Some Comments on the New Real Madrid

The new Real Madrid has just won the 300th European Champions game. Both Raul and V. Nistelrooy scored to renew their record. Robben made his first cap with Real Madrid. Casillas also became the captain during the last minutes for the first time. Some comments on the new Real Madrid:

Do We Need Dual-DM?

Diego seemed unstoppable in the morning and some people think it was due to Gago’s bad performance. I don’t think so. Gago did a very good job in the match – very positive, keep running and struggling hard although he not strong enough yet. You can not asking for more as Gago was the only defending midfielder in front of the central defenders and Real Madrid is not used to defending. Now here’s the question: Do we need dual DMs? I will say NO, definitely. The only reason is – it’s REAL MADRID. What should Real Madrid do? Attack, Attack and Attack! Even we may lose more goals than before, we will score much more.

Who Should be the DL?



People thought it would be difficult to find a replacement to Roberto Carlos after his departure this summer but suddenly we have multiple good choices: experienced Heinze, talented Drenthe, Spanish new star Torres and Carlos II – Marcelo. From defending point of view, the sequence should be Heinze > Torres > Drenthe > Marcelo while the sequence should be reversed from attacking point of view. So rotation is reasonable and the first choice should depend on the opponent in the game. On the other hand, Torres could be a backup for the DR position and Drenthe might be rebuilt to a DM like Davis.

The Attackers



In the upcoming games Shuster will have happy bothers about the first team squad. Real Madrid has more than enough world-class AM/FWs: Guti, Robinho, Robben, Higuain, Sneidjer, Baptista and they have to fight for 3 first-team positions. Guti is Madridista’s favorite, Robinho is the best AM last season, Robben has the most expects, Sneidjer is untouchable and Higuain has the best attitude. In my opinion, Baptista should be sold in the winter. Higuain is young and humble which will make him a good backup player. Then we have to give up one super start from Guti, Robinho and Robben if no injury and ban. Fortunately all of them have the experience of rotation. Given Real Madrid is dreaming of winning all three trophies this season and many of the team will be called by their national teams, there should not be big problem. If I have to prioritize, the result will be Sneidjer > Robinho > Robben > Guti > Higuain > Baptista although I like Guti most.

One Sentence to Describe Each Telco (in their own words)

Submitted by Michael Morris on http://www.networkworld.com

AT&T - "We're the biggest, we're the best, and you will enjoy paying for that!"

BT - "AT&T, European-style...."

Verizon - "Global network, got it; great technology, got it; customer service ---- DOH...forget that one every time."

Sprint - "You want some wireless with that?"

Nextel - "Why, oh why, did we let Sprint buy us?"

Quest - "Never mind that whole money meltdown thingy, we're so much more honest now even the US government buys from us".

NTT - "We're great in Asia!"

China Telecom - "It's great to be a monopoly, especially with communism backing you up."

Telmex - "Yeah, we're still a monopoly."

Deutsche Telecom - "I need to finish my beer before troubleshooting that E-1."

And finally, any state-owned international PTT - "Whoa, it's 5 PM, I'll be leaving now, we'll fix that critical backbone OC-12 in the morning."

Google Sky

Amazing, you even don't need to by a telescope now! Released two weeks ago. Maybe you have already tried it but I still would like to show some pictures I captured:

Overview of the Sky

Overview of the Sky with the Moon in Motion

V838

the Galaxy

Current Position of Hubble Space Telescope

You can download some Google Sky files from http://hubblesite.org/explore_astronomy/gsky/

Now Exposed

BT is to increase its presence in China by opening a global research and development centre in Shanghai. The UK’s leading telecommunications group is to spend $70m (£35m) on the Chinese initiatives, hiring about 75 staff initially. The decision will bolster the capabilities of BT Global Services, the division that has become the company’s growth engine by serving the telecommunications and information technology needs of multinationals. Ben Verwaayen, BT chief executive, said the $70m investment in China could become “much bigger than that”.

Shanghai will be the location of BT’s fourth research centre. BT is also to open a technology and service centre in Dalian.

From: http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/06092007/399/bt-bolsters-china-presence.html

OMD I

OMD I = the 1st Oriental Manhattan Dinner.

Last Friday the boss - captain Richard held a team building dinner in oriental manhattan. The initial members of the organization didn't work in the afternoon and went grocery shopping. Everyone was distributed a shopping list according to the dinner menu and gathered to deliver all kinds of materials like beef, shrimp, pan and bowl to the apartment.

In the evening when all the guys were back from sports, the team (except me, of course) cooked some very good dishes and enjoyed some beer and Chinese wine. It's very interesting and I think we will have such a dinner every time when there are a batch of recruits.