FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group Five Table
1 Armenia
2 Belgium
3 Bosnia-Herzegovina
4 Estonia
5 Spain
6 Turkey
Can Turkey qualify from this group?
Most analysts in Turkey think that this is an easy group to qualify from and most Turkish people are predicting Spain to be the group winners and Turkey to finish second earning a play-off spot.
In my mind, the Turkish team can even win this group but realistically, I think they're going to make a dog's meal of it.
For sure, as Rafa would say in his interviews :), Spain will win the group. They have enough stars to win enough points to do this. However, they will lose points along the way. This makes life more difficult for Turkey as they will also be losing point against the lesser opponents as well. So, depending on who Spain drop their points against, Turkey may find itself not finishing even second in this group.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
American Ingenuity
During the heat of the space race in the 1960s, the U.S. National
Aeronautics and Space Administration realised that astronauts would
have to be able to record certain things while performing their duties
and so it would need a writing utensil capable of writing in the zero
gravity confines of its space capsules. Of Course, normal pens will
not work since they are all gravity fed.
After considerable research and development spanning over
two years, the working zero-g Astronaut Pen was developed at a cost of
approximately $US 1 Million (in 1960's dollars !!). The initial production
run was fifty pens.
The Soviet Union was faced with the same problem....
but they issued pencils.
Aeronautics and Space Administration realised that astronauts would
have to be able to record certain things while performing their duties
and so it would need a writing utensil capable of writing in the zero
gravity confines of its space capsules. Of Course, normal pens will
not work since they are all gravity fed.
After considerable research and development spanning over
two years, the working zero-g Astronaut Pen was developed at a cost of
approximately $US 1 Million (in 1960's dollars !!). The initial production
run was fifty pens.
The Soviet Union was faced with the same problem....
but they issued pencils.
Monday, November 19, 2007
EURO 2008
Before the weekend, I told my friends that England would get a chance for qualification after Israel beats Russia by 2-1. However, everyone was in doom and gloom.
The bottomline is that noone can imagine a tournament without the English team and supporters present. So, the footballing gods smiled on England. Now, it is up to the England team to seal their faith by beating Croatia.
In the same context, the Turkish team had their own destiny in their hands. They had to beat Norway in Norway and they managed to do exactly that by 2-1.
I think on Wednesday England is less likely to slip up than Turkey. When the groups were drawn, I couldn't believe that Turkey's luck. They couldn't have ended up in a weaker group but they made it very very difficult for themselves.
So, if I had to bet on the last games and if one of the teams couldn't qualify, I'd probably bet on Turkey losing out because of their incompetency.
Anyway, let's hope that both teams qualify and we'll have a trip to Austria/Switzerland next summer.
The bottomline is that noone can imagine a tournament without the English team and supporters present. So, the footballing gods smiled on England. Now, it is up to the England team to seal their faith by beating Croatia.
In the same context, the Turkish team had their own destiny in their hands. They had to beat Norway in Norway and they managed to do exactly that by 2-1.
I think on Wednesday England is less likely to slip up than Turkey. When the groups were drawn, I couldn't believe that Turkey's luck. They couldn't have ended up in a weaker group but they made it very very difficult for themselves.
So, if I had to bet on the last games and if one of the teams couldn't qualify, I'd probably bet on Turkey losing out because of their incompetency.
Anyway, let's hope that both teams qualify and we'll have a trip to Austria/Switzerland next summer.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Golfing nun
A nun walks into Mother Superior's office and plunks down into a chair.
She lets out a sigh heavy with frustration.
"What troubles you, Sister?" asks the Mother Superior. "I thought this
was the day you spent with your family."
"It was," sighed the Sister. "And I went to play golf with my brother.
We try to play golf as often as we can. You know I was quite a talented
golfer before I devoted my life to Christ."
"I seem to recall that," the Mother Superior agreed. "So I take it your
day of recreation was not relaxing?"
"Far from it," snorted the Sister. "In fact, I even took the Lord's
name in vain today!"
"Goodness, Sister!" gasped the Mother Superior, astonished. "You must
tell me all about it!"
"Well, we were on the fifth tee... and this hole is a monster, Mother -
540 yard Par 5, with a nasty dogleg left and a hidden green...and I hit
the drive of my life. I creamed it. The sweetest swing I ever made.
And it's flying straight and true, right along the line I wanted... and
it hits a bird in mid-flight, not 100 yards off the tee!"
"Oh my!" commiserated the Mother. "How unfortunate! But surely that
didn't make you blaspheme, Sister!"
"No, that wasn't it," admitted Sister. "While I was still trying to
fathom what had happened, this squirrel runs out of the woods, grabs my
ball and runs off down the fairway!"
"Oh, that would have made me blaspheme!" sympathized Mother. "But I
didn't, Mother Superior!" sobbed the Sister. "And I was so proud of
myself! And while I was pondering whether this was a sign from God,
this hawk swoops out of the sky and grabs the squirrel and flies off,
with my ball still clutched in his paws!"
"So that's when you cursed," said the Mother with a knowing smile.
"Nope, that wasn't it either," cried the Sister, anguished, "because as
the hawk started to fly out of sight, the squirrel started struggling,
and the hawk dropped him right there on the green, and the ball popped
out of his paws and rolled to about 18 inches from the cup!"
Mother Superior sat back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest,
fixed the Sister with a baleful stare and said.........
"You missed the fucking putt, didn't you?"
She lets out a sigh heavy with frustration.
"What troubles you, Sister?" asks the Mother Superior. "I thought this
was the day you spent with your family."
"It was," sighed the Sister. "And I went to play golf with my brother.
We try to play golf as often as we can. You know I was quite a talented
golfer before I devoted my life to Christ."
"I seem to recall that," the Mother Superior agreed. "So I take it your
day of recreation was not relaxing?"
"Far from it," snorted the Sister. "In fact, I even took the Lord's
name in vain today!"
"Goodness, Sister!" gasped the Mother Superior, astonished. "You must
tell me all about it!"
"Well, we were on the fifth tee... and this hole is a monster, Mother -
540 yard Par 5, with a nasty dogleg left and a hidden green...and I hit
the drive of my life. I creamed it. The sweetest swing I ever made.
And it's flying straight and true, right along the line I wanted... and
it hits a bird in mid-flight, not 100 yards off the tee!"
"Oh my!" commiserated the Mother. "How unfortunate! But surely that
didn't make you blaspheme, Sister!"
"No, that wasn't it," admitted Sister. "While I was still trying to
fathom what had happened, this squirrel runs out of the woods, grabs my
ball and runs off down the fairway!"
"Oh, that would have made me blaspheme!" sympathized Mother. "But I
didn't, Mother Superior!" sobbed the Sister. "And I was so proud of
myself! And while I was pondering whether this was a sign from God,
this hawk swoops out of the sky and grabs the squirrel and flies off,
with my ball still clutched in his paws!"
"So that's when you cursed," said the Mother with a knowing smile.
"Nope, that wasn't it either," cried the Sister, anguished, "because as
the hawk started to fly out of sight, the squirrel started struggling,
and the hawk dropped him right there on the green, and the ball popped
out of his paws and rolled to about 18 inches from the cup!"
Mother Superior sat back in her chair, folded her arms across her chest,
fixed the Sister with a baleful stare and said.........
"You missed the fucking putt, didn't you?"
Wednesday, November 07, 2007
Liverpool-Besiktas
I had told friends that this would be an easy game for Liverpool but even I didn't think it would be a new record-breaker in the Champions League history.
Although the commentators were bigging up the Liverpool players (even Harry "the donkey" Kewell), I couldn't help myself thinking that Besiktas looked like a rabbit in the headlights.
I knew that the recent defeat by Fenerbahce in the local Istanbul derby would not have helped their preparations. I have also questioned the credentials of the Besiktas coach but I though at least they would be encouraged by their recent win over Liverpool (which is not often in Europe) would fire them up. However, Besiktas didn't turn up on the night. They were not interested in playing football. They didn't care about their pride either.
As a Liverpool fan, I was secretly hoping that we'd lose to Besiktas so that we can focus on the Premier League 100%. To me, and I'm sure to many other fellow Liverpool fans, winning the Premier League is the most important target at the moment. It's heading towards 20 long years since we last won the elusive title.
One thing is for sure that this result is misleading for the team and they're still lacking skill up front. Similar to the Derby victory, this win should be taken with a pinch of salt. No other team is going to be as soulless as Besiktas.
Although the commentators were bigging up the Liverpool players (even Harry "the donkey" Kewell), I couldn't help myself thinking that Besiktas looked like a rabbit in the headlights.
I knew that the recent defeat by Fenerbahce in the local Istanbul derby would not have helped their preparations. I have also questioned the credentials of the Besiktas coach but I though at least they would be encouraged by their recent win over Liverpool (which is not often in Europe) would fire them up. However, Besiktas didn't turn up on the night. They were not interested in playing football. They didn't care about their pride either.
As a Liverpool fan, I was secretly hoping that we'd lose to Besiktas so that we can focus on the Premier League 100%. To me, and I'm sure to many other fellow Liverpool fans, winning the Premier League is the most important target at the moment. It's heading towards 20 long years since we last won the elusive title.
One thing is for sure that this result is misleading for the team and they're still lacking skill up front. Similar to the Derby victory, this win should be taken with a pinch of salt. No other team is going to be as soulless as Besiktas.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
Sample Proof of Employment Letter
Here's what I have used in the past. Feel free to use it at your own risk...
---
[concerned organisation]
[address for the concerned organisation]
Subject: Proof of Employment for [Name]
This letter is to confirm that [name] has been full-time employed by [employer], since [employment start date] as [position].
Should you have any questions, please contact the undersigned.
Best Regards,
[Signature]
[management or hr department representative]
[employer’s address]
[Manager or HR department Tel]
---
[Date]
[concerned organisation]
[address for the concerned organisation]
Subject: Proof of Employment for [Name]
This letter is to confirm that [name] has been full-time employed by [employer], since [employment start date] as [position].
Should you have any questions, please contact the undersigned.
Best Regards,
[Signature]
[management or hr department representative]
[employer’s address]
[Manager or HR department Tel]
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