Am fost iar la un concert Pink Martini, adica pentru a doua oara si a fost super … chiar mai misto ca prima oara.

Dupa Metallica a fost cel mai tare concert la care am fost in Romania.

Cuvintele sunt de prisos asa ca va las sa va delectati cu o super piesa.

Abia astept sa-i ascult iar!

There’s no real excuse for this type of thing, but it’s all part of the fun at the annual UK Motorcycle and Scooter Show, which takes place at the NEC every autumn.

New model from Kymco, the 125R, which looked a handy commuter.

Showgirl with Kymco 125R

Latest figures from the show organisers state that attendance over the opening weekend was down 20% against last year. The show lacks any stands from Honda, Harley Davidson, Aprilia, Moto Guzzi, Benelli, Piaggio and most of the Chinese brands most commonly found via the internet.

Kawasaki, Yamaha, BMW, Suzuki and Triumph had the largest stands at the show.

Kawasaki model girls at the NEC motorcycle show

SFR ‘Home 3G’ goes live (website ¦ user guide)

SFR launched its Home 3G femtocell this week.  Like the Vodafone Access Gateway, it’s a standalone femtocell offering improved 3G coverage (but, at least initially, no homezone tariffs or femto services).

Some operators have been reluctant to promote an ‘improved coverage’ proposition (which could be interpreted as an admission of problems with the network).  However, it’s good to see that SFR is making an effort to attract customers for Home 3G; there’s an entertaining video showing how poor 3G coverage can lose a chap his girlfriend (at least if she’s daft enough to stand in the rain sending texts instead of ringing the doorbell).

Current Analysis’ Peter Jarich calls Home 3G “a wonderfully simple proposition”.  He also points out that SFR is marketing the femtocell as much for data as for voice, aiming to “reinforce SFR’s reputation for superior mobile broadband network coverage, both in the wide-area and indoors.”  Jarich believes that indoor service quality may become a key differentiator as network sharing removes differences in outdoor HSPA coverage, and speculates that Orange France may be forced to rethink its preference for UMA over femtocells for the consumer market (see also rumours here).

Consumer reaction has been limited so far, but according to one comment the €199 price may be considered a bit steep: “La technologie est intéressante mais le prix l’est moins” (The technology is interesting, but the price is less so).

In what Rethink Wireless calls a “reversal of national loyalties”, SFR’s femtocell is based on British femto technology from Ubiquisys, supplied by NEC, whereas the Vodafone UK solution hails from partly French owned Alcatel-Lucent.  In an interview with Mobile Europe, Ubiquisys CTO Will Franks claims an advantage over the Alcatel Lucent system: “The radio technology has to be very good…Operators such as Vodafone UK which had a free carrier can use something less sophisticated, but operators on shared carriers…need something that will not give them interference in the macro network.”

My French is a bit rusty, but I found are a few interesting snippets on the SFR website FAQ:

• The service works with any Internet connection, and doesn’t require SFR’s NeufBox residential gateway.
• The signal range is advertised as 15m (providing a coverage area of over 7,500 sq ft).
• When in femtocell coverage, SFR phones display “SFR Home 3G” (or on some phones “20811″ or “F11″).
• The access control list can hold up to four numbers in addition to the subscriber’s own.  (SFR charges subscribers between €2 and €4 for changing numbers on the access control list after the first month!  Changes take 48 hours to come into effect, which implies that the system is not yet automated.)
• Home 3G is not compatible with fibre-optic broadband Internet services.
• The installation video indicates that the femtocell should be placed at least 1.5 metres from the NeufBox.  (Vodafone UK recommends a 6 ft separation between its femtocell and a WiFi router, as a precaution against poor frequency filters in the WiFi unit.)
• Strangely, the SFR website lists seven 3G handsets that are incompatible with the Home 3G femtocell.  (Fortunately the flagship iPhone 3GS is not one of these.)

The Taiwanese are coming

According to DIGITIMES, “nearly all major Taiwan-based network equipment makers have ventured into the production of indoor-use femtocells”.  The publication suggests that this could result in femtocell price reductions to the magic figure of $100 per unit in the second half of 2010.  Gemtek chairman Howard Chen says he expects femtocells to be one of the “major items” his company ships to carriers in 2010.

Femtocells “not dead yet”

Despite having “pretty much decided that the femto market is dead”, GigaOM acknowledges that other analysts disagree.  Stacey Higginbotham cites a Deutsche Bank report concluding that all carriers will have to use femtocells in order to keep up with the demand for mobile broadband.  But Stacey believes carriers are “going to have to improve their networks in a way that doesn’t pass on the femtocell cost to consumers”.

Engadget asks “How Would You Change AT&T’s 3G MicroCell?”

The most popular answers are (1) roll it out nationwide, and (2) make it free (or less than about $50, anyway).

More from SpiderCloud

Despite insisting that its E-RAN is not a femtocell, SpiderCloud says it can connect to the operator’s standard 3G core network using the Iuh standard.  But some aspects of the system do sound very different from the femtocell approach; for example, in an interview with ThinkFemtocell, SpiderCloud’s VP Marketing Ronny Haraldsvik explains that the E-RAN requires “considerable co-ordination and configuration of the macrocell network” (for example to achieve hand-in).

ABI redresses the balance

ABI Research has hit back at the sensationalist reporting of its recently revised femtocell forecasts, saying that its predictions were “taken out of context, conveniently leaving out the part where we said we still believe in this market”.  Aditya Kaul’s blog posting discusses a number of recent positive femtocell announcements, and concludes that the femto market is “just beginning to take shape”.

In other news…

• NSN and China Mobile show TD-LTE femto demo.
• Too much femto jargon?  Yes!
• Video of Percello / Node H demo of 16 simultaneous calls on PRC 6500 chip.
• Pete Claydon to leave picoChip.
• Here’s a happy VAG user.
• NICTA and Rohde & Schwarz Demonstrate Interference-cancellation.
• Revenues from in-flight WiFi slow to take off.
• Survey: would you pay for better cell voice/data coverage at home?
• STM announces SuperPico (looks more like a small macro) for small GSM operators

The NEC

I went to Birmingham yesterday to check out the 2009 Carole Nash Bike Show at the NEC. Well, I must say that it was fun, but I was expecting more. To begin, I’ve never seen an event without Honda, but that’s exactly what you are going to (not) see if you go there – Honda is absent, incredibly.

I know that this is not a proper Bike Show where all the big brands come to present their latest models, but more of a big fair sponsored by Carole Nash, and I must say that it’s okay for the price you pay (£15). On the fair, you can really make good deals and buy gear for excelent prices, but I was expecting more from the bike show. Honda was not the only one missing, as Harley-Davidson and Buell are also absent, not to mention the (very) poor Ducati stand, featuring just a couple of bikes.

KTM shows that 2 stroke engines still have an appeal

As I went on the very first day opened to the general public, it was also very crowded. I simply couldn’t take any pictures because there was always a couple of guys climbing on the bikes when I was about to take the shot. A real nerve test.

All in all, it is a honest event, but not superb. In the highlights, the good BMW, KTM and Yamaha stands. Kawasaki is ok, although a little confusing. Suzuki lacked in charm, and those american Victory bikes, with their logos clearly stolen from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, are a joke. So big, so fat, so pointless… but what could you expect from a brand which instead of doing ANYTHING else, chooses to play out loud a video where a guy – in that very annoying country accent – repeats at infinitum that “95% of our customers are satisfied!”.

Patience, Mike, patience.

Have a good weekend, mates. Cheers!

Avec la notion de vertu intellectuelle, il ne s’agit pas de confondre la morale et la connaissance, mais d’avancer que la connaissance est une disposition naturelle qui demande à être cultivée.

Aristote est le père d’une idée surprenante : il existe des vertus intellectuelles ; bien plus, la science elle-même est une de ces vertus. Ce concept hybride, développé dans le livre VI de l’ « Éthique à Nicomaque », n’introduit-il pas une confusion illégitime entre morale et connaissance ? N’induit-il pas l’idée, fort discutable, que les hommes intelligents sont nécessairement bons, et réciproquement ? Le développement relativement récent d’une épistémologie des vertus qui revendique une ascendance aristotélicienne soulève la question suivante : les vertus ont-elles une place dans le domaine de la connaissance, et plus particulièrement dans les sciences ? Loin d’imposer le moralisme en science ou l’intellectualisme en éthique, Aristote élabore la notion de vertu intellectuelle pour distinguer les capacités cognitives des qualités éthiques. Il faut en effet dissiper un malentendu : pour Aristote, les vertus ne sont pas nécessairement des qualités morales. Est vertu toute disposition acquise qui actualise de façon excellente une capacité naturelle d’un être. Par exemple, la capacité à courir longtemps est, pour l’homme, une vertu, une vertu physique. Son opposé, le vice, est une disposition acquise par laquelle une capacité naturelle est bridée ou actualisée de façon défectueuse.

Aristote regroupe vertus et vices en deux faisceaux. D’une part, les hommes ont un caractère (ethos) : ils contractent des habitudes dans leurs façons de désirer et d’agir. Ces dispositions sont des vertus – ou des vices – éthiques. D’autre part, ils ont un esprit (dianoia) et, comme l’office de cet esprit est de saisir la vérité, toutes les compétences acquises permettant d’atteindre la vérité sont des vertus intellectuelles, ou dianoétiques. Ces deux types de vertus n’actualisent pas les mêmes capacités et n’ont pas la même nature. Être vertueux d’un point vue éthique, c’est en effet être capable de trouver le juste milieu entre deux vices. Par exemple, être courageux, c’est choisir les actions qui ne sont ni lâches ni téméraires. Les vertus intellectuelles n’ont, elles, qu’un seul contraire : la propension à adopter des croyances fausses. De plus, les vertus éthiques s’acquièrent par l’imitation et par l’habitude, alors que les vertus intellectuelles doivent également faire l’objet d’un apprentissage théorique. On devient courageux en s’habituant au combat ou en imitant un homme héroïque, mais on acquiert la science principalement en assimilant des enseignements. En distinguant ainsi moralité et connaissance, Aristote s’oppose au Socrate de la « République », qui considère comme identiques la vertu et la science. Il peut exister des savants moralement inférieurs et il n’est pas besoin d’être savant pour être vertueux. Aristote ne considère toutefois pas que capacité à connaître le vrai et aptitude à faire le bien sont totalement indépendantes l’une de l’autre. L’intérêt de sa position tient au fait que, selon lui, il existe plusieurs types de dispositions grâce auxquelles nous parvenons à des connaissances vraies. Nous sommes capables de connaître le vrai concernant des êtres nécessaires et des relations invariables, par exemple en astronomie, et aussi concernant des êtres et des relations contingents ou relatifs, notamment en matière politique. A chacune de ces capacités correspondent deux excellences cognitives distinctes : respectivement la sagesse (sophia) et la prudence (phronesis). La sagesse consiste à la fois dans l’aptitude à former des déductions valides – c’est la science : epistèmè – et dans la capacité à saisir les principes vrais d’où partent ces démonstrations – c’est l’intellect. La sagesse – et ses vertus constitutives, science et intellect – est dotée, pour Aristote, d’une valeur supérieure d’un point de vue aussi bien psychique que cosmologique. Au sens où la vie qu’elle implique ne met pas en jeu désirs et actions, elle ne requiert cependant pas la possession de vertus éthiques.

L’autre grand type de vertu intellectuelle, la disposition à connaître avec vérité ce qui est bien pour les hommes, la prudence, est, elle, étroitement liée aux vertus éthiques. Il est en effet impossible d’être juste, courageux ou tempérant sans être guidé par la prudence car celle-ci éclaire les actions et les désirs des hommes : elle leur indique quels sont les moyens efficaces pour atteindre la fin bonne qu’ils poursuivent. Sans prudence, les vertus seraient impuissantes : elles ne seraient plus à proprement parler des vertus car elle n’actualiseraient pas les capacités de l’homme. Réciproquement, sans les vertus éthiques, la prudence serait une simple habileté, sans valeur morale. La lecture du livre VI de l’ « Éthique à Nicomaque » peut causer une certaine déception. N’est-il pas bien loin de nos préoccupations actuelles ? Les qualités intellectuelles que nous considérons habituellement comme indispensables au savant – résistance au dogmatisme, honnêteté intellectuelle… – sont absentes du propos d’Aristote. De plus, moralité et connaissance scientifique semblent étrangères l’une à l’autre – seule la vie de prudence est liée aux vertus éthiques – et Aristote, contrairement à la plupart des théoriciens contemporains, ne considère pas le désir de vérité comme une vertu qui mérite éloge, mais comme une tendance naturelle de l’homme.

On pourrait en conséquence estimer que les épistémologues de la vertu n’ont fait qu’emprunter un terme à Aristote afin de former une théorie nouvelle capable de répondre aux questions contemporaines d’épistémologie. Cette idée est à nuancer : d’une part, le livre VI de l’« Éthique à Nicomaque » n’épuise pas le propos d’Aristote sur les vertus intellectuelles ; d’autre part, la théorie des vertus intellectuelles de l’« Éthique » a une portée considérable concernant l’idée de responsabilité épistémique. En effet, assimiler les différents types de connaissance à des dispositions acquises valide l’idée d’une responsabilité des hommes à l’égard des croyances qu’ils ont : la soif de vérité peut être étanchée uniquement si une éducation appropriée est donnée et reçue. L’individu n’est pas seul responsable de ses erreurs. Peut-être le principal apport de la théorie aristotélicienne est-il l’idée que bonheur humain et connaissance du vrai sont indissociables. Aux yeux d’Aristote, la possession de vertus intellectuelles est la condition du bonheur. »

Cyrille Bégorre-Bret, attaché temporaire d’enseignement et de recherche à l’Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne.

Paru dans « Sciences et Avenir », Hors-série, octobre-novembre 2005.

__________

Remerciements à Olipien pour l’article.

Arrêtez de prendre des douches, saviez vous que la vapeur d'eau contribuait plus à l'effet de serre que le Co2…et je ne vous parle pas du méthane. Un certain corps scientifique a trouvé bon de sonner l'hallali sur le chercheur Serge Galam qui dans un article dans le Monde s'est autorisé à dire que la climatologie était une science jeune et que 90% de certitude équivalait scientifiquement parlant 0% de preuve. Cela ne veut pas dire qu'il ne faut rien faire, loin de là malheureusement .Maintenant , la question fondamentale est de déterminer s'il s'agit de fluctuations rares, qui vont s'estomper, ou à l'inverse des premiers signes d'un changement global et profond qui s'est amorcé et va s'amplifier. En gros l'homme ne serait peut être pas le seul fauteur de trouble dans cette affaire, des causes naturelles y participeraient comme dans un lointain passé. Mon propos n’est pas de dédouaner l’homme de ses responsabilités tant individuelles que collectives, non ce qui m’agace comme à chaque fois, ce sont les raccourcis, les discours de la peur, de la morale culpabilisante. Quand agirons nous en dehors de la contrainte en notre âme et conscience. Les choses doivent changer, mais est ce que la finance a appris de ses erreurs, est ce que les entreprises vont moins polluer ? Comme, à chaque fois on répercute les taxes, les effets sur les plus en difficulté d’entre nous pour leur faire payer les abus des autres.

 C’est peut être cela l’égalité mais moi, cela ne me plait pas.

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EMMITTSBURG, MD. — Talk about a story of two halves.

Loyola came out with a fire in the second frame and The Mount didn’t. Unfortunately, that lack of focus voided whatever inspired play the Mountaineers showed in the first half. By game’s end, Loyola took a 48-45 win at Knott Arena on Saturday.

It was a rough 40 minutes for Mount St. Mary’s head coach Bryan Whitten. He said afterward that missed lay-ups and turnovers were the biggest game-deciding influence.

The Mount had 30 for the game. Missed lay-ups? Quite a few.

“We missed lay-ups all day long,” Whitten said. “If we make layups in the first half, we’re probably up 25-30. We had entirely too many turnovers.”

Sandra Andresson led the team with 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting and had 10 rebounds. Leah Westbrooks had 12 points and seven boards.

For Loyola, Miriam McKenzie had 16 points and five boards. She put in 14 in the second half.

Yet Kaitlin Grant had the best line. She had 17 points, 12 steals and six boards. 12 steals. …

* GAME ACTION *

3:45, Last media timeout before game’s end: It’s 45-42 in favor of the Mountaineers, yet the game seems to be teetering on the edge for the home team. At least the offense is moving well. Over the last seven minutes the Mount has found steady offense from Leah Westbrooks. She has 12 points and 6 rebounds.

11:48, Second media timeout of second half: Loyola’s Miriam McKenzie, as “NBA JAM” would describe it, is ON FIRE. The guard has two 3s and two pull-up jumpers to begin the second half. She’s almost single-handedly brought the Greyhounds back into contention against the Mountaineers. The lead is a slim one, with Mount leading, 35-31. McKenzie is operating under full control, able to get her shot off at any point. The Greyhounds are on a 16-2 run to start the half.

15:40, First media timeout of the second half: The Greyhounds have responded out of break, going on an 8-0 run through the first five minutes to pull within 10 points, 33-23. Miriam McKenzie finally hit a field goal, nailing a 3 with 17:15 on the clock. Another three pointer followed to cut the margin down.

Halftime: Over the last seven minutes of the first half the Mountaineers extended their lead to as high as 19 points, but at intermission we’re pegged at 33-15 in favor of The Mount. Loyola scored seven points in the last 10 minutes of the first half, a statistic that tells what kind of ruckus the Mountaineers are creating on the defensive side of the ball. If not for four foul shots with a little over a minute left, Loyola would be stuck at 11 at half. Nice job thus far for The Mount.

7:10, Third media timeout: The Mount have created separation, aided mostly by their frenetic defense, which has produced several turnovers over the last three minutes of play. The score is in favor of The Mount, 18-9. Sandra Andresson is having herself a decent game so far, but the stats haven’t been available. We’ll see her line at halftime.

11:31, Second media timeout: The pace of this game favors the Mountaineers, but the overall edge is even keel. Loyola hasn’t found a rhythm and has turned the ball over at a faster rate, yet The Mount haven’t capitalized. Shooting is lackluster through the opening first 10 minutes.

15:20, First media timeout: The shooting has been rough so far, as The Mount has formed a 4-2 lead in the early stages. Newly promoted starter Courtney Nyce has all four of the team’s points, hitting on a feed from point guard Hassanah Oliver and a jumper from the top of the key. As for the defensive side, the Mountaineers have contained Loyola leading scorer Miriam McKenzie to zero points so far.

15 minutes before tip: Inside homely Knott Arena, the Mount St. Mary’s women’s basketball team is set to face Loyola in their last game before a 10 game road stand. If anyone is interested, I’m going to do a little blogging through the game.

As it stands, The Mount is 2-2 after a recent trip to the Lehigh Valley region, where they were defeated by Patriot League foe Colgate (56-45) this past Tuesday.

We’re about 15 minutes from tip-off and some changes are set to take place against the Greyhounds. Freshman shooting guard Syd Henderson, who missed the first two games of the season to injury, will start in place of Lauren Howell, who’s hit a rough patching shooting. She went 1-for-14 against Colgate.

At power forward, Courtney Nyce will start in place of Leah Westbrooks, who will play but isn’t 100 percent.

I apologize for my lack of posts over the holiday break. I’ve been away from a computer for about three days, eating, drinking and giving thanks. I hope you all understand.

But a lot has gone on since then, and right now I want to get into the college basketball scene. Both men’s programs at Gettysburg and Mount St. Mary’s were active Tuesday through Thursday. Let’s start first with Gettysburg.

* York College upends Gettysburg with 15 ticks left for a 67-66 win

Here’s the good news
Without question, this was the best game Gettysburg has played so far this season. And after three games — albeit three losses — at least this result puts things in perspective.

Here’s what the Bullets did well
* Mid-Flow Shooting — Gettysburg shot 50 percent from the field in the first half and 57 percent from range, hitting 8-for-14 from beyond the arc. Junior Kevin Kennedy poured in 16 all by himself, ending the game with a career-high 23.

* Finding Rhythm — Of the range of offense that Gettysburg showed, assists followed, which gives a good indication of how this Princeton offense is coming together in the early stages. The Bullets produced 17 assists for the game on 22 buckets, which is a very good number.

* Hitting from the stripe — Free throw shooting is often times a key variable. Fans don’t often realize how important this factors into a game. If you’re hitting from the line — and generating fouls — the game often flows in your direction. Gettysburg did that through the game, managing a 13-for-14 showing from the line. It wasn’t enough to bank a win on, but the percentage (92.9) was terrific. If Gettysburg generates maybe three to five more trips, this game was in the bag.

* Surprising cameos — Andrew Powers had one of those under-the-radar lines (18 points, 8 boards, 6 assists, 2 steals, 4 TOs), and he’s going to need to continue to make a difference for the Bullets if they’re going to pull out of this hole. But Kevin Kennedy’s progress (23 points, 5 threes, 8-for-11 shooting) coupled with the emergence of Brendan Trelease (8 points, 7 boards in 26 minutes) could make the Bullets a dangerous team in the future. Powers’ and Kennedy’s efficiency was off the charts, but if the Bullets really want to improve, they need their third option on a consistent basis. Trelease, a smooth shooter-slasher, has the ability to be that guy. So could Paul Crone. And possibly Andrew Bohan. But it may be too much to ask that much out of freshman Alex Zurn early — he certainly change that perception if he matures at a faster pace.

Where the Bullets need improvement:
*Taking care of the ball — 15 turnovers wasn’t horrific. However, it wasn’t outstanding, either. After a 29 turnover performance against Catholic, this trend needs to change, especially for an offense that relies on proficiency.

* Finding ways to make a difference on the defensive end — It wasn’t hard to find ways last year. Joe Spierenburg was a defensive beast. Things are considerably different this season, though. Powers doesn’t have an equally effective forward across from him. And the Bullets, in general, are undersized. They are going to need to rely a lot more on their quickness than height. That’s when tipped passes, charges, shot clock violations, etc. make a difference. Maybe the blocks won’t come at a high rate, but if the Bullets can get smart and aggressive on defense, other areas could improve.
_ _ _ _ _ _

And now onto The Mount, who lost to Niagra 74-64 on Wednesday.

First, let’s start with what the Mountaineers did well.

The Good
* Jean Cajou came to play — The junior 2-guard scored a team-high 20 points in 36 minutes, which is great production. He made three 3s and also had five rebounds.

* Kelly Beidler shot well from 3 — The lengthy forward went 3-for-7 from range, slightly under 50 percent, but still a decent number from a guy that isn’t The Mount’s go-to long range shooter.

* Tayvon Jackson’s quick production — He’s not going to be asked to do a lot for head coach Milan Brown, but he does provide a great service as the team’s “energy” guy. He’s like a Chris Anderson (Denver Nuggets) type player, someone who comes in, eats minutes, grabs boards, gives defense and provides a big body. He scored five points, had five boards and three blocks in 19 minutes. That’s all Brown should ask out of a guy like Jackson this season.

Where the Mount needs help…

The Bad
* Glass play — Niagra, who was an NIT team last year, outbodied The Mount on the glass, outrebounding them 51-35. It gave Niagra several second-chance points and allowed them to gain an edge in the paint.

* Free throw shooting — After a 24-for-28 performance against Loyola, The Mount came back to lay an egg in its next game, shooting 7-for-15. Here’s the reality: Brown said after that Loyola game that foul shooting played a huge difference. It’s what eventually set The Mount apart from the Greyhounds. If the Mountaineers hit at least five of their free throws against Niagra, this game could have ended differently. It’s as simple as that. Jeremy Goode went 1-for-6 from the line, one game after hitting 15 on only 16 tries.

* Speaking of Goode — The point guard probably wants to forget this game. He had seven points in 33 minutes, and was probably the emphasis of Niagra’s defensive gameplan going in.

Com certo atraso (justificado pelo terrível fim de semestre universitário), o Blog do Rugby traz o time candango do Brasília Rugby, campeão do Pequi Nations 2009, e os Harlequins, da Inglaterra.

Nome: Brasília Rugby

Cidade/Estado: Brasília/DF

Campo: Estádio Vasco Viana de Andrade – Metropolitana – núcleo Bandeirante; e Asa Norte 307/308

Títulos: Campeão do Pequi Nations 2009; Campeão da IV Etapa do Campeonato Paulista do Interior 2007 – Campinas-SP; Campeão Taça Estímulo (Taça de Madeira) no Torneio Internacional de Sevens de São José dos Campos.

Site: www.brasiliarugby.com.br

O Brasília Rugby Clube, BRC, foi o primeiro clube de Rugby na capital federal. Criado em 2000, a equipe foi fundada por J.R. Zakrzewski e alguns estrangeiros praticantes de Rugby em seus países de origem. Juntamente com alguns brasilienses interessados, deram início às atividades do time em 2001. Em meados de 2002, um grupo de franceses liderados por Bruno Guerrard, e outros representades da Embaixada Francesa, criou o Rugby Sem Fronteiras, RSF; clube que chegou a participar de alguns campeonatos nacionais. Ambos os clubes contaram com a identificação de vários brasileiros com o esporte, e rapidamente angariaram vários atletas.
Infelizmente a falta de apoio e de estrutura durante os anos que se seguiram acabou por diminuir o interesse dos atletas e aumentar a dificuldade em conseguir novos membros. Em meados de 2005, as diretorias dos clubes decidiram unir forças para o desenvolvimento do rugby no Distrito Federal. A fusão dos dois times foi feita com o objetivo de participar do Campeonato Brasileiro – 2ª Divisão no mesmo ano, e desenvolvimento de vários projetos para 2006 e anos seguintes.

Levando as cores e a bandeira do DF no brasão, o novo clube, o Brasília Rugby, teve rápida identificação com o povo candango. Com a experiência dos membros do RSF que já haviam disputado o Brasileiro em 2004 e a vontade dos membros do BRC, a primeira conquista veio logo. Em junho, o time foi Campeão da Taça Estímulo do Torneio Internacional de Sevens de São José dos Campos, dada ao melhor time estreiante. Teve também eleito o jogador revelação do campeonato, Cedric Wamba. No Brasileiro, a equipe conseguiu uma vitória em casa diante do BH Rugby e foi derrotada pela o Rio Union no Rio de Janeiro, terminando a competição em 3° lugar juntamente com o Pasteur.

Em 2008, o clube iniciou um projeto de fortalecimento interno e formação de equipes juvenis. Por fim, em 2009, o Brasilia ingressou no Pequi Nations, torneio que envolve equipes do Centro-Oeste brasileiro, e foi campeão.

Fonte: site oficial do clube

Nome: Harlequin Football Club

Cidade/País: Londres, Inglaterra

Estádio: Twickenham Stoop Stadium (capacidade: 12,700)

Títulos: Copa da Inglaterra (John Player Cup/Pilkington Cup): 2; European Shield/Challenge Cup: 1 (2001 e 2004)

Site: www.quins.co.uk

O genuíno clube londrino. O Harlequin F.C., mais conhecido como Harlequins, ou simplesmente Quins, é um dos mais famosos clubes de rugby da Inglaterra. E também um dos mais antigos. Fundado em 1866 com o nome de Hampstead Football Club, em alusão ao bairro central de Londres onde o clube foi fundado – um dos bairros mais caros da cidade. O clube foi fundado por jovens empregados que trabalhavam nas empresas financeiras da City londrina. Em 1870, contudo, buscando se desvincular de sua identidade restrita ao bairro de origem, o clube mudou de nome para Harlequin F.C. A mudança de nome foi curiosa. Para não precisar mudar as iniciais do nome (HFC), os membros recorreram ao dicionário. A palavra Harlequin foi escolhida, mas não sem criar polêmica. Um racha entre os membros se seguiu à mudança de nome. O antigo Hampstead foi dividido em dois clubes: o Harlequin F.C. e o Wasps F.C. (atual London Wasps).

A fama do clube vem de seu famoso e pitoresco uniforme, dividido em 4 partes no tronco, cada uma com sua cor, mais as mangas. A meias também são coloridas, fazendo jus ao nome da equipe – harlequin traduzido para o português é arlequim, um bufão ou um palhaço, muito comum como figura carnavalesca. A fama boêmia do clube e de seus torcedores também é notória, o que uma das agremiações de rugby com mais torcedores na Inglaterra, apesar de não possuir títulos expressivos. Não à toa que o nome “Harlequins” se espalhou pelo mundo e dá nome a uma porção de equipes nos mais variados países: de Dubai a Melbourne, de Hangzhou, na China, a Dallas, o nome e o tradicional uniforme são verdadeiros ícones do rugby.

Em 1906, a RFU convidou a equipe a usar o recém construído estádio de Twickenham como casa. Mesmo tendo passado por mais de 15 sedes diferentes, os Harlequins mantiveram sua identidade vinculado a Twickenham, e desde 1963 mandam suas partidas no The Stoop, pequeno porém muito atmosférico estádio vizinho ao grande templo do rugby inglês, o estádio de Twickenham.

Apesar de não ser conhecido pelos títulos, os Harlequins já tiveram grandes equipes. Tiveram um dos melhores times do país até a Primeira Guerra Mundial, e voltaram ter proeminência no cenário inglês na década de 1980, quando conquistaram a John Player Cup (a Copa da Inglaterra), em 1988. O segundo título da competição, já sob o nome de Pilkington Cup, veio em 1991, e atingiram mais três vezes as semi-finais. O primeiro título internacional veio em 2001, no European Shield (atual European Challenge Cup), ao derrotarem o Narbonne, da França, por incríveis 42 x 33. O bicampeonato da competição veio em 2004, com vitória na final sobre outra equipe francesa, o Montferrand (atual Clermont), por emocionantes 27 x 26. O sucesso europeu, contudo, foi eclipsado pelo rebaixamento no Campeonato Inglês, na temporada 2004-05. A promoção de volta à elite do rugby inglês veio no ano seguinte. Por questões de patrocínio, o time também era conhecido como NEC Harlequins. Agora, com patrocinador principal novo, a equipe principal voltou a ter apenas o nome do clube: Harlequins.

Em 2006, o clube iniciou sua empreitada no Rugby League, fundando o Harlequins Rugby League, única equipe londrina que disputa a Super League (divisão de elite do rugby league inglês). Todavia, a direção das equipes de rugby union e de rugby league são mantidas completamente separadas.

Dentre os grandes jogadores que vestiram a emblemática camisa dos Quins o brilhante hooker inglês Keith Wood (ex-melhor do mundo segundo a IRB), o ex-all black Andrew Mehrtens, o abertura francês Thierry Lacroix e os ex-centros ingleses Will Greenwood e Will Carling, que atuaram pelos British & Irish Lions.

The NEC call on full service agency to promote Europe’s most exciting funfair.

BigCat will be responsible for a full scale publicity campaign including PR, media buying and social media as well as designing and distributing the Funworld event’s branding and promotional material.

Funworld will run for 22 days from 18 December in Hall 5 at Birmingham’s NEC complex and it will be the largest event of its kind in the UK. It is expected to be attended by around 100,000 people over the Christmas period.

Funworld, the value for money family attraction, will house around 50 exciting rides and attractions over 25,000 square metres, equivalent to 3 football pitches.

Anthony Tattum, Marketing Director of BigCat says: ‘We have worked with The NEC on several projects over the years and it is always pleasure to be involved with them. Funworld promises to be a huge event and it is our goal to lay strong foundations in order to ensure it becomes an annual event.’

Louise Sambrook, Show Manager of The NEC Group says: ‘We were looking for an agency with strong local contacts and knowledge of the entertainment industry and we feel BigCat excel in both of those areas.’

O monitor curvado Ostendo CRVD, que apareceu na CES 2008 com a marca Alienware, já está à venda. A julgar pelo vídeo abaixo, que mostra o uso de três deles lado a lado, o negócio parece incrível.

Com tecnologia quad-DLP e resolução de 2880×900, o CRVD deve satisfazer tanto gamers malucos quanto usuários viciados em multitarefa.

Custa US$ 6.500, mas se o príncipe de Dubai pode comprar vários deles, por que você não poderia?

Fonde: GameVicio

NORVIN CAFE RACER WITH THE WOW FACTOR

Mick and his show winning Norvin special

( COPYRIGHT FREE – PLEASE CREDIT ALASTAIR WALKER/MOTORFEATURES UK )

Mick Barton’s Norvin special was one of the stars in the bikes section at the Classic Motor Show, held at the NEC in November 2009, reports Alastair Walker.

Mick had a Norvin when he was a teenager in the 60s, but back then he couldn’t afford to customise the bike with the very best performance parts. So spending the last eight years, `on and off,’ building this ultimate cafe racer Norvin was a real labour of love.

“The hardest part was sourcing an original Vincent engine,” said Mick, “I could have used a re-manufactured motor, but I eventually found a 1955 V-twin and then had it stripped, with bigger valves, hotter cams, low comp pistons fitted, plus GP 32mm carbs and a custom made set of exhaust pipes. The bike really goes well now. I think it’s realised the full potential of the bike, yet sticks with the old cafe racer styling of the 60s.”

Other mods on the bike include Ceriani suspension, many polished and chromed parts, a Yamaha V-Max fly screen and Yamaha TZ spoked wheels. The striking Norvin, finished in Audi orange, took `Best Cafe Racer’ in the concours awards, presented by the Ace Cafe London, at the Classic Motor Show 2009.

Ends.

Among Boston’s musical offerings are several excellent music schools such as Berklee, the Boston Conservatory, and the New England Conservatory (NEC). The NEC String Chamber Orchestra recently performed a free concert at the beautiful Jordan Hall, just down the street from our beloved Symphony Hall. In many ways, the hall shares many of the acoustical trademarks. I’ve seen just a handful of concerts here, mostly Boston Symphony Chamber Players, but I thought I would try and hear what some of the other orchestras in town were doing. The NEC Chamber Orchestra was self-directed with no conductor and appears to be comprised of young musicians, perhaps younger than college age, but I do not know this for sure. For this concert, I sat in my favorite seat in the hall, which is dead center but slightly raised from the first section. (Yes, I could tell you the seat number, but I’d prefer to keep it to myself!)

The group played Alberto Ginastera’s Concerto for Strings and Astor Piazolla’s Cuatro Estaciónes Porteñas (Four Seasons). Both are relatively modern pieces that I had not heard before. My initial expectation favored the Piazolla, which would be confirmed by the concert. The Ginastera was nevertheless interesting, and I was glad that the group performed such an interesting piece that seemed in some sections to pit the violins against the lower frequency stringed instruments in a back-and-forth exchange that was at times complementary and other times on the verge of violent. At some point, I peered up at the reflective ceiling over the hall, and watching the distorted image of the orchestra playing in the ceiling added to the eerie quality of the piece.

The Piazolla Four Seasons was a great piece, especially as it featured four of the young violinists who all had clearly different personalities that seemed to fit the season to which they were assigned. The piece starts in the summer, and since this is Buenos Aires, one can imagine a sweltering atmosphere, which is well-captured in the music. The soloist here was dressed for the tango and commanded the stage quite brilliantly — a showperson for sure. I believe it was autumn that was fittingly played by another girl who appeared much calmer, with perhaps a hint of shyness that again seemed to fit the season well. All four of the soloists, along with the orchestra as a whole, were clearly talented musicians. Their passion was on display, and though there were a few noticeable technical miscues, these are easily curable and did not detract from the overall enjoyment.

To have a young artistic community like NEC who perform regularly for free is an under-appreciated sector of Boston arts, especially at their level of quality. I look forward to a great season of their performances.

Evening Sun photo by James Robinson

Turnovers. Rebounds. Fouls. Free three shooting.

The last was a reason for concern over the weekend for Mount St. Mary’s, seeing as though the team went 7-for-17 against American on Wednesday.

But after a 24-for-28 performance in a 63-44 win over Loyola on Saturday at Knott Arena, it seems that facet has been corrected.

Jeremy Goode went 15-for-16 and Jean Cajou put in 5-for-6. They represent the backcourt for the Mountaineers.

If Mount head coach Milan Brown could get that consistent touch every game, he believes they’ll be in a good position.

“If they were 20-for-23 from the free throw line, that’s great because they’re making them and we’re also getting there,” Brown said.

He later commented on Goode, who at one point was 12-for-12 and was creeping up on the school’s all-time individual game record of consecutive made free throws, which was 14-for-14.

He later missed in his first attempt after reaching that mark, but finished with 15, which is tied for sixth all-time in the category of most free throws made in a game.

“Sometimes he shoots like that,” Brown said. “That was big for us. We tried to make a big effort in making sure we shot free throws. We do them every day and it’s just a matter of us trying to stay locked in. And I think it speaks to him, being a senior and being in those situations.”

Goode realized he was hitting at a decent clip, but he had no idea his performance was reaching a crescent in Mount history.

Heading into the season, the senior point guard from North Carolina had told Brown of his intentions from the charity stripe.

“Before the season, I told coach I would be an 85-percent free throw shooter,” Goode said. “I told him that. I meant it, I said it plain. I don’t know. I worked on them. The last game was actually the first game where I missed a free throw, against American. I was upset that I missed it. And then I missed three that game. This game I tried to lock in, be more focused.”

The Mount return to action on Wednesday at Knott Arena, where they will face Niagra at 7:00 p.m.

Unified Technologies is growing and we’re looking for VoIP/PBX Technicians, Low Voltage/Network Installers, and Sales Professionals.

Unified Technologies delivers exceptional service through its dedicated, skilled group of employees with over 400 years experience, and we’re looking to expand our team with qualified customer-focused individuals.

For more info, click here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8k52UQzQNw

Nov. 20 – Hitachi introduced a Business Analytics methodology named "Experience Oriented Approach", since from last August.  With this way, the company consolidated processes and skill needed for agreements with customers, using clouds based on their design teams in home electronics divisions.

In addition,those kinds of BA are used in NEC, Fujitsu and IBM.

J <http://itpro.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/COLUMN/20091105/340136/>

Electrician CE Course and State Requirements:

Alaska: Electrical Administrators are required to take 8 hours of continuing education per category every two years, based on the current state adopted codes. Electrical Journeyman are required to take 16 hrs of continuing education every two years, of which at least eight hours must be based on the current codes and eight hours may be “industry related.”

Arkansas: All licensed electricians are required to take 8 hours of continuing education every code change, the hours must consist of NEC Code Updates.

Delaware: Electricians must complete 10 hours of continuing education (min 5hrs NEC code) every 2 years on June 30th (even years).

Florida: Fourteen hours board approved continuing education each biennium prior to renewal period for both certified and registered contractors is required. One hour must be in workplace safety, one hour must be in business practice, one hour must be in worker’s compensation, one hour must be on an Advanced Module of the FL Building Code. One hour must be specifially related to laws and rules regulationg the contstruction industry (effective 9/1/2007).

Idaho: Each Master and Journeyman electrician with a license expiration date of July 31, 2005 or later must provide 24 hours of continuing education, 16 of which must be on the 2005 code changes, in order to renew their licenses.

Montana: All licensees are required to complete 16 hours of continuing education (8 hrs of NEC Code, and 8 hours industry specific). Renewal period is July 15th every even year. Next renewal is July 15th, 2010.

New Mexico: The Construction Industries Commission, at its January 18th, 2008 meeting approved the adoption of the 2008 New Mexico Electrical Code (NMEC) which adopts and amends teh 2008 National Electrical Code (NEC) as the minimum electrical code for the State of New Mexico. Te effective date for enforcement is July 1st, 2008. Any project that is permitted after July 1st, 2008, shall comply with the 2008 NMEC and 2008 NEC.

North Carolina: All Electricians in North Carolina must complete either 4 or 8 hours depending on classification, of Continuing Education every year, half of which can be done online. We can certainly help you with that portion!

Oklahoma: There are no present requirements for this industry. YouTrainOnline.com does however offer NEC 2008 Code Update for Oklahoma, a 6 hour course. Click here for Demo.

Oregon: There are no present requirements for this industry. YouTrainOnline.com does offer ten Electrician CE packages, five 4.0 hour courses and the OSHA 10  Hour General Industry Outreach Training Program (for all states, not just Oregon). Please click here for Electrical Fundamentals Demo.

Texas:  Important Information About Continuing Education Requirements  for the following Electrician License Types; Master Electrician, Journeyman Electrician, Master Sign Electrician, Journeyman Sign Electrician, Maintenance Electrician, Residential Electrician: To renew the listed electrician licenses Title 8, Occupations code, Chapter 1305, Section 168 required the completion of 4 hours of TDLR -approved continuing education (CE) courses during the term of the current license. The required hours must cover the National Electrical Code (NEC) and Texas state electrician laws and rules. Courses may be delivered in many different formats including the Internet and traditional classroom. Note: Apprentice Electricians, Electrical Contractors, and Electrical Sign Contractors are not required to have continuing education for their license renewals. For more info please visit www.license.state.tx.us/electricians/elecce.htm

Vermont: All licensed electricians must complete 15 hrs of board approved Continuing Education every 3 years.Vermont Dept of Public Safety.

Washington: All electricians must complete 24 hrs of Continuing Education with a minimum of 8 hours on Code Changes. As of Jan. 1st,  2005, 4 hrs of the CE must be on the currently adopted Revised Code of Washington and its related Administrative Code (WAC).

Wisconsin: There are no present requirements for this industry. YouTrainOnline.com offers a 4.0 hr Electrical Fundamentals Course, Lockout/Tag Out basics, Electrical Safety and NFPA 70E.

Auch die Nase voll von den teuren Spezialbatterien, die Fernbedienungen so gerne fressen? NEC setzt aber nicht auf Solarenergie, sondern auf die Fingerkraft des Publikums.

Das ist mal ein völlig neuer Ansatz: Der Druck auf die Tasten wird in elektrische Energie umgesetzt, was ausreiche, um die Datenübertragung zum Fernsehempfänger zu erledigen. Damit könne die gemeinsame Fernbedienung von NEC Electronics (NECEL) und Soundpower niemals ohne Saft sein. Das Leben haucht ein solches Modell wohl nur aus, wenn zu stark/zu oft gedrückt wird, es zu viele Stürze auf den Boden gibt oder Kleinkind/Haustier dem Gerät den Garaus macht. Doch halt, noch steht die Erfindung in den Startlöchern. Bis zur Marktreife könne noch das ein oder andere Jahr vergehen. [Ralf]

[Asiajin]

NEC haut in Netbook-XP-Kerbe

NEC liefert ersten USB 3 Controller

Courtesy of Mount St. Mary's sports information

While starting senior point guard Jeremy Goode had a great line of 17 points, five assists and three steals, the Mountaineers (1-1) need to feel impressed with the way 6-foot-5 Kelly Beidler played. In the Mount’s first two games, the small forward has shown an ability go after the boards hard while giving the team a nice scoring touch as well.

He had 10 points and eight rebounds against Oklahoma last Saturday and followed up with 14 points and eight boards against American.

Beside Goode, Beidler is presenting a nice second scoring option.

In due time, 2-guard Jean Cajou will find his shot. But it wasn’t quite there Wednesday, as he went 3-for-7 and 1-for-4 from three as he scored a scant seven points.

As for intangibles, the Mountaineers certainly had a better presence on the glass. They still were outrebounded (40-35), but the differential wasn’t as one-sided as it was against the Sooners. And the shooting was very good this time around, too, as The Mount stroked 49 percent on their shots inside three and 43 percent from behind the arc.

But a new concern has to be free throw shooting. The Mount shot 7-for-17 (41 percent) from the line, which is absolutely horrific for a Division I team, let alone a high school club. That just needs to get better, no question about it.

Notes: Failed to mention this in my last post about the team, but against Oklahoma, Bermudian Springs graduate Mike Harvey was able to get on the floor. The former Eagle hit from distance, scoring his first three-pointer of the year.

Nov.19 – BIGLOBE NEC has just launched the cloud services names "Mobizo" that provides strategy planning, site building and monitoring with the cost of initial $9000 and $900 per month. In this service, any contents providers will be able to deliver music, movie and so on.

J <http://itpro.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/NEWS/20091119/340764/>

This weekend I headed over to the NEC in Birmingham for the big annual Classic Car Show.  Not only was the NEC a mere 1/2 hour drive from my place, but there was also the promise of a hang out with the boys and girls from Retro Ford.  We have a little history, so it’s always good to catch up!

The show was pretty cool, though I didn’t spend long walking round and taking pics;  mainly because I was hanging around on the stand  talking crap or catching up with people!

I have seriously been lusting after ‘Rods recently…anyone got a ‘29 Model A knocking about?

This K12 was a demo car for a Lotus specialist..no, really. It was running a 300 bhp step-cam motor out of a Sunbeam !  Now may be a good time to out myself as someone who thinks these K12s have real potential.

Alpina 5 was one of my “cars of the show” needed decking until the crossmember fell off though.

I was also in love with this:

The MPH show was on at the same time and once in, you could walk through into the hall where it was all happening.  It was cool to check out a few moderns.

Citroen DS 11MY

Big thanks to the crew for keeping me fed, drunk and giving me somewhere to sleep!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Semoga bermanfaat

Before we get into Wednesday’s matchup with American in Washington, D.C., I want to go back to Saturday’s game against AP No. 16 Oklahoma, in which The Mount lost 95-71.

The big theme in this game was sustainable energy. When Mount St. Mary’s had it at the start of the second half, at one point cutting the score to 55-50 after a 13 point deficit at half, it showed that The Mount could play with anybody, including the ranked Sooners.

They scored the first eight points of the half, using inside play from Shawn Atupem — including a nice mid-range jumper — and fantastic defense by Kelly Beidler to pull to within five not even two minutes into the half.

A fastbreak dunk by Beidler at the 15:12 mark pulled the Mountaineers to within seven, 55-48, after the Sooners responded from the first serious run Mount gave, and two foul shots from Jeremy Goode made it 55-50 with 14:47 to go.

But that’s the closest it got.

It seems perimeter defense played a part in this one, as fouls started to accrue as time went on. The Sooners, the physically superior team, used their advantage to create fouls at an alarming rate. Jean Cajou fouled at by the end and both Beidler and Kristijan Krajina had four. The Mount had 22 fouls called against it in total, compared to Oklahoma’s 19.

Even more alarming, though, was the rebounding disparity between the teams. Oklahoma 51, Mount 30. That just can’t happen if the Mountaineers plan on making strides this season. Of course, the Sooners were a big conference team that had big time recruits. But shouldn’t be an excuse for the difference on the boards.

Beidler led the team with eight boards and Atupem added six, but the next highest player had three.

Across the board, most of the other variables stayed the same. Field goal percentage was about equal (45 OK to 43 M), as was three point percentage (37 OK, 31 M) and turnovers (15). The Mount had six more steals than the Sooners, 9-3 and four more blocks, 6-2. Though Oklahoma assisted on more of their field goals, 20-11.

It showed that while The Mount lacks one of those you-won’t-stop-me rebounding beasts, they at least have the length that can produce on the defensive end of the court.

Up next: It was a nice start for the Mountaineers on Saturday. And Wednesday should be the team’s first win, this time against American.

These two teams played last year and Mount left D.C. with a very nice 57-52 non-conference win over their Patriot League foes.

The Eagles are a nice barometer early the season, because they represent the type of team the Mountaineers will face in the Northeast Conference.

Sustainability will be one point of emphasis in this game, but so will rebounding.

We’re in the midst of our 22 straight hours live blogging ESPN’s College Basketball Marathon, although you probably should have inferred that from the title. If you want to catch up and take a stroll down Timmy Chang Memory Lane with John S, check out the Overnight Post. Tim will handle the 6 a.m. game between two of his favorite Jersey schools, Monmouth and St. Peter’s, and the 8 a.m. contest matching Drexel and Niagara. John S will be back at 10 for No. 24 Clemson and Liberty.

11:55: Well, Liberty screwed that up too. They’ll end up with 39 points, as Clemson wins the game by 40 points. Get ready for Northeastern and Siena, today’s noon game. We’ll be starting a new post at NPI, and Tim will be taking the reins back for the start of that game.

11:48: At this point, I’m basically just rooting for the teams to put up identical halves. Clemson needs to close the game on a 12-2 run, and they would have won each half 42-19. That would be pretty cool, right?

11:43: It’s a little hard to know how much to take away from a game like this, but Clemson looks like a pretty deep team. They’ve had eleven players score and are getting some nice contributions from Devin Booker, Andre Young, Milton Jennings, and Noel Johnson. If some of those guys can contribute in ACC play and tougher nonconference games, then the Tigers could be a pretty dangerous team.

11:35: The game’s getting pretty sloppy as we head into the final 8 minutes. Both teams are turning the ball over (Liberty’s got 18 on the game) and taking, and missing, bad shots. Clemson hasn’t been much better than the Flames over the last few minutes, but I think their 34 point lead is still safe. I know it’s not over till it’s over and all, but…..this one’s over.

11:25: By the way, Adrian Branch. Was that whole “willingness to compete” thing a veiled shot at Coach Taylor of East Dillon?

11: 24 Adrian Branch’s take on what Liberty can take away from this game: The negatives: They are getting outplayed in every aspect of the game. The positives: They still have “their willingness to compete.” Congratulations Liberty! You guys haven’t forfeited yet!

11:18: Booker comes out strong in the second half, scoring seven of the team’s 11 points before the first TV timeout. He’s also added a couple rebounds to give himself 11 total, along with his 12 points. Liberty got a three from Tyler Baker and not much else offensively. They kind of remind me of the Duke offense from three years ago: They’re very good at working it around the perimeter, and not much else.

11:08: I finally got one of ESPN’s Encyclopedia Trivia Questions right. Clemson has lost 54 straight times at UNC. Great, the one thing I get right is another reminder of the Tar Heels’ dominance. And this less than a week after the Harrison Barnes debacle.

11:05: The new ESPN halftime crew of Jason Williams and Doug Gottlieb is discussing the almost-upset of Kentucky last night. Apparently, John Calipari was “ecstatic” that Kentucky fell behind by 18 last night. He got to see what the team was made of. I mean, God forbid the Wildcats cruise to an easy win against an inferior team. How on Earth would we know what they are made of in that case?? Man, I still really don’t like Calipari.

10:52 AM: I don’t claim to be Bobby Knight or anything, but it seems to me that if you’re going to get outrebounded 24-11, then you ought to win the turnover battle, or shoot better than 30% from the field. Liberty doesn’t agree with me, though. I’m going to go ahead and question that strategy, since they’re down 42-19.

10:47: You know what makes a college basketball program great? The ability to replace talent. Right now, Clemson sophomore Tanner Smith seems determined to fill the gap left in Clemson’s “blindingly pale white guy with a reddish face who has a deceptively good jump shot” spot since Oglesby’s departure. He’s got five points, as the Tigers lead 39-15 at the under-four minute TV timeout.

10:40: Adrian Branch just went over the keys to playing a game this early, which apparently include “loving the game,” “shooting the ball” and “dribbling.” A bit reductive, but I can’t really say he’s wrong. I predict shooting the ball will play an integral role in this game.

10:37: Eric Collins is really enjoying this whole “no books, but a lot of Booker” thing. Apparently, Liberty cancelled classes in honor of this game. Get it? No books.

10:35: In case you wondering if Liberty replaced their departed “younger brother of a college basketball star” with another, well they did! They’ve got Eric Gordon’s younger brother Evan, who’s pulled down two rebounds, but missed three free throws already. Meanwhile, Adrian Branch is calling David Potter a “Allan Houston-type,” which makes me very excited. I, as basically anyone who ever even kind of rooted for the Knicks in the late ’90s did, loved Allan Houston.

10:28: David Potter has been Clemson’s best player for the first half of the first half (or, as the pros call it, the first quarter). He’s 4-4 behind the three-point line (shades of Mickey McConnell from Saint Mary’s). Apparently he’s a senior. But I don’t remember him at all. Either he’s made the leap, or Liberty isn’t very good.

10:22: We join the game already in progress and Clemson is already in control. They take a commanding 17-1 lead with 13:00 minutes left in the first half.

10:19: John S here again, bringing you Game #5 of ESPN’s Season Tip-Off. If you’ve been completely ignoring the ESPN announcers, we’re on Hour Eleven of the 24 Hour Marathon. Tim did a great job of bringing you the Battle of New Jersey and the Niagara-Drexel game. But now he has to prepare himself for Bill Raftery and Sean McDonough, who are calling noon game.

The 10 AM game brings us our first ranked team of the marathon, in #22 Clemson. ESPN might have Clemson at #23, but the AP has them at #22. And nobody cares about ESPN’s ranking except ESPN. Clemson lost K.C. Rivers and Terrence Oglesby from last year, but returns their leading scorer, forward Trevor Booker. He’ll be joined by his younger brother Devin this year.

Liberty, meanwhile, lost its leading scorer Seth Curry, brother of the great Stephen, to transfer (to Duke!). The Flames are pretty small, so it’ll be hard for them to be physical with the traditionally physical Tigers.

10:15: Dragons miss a three (Colds penetrated and kicked), and Benn atones for his mistake with two free throws on the other end. Niagara adds two more from the charity stripe for the final margin, 76-69.

10:10: After another Colds-activated three, Benn turns it over, deciding that, instead of calling a timeout, it would be easier to jump in the air, turn 180 degrees, and throw it off a Drexel defender. Clearly, you need those two timeout for the stretch run. Dragons have the ball down three with 20 ticks to go.

10:06: The Dragons’ actual plan: fadeaway three! And LaPhonso just referred to the “Duke Blue Demons.” He now compares favorably to Adrian Branch and simply compares to Stephen Bardo.

10:04: Drexel played defense for 20 of the 35 seconds of the shot clock, then fouled. I can’t stand teams that do this. Are players really that dumb? Niagara hits one of two and leads by five with 57 ticks left. Dragons’ plan should be for a quickish two, a defensive stop, another quick two, then you can start fouling with 20 or so left on the clock.

10:02: Looks like I spoke too soon: NU missed both freebies and Colds buried a trifecta on the other end. Between that and the free throws, you could say he’s Colds-blooded. Yeah, I went there.

10:01: Niagara just had about the best possession possible, running the shot clock down, missing a shot, getting the rebound, running the shot clock down, drawing a foul, making the first free throw and missing the second, getting the rebound, and then fouling out Leon Spencer. They’ve had the ball for over a minute, scored a point, and are going back to the line with a seven-point lead.

9:55: Austin Cooley swishes a backbreaking three at the shot clock buzzer to give the PEs a double-digit lead again. Niagara has turned the switch back on, it seems, and looks about ready to put Drexel away. It’s 67-59 at the under-4 timeout. Benn leads the way with 17 and 12 for NU.

Surprise of this game? LaPhonso Ellis. He’s done a nice job. I’d even go so far as to say he compares favorably to other swingmen-turned-analysts such as Stephen Bardo and Adrian Branch.

9:42: The Niagara fans chanted “You won’t make this!” at Gerald Colds, who proceeded to nail two free throws. Boy, do they have egg on their faces. Spencer, meanwhile, missed another chippy in the lane–the second time this half he’s missed something Sciambi described as “point-blank.” Each time, NU has scored the next possession. Those are killer changes of momentum. Spencer’s layup could have made it a two-point game; instead, it’s 60-51 Niagara with 7:50 to go.

9:37: Drexel has missed a few open looks that could have really tightened the score. On the other end, Niagara’s interior passing–which was very impressive in the first half–has not been crisp in the second half. More turnovers (four) than assists (one) this half for the PEs.

9:32: We’ve got ourselves a basketball game. A Shannon Givens three pulls the Dragons within five at 51-46, taking advantage of an extended Niagara drought. (Ha, you see the irony there? How could Niagara have a drought? There’s literally tons of water there!)

9:24: After closing the first half with a buzzer-beating layup, Bilal Benn opened the second period with a three to put NU up 15. The Purple Eagles have looked a little sluggish since that opening possession of the half, but the same could be said for Drexel. The Dragons have pulled it back to 47-36, although they can’t keep missing free throws. Look for them to try to go through Leon Spencer on the block, now that Bruiser decided he didn’t need to keep him on the bench with two fouls anymore. (I’m not a fan of coaches who automatically sit guys with two fouls for the entire half.)

9:20: The best thing I’ve seen today is easily that blocks are being called a lot more often than charges. I’m not lying or being sarcastic when I say the 1:1 ratio at which those calls have been made the last few seasons is my least favorite thing about college basketball. They instituted a new rule this year where you can’t slide under the basket for a charge, which is basically like having the semi-circle they have in the NBA without actually going to the effort of painting it on the court. While I haven’t seen any calls made because of the new rule, maybe making that call correctly (it’s not a charge unless the guy has some semblance of position) is a point of emphasis this year. Correctness should always be emphasized, in my opinion.

9:05: How dare you, ESPN? You just ran the exact same halftime show you ran two hours ago. Rece, Hubert, Digger, and Jay aren’t actually awake right now! I am outraged!

In the meantime, since you can’t get their first-half thoughts, you’ll have to settle for mine:*

• Even when it was behind early, Niagara established the pace it wanted. It got Drexel in foul trouble, wore down the shorter bench, and started pulling away later in the half.
• Bilal Benn was held down for much of the half but really came to life toward the end. You can see why he’s a first-team guy in the MAAC.
• The Purple Eagles look good enough to hang with a team for about 25-30 minutes come March, or until their lack of size is exploited. Of course, that’s if they can top Siena in the MAAC.
• Drexel doesn’t exactly look bad, but when you can’t hang athletically with a team from the MAAC, it probably doesn’t bode well for its chances in the CAA.

*Or go searching for some other blog commenting on the 8 a.m. Niagara-Drexel game. Yeah, good luck.

8:56: Now, I was blocked a lot of times in my career. Like I said, I was no “Bruiser” in the paint. But I was NEVER blocked by two people simultaneously, let alone THREE as Jamie Harris just did. Seriously, he went up for a layup, and no fewer than three Purple Eagles made contact with the ball. Jamie Harris shouldn’t drive the rest of the game.

A Benn layup at the buzzer gives Niagara their largest lead of the game at a dozen. It’s 42-30 at the break, and the Purple Eagles outscored the Dragons 34-13 after falling behind by nine early.

8:52: NU has stretched it to 10, as Bruiser Flint calls a timeout. What are the physical prerequisites to earn the moniker of “Bruiser”? I’m pretty sure 5-foot-8, 160 pounds, and white probably doesn’t cut it for me.

8:46: Preseason MAAC first-teamer Bilal Benn scores his first points from the line before getting his first field goal a possession later to put the Purple Eags up six. LaPhonso Ellis explains that Drexel is “doing what we would do” in denying Benn the ball. Who is the “we” in that sentence? Him and Sciambi? Him and the 1994 Nuggets? It can’t be the latter: You don’t need to deny the ball when you have Dikembe Mutombo. You funnel to the middle.

8:40: NU by two with just over five to play in an entertaining first half. Drexel has managed to stay close despite some foul trouble and multiple missed dunks.

8:32: Rob Garrison just went cookie jar on Chris Fouch before assisting on a Demetrius Williamson to give the Purple Eagles a 23-18 lead. Garrison already has 10 points, which is two shy of Travis Taylor’s game-high in the last contest. I’ll stop harping on how bad that game was now and move on to the issue of nicknames. Has anyone ever seen a purple eagle? And what’s going on with Niagara’s logo?

I think Bilal Benn pulled off a rare triple-dribble a few possessions ago.

8:27: After a 9-0 run pushed Drexel out to the lead, Niagara has responded with a 9-2 spurt of its own to cut the deficit to a bucket at 17-15.Already, this game is being played at a much higher level than its predecessor in Jersey City (due mainly to Monmouth, btw). Niagara scored off a nice inbounds play; I don’t think Monmouth ran an inbounds play in their game. The pace is fast, players are finishing in traffic… you might even say this is a more “organized” basketball game.

P.S. If I’m a minor college basketball player and my name were Derrick Thomas, I’d definitely wear No. 58.

8:14: It’s 9-6 Drexel early, but the game is being played more at Niagara’s pace. This is the first of two matchups between the MAAC and Colonial today, with Siena and Northeastern coming up at noon. It’s a big day for the two conferences. The Colonial has more respect nationally, but the MAAC has been on an underreported rise (checking if you read the Monmouth-St. Peter’s portion of the live blog) and is favored in both games. Niagara is picked No. 2 in the MAAC while the Dragons are picked to finish seventh in the CAA.

My favorite part about Niagara basketball coach Joe Mihalich is that he isn’t afraid to sport a hairstyle hair not seen since Edward R. Murrow took down Sen. Joseph McCarthy. The Purple Eagles are wearing gray this morning, which doesn’t look terrible, but doesn’t look good either. Drexel’s navy unis, meanwhile, look like a Nike S.o.D., which I oppose, although I’ll admit they have some pretty cool font on the last names.

Niagara is playing without its leading returning scorer, Tyrone Lewis. Talking about Lewis’ defensive prowess, Ellis says, “At 5′10″, he had eight blocked shots…” (ME: WHAT? THAT’S INSANE! AGAINST WHO?) “…last season.” (ME: oh).

8:04: Game 2 of our Morning Session (and No. 4 of our marathon) pits Drexel and Niagara against each other at the Gallagher Center in upstate New York. Jon Sciambi–ESPN’s Atlantic-10 guy and the Atlanta Braves’ play-by-play guy not named Chip Caray–and LaPhonso Ellis–who hasn’t been heard from since the 1994 NBA Playoffs–are manning the mikes this morning.

7:55: SPC ekes it out, 58-34. Welsh credits the Peacocks’ defense, but I think the list of reasons Monmouth only scored 34 points looks like this: THE GAME WAS AT 6 A.M.!

Waite missed four more field goals and a free throw before the end of the morning, meaning he attempted 21 shots today to score his four points. He’s comically bad right now; you know, like Manos: The Hands of Fate. Welsh still credits him for “making things happen.” He neglects to define those “things” as “missed shots” and “changes of possession.”

I’m looking forward to Drexel and Niagara.

7:45: Peacocks are on a 20-7 run; more problematic for Monmouth, SPC has been on a 53-30 run since the start of the game.

Ed Waite is 1-for-11 from the field. If you add in his (I think) 1-for-4 from the foul line, I think it becomes safe to say that Ed Waite has a had a poor game this morning. More like Ed “Dead” Waite, am I right?

Oh, Bobby Wischusen called out the guy behind him dancing to “Seven-Nation Army.” He’s getting fussy about being up so early.

7:36: I haven’t seen this many airballs since I attended a JV girls’ basketball game at my grade school when I was in sixth grade. That game ended in a 19-0 shutout. Monmouth has almost twice as many turnovers as field goals, and we’re 30+ minutes into this game! That’s a weird stat when a team has four turnovers and two FGs. But it’s still a one-score game, so long as we use Abraham Lincoln’s definition of “score.”

By the way. the Star-Ledger’s Steve Politi really beat me to the punch on Ryan Bacon jokes this morning on his Twitter. Clearly a cornucopia of material I missed.

Welsh mentioned that Kentucky-Miami (Ohio) thriller and talked about how the RedHawks are pretty good, and what a tough opener that was for UK. But nobody talks about how tough an opener it was for Miami (Ohio). They had to play at Kentucky!

7:28: It’s 38-23, SPC, and I have nothing to say about what’s happening on the court. So let’s discuss commercials!

Hockey player Fernando Pisani now does ads for ulcerative colitis? The fact that Fernando Pisani is doing their ads just tells me: Cool. Not that many athletes have ulcerative colitis.

ESPN also advertised for the MLS Cup between the LA Galaxy and Real Salt Lake, the latter of whom became the second “crossover” team in as many years to make the finals. You know why “crossover” teams are never respected? Because leagues like MLS use them. I expect Pierre to take this up shortly.

7:19: St. Peter’s ran its patented “aborted alley-oop in which the leaper tips it back to the guy cutting to the basket” play. Nobody does that better than the Peacocks. They follow it up with a transition dunk from Ryan Bacon to build their largest lead of the game at 37-23.

Waite’s last post pass to Taylor looked like a throw from JaMarcus Russell; a 10-foot pass was about four feet off-target.

7:15: It’s 31-18 SPC after four minutes of play in the second half. Let’s say the halftime “adjustments” haven’t been readily apparent yet. Here’s some more criticism of Travis Taylor: In his three touches this half, he’s missed a layup, had a shot blocked, and missed a dunk. He has almost no presence on the defensive end. He is still Monmouth’s best player.

The Hawks have a tall, lumbering white guy wearing No. 2 who was just called for an over-the-back foul; I didn’t realize Josh McRoberts had fallen this far! His real name is Dutch Gaitley, and if he spelled his last name differently, I’d call him Don for the rest of the game.

7:07: Since, unlike John S, I’ve got no qualms with the halftime performance of Rece and Co., here’s a list things I couldn’t believe John S didn’t mention in the overnight:

• That Northern Colorado punting scandal. I would have led with that!
• Hawaii’s on-again, off-again relationship with the “Rainbow” qualification of its Warriors.
• That apostrophe in Hawai’i. How do we feel about that?
• Steve Fisher is STILL coaching San Diego State???
• The potential for June Jones’ SMU team to return to Hawaii for the Aloha Bowl.
• St. Mary’s Australian connection.

6:59: My analysis of the first half: St. Peter’s is a lot better than Monmouth. The Peacocks have moved the ball crisply on offense for much of the half, and their aggressive man-to-man defense has really taken MU out of anything it wants to do offensively.

The biggest (viz. long-term) problem for the Hawks is that what they want to do offensively is work the ball through Travis Taylor, who is good enough to draw a double-team at this level but not good enough to exploit it. Taylor’s passes out of the double are rarely prompt or delivered with accuracy. Of course, it doesn’t help when the guys you’re kicking to are regularly airballing trifectas.

I was serious when I said St. Pete’s looks about as good as I’ve ever seen them (take that with a grain of salt), but the MAAC is really in the midst of an underrated rise–it’s probably one of the top 15 most underreported stories in college basketball. Siena, who we’ll see at noon, has won a Tourney game two straight years; Niagara is a strong No. 2 in the conference; and Rider, who boasts the conference’s preseason POY in Ryan Thompson (younger brother of Rider alum and current Sacramento King, Jason), already beat Mississippi State.

6:52: Nice sequence at the end of the half, as an airballed three from Monmouth is answered on the other end by an airballed three from St. Peter’s. Maybe they should do these marathons in January, when the teams are actually playing well?

Peacocks, 27-16, at the break.

6:50: The Hawks are 4-for-20 from the field, including Taylor’s 3-for-5. But they’ve been getting to the line, where they’re a in-relative-terms-just-as-bad 8-for-14. Even the Jersey City crowd recognized this, chanting “We make free throws” since the Peacocks are 3-for-4. I’m gonna call small sample size. Not coincidentallly, MU is down 11.

Speaking of free throws, after badly one, Waite launches a corner three the next time down. Yeah, because if you can’t make a shorter shot with no one guarding you, you should probably move back and try a harder one.

6:38: The Peacocks’ 16-2 run over nine minutes comes to a merciful end, but St. Pete’s is still up, 24-14. The key for Monmouth since the last TV timeout has been that it’s taken a shot on a majority of its possessions. That’s really an underrated aspect of basketball games. Can’t win if you’re not taking shots.

The Hawks’ Ed Waite was a standout high school football player at Pinecrest High in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., which is where my college roommate went. I have nothing to add.

St. Peter’s’* coach is John Dunne. If that were an “o” instead of a “u,” I would have had a better joke here. MU’s Dave Colloway could be on the hot seat, having finished in the bottom half of the NEC the last three seasons after giving Villanova a run in the NCAA Tourney as a 16-seed in 2006.

*Lost on the proper punctuation here.

Wischusen kicks it to Marysol Castro from Good Morning America for a weather report: Nice cross-promotion, ESPN/ABC! Welsh talks about how “New Jersey people want it all.” I’m sensing an unfair generalization. I only want some of it.

6:29: St. Peter’s is really working MU’s matchup zone right now. I’m probably not qualified to make this argument, but I’d say this is the best Peacocks’ team since Keydren Clark graduated. Remember Keekee?

The Hawks, meanwhile, are doing things like committing offensive fouls and dribbling off their feet. I wouldn’t really call it “organized basketball,” if you know what I mean.

Welsh mistakenly calls Monmouth’s new stadium the “Multipurpose Athletic Center.” This is a forgivable mistake given that it’s actually the “Multipurpose Activity Center,” which sounds like a special corner of a kindergarden classroom. Yeah, we’ve got an easel with some crayons right next to some fingerpaint and a few sleeping bags for nap time.

6:23: The Peacocks have an early 12-7 lead, getting some easy looks on their end of the floor on the inside while Monmouth has been running its offense through Travis Taylor, who, though he may be the Hawks’ best player, isn’t very good. If it looks like Taylor doesn’t really understand “organized basketball,” it’s probably because this is his fourth year of playing it.*

*I don’t really understand the phrase “organized basketball.” Am I more experienced in “organized basketball” than Travis Taylor because my intramural league had refs?

Wischusen and Welsh are well-stocked on coffee, which I imagine Bob needs to help recover from that Jets’ loss on Sunday. Plus, he’s sneaking this in before calling the MAC Football Game of the Week tomorrow night on ESPN, matching Central Michigan and Ball State. Welsh mentions that he saw both teams play Seton Hall, which is his coy way of hinting to the Seton Hall administration that if Bobby Gonzalez doesn’t work out, Timmy Welsh has a lot of time on his hands.

This is probably where I should mention that I’ve actually attended a Monmouth-St. Peter’s game in person: Back in November 2004, the hometown Hawks prevailed on a Marques Alston buzzer-beater by one. Good times.

6:14: This is the second game of an apparent NJ Round Robin, with both teams having lost to Seton Hall. Monmouth lost by 15 while the Peacocks had the Pirates down late, only to lose on a buzzer-beating running three by Eugene Harvey. In the controversial NJBCS, St. Pete’s is third and Monmouth fourth, behind the Hall and Rider, who knocked off Mississippi State.

Early highlight from Bob Wischusen and Tim Welsh* calling the game:

WISCHUSEN: Here’s Monmouth’s starting lineup, but this is a team that could bring its two best players off the bench.

WELSH: Well, Travis Taylor is certainly Monmouth’s best player, but (some guys whose names I didn’t catch do come off the bench and are pretty good).

*The killer W’s. Can we call the them the Quads?

6:05: Top of the mornin’ to you on this, well, I can’t tell what the weather is: It’s 6 a.m. and dark. There’s not a whole lot that gets me awake this early on a Tuesday, but a battle of Jersey powerhouses Monmouth and St. Peter’s is clearly near the top of that list.

It’s really a contrast in styles: Sprinsteen vs. Sinatra, the Parkway vs. the Turnpike, the Suburbs vs. the Urbs. Needless to say, it’s one of the biggest rivalries in Jersey college basketball, largely because these are two of only eightteams that play Jersey college basketball–and that’s including NJIT.

Of course, we hard-core Garden Staters are stuck having to watch this crappy NoCo-Hawaii game. Can’t college basketball institute that NFL rule; you know, the one where they take you away from the end of an exciting game to show you the start of a local one? We need more of that rule.