Asian Cup 2007 - fairytale triumph

The remarkable has happened at the Asian Cup - Iraq won, beating Saudi Arabia 1-0 in the final. I saw the match last night with a few friends at a friend's place. I'm glad that the Iraqis won. And deservedly so, as they were the better team in the final against the under-par Saudi Arabia team, who impressed in the run-up to the final but was a bit subdued in the final. Iraq were more motivated & up for it than the Saudis, & in the end it proved decisive. It capped a great tournament for Iraq.

I have nothing against the Saudis at all, & I do appreciate the Saudi contribution to the tournament. However, my support for Iraq in the final was simply out of sympathy for the people in Iraq who have suffered from all the turmoil & violence that has plagued their war-ravaged country for years. My only regret is that Iraq's run to Asian Cup success has brought about a considerable number of deaths from bomb attacks & gunfire celebrations, both after the semi-final & after the final. Apparently, the deaths after the semi-final motivated the Iraq team to achieve victory, as they had those victims in their minds when the team took the field in the final.

Iraq's fairytale Asian Cup success is all the more remarkable considering how under-prepared the squad had been, the difficulties in getting their players together & having to train outside Iraq for safety reasons. The Iraqi squad is drawn from the domestic Iraqi league as well as players attached to clubs in Qatar, Lebanon, Jordan, Cyprus, & even Iran & Saudi Arabia. Talented & capable they may be, one player plays in Europe, as opposed to several other sides in the Asian Cup. But that didn't stop Iraq from taking the trophy. And surely, it will be a matter of time before a few of them get snapped up by European clubs. Watch out for players such as star midfielder Nashat Akram, forward Younis Mahmoud (captain, & goal scorer in the final), young midfielder Karrar Jassim & the left-back Basem Abbas. I may have missed the names of some others, but I will certainly keep an eye out for the Iraq team in the future!

Their success would undoubtedly have brought about much joy in Iraq, & the achievement goes beyond football. There is also the "human" side, given all the trouble happening in Iraq. All of that trouble will not be healed up by one glorious night on the football field. But at least football managed to achieve what politicians & leaders so far could not have done - bring some unity to a group of people draw from different ethnic backgrounds (Arabs, Kurds, etc). The Iraq football team is reflective of that multi-ethnicity & together as a group, it achieved wonders. The Iraqi football supporters unite & celebrate their team's great achievement. It will hopefully encourage the Iraqi people that whatever their ethnic differences, together they can unite, together they can overcome problems, together they can achieve good things. And at least there is some hope for a more positive future for that country. Ahh, such is the positive influence of football.

And, what of the Iraq team coach, Jorvan Vieira? The Brazilian was only with Iraq for some 6 weeks before the Asian Cup kicked off. Yet in that short space of time, he turned a bunch of talented but dispersed players into champions. What an achievement, no doubt one which will look so good on his CV. He left the team after the final, deciding not to stay on, & is rumoured to be coaching South Korea next (incidentally, the Koreans were beaten by Iraq on penalty shoot-out in the semis). But what a way for Mr Vieira to sign off. He left the Iraq football team in good shape, & Iraq football supporters & people back home with much to cheer about & perhaps a brighter future to look forward to.

Friendship - hahaha....

This is a funny junkmail that I got from my work colleague on Friday (NB: Font size below differs from original junkmail received).
And no, I haven't yet forwarded this to any of my friends, close or otherwise - maybe because I can't think of any! Haha.....

*****************************

"True" Friendship

None of that Sissy Crap

Are you tired of those sissy "friendship" poems that always sound good,

But never actually come close to reality?

Well, here is a series of promises that actually speak of true friendship.

You will see no cutesy little smiley faces on this card-

Just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

1. When you are sad -- I will help you get drunk and plot revenge against

The sorry bastard who made you sad.

2. When you are blue -- I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile -- I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.

4. When you are scared -- I will rag on you about it every chance I get.

5. When you are worried -- I will tell you horrible stories about how much Worse it could be until you quit whining.

6. When you are confused -- I will use little words.

7. When you are sick -- Stay the hell away from me until you are well

Again. I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall -- I will point and laugh at your clumsy ass.

9. This is my oath.... I pledge it to the end. "Why?" you may ask;

"because you are my friend".

Friendship is like peeing your pants,

everyone can see it,

But only you can feel the true warmth.

Send this to 10 of your closest friends,

Then get depressed because you can only think

of 4.

Sermon on Ezra 7-10

Pastor Steve's sermon on Ezra 7-10 talked about God sending Ezra back to Jerusalem because God wanted the place to reflect His holiness, & Ezra (a scribe, a leader) was to help achieve that aim. God wanted the place to be holy, & for the people to love God & love other people.

The people (Israelites) were set apart to honour God, & they (the descendants of Abraham) were chosen by God to represent Him to this world. However, God's chosen people lost their identity as they did not want to become a separate holy nation. Therefore, they could not represent God. As a response to the people's failure to keep themselves holy, Ezra ripped his tunic & cloak & pulled his hair from his head. He must have felt such great sorrow & despair for the the people's sins, the failure to be holy, to have resorted to doing all that to himself. Those of you reading who personally know me, can you imagine me ripping my hair & clothes if I was angry at something - it would not be a very pretty sight, would it? Haha.

Anyway, the thing is, God wants holiness, & He will forgive us (if we repent of our sins), & we can then be part of God's solution. The people back then had to make a hard decision for the sake of holiness. So, we today have to be absolutely ruthless if we are to be holy people.

Pastor Steve then posed this question: Do we strive to be holy? God made hard decisions for the sake of holiness. He killed His Son Jesus so that we can become holy. He did that so that we can be transformed from a life of hopelessness to a life of holiness, so that we would stop living a life of sin.

So back to that question: Do we strive to be holy? I cannot answer that question in the affirmative. As mentioned in previous post (on sermon on Ezra 4-6), striving towards holiness is not something that is at the forefront of my mind. I have never given the topic of "holiness" much thought. A part of me thinks that holiness is such an impossible goal to achieve, that I'm not inclined to try hard to achieve that goal. Needless to say, I am sure I will hear more on "holiness" in the future. It is something I need to think more about.

Argentina - world youth champions again!

Argentina have successfully defended their world youth crown, beating the Czech Republic 2-1 in the FIFA Under-20 World Youth Cup 2007 held in Canada. It means that the Albiceleste have now won 6 Under-20 titles, more than any other nation; 5 of them came in the last 7 world youth championships. The latest triumph is remarkable in that Argentina went through the tournament unbeaten, & won all their matches in the knockout stages within the regular 90 minutes, without ever needing extra-time.

All the goals appeared to be well-taken goals. The Czechs took the lead in the 60th minute via striker Martin Fenin, who shot brilliantly on the turn. However, Argentina's young sensation Sergio Aguero equalised just 2 minutes later thanks to a superb through pass from young Boca Juniors midfielder Ever Banega. Then in the 86th minute, another of Argentina's star forwards, Mauro Zarate, cut in from the left side & unleashed a powerful shot past the Czech keeper.

Both Argentina & Czech Republic actually played each other earlier in this tournament, in the group stages. In fact, it was their very first match of the tournament, & on that ocassion it finished 0-0, a game in which the Czechs managed to contain the Argentines. Both teams have obviously done very well to get to the final, with both teams getting past very talented opposition in the quarter final stages (Czechs edging out Spain on penalty shoot-out, Argentina narrowly beating Mexico).

The triumph gives Argentina a strong case for having the best young football talent in the world. By all accounts, their football has been very entertaining, full of skill & enterprise. Even though beaten, it is hoped that the Czechs will not be too disappointed. They can be extremely proud of their achievement, & huge credit must go to them for getting this far, only losing narrowly to a very very talented Argentinian side (& in that sense the Czechs have nothing to be ashamed about). As their coach said, Czech Republic went further in the tournament than any other European team, & they certainly proved worthy of their place in the final. I hope that the players from both teams will go on to have very successful football futures. Some of them will be pushing for senior national team places for their respective countries.

Sergio Aguero certainly had a ball during the tournament, finishing as top scorer & best player/MVP awards. Already having played a couple of games for Argentina's senior team, he will surely go on to become a star for Argentina & possibly one day become the best striker in the world. Aguero also helped Argentina win the 2005 World Youth Cup, although on that occasion he was not a regular - Messi was the star of the tournament then. This time, in Canada, Aguero played a more prominent role for his country, & his top scorer & MVP awards is proof of that. But of course, he is not the only star of the Argentinan youth side. Expect others such as Mauro Zarate, Ever Banega, Maximilliano Moralez, Angel Di Maria, Lautaro Acosta & Damian Escudero to also have very bright futures, which will hopefully include hoisting the Copa America & the World Cup. There's also the keeper Sergio Romero, & also others which are not mentioned (can't remember them all!).

Some have said that not all players who shine at youth level will go on to do the same at senior level. That may be true, & is caused by various factors including player burn-out. Hopefully with careful nurturing, all that can be avoided & the youth players of this tournament (not just Argentina, but also Czech Republic & other sides) will go on to have good careers at senior level.

Meanwhile, in view of Argentina's latest triumph, & for carrying on their proud tradition at youth level, let me say viva Albiceleste. Long may the champagne football continue into the future.





Sergio Aguero receives the Golden Ball award, from FIFA president Sepp Blatter (left & FIFA vice-precident Jack Warner (right).






Pictures of the Argentina under-20 team with the trophy:


























Source: Yahoo Sports.

Catch up with Dr YC

I spent much of Saturday with some friends from my Clay Group, hanging out & catching up with our dear friend Yan, who came from Hong Kong on a 2 week visit to Brisbane. She has not changed much since she went to HK 9 months ago. Saturday wasn't actually the first time I saw her since she's back on her visit - she attended her PhD graduation on Friday nite at UQ (so she's officially a "Dr" now), & thereafter dropped by at CCCB St Lucia to attend the Clay.

Anyways, our Saturday outing was pretty good. A bunch of us met up at Winston's place after 12pm. The original plan of heading for Yatala to taste the pies was somehow abandoned. After deciding over where to go, the 8 of us went in 2 cars (myself, Yan, Sandra, Wong//Winston, Sean, Ivan & Maria) headed east to Victoria Point for some fish & chips near a marina site. The fish & chips was passable, without being great. The views at Victoria Point (marina & all) were good, & there were some nice houses in the area. One of the guys showed us his dad's boss' houses & they were huge. Looking at the houses brought out the materialistic side in me, as I chatted (half-jokingly) with Wong about getting into share trading to make good profits & using the money to get me some of those houses!

Anyway, we left Victoria Point & headed up to the beach at Wellington Point. The beach there didn't have much sand at all. It was good weather, perfect for fishing. Yet it was windy, so we put on our winter clothes, & took out a couple of picnic rugs & sat by the beach. Some of us played cards, & we also spent a little time at the jetty. A few of us, including myself, also had some ice cream.

We then departed Wellington Point just after 5pm & headed to Bulimba to dine at a Mexican dining place, called La Quinta Cafe y Bar. We arrived a few minutes before schedule, so we walked around Oxford St, Bulimba & all the way to the Bulimba Ferry Terminal by the Brisbane River, & then headed to La Quinta. We were then joined by Nigel, Phuong, BT, Selma. Chi & Suzanne came later. We had some starters before main dinner. The 3 dishes that I shared with Ivan, Maria, Nigel & Phuong were enchilada, fajita, & chili con carne. The fajita was superb, chili con carne was quite nice too (especially the beef), but the enchilada (which I picked) was not as good as the other 2 dishes. Interestingly, the fajita bore a remarkable resemblance to an Indian roti. Perhaps that subsonsciously made me positively pre-disposed to liking it even before I tasted the fajita.

After dinner, the "original 8" headed back to Winston's place. Some of us then headed over to Grace & Damian's house which was really nice (Winston was house-sitting). There, I watched the Asian Cup quarter-final between Japan & Australia, while the others (Winston, Sean, Ivan, Maria & Yan) played cards. I was too engrossed with the football to join them with the cards.

An enjoyable day, filled with lots of catching up, laughs & fun. Great to see that all is well with Yan. I thank God for such a friend & sister in Christ, & may God continue to bless her & use her to be a blessing to others. I don't know what her movements are during the rest of her stay in Brisbane, so I don't know what other opportunities I will get to chat with her apart from church on Sunday. But I really enjoyed being able to catch up with her on Saturday. Thank God for a great day!

PS: A shame I didn't have my camera (died during Hung's birthday party), so I had to take pictures via my Samsung mobile phone. I still haven't figured out how to get pictures from mobile to my PC. Never mind.

Euro-English? Really?

My friend forwarded this to me this evening. I don't know how true or serious this is, as I wasn't given a source. I mean, I haven't heard of "Euro-English" until today.

My friend told me that when she read this, she thought of me & Clay, specifically the Club Cranium game I played with a few brothers from Clay a couple of years back when I used "Engrish". (Or, shall I say, Crub Cranium? brue corour, yerrow corour etc)

Reading this, you just have to laugh.

***********************************

The European Union (EU) are looking at reforming English spelling in a five year phase-in plan that would be known as "Euro-English". The goal is to standardise English spelling so that non-native speakers can learn English spelling more easily.

In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". This should reduse any synisism about the plan. The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion and keyboards kan have 1 less letter.

There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year, when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like "fotograf" 20% shorter.

The letter "x" will be replased by "ks" and the "-ed" ending on verbs with "-t" or "-et". Although only sometimes spelt and pronounst as "t", in the interests of konsistensy, all "-ed" words will be spelt this way.

In the third year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be ekspektet to reach the stage where more komplikatet changes are possible. The EU will enkorage the removal of double leters, which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling. Also, al wil agre that the horible mes of the silent "e"s in the languag is disgrasful, and they should go away.

By the fourth year, peopl wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" wiz "v".

During ze fifz year, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropt from vords kontaining "ou" and similar changes vud of kors be aplid to ozer kombinations of leters. After zis fifz yer, ve vil hav a reli sensibl riten styl. Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi to understand ech ozer. Ze drem of a unite t urop vil finali kum tru!

World's fastest internet - set by 75 year old

Check this out. Now, I'm no expert at all that IT or technology stuff. But this is really super quick! Movie download in no more than 2 seconds! And all that, by a 75 year old Swedish woman. And she only uses her internet for news. Ai yah....some people so lucky to have access to such speed, but don't make much use of it.

Until now, that kind of internet speed unheard of - well, for me anyway. When can I get a piece of that action??

***************************

75-year-old likely set Internet speed record
Her fiber-optic connection could be world's fastest home uplink
By Louise Nordstrom
The Associated Press
Updated: 1:46 p.m. ET July 18, 2007

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - She is a latecomer to the information superhighway, but 75-year-old Sigbritt Lothberg is now cruising the Internet with a dizzying speed.

Lothberg's 40 gigabits-per-second fiber-optic connection in Karlstad is believed to be the fastest residential uplink in the world, Karlstad city officials said.

In less than 2 seconds, Lothberg can download a full-length movie on her home computer —many thousand times faster than most residential connections, said Hafsteinn Jonsson, head of the Karlstad city network unit.

Jonsson and Lothberg's son, Peter, worked together to install the connection.

The speed is reached using a new modulation technique that allows the sending of data between two routers placed up to 1,240 miles apart, without any transponders in between, Jonsson said.

"We wanted to show that that there are no limitations to Internet speed," he said.

Peter Lothberg, who is a networking expert, said he wanted to demonstrate the new technology while providing a computer link for his mother.

"She's a brand new Internet user," Lothberg said by phone from California, where he lives. "She didn't even have a computer before."

His mother isn't exactly making the most of her high-speed connection. She only uses it to read Web-based newspapers.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19832184/from/ET/

Unfortunately, this has to happen

I'm talking about the 2007 Copa America final, between Argentina & Brazil. Predictably, South America's top 2 teams reached the final. But somewhat unexpectedly, Brazil won convincingly, by 3-0. Unexpected because Argentina were favoured to win, considering that Brazil lacked Ronaldinho & Kaka (both requested leave from the tournament), & especially when Argentina were more impressive during the lead-up to the final.

Unfortunately, Argentina lost. That Brazil won so decisively (as suggested by the scoreline) was a bit embarassing & depressing. I say that not because I have anything against Brazil, but because I thought Argentina could do it this time. Brazil won because they have such great firepower & finishing ability, so pacy & incisive on the counter-attack, & physically too strong. Argentina, though they play with more skill & flair, proved too lightweight & were simply overpowered by bigger opponents.

I can go on & on talking all night. But it's just so depressing - the Argentines saved their worst performance for the final, not delivering the goods when it really really mattered - & all this is made worse by the fact that it's Brazil that triumphed at their expense. Nothing went right. They may have had more of the ball than Brazil, but that does not count for much when u don't do as much with it as the opposition.

Argentina won every match convincingly leading up to the final, & this has to happen. Reminds me a bit about the Dutch team in 1974 World Cup, where they swept all before them & were hotly tipped to lift the trophy, only to lose to the host & bitter rivals West Germany. But at least the Dutch played well then, & only the German keeper stood between them & victory. Argentina, yesterday, didn't play well enough, didn't do what they had to do. Well, if u don't score, u don't win. Simple as that.

I guess the best thing is to reflect on how well Argentina have played up to the final. Perhaps as time passes & rational analysis & reflection are made, Argentina may be able to discern as to why they lost, & hopefully the necessary changes can be made to their football. But not too much changes, hopefully. Certainly, we do not want Argentina to stop their way of playing football. The consensus among many observers is that overall (even though they slipped up in the final), Argentina played the best & most entertaining brand of football in the tournament & are widely admired for that (just like that Dutch team of 1974). Slick, skillful passing & wonderful combination moves - the Argentinians staunchly stick to their football traditions, & credit must go to them for that. But all that pretty patterns, unfortunately went unrewarded. As many say, it's the result that matters, & Brazil got the result simply because they are so decisive in what they do, unlike the Argentines. Congratulations to them.

Want to dodge jury duty? Here's someone's attempt

Ahhh hahaha. Look at this MSNBC article, on what some guy did to get out of jury duty. So, if I ever get called to jury duty, I might just try this guy's "stunt". Haha. Just kidding.

********************************

Potential juror says he’s a liar
Cape Cod man's claims earn sharp rebuke from judge, may lead to charges
The Associated Press
Updated: 8:01 a.m. ET July 10, 2007

BARNSTABLE, Mass. - A Cape Cod man who claimed he was homophobic, racist and a habitual liar to avoid jury duty earned an angry rebuke from a judge on Monday, who referred the case to prosecutors for possible charges.

“In 32 years of service in courtrooms, as a prosecutor, as a defense attorney and now as a judge, I have quite frankly never confronted such a brazen situation of an individual attempting to avoid juror service,” Barnstable Superior Court Judge Gary Nickerson told Daniel Ellis, according to a preliminary court transcript of the exchange.

Ellis, of Falmouth, had been called to court with about 60 other potential jurors for possible service on a 23-member grand jury.

On a questionnaire that all potential jurors fill out, Ellis wrote that he didn’t like homosexuals and blacks. He then echoed those sentiments in an interview with Nickerson.

“You say on your form that you’re not a fan of homosexuals,” Nickerson said.

“That I’m a racist,” Ellis interrupted.

“I’m frequently found to be a liar, too. I can’t really help it,” Ellis added.

“I’m sorry?” Nickerson said.

“I said I’m frequently found to be a liar,” Ellis replied.

“So, are you lying to me now?” Nickerson asked.

“Well, I don’t know. I might be,” was the response.

Ellis then admitted he really didn’t want to serve on a jury.

“I have the distinct impression that you’re intentionally trying to avoid jury service,” Nickerson said.

“That’s true,” Ellis answered.

Nickerson ordered Ellis taken into custody. He was released later Monday morning.

Ellis could face perjury and other charges.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11909495/from/ET/

MEM #4 (8/7/07)

Church had Missions Encouragement Meeting (MEM) this past Sunday evening. We have MEM once every few months. This MEM focussed on advertising 5 potential short-term mission trips to various places in Asia (HK, Taiwan, China, Japan) this coming summer. They are considered "potential" because the trips are not as yet confirmed - it would all depend on whether sufficient numbers can be secured before the trip is confirmed.

MEM started with a short video about (if I recalled correctly) the plight of old widowed women in India, all of whom lived in a sanctuary in poverty. I felt pity for these women. Not sure if the sanctuary are run by Christians, but the message of the video is clear - "Our World Needs Jesus". It is probably with this message in mind that the various potential short-term missions were advertised at MEM, with full encouragement from our church's Missions Committee. It provided people with a chance to obtain more info about these trips, with a view to consider whether they want to be part of any of the trips. It was encouraging to see a sizeable turnout - there would have been easily 25 people. We had pizza dinner in the middle of MEM, & then continued the "second-half" thereafter, with people split up into various groups according to the country that they would consider going to for short-term missions. I joined the HK group, as they were the smallest & probably also because of all the countries "on display", HK would probably be the country I would most likely visit next. We looked at some pics of the last short-term missions in HK by sections of our church, then prayed for the short-term missions. That was basically it for MEM. A little different from others, but good. Great to see Jay & Melina come along - haven't seen them for months (they attend another church), then suddenly I see them for the second consecutive Sunday! MEM, as I may have said before, is really worth attending, & I will make it a point to attend all future MEMs.

Well, what about me & short-term missions? At this stage, I have no plans to go on one anytime soon. I got other things in my mind. A few months ago, a friend/Christian brother asked me if I wanted to join him & a few others on a short-term missions to India. I politely declined, although I joked that it would be great tasting all those curries & tasty Indian food! And it looks like I can't use the "I'm too old" excuse, either, because those planning to go on the short-term missions included some middle-aged people.
Anyway, jokes aside, who knows, maybe next time. Certainly, I will provide support (prayer & financial) to those from church who are going on the short-term missions this summer - if I am approached for such support. I trust that God will bless those going on the short-term missions, & the unsaved people whom they will meet.

NB: Right after MEM ended, I rushed to pick up my friend IC from New Farm & headed to La Dolce Vita in Milton to join several others to watch the Asian Cup match between Australia & Oman. We turned up earlier than the others. The turnout at Milton wasn't as huge as it was 3 years ago when we watched Euro 2004 at the same place. But anyway, good to watch football with the company of friends. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, Oman unlucky not to have won, with Australia's keeper saving his team from a comprehensive defeat.

Sermon on Ezra 4-6

Church is currently doing a series of sermons on the book of Ezra. The first sermon in the series was delivered last Sunday (by one of the elders, I believe), but I wasn't around to hear it as I had visited another church. However, I did manage to catch yesterday's sermon by our pastoral apprentice, on Ezra 4-6. (The same guy gave the sermon in mid-April which I previously blogged about - see "Simple Faith")

The main encouragement from the book of Ezra is that God's sovereignty ensures that all things work for His glory. Because God is sovereign, we can trust Him in the face of opposition. God's people can expect to face opposition when they do God's work. Unfortunate, perhaps, but it's the reality of this world, & believers must face various opposition & hostility. They should not be discouraged by all that, but rather trust that God is in control over everything & He will help overcome obstacles.

In Ezra 4-6, the construction of the temple in Jerusalem (as part of Jerusalem's rebuilding) was finished, but not before opposition which delayed the rebuilding. The temple may have been completed, but it lacked the glory of God. The speaker referred us to the New Testament (specifically John 2), where we saw that there is another temple, one which didn't take so long to complete & which certainly did not lack the glory of God. That temple is Jesus Christ - the true temple. The speaker pointed out that in Jesus, God dwells among His people. In Jesus, we see God face to face. And in Jesus, we have the perfect atonement for sin.

The speaker also referred us to 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, which basically said that God's temple is holy & we are that temple. I understand that to mean that we believers are/should be unified in God (i.e. part of God's temple), & therefore we should be holy. The speaker points out that we often struggle with the idea of being holy (this is too true in my case).

He referred to John Chapman's book "Sinner's Guide to Holiness", & pointed out a couple of things. Firstly, holiness is connected to the character of God. God is holy & we should treat Him as God, & God's moral purity is such that we should be clean if we are to approach him. On this, we have been made clean only because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. Secondly, we should strive after holiness.

He then spoke of the reasons why Christians struggle with holiness:

• We love the world too much. (often, this is associated with time, money spent pursuing worldly things?)
• Wealth. Here, it was emphasized that the Bible is not against wealth, but is against wealth at the expense of generosity. ^^
• Alternatives. (unfortunately, didn't catch his discussion on this point).
  

He then concluded the sermon by reminding us of Ezra where we see that God is at work to ensure that all things work for His glory. He is at work as we strive towards holiness.

Hmmm, let's read that again. He (God) is at work as we strive towards holiness. But am I? Am I presently working towards that goal? I can't say I am & that's not surprising, for I have not given it much thought at all. I do hear about striving to holiness time & time again, but it seems this goes in one ear & out the other. The stuff from the sermon has given me quite a few things to muse about (more stuff piling on my plate). I am presently caught up by all sorts of things/distractions (so many things occupying my mind simultaneously), & sometimes feel I'm at risk of burning out. I sense that I need to "sit down" one day & reassess lots of things, including what I learn from church (such as the sermon above) & my Clay study group.


^^ I think during his discussion on wealth, he referred to my blog (without mentioning my name), specifically my post last week on payrise/money. I glanced around as he talked about my post, as though half-expecting sections of the audience to turn to me & say "It's you, isn't it? He's talking about your blog, isn't he?". No one did, which was a relief ;) Hehe.

Who really talks more?

Ohhhh, come on. I'm not sure I'm ready to truly believe this article, interesting though it may be. Speaking for myself, I can definitely say I'm not chatty. I can think of some male friends who are talkative. However, on the whole, I would have thought females, you know, talk a whole lot more.

According to the article, the research was confined to college students. And in North America, at that. The researcher says he believes it applies across age groups, but does not elaborate on that. And yes, I too wonder how it applies across various cultures. It would be good to see research done across age groups & cultures, in different countries, & then look at the results.

Anyway, do read on & feel free to post a comment on what u think.

*******************************

Gals don’t gab that much more
Researchers counted and found women use just a few extra words
The Associated Press
Updated: 2:45 p.m. ET July 5, 2007

WASHINGTON - Another stereotype — chatty gals and taciturn guys — bites the dust.

Turns out, when you actually count the words, there isn’t much difference between the sexes when it comes to talking.

A team led by Matthias R. Mehl, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, came up with the finding, which is published in Friday’s issue of the journal Science.

The researchers placed microphones on 396 college students for periods ranging from two to 10 days, sampled their conversations and calculated how many words they used in the course of a day.

The score: Women, 16,215. Men, 15,669.

The difference: 546 words: “Not statistically significant,” say the researchers.

“What’s a 500-word difference, compared with the 45,000-word difference between the most and the least talkative persons” in the study, said Mehl.

When guys get chatty

Co-author James W. Pennebaker, chairman of the psychology department at the University of Texas, said the researchers collected the recordings as part of a larger project to understand how people are affected when they talk about emotional experiences.

They were surprised when a magazine article asserted that women use an average of 20,000 words per day compared with 7,000 for men. If there had been that big a difference, he thought, they should have noticed it.

They found that the 20,000-7,000 figures have been used in popular books and magazines for years. But they couldn’t find any research supporting them.

“Although many people believe the stereotypes of females as talkative and males as reticent, there is no large-scale study that systematically has recorded the natural conversations of large groups of people for extended periods of time,” Pennebaker said.

Indeed, Mehl said, one study they found, done in workplaces, showed men talking more.

‘Urban legend’

Still, the idea that women use nearly three times as many words a day as men has taken on the status of an “urban legend,” he said.

“We realized we had the data,” Mehl said in a telephone interview, so they went back to their recordings and calculated the actual numbers.

Their research began with one group of students in 1998, two groups sampled in 2001, two in 2003 and a final group in 2004. One of the 2003 groups involved 51 students in Mexico, the rest were all in the United States.

The students were fitted with unobtrusive recorders that sampled their conversations — the students didn’t know when the recorders were on. From the samples, a total number of words for the day could be calculated.

Of the six groups sampled, women used more words than men in three and men used more words than women in the other three, including the one in Mexico.

The research was limited to college students, but Pennebaker said he believes it would probably apply to others in the same age range.

“The question is, how it applies to people as we get older,” he said in a telephone interview on Thursday.

Mehl said he thinks it should apply across age groups, but he wondered how it would be affected by different cultures.

© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19618373/from/ET/

2007 AFC Asian Cup coming soon

The latest edition of the Asian Football Confederation Asian Cup is about to kick off today! It will run for about 3 weeks. It's the first time the tournament will be co-hosted by 4 nations, being Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia & Indonesia.

The teams taking part are as follows:

Group A: Thailand, Australia, Iraq, Oman
Group B: Vietnam, Japan, Qatar, UAE
Group C: Malaysia, China, Iran, Uzbekistan
Group D: Indonesia, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain

There you are. The tournament kicks off with Thailand taking on Iraq. The tournament sees a new face, Australia, who will be taking part in the finals for the first time since being admitted as a member of the AFC. After their admission, Australia took part in the Asian Cup qualifiers & qualified for the tournament after topping their group.

The top 2 teams in each group will proceed to the quarter-finals. Here's my group stage forecast:

Group A:
Australia are favoured to top this group, & rightly so - most of their squad are based in Europe & therefore have lots of experience in European club football. That leaves the other 3 teams fighting for the remaining spot. I find it hard to pick from the remaining 3. Thailand, the strongest of the 4 host nations, will need to make the most of their home-advantage to have a chance of progressing. Oman will be no pushovers & have often punched above their weight. Iraq finished fourth in the Athens Olympics in 2004 & runners-up in the 2006 Asian Games, & a good portion of the players from those tournaments will be at this Asian Cup. For that reason, the Iraqis may be considered stronger than Oman & Thailand. However Iraq's preparations will have been hampered by the on-going war-time crisis. So it's hard to assess how much of an impact they will make on the Asian Cup, though based on talent alone, there's no doubt they can prove more than a handful for their group rivals. I'd cross my fingers & pick Thailand (who will enjoy the passionate support of their home fans) to join Australia in the knock-out stages, but will not be surprised Oman & especially Iraq prove me wrong.

Group B:
Like Australia in Group A, Japan are expected to dominate Group B. I think they will top this group, although their coach Ivica Osim have warned that fatigue from a long J-League season could hamper Japan's campaign. Nevertheless, based on talent alone, the Japanese should win the group. The Japanese will be keen on making amends for their disappointing showing at WC2006. And let's not forget Japan are the defending champions & will not give up their title without a fight. In fact, Japan won the last 2 Asian Cups & will look to make it 3 in a row. It will be far from easy, though, with tough group opponents UAE & Qatar lying in wait. UAE are coached by Frenchman Bruno Metsu, who will be remembered for taking Senegal into the WC quarter-finals of Korea/Japan 2002. For that reason, expect UAE to be a well-drilled & cohesive unit. Qatar's football league is ever booming, & the Qatar fans will expect that to rub off on their football team. I would pick UAE to edge out Qatar for second spot, but would not be that surprised if the Qataris finish ahead of the Emirates. As for Vietnam, they are an unknown quantity. They will play with much pride, in front of their passionate fans. Unfortunately, I doubt that will be enough in this group, especially given that Vietnam have a young squad short on experience. Thailand looks to have a better chance in Group A than Vietnam does in Group B.

Group C:
Look at this. My country of origin, Malaysia, in the finals of a major tournament! But they are here only because they are one of the hosts. No disrespect to them, but there is no possibility of them getting out of this group, not when it includes Asian heavyweights China & Iran. China finished as runner-up in the last Asian Cup, which they hosted, & will be keen to go one better in this tournament. Recent results & performances have been disappointing, but their coach said the Chinese are raring to go. Iran do have a number of players based in Europe, & are definitely one of the most talented teams in the Asian Cup. While there have been question marks over their temperament & team spirit, there's no question Iran have too much pedigree not to make it past the group stages. In the fight for the top 2 spots, Iran will probably end up ahead of China. Hoping to challenge them would be the Central Asians, Uzbekistan. They are winners of 1994 Asian Games, when they first took part in Asia, but have not done much since. That's not to question the talent in the Uzbek team. In fact, at their best, Uzbekistan will be awkward opponents. China & Iran will be silly to understimate them & I won't be that surprised if Uzbekistan manage to come second in this group. I cannot say the same for Malaysia, whose fans will not expect much at all from the team other than to give a good acount of themselves.

Group D:
This group appear to be a straight-forward tussle between South Korea & Saudi Arabia. Korea's lead up to the tournament have been rocky. Injuries have ruled out several of their Europe-based stars, most notably Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung. Korea's Dutch coach Pim Verbeek also has had squabbles with the K-League clubs over a crowded domestic calendar & player availability. Nevertheless, results & performances in warm-up friendly matches have been heartening, & have shown that Korea can still call on some talented young players from their K-League, though it remains to be seen whether or not their talent can overcome the experience lost by the injuries to the overseas-based players. Like the Koreans, Saudi Arabia will also bring a young squad to the tournament. Long gone are the Saudi generation that took part in the 1994 WC (including Saeed Owairan, scorer of that marvellous solo goal in that WC against Belgium), & the Saudis are rebuilding. Whether that rebuilding process will run smoothly is debateable - the Saudi FA are notorious for hiring & firing coaches at alarming regularity - if I heard correctly, more than a dozen coaches have come & gone since 1994! Such a turnover hampers any efforts to rebuild their national team & make full use of player potential. Nevetheless, they should prove too strong for Bahrain & Indonesia. Bahrain got to the semis of the 2004 Asian Cup, but are not fancied to repeat that achievement this time round. Indonesia's hopes have been dealt a blow by injuries to a couple of their key strikers, & I think third place in the group is the best they can hope for.

From the group stages, we get onto the quarter-finals. It's difficult to predict the Asian Cup winner, but it will probably come from any of the following (in no particular order): Australia, Iran, Japan, South Korea, & outside chances go to China & Saudi Arabia.

What happened to my CM 5?

Not so long ago, a couple of friends asked me as to the fate of my beloved PC game, Championship Manager 5. CM5 is a simulated football/soccer management game. What you do is this: you pick a football club, & then you manage that club. As football manager, you buy & sell the players (real players), hire the coaches & physios, run the training program, make the team selection for match days, & watch how your team performs. You run the show, & see how good your football management skills are.

Since purchasing the game last year (my good friend spotted it for me at City's Harvey Norman), I had been totally hooked on it. So hooked that I would spend hours playing it, whenever I'm not out & about with friends. Sometimes, I would hurry through dinner & then rush upstairs to get into CM5.

Well, back to my friends' question: What happened to my CM5? Still playing it? I could tell they were a little concerned that CM5 was taking up a lot of my free time, that I don't spend much time doing devotionals (or Quiet Time). Well, the answer is: No, I'm no longer playing it. I haven't played the game for about more than 4 months now. That's because I've found another hobby - blogging! Well, here I am, doing just that. Besides doing my own blog, I also read the blogs of other people - both friends & strangers. It's a great new hobby.

Nevertheless, I would like to get back to CM5 soon & get back into simulated football management. Those of you who wonder what it looks like, take a look at the picture below. The club I was managing is Vitesse Arnhem, a Dutch top division club based in the city of Arnhem. The pic below shows Vitesse losing 1-0 at half-time of a pre-season friendly game against French club Nice. I think Vitesse went on to lose the match by 2 or 3 goals! Under the score-card is a soccer pitch, & during the course of a match, you will see various dots (representing the players) moving up & down to "depict" footballers in action. To the right of the soccer pitch is a bar with the match stats. Just under the soccer pitch is a thin meter showing each team's possession. If you look closely at the meter on the pic, you will notice that the yellow portion is longer than the red portion. That indicates that my team had more of the ball than the opponent. Obviously, that wasn't much of a help with my team trailing at half-time!

I managed Vitesse under the name Roger Van Haaren. Van Haaren is a loud, cocky & boastful Dutchman. He constantly harps that his team is the best in Europe, regardless of whether or not it won the European Cup in a given season. His touchline celebrations (whenever Vitesse scores) irritates the opposition & their fans, & even sections of the Dutch media. He has a short fuse & has been caught using foul & abusive language during a match, by Dutch TV. Van Haaren (i.e. me) was very successful, although the first few years managing Vitesse was a struggle as they had to live in the shadow of Holland's big clubs Ajax Amsterdam, PSV Eindhoven & Feyenoord. But over time, Van Haaren constructed a talented, young, formidable squad. Eventually, Vitesse Arnhem ruled Holland, winning the Dutch championship & Dutch Cup on a regular basis & thus shifting the balance of power in Dutch football to the city of Arnhem. Vitesse would then conquer Europe, winning a few European trophies. So, Van Haaren has won everything there is to win in the Netherlands & Europe. He even won the World Club Championship by beating some Brazilian club who were the South American champions.

But yeah, CM5 is fun. And I can definitely see myself making a comeback. Well, either that or I go find CM6 or another more current edition, & buy it if the price is not prohibitively expensive.

Show me the money!

Tomorrow (Mon, 2 July) is D-day for me. I will have my staff performance & salary review. I don't think I will have too much issues to discuss, as I'm happy overall with work.

However, I want a huge payrise! Maybe I'm a bit greedy. I may be tempted to yell out that famous quote/line from the movie Jerry Maguire: "Show me the money!" Should that happen, it may look funny on video. But whether or not it will go down well with my boss is questionable. I joked with my team mates that I will shout them a huge lunch if my pay gets doubled.
Anyway, whatever happens happens. I should leave it to God.

On a more serious note, a very close friend & brother in Christ will have a job interview tomorrow. I wish him all the best of luck with that interview & will remember him in my prayers. I thank God for our friendship (& with it all the laughs & banter) & for all His blessings on this friend. Long may those blessings continue, & long may our friendship endure.

Shiok!, Qld Roar v SuperSport Utd

Shiok apparently is a Singaporean (& possibly also Malaysian?) exclamation that is used to indicate an object as extremely good, often used in the case of food to exclaim that a particular food consumed is extremely tasty. It is presumably for this reason that a Chinese Malaysian restaurant at Eight Mile Plains is named Shiok!.

I had lunch at Shiok! today with some friends after attending Sunnybank District Baptist Church (a visit - left my car at New Farm & carpooled with Maria & Ivan). The place was packed when I arrived with Maria & Ivan (after the 3 of us shopped at JB-HiFi), so it meant we waited outside for a table - & we weren't the only ones waiting. We were still waiting when Jay (it was his idea that we lunch at Shiok!) & Melina arrived. But thankfully, we were then taken to our table.

I ordered the Shiok! combination laksa, & it was definitely shiok, i.e. tasty. The cost was $9.80, but the laksa came in such a huge bowl & there was a fair amount of ingredients. The gravy was thick, which is good as it meant there was a stronger curry flavour, which is how I like it (given my strong bias towards spicy food). I must say, though that all that handling of the laksa with the chopsticks left some stains on my shirt - more than on any other occasion that I had laksa. The others at my table kept looking at my laksa bowl, probably admiring the view! There was also another table filled with some people from CCCB St Lucia who came after church, & some of them (including Winston) came over to have a peek at my laksa, asked me how good it was & then decided to also order the same for lunch! Oh, I also bumped into Sharon who also happened to be there with a group from her church. So, quite a number of groups from different churches rocked up for lunch! I took a picture of the laksa on my mobile camera, & one day I might post the picture here (after figuring out how to get the pic from my mobile onto my PC - I'm so technology illiterate). It was great to catch up with Jay & Melina, especially Jay whom I last saw at my sister's wedding reception at the end of March!

After lunch, we headed back to New Farm as I had to attend the Qld Roar pre-season friendly against visiting South African club, SuperSport Utd. I went with Terence & Catherine to Suncorp Stadium to watch the match. The match kicked off the "Queensland Roars Against Racism" campaign, & spectators were given plastic red cards at the entrance of the stadium to symbolise giving racism the red card. Before the kick-off, there was the playing of the national anthems of South Africa (by a choir) & Australia (by James Blundell). I really like the South African anthem, both in Afrikaan & English.

The match itself (3pm kick-off) was fairly good, though I won't say outstanding. Final score was Queensland Roar 4 SuperSport Utd 1. Comprehensive win for Qld Roar. Qld played a reasonable game, at least in attack anyway, & all their 4 goals were scored on SuperSport keeper's left side. Qld must have noted that this was the keeper's weak side as he struggle a bit when diving to his left - hence why they often attack that side of the keeper. SuperSport were physically strong & they did create some good chances for their swift forwards (at least 3 chances), yet poor finishing meant they only managed to convert 1 of those chances. For that reason, they lost by a big margin. The final score could have been 5-4 or 6-4 to Qld. Overall, Qld were definitely the better performing side & did deserve the win. It's only a pre-season friendly, but Qld Roar overall played better than they have done in many A-League games. It is hoped that Qld will be able to draw maximum encouragement from their showing & spur themselves to good things in the A-League. It surely is time for Qld Roar to finish in the top 4.

The one feature of the game I didn't like was the disgraceful lunge by Qld's new recruit at left back, Tiatto, on one of the SuperSport players. The SuperSport player had to be stretchered off & could not continue the match. The SuperSport players didn't make a big deal about the incident (they seemed to be in vacation mode - perhaps this contributed to the scoreline). Yet, someone has to make a stand against such brutality. It has no place in football, & I condemn Tiatto for that. As Terence correctly remarked, it's only a pre-season game & so there's no need to go in so hard. SuperSport's own left back himself did some strong challenges during the match, but at least he played the ball. Tiatto, however, played the man.

The match aside, there was also some interesting half-time entertainment - some African drums (from Kenya & Ghana, apparently) & African music, the Aboriginal didgeridoo, Brazilian capoerira performers, Bolivian dancers. The African drums also were played on the sidelines during the match itself, giving the stadium lots of African beats. Good stuff. I dunno if all that entertainment will be around during the A-League season; I hope so! It would be fun. But entertainment or not, the main thing is for Qld Roar to have a good season. Go the Roar!