Every August in a town in Ohio aptly named "Twinsburg" -- almost 2,000 sets of twins attend "The Twins Day Festival" -- which is generally regarded as the largest official gathering of twins in the world. And it's an event that researchers from the University of Notre Dame's Department of Computer Science and Engineering attend -- to do some field work! Notre Dame's Kevin Bowyer and Patrick Flynn spent the weekend in Twinsburg convincing sets of twins to sit at the center of a half-circle arc surrounded by five cameras which took high resolution color photographs from different angles. These volunteers also posed for iris and 3-D face imaging cameras. Flynn and Bowyer have been developing and assessing image-based biometrics and multi-biometrics technologies since 2001, including first-of-kind comparisons of face photographs, face thermograms, 3-D face images, iris images, video of human gait, and even ear and hand shapes. A biometric is a stable and distinctive physiological feature of a person that can be measured and used to identify that person; the fingerprint is the most familiar example. In the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, federal agencies have become increasingly interested in the feasibility of facial and iris recognition technologies. Here's a link to Notre Dame's official release:
It was the opening game of the 1998 season for the Irish against the 5th ranked Wolverines -- who were coming off of their National Championship season. Bob Davie's 22nd ranked Irish rolled over Michigan 36 to 20 that day -- a Wolverine team led by Tom Brady. Who's seen here fumbling after being sacked by the Irish. Here's a link to a video of the game highlights:
If you'd like to enter the contest to win tickets to Notre Dame's game this Saturday against Michigan -- you need to get moving! The contest at Every Game Counts ends today - here's the link to enter a chance to win two tickets:
Former Notre Dame QB and Super Bowl Champion, Joe Montana -- was a guest on the Dan Patrick Radio Show this morning. The subject of "Rudy" came up and Joe's response, in essence, let everyone "behind the curtain." Did he have to do that? You take a listen:
There's a work-out called ZUMBA which is the "fusion" of Latin and International music -- that is becoming quite the rage -- and, has become part of the workout regiment for Muffet McGraw's Fighting Irish! Here's a link to a video of the girls hard at work (you'll find the video on the lower right hand portion of the web page, just scroll down) -- and a link to the ZUMBA website, just in case you want to try this at home!
The Davey O'Brien Award, given annually to the top college QB in America, is conducting an online vote for the first time this year. At present, all 120 projected starting QB's of NCAA FBS teams are on the ballot. Through the fan vote -- which counts for 5% of the total -- and the vote of the O'Brien Committee, 16 QB's will be named a "SEMI-FINALIST" which will be announced on October 25th. No Notre Dame QB has ever won this award -- it's time to change that!!! Click on this link to vote for Dayne!
The University of Notre Dame was picked as one of the fifteen schools "Worth the Price" in higher education in the book “Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids – and What We Can Do About It.” The book written by Andrew Hacker and Claudia Dreifus takes you on a tour of what’s horrible about today’s colleges. Hacker, a professor at Queens College, and Dreifus, who teaches at Columbia University, outline how colleges lost track of their primary mission: teaching college students. Instead, many professors negotiate to teach as little as possible, while the colleges lure students with expensive sports facilities, dorms and dining choices, pushing a four-year education at a private school to a quarter million dollars. Here's the list of the fifteen schools they believe are worth the price: Notre Dame, Harvard, Emory, Brandeis, Marquette, Hofstra, Florida Gulf Coast, Evergreen State, Western Oregon, University of Maryland - Baltimore County, Raritan Valley, Cooper Union, Linfield College, University of Mississippi and Arizona State. I noticed Dreifus didn't pick Columbia -- and Hacker didn't pick Queens College...they both must have "tenure."
Teddy Hodges (Salinas, KS) is back with the Notre Dame Fencing Team - less than one year after his heart transplant. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT! 365 days ago, Hodges was clinging on to life, after a virus attacked his heart causing two heart attacks in consecutive days. This was the news report on the www.fencing.net blog a year ago: Teddy Hodges, a senor foil fencer on the Notre Dame varsity, is in a Kansas City hospital. He is suffering from a viral infection of the heart. He had two heart attacks in the last two days. He is on a machine that keeps his heart and lungs working while they rest the heart and decide on further treatment. He can open his eyes and move his arms and legs. Well, that further treatment was a heart transplant -- which took place on September 16, 2009. Yesterday, nine days short of the one-year anniversary of his new heart, Teddy Hodges joined his Irish teammates at practice. Here are a few news reports on Hodges return for his senior year at Notre Dame -- what a story: