Archive for September, 2007

With several key losses by top 15 teams this week The University of Hawaii Warrior Football team moved higher in both the AP and USA Today polls.

AP 16 and USA Today 15.

Colt Brennan also stayed strong in the national spotlight despite throwing 5 interceptions in their win this weekend. He ranks 2nd in the nation in total offense yards per game and 9th in passing efficiency.

The latest rankings for the AP and USA Today Polls are below.

AP Poll
1. LSU
2. Southern Cal
3. California
4. Ohio St.
5. Wisconsin
6. South Florida
7. Boston College
8. Kentucky
9. Florida
10. Oklahoma
11. South Carolina
12. Georgia
13. West Virginia
14. Oregon
15. Virginia Tech
16. Hawai’i
17. Missouri
18. Arizona St.
19. Texas
20. Cincinnati
21. Rutgers
22. Clemson
23. Purdue
24. Kansas St.
25. Nebraska

USA Today Poll
1. Southern Cal
2. LSU
3. California
4. Ohio State
5. Wisconsin
6. Boston College
7. Florida
8. Kentucky
9. South Florida
10. Oklahoma
11. Georgia
12. West Virginia
13. Oregon
14. Virginia Tech
15. Hawaii
16. Texas
17. Missouri
18. South Carolina
19. Arizona State
20. Purdue
21. Rutgers
22. Clemson
23. Nebraska
24. Cincinnati
25. UCLA

(more…)

Colt Brennan was a little rusty today in the Warriors game against WAC opponent Idaho. But those interceptions didn’t stop UH from doing what they do best, putting up big numbers on offense. The Warriors one the game 48-20.

Along with those big offensive numbers, the Warriors defense looked great too. 14 of Idaho’s 20 points came off Brennan interceptions as two of them were returned for touchdowns.

Colt did manage to throw for 369 yards on 30 completions and 49 attempts. That included 3 touchdown passes, 1 rushing touchdown, and unfortunately, 5 interceptions. He wasn’t sharp but his ankle which caused him to sit last week didn’t appear to bother him. He just looked like he was off, missing receivers on passes that we expect him to easily complete.

Everyone is entitled to an off day, especially if that off day means a 28 point win.

Just when I thought the beating of the man in Waikiki was unwarranted, another beating took place last week as well, and was just reported by KHON news.  Jared Solancho, a 18 year old student at James Campbell High School, who recently moved from California was surrounded by Campbell High School football players one afternoon and beat up to the point where he suffered a bad concussion and incision on his head, which required 5 staples.

Last Tuesday, he was going to help his cousin, who was on the dance team, design uniforms for an upcoming performance.  During his walk there, about 10-15 guys approached him and told him “we like beef”.  Jared told them he didn’t want to fight, but the onslaught began.  He took some shots behind the head before he decided to punch back to protect himself.  Next thing he knew, he was knocked unconscious with blood all over the walls, floors, and his white t-shirt.  As of now, there has been no indication of why he was beat up by the football players.

I just can’t believe people these days.  The football coach and school administration has denied comment, probably to protect their students, but what about Jared?  He was the victim here.  He did not do anything to deserve this, and had to end up going to the hospital.  The students involved should not be suspended, they should be expelled.  They should also serve time in juvenile detention for their actions.  They all need to be punished.

Sadly, more fights like this are occurring more frequently.  Let’s take action so it won’t happen again.  And especially, punish those who are liable for their actions.

As Anthony wrote not too long ago the commuter ferry TheBoat was going to have free wi-fi service available for passengers. Well now it does!

For those passengers utilizing the newest addition to the states public transportation you can get a head start on your day (especially nice if you want to have an extra early Aloha Friday). The wireless service is available for those laptop users that travel between Kalaeloa to Aloha Tower.

Also if you want to give your opinion on the service of the new commuter ferry you can check out their website at www.trytheboat.com. It would be interesting to know how the wireless service is, fast, slow, medium. Let us know by commenting below if you’ve tried it out.

The battle over the Hawaii Superferry continues to pull apart the State of Hawaii. Actually to be honest with you, I don’t really know anyone who is all for the Hawaii Superferry? All I hear is people that are against it. Be it for environmental (the most popular reason), economic, or for the sake of keeping the outer islands (those not overpopulated like Oahu) from being turned into a tourist haven, people all have their reasons for disliking the Superferry.

Although I don’t know the ins and outs of what the Superferry can really do environmentally, the arguments against the vessel seem legit. The one that rings loudest in my head is the spread of invasive bugs and seeds that was explained to me one day from a guy who getting a PHD studying bugs (I think that’s entomology?)

He mentioned that since a lot of those traveling to the other islands bringing their cars will most likely be hunters (not sure where he got the “most likely” from but it seems sound), these are the same people that will travel deeper into the woods. Some of these woods are much more pristine, Maui and Kauai, than they are here on Oahu. If those same plants and bugs have a faster mode of spreading than would normally, the spread of invasive species will be much more rapid. Makes sense.

The thing I don’t get is somewhat related. If it costs just as much, possibly less, to fly and rent a car, than it does to take the ferry, what good is it to take the ferry. And to top it off, you’ll spread invasive species with your vehicle?

The other argument you here is about the marine life and the ferry traveling too fast for some, namely whales, to get out of the way. Not sure on this one. I see big cargo boats traveling in and out of Honolulu Harbor all day long. Realize they don’t go that fast but I think those could do some damage fo sho. But I do get the speed issue.

Lastly, you here about the people who don’t want the ports built up, their roads cluttered with Oahu vehicles, and their islands being turned into a tourist traffic jam. This is understandable. However, I would imagine that if people are going over to other islands they would rent a car if they didn’t bring their own. As for the ports being built up… not sure what to tell you there. That’s a preference of people who live there, and one I can respect.

As for me, I’ll have to get back to you on the Superferry.

If you want to further your knowledge (or fuel your passion against the Superferry) try out some of these links.

Save Kahului Harbor was brought to my attention via this Superferry comment here on Aloha Update. It’s an interesting site with a funky starting picture of someone superimposed vomiting (sorry to ruin the surprise). This site actually has a ton of information following all the legislature and what people really have to say about the impact of the Superferry.

Hawaii made headlines in this NY Times article. Although all it says is that there were protesters in Kauai it was interesting to see the topic hit the nation. Also here’s one from USA Today.

Here what the Hawaii Superferry President and CEO had to say in this Honolulu Advertiser interview. It talks about the Environmental Impact Study, or really, the reason there wasn’t one.

Oceanic Time Warner Cable has over 40 freely accessible Wi-Fi spots available in the Hawaiian Islands to subscribers. All you have to do is have an account with Oceanic Time Warner and you can securely access the internet at any number of wireless spots.

Obviously the island of Oahu has the most available spots but there are also some select spots on the island of Maui and the Big Island.

To log on to a speed zone just follow these steps as described on the website:

1. Step 1: Turn on your laptop or PDA and open its Wireless Network Connection dialogue box.
2. Step 2: Locate the Wireless Networks tab and enter or select Road Runner Speed Zone as your wireless SSID connection service.
3. Step 3: Launch your preferred web browser (such as Microsoft Internet Explorer).
4. Step 4: Follow the Speed Zone log on instructions.

For a complete listing of the Wi-Fi spots available to Oceanic Subscribers visit the Speedzone Website. We’ve copied a picture to give you an overview of the locations but they have an interactive Google map to give you the most up to date locations in Hawaii.

What a great idea.  I remember when I was a undergraduate student at the University of Illinois, the libraries would only be 24 hours when it was around final exam times.  Other than that, you couldn’t go to the library late at night.

Due to student responses, the University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Hamilton Library, the main library on campus, has made access to their library 24 hours from Monday to Friday.  The public will be able to go to the library betwen 7:30am-11:30pm, and anytime not on those times, patrons must show a valid UH ID card.  If you don’t have a valid UH ID card and you are still in the library past 11:30pm, if the security guard asks you for one and you don’t have one, you will be asked to leave.

I think this a great way for UH students and faculty to have access to the library in the after hours.  Some people are so consumed with stuff to do in the day and night that they aren’t able to make it to the library in time, or only have little time before the library closes.  This allows students and faculty to make full use of their time with the library now open 24 hours a day.

This also shows that the University listens to their students, which is hard to say for most Universities.  Slowly but surely, UH is becoming more aware of what the students want, and to me, that’s a sign of a growing University.  Keep it up UH!

As predicted earlier in the week a little bump in the surf is going to be hitting the North and East facing shores of Oahu today. The surf is expected to be 3-5 foot faces with a chance for some bigger sets.

Obviously this is nothing to get too excited about but it’s a sign of the changing seasons, one that a lot of water enthusiasts will gladly welcome after a small year on the south shore. Speaking of the south shore, there is also the chance of a small bump on the south shore this Friday continuing through the weekend.

Colt Brennan will appear on the cover of the October 8th issue of ESPN Magazine. We snagged this image below of the cover shot from ESPN.com.

Colt Brennan who missed last weeks game against Charleston Southern due to an injury will continue his heisman run this week against Idaho. He says his ankle is healed and he’ll be back to full force in time for the game.