Thursday, March 22, 2012

NCAA Brackets Update - Sweet Sixteen

Update on NCAA Bracket predictions:

1)  East:
Predictions:  Syracuse v. Harvard, Cincinnati v. Ohio State
Actual:  Syracuse v. Wisconsin, Cincinnati v. Ohio State
3/4 75%

I like Syracuse and I like Cincinnati.  Probably Syracuse for the final four, but not by much.

The Cincinnati Ohio State matchup is historic, as noted yesterday in the NYT.  They met repeatedly in the NCAA in 1961-62 in the days of Oscar Robertson, Jerry Lucas, John Havlicek, Larry Siegfried, and Bobby Knight all playing for those teams (Bit O was on Cincinnati, the others were on Ohio State).

Also, this is making the President's bracket looking pretty good.  If an Ohio team makes the final four, his chances of re-election tick up at least two points.

Syracuse is names for the Ancient Greek city of Syracuse while Cincinnati is named for the ancient Roman hero Cincinnatus.  Ancient Greeks and Ancient Romans.  You can't get away from them.  The Olympic Games started in 776 B.C.

2)  Midwest:
Predictions:  NC v. Temple, Georgetown v. Kansas
Actual:  NC v. Ohio, NC State v. Kansas
2/4 50%

Well, I like NC and Kansas.  Kansas for the final four given NC's injury, but still a tough match.  Again Ohio and North Carolina.  The President's bracket looking great.

3)  South:
Predictions"  Kentucky v. Indiana, Baylor v. Duke
Actual:  Kentucky v. Indiana, Baylor v. Xavier
3/4 75%

Still like Kentucky to advance to the final four, Baylor to advance over Xavier, but Baylor and KY will be a game.

4)  West:
Predictions: Michigan State v. Louisville, Marquette v. Florida
Actual:  Michigan State v. Louisville, Marquette v. Florida
4/4 100%

Florida and Louisville advance, Louisville to final four as originally predicted.

Final four KY, Louisville, Syr, Kansas.

KY & Kansas to finals, KY wins over Kansas.

Overall:

12/16 75% correct on Sweet Sixteen predictions.

--Art Kyriazis

Did Archimedes Discover the Law of Buoyancy?

Most venerated Supreme Court Justice Bryer in his Prometheus decision (a patent case issued recently by the US Supreme Court) wrote a long aside on the fact that Archimedes discovered the law of nature of buoyancy, and that such a discovery would not be patentable under modern US Patent Laws.

But did Aristotle discover the laws of buoyancy?  Was Prometheus chained to a rock for daring to defy the Gods and bring fire to humans?  Well, some things are myth, and others are mystery, and others are merely the stuff of legend.  We shall see which is which here.

This claim to fame for our Archimedes rests primarily on two treastises attributed to our Syracusan Scholar, On Floating Bodies I, and On Floating Bodies II, and primarily to On Floating Bodies I (see Heath, The Works of Aristotle, 1953).

However, Heath, the pre-eminent historian of Greek Mathematics, points out that the only extent Greek original manuscript of Archimedes of Syracuse was, in fact, lost, and that there is and was no original Greek manuscript for the treatises "On Floating Bodies I" or "On Floating Bodies II".  Moreoever, when the noted Renaissance humanist, attorney and mathematician Tartaglia first published his Latin translation of the Works of Archimedes, he entirely omitted both these works entirely--they only appear in a later edition re-compiled from another Latin translation.

It is known that there was an anonymous Latin poem circa 500 AD which credits Archimedes with the discovery of the principle of buoyancy, but that is not, as lawyers say, the best evidence.  Moreover, Archimedes was such a legendary figure that by hundreds of years later, and in the Dark Ages, scholars were crediting him with all sorts of discoveries.

 SYRACUSE - THE GREATEST AND RICHEST OF GREEK CITIES
LAY ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF SIKILIA OR SICILY IN 
MAGNA GRAECIA.  IT WAS THE HOME OF ARCHMEDES.


 THE SCREW OF ARCHIMEDES WOULD
OBVIOUSLY HAVE BEEN PATENTABLE
HERE'S ONE ARTIST'S EMBODIMENT DRAWING
THEY DIDN'T HAVE PATENTS IN 250 BC THEY
KEPT ROYAL SECRETS AND PAID THE ROYAL INVENTOR
HANDSOMELY OR KEPT HIM LOCKED UP

Heath, the Works of Archimedes, Introduction, p. xxvii.
explaining that the manuscript of Tartaglia did not contain a greek original 
of de insidentibus aquae "on floating objects" which is the alleged source
of the claim that Archimedes discovered the principle of buoyancy

Heath, the Works of Archimedes, Introduction, p. xxvii, footnote, explaining that the extant
Greek fragments of de insidentibus aquae "on floating objects" which is the alleged source
of the claim that Archimedes discovered the principle of buoyancy are of doubtful authenticity

Critical to understanding this argument, according to Heath, is the fact that thru the Middle Ages, and even under the watchful eye of the libraries of the Eastern Roman Empire of Constantinople, only three actual works of Archimedes survived, and none of them dealt with buoyancy or on floating objects; when a greek manuscript did surface and made its way to Italy in the Renaissance, it was copied twice, but the original was lost.  It is thought that Cardinal Bessarion, the great Greek Byzantine Scholar, had a copy, but we no longer possess his copy either, and both the original and the copy have been lost, and there are currently only two copies of greek texts extant, neither of which contain the treatises "on floating objects".

Next, Archimedes wrote in a Dorian dialect.  For those unfamiliar with Ancient Greek, it was written in three main dialects--Ionian, prevalent in Asia Minor (which was mainly Greek until 1923), Attic, which was spoken most prevalently in Athens @450 BC (the so-called "Golden Age") and Dorian, which was popular in Magna Graecia (Southern Italy was mainly Greek well into Siculo-Norman and Angevin rule in the 1300s, and still retains many distinct characteristics which separate it from the Northern Italians) as well as the Pelopponese.  

Archimedes wrote in the Dorian dialect, and thus, without an original Greek manuscript, the genuineness of the two books on buoyancy can neither be admitted nor denied.  

This is the taxonomy of all the original manuscripts written during the Renaissance humanist period according to Heath:

Heath, The Works of Aristotle, Introduction, p. xxx.  

For more information on all of these, one should consult Heath.  What is critical is that the two treatises on buoyancy do not actually appear until the edition of Commandinus in 1558, according to Heath, and then only in Latin.  That does certain seem odd, considering taht there are several prior editions of Archimides as well as several greek texts extent during the 1400s in uncial manuscripts.

It seems to imply, though one cannot conclude, that these two manuscripts may or might be spurious, and that Archimedes may not, in fact, be the author of these two treatises at all.

Of course, there are many stories about Archimedes having a brilliant revelation in his bathtub about the weighing of the two crowns, and rushing down the street yelling "eureka eureka" which means in greeek, "i have discovered or found it".  It is certainly possible he solved the problem of the crowns but was not the author of the treatises.

The primary source for this is located in VITRUVIUS, a roman architect, who wrote about 300 years later, around 50 AD, the following story:


[link to English translation] 9. Archimedis vero cum multa miranda inventa et varia fuerint, ex omnibus etiam infinita sollertia id quod exponam videtur esse expressum. nimirum Hiero Syracusis auctus regia potestate, rebus bene gestis cum auream coronam votivam diis inmortalibus in quodam fano constituisset ponendam, manupretio locavit faciendam et aurum ad sacoma adpendit redemptori. is ad tempus opus manu factum subtiliter regi adprobavit et ad sacoma pondus coronae visus est praestitisse.
[link to English translation] 10. posteaquam indicium est factum dempto auro tantundem argenti in id coronarium opus admixtum esse, indignatus Hiero se contemptum esse neque inveniens qua ratione id furtum deprehenderet, rogavit Archimeden uti insumeret sibi de eo cogitationem. tunc is cum haberet eius rei curam, casu venit in balineum ibique cum in solium descenderet, animadvertit quantum corporis sui in eo insideret tantum aquae extra solium effluere. idque cum eius rei rationem explicationis ostendisset, non est moratus sed exsiluit gaudio motus de solio et nudus vadens domum versus significabat clara voce invenisse quod quaereret. nam currens identidem graece clamabat ευρηκα ευρηκα.
[link to English translation] 11. tum vero ex eo inventionis ingressu duas fecisse dicitur massas aequo pondere quo etiam fuerat corona, unam ex auro et alteram ex argento. cum ita fecisset, vas amplum ad summa labra implevit aqua, in quo demisit argenteam massam. cuius quanta magnitudo in vase depressa est, tantum aquae effluxit. ita exempta massa quanto minus factum fuerat refudit sextario mensus, ut eodem modo quo prius fuerat ad labra aequaretur. ita ex eo invenit quantum pondus argenti ad certam aquae mensuram responderet.
[link to English translation] 12. cum id expertus esset, tum auream massam similiter pleno vase demisit et ea exempta eadem ratione mensura addita invenit deesse aquae non tantum sed minus, quanto minus magno corpore eodem pondere auri massa esset quam argenti. postea vero repleto vase in eadem aqua ipsa corona demissa invenit plus aquae defluxisse in coronam quam in auream eodem pondere massam, et ita ex eo quod defuerit plus aquae in corona quam in massa, ratiocinatus deprehendit argenti in auro mixtionem et manifestum furtum redemptoris.


9. Though Archimedes discovered many curious matters which evince great intelligence, that which I am about to mention is the most extraordinary. Hiero, when he obtained the regal power in Syracuse, having, on the fortunate turn of his affairs, decreed a votive crown of gold to be placed in a certain temple to the immortal gods, commanded it to be made of great value, and assigned an appropriate weight of gold to the manufacturer. He, in due time, presented the work to the king, beautifully wrought, and the weight appeared to correspond with that of the gold which had been assigned for it.
10. But a report having been circulated, that some of the gold had been abstracted, and that the deficiency thus caused had been supplied with silver, Hiero was indignant at the fraud, and, unacquainted with the method by which the theft might be detected, requested Archimedes would undertake to give it his attention. Charged with this commission, he by chance went to a bath, and being in the vessel, perceived that, as his body became immersed, the water ran out of the vessel. Whence, catching at the method to be adopted for the solution of the proposition, he immediately followed it up, leapt out of the vessel in joy, and, returning home naked,º cried out with a loud voice that he had found that of which he was in search, for he continued exclaiming, in Greek, εὑρηκα, (I have found it out).
11. After this, he is said to have taken two masses, each of a weight equal to that of the crown, one of them of gold and the other of silver. Having prepared them, he filled a large vase with water up to the brim, wherein he placed the mass of silver, which caused as much water to run out as was equal to the bulk thereof. The mass being then taken out, he poured in by measure as much water as was required to fill the vase once more to the brim. By these means he found out what quantity of water was equal to a certain weight of silver.
12. He then placed the mass of gold in the vessel, and, on taking it out, found that the water which ran over was lessened, because, as the magnitude of the gold mass was smaller than that containing the same weight of silver. After again filling the vase by measure, he put the crown itself in, and discovered that more water ran over then than with the mass of gold that was equal to it in weight; and thus, from the superfluous quantity of water carried over the brim by the immersion of the crown, more than that displaced by the mass, he found, by calculation, the quantity of silver mixed with the gold, and made manifest the fraud of the manufacturer.b

Marcus Vitruvius Pollio:
de Architectura, Book IX


Now Vitruvius is one of the most important writers of the Renaissance, but in fact, he himself was not rediscovered until the Renaissance either--around the mid-1400s or so.

So consequently, no one really knew this story about Archimedes for a very long time, or perhaps it was known, or perhaps Vitruvius embellished it.  

What we don't have is the original papers of Archimedes published by Vitruvius.


The mere discovery or story by Vitruvius would not make Archimedes the discoverer of buyoancy, since whatever Archimedes actually knew, he told no one, and took his secrets to his grave.  

Sci Fi writer (and Greek Harvard grad Thania Papas St. John, Mather House Class of 1983) has certainly put this Eureka story to good use on her syfy show Eureka, and recently also recycled a Greek theme on Grimm with "the three coins of Zakynthos".  


The executive producers of the current season are Paglia, Charles Grant Craig, and Thania St. John. Id.



But is this all mythology, or is this empirically verifiable?  Today, scholars publish, inventors patent or keep trade secrets in a vault, and we can verify empirically.  But how can we separate myth, legend, fact and mystery with the ancients? 

Without an actual greek original text, it's really hard to say.  Heath, who is the foremost Greek scholar on Archimedes, does include the two texts on buoyancy, but his comments in the foreword also cast doubts in part on their authenticity if one reads them closely.

So this remains an open questions.

Did Aristotle discover the principle of buoyancy?  Not settled in this scholar's humble opinion, and more importantly, not really settled in Prof. Heath's text.  

If you read Wikipedia, this is one case where you really have to study the books to get it right.  Fortunately Prof. Heath's able text is available for PDF download on Google books and can be studied by anyone, though I do recommend some knowledge of geometry and ancient greek as the proofs are rigourous.

T.L.Heath, The Works of Archimedes (Cambridge, 1953) google books (scanned from U Michigan Libraries). (available for free download)

Also, one can download Tartaglia's original books in the original Italian if one is so disposed, as well.

And, if he did discover it, it was not merely a law of nature he discovered, he also disclosed a method and apparatus of weighing comparable weights of crowns to determine whether one or the other was adulterated with baser metals than gold.

So that would clearly be patentable.  Useful, nonobvious and novel and clearly an embodiment going well beyond a mere law of nature.  Since they didn't have patents in 250 BC, Archimedes and his king Hieron of Syracuse merely kept state secrets, and Archimedes just became wealthy.  

Which is why at the siege of Syracuse during the Second Punic Wars, the Romans tried to capture Archimdes--because in 250 BC, capturing the enemy's scientist was tantamount to capturing their intangible assets portfolio.  It was as valuable as looting the gold of their treasury.  

No one remotely familiar with ancient scientific or greek scientific history can possibly believe that the ancient world actually shared valuable secrets freely.  Rather, they were kept secret for the benefit of the inventor's city state, and the inventors were handsomely rewarded.  Aristotle tutored Alexander the Great, and Alexander conquered the World.  Plato was of service to many well-known tyrants, and was a known advocate of the aristocratic party.  And Archimedes was loyal to Syracuse, and constructed many novel weapons used to crash Roman ships against the rocks, and delay and nearly defeat the Roman siege of Syracuse.  He was a true hero of Greek freedom.  

Moreover, we do know that the Lord spoke to Noah in Genesis and told Noah to build an Ark, and that the flood legend is prevalent in all cultures.  And that Noah built the Ark and knew it would float when the Great Flood came.  So perhaps the principle of buoyancy, like so many other principles, was perhaps divinely revealed.  

It is commendable of Justice Breyer to look to the Ancient Greeks for inspiration in resolving a scientific question and especially Archimedes, that greatest of all Greek mathematicians.

"Except for the forces of nature herself, there is nothing in our world that is not Greek in its origin"

--Sir Henry Sumner Maine

--Art Kyriazis

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Born in Chicago - Rick Danko & Paul Butterfield (10/12/79.V)



Paul Butterfield - Harmonica, Vocals
Rick Danko - Bass, Vocals
Blondie Chaplin - Guitar, Vocals
Rick Belke - Guitar
Tom Stevenson - Piano
Ron McRory - Drums

Paul Butterfield on David Letterman 1985 Late Night

Paul Butterfield - To Tell The Truth TV Show

Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Driftin' Blues (Monterey 1967)

Fading | Teen Realistic Fiction About family, self-esteem, death/loss, adventure and road trip

Fading | Teen Realistic Fiction About family, self-esteem, death/loss, adventure and road trip

an excellent story from FELISA TIBBETTS' daughter FIONA.  Log on and vote for it! (this is a shameless plug for a friend, but hey, it's a great well written story).

NCAA Brackets Update

NCAA Brackets Update - opening round picks

1)  7/8 East region.  Harvard loses to Vandy.  Frank Friedman, Esq., Harvard & Vandy Law, messes me up here, as does a fine Vanderbilt squad.  Maybe his wife is happy.  

2)  5/8 Midwest region - Creighton upsets Alabama.  Ohio beats Michigan.  Temple, in one of the worst losses ever by a Temple team, has USF down by more than ten, goes into the locker room with a half-time lead, and proceeds to fall apart in the 2d half and lose going away to USF, a #12 seed that was tired from a play-in game.  If Temple wins, they have an easy game v. Ohio and they're into the Sweet Sixteen.  At this point, with Temple having exited in the first game of the NCAA for the fourth or fifth time in five or six tries, you really have to question whether Fran Dunphy understands what it takes to advance past the first round of the NCAA.  No one is saying he's a bad coach, but he is no where close to John Chaney in terms of advancing in the NCAA, and this is a team that is about to go over to the Big East.

3)  5/8 South region - Iowa State upsets Connecticut.  This could have been foreseen in light of Coach Calhoun's health problems all year long, but still a bracket buster.  Colorado over UNLV.  Doesn't matter because Baylor will obliterate Colorado.  Lehigh over Duke.  I love how little mattress-rolling-down-the-hill Lehigh got past big bad Duke.  The Patriot League over the ACC?  Are you kidding me?  Seriously, this just may show how weak Duke was this year, and therefore that Temple's upset of Duke didn't prove as much as we thought.  The funny thing is, Lehigh actually matches up with Xavier better than they do with Duke.

4)  6/8 West region - St. Louis bumps Memphis.  I always liked that St. Louis has a fine History dept and especially that they have a fine Byzantine Studies department.  But they will be destroyed by the Spartans of Michigan State.  Norfolk State upsets the Tigers of Missouri.  WHATTTT???.  Perhaps the biggest bracket buster.  While you want to say Florida will win next, you really want to root for little Norfolk State....

OVERALL, FIRST ROUND - 23/32.  NOT SHABBY.

will re-evaluate after the rest of the weekend is over.  Obviously Harvard & Temple will not be making it to the Final Four.....but Vandy suddenly looks very serious and has the same road Harvard had.  The Midwest looks like Kansas and North Carolina will re-assert their traditional dominance, and I will stay with Kentucky in the South and Louisville in the West, though of course Michigan State & Florida are both excellent.

--art kyriazis

Dave Philley the Ultimate Phillie Passes Away


MARCH 17, 2012

PHILLEY PASSES

Despite losing three seasons to military service, Dave Philley managed an 18 year career, playing for both the Philadelphia Athletics and the Phillies. He never hit for much power, but the switch hitter always seemed to find a job.
My thoughts go out to his family and friends.
http://baseballmusings.com/?p=80231 Entirely from the blog of DAVID PINTO BASEBALL MUSINGS Copyright David Pinto & Baseball Musings 2012 and attributions and credit to DAVID PINTO & BASEBALL MUSINGS.  

Now, my part:

Dave Philley - the Ultimate Phillie--Has Passed to 
Baseball Valhalla--He was a Philadelphia Athletic &
a Philadelhia Phillie named Dave Philley.

There will be cheeseteaks, Schmidt's Beer, old Connie Mack/Shibe Park, Gene Mauch, boo-birds, and 8th place waiting for you in baseball heaven, Dave.  
--art kyriazis (many thanks to DAVE PINTO)

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Perry Mason (2014) - IMDb

Perry Mason (2014) - IMDb

via PAUL MOTT.  Perry Mason franchise to be re-booted and in development for film in 2014.  The original Erle Stanley Gardner novels were A+++, and so was the original TV Series, which ran from the mid-1950s to the early 1960s.  Some notable points about both the books and the show:

1)  in the books, Perry Mason runs around a lot--he's not such a courtroom attorney at all.  He's more of an action guy.

2)  in the books, he and Della Street are clearly and more explicitly in a relationship.  This is something that can clearly be developed in a 2014 film.  In the books, Della is more or less an equal to Perry, and in a remake, she could be made into an attorney who is a partner to perry rather than just a "confidential secretary", though they would of course still have to have all those steak dinners.

3)  Perry & Della are never married in either the books or the TV show, but they have a relationship.

Perry Mason & Della Street

4)  The forensic science in the books and in the TV show was way, way ahead of its time--CSI ahead of its time.

5)  Lt. Tragg was aces up in the TV show and in the books.

6)  Perry never lost a case on the TV show (with a notable exception or two).

7)  Paul Drake was famous for his sportcoat collection.

8)  Perry drove a collection of terrific fifties convertibles on the TV show.

9)  Perry & Della favored steaks and martinis in the books and on the show.

10)  like modern lawyers, Perry & Della worked nights, mornings and weekends, and loved doing it.  They had no life outside of work, and even when they were on vacation, they would stumble into a homicide or two and Perry would be back on the job.

11)  Perry won all those cases without any Warren Court decisions.  He never used the exclusionary rule, or any other procedural tricks.  Instead, he relied on careful cross-examination, a thorough knowledge of forensic science, rigous private investigation to get to the real facts, and accurate assessment of the witnesses as they told their stories.  He was F Lee Bailey before there was F Lee Bailey.

12)  the original books were written as early as the 1930s.

13)  The books in hardcover first edition are now out of print and can get as much as forty to fifty dollars a copy on line.  I had a complete set at one time.  They are worth it just for the covers alone.  The paperbacks are not as good as the hardcover versions of the books.  I used to keep them in my old law office when I was practicing.  Clients loved seeing those.

14)  Perry Mason never took a client meeting without having Della Street present.  A very good piece of advice for current attorneys--never meet with a client alone.  Always have a witness and a transcript.

15)  The original TV Show was supplemented by a number of TV movies which came back in the 1980s, all of which were two hours long, and all of which were hugely popular.

16)  Prior to playing Perry Mason, Raymond Burr was somewhat of a "bad guy" or "villain" in a number of film noirs, as well as famously being in the original GODZILLA film.

17)  Many famous actors appeared in Perry Mason TV show in the 50s and 60s before they were famous.

18)  Many of the defendants in the Perry Mason TV show disproportionately appeared to be extremely attractive, but virtuous looking, young women, who didn't seem capable of hurting a fly.

19)  Many of the Perry Mason books actually dealt with complex issues of law, which were capably explained by the author in layperson's terms.  They make excellent reading for modern law students.

20)  Perry Mason is still the Platinum/Gold standard for legal fiction, in writing, film and TV.  Hopefully the franchise reboot will adhere to these high standards.

--art kyriazis

NCAA BRACKETOLOGY 2012

MY FINAL FOUR:


KENTUCKY WILDCATS#1 SEED SOUTH
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS #1 SEED WEST
HARVARD CRIMSON #12 SEED EAST
TEMPLE OWLS #5 SEED MIDWEST

KENTUCKY BEATS MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS (THE REAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME)
(ALL 300 SPARTANS DIE HEROICALLY)

Typical Heroic Spartan Warrior King Leonidas
Michigan State Class of 552 BC

HARVARD BEATS TEMPLE  (in quintuple overtime)

KENTUCKY BEATS HARVARD IN THE NCAA FINAL

(i got this straight off ASHLEY JUDD'S pick sheet) (famous Harvard & Kentucky Alum)

Ashley Judd goes nuts on the sidelines because she doesn't know who to root for!

Asley Judd is a Huge Kentucky Fan, But Also has a Harvard Kennedy School Degree!
Who will she root for when Kentucky plays Harvard in the NCAA finals????




Actress & Human Rights Spokesperson Ashley Judd is a very serious 
Kentucky Hoops fan--and also a Harvard K-School grad.  

SOUTH REGION

First round:

Kentucky
Connecticut
VCU
Indiana
UNLV
Baylor
Xavier
Duke

Kenneth Starr, Esq. President of Baylor, formerly Dean of Pepperdine Law School.
Since he became President, Baylor Football & Baylor Basketball
have taken off and Baylor Briefs are still terrific.  The Redskins just traded 
ten picks for Baylor's Heisman-winning QB.  

South Next Round:

Kentucky beats CT (GOOD GAME)
Ind beats VCU
Baylor beats UNLV
Duke beats Xavier (GOOD GAME)

South Sweet Sixteen:

Kentucky beats Indiana (GREAT GAME)
Duke beats Baylor (GREAT GAME)

South Regional/Elite Eight:

Kentucky beats Duke (CLASSIC GAME)

Yes, the Christian Laettner Duke v. Kentucky 1992 Game.  Let's upgrade any DUKE V. KENTUCKY matchup to IMMORTALS status.  And add Phaedra and Theseus to the mix.  Not to mention Coach K!

Theseus kills the Minotaur, Honors the Gods, Kils the Minotaur, 
Gets the Bow of Epirus, Defeats the Heracleans, & Gets beautiful Phaedra
The Olympic Gods defeat the Titans as well.  

EAST REGION:

First Round:

Syracuse
Kansas
Harvard
Wisconsin
Cincinnati
Florida State
Gonzaga
Ohio State


Ancient Syracuse, the Richest and Most Powerful of Greek Cities
Situated on Sikilia or Sicily, in Magna Graecia, the Greek part of Italy
Above is pictured Archimedes' Screw.  Archimedes of Syracuse was
the greatest Mathematician of Antiquity.  He invented virtually everything.

East Next Round:

Syracuse beats Kansas (Great Game)
Harvard beats Wisconsin (only SATS of 600 & higher with liberal views allowed)
Cincinnati beats Florida State
Ohio State beats the Zags of Gonzaga

East Sweet Sixteen:

Harvard beats Syracuse (CLASSIC GAME) (Lots of NYC Wagers made on this)
Ohio State beats Cincinnati (tons of Cleveland and Cincy money bet on this)

Eastern Regional/Elite Eight
Harvard beats Ohio State and reaches the Final Four!  Linsanity!

Jeremy Lin, God of Point Guards, playing for Harvard a couple years back.

MIDWEST REGION


First Round:

North Carolina
Alabama
Temple
Michigan
NC State
Georgetown
Purdue
Kansas

Midwest Next Round:

North Carolina beats Alabama (lots of southerners bet on this)
Temple beats Michigan (Philly's fab five is better than Michigan's Fab Five)
Georgetown beats NC State
Kansas beats Purdue

Midwest Sweet Sixteen

Temple beats North Carolina (shocking upset but Temple is #21 and plays good D!)
Kansas beats Georgetown (Bill Clinton is crying)

Midwest Regional Final/Elite Eight:
Temple beats Kansas and reaches the final four!  Philly goes nuts!!!!

Temple Stuns Duke 78-73 at the Wells Fargo Center on Jan 4 2012

Temple (and former Penn) Hoops Coach Fran Dunphy Shaves to Honor a Bet

Former Owls Coach & BB HOFamer JOHN CHANEY The Greatest Owl of All.
"Temple Men's Basketball' program is ranked 6th in All-Time NCAA wins with 1766, (at the end of the 2010/2011 season). They are in good company, with only Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Duke, and Syracuse having a higher total." (source:  Wikipedia Temple Owls Mens' Basketball http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Owls_men%27s_basketball).

Guy Rodgers who helped guide Temple to Final Four in 1956 & 1958.
He later played with Wilt Chamberlain for the Philadelphia Warriors.

WEST REGION

First Round:

Michigan State Spartans
Memphis
New Mexico
Louisville
Murray State
Marquette
Florida
Missouri

West Next Round:

Michigan State Spartans beat Memphis (great game)
Louisville beats New Mexico
Marquette beats Murray State
Florida beats Missouri

West Sweet Sixteen:

Michigan State Spartans defeat Louisville.
Florida beats Marquette (ghost of Al McGwire gets upset)

The original 300 SPARTANS (1962) 
Required viewing at Michigan State

Leonidas one of Michigan State's Greatest Spartans
"TONIGHT WE DINE IN HELL!!!!"


Typical Spartan Women.  The Olympia Snowe you don't know.
"Come home Victorious or on your Shield dead".  Nikites h nekros.

West Regional Final/Elite Eight:

Michigan State Spartans beat Florida (Classic Game).

FINAL FOUR

SEE ABOVE.....

Thirty Years of Biotechnology: Another Observer's Perspective | Abstract

Thirty Years of Biotechnology: Another Observer's Perspective | Abstract

My article has been published in BIOTECH LAW REPORT.  Many thanks to GERRY ELMAN ESQ. my editor for his contributions, his suggestions, his editorial corrections, his putting up with my quiddities and quirks, and for encouraging me to write these past few years.  He is a brilliant and gifted mentor.  Also many thanks to my wife and family, and many thanks to all of you who have helped me with my writing and with my life the past few years, and all my life.  The glory is God's, but we can share a few brief moments here on this earth.

St Patricks' Day

Just wishing everyone a happy St Patrick's Day.