Quarterfinals are set with three excellent matches and one potential road kill; and, yes Gordon, pic of Jason White from Scotland!
With some outstanding matches and a few blowouts, the pairings are set for the eight teams entering the knockout phase for the Rugby World Cup. The Quarterfinal matches are:
- Australia vs. England
- New Zealand vs. France
- South Africa vs. Fiji
- Argentina vs. Scotland
England had won its way in on Friday with a 36-20 win over Tonga, with Jonny Wilkinson scoring two penalties, two conversions and two drops to move to within 5 points of Scotlands Gavin Hastings for the RWC points lead. England plays long time rival Australia in what would have been a runaway for the Wallabies if not for the return from injury of Wilkinson which seems to have stepped up the play of the entire England side. (more…)
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From Wikipedia:
Synchronicity is the experience of two or more events which occur in a meaningful manner, but which are causally unrelated. In order to be Synchronous, the events must be related to one another conceptually, and the chance that they would occur together by random chance must be very small.
I was in Austin last night and, found out that (synchronicity #1) one of my favorite bookstores BookPeople was featuring a presentation and signing by Daniel Pinchbeck, author of 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl. My editor at The Global Intelligencer, which I write technology articles for, had told me about this book just recently (synch #2). My novel, Dusk Before the Dawn (which has a picture of a temple at Tikal, a Mayan city, on the cover), has many elements of what Mr. Pinchbeck discussed (Mayan culture, a sense of a change in the overall mindset of humanity, people taking a positive approach, etc.) so I was eager to listen to what he had to say (synch #3). I mentioned my book to Mr. Pinchbeck and the fact that so many of the subjects dovetailed. (more…)
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Quarter final pairings get closer, but five matches next weekend will decide who moves to the knockout round!
With five mostly blowout matches and one surprisingly close one with South Africa besting Tonga only 30-25, the Rugby World Cup setup five great matches for next weekend to decide who moves on to the next round.
Australia, winner of pool B, will play the winner of Tonga vs. England (Sep. 28). Tonga is playing well, but it is hard to bet against the English side when Jonny Wilkinson seems to be playing injury free. Wilkinson scored 24 points with 3 conversions, 4 penalty kicks and 2 drop goals, and also setup tries and overall played extremely well. He moved to second on the RWC Overall Points standing, with 206 to Gavin Hastings of Scotland’s leading 227. Wilkinson has an excellent chance to break the record in next weekend’s match with Tonga. (more…)
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An enjoyable fantasy romp that would make Edgar Rice Burroughs proud!
Paragaea is an enjoyable story with likeable characters, vivid imagery and enough homage to Edgar Rice Burroughs and other “pulp” fantasy/scifi authors to fill many volumes (and hopefully Mr. Roberson will do just that)…and also to make me want to go re-peruse my own personal library of the ERB Mars/Barsoom series, Pellucidar, and At the Earth’s Core. Paragaea is of this ilk: short quick chapters, action, adventure and quests; sometimes predictable, frequently mixing fantasy with scifi, always enjoyable. (more…)
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See my weekend one post here.
- New Zealand looked everything the favorite as they beat Portugal 108-13, even with many second tier players playing and some out of position.
- Neither Jonny Wilkinson nor his replacement Olly Barkley played as England lost the first clash of the titans to South Africa 36-0. It certainly does not look like the defending champs belong in the ranks with New Zealand, Australia or South Africa. It is likely that England’s match with Tonga (winner of their first two matches are current 2nd in pool A behind South Africa) will determine if they even get through to the quarters this go round.
(more…)
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About a month ago, I wrote a brief post on wiki-scanner and Digg buriers called Wiki Washers and Grave Diggers (catchy, eh?). A longer version of it has just been published in this month’s Global Intelligencer. Read and enjoy (and Digg it here!).
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I will admit again. I love books, rugby, martial arts, beautiful women (one in particular), and books.
Call me a geek, but if you are like me and fellow book-a-holic JohnD , you owe it to yourself to check out the gorgeous pictures of libraries around the world over at Curious Expeditions.
This is just one of their many pictures. More places to see….
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While I, like most Americans, am excited about the NFL season (especially with the hometown Houston Texans looking like a team to cheer for for a change!), I am more enthralled with watching the 3rd most watched event in the world (after the Olympics and the Soccer World Cup) - the 2007 Rugby World Cup. I played Rugby for the Woodland RFC for several years (yes, back when I was young) and have occasionally played for the Texas XXX’s vintage rugby team. Rugby and basketball are by far the most enjoyable sports I have ever played.
Like the Soccer World Cup, the Rugby World Cup takes place every four years, and there are qualifying tournaments in the time in between.
Several things to watch for:
- Can any team derail the New Zealand All-Blacks?
- Will Jonny Wilkinson set the RWC all-time points record this year?
(more…)
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I’m a guy; I like maps. History books, science fiction with complex worlds or battles, all should (and many do) have excellent detailed maps. I’m the geek who refers back to the maps while reading Crystal Rain by Tobias S. Buckell to see how far down the peninsula the Azteca have moved as they attack, or refer to Rick Atkinson’s excellent maps in his World War II liberation saga, just to remind myself where the Allies and Axis armies are.
And, yes, I have sat my blackberry on my lap with google maps loaded on it while I drive the Interstates of Texas. Even though it’s a straight shot and I know where I’m going, I like to see what’s next and how far it is. I like maps, got it?
Therefore, I like the website Strangemaps. It’s a cross between the history maps of our reality and the science fiction maps of other realities. If you haven’t checked it out, hit the link and scroll through a couple of them. Below (given my frequency of driving across Texas) is my latest fav from the site.
And, yes, this is truly how Texans view the world.
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Happy birthday, gorgeous. More beautiful on the inside and out with every passing day. You keep getting better looking, and, as we agreed 19 years ago, I don’t…. 
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