keeping our readers updated with all the information on the much-anticipated “Call of Duty: Black Ops” game, including the inclusion of a zombie mode. We now have an update for you, as it appears that the killstreaks have now been revealed.

As reported by Matthew Reynolds at digitalspy.co.uk, the “COD: Black Ops” game – which is to include a wager mode as previously reported – will feature 15 multiplayer rewards, which includes a napalm strike, a spy plane, attack helicopter, a gunship and a bomb-wielding RC car.

The “Care Package” killstreak makes its return in “Call of Duty: Black Ops,” and is rewarded after 5 kills instead of 4. Other “COD: Black Ops” killstreak rewards include an SAM Turret, the good old sentry gun, a mortar team, and the attack dogs from “World at War, according to XG247.

However, there is a slight change regarding killstreaks, perks and weapons in “COD: Black Ops” – which is due out on November 9th and will be available for the PC, PS3 and Xbox 360. Instead of unlocking these rewards through standard level progression, they can be unlocked using currency.

You can read the full killstreak list via digitalspy.co.uk. What do you think of the new killstreak list?

More On: Call of Duty: Black Ops, Playstation 3, Video Gaming, Xbox 360

Hurricane Earl continues on its path but there’s good news today in that although the hurricane could still cause damage and is still a strong hurricane, it has been reduced in status to a Category 2. In our last update yesterday it had weakened to a Category 3 storm with sustained winds of up to 125 mph. The maximum sustained winds in the latest update from the National Hurricane Center are now down to around 105 mph.

Hurricane Earl’s path is now north-northeast at 18 mph and the latest National Hurricane Center tracking shows that Earl is around 85 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras. Tropical storm winds are now affecting the outer banks of North Carolina. If you want to see all the areas with advisories issued for hurricane warnings and watches and also tropical storm warnings and watches, take this link to the National Hurricane Center, Miami.

The regions listed are vast with the most serious hurricane warning from Bogue Inlet, North Carolina, heading northwards and other advisories issued as far north as Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. There may be an increase in speed and a turn to the northeast within the next few hours as Earl is passing near the North Carolina coast, but the hurricane is expected to weaken although it will still be large as it approaches southern New England.

We’ll continue to bring you updates for Hurricane Earl so check back with us later for more news on this. If you have anything you want to share with us about Hurricane Earl, please send a comment in the box below.

More On: Hurricane, Hurricane Earl, National Hurricane Center, Projected Path, Update

The 2010 college football season kicked off last night and as mentioned yesterday, one of the very first games was the match-up between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Marshall Thundering Herd. However, there was also the game between Miami Hurricanes and Florida A&M Rattlers.

As reported by timesdispatch.com, it was a bit of a disappointing opener for the Marshall Thundering Herd, who were unfortunately defeated by Ohio State 45-7. Buckeyes’ Terrelle Pryor managed to complete 17 of 25 passes for 247 yards during last night’s game.

Brandon Saine also did his part for Ohio State – who hasn’t actually lost a home opener since 1978 – rushing for 103 yards and 2 scores. In the meantime, No. 13 ranked Miami Hurricanes completely thrashed their opponents Florida A&M, with the finishing score at 45-0 to them.

Miami’s Jacory Harris completed a total of 12 out of 15 passes for 210 yards and three touchdowns, and that was just in the first half of the game. Leonard Hankerson managed to catch the first two of Harris’ touchdown passes, as the Hurricanes took a 35-0 lead in the first 25 minutes.

What did you think of last night’s games?

More On: College Football, Ohio State Buckeyes, sports

NFL star Ben Roethlisberger – a quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers – is currently facing a six-game suspension, after they found he had violated the league’s personal conduct policy. However, the suspension could well be shortened to just four games.

According to a recent article at latimes.com, Roethlisberger, who was accused of sexually assaulting a student in Milledgeville back in March, is due to meet with Commissioner Roger Goodell in New York on Friday to discuss the quarterback’s suspension.

Once it was determined that Roethlisberger would not be charged for the assault, Goodell suspended him for the start of the season and ordered him to undergo a full evaluation. Goodell then said that if Ben kept himself out of trouble, his suspension may well be shortened.

There is a possibility that Roethlisberger will want the penalty cut even more to maybe just three games, but NFL officials have stated that Roger Goodell’s initial ruling specified that Ben’s punishment should be for at least four games. You can read more via latimes.com.

Do you think that Roethlisberger should get his suspension reduced?

More On: Ben Roethlisberger, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers, sports

This weekend in the U.S. sees the Labor Day 2010 holiday. Monday September 6 is a legal holiday and so many Americans make a long-weekend of it with celebrations, relaxing with friends, maybe a parade and getting things ready for the inevitable ‘back to school’. An article over on Netglimpse tells us that the holiday was originally a celebration for the working class and began in 1882.

Now Labor Day weekend is still linked with celebrating working men and women but to many also marks the end of the summer vacation as fall approaches. Many of you will be getting together with family and friends to share the holiday and you may like a selection of quotes especially for Labor Day which makes a great talking point, so here we hope to be able to help you with a variety of inspirations and fun quotes.

For starters take a look at netglimpse.com which has a vast selection, 51 in fact, of Labor Day quotes. One that I think is particularly apt is by Douglas Pagels who said, “Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.” Alternatively how about this from Adam Smith, “Labor was the first price, the original purchase-money that was paid for all things. It was not by gold or by silver, but by labor, that all wealth of the world was originally purchased.”

Another useful resource for Labor Day quotations is quotegarden.com. I rather liked, “The only liberty an inferior man really cherishes is the liberty to quit work, stretch out in the sun, and scratch himself,” by H.L. Mencken. Alternatively you may want to look at a selection of funny quotes for Labor Day so try Poemofquotes.com. This quote will chime with many of us, “Labor Day is a glorious holiday because your child will be going back to school the next day. It would have been called Independence Day, but that name was already taken,” that one from Bill Dodds.

Hopefully these ideas will give you all you need for Labor Day quotes and it just remains to say enjoy the long weekend and happy Labor Day 2010. We’d be interested in hearing how you mark the holiday so please do send in your comments about this.

More On: Event, Holiday, Labor Day 2010, Quotes

After the recent BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico and then today another explosion at an oil rig owned by Mariner Energy close by, comes news of another environmental risk as a fuel tanker has run aground, this time in the north of Canada.

The tanker is carrying 90 million liters of diesel and is currently marooned on a sandbar in the Northwest Passage. The Canadian Coast Guard’s superintendent of environmental response, Larry Trigatti, said that the vessel did not appear to be damaged and is apparently not leaking at present, according to Tom Bonnett over on Sky News Online.

The incident occurred when the tanker was supplying fuel to communities southwest of Gjoa Haven in the Nunavut territory and became caught on the sandbar and now measures are planned to carefully float the tanker off the sandbar, according to Woodward’s Oil, the tanker’s owner. There are some fears though that any recovery procedure could cause an oil spill into the Arctic.

For more on this go to sky.com. The current rate that the Arctic is melting is believed to be a cause of vessels running aground and only last week another vessel became stuck in the same stretch of water. What are your thoughts on the oil tanker running aground and increasing environmental risks because of incidents such as this? We’d be interested to hear your comments so please do send them in.

More On: environment, Fuel Spill, Shipping, tanker

We are continuing to bring you updates on the path and progress of Hurricane Earl as it sweeps towards the eastern coast of the U.S. Our last update early today told how winds were currently 145 mph and National Hurricane Center tracking showed it moving north-northwest at 18 mph. At that time the storm was around 410 miles south of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

The latest advisory from National Hurricane Center tracking now has the storm around 245 miles south of Cape Hatteras and decreased to a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds at present of 125 mph with the projected path heading north at 18 mph. Although it has weakened slightly it is still thought that by the time the storm passes the outer banks of North Carolina tonight it will be large and powerful.

The advisories have once again been extended and now the Canadian Hurricane Centre has issued a hurricane watch for Nova Scotia from Medway Harbour to Digby. For the complete listing of all areas covered by hurricane warnings and watches and also tropical storm warnings and watches hit the link to the National Hurricane Center here.

Although the storm is currently heading north the forecast is that it will turn and head north-northwest again at greater speed on Friday. By Friday evening Earl will be approaching southeastern New England. Advice from FEMA is to be prepared and have necessary supplies. We’ll continue to update you on Hurricane Earl and if you want to share your thoughts on it then please do send us a comment.

More On: Hurricane, Hurricane Earl, National Hurricane Center, Storm, Weather

It seems that the Gulf of Mexico is destined for bad things at the moment as there is news of another oil rig explosion on an off-shore oil rig in the area earlier today. Fortunately nobody was killed in the explosion which resulted in the crew of 13 having to jump into the water where they were rescued, although one worker did suffer a minor injury.

Oil has spilled once again into the Gulf of Mexico, still suffering from the previous Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in April which killed 11 workers at that time. The BP oil spill as iit has become commonly known, has taken months to get under control and this is another blow for the region. Thomas Blue, Coast Guard Petty Officer said that the slick was around 100 feet wide but around a mile long, according to a USA Today report.

The owner of the oil rig, Mariner Energy of Houston, reported the spill and workers are being flown by helicopter to hospital for checks. The fire is currently being fought by a vessel supplied from Mariner Energy and Thomas Blue said that more help is on the way in the form of 2 more vessels. At the moment the cause of the explosion is not clear and the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management say that currently production of gas and oil was at a halt as maintenance on the rig was taking place.

The explosion occurred around 9:19 am local time 92 miles south of Vermilion Bay, Louisiana. That’s around 200 miles away from the previous Deepwater Horizon explosion. This blast differs from that of the Deepwater Horizon as the depth of water at this rig is only 340 feet deep whereas Deepwater Horizon was a deep water rig drilling at a depth of around 5,000 feet. Although the danger from this oil rig explosion appears to be limited it will only add to calls of critics fighting against offshore drilling.

For more on this go to usatoday.com. What are your thoughts on this new oil rig explosion and do you think the human and environmental risks concerned do not justify offshore drilling? We’d be interested in your thoughts on this so please send in your comments to us.

More On: business, Gulf of Mexico, Oil Rig Explosion

If you’re a fan of college football and the Ohio State Buckeyes in particular, you will know that the 2010 season officially kicks off today. Now that the season is about to start, fans are probably going to want to know the full schedule and that’s where I can help.

As reported by huffingtonpost.com, Ohio State Buckeyes 2010 season kicks off tonight at 7:30pm, when they will be faced up against Marshall in Columbus. Their next game, which will see them facing off against Miami, is scheduled to take place on September 11th at 3:40pm.

The team won’t play again until September 18th, when they will be taking on Ohio University. This game is scheduled to kick off at 12pm. Ohio State will then take on Eastern Michigan on September 25th, although we don’t actually know a starting time of this game.

That game is followed up by a match-up with Illinois, which is due to take place at the Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois on October 2nd. A few days later on October 9th, Ohio State will take on the likes of Indiana. Again, the start time is currently unknown for this match-up.

You can view the full 2010 schedule via huffingtonpost.com.

More On: College Football, Ohio State Buckeyes, sports