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Schools that have never made the NCAA Tournament — the 2018 edition
Posted on February 25, 2018 by Sandlapper Spike
Previous entries on this subject: The 2017 edition The 2016 edition The 2015 edition The 2014 edition The 2013 edition The 2012 edition The 2011 edition The 2010 edition
All season records through February 25
As the regular season comes to a close in Division I basketball, the next two weeks will be filled with action, as conference tournaments begin across the nation. March Madness will arrive, with teams dreaming of boogieing down on the biggest dance floor of them all, the NCAA Tournament.
Most of those dreams will not come true; most of them won't come close to coming true. There are 351 D-1 institutions that play men's basketball, and only 68 of them will make the NCAAs. For some of those schools, though, the failure to make the tourney is a common occurrence — in fact, it is all they have ever known.
There are 29 schools that have been full members of Division I for at least a decade, but have never made a trip to the NCAAs. Now, there are 14 other schools in the division that have also never crashed the party, but there is a distinction to be made between schools that are fairly recent arrivals in D-1 (such as Central Arkansas or Bryant) and longtime never-beens (like Hartford or Western Illinois).
Of those schools with 10+ years in D-1 but no bids to show for it, 17 of them have been in D-1 for 30 years or more and are still waiting. For fans of UMKC, Stetson, or Denver (just to name three such schools), watching the CBS selection show with no vested interest in the brackets is a sad but seemingly inevitable tradition.
When I started writing about this topic in 2010, I listed the twenty schools with the longest waits for an NCAA tourney bid. That was eight years ago. Sixteen of those schools are still waiting to hear their name called on Selection Sunday. One of the four institutions no longer on the list, Centenary, eventually dropped out of D-1 after 50 years, never making the tournament.
However, there is hope. No fewer than five first-timers made the field of 68 in 2017. Two of them were relatively new to Division I (North Dakota and Northern Kentucky). UC Davis had been in D-1 since 2005, so it had bided its time, as had Jacksonville State (a member of the division since 1996).
Then there was Northwestern, one of the "Forgotten Five". Now the Forgotten Five is known as the Forgotten Four, as the Wildcats became the last major-conference school to make an initial appearance in the NCAAs.
Before diving into this year's rundown of the longtime non-invitees, there is another list of schools worthy of mention. There are numerous institutions that have made at least one NCAA appearance, but haven't been back to the tournament in at least 20 years. A few of those schools have actually waited longer for a return to the NCAA tournament than most of the no-timers.
First (or perhaps last?) among this group of schools is Dartmouth. In both 1942 and 1944, the Big Green advanced to the NCAA title game. Dartmouth has made seven total appearances in the tournament, but last made the NCAAs in 1959.
That unfortunate streak will continue for another year, as the Big Green will not qualify for this season's Ivy League conference tournament.
Other schools that have made at least one appearance in the NCAA Tournament, but haven't been back since 1998 (or earlier) while continuously in D-1:
Tennessee Tech (last made the NCAAs in 1963), Columbia (1968), Bowling Green (1968), Rice (1970), VMI (1977), Duquesne (1977), Furman (1980), Toledo (1980), Loyola of Chicago (1985), Brown (1986), Jacksonville (1986), Marshall (1987), Idaho State (1987), Marist (1987), Loyola Marymount (1990), Idaho (1990), Louisiana Tech (1991), Towson (1991), St. Francis-PA (1991), Rutgers (1991), Howard (1992), Georgia Southern (1992), Campbell (1992), Fordham (1992), East Carolina (1993), Rider (1994), Tennessee State (1994), Tulane (1995), Canisius (1996), Colgate (1996), Drexel (1996), Montana State (1996), Northern Illinois (1996), Portland (1996), San Jose State (1996), Santa Clara (1996), ULM (1996), Western Carolina (1996), Charleston Southern (1997), Fairfield (1997), Texas State (1997), TCU (1998), Eastern Michigan (1998), Illinois State (1998), Navy (1998), Nicholls (1998), Prairie View A&M (1998), and San Francisco (1998).
Of note: Seattle (which made the NCAA championship game in 1958 thanks mostly to Elgin Baylor, but which last made the tournament field in 1969) and Houston Baptist (a tourney team in 1984) both left Division I and then later returned. Thus, they haven't been in D-1 for all the years after making their most recent NCAA tourney appearances.
Seattle spent 15 years out of D-1, so it has not made the tournament in 34 non-consecutive Division I seasons. Houston Baptist has been absent from the NCAA tournament for 12 non-consecutive D-1 seasons.
Of the teams listed above, TCU is the only one with a reasonable chance of receiving an at-large bid this season. Indeed, the Horned Frogs have had a very solid 2017-18 campaign, and are likely to make the field.
Other schools mentioned above that would be favorites, or at least realistic contenders, to win their league tourneys: Loyola of Chicago, Idaho, Campbell, Marshall, Towson, Toledo, Illinois State, Nicholls, and Navy.
Now it is time to begin the rundown of the schools that have never made the NCAAs in at least a decade of trying. As mentioned earlier, there are 29 such schools.
The NCAA Tournament began in 1939. In 1948, the NCAA reorganized itself, and established separate divisions (college and university) for its member institutions. Of the schools that since 1948 have continuously been in what we now call Division I, four have never made the tournament field. All of them theoretically could have been in the tournament beginning in 1939, so for these four schools the wait is actually longer than their history as official members of Division I.
Due to Northwestern finally breaking through last season, this group of schools is now known as the "Forgotten Four". The class of 1948 (or 1939, if you're so inclined):
– William and Mary: William and Mary has been to its league championship game nine times in its history. Every time, it would have received a bid to the NCAAs with a victory.
The Tribe is 0-9 in those games. Two have come in the last five seasons.
This season, William and Mary has an overall record of 18-11 (11-7 CAA). The Tribe won't be favored in the league tournament in Charleston, and has a brutal bracket (Towson, and if it wins then probably College of Charleston in the semifinals).
However, the Tribe is an excellent offensive team. Two games of hot shooting could put W&M in the conference final yet again.
– The Citadel: The Bulldogs have lost at least 20 games in seven of the last eight years, including this season's campaign (10-20, 5-13 in the SoCon).
At one point this year, it appeared that The Citadel might be finally turning the corner. It didn't.
– Army: The Cadets (13-16, 6-12 in the Patriot League) will be a major underdog in their conference tournament, as they were last year. In fact, Army has been 6-12 in conference play in each of the last two seasons.
If the Black Knights were to beat Loyola of Maryland on Wednesday, they would face top seed Bucknell on Thursday. That does not bode well for continuing to play over the weekend.
– St. Francis College: It has been three years since the Terriers were one game away from the NCAA tournament. Things didn't go well that night for St. Francis.
This year, SFC is 13-17 overall, 10-8 in the NEC. The Terriers are much improved from last season, when they didn't even qualify for the league tournament. As the five seed, SFC would probably have to win three road games to win the conference tourney. Unlikely, but not completely impossible.
Next up on the list of teams never to have made the tournament: "The Dour Duo", two New England state schools that have been members of D-1 since 1962. Both are members of the America East conference.
– New Hampshire: In their previous three seasons, the Wildcats won a combined 59 games. UNH could never get past the league tourney semifinals, however.
This season, New Hampshire is 10-19 (6-9 in the America East), and has lost four straight games. Back to square one.
– Maine: Over the past five years, the Black Bears have won 6, 3, 8, 7, and (this season) 6 games.
New Hampshire and Maine play each other in the Hockey East tournament's opening round, which may be of more interest to the two schools right now.
The rest of the rundown:
– Denver (D-1 from 1948 to 1980, then back to the division in 1999): Denver is 14-14 overall, 8-6 in the Summit League. The conference tournament is being held in Sioux Falls, and the two South Dakota schools (USD and SDSU) are the favorites.
According to kenpom, Denver has a 2.8% chance of winning the league tournament. Hey, it's better than no chance at all.
– UT-Rio Grande Valley (class of 1969): Whether it has been known as UT-Pan American or UT-Rio Grande Valley, hoops success has always been hard to come by for the school located in southern Texas.
This year's 15-15 record (6-7 in the WAC) is an improvement over recent years, as the Vaqueros had not broken the 10-win barrier in their last four campaigns. Expecting UT-RGV to make much noise in the league tournament may be a bit much to ask, at least this season, with New Mexico State the solid favorite in the WAC.
– Stetson (class of 1972): This year has been fairly typical for the Hatters, which are 12-19 overall, 4-10 in the Atlantic Sun. Stetson did make the league tournament this season, but that is only because the A-Sun is down to eight members (the Hatters will be the 7 seed).
As always, this post will note that the school's most famous basketball player is the late Ted Cassidy. You rang?
– Grambling State (class of 1978): After being arguably the worst D-1 basketball program of them all over the last decade, this has been an excellent year for GSU hoops. At one point the Tigers won 11 straight games and held the nation's longest active win streak, which deservedly grabbed a lot of attention.
Alas, Grambling State is banned from postseason play due to APR issues, so it will be at least another year before the Tigers can make their first NCAA tournament appearance.
– Maryland-Eastern Shore (D-1 in 1974-75, then back to the division for good in 1982): Three years ago, UMES won 18 games. Outside of that one spectacular outlier of a season, however, the Hawks have lost at least 20 games in fifteen of the last sixteen seasons, including this year (6-24, 2-13 in the MEAC).
– Youngstown State (D-1 in 1948, then returning to the division in 1982): The Penguins are 8-23, 6-12 in the Horizon League.
It is puzzling that YSU, a school with a significant winning tradition in football, has never been successful in basketball at the D-1 level. (The same could be said for Grambling State, too.)
– Bethune-Cookman (class of 1981): The Wildcats are 17-12 overall, 11-4 in the MEAC. That league mark currently leads a very balanced conference (at least at the top).
Bethune-Cookman has won five straight games and would love to carry that momentum into The Scope for the MEAC tournament. Could this be the year for the Wildcats?
– Western Illinois (class of 1982): The Leathernecks are 12-15 overall, 3-11 in the Summit League. Earlier, I mentioned that kenpom gave Denver a 2.8% chance of winning the Summit League tournament.
WIU has a 0.2% chance.
– Chicago State (class of 1985): In the two seasons before this one, the Cougars had a combined total of four D-1 victories. This year, Chicago State has none. The Cougars are 2-28 overall, 0-13 in the WAC.
On the bright side, CSU's women's basketball team recently broke a 59-game losing streak.
– Hartford (class of 1985): The Hawks are having a fine season. Hartford is 18-11 overall, 11-4 in the America East.
WCSC-TV sportscaster Kevin Bilodeau and the rest of Hartford's faithful fans are hopeful this could be the year, but Vermont is the kingpin in the AE, and will be very hard to beat. That said, only Hartford alum Dionne Warwick knows for sure what the future holds.
– UMKC (class of 1988): UMKC is one of a fistful of WAC schools that have never been to the NCAAs. The Kangaroos are ahead of Chicago State in the "likely to break through" category, but that's not saying a whole lot.
UMKC is 10-20 this season, 5-8 in league play. However, the Kangaroos have won four of their last five games and could be tough to bounce in the conference tournament.
– Sacramento State (class of 1992): Sacramento State is 6-23 overall, 3-13 in the Big Sky. This isn't going to be the year.
– UT Martin (class of 1993): Last season, the Skyhawks advanced to the final of the OVC tournament, only to lose to a fellow never-been, Jacksonville State.
This season, UT Martin (10-21 overall, 5-13 OVC) did not even qualify for the league tourney.
– Quinnipiac (class of 1999): The Bobcats are 10-20 overall, 7-11 in the MAAC. There are no polls that have QU as the favorite to win the league tournament.
– Elon (class of 2000): The Phoenix are 14-16 overall, 6-11 in CAA play. Elon will be playing in an opening-round game of the league tournament, and thus has to win four games to emerge with an automatic bid. Odds of that happening are not good.
– High Point (class of 2000): High Point (14-15 overall, 9-9 Big South) is one of about eight teams that could conceivably win the Big South tournament. HPU does have a disadvantage in that it has to win four games to claim the conference tourney title, instead of three. However, the preliminary game is a home matchup against 6-25 Longwood, so the extra contest may not be an overwhelming burden.
– Sacred Heart (class of 2000): The Pioneers finished the season 10-21, 5-13 in the NEC. They did not quality for the league tournament, so Sacred Heart will have to wait for at least one more year.
– UC Riverside (class of 2002): UCR is currently eighth in the Big West standings with a 3-11 conference mark; overall, the Highlanders are 8-20.
The last-place team in the Big West does not get to play in the league tournament, so UC Riverside may need to win one of its last two games to ensure it advances to the conference tourney.
– Fort Wayne (class of 2002): The Mastodons (possibly the best nickname in D-1) are 18-13 overall, 7-7 in the Summit League. Fort Wayne is a solid outfit that won't be favored to win the conference tourney, but won't be an easy out either. Earlier this season, Fort Wayne beat Indiana 92-72 — in Bloomington.
Besides, as I always say: Mastodons may be extinct, but you still can't count them out.
– Gardner-Webb (class of 2003): The Runnin' Bulldogs are 14-17 overall, 9-9 in the Big South. As mentioned in the comment about High Point, there are about eight teams that have a realistic shot at winning the Big South tournament. G-W is one of them, and will face Winthrop in a quarterfinal contest played in Asheville, NC.
While Gardner-Webb has wins over both of the top two seeds in the league tourney, Winthrop (the 3 seed) swept the Runnin' Bulldogs this year.
– Savannah State (class of 2003): The Tigers are only 13-16 overall, but are 10-4 in the MEAC. Savannah State is moving to Division II after the 2018-19 season, so this is one of just two remaining years in which the Tigers can make the NCAA tournament.
Originally, APR issues were going to keep SSU from participating in postseason play this season, but the school got a waiver. That means the nation's fastest-paced team (the Tigers average almost 85 possessions per contest) will have a chance to win the MEAC tournament. They could be a serious threat in Norfolk.
– Lipscomb (class of 2004): The Bisons are 20-9, 10-4 in the Atlantic Sun. Only Florida Gulf Coast had a better conference record than Lipscomb. Of course, that was true last year as well, and FGCU won the league tournament (with Lipscomb losing in the conference semifinals).
Lipscomb has won five in a row and nine of its last ten. One of those victories was a road win over FGCU. After a couple of near misses, perhaps this could be the year of the Bisons.
– Longwood (class of 2008): The Lancers are 6-25 overall, 3-15 in the Big South. After finishing last in the conference during the regular season, Longwood (which has lost 12 straight games) plays at High Point in a preliminary round tournament game. I wouldn't put a lot of money on the Lancers advancing to the conference tourney quarterfinals.
A quick list of other Division I schools in search of their first NCAA tournament invitations, but which haven't been full D-1 members for 10 years: Bryant, Central Arkansas, Kennesaw State, NJIT, Omaha, South Dakota, USC-Upstate, Utah Valley State, SIU-Edwardsville, Presbyterian, South Dakota, Massachusetts-Lowell, Incarnate Word, Abilene Christian, and Grand Canyon.
The last four schools on that list (Grand Canyon, Abilene Christian, Incarnate Word, and Massachusetts-Lowell) just completed their D-1 transitional phase and are eligible for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time.
Of the "newbie" institutions, the best bets to win a conference tourney are South Dakota (which won the regular-season title in the Summit League) and Grand Canyon (the WAC school has a chance to finish with 20 regular-season victories).
Conversely, Bryant (3-28 overall, 2-16 in the NEC) did not qualify for its league tournament.
Can any of the longtime no-timers finally break through this year? Sure. There are several that would seem to have a reasonable chance of winning their respective league tournaments.
I would pay particular attention to Bethune-Cookman, Hartford, Savannah State, and Lipscomb.
If any of the never-beens make it, my main worry is that they could be forced into one of the play-in games (better known as the PIGs).
As I've complained about repeatedly, the play-in games limit the tournament experience of the automatic qualifiers. It is both unfair and unnecessary. If the PIGs have to exist (and there was nothing wrong with the 64-team tournament), at least make the last eight at-large teams play in them, as opposed to four teams that get automatic bids.
Automatic qualifiers should always, always be in the main draw — the real tournament.
Good luck to all the teams dreaming the biggest of dreams.
Filed under: Basketball | Tagged: Army, Bethune-Cookman, Denver, Elon, Forgotten Four, Fort Wayne, Gardner-Webb, Grambling State, Lipscomb, Maine, Maryland-Eastern Shore, NCAA Tournament, New Hampshire, Northwestern, Quinnipiac, Sacred Heart, St. Francis, Stetson, The Citadel, UC Riverside, UMKC, UT-Rio Grande Valley, William and Mary, Youngstown State |	Leave a comment »
Updated: The 2017 Edition
Previous entries on this subject: The 2015 edition The 2014 edition The 2013 edition The 2012 edition The 2011 edition The 2010 edition
All season records are through February 28
League tourney time is right around the corner, with the regular season drawing to a close for most of the nation's conferences. That means it's time for March Madness, with schools across the country striving to making the promised land, the NCAA Tournament.
Most of them will not succeed. After all, there are 351 institutions that play men's basketball at the Division I level, and only 68 of them will make the NCAAs. For some of those schools, though, the failure to make the tourney is not just a brief blip in their respective hardwood histories.
There are 33 schools that have been members of D-1 for at least a decade, but have never appeared in the NCAAs. Now, there are other schools in the division that have also never made the Big Dance, but there is a distinction to be made between schools that are recent arrivals in D-1 (like Central Arkansas or Bryant) and longtime no-nos (such as Hartford or UMKC).
Of those schools with 10+ years in Division I but no bids to show for it, 17 of them have been in D-1 for 30 years or more and are still waiting. For fans of schools like Denver, Maryland-Eastern Shore, or Stetson, the annual tradition of watching Selection Sunday with no vested interest has become a numbing experience, if not a depressing one.
History shows that it is hard for these schools to break through. When I started writing about this topic in 2010, I listed the twenty schools with the longest waits for an NCAA tourney bid. Of those twenty, seventeen of them are still waiting. One of the three no longer on the list, Centenary, simply dropped to Division III after 50 years of frustration.
However, there is hope, as the other two schools dropped off the list because they finally made the tournament last season. For UC Irvine, which had been in D-1 since 1978, the dream was realized when it won the Big West tourney title. The program had lost in the conference championship game on four previous occasions.
Meanwhile, Buffalo (a D-1 member for 26 years, and continuously since 1992) won the MAC tourney and earned its first trip to the NCAAs in the process, having come very close several times before but never quite getting over the hump. Both UCI and Buffalo lost close games in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season, but at least they got there.
Before starting this year's report on the longtime no-timers, however, there is another list of schools worthy of mention. There are numerous institutions that have made at least one NCAA appearance, but haven't been back to the tournament in at least 20 years. A few of them have been waiting longer for a return to the NCAAs than the majority of the never-beens.
First (last?) among this group of schools is Dartmouth. The Big Green was the national finalist twice (in 1942 and 1944), and has made five other appearances in the tournament. However, Dartmouth last made the NCAAs in 1959. That streak will continue for at least one more season, as the Big Green has already been eliminated from the Ivy League title race (and that conference has no postseason tournament).
Next up (down?) is another member of the Ivies, Yale, which has not appeared in the NCAAs since 1962, the last of three trips for that program. However, the Elis are currently in first place in the Ivy League, and stand a decent chance to get that long-awaited return trip (after narrowly missing out last season).
Tennessee Tech (last made the NCAAs in 1963), Columbia (1968), Bowling Green (1968), Rice (1970), VMI (1977), Duquesne (1977), Furman (1980), Toledo (1980), Loyola of Chicago (1985), Brown (1986), Jacksonville (1986), Marshall (1987), Idaho State (1987), Marist (1987), Oregon State (1990), Loyola Marymount (1990), Idaho (1990), Louisiana Tech (1991), Towson (1991), St. Francis-PA (1991), Rutgers (1991), Howard (1992), Georgia Southern (1992), Campbell (1992), Fordham (1992), East Carolina (1993), Rider (1994), Tennessee State (1994), Tulane (1995), Canisius (1996), Colgate (1996), Drexel (1996), Green Bay (1996), Montana State (1996), New Orleans (1996), Northern Illinois (1996), Portland (1996), San Jose State (1996), Santa Clara (1996), ULM (1996), and Western Carolina (1996).
Yes, twelve schools that appeared in the 1996 tournament have not been back since, which is more than a little flukish.
Note: Seattle (a finalist in 1958, but with no NCAA appearances since 1969) and Houston Baptist (made the tourney in 1984) both left D-1 and then later returned, so they haven't continuously been in the division after making their most recent NCAA tourney appearances.
Last year, Northeastern and SMU both made the NCAAs after long absences. They had last made the field in 1991 and 1993, respectively.
Besides Yale, teams on the above list with a reasonable chance to make it back to the NCAAs this season include Furman, Toledo, Jacksonville, Marshall (still trying to overcome the Curse of Randy Nesbit), Oregon State, Louisiana Tech, Towson, Tennessee State, Green Bay, and Northern Illinois.
Of course, it's possible none of the above-mentioned schools return to the tournament. Most of them would have to win their conference tourneys to get a bid. An exception to that might be Oregon State, which holds the dubious distinction of suffering from the longest current tournament appearance drought of any power 5 school save Northwestern.
Speaking of the Wildcats, it is time to begin the rundown of the schools that have never made the NCAAs in at least a decade of trying. As always, we start with the Forgotten Five.
The NCAA Tournament began in 1939, with the final that year held in Evanston, Illinois (which must really annoy Northwestern fans). In 1948, the NCAA reorganized into separate divisions (university and college) for its member institutions. Of the schools that since 1948 have continuously been in what is now Division I, there are five which have never made the tournament field.
All five of those schools theoretically could have been in the tournament beginning in 1939, so for them the wait is actually longer than their history as official members of Division I. (This is just one of many crushing items/statistics about these institutions' basketball histories.)
The five schools are known as "The Forgotten Five". The class of 1948 (or 1939, if you want to get overly technical):
– Northwestern: It is hard to believe a school in a power conference could fail to get an at-large bid in all this time, especially with the expansion of the tournament, but Northwestern has made believers of us all.
Of the 65 schools in the top five leagues (counting Notre Dame as an ACC member), 52 have made at least one appearance in the NCAA tournament over the past five years. That's 80% of all power-conference schools.
Of the thirteen that haven't, only six haven't made the tourney over the past seven years: South Carolina (last made the NCAAs in 2004), Auburn (2003), TCU (1998), Rutgers (1991), Oregon State (1990), and Northwestern. (It should be noted that TCU and Rutgers haven't continuously been members of a power conference during that seven-year stretch.)
If you're wondering how a major-conference school could somehow manage to miss out on the tournament for so long, it's fairly simple: Northwestern hasn't had a winning record in Big 10 play since 1968. That may be a more amazing mark of futility than the failure to make the NCAAs.
Northwestern's struggles in conference action is a tidbit mentioned in John Feinstein's recent article in The Washington Post on the Wildcats' hoops program, one of a series of stories on the Forgotten Five over the past few weeks in that newspaper (all authored by Feinstein).
This season, Northwestern is 18-11 overall, but only 6-10 in league play. The Wildcats' only chance at an NCAA bid this season is to win the Big 10 tourney, and they won't be able to play Rutgers in every game.
– Army: Not only was 1968 the last time Northwestern finished with a winning record in the Big 10, it was also the year Army turned down an NCAA bid and played in the NIT instead. It wasn't a bizarre decision by any means (as Feinstein relates in his piece on Army hoops).
[Tangent: the last school to turn down an NCAA bid was Marquette, in 1970, a move made by the remarkable Al McGuire, who should be the subject of a major motion picture sooner rather than later. Schools are no longer allowed to decline NCAA bids to play in the NIT, a tournament which is now owned by the NCAA.]
Army went undefeated in 1944 (15-0), but didn't play in any postseason tourneys; wartime travel restrictions played a role in that. Would the Black Knights have received an NCAA invite in an era in which the tournament only included eight teams? We'll never know.
As for this year, Army is 18-12 overall, 9-9 in the Patriot League. A run through the league tourney may not be probable, but it is possible.
– The Citadel: The Bulldogs have now lost 20+ games in five of the last six seasons, though this year's campaign (10-21 overall, 3-15 SoCon) has been a little different, given it was the first season in Charleston for Duggar Baucom and the frenetic style of play he employs (as detailed in John Feinstein's school profile). Regardless, The Citadel will have to wait for at least one more year.
– William and Mary: In my opinion, the Tribe is the Forgotten Five program that most deserves to break through and make the NCAAs. The past two seasons have been tortuous, as excellent William and Mary squads have fallen one game short of the Big Dance.
This year, the Tribe is 19-10 overall, 11-7 in the CAA. I wouldn't be surprised to see William and Mary in the league final for a third consecutive year. The problem is that the Tribe is 0-9 all-time in conference championship games (in three different leagues).
– St. Francis College: John Feinstein's story on the Terriers includes a memorable quote from the school chaplain prior to last season's NEC title game, which was hosted by St. Francis:
We've been in the desert longer than Moses. The end is near.
Moses eventually got out of the desert. St. Francis College, not so much.
There isn't likely to be any relief for SFC this year, either. After being just one game away from the oasis last season, in 2015-2016 the Terriers are 15-16 overall, 11-7 in the conference.
Perhaps St. Francis can make another tournament run. One gets the sense, though, that the window of opportunity (at least for right now) may have closed.
Next up on the list of the dance-averse are two New England universities still in search of an initial NCAA bid despite being members of D-1 since 1962. As a hardwood tandem, they are known as "The Dour Duo". Both are members of the America East conference.
– New Hampshire: The Wildcats are 18-11 overall, 11-5 in conference play, and have clinched a second consecutive winning season (after not having any winning campaigns in the previous 20 years).
Stony Brook is the league leader (more on the Seawolves later) and will be favored in the conference tourney. However, UNH cannot be completely dismissed. New Hampshire probably has one more opportunity next season to break through with its current group of players, but sometimes it's easier to arrive a year early. This could be that year.
– Maine: On the other hand, it has been another tough season in Orono, as the Black Bears are 8-21 (4-12 in league play). That is better than last season (3-27), to be fair.
Maine will have to wait at least one more year (a sentence that will be repeated, with minor variations, several times in this post).
– Denver (D-1 from 1948 to 1980, then back to the division in 1999): The Pioneers are 15-14 overall, 7-9 in the Summit League. This season has been better than last year for slow-slower-slowest Denver (only two other Division I teams average fewer possessions per contest), but a surprise run through the league tournament seems unlikely.
– UT-Rio Grande Valley (class of 1969): If you've never heard of UT-Rio Grande Valley, don't feel too badly about it. The school formerly known as UT-Pan American merged with UT-Brownsville to become UT-Rio Grande Valley, and also changed nicknames (from Broncs to Vaqueros).
Recently, the school announced that former Texas head football coach Mack Brown will lead a feasibility study for potentially establishing a new football program. Brown is expected to recommend that UTRGV add the sport, as there are a large number of high school quarterbacks in the region who could be offered scholarships to play free safety.
On the hardwood, the school hasn't had much success over the years, regardless of its name, and this year is no exception. UTRGV is 8-20 overall, 4-9 in the WAC.
– Stetson (class of 1972): The Hatters are 10-21 overall, 4-10 in the Atlantic Sun, and ineligible for the NCAAs because of a sub-par APR score. Thus, the school's most notable hoops player will remain the late Ted Cassidy. You rang?
– Grambling State (class of 1978): The bad news is that Grambling State has only won six games this season. The good news is that the Tigers have won more games this season than they did in any of their four previous campaigns (4, 0, 5, and 2 wins).
This isn't going to be the year.
– Maryland-Eastern Shore (D-1 in 1974-75, then back to the division for good in 1982): UMES had suffered 12 consecutive 20+ loss seasons until last year's mini-miracle, which resulted in 18 wins.
Alas, this year the Hawks are 9-21 overall (6-9 in the MEAC). Eight of UMES' nine conference losses have been by single digits. The magic has left the shore, at least for the moment.
– Youngstown State (D-1 in 1948, then returning to the division in 1982): The Penguins are 11-20, 6-12 in the Horizon League. It's basically a repeat of last year's 11-21 season. In other words, time to get ready for spring football practice.
– Bethune-Cookman (class of 1981): The Wildcats are only 13-16 overall, but 9-5 in the MEAC. Could they sneak through the league tourney and grab that elusive NCAA tourney bid?
It's not out of the question. After all, this is the MEAC Tournament, which always has something for everyone, on and off the court. See pages 40-41 of this document for the men's and women's tourney brackets (the two tournaments take place over a six-day period at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, VA).
This year's entertainment at the MEAC tourney includes a tipoff concert by the "Legends of Soul" (featuring Freddie Jackson) and a pair of official after-party events, one of which is hosted by Kid 'n Play.
– Western Illinois (class of 1982): During the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, the Leathernecks won a combined 40 games. However, WIU followed up those fine seasons with 10- and 8-win campaigns, and was 10-17 this year. Western Illinois finished in last place in the Summit League and did not qualify for the conference tournament.
– Chicago State (class of 1985): The Cougars won only eight games last season. This year, Chicago State is 4-26 and has only one Division I victory, which came against…Western Illinois.
Unfortunately, right now Chicago State has much bigger problems than its basketball team's record.
– Hartford (class of 1985): The Hawks are 9-22, 4-12 in the America East. It looks like this will be another season of torment for WCSC-TV sportscaster Kevin Bilodeau and the rest of Hartford's faithful fans.
– UMKC (class of 1988): Six of the eight schools in the WAC have never been to the NCAAs. Of the six, the one having the best season (Grand Canyon) is ineligible to participate because it hasn't completed its probationary period in D-1.
We've already seen Chicago State and UT-Rio Grande Valley on this list. As for UMKC, the Kangaroos are 10-18 overall, 3-10 in the WAC. UMKC does have a win over a power conference team this season (Mississippi State), but that's probably going to be the highlight of its season.
– Sacramento State (class of 1992): Last year was a very good one for the Hornets, which won 21 games. One of those was a CIT triumph over Portland, the first postseason tournament victory in the program's history.
This year, things haven't gone nearly as well. Sacramento State is 11-16, 4-12 in the Big Sky. In past years, that would have eliminated the Hornets from league tournament qualification, but this year the conference has expanded its tourney to include all 12 teams.
– UT Martin (class of 1993): The Skyhawks are tied for first place in the OVC West, with a 10-6 conference mark (18-13 overall). It's the second consecutive solid season for UT Martin, which won't be the favorite at the OVC tourney (that will be Belmont), but would seem to have at least a puncher's chance.
– Jacksonville State (class of 1996): The Gamecocks are 8-23, 4-12 in the OVC. For the third season in a row, Jacksonville State will not qualify for the league tournament. It's kind of hard to make the NCAAs in a one-bid league if you can't make your conference tourney.
– Quinnipiac (class of 1999): At 9-20, 6-14 in the MAAC, Quinnipiac is going backwards. The Bobcats won twenty games in 2013-14 and fifteen games last season.
Perhaps in an election year, it is a bit much to expect Quinnipiac to fully concentrate on hoops when there is so much polling to do.
– Elon (class of 2000): The Phoenix are 16-15 overall, but just 7-11 in CAA play. The league tournament should be one of the nation's most competitive this year, but it's difficult to envision Elon winning four games in four days.
– High Point (class of 2000): High Point is due. This is the fourth straight season the Panthers (20-9, 13-5) have won or shared the regular-season title in the Big South. High Point also has the league's best player in John Brown.
However, Brown missed the regular-season finale with a foot injury. If he is limited (or simply unable to play) in the conference tournament, it could be crushing for HPU.
– Sacred Heart (class of 2000): The Pioneers lost 10 of their first 11 games, but things improved once conference action began. Sacred Heart is 12-17 overall, with a winning record in the NEC (11-7).
The league tourney could be a brawl. Sacred Heart is a potential sleeper.
– Stony Brook (class of 2000): Over the last six seasons, the Seawolves have won 22, 15, 22, 25, 23, and 23 games. Last year, Stony Brook was very close to an NCAA tournament bid. How close? This close.
That had to hurt.
This year, the Seawolves are 23-6 overall, 14-2 in conference play — but with losses in two of their last three games.
Stony Brook will host every game it plays in the league tournament. Will this finally be the year?
– UC Riverside (class of 2002): The Highlanders won 14 games last season and are 14-16 this year. UC Riverside is a respectable middle-of-the-pack Big West squad, but winning the conference tournament might be a bit of a stretch.
– IPFW (class of 2002): The Mastodons are 23-8 overall and tied for first place in the Summit League with a 12-4 mark. The conference tournament is in Sioux Falls, which could be an issue (nearby South Dakota State being the other team that tied for first). Still, this should be a good opportunity for IPFW to make the NCAA tourney.
Mastodons may be extinct, but you still can't count them out.
– Gardner-Webb (class of 2003): The Runnin' Bulldogs are 15-15 overall, 10-8 in the Big South. It wouldn't be a total shock for Gardner-Webb to be playing for the league tournament title on March 6.
– Savannah State (class of 2003): The Tigers are 13-13 overall, 8-6 in the MEAC. Savannah State needs a few breaks to go its way in the MEAC tournament. Hey, it could happen.
– Lipscomb (class of 2004): The Bisons are 11-20, 7-7 in the Atlantic Sun. If North Florida were to be upset in the league tournament, then just about any other team in the top six could win it, including Lipscomb. I wouldn't bet the mortgage on it.
– UC Davis (class of 2005): The Aggies won 25 games last season and the Big West regular-season title. This season, UC Davis is 10-17, 5-9 in the league.
Last year could have been the year. This year almost certainly won't be.
– Utah Valley (class of 2005): Utah Valley is 12-16, 6-7 in the WAC. That isn't great, but it's better than the three other WAC teams on this list.
Indeed, the Wolverines are 6-0 against UMKC, Chicago State, and UTRGV (the three worst teams in the league). However, they are winless against the three schools expected to compete for the conference tourney title (including the favorite, New Mexico State).
Well, that's the roll call for this season. Will any of those teams finally get their moment in the sun?
Surprisingly enough, I think so. Last year it was UC Irvine and Buffalo. This year could be the time to shine for Stony Brook, or IPFW, or High Point, or maybe (after all these years) William and Mary.
One other potential first-timer not on the list is Cal State Bakersfield, which has been a full-fledged D-1 member for only six years. The Roadrunners (20-8, 10-3) are having a nice season in the WAC and could definitely challenge for the league tourney title.
As I've said many times before, if any of the aforementioned schools qualify for the NCAAs, they better not be dropped into one of the play-in games. The "First Four" chiefly serves to limit the tournament experience of the automatic qualifiers, which is unfair and asinine. If the NCAA has to have play-in games (it doesn't), make at-large teams play in all of them.
A team that handles the pressure of a one-bid league tournament and survives to garner an NCAA bid should always be in the real tournament — the main draw. Always.
Good luck to all the dreamers out there.
Filed under: Basketball | Tagged: Army, Bryant, Buffalo, Central Arkansas, Denver, Dour Duo, Forgotten Five, Gardner-Webb, Hartford, High Point, IPFW, Maine, March Madness, Maryland-Eastern Shore, NCAA Tournament, New Hampshire, Northwestern, Sacramento State, St.Francis College, Stetson, Stony Brook, The Citadel, UC Irvine, UMKC, UT-Martin, William and Mary |	Leave a comment »


text:
Q: Hiding database password in an ms access query I need to have a ms-access query which populates data from another access database which is having a password. Below is the sample query I use for this purpose.
SELECT field1, field2
FROM Table1 IN '' [MS Access;PWD=mySecretPassword;DATABASE=C:\db\database1.accdb];

I dont want to reveal the database password to any user who opens the this query.
Is there any solution to it?

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The new upcoming MBC drama series The King 2 Hearts is starring by Ha Ji Won and Lee Seung Gi, and has seen rising popularity even before the drama aired. On March 19th, 2012, production team released a set of still cuts of Han Ji Won singing on the roadside, and said that she will sing out her heart of wanting to marry in the drama, raising audience's expectation.
The King 2 Hearts is a comedy drama. Ha Ji Won who plays the role of strong female instructor in the drama had earlier published her majestic styles, and on March 19th, 2012, production team released a set of stills where she stood and sang shyly, leading to curiosity.
The crew explained that the scene will be broadcast on episode 2, is about Ha Ji Won conveying the feeling in her heart through singing a song that depicts her desire to get marry. In the drama, although she is a strict North Korean female instructor, but in fact inside her heart also has a considerable feminine side, and Ha Ji Won also has the side of spoiled and adorable in the drama, completely different from the image she portrayed when in uniform.
The singing scene was shot on the night of March 1st, 2012. The crew said before shooting, Ha Ji Won was very nervous because it's a song she never sang before, and she had been repeatedly recited the lyric and hummed the melody for several times. Once the shooting started, she wholeheartedly committed herself, perfectly interpreted the singing scene.


text:
locales = (ENV['LOCALES'] || ask('Which locales do you want to use (separate with commas if more)? [en]')).split(/[,\s]+/)
locales = [locales].flatten(1).compact.map do |locale|
  locale.gsub(/\.yml$/, '')
end

insert_into_file 'config/routes.rb', after: "Rails.application.routes.draw do\n" do
  <<-CODE
  scope "(:locale)", locale: /#{locales.join('|')}/ do
  end
  CODE
end

locales.each do |locale|
  append_to_file 'app/views/layouts/_header.slim', <<-CODE
      = link_to('#{locale.upcase}', params.merge(locale: :#{locale.downcase}), class: 'locale')
  CODE

  git rm: "config/locales/#{locale}.yml" if locale == 'en'
  get "https://github.com/svenfuchs/rails-i18n/raw/master/rails/locale/#{locale}.yml", "config/locales/#{locale}.yml"
end

default_locale = locales.first
environment "config.i18n.default_locale = '#{default_locale.gsub(/\.(yml|rb)$/, '')}'" if default_locale.present?
environment "config.time_zone = 'Europe/Paris'"

inject_into_class 'app/controllers/application_controller.rb', 'ApplicationController' do
  <<-CODE
  before_action :set_locale

  def set_locale
    I18n.locale = params[:locale] || I18n.default_locale
  end

  def default_url_options(options = {})
    { locale: I18n.locale }.merge options
  end
  CODE
end

git add: '.', commit: "-a -m 'Added #{locales.join(",")} localizations'"
log 'configured', 'internationalization'

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Tag Archives: Wild West
August 5, 2022 · 12:01 am
BUCKSKIN FRANK: HAPPY FRONTIERADO 2022
HAPPY FRONTIERADO! The first Friday of every August marks this holiday devoted to the myth of the old west rather than the grinding reality. For some of us the celebration kicks off Thursday night, for others they wait until the actual day of Frontierado to hold their festivities. Enjoy your buffalo steaks, rattlesnake fried rice, corn on the cob, tumbleweed pizza, cactus salad and more today and tonight, and enjoy the leftovers on Saturday and Sunday.
BUCKSKIN FRANK LESLIE – Franklyn Leslie, full name Nashville Franklyn Leslie, was better known as Buckskin Frank. "Nashville" was, he claimed, his actual first name, NOT a nickname.
Buckskin Frank Leslie had no connection to the popular 1800s magazine of that name, but that's one of the few questions that can be answered about this gunslinger. Which side of the Civil War did he serve on? He claimed both at various times.
Was he pro or anti-Clanton Faction during the gang war in Tombstone, Arizona? He claimed to be a Lone Wolf, and news accounts of the time do feature him in conflict with figures from both sides. He definitely killed Billy Claiborne and MAY have killed Johnny Ringo. Even his own death is shrouded in mystery.
Nashville Franklyn Leslie was born March 18th, 1842 in Texas. Virtually nothing is known about his early life and at different times he claimed to have served on each side of the Civil War. Why he left Texas is not known, either. By some accounts it was because of a family conflict but by others it was to flee a criminal past, possibly under the surname Korrigan or Corrigan.
Documentation starts to show up regarding Buckskin Frank on July 11th, 1869 when he arrived in San Francisco via the steamship Portland according to the passenger information published by the Daily Alta California.
After working as a bartender in San Francisco and possibly other California cities Leslie worked for Wells Fargo and similar outfits for a few years as a gunslinging guard before becoming an army scout under various commanders including Custer. He dabbled in law enforcement as a Deputy Sheriff and may or may not have met Wild Bill Hickok during the early 1870s, depending on which source you go by. Continue reading →
Filed under FRONTIERADO
Tagged as American West, Balladeer's Blog, blogging, Buckskin Frank, Frontierado, Frontierado Sagas, glitternight.com, Wild West
MOST LAUGHABLY WEIRD SPAGHETTI WESTERNS
With Frontierado rapidly approaching on August 5th – or for those of us who kick things off the night before – August 4th – let's take a look at some of the most obscure but laughably weird Italian westerns. And what better way to start that list than with one of the countless Spaghetti Westerns with phony Django titles?
Franco Nero starred as the original Django but sadly had just a cameo in the 2012 reboot. The original movie was a monumental success everywhere in the world except the U.S. back in 1966. There was only one other "official" Django movie (also starring Nero) but there were literally nearly a hundred false Django movies featuring different actors in the lead role (my favorite being Terence Hill) or that just plain retitled and redubbed other Italian westerns to make them seem like Django movies.
1. DJANGO KILL (1967) – Originally titled If You Live, Shoot!, this was one of the many Eurowesterns to be re-released to theaters years later as a phony Django movie just so it could clean up on the guaranteed cash cow of the Django name.
In this one our pseudo-Django finds himself involved with a kidnapped teen boy, the gay outlaws who have kidnapped and raped him (seriously), and their Wild West castle (?) where they torture their victims medieval-style, including roasting them on spits. Pseudo-Django shoots gold bullets in this flick and greedy townspeople rip open the corpses of the gunmen who fall to him just to get at the precious metal.
Even worse is the scene where the gold-hungry townspeople rip open the wounds of people who were just injured by the gold bullets, adding wince-inducing screams to the tableau. For my review of the original 1966 Django movie click HERE. Continue reading →
Tagged as American West, Bad Movies, Balladeer's Blog, blogging, Frontierado, glitternight.com, spaghetti westerns, Wild West
BEST OF FRONTIERADO'S 2021 SAGAS
Before moving on to new blog posts for the upcoming Frontierado holiday (August 5th this year), here is a guide to the most popular new entries from the 2021 celebration.
THE APACHE KID – This Native American gunslinger's life on both sides of the law intrigued a lot of people. Some saw his saga as a western Robin Hood tale when he was funneling supplies to his put-upon people on reservations. The tantalizing mysteries regarding his ultimate fate cement his immortality in the public's imagination. Click HERE.
QUEEN KITTY LEROY – She was one of the most successful female gambler/ gunslingers of the era. She was also legendary for her stage dancing and for her many marriages. Kitty's travels took her all over the west, ultimately winding up in iconic Deadwood, SD. Click HERE.
DALLAS STOUDENMIRE – The man with one of the most "westernish" first names ever, Stoudenmire served in the U.S. Civil War AND in Mexico's war against Emperor Maximilian. After that he worked as a Texas Ranger, then a wandering gunfighter and ultimately a lawman – first in Socorro, NM and in his most popular years taming El Paso, TX when it was known as "Hellpaso." Click HERE. Continue reading →
Tagged as American West, Balladeer's Blog, blogging, Frontierado, Frontierado Sagas, glitternight.com, Wild West
HAPPY FRONTIERADO! TIMELINE OF THE WICKED BURG: SIDNEY NE
Frontierado is here at last! Time for buffalo steaks, cactus salads, Tumbleweed Pizzas, Cactus Jacks, Deuces Wilds, Western Spaghetti and lots of games of Frontierado Poker. Naturally the day ends with Silverado plus a few other westerns of your choice. I usually add Posse or Once Upon A Time In The West.
And since it's a three-day weekend you've got both Saturday and Sunday to recover.
When it comes to Wild West towns places like Tombstone, Dodge City and Deadwood get the lion's share of the attention. In keeping with Balladeer's Blog's overall theme here's a look at some of the action in the neglected town of Sidney, NE. Figures like Wild Bill Hickok, Luke Short, Susan B Anthony, Whispering Smith and Dom Pedro II of Brazil passed through Sidney in its heyday. Here's a timeline of just some of the events in the town infamous as "The Wicked Burg":
April 29th, 1868 – Daniel Richardson, Thomas Cahoon and William Edmondson became the first recorded dead men buried in Sidney's Boot Hill Cemetery. All three men were killed in a clash with Native Americans.
May ?, 1875 – Susan B Anthony delivered a lecture in Sidney advocating women's suffrage.
October 24th, 1875 – At the Capitol Saloon the livery stable owner Robert W Porter and Charles Patterson got into an argument (the subject is not known) that resulted in Patterson shooting Porter to death with 3 shots. Patterson was placed under arrest. Continue reading →
Tagged as American Old West, American West, Balladeer's Blog, blogging, Frontierado, Frontierado holiday, Frontierado Poker, glitternight.com, Sidney NE, Silverado, Wild West
RUSSIAN BILL: NEGLECTED GUNSLINGER
Frontierado is this Friday, August 2nd, so just a few days left for seasonal posts this calendar year! As ever, this holiday is about the myth of the Old West, not the grinding reality.
Wolf Kahler would have made a good Russian Bill
RUSSIAN BILL – William Tatenbaum aka Waldemar Tethenborn aka Feador Telfrin was born in Russia as the son of Countess Telfrin. Russian Bill's noble birthright was confirmed by the American Consul in Saint Petersburg, Russia after Bill's death by lynching in 1881.
That's important to note because during William Tatenbaum's travels in the American West many people thought the smooth-talking Russian gunslinger was lying about being a nobleman. Apparently they assumed he was a forerunner of the 20th Century's Mike Romanoff, who became a celebrity based on his brassy – but failed – attempt to pass himself off as a member of the fallen Romanoff dynasty.
The 19th Century's William Tatenbaum might have lived a longer life if he had pursued a similar con-man's career instead of falling into the life of a guns-blazing outlaw.
While serving in the Tsar's Imperial White Hussars (cavalry) and after seeing action in the Khivan Campaign, the future Russian Bill had a violent falling out with a superior officer. The exact nature of the conflict is not known and years later the Countess Telfrin would refer to it only as "a political affair."
Bill left Russia under a cloud and at some point wound up in the American West. The wandering rogue made references to having gambled on Mississippi Riverboats and in assorted Texas towns while participating in periodic "duels" (gunfights) over ladies or related matters of "honor." Given how true Russian Bill's claims to nobility turned out to be, all the other claims he made about his mysterious past need to be taken with some seriousness.
Tatenbaum certainly looked and otherwise fit the part of the Old West Gambler better than the rougher outlaw he later became. He was described as a dandified dresser and sported expensive pistols. In addition he was well-spoken, well-educated and fluent in at least four languages, all of which would have accounted for his popularity with the ladies. His supposedly handsome face, curly blonde hair and moustache would have helped.
By the late 1870s Russian Bill was in the Animas Valley in Southwestern New Mexico Territory where he fell in with the Clanton Crime Faction, whose control extended from there to parts of Arizona Territory. Some accounts claim Bill first took to committing crimes with them to pay off a gambling debt to one of the gang. Continue reading →
Tagged as American West, Balladeer's Blog, blogging, Frontierado, Frontierado holiday, Frontierado Sagas, glitternight.com, gunslingers, Russian Bill, Wild West
FRONTIERADO FLASHMAN: FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS (1982)
Frontierado is fast approaching! Friday, August 2nd is the big day! Here's my January review of Flashman and the Redskins again since it's appropriate to the holiday.
For Balladeer's Blog's Number One Harry Flashman Novel click HERE .
For background info on George MacDonald Fraser's infamous anti-hero Harry Paget Flashman you can also click that link.
7. FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS (1982)
Time Period: Part One – 1849-1850, Part Two – 1875-1876
The Flashman novels jump around to different periods of the fictional Harry Flashman's life. This book covers his adventures with the Forty-Niners on the way to the California gold fields as well as his much later involvement in the Sioux Uprising.
Favorite Book Blurb: "The West is just wild about Harry!" (It came long before "See what I did there?" was a thing, but the sentiment still applies.)
NOTE: Once again Fraser used the structure of a swashbuckling, guns-blazing adventure story to cast his critical eye on some of the Great Names and Great Events of the 19th Century. Get ready for another generous helping of "History Noir" as only George could write it: by blending fact, fiction and satirical subtext in a way which scandalizes BOTH the political right AND the left.
And as always when viewed against the backdrop of history's major atrocities the amoral carnal and monetary pursuits of that British blackguard Harry Paget Flashman look almost harmless by comparison.
Synopsis: The plot of Flashman and the Redskins picks up immediately after the end of Flash For Freedom (1971). Still stranded without funds in 1849 America our antihero returns to the welcoming arms – and bed – of brothel madam Susie Willink. That voluptuous MILF has been bitten by the Gold Bug and invites Harry to join her and her stable of prostitutes as part of a wagon train headed to California.
Soon the expatriate British Cavalry Officer is traipsing across the continent alongside the young Kit Carson himself. Harry, Kit, Susie and their wagon train wind up negotiating with and/or fighting Pawnee, Arapaho and other assorted tribes of Native Americans as well as combating cholera, thirst and hunger along the way.
Since Fraser can never resist slipping Flashman into tantalizingly unresolved historical footnotes we get Harry's account of the mysterious final days at the original Bent's Fort. Tossed in for good measure we learn that our favorite British scoundrel was the man who supposedly taught the young Crazy Horse how to wink, which was reportedly a very UN-Oglala-like thing to do. Continue reading →
Filed under FRONTIERADO, Neglected History, Pulp Heroes
Tagged as American Old West, antiheroes, Balladeer's Blog, blogging, Flashman and the Redskins, Frontierado, Frontierado holiday, glitternight.com, Harry Flashman, Wild West
PRETTY PIERRE: GAMBLER-GUNSLINGER OF CANADA
The Frontierado Holiday coming up on Friday August 2nd is all about the myth of the Old West, not the grinding reality.
PRETTY PIERRE – Created by Canadian author Gilbert Parker, Pretty Pierre was a Canadian version of fictional American Western Pulp Heroes like Deadwood Dick and many others. Pierre was a smuggler and gambler/gunslinger whose adventures took place in Canada and Alaska in the late 1800s.
The very first Pretty Pierre story, The Patrol of the Cypress Hills, was published in The Independent in 1890. Many stories followed and were published in two collections: Pierre and His People (1892) and Pierre, A Romany of the Snows (1896).
That second collection was published in England under the title An Adventurer of the North in 1898, often leading to the mistaken belief that there are actually three separate collections of Pierre short stories but this is not the case.
Pierre was the son of a Canadian woman and a Native American of no specific designation. The Pretty One was raised by his father's people for a time then began moving in white Canadian circles. His good looks and elegant clothing earned him his nickname but he made his living as a gambler/gunslinger and as a smuggler (Think of the real-life Montana Kid, covered previously here at Balladeer's Blog). Continue reading →
Filed under FRONTIERADO, Pulp Heroes
Tagged as Balladeer's Blog, blogging, Canadian West, Frontierado, Frontierado holiday, Gilbert Parker, glitternight.com, Pretty Pierre, Wild West
TOMAHAWK TAM: FRONTIERADO SAGA
The latest Saga custom written for Frontierado, which is coming up Friday, August 2nd!
TOMAHAWK TAM – Tamara "Tomahawk Tam" Wise-Brosnan aka "The Houston Hellcat" led one of the most eventful and action-packed lives in the Old West.
Born in 1863 the ever-willful and rambunctious child ran away in a pouting huff from the westward-bound wagon train her family was traveling with in 1873. Elders from the Nevada Paiute Tribe which adopted her forever maintained that when they encountered the young lady in the desert she fearlessly walked up to them and told them she was hungry and inquired if they had any food to share with her.
Charmed by all this, the Paiute raised her as one of their own. By her teen years Tamara was a close follower of the outspoken Paiute woman Sarah Winnemucca aka Thocmentony aka Shell Flower. It was Sarah who introduced the young Tamara to Eleanor Dumont, the famous gambler/ gunslinger. Eleanor's free spirit forever after served as an inspiration for the future legend.
When she was 15 in 1878 Tamara's tribe left the reservation and found themselves in a conflict with the United States Army, the Bannock War (June-August).
The Paiute tribe under Chief Buffalo Horn could only muster around 500 warriors at the time and during one of the battles Tamara, wielding a rifle and a tomahawk, fought back against the attacking soldiers. From that day forward the newly rechristened "Tomahawk Tam" insisted on fighting alongside the men of her tribe. With her body-count increasing in every clash no one dared say her nay. Continue reading →
Tagged as Amarillo Rose, American Old West, American West, Balladeer's Blog, blogging, Frontierado, Frontierado Sagas, glitternight.com, gunslingers, Tomahawk Tam, Wild West
DEVILS RIVER WHISKEY FOR FRONTIERADO
It's no secret that Balladeer's Blog is a Lifestyle Brand. (I'm KIDDING!) At any rate the Frontierado Holiday will be here Friday August 2nd so before you know it, it will all be over for another year. Here's another brand of booze that I like to drink either straight or mixed in my Cactus Jacks: Devils River (1840).
This Texas Bourbon is created with water drawn from Devils River (Devils is plural, so no apostrophe) and is 75% corn, 21% rye and 4% malted barley. As usual I prefer Barrel Strength – I'm slamming down a 117 Proof bottle as I type – but naturally you're free to make your own selections.
Remember, to be a Frontierado Whiskey it's got to have incomparable taste PLUS be strong enough to let you blow flies out of the air right after you take a drink. Continue reading →
Tagged as American West, Balladeer's Blog, bourbon, Frontierado, Frontierado holiday, glitternight.com, Old West, whiskey, Wild West
July 16, 2019 · 12:27 am
DIAMONDFIELD JACK: NEGLECTED GUNSLINGER
Diamondfield Jack Davis
FRONTIERADO IS COMING UP ON FRIDAY, AUGUST 2nd.
DIAMONDFIELD JACK – Born Jackson Lee Davis this neglected gunslinger is a colorful example of the old west's gunmen for hire. He's also a poster child for the confusion and conflicting information that surrounds those figures. Various sources place his year of birth anywhere from 1864 to the mid 1870s and in several different states. Even the story behind his nickname is disputed as I'll deal with in detail as we go along.
Diamondfield Jack is noted for the shotgun he carried in a holster on his back, like a quiver of arrows carried by an archer. He also sported three 45 caliber pistols in holsters and coatpockets and had a Bowie knife strapped to his leg.
By the late 1880s Jack was in Colorado during the Silver Boom. In return for various killings and acts of violent intimidation he performed for the railroad tycoons and the silver mine owners he was partially paid with several uncut diamonds. Later Jack's own boasting and the usual embellishments that accompany men like him exaggerated the story to the point where he supposedly owned a hidden diamond mine near the Idaho/Nevada border. Jack cultivated the story by forever after carrying around a pocketful of uncut diamonds.
In 1892 Diamondfield Jack was in Silver City, Idaho, working for the Black Jack Mine's owners to try to shoot down chances of the miners organizing a union. After a time he was wanted for questioning in some killings in the area and laid low in the mountains for several months. Continue reading →
Tagged as American West, Balladeer's Blog, blogging, Diamondfield Jack, Frontierado, Frontierado holiday, Frontierado Sagas, glitternight.com, gunslingers, Wild West

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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text:
(212) Medea ist ein Asteroid des Asteroiden-Hauptgürtels, der am 6. Februar 1880 von Johann Palisa entdeckt wurde.

Benannt wurde der Himmelskörper nach Medea aus der griechischen Mythologie. Medea, die Tochter des Königs von Kolchis, half dem Helden Jason, das goldene Vlies zu erlangen.

Medea bewegt sich in einem Abstand von 2,8 (Perihel) bis 3,4 (Aphel) astronomischen Einheiten in fünfeinhalb Jahren um die Sonne. Die Bahn ist 4,3° gegen die Ekliptik geneigt, die Bahnexzentrizität beträgt 0,11.

Medea hat einen Durchmesser von 136 Kilometern. Sie besitzt eine dunkle, kohlenstoffreiche Oberfläche mit einer Albedo von 0,05. In rund 10,3 Stunden rotiert sie um die eigene Achse.

Hauptgürtelasteroid zwischen 100 und 200 km Durchmesser
Medea

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


A charity is connecting veterans struggling because of mental health issues with horses to promote confidence.
HorseHeard uses the animals based at the Merrist Wood College to create calmness and aid the veterans' emotional wellbeing.
"[Veterans] have experiences deep inside them, which perhaps other people cannot understand," said Andrew McFarlane, Chairman of HorseHeard.
However, horses seem to be good companions for ex-personnel dealing with mental health issues.
Horses at the Merrist Wood College are helping veterans.
Jeffrey Stockwell served in the military for 16 years before an accident left him permanently blind.
Mr Stockwell and his dog Twyford are in their fourth week of the HorseHeard programme.
"If I am really calm, then they are calm," said Mr Stockwell talking about his service dog and the horse.
"[The horse] just bent down and they gave each other a kiss," he said with a smile.
Jeffrey Stockwell is in his fourth week of the HorseHeard programme.
Andy Newell was in the parachute regiment for most of his career, but after leaving the Army in 2010 it was difficult for him to get back into civilian life.
When he joined the HorseHeard programme, he did not trust horses. That has changed dramatically.
"I destress when I am with the horses. I find it very therapeutic."
Andy Newell was first very wary of horses.
Alan Walker served in the military for 24 years.
He had a horse growing up and spending time with the animals he has loved since a young age has helped his recovery.
"There is a part that goes down the back of the horse, just above the neck muscle... you do not have to press hard, just put your fingers there and leave it, and the horse starts to relax," he explained.
"Not only you are destressing the horse, but yourself as well."
Alan Walker demonstrates what is the spot to touch to destress horses.
The charity has been helping anyone in need all over the United Kingdom for five years, but going forward with the veteran programme will require funding.
Compared to the financial, social and emotional cost of supporting jobless or isolated veterans, the cost of the programme is "repaid many times over", said Mr McFarlane.
"It helps them moving towards a settled, civilian life."


Dénomination enregistrée: Pimachiowin Aki Corp.
Pimachiowin Aki is a nonpprofit organization comprised of five First Nations working together toward a common goal: to protect, preserve and gain international recognition for one of the world's most important boreal forests.
This proud name is shared by our nonprofit partnership of the five First Nations of Poplar River, Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi, Pikangikum and Bloodvein River. Our goal is to safeguard and gain international recognition as one of the world's most important boreal forests.


The UK events industry is currently worth £36bn … Britain for Events aim is to grow it to £40.8bn by 2020.
In an increasingly digital world, events bring communities together – face to face. They share a common belief, a passion or hobby, through a shared industry or as part of a local, national or international community. Events make things happen. They ignite ideas and knowledge. They progress education and understanding. They create and enrich the communities they serve. They bring investment to the country and local communities.
The campaign remains the most inclusive self promotional campaign for the UK events industry and continues to lead the way in creating a more competitive environment for everyone.
None of this would be possible without the support of the Business Visits and Events Partnership, who are a passionate and active partner to the campaign, and the associations that make up the partnership.
Government, universities, health sector and economic development agencies now see business tourism as a key tool for helping to grow our knowledge economy and attract international investors, researchers, media, students and business leaders.
•Garner cohesive opinion of these stakeholders and to collectively influence and develop the policies, practices and strategies that support and generate growth in the sector.
•Raise sector awareness through clear communications of the social and economic benefits of the business visits and events sector.
It comprises: Conferences, meetings, exhibitions, trade-fairs, incentive travel, corporate hospitality as well as other business, sporting, cultural and festival events.
It represents: 530,000 employees and is worth £36 billion annually.
•The Ministerial Bid Support Initiative.
•UK Trade and Investment's Events Alliance.
•All Party Parliamentary Group Report on UK Event Competitiveness.


Black Friday…Small Business Saturday….Cyber Monday….Giving Tuesday…..why not Winning Work Wednesday, too? Make today the day you review and perhaps revamp the career story you are telling the world on LinkedIn.
Today, on Winning Work Wednesday, your challenge is to take 10 minutes to read and reflect on your LinkedIn profile. This is the version of you that can be seen, read and judged by millions of complete strangers every single day. How thrilling and scary is that!?!?
First things first, do you have one for each? If not, upload asap. These images can be really persuasive in their storytelling power, so choose images that reflect and represent you. A picture really is worth a thousand words.
Do not over analyze this folks. Perfect is the enemy of the good. Unless you are trying to craft a very particular story, your profile photo should be of just you (this is not Facebook) and reflect that you look like a happy human.
LinkedIn will give you a blah background photo as a placeholder – and while that is okay – you should use this valuable real estate to tell your story. Make sure the photo makes sense for you and who you are professionally.
Basic headline should be your current job title and current company name. Straight-forward, simple.
Upgraded version of your headline would be a combination of words that encapsulate your passion, your purpose, the work headline you'd like everyone to see right below your profile photo. Mine, for example, is Winning Work + Helping People. These are two things I care deeply about.
Major thematic accomplishments – what have you become an expert in? What sets you apart? What major wins have you experienced?
Contact info if you want people to be able to reach you directly. Twitter, Email, Phone, IG – if you want to be reached, add it here.
Make it tight and right. Capture each meaningful career stop and any major positive impact you created along the way.
We've entered the land of education, skills, recommendations, accomplishments, interests. This is the area that people will check out and go, "Hmmmm, that's interesting." My encouragement for you here is to try to make sure people will find this part of your story interesting in the way that is positive and curious – – as opposed to the weird and sketchy way.
Your 10 minutes are up, and hopefully your LinkedIn profile is telling a strong story. If you'd like, connect with us today, and we'll give you a quick review on the house. In addition, I'd welcome connecting directly on LinkedIn too, so drop me a note!


| What, Exactly, Do You Want?
What, Exactly, Do You Want?
Suppose that you value freedom of choice. Are you committed to the mere opportunity to choose, or will you also insist that people actually exercise that opportunity? Is it enough if the government, or a private institution, gives people the option of going their own way? Or is it particularly important to get people to say precisely what they want? In coming decades, these seemingly abstract questions will grow in importance, because they will decide central features of our lives.
If employees are required to make choices about their retirement or health care plans, many of them will become educated about those topics. That may serve them well for the rest of their lives.
Here's an example. Until last month, all 50 states had a simple policy for voter registration: If you want to become a voter, you have the opportunity to register. Oregon is now the first state to adopt a radically different approach: If the relevant state officials know that you live in Oregon and are 18 or older, you're automatically registered as a voter. If you don't want to be one, you have the opportunity to opt out.
We could easily imagine a third approach. A state might decide that if you want some kind of benefit — say, a driver's license — you have to say whether you want to register to vote. Under this approach, the state would require you to make an active choice about whether to be a voter. You would have to indicate your desires explicitly.
In countless contexts, the government, or some private institution, must decide among three possible approaches: Give people the opportunity to opt in; give people the opportunity to opt out; or require people to make some kind of active choice. For example, an employer may say that employees will be enrolled in a pension plan only if they opt in. Alternatively, it may automatically enroll employees in a pension plan (while allowing them the opportunity to opt out). Or it may instead tell employees that they can't start work unless they say whether they want to participate in a pension plan.
You may think that while the decision raises philosophical puzzles, the stakes are small. If so, you would be wrong; the decision can have huge consequences. By itself, the opportunity to choose is not all that matters, because many people will not exercise that opportunity. Inertia has tremendous force, and people tend to procrastinate. If a state or a private company switches from a system of opt-out to one of opt-in, or vice versa, it can have major effects on people's lives.
For example, Oregon expects that its new policy will produce up to 300,000 new registered voters. In 2004, Congress authorized the Department of Agriculture to allow states and localities to automatically enroll eligible poor children in school meal programs, rather than requiring their parents to sign them up. As a result, millions of such children now have access to school meals. In many nations, including the United States, Britain and Denmark, automatic enrollment in pension plans has significantly increased the number of employees who participate in pension plans. The Affordable Care Act builds on this practice with a provision that will require large employers to enroll employees automatically in health insurance plans.
In light of findings of this kind (and there are many more), a lot of people have argued that people would be much better off if many institutions switched, today or tomorrow, from "opt in" designs to "opt out." Often they're right; "opt out" can be a lot better. But from the standpoint of both welfare and personal freedom, opt out raises problems of its own, precisely because it does not involve an actual exercise of the power to choose.
Suppose, for example, that a state presumes that people will be organ donors — but allows them to opt out. A lot of people, or their family members, would be troubled to learn that the state has decided, without an active choice and explicit consent, that doctors can have access to their organs. Or suppose that a large employer, focused on the plight of the poor, says that its employees will be automatically enrolled in a charitable donation program — while also allowing them to opt out. Some employees might not be so thrilled to learn that if they do nothing, they will be giving some part of their paycheck to charity — and that a change will require them to undertake the unpleasant task of saying that they want to opt out of the program.
Which brings us directly to the idea of active choosing. With respect to organ donation, pension plans, health insurance, charitable donations, and much more, the government and private firms might not present people with any kind of default setting, but might instead ask people a question that is often welcome: What, exactly, do you want?
Mill's concern was coercion, but his point applies to default settings as well. A private company or the state might lack the knowledge that individuals have. If we want outcomes to suit people's diverse situations, both opt in and opt out might go wrong, and active choosing has a great deal of appeal.
Mill had another argument on behalf of active choosing and against any use of default settings. In his account, the "human faculties of perception, judgment, discriminative feeling, mental activity are exercised only in making a choice." Mill believed that the "mental and moral, like the muscular powers, are improved only by being used." If a government or a private institution asks people to make it an active choice, it ensures the exercise of the choice-making muscle.
If you were required to choose all your phone settings on your own, you might end up frustrated and bored. You might also make a lot of mistakes.
That can be important, because it promotes learning, self-development, and human agency. If employees are required to make choices about their retirement or health care plans, many of them will become educated about those topics. They will develop a kind of capital stock — one of knowledge. That stock might serve them well for the rest of their lives.
But we should not overstate these arguments. It would be a huge mistake to take them as all-purpose reasons to embrace active choosing in preference to default rules and the formal opportunity to choose. Return to Oregon's automatic registration law. Would it really be better if Oregon instead told people that they could not get driver's licenses unless they explicitly said whether they wanted to register to vote? Or have a look at your cellphone and your computer, both of which have a lot of default settings. If you were required to choose such settings on your own, you would have to spend a great deal of time thinking about which settings were best, and you might end up frustrated and bored. You might also make a lot of mistakes.
The central point is simple: Much of the time, sensible people choose not to choose. Indeed, that is an excellent way that we exercise our freedom and flex our choice-making muscles. We do it all the time.
In ordinary life, most of us delegate a certain amount of choice-making authority to spouses, doctors, lawyers, engineers and financial advisers. We do so when and because we do not want to take the time and trouble to make decisions ourselves, and when and because we know that we lack important information. We like it when a website allows us to check that blessed box that says "do not ask me again." If we are busy — and most of us are — choosing not to choose may be the best choice of all. A fundamental reason is that it frees us to focus on our deepest concerns.
Consider the revealing words of President Obama: "You'll see I wear only gray or blue suits. I'm trying to pare down decisions. I don't want to make decisions about what I'm eating or wearing. Because I have too many other decisions to make." There is a lesson here for everyone, not merely presidents. If people were required to make active choices about all decisions involving their diets, their finances, or their health, they would have far less time to think about their families, their work, and their favorite forms of recreation.
As our institutions acquire growing amounts of data about what best suits people in their different situations, a lot of us might well become increasingly willing, even eager to choose not to choose. When is that a mistake? The answer depends mostly on two crucial factors: whether it is a big bother or instead interesting and fun to make a choice; and whether people are likely to be better or worse off if they make decisions on their own. If the question involves mystery novels, vacation spots, religious affiliations, political candidates, or romantic partners, most of us would do best to make active choices. But if the question involves computer settings, retirement plans, mortgages, or health insurance, good default rules can be a blessing, even an act of mercy, for a lot of us.
Sensibly enough, Oregon's automatic registration policy does not force people to choose. While giving them the opportunity to opt out, it turns them into voters by default. We ought to be focusing on other areas in which we now require people to opt in, if they want to enjoy valuable rights — and we ought to be asking whether it might make sense to make them rights-holders by default.


Size 90cm-130cm fits to 2-6 years.
You can mix sizes and colors, just please leave us message when you place your order.
When you order more than 3, we will ship via SF, DHL, Fedex and this kind of fast delivery.


The four stages of a square's life!
Aren't they gorgeous? 99 squares 🙂 (the final blanket will be 11 x 9 squares) yaaaay!!!!!!!!
Wishing you a colorful monday and a very happy week!
And you? What are your small pleasures of the day? Are you enjoying what you're making ?
Wishing you lovely moments whatever you're doing today !
How are you? Is it spring already in your part of the world or not yet? Is it still grey and rainy?
Oh how I love colorful yarn like that!
and making separate squares is not something heavy you have to carry on your lap..
Oh! oh! oh! These are happy squares aren't they?
and wishing you a very happy weekend!


text:
describe('Configuration', function() {

  var Popup, $q, $interval, $window;

  beforeEach(module('Satellizer'));

  beforeEach(inject(function(_Popup_, _$interval_, _$q_) {
    Popup = _Popup_;
    $interval = _$interval_;
    $q = _$q_;
  }));

  it('Popup should be defined', function() {
    expect(Popup).toBeDefined();
  });

  it('should add left and top offset options', function() {
    var options = { width: 481, height: 269 };
    var preparedOptions = Popup.prepareOptions(options);
    expect(preparedOptions.left).toBeDefined();
    expect(preparedOptions.top).toBeDefined();
  });

  it('should stringify popup options', function() {
    var options = { width: 481, height: 269 };
    var stringOptions = Popup.stringifyOptions(options);
    expect(stringOptions).toBe('width=481,height=269');
  });

  it('should open a new popup', function() {
    var open = Popup.open();
    $interval.flush(300);
    window.postMessage('testing', '*');
    expect(angular.isObject(open)).toBe(true);
  });

  it('should postMessage to window', function() {
    var open = Popup.open();
    expect(angular.isObject(open)).toBe(true);
  });
});


SAUAIA, Marília G.; LIMA, Renata G.; TEDESCO, Antônio Cláudio; SILVA, Roberto Santana da. Photoinduced NO release by visible light irradiation from pyrazine-bridged nitrosyl ruthenium complexes. Journal of American Chemical Society, Washigton, v. 125, n. 48, p. 14718-14719, 2003.
Sauaia, M. G., Lima, R. G., Tedesco, A. C., & Silva, R. S. da. (2003). Photoinduced NO release by visible light irradiation from pyrazine-bridged nitrosyl ruthenium complexes. Journal of American Chemical Society, 125( 48), 14718-14719.
Sauaia MG, Lima RG, Tedesco AC, Silva RS da. Photoinduced NO release by visible light irradiation from pyrazine-bridged nitrosyl ruthenium complexes. Journal of American Chemical Society. 2003 ; 125( 48): 14718-14719.