FOOTBALL: REAL SIGNED VAN NISTELROOY

.....and my NIGHTMARE begins. I hate him to the max. First, it was BenQ and now van Nistelrooy. What else can be more worse than this? Good luck Real Madrid and your oversupply of forwards. I was extremely happy when they bought Cannavaro and Emerson to strengthen their defence but this makes me lost interest even before the season begins.

HOW DO YOU SUPPORT A CLUB BUYING PLAYERS YOU HATE?

AMD ACQUIRES ATI FOR $5.4 BILLION

Taken from Tom's Hardware

Sunnyvale (CA) and Markham (ON) - AMD bets $5.4 billion on its future: The company today announced that it will acquire ATI to "fight against the monopoly" and to create application specific platforms in the commercial, mobile and consumer electronics segments. AMD also said that, within two years, the company wants to offer processors that integrate graphics functionality.

Early Monday, AMD confirmed acquisitions rumors that circulated over the past few weeks on the Internet: During a conference call, AMD and ATI unveiled their plans to merge the two firms into a new "processing powerhouse." According to AMD chief executive officer Hector Ruiz, ATI is the "best partner for innovation and choice" for AMD and will enable the company to create platforms and solutions its "customers have been asking for."

AMD said that combining the two companies will open up new growth opportunities "especially in the microprocessor space" and will reduce redundancies with ATI. According to AMD's chief financial officer Bob Rivet, the ATI acquisition will enable the two firms to save about $75 million in areas such as administration this year and up to $125 million next year.

Immediate technology synergies between the two companies are seen in the chipset space: While AMD had to wait for third-party developers to come up with hardware and software to support products such as its Turion 64 mobile processor the company is now able to bring its own solution to the market right away: "We found it increasingly difficult to work with four companies to bring solutions to the market," Ruiz said. "Working with just one will make it much easier." Given this advantage, the executive believes that AMD has a better shot at the $17 billion commercial and notebook market.

The downside of acquiring ATI's chipset business is the fact that Intel is currently ATI's most important chipset customer and acquires a large amount of its Xpress 200 chipsets for entry-level motherboards. According to Mercury Research, ATI shipped 8.2 million chipsets in the first quarter of this year, with 4.3 million units going into Intel products. Ruiz said that AMD makes the "prudent assumption" that ATI revenues originating from Intel shipments "will disappear over time." According to ATI's chief executive officer Dave Orton, ATI's Intel specific product revenue [including chipset shipments] is about $80 to $100 million per quarter.

AMD hinted that ATI's expertise in graphics may enable graphics functions that are directly integrated into the processor: "In 2008 and beyond, AMD aims to move beyond current technological configurations to transform processing technologies, with silicon-specific platforms that integrate microprocessors and graphics processors to address the growing need for general-purpose, media-centric, data-centric and graphic-centric performance," AMD said in an early statement.

An interesting twist to the deal is that Nvidia, which has been one of AMD's most important chipset partners in the past, will now become one of the key competitors of AMD. "We understand that and we welcome that," said AMD president and chief operating officer Dirk Meyer.

Under the terms of the transaction, AMD will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of ATI for a combination of $4.2 billion in cash and 57 million shares of AMD common stock. AMD said it has acquired a $2.5 billion loan from Morgan Stanley, which, in combination with the firm's current available cash and short term investments in the amount of $2.5 billion, will provide the funding to complete the deal. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year.

The loan represents substantial new debt for AMD, which Rivet plans to pay back in "a reasonable amount of time." The executive said that AMD's current stock price did not provide the option for an all stock transaction.

Asked about possible layoffs, Ruiz mentioned that "this deal is about growth, not about destroying value." While he expects to "address redundancies" he does not believe that layoffs will occur as a result of the merger. AMD currently employs about 18,100 people, ATI just over 2500.

In an immediate reaction to the announcement, investors sent AMD's stock down about 4% to $17.50 in pre-market trading. ATI's stock was up about 19% to 19.64.

CHEESE PORK RIBS

I bought some great bargain pork ribs from ColdStorage and wanted to cook it with anything I got in the fridge. I decided to go crazy without any recipe to follow. Just follow your crazy heart with the ingredients available in the fridge!



Cheese, tomato, BBQ sauce, pepper, onion, soya sauce, running out of wine!!! (argh!) and I think that's all about it.



Off I went to create a crazy dish and decided to dump it into the oven for around 25 minutes after heating up over 10 minutes.



I just love cheese in their liquid form. Sticky and melting away in your mouth as you chew into the pork ribs! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Nice feeling!



Well, it tasted alright to me.



I wanted to try on my beloved meat, lamb or mutton next time around. I need red wine!

Munch, munch, munch, munch...

MISS UNIVRSE 2006

I watched it live and I was disappointed with the results. I was wishing Miss Japan, Kurara Chibana to capture it when it was down to just two. I just don't like Miss Puerto Rico's face. While I go nuts with Miss Japan's national costume! Wahlau eh! Drooling....so it was not surprising that she was voted for the Best National Costume. The host joked if they don't give it to her, she will attack with her samurai sword! Hot one baby! She's from Okinawa and can speak 4 languages - Japanese, English, Spanish and French.

To me, Miss USA or Switzerland should easily win it if not Miss Japan. However, Miss USA talked too much rubbish so I guess she was giving an impression that she just can't stop talking! While Miss Japan tried to show off her English language skills. I guess all of them want to push for the final good impression before the judges decide the winner.

Miss Puerto Rico, Zuleyka Rivera won it!

Age:18
Height: 5'9
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Brown

Miss Japan, Kurara Chibana was second!







Age: 24
Height: 5'3
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Brown

Miss Switzerland, Lauriane Gillieron was third!





Age: 24
Height: 5'7
Hair Colour: Blonde
Eye Colour: Brown

Miss Paraguay, Lourdes Arevalos was fourth!



Age: 22
Height: 6'0
Hair Colour: Brown
Eye Colour: Brown

Miss USA, Tara Conner was fifth!

Age: 20
Height: 5'5
Hair Colour: Blonde
Eye Colour: Brown

HD-DVD, BLU-RAY, TAIYO YUDEN, THAT'S, PLEXTOR

With Toshiba HD-DVD and Sony Blu-Ray coming out in the market slowly, one wonders how expensive these babies will cost?

Well, just read about some Blu-Ray offerings by Sony with the new Vaio as well as some desktop ROMs. Now, one wonders how much will the media cost? How big is the capacity anyway?

So far, I heard about 25GB, 50GB and 100GB Blu-Ray discs. 100GB? WTF! On a single disc?!!! Oh, the Sony PS3 will run on Blu-Ray and that is what is causing the delay of the console to be released. There are tonnes of movies released already. How long does it take to burn a disc? With 2x burning speeds for BD-R or BD-RE media, you can fill a 25GB Blu-ray disc in 50 minutes, and the guessing for 50GB discs should fill at a similar rate with a Sony BWU-100A Blu-Ray burner.

On the other side of the challenge, you have the Toshiba HD-DVD. What about its capacity? Well, you have 15GB, 20GB, 30GB and 32GB (under development) medias released so far.

Now, you are worried that the DVD media market has not stabilized before these two technologies already start coming knocking on our door? Yeah, in the past, CD-R took more time to reach maturity and in those days, nobody is the better burner than Plextor. I remember the extremely expensive CD writer I invested and they never ever fail a burn! Incredible! Talk about perfect reliability!

DVD has less time to settle down and mature so there is no one rightful winner for reliability. Well, so far Tom's Hardware did highlight two good ones by NEC and Toshiba in terms of overall performance - NEC ND-3540A and Toshiba SDR-5472. Well, now let's go into DVD media. Millions of people have voiced their concern to me that they fear their DVD storage data won't last long. There has been many many rumours spreading around about the lack of lifespan of DVD media. If you burn alot of data on the DVD+R, DVD-R,DVD+R W, DVD-R W (all standard 4.7GB) and DVD+R DL (dual layer which is 8.5GB), you are worried even which format and standard you should use.

Still, what media brand you should trust for the lack of lifespan and data lost as time goes by? Well, trust me, go get yourself a Taiyo Yuden, it release DVD media under its own name for OEM but for other company, it is released under That's. Yes, the name of the company is called That's. Why Taiyo Yuden? Well, I hope the next paragraph will convince you enough.

"Used by professionals for mastering around the world, Japanese-made TaiyoYuden is made by the inventor of the CD-R disc. Taiyo Yuden has the widest playback compatibility, the lowest error rates in recording, and comes with a 100-year data integrity guarantee. Taiyo Yuden media is with lacquer, thermal printable, white and silver inkjet-printable, and hub printable surfaces."

Then, what about fake ones? How to identify it? There has been news of the fraud lately. Let me give you a link.

Authentic Taiyo Yuden Identification

So with a 100 year data integrity guarantee, are you still worried of your data being lost through time in your DVD? Well, Taiyo Yuden DVD media is more expensive than those you can find in the market but if it can last 100 years for your important data, why be so stingy? I don't know whether it is easy for you guys to find it in Malaysia but even in Singapore, we always have to depend on Japanese orders once a while.

Still, there are many reports that DVDs can last the most 3-4 years under good care and some around a year before they become not readable. Therefore, store your DVDs well beyond direct sunlight and not in high humidity and moisture area, even if it is Taiyo Yuden.

The moral of the story? When it comes to new technology and reliable technology evolutions, you just have to believe in the Japanese. They are still among the most advanced human beings on this planet.

FOOTBALL: ICEMAN TRIBUTE



Dennis Bergkamp, forever will be frozen in my memory for his touches of brilliance in the penalty box to score breathtaking memorable goals. He makes every goal he scored beautiful and special. He makes the goals scored by people like van Nistelrooy extremely boring and ugly. I hope he will have a good final testimonial match.

He is surely one of the contributers of the beautiful game of football. Watching back all those videos of the goals scored by him just reminds me how beautiful football is. He gives us back the faith in believing in beautiful football again when football gets so dirty!

Retire happy. Thanks for the beautiful football displayed all these years! I enjoyed myself and appreciate every single moment of it!

All the best! A player so entertaining like him earns my respect and tribute for all the contributions he had given to the world of football!

He will also be remembered for being afraid of flying too! Still, one of the greatest players in our generation to grace the game!

TOUCHES OF BRILLIANCE

PANASONIC LUMIX DMC-FZ50





With Sony's new DSLR camera offered in the Singapore market already at three different price ranges, Panasonic just announced a good digicam to give the 10.1 megapixel market a good fight. Although this is not a DSLR, the features are great enough to give you a second consideration.

Sony's First Digital SLR (body only) DSLR-A100/B S$1,499.00

with 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 LENS DSLR-A100K/B S$1,799.00

with 18-70mm F3.5-5.6 & 75-300mm F4.5-5.6 DSLR-A100W/B S$2,099.00

I saw the preproduction photos and they are extremely normal digicam standard. I don't know whether the final production ones will prove me wrong otherwise but they have to improve if they want any interest from the photography lovers.

Well, back to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ50, it can take the photos at 3 different ratios! 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. Interesting! It also has a special movie clip at 848X480 (16:9) in 30 or 10fps. This will probably be the first camera to give my 17 inch wide screen Dell laptop a 100% full screen shot!

Then, as always the famous f/2.8 Leica DC VARIO-ELMARIT lens at 12X optical zoom (equivalent to 35mm to 420mm with a 35mm film camera) is impressive enough to get me drooling whole day long. Leica, forever famous to be the chosen len maker used for the earliest space missions of Apollo, including the first moon landing.

The MEGA OIS image stabilizing system and the ISO sensitivity range from 80-3200 will be most welcomed. Still, no images to see how impressive the photos will be like and the noise factor involved. There is no reason to be cheated by incredible high ISO sensitivity value if the noise is extremely high. The Venus Engine III is a noise reduction system to remove noise at processing stages. I heard many good things about the MEGA OIS though to combat blurred images from handshake.

I can't wait for a review and the price to be introduced into the market from September 2006. I may consider this. Still, I wonder what happened to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-L1, their very own first DSLR? The news of release is end of this year for the 7.5 megapixel DSLR camera.

Then, there was this announcement of Nikon for a new 10.2 megapixel DSLR in about 2 weeks for more details as the successor to D70/D70s. The keywords are integrating quality and affordability to meet the demands of passionate photo enthusiasts.

FOOTBALL: SURE OR NOT?

Cannavaro and Emerson go to Real Madrid?

Zambrotta and Thuram go to Barcelona?

Fabregas can go to Real Madrid in exchange of Robinho and Baptista?

Just don't bring van Nistelrooy and C.Ronaldo please. Sell the fat Ronaldo!

Well, we have seen some big transfers but I am not so sure about the Barcelona one as yet. Real Madrid fail to bring in any of the four promised players - Kaka, C.Ronaldo, Robben and Fabregas. The president is under tremendous pressure. All four are difficult to be transferred in the very first place as all 4 are precious to their respective clubs. Real will need to sell or loan one of the three non-EU places taken up by Robinho, Baptista and Cicinho. I wonder how it is going to be solved.

Now, the new Real Madrid jersey is actually quite nice but the stupid BenQ ad spoils the whole jersey! With the Italian coach and central defender, hopefully it will solve Real Madrid's defensive problems. With the Italian connection and since they are the best in the world in defence, hopefully it will restore some stability in front of Casillas.

Finally, Christian Vieri is retiring?!!! Are you serious? Damien Duff leaving Chelsea? I hope Capello can decide wisely, I hope he knows what is needed in a team like Real Madrid after 3 years of emptiness. He mentioned 3 more signings. I like Damien Duff but I don't know about whether Madrid need him since they worship Beckham. I personally think Damien Duff has more skills than David Beckham and age is on his side too. I heard Gravesen wants out and Arsenal fans are furious with Ashley Cole. Madrid needs someone to support Carlos at the left. I heard abit about the rumour of interest of Eric Abidal of Lyon.

TIME TO CHANGE MY HANDPHONE

Ok, I am not that particular in choosing handphones. Therefore, I am not the type who change handphones so often. Since I use handphone in year 2000, I only have two phones! The Nokia 3310 and now the Sony Ericsson K700i. Yes, my old phone is still in good condition! I don't use much functions for the handphone. The few I use are phone calling, SMS, record some data info, timer (normally for laundry and dryer) and the alarm for waking up.

I hate Nokia because I am so sick of the design. All the designs look the same to me and as new models come out, it just give me the impression of trying too hard to impress. I don't have much faith in Korean brands so Samsung and LG are totally out no matter how nice they look. BenQ-Siemens? No way man, I hate BenQ and Acer to the super maximum. How on earth I dare to use a phone with the logo? Now, I wonder will I ever buy another Real Madrid jersey ever again? Until the BenQ ad is dropped, no way man! Sigh! First, with the linking of the players I hate like C.Ronaldo and van Nistelrooy and now BenQ? Please, enough!

I have lost faith in Sony Ericsson after using this handphone of mine. It eats battery like drinking water eventhough I use very common stuff with acceptable times a day for calling and SMS. One day I need to charge at least once. I am so disappointed with it since the digicams have such superior battery life. A totally different thing altogether. The button controls also not very accurate as sometimes when you push for some button, it can jump a few steps. Lagging can happen sometimes too.

Therefore, it is time to get a new handphone! What else is left in the market for me?

Hellomoto!

Yes, I fall in love with Motorola's super slim and flat buttons! Wow! Love it! I identified three phone models I wish to choose from but will decide on availability, price and size with weight. I heard many people told me about the inconvenience of the functions of Motorola phone. Yes, I agree. I recall I was helping my auntie to download some MP3 songs into the handphone and it took me almost an hour to find them in the internal memory and external memory as well as settle everything for file transfer.

However, I find the keys and especially the joystick extremely tough and accurate. Wahlau eh, really can feel how tough the baby is! Rock solid! I heard people complimenting how tough Motorola phones are as they drop them in some really tough terrains and still survive! That's some advantages.

I have decided on 3 phones to buy:

1. Motorazr V3i DG (Dolce & Gabbana) Special Edition







Yes, this handphone seems to be suitable for some mafia members or loansharks who go collect debts to use. I can imagine the user to wear dark sunglasses, wears a hat, fur coat, rings with giant stones on each finger, last finger (pinkie) has long nail, smokes a cigar, super big necklace dog-chain size, big bracelet, boots and tattoo here and there. I unfortunately don't have such outfits. Haha!

The golden colour means you can see the user 5KM away! Haha! Even the accessories are in gold! Well, that's anodized aluminium surface for you! Under direct sunlight, you need sunglasses to avoid the glare! Haha!

2. Razr V3x





This is a 3G phone, so I have a chance to use it if necessary.

3. Motoslvr (L7)



This phone is so slim (11.5mm thick) and tough you wonder the technology must be damn impressive. I love mobile slim stuffs. However, this baby is abit thicker than the L6 (10.9mm thick) but packed with more functions. I grab one myself and am loving it.

Well, now I will decide base on the pricing. Any of you got good deals with Motorola with friends or relatives working for them? Haha!

SCARY MOVIE 4 & THE FAST & THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT REVIEWS

spoilers!*warning*spoilers!

SCARY MOVIE 4

Lame Lame Lame. Alien "Tr-iPods"? Wahlau, so lame!

What is Shaquille O'neal doing in a movie? I did not watch Brokeback Mountain eventhough I have it in my external hard disk. After seeing a sneak preview in Scary Movie, I just am so scared to watch anymore. The scene of guys hugging and kissing is making every single hair on my body to stand and die later. Most of the story is following the War of the World storyline.

I watched the 3rd and I think it is much better. The one with the Ring, Eminem and Matrix. This version also includes Saw, Saw II, The Grudge, Million Dollar Baby featuring shemale Tyson biting ears like there is no tomorrow and the Village. There is a part where The Grudge Japanese boy ghost talking to the main actress in Japanese. You see subtitles of the conversation below but all they utter are Japanese brands and food! My goodness! I was vomitting blood! Haha!

To me, it is just a so-so movie or below average. Nothing to shout about, just alot of sick jokes all the way.

THE FAST & THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT

Initial D fans will be satisfied with this one. Those who watched the first two versions told me this one is really much better in terms of drifting skills used. The first two are all about speed only. Full stop. However, my girlfriend who is an Initial D fan said this is boring! Wahlau eh, I guess Initial D has a higher level of skill compare to this. Haha! Some cool stunts I like is to drift all the way up the circular ramps for those multistorey parking building as well as the ability to drift 360 degrees circulating around a car. Nissan is probably the sponsor as you can see their engines being used in the modified cars.

The final race was set at none other than the legendary Mount Akina which you see in Initial D. There is no place on earth where you can be considered a master drifter if have not raced there. When I saw the dad of the main actor in the scene, I just can't get rid of comparing it with Initial D storyline. I was thinking perhaps the father should start selling toufu! Haha! Those modified motorcycles in the movie are so cool! The fashion, the culture and especially how all the handphones are connected through the whole network of different places located all over Mount Akina shows you just how advanced Japanese handphone technology is!

The sexy Japanese chicks in the movie makes it worth your every single cent to watch! Yummy! Haha! The movie also feature some of your regular Japanese drama actors. The main actress looks like American Idol judge Paula Abdul with extremely wide mouth. Urgh! Turns me off. No one liao meh? There are tonnes of hotter chicks in the movie than her. Her mouth is so wide I fear it will break into halves everytime she speaks. Reminds me of the Canadians portrayed in South Park! Haha!

I like this movie for the skills of drifting shown off here. I am not an Initial D fan so I guess they may think differently than I do. You don't expect a good storyline from a car racing movie. It is just like how storylines of Jet Li martial movies mostly sucked so we went to watch for the sake of the martial art skills.

Many friends who love Pirates of the Caribbean were disappointed from watching the sequel. Now, I lost appetitite to go watch myself. What a bad remark!

Just watched the famous all time classic Love Generation featuring Kimura Takuya, Matsu Takako and Fujiwara Norika. Yeah I know, 1997 drama and I call myself a Japanese drama fan when I just watch it in 2006? Well, I just missed it. To me, with such a high viewership of 32.5%, the storyline is not so spectacular that I will miss this drama. It is your typical love drama with misunderstandings and triangle love - A loves B, B loves C, you get the picture. No spectacular memorable theme songs or any other songs to remember too. To me, just any normal love drama above average. Still, that does not prevent me from loving Matsu Takako acting. She is always such a lovable and charming character, extremely rough for a lady but people just love her. She has the girl next door look and very natural in her acting. I will never want to miss any of her dramas if I have the chance to watch them.

PUMA LENA & ASICS KAYANO XII



My bro is going home next week and so as always, there will be some shopping done for the folks back home. This time my task is to buy a pair of walking shoes for my sis and my grandma. Grandma is in her 70s and don't have a decent pair of shoes for her jogging. I decided to go for a good pair of shoes to protect her legs especially her age and what is better than the best athletic and healthiest shoes maker on this planet?



I got my sis a pair of Puma Lena Super Pink-Dark Purple. Puma has been one of the famous shoes among the European students in Singapore nowadays and i seriously think they have improved through these years to create some really good looking stuff! They even have a range of sport fashion labels under the belt so this really proves that they are serious about design. Here are some of them:

Alexander McQueen
96 Hours
Nuala
Mihara
Starck



I chose this pair of purple-pink shoes not because of the combo but as well as the thread detailing on it which I like. An alternating of purple and white threads as well as the nice logo of the Puma at the sides. It feels like a pair of soccer or rugby boots because of its slimness especially at the bottom. The only Puma shoes I ever worn in my life thus far was my rugby boots in my secondary school days during those competition days.




With Italy just winning the World Cup, Puma has really been given alot of publicity of late. Do you know that you can only get a size S for the Italian national jersey now in both Malaysia and Singapore? The jersey costs S$90 here in Singapore without any names at the back. I have to rely my friend who is going Italy next month to get me Cannavaro's. When I touch the fabric, it feels like thin layer of raincoat!



By the way, apart from Puma, there are some decent looking designs out there by Vans, Lacoste, Diesel, Le Coq Sportif and Kappa which is worth your time exploring. They are brands that the Europeans wear alot at least here in Singapore.



As for my grandma, I broke my bank to buy the latest version of Asics Kayano XII. Mine was XI. I know experienced marathon running friends told me only two brands matter to them, Asics and Saucony. Mr. Toshikazu Kayano and his design team brought together this Kayano series and we already seen the birth of the 12th version. The difference with version 11th? Well, the focus is all on the midsole. Why is the midsole so important? Marathon runners told me it is the location most proned to get injury if you run long distances.



They created a new material called Solyte which is lighter, more durable and provide better cushioning. It is an advanced copolymer with unique weight saving properties due to its low density. It is 30% lighter than the lightest Asics EVA and 50% lighter than standard density EVA. It also exceeds the most stringtent industry standards for tensile strength, tear strength, compression set, energy return and shock attenuation. Well, as a result, this version is much lighter than mine.



Since it is just released and reached Singapore just a few days only, we only have this red colour as the only choice. I heard we need to wait at least a month before the next colour comes. The good thing about Asics is its dedicated research into shoes even to gender level and hence, their shoes for both genders are specially designed differently. Yes, even the same model have different designs for male and female because we have different body structures and running postures.



Well, all the technologies may sound so incredible to be true but it is until you wear it and enjoy the comfort, you will be satisfied. The Gel technology will be able to mold itself according to your feet's impact and shape as time goes by to fully fit it well. I hardly heard of people complaining after wearing Asics. It is incredibly light too!



For its recognition to be recommended by the Sports Medicine of Australia and International Federation of Sports Medicine, this pair of shoes is definitely extremely healthy for your legs. Just imagine the impact your legs go through as you run. Every single impact to the floor will be absorbed by the gel so it will not be too harsh to your whole leg structure. The shoes are also categorized according to your feet arches from the highest to the flattest.



Well, I tried the Asics athletics spike shoes during my track and field running days and nothing comes better than running in those shoes. They make you feel like a speed demon!



I hope this pair of shoes will maintain my grandma's legs' strength as long as possible!

FOOTBALL: BITS AND PIECES OF NEWS

First off, captain Fabio Cannavaro will be given questions asked by you if what you posted in the comment zone is interesting and curious enough to be selected to be published in his official website. Go to the link now and try your luck!

GOAL.com

Hamann going to Manchester City while Jimmy Hasselbaink goes to Charlton.

Karel Poborsky has retired from international football! Klinsmann retires too as Germany coach! I was surprised but I guess all those travellings to and fro USA-Germany must be very inconvenient for him. Lippi follows Klinsmann's decision and does the same!

So, Real Madrid will try their luck in addition to C.Ronaldo, Cesc, Robben, Kaka, on Cannavaro, Zambrotta and Emerson. I wonder how many of this 7 will actually arrive under the new president. With some of them non-EU players coming (if they do), there will be some exits too from Madrid. I for one have no objections of any of them but C.Ronaldo. As you know, I am not a fan of him since when he first appeared in Manchester United. He had already start to playacting and dive so fakely I already hate him at the spot! I was amazed people only start to see his 'true' skills and colours now. Haha! Now, almost everyone in England hates him and blames him for the exit.

By the way, here are some updates regarding Zidane's headbutt from two articles in GOAL.com while we wait for him to speak to the public about the incident very soon.

First article:

We've heard Marco admit he insulted Zizou for being "arrogant," but go on to deny calling him a "terroriost" or casting aspersions about his parentage or ethnicity.

We've also heard mutterings from Zidane - well, via his agent anyway - that what Materazzi said was "very serious."

Materazzi's protestations of innocence may be just a little too vehement. After all, if he didn't mention terrorism or religion, Zidane's mother or his cultural heritage, what did he find to insult? We'll probably never know, because although Zidane's agent reckons the midfielder will reveal all in the next few days, we can be sure Materazzi will deny it. Unless it was: "You'd look good in an Inter shirt."

In the meantime, we can only speculate, though some are undertaking serious research in a bid to uncover the facts.

For example, that guardian of the truth, the BBC, has called in specialis insultologists to help. And rather confusingly, it has broadcast two different versions.

BBC Radio Five Live asked for help from a deaf lip reader, Jessica Rees, who read the words phonetically to an Italian translator.

She deciphered the insult as being, "You're the son of a terrorist whore." That translation has also been carried by many national newspapers in Britain today.

But the BBC's Ten O'Clock News also asked experts to study TV footage of the incident, and they described this scenario:

Materazzi's first word to Zidane was "no;" his second and third were, "calm down".

Then it got personal, as Materazzi allegedly accused Zidane of being a "liar," and wished "an ugly death to you and your family." This on the day that the Frenchman's mother had been taken ill and admitted to hospital.

That pleasantry was supposedly followed by an invitation to "Go f*** yourself".


Second article:

An Italian lip-reader has claimed to have deciphered the words Marco Materazzi said to Zinédine Zidane that provoked the French star into headbutting the Italian defender in Sunday’s World Cup final.

There have been various rumours circulating about what was said, with Materazzi denying calling Zidane ‘a dirty terrorist’.

According to the BBC, Materazzi said, "I wish an ugly death to you and all your family," and then told Zidane to "go f*** yourself".

The red card meant a sad end to the career of Zidane who retired from football after the game.

FOOTBALL: 2006 GERMANY FIFA WORLD CUP CONCLUSION

The World Cup has ended and who are the ones who performed to make it a success?

The players who I think shone during this World Cup:

Fabio Cannavaro (ITA)
Zinedine Zidane (FRA)
Luis Figo (POR)
(The three captains above are the main reasons their countries can go so far)

Alexandre Ricardo (POR)
Nuno Maniche (POR)
Pavel Nedved (CZE)
Rafael Marquez (MEX)
Marco Materazzi (ITA)
Gianluigi Buffon (ITA)
Gianluca Zambrotta (ITA)
Andrea Pirlo (ITA)
Gennaro Gattuso (ITA)
Alberto Gilardino (ITA)
Fabio Grosso (ITA)
Florent Malouda (FRA)
Franck Ribery (FRA)
Willy Sagnol (FRA)
Lilian Thuram (FRA)
Jens Lehmann (GER)
Philip Lahm (GER)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (GER)
Lukas Podolski (GER)
David Odonkor (GER)
Aaron Lennon (ENG)
Joe Cole (ENG)
Robert Ayala (ARG)
Carlos Tevez (ARG)
Juan Riquelme (ARG)
Maxi Rodriguez (ARG)
Javier Saviola (ARG)
Leo Messi (ARG)
Sanchez Joaquin (SPA)
David Villa (SPA)
Fernando Torres (SPA)
Arjen Robben (NET)
Robin Van Persie (NET)
Robinho (BRA)
GHANA team

I hope I do not miss anybody important! I hope all these players will make the new season a great one! There are also so many great players who ended their international careers. It is really sad to see some of the best from our generation to go. Sob! Sob!

Figo, Kahn, Makelele, R.Carlos and Zidane.

Thanks for the beautiful football, guys!

Well, how did the ESPNsoccernet Fantasy Challenge go?
LaLa 28th (147 points), Donny Ginola 126th (129 points), DieHardX 677th (98 points)

Shit! Haha! You can see I faired so badly because I bet alot of my players with England's hopes. Of course, we know how bad they performed and so is my team. The champion has 167 points. Let's see the team players and points collected each.

Champion (167):
Buffon, 24
Terry, 17
Cannavaro, 18
Sagnol, 12
Meira, -4
Frings, 0
Kaka, 7
Zidane, 16
C.Ronaldo, 0
Klose, 20
Ronaldo, 14
Sold:
Nesta, 3
Marquez, 6
Carvalho, 18
Lampard, 0
Ballack, 2
Robben, 0
Riquelme, 8
Ferdinand, 6

Lala (147):
Buffon, 24
Cannavaro, 24
Gallas, 18
Ayala, 12
Terry, 17
Kaka, 7
Ballack, 0
Deco, 0
Figo, 4
Klose, 0
Henry, 16
Sold:
Ronaldinho, 0
J.Cole, 5
Riquelme, 12
Garcia, 0
Xavi, 2
Villa, 0
Adriano, 6

Donny Ginola (129):
Dida, 12
Terry, 17
Cannavaro, 21
Gallas, 18
Lahm, -2
Beckham, 4
C.Ronaldo, 0
Riquelme, 8
Kaka, 7
Henry, 16
Klose, 6
Sold:
Y.P.Lee, 0
Senderos, 10
Toure, -1
Nedved 2
J.Cole, 0
R.Costa, 0
Torres, 6
Heinze, 0
Xavi, 0

DieHardX (98):
Lehmann, -3
Ayala, 12
Carlos, 12
Cannavaro, 24
Ferdinand, 6
Vieira, 0
Deco, 0
Riquelme, 12
Ballack, 0
Henry, 16
Gilardino, 4
Sold:
Ronaldinho, 0
Gerrard, 6
Robben, 5
Lampard, 0
Puyol, 1
Casillas, -1
Kaka, 4

A week before this expires. Grab it!
VOICES - FIFA WORLD CUP 2006 GERMANY ALBUM 2CDs

Overall, it is an album with all the ancient songs. Only Il Divo with Toni Braxton song titled The Time Of Our Lives and Il Divo & Celine Dion's I Believe In You (Je Crois En Toi) are good songs to me. The rest are so history.

FOOTBALL: ITALY ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

Italy 1-1 France (Penalty Kick:5-3)

Well, a very lousy final ended with a penalty shoot out. Zidane headbutt was a shocker. The French attacked more but the Italian defence was able to stop the shots to the final level. Buffon saved some good shots especially one from Zidane. Henry did create some chances but did not do enough to get any goals.

I went down to the tv room and it was fully seated. I was abit late, just 5 minutes before kickoff. Then, I walked abit further and tried the other tv room nearest to my block. I was lucky there was some seats there but it was like the Vietnamese students who took over the whole room. They asked me who I suport and I gladly declared Italy without noticing that Vietnam was a French colony! I was at the wrong place! I could have been beaten up for cheering Italy! Then again, I recall my country used to be the Portugese, Dutch and English colony but I have not supported any of them! It was alright since I think they were not football fans as they celebrated any goals scored. Sigh!

Honestly, I hate how the Italians didn't have the intention to attack, especially in the second half and extra time. They prefer to play defence and played some ineffective counter attacks. The first half saw more offensive runs as well as dangerous corner kicks! One hit the bar!

The Italians also have a goal disallowed for offside, just slightly. The first goal from the penalty, the replays seemed to show that Materazzi retracted his knee after it seemed like he went in to tackle Malouda.

It was sad to see how Zidane ended his career. This is surely not the way we wanted it to end for him. He was sent off so he couldn't even come back to collect the first runner-up medal. No matter what Materazzi had spoken to him to cause such anger, Zidane should control his temper. I don't want a great player to end his career like this!

The substitutions of Ribery and Henry were really beyond my understanding since both contributed so well in the attacking options. I just don't understand. It was like how Argentina did it when facing the Germans. A repeat!

The final match is all about Marerazzi and Zidane. Both of them shape the outcome of the match results. They were involved in all the important moments of the match. However, it is Grosso again who made the difference for Italy. He had played that role a few times during this tournament. He shall become quite valuable from now on.

Two goals conceded in the whole tournament, only one goal by an opponent through a penalty by Zidane, they surely have the defensive record that has to be admired. They also score goals in matches so they are not playing defensive football only.

CONGRATULATIONS ITALY!

FOURTH WORLD CUP TITLE!

2006 GERMANY FIFA WORLD CUP CHAMPIONS!

Finally, we can adapt back to our timezone sleeping time. I had a great World Cup experience minus the commercialized Singaporean pay-for-your-matches viewing! Complaints? They should ban the 1 lone striker formation as well as the too predictable World Cup this has been.

FOOTBALL: CANNAVARO VS. ZIDANE

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN!

This is it folks! The ultimate finale for the 2006 Germany FIFA World Cup! The whole month of celebration comes to the final match! Italy and France go to the final thanks to their captains who have been splendid to carry them this far. Cannavaro will earn his 100th cap while Zidane will play his final professional football match. This will be a classic encounter!

Zidane is able to show all his abilities with the freedom given to him by his two guards, Makelele and Vieira. Their defensive abilities release him forward to help offensively. On the other side, Pirlo has the same function as Zidane with Gattuso doing all the covering as Pirlo moves forward with Totti. Totti is the current highest assist provider in the tournament. Ribery and Malouda have been very impressive for France from the wings in the final half of the tournament.

Cannavaro and Buffon are the reasons why Italy have only conceded one goal (own goal) in the whole competition while Thuram is the reason France have equally a reliable defence. Henry needs his club form to get something out of this. I seriously think Trezeguet should be given a chance rather than Wiltord if France wants to win. Saha is suspended. Italy have Gilardino, Toni, Del Piero, Perrotta and Inzaghi to choose from but I prefer Gilardino for the speed and offensive force he showed in the past few matches.

I hope Italy play two strikers up front to make themselves more offensive. Come on! I am sick of 1 striker formations! It is too defensive! They have the strongest defence at the back to cope with any counter-attacks. Buffon himself has a record to chase. If he keeps the clean sheet for the first 63 minutes against France, he will be able to surpass the record held by Walter Zenga for 517 minutes during the Italian 90. Buffon currently has 453 minutes to his name and his central defenders Cannavaro and Materazzi can help him achieve that.

Italians fall too easily as I call that diving in the semifinal. Please don't spoil the final! France have the experience but most players are ageing. Italy have the Serie A scandal to worry about but many said it had given them more energy to get the best in this tournament to prove themselves. They want the world to know that they are great players and all these scandals are only related to the management.

Whoever wins tonight, I hope it is the deserving one! I wish for one last beautiful game. I am supporting on the Italian side but I also wish Zidane can get his final best present before he retires. Still, I wish it is an entertaining match with minimum divings. Totti, don't fall so easily for goodness sake! I hate all divers.

FOOTBALL: GERMANY 3-1 PORTUGAL

It is the Schweinsteiger night. He could have scored all 3 but one of it was an assist since the free kick was scored by Petit as an own goal. He got a yellow for his second for taking his jersey off while celebrating! Portugal again didn't look like scoring even if they dominated possessions.

Why did they put Figo out for so damn long? He was to me the best Portugese performer for the last two matches. Well, I have no idea but look at what he had done once he entered. He assisted the goal for Nuno Gomez to score. They should have brought him in earlier.

It is nice to see Kahn playing for the last match. Lahm is again outstanding at the back but this time as a right back. Well, Germany have many outstanding players who shall be carrying the burden of this generation of Kahn and Ballack. You have Schweinsteiger, Podolski, Odonkor and Lahm who are all very bright players below 25. Capello, come on! Hehe!

C.Ronaldo again is falling down too easily in this match. You can see that the officials don't even care about giving free kicks everytime he falls down. Haha! The Japanese referee just waved play on! Deco had a good effort saved and so did a couple from C.Ronaldo. The strikeforce of Portugal was extremely weak. It showed that the midfielders have better chances throughout the match. The rhythm of the match was quite slow and steady but both played quite openly.

In the end, Germany got third place and it was too late and impossible to chase back for Portugal.

P/S: Sol Campbell has left Arsenal! Another shocking news! Now, Ashley Cole could be the only Englishman left in the English club.

FOOTBALL: FINAL COUNTDOWNS

My final two predictions:

Germany VS. Portugal 1-0

Italy VS. France 1-0

Will Kahn play as Lehmann offers his position? Will Klose play? Ballack will not play to rest his calf injury. Injury will also be forcing Lahm and Mertesacker to be rested. Borowski will be another doubt. Portugal will be without Miguel who has a knee injury.

After this World Cup, I should record down the accuracy of all my predictions. By the way, like everyone said, this World Cup is too damn predictable and most people play safe! One striker up front!

“No one takes risks, everyone’s afraid [to go on the attack], and teams are very stingy… this was the worst display of football ever,” Alfio Basile (former albiceleste headman) said at a press conference in Tandil as Boca Juniors prepare for the second half of the calendar year.

According to his observations, any team that advanced to the second round could have advanced as there were no teams that stood out from the pack. “The teams that advanced [France and Italy] were the ones that took the most risks.”

I also read about the software company Information Builders (IBI) in their British office with the verdict being reached through a series of weighted indicators that included the following variabled beloved by 'amoral' players. Haha!

Dives, feigned injuries, referee intimidation, tantrums and inability or laxck of desire to sing national anthems. Here are the champions:

Dives: Italy (32)
Tantrums: France (28)
Feigned Injury: Paraguay (12)
Anthem Silence: Serbia and Montenegro (31)

Referee bullying award are shared between Croatia, France, Italy and Portugal as all had shunted various officials back with extreme invasions of personal space five times apiece, although Croatia are strictly winners as they managed all five incidents in only three matches.

Information Builders have baptised their ratings as the ‘IBI Foul Play Index’ and Paraguay can hold their heads high/low leaving Germany with an index of 45, closely followed by finalists Italy (40) with Holland, the Ivory Coast and Portugal all with 37.

Trinidad and Tobago get a pat on the back for being the best behaved team in the tournament, with a mere 14; a paltry four dives, three tantrums, two faked injuries and only three players not booming out the national anthem. Brazil, Costa Rica and Sweden were all good boys with 15.

On the nationalistic lungful side, Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Spain all scored perfect marks with each and every player – regardless of how cat-matingly off-key the voices were – giving their larynxes a workout for the homeland.

Going on statistical extrapolation from what’s been recorded so far, Sunday’s final between France and Italy should see the Azzurri on flying form and Les Bleus providing the obstreperous Gallic fits to go along.

Hopefully the stats will prove evergreen the quote attributed to Mark Twain but actually coming from Queen Victoria’s favourite statesman, Benjamin Disraeli, “There are three types of lies; lies, damn lies and statistics.”

(Reports and sources taken from: http://worldcup.goal.com)

MULU NATIONAL PARK FINALE

We flew into Mulu using the MAS Twin Otter plane. You basically can see the cockpit directly from the passenger seats.



This is how the plane looks like, it is possibly the smallest passenger plane of MAS.





The plane behind one of the 'breasts' hills. More on that later.



Here is the airport, a very simple small building.



A local ethnic group motives carvings which looks like the head of the hornbill.





Again some more carvings. These look more like the Dayak shield motives.



That's the whole airport.





We just sit at the back of the pick-up truck which is always so nice and windy.



You can see that there are hills everywhere.





The famous 'breasts' hills. The locals call it so! They are not erm.... balanced. Hahaha!



The Mount Mulu with the peak being covered by clouds.



The bridge to go to Royal Mulu Resort.



Here is the Royal Mulu Resort.



The lobby.













Sarawak's national bird, the hornbill.



Nice toilet swinging doors. Very 'cowboy' design.



The swimming pool. Where have all the bikini chicks gone to?





You see many insects and creatures crawling and flying around.





The dustbin destroys the whole scene! This is the massage centre if I can recall. Foot massage perhaps.



Me looking damn stoned. Haha! Late nights of poker sessions!



The bridge that leads to our national park headquarter accommodation.



Other hostel accommodation options.



The main entrance of your hostel.



Our hostel accommodation.



Four single beds in a room.



Finally, the model of the whole Mulu National Park. You see all those yellow labels? Those are the names of the caves on site. I don't know whether they name all the hundreds of them.