Ben's space

My friend Mason just gave me this info and I think everyone really needs to see this. This is a quote from his note.

You know how everyone says its impossible to get caught downloading torrents for whatever reason?? TOTAL BULLSHIT. This is my little p.s.a. about it. Last week I got caught by the MPAA downloading "zodiac", not even all that great movie. I got an email saying:
"Kent State University has received a copyright infringement notification (see the bottom section of this e-mail) from Paramount Pictures Corporation ("Paramount"). This complaint indicates that you are making copyrighted material available from your computer and/or downloading copyrighted material to your computer without the authorization or permission of the copyright owner."
I got my internet shut down for a few days until i met with a security analyst at the university. She was nice but she told me that the minimum amount I could get fined is $150,000. Ya, a little high. Luckily it is taking about 6-8 months for the MPAA to prosecute people for downloading copyrighted material, and Kent will delete my record in 120 days. Because I got caught on a University network the MPAA can't get access to my name or any information. Kent is also not on their 25 university 'hit-list' so the security analyst says I have pretty much no chance of being fined. But for everyone else out there downloading torrents (mostly/especially on you campus network), stop. Music too, because Kent is on the IRAA's 25 hit list, and last month 19 students were fined.

So, keep this in mind before you use torrents (I would also group things like Lime Wire into this. Lime Wire now has torrent access so it'll probably be watched)

Keep an eye open

Kent State [23-5 (11-2), RPI: 29, SOS: 138] Thank you. Finally, we found a team that decided to make a positive statement about its at-large candidacy. The Golden Flashes cashed in their BracketBusters chance at Saint Mary's, handing the Gaels their first home loss of the season. That was the kind of high-profile win they needed out of conference. Wins over Illinois State and George Mason could come in handy, too. The stretch run isn't easy by MAC standards, and the finale at Akron could be pretty important for the overall profile, but this smells like an at-large team right now and deserves a bump up

Credit ESPN.com

Last night, at midnight, the Kent State Men's Basketball team tipped-off against St. Mary's (California). St. Mary's was ranked #20th overall in the nation while facing the unranked Golden Flashes. When I flicked on ESPN2, who was covering the game, it was a little after one in the morning, and the second half had just begun (I was kicking myself for missing the first half). Kent State was down for most of the second half, then, with 4:33 left on the clock, KSU took a 54-53 lead on two free throws from Fisher. After two made free throws by St. Mary's, Haminn Quaintance made a layup to give us the lead for good, resulting in a 65-57 comeback victory.

This win is pretty significant for Kent State, because it gives the team a fall back option, if it were unable to win the MAC Championship. There hasn't been a MAC team that has received an at-large bid since 1999, so winning the MAC is still the best option for Kent State's basketball team. Since this is not a guarantee, I'll break down the paths to an NCAA Tournament bid for the remainder of the season.

Option 1: Win the MAC Championship

Simply the best way to get in (and prevent Akron from getting in).  The MAC Championship is settled through a tournament, not regular season record; conceivably, we could lose out in the regular season, but win the tournament, thus winning a spot in the NCAA Tournament regardless of regular season record. This, however, would not be good for us as we would fall into a low seed, in the 14-16 range, with little chance of upsetting a 1-3 seed in the first round (remember how we played against UNC? Sure, we were okay for the first ten minutes, but the last 30 were dismal). On the other hand, if we win out and then win the MAC Championship, we would go into the tournament in the 9-11 seed range, giving us a good chance of winning in the first round.

Option 2: Receive an At-Large Bid

Ok, this is the toughest way to get in, but possibly the most beneficial (I'll explain later). First of all, an at-large bid is given to those who did not win their conference, so we would have to lose the MAC to get this bid. Obviously not our first choice, as winning the MAC is the best way to get into the tournament. But, if we lose the tournament, an at-large bid is our best opportunity to get into the tournament. Like I've said, the MAC hasn't had an at-large bid since 1999, so this is only conceivable on these conditions:

Kent State wins out (last three regular season opponents: @Bowling Green, Miami (OH), @Akron).

We make it to the MAC final. Possibly a loss in the semifinals could lead to an at-large bid, if the loss was to the eventual winners, but it isn't likely. Losing a close game in the MAC final could end with an at-large bid and another MAC team in the tournament (the winner of the final).

I think this would be best for the MAC Conference, as it would give two MAC teams a chance to upend some of the Major Conference powers. Think about it, if Akron and Kent State both made the tournament and won two, possibly three games a piece, the selection committee would have to pay more attention to MAC teams when picking the participants in the tournament, giving Kent State a chance at a tournament birth, even if we're only the second best team in the MAC.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Remember, as you're watching your Golden Flashes for the rest of the season, if we lose one game, we must win the MAC Tournament to get into the tournament. So let's hope for three more wins to finish off the season so that we can all sleep peacefully at night, knowing that our Flashes should be entertaining us (and causing us to skip classes to watch them) during March Madness.

<echo>

AP Photo / Dino Vournas

I am truly freaked out. Tonight, Nick at Night, which I have previously mentioned in the last post, had an episode of Home Improvement on during the midnight time slot. This episode discussed, strange enough, UFO's. During the episode, Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor was browsing the Internet for information regarding UFO sightings and was surprised by the amount of information he found on the topic. Normally, I would completely ignore this episode and pay more attention to the Internet on my own computer, but a strange occurrence changed this.

In blogspot/blogger, you can click "Next Blog" on the top of the page to see a random blog. Within ten clicks, I had stumbled upon this site (will open in new window). World of UFO's blog! Are you serious? A site devoted to Alien Encounters/Sightings, etc.

At the exact same time that Tim Taylor was in chat room about aliens. I could not believe it. If you do not believe me, look for Home Improvement: Believe it or Not (Season 7, Episode 22).

It was coming -- I truly was aware of this. Yet I attempted to avoid it, to ignore it, to pretend that its imminent arrival was a simple mind-trick that I had convinced myself of. In a way, I think that I caused myself to become ill -- certainly not by skipping meals or inducing vomiting, but by allowing myself to slip. Let me explain, I felt sick originally, with a slight cough, and so I thought I was sick. By thinking that I was sick, I believe it caused me to become sick. I digress...

Any ways, when you are ill, your sleep schedule tends to differ from what you are used to. I have yet to fall asleep before three -- and yet to wake up before eleven. In fact, yesterday, I woke up at three in the afternoon! I can not remember a time that I have slept so soundly (which also makes me question my illness -- who sleeps this well while sick? It is certainly something that I am not used to).

Nick at Night, as I have found out, is on every night, including weekends! Not only that, they have two wonderful shows -- the Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Home Improvement -- along with one that I can sometimes stand, George Lopez. The only thing it is missing is a little bit of Saved by the Bell. For a day that included many horrible shows on television, the night certainly makes up for it.

I am trying to start a blog back up -- it's worth it, and I'll try to update it rather frequently. Maybe I'll even tell some people about it and accumulate some readers, which would be a first since the days of my ever-so-popular Xanga (which has since been deleted; I am not sure that the world was ready for such progressive ideas). The more comfortable I get with blogging as time goes on, the more outgoing these blogs will become.

I also would like to direct you to my website, provided by Windows Live Spaces, which also includes this blog and more. I plan on building that up, also, in the next couple of days. Also, there is always a chance that both blogs will not have the same entries, so it is worth seeing what is on each!

<echo>

This morning, between my first class (Research Statistics) and second (German II), a loud, scary voice began to talk, and dial phone numbers, or something, in my head. I was freaked out. I swear it was in my head, penetrating my brain...but then I realized it might be coming from the hallway. So, after gaining enough courage to take a look, thinking that there might be some sort of firefighter or something out there, I opened the door, and saw nothing. I waited for a few minutes, then I realized that, indeed, it was the hallway speaking to me. It said "This is a test." Not sure whether or not to pull out a pen or pencil to take the test, I retreated hastily into my room to attempt to ignore Mr. Hallway. It eventually stopped. Approximately four hours later, I have confirmed that it was indeed coming from the hallway, from the alarm system, as Kent State is trying to make our buildings safer. Good call, KSU, good call.

KSU Police Department offers new alert system - News