MMX

 

The year in blogging & other stuff.

 

Posts: 35 
Comments: 574
Most commented – 225 comments: New Adsl prices: -Rs 100 & My.T: Speed DOUBLE!!!

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2010 wasn't a great year due to a massive drop in posts. Well, doing the last year at UOM & having to devote time to final year project, that was to be expected.

 

Reviews

The most significant thing for me was indeed the reviews. What’s the use of being a blogger if all your “reviews” are based on other reviews & crappy YouTube videos. Well, in 2010, that finally changed. I became a proper tech blogger. I had my first hands-on with some trial hardware. & not just any hardware. Smartphones!
So big thanks to WOMWorld Nokia for the devices & gifts. Special thanks to @Rwishi for introducing me & some other Mauritian tweeps/bloggers to WOMWorld.
The devices were the resistive touchscreen Qwerty slider the Nokia N97, the portrait Qwerty Swiss knife Nokia E72 & the megapixel monster, the Nokia N8.

Nokia N97:

• Part 1 - The Hardware
• Part 2 - The Software
• Part 3 - Multimedia & Apps
• Part 4 – Camera & Wrap-up

Nokia E72:

• Unboxing Pics
• Part 1 - The Hardware
• Part 2 - The Software
• Part 3 – The Camera

Nokia N8:

• Unboxing the Nokia N8
• Part 1 - The Hardware
• Part 2 - The OS
• Part 3 - Native Apps
• Part 4 - 3rd Party Apps

What remains of the N8 review - gaming & the camera. I still haven’t been able to trial the dream device I’ve coveted for so long – the N900. & mind you, these were completely honest reviews – I have been extremely critical of these devices. Not sure I’ll get more Nokia devices now… Hopefully, other manufacturers will step up. Unbelievable that I still haven't used any Android device!

 

Nikon L20

The best thing that happened to me in 2010? That's quite easy - I got my digital camera - the Nikon L20!
Managed to snag it from Rapidshare's reward program by converting my earned points (uploading mostly Top Gear!). I was lucky because just afterwards they closed down the rewards (& went downhill ever since).
After being "camera-less" since Oct 2008, it was an enthralling experience to discover photography all over again. Furthermore, it allowed me to accomplish something I've always wanted to do – open a photo blog.
109 posts & 305 comments. Very positive response. Here are the most popular posts:

• Pointe aux Biches
• Black River Gorges National Park – Part 1
• Black River Gorges National Park – Part 2
• Infinity
• Port Louis - Moka Range
• Vieille Fille II
• Vieille Fille IV
• Angry Bird
• USB LED Fan
• Roche Cari

As for the Nikon L20, I initially thought it was worse than my previous HP 635. I was obviously proven wrong, but even I have been amazed by what the cheapest of all Nikon cameras can do. Low-light performance aside, I think it's worth every cent... or rather every minute I spent "uploading" files.
I should single out the PAPM (Photographes Amateurs et Pros Mauriciens) Facebook group for having contributed towards sharpening my photographic skills. The sharing of photos with the accompanying critiques is much more valuable than any photography book.

 

First Bloggers Meeting

Once again, the L20 proved its versatility for my very first Black River Gorges National Park trek with fellow Mauritian bloggers. High fives to Yashvin, Tushal, Sun & everyone else for making this a success!
Some of the prominent bloggers present were active bloggers while others have already been extinct dormant for a while. The Mauritian blogosphere remains very vibrant with new blogs cropping up, especially with a rise in photoblogs & tumblrs... Let's hope for a bigger party at the next Mauritian Bloggers Meeting.

Prior to that there was the Caudan tweetup organised by @sjdvda & co. Was nice meeting @rrikesh, @yurit0s & some other tweeps!
The tweetup/Shootup was repeated in early November where even a larger cohorts of tweeps came for a lively get-together at Shooters.
Meeting all these lovely people is definitely an experience all other Mauritian tweeps should try!

 

Orange Mauritius

There was a speed double this year. But only for My.T+TV subscribers. The most faithful subscribers were left in the cold. ADSL users had a Rs 100 decrease & My.T (no TV) had nothing.  As it stands, I won't be getting any 1Mbps connection. & every time I download something on my 512kbps, I'm painfully reminded of the knife firmly stuck in my back...

 

Infotech 2010

An absolute turn-off as there was really no innovative products there. 3D TV still remains a gimmick – although Orange is pushing it a lot (bet they’ll launch a 3D channel!). Android devices were invisible & the iPad was only on display only for some Face Time, no hands-on...
Oh, & let's not talk of the Electronic & Technology show...

 

Inception

I went to the cinema only three times this year - Avatar 2D, Iron Man 2 & Inception. Only one of them was mind-blowing. Christopher Nolan has yet to disappoint me. & that's why he's my favourite director of all time. The background score, the action, the plot. It was sublime. Double paisa vasool as some would say.
Still 2 years to go before we have Nolan's next magnum opus, The Dark Knight Rises.
In the meantime, next year will be the year when Android robots will explode on your screen with Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

 

A Thousand Suns

A die-hard LP fan, I knew that the only way to listen to this album was to listen it as a whole in one go. It was only several months later that I got my chance with the N8. It's not the best LP album of all time, but it's great. Nu-metal era is over, but I like these new experiments...

 

Man Utd

I seriously don't know what positives to extract from this 2010-2011 season. Yes, we are top of the league. Yes, we are the only unbeaten team. Yet, last Tuesday's yet-another-draw-snatched-from-the-jaws-of-victory brought everyone back down to earth. In 2010, we had 40-year-old Van Der Sar guarding the goal, Vidic rocking the back, Rafael bombing on the right, Anderson controlling the middle, Nani stepping up the assists, Park showing his mettle & Berbatov having the season of his life! Yet everything was shadowed by Mr Ambition’s saga. Notice how he hasn’t scored a goal ever since. Cursed, I believe he is.
However, I believe the problem is that the squad lacks depth & loses concentration when playing away. Remember the defeat against West Ham. The signing of Javier Hernandez is a mystery. He’s the fastest player in the EPL & is the most talented young player, yet no one gives him through balls. Someone should read this ZonalMarking post on the offside goal!
This season will be a tough one. Even while United aren’t playing at 100%, we are top. Here's my best goal of the year. Watch & learn...

 

World Cup 2010

Of course it crossed the line you dimwit! One man missed what a billion other people saw. We need technology. Sadly, the most despotic organisation in the world absolutely refuses to listen. & instead pretends that the most expensive auction of all time is a vote.
These controversies aside, Spain got their due & South Africa reveled in what was a great world cup. It was nearly the time for Africa as Ghana faltered on the doorstep of History.

 

Top Gear

Top Gear - The Three Wise Men Special. It wasn’t the best Special (Vietnam/Bolivia is much better), but the level of entertainment was classic Top Gear! Jokes, challenges, unforgettable quotes & the usual bantering, everything was there! James May’s non-serious head injury means that the Top Gear orangutan is the only who hasn’t had an accident yet! Now that everyone knows who The Stig is, I couldn’t think of any way Top Gear could re-introduce The Stig without over-doing it. Fortunately, they nailed it perfectly in that last scene! That was effing awesome! Bring on S16 on 23rd Jan! :D

 

 

That was it. I’ll end here on these photos, taken today. The last sunset of 2010.
Happy New Year 2011!

PS. Don’t forget to change your blog footer to 2011! ;)

More about → MMX

South Africa 2010 - The Aftermath

The FIFA 2010 World Cup is over & it’s time to look at what happened during this month of competition. South Africa have been outstanding hosts & really, kudos to them for being the pride of Africa!

 

Vuvuzela

The Stig is the only being in the world who likes the sound of the Vuvuzela. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz...

 

Burnout

Messi, Torres, Rooney, Drogba, Ronaldo…
Messi played very well in the group stages, however Maradona didn’t know how to get the best out of him later on & so he was left chasing balls.
Ronaldo’s ego got the better of him. While Portugal’s defense was rock-strong, they missed a fast midfielder (Nani?) to link with Ronaldo to lead the attack…
Torres & Rooney just didn’t turn up in South Africa. Both were recovering from injuries but never once showed a glimmer of their pre-injury form. Against Germany, the entire England team looked as if they’ve been playing matches everyday. Probably the hardest league in the world is a tad too… hard?

 

The French Revolution

During this world cup, the French provided some of the much needed off-field drama to complement the boring group stages. It all started with Nicolas Anelka insulting Raymond Domenech, followed by the team boycotting training & then Domenech not shaking hands with the South African coach. Results - a draw & two defeats, a quick exit for the vice-champions. Better than Zidane’s coup de boule.

 

Daylight Robbery

“OMG!” – that’s what the Uruguayan ref said after he saw the replay of the-goal-that-did-cross-the-line. At 2-2, England would still have a slim chance… 
Later on the same day, Carlos Tevez headed in a goal while being clearly offside. Following these two blatant mistakes, FIFA apologised & decided to finally step in the 21st century - goal-line technology to be discussed at their next meeting. Still no video replay…
That said, Spain have been the beneficiary of most controversial decisions… that’s what you’d call winner’s luck.

 

4-2-3-1

Two holding midfielders, three attacking midfielders and a lone striker – that was the tactical formation that prevailed during this world cup. Used to great effect by Germany, Netherlands & Spain. Argentina & England have only their coaches to blame for not trying to counter this tactic. Capello playing a rigid 4-4-2 was perfect suicide against a 5-man midfield.

 

The Hand of Clod

Robert Green’s world famous miss, which gave the USA a 1-1… win.

 

Jabulani

Much has been said about this ball… it’s too light, keepers can’t catch, etc. Yet the Asians (Japan & S.Korea) achieved perfect control of it during free-kicks.

 

The Hand of Dog

Luis Suarez pushing the ball on the line at the last minute of extra-time, denying Ghana a historic semi-final, a 1st for an African country. FU Suarez!

 

Ghana

This team really impressed me during this world cup (excluding the fact that they can’t take penalties). Their midfield has been superior to everyone but the Germans. Their ball control & their confidence while keeping possession makes it look as if the ball sticks to the players. Kevin-Prince Boateng’s conversion into playmaker made everyone forget that Ghana have been playing without Michael Essien. Asamoah Gyan… oh well, while he has been a hero against the USA, he only has himself to blame for missing the crucial penalty against Uruguay. It’s a young team & they can only get better! :)

 

Thomas Müller - Best Young Player

The youngsters who shined at the world cup - Javier Hernandez, Giovanni Dos Santos, Andre Ayew, Alexis Sanchez, Michael Bradley, Mesut Özil (alias Gollum) & Fábio Coentrão.
But 20-year-old Müller (who looks 50) was definitely a step above with his eye for goal, spatial awareness & ball control. & he also got the golden shoe award for best goal-scorer ahead of Villa & Sneijder.

 

Diego Forlán - Golden Ball

Bastian Schweinsteiger, Özil, Iniesta, Xavi, Robben, Sneijder & David Villa were all contenders to the Golden Ball award. David Villa, who has been über-lethal while on the left flank, went unnoticed as a lone striker. His enormous contributions to Spain’s victories helped him win the Bronze Ball award. Sneijder who has been the creative force of the Holland team throughout this world cup won Silver Ball award (he was one of the rare Dutch players who didn’t receive a card in the final).
For me, the best player in the tournament, up to the 3rd place play-off match, has indeed been Diego Forlán. He has been the perfect striker in this world cup, scoring from outside the box, making decisive passes & scoring from spot-kicks. His ball control & passing along with his sudden bursts of speed has been largely influential in taking Uruguay up to the semis. In the play-off, in the last action of the game, he almost saved Uruguay but his free-kick hit the bar (call it karma).
Kevin-Prince Boateng, Anthony Annan, Jorge Fucile, Vincent Enyeama, Khedira, Gregory van der Wiel & Keisuke Honda – other players who caught the eye of many big clubs!

 

The Final

Probably the ugliest final of all time. Holland came out guns blazing, using every illegal tactic to disrupt the tiki-taka passing of Spain. Howard Webb tried by all means to keep 22 men on the field, giving out a total 14 yellow cards before Heitinga was given his marching orders in extra extra-time.
Both sides had the opportunities to kill the game in normal time, but they either missed or the ball was saved by the keeper. Robben has the two best chances of the game but failed horribly by not using his wits. First time he didn’t round the keeper & second time, he didn’t shoot early nor did he fall down when tugged. Iniesta on the other hand gave Spain the man advantage by falling at the right time. With Fabregas coming in, running at the defenders, the outcome was inevitable – Iniesta scored in the dying minutes of extra-time (although there’s a hint of offisde with interference with play). Spain win their 1st world cup & Holland, after going undefeated for 2 years, lose their 3rd final.

The better team won.

 

Paul

Would you believe it? This psychic octopus overshadowed the world cup!

 

Larrissa Riquelme

Hmmm… :P

 

Waka Waka

Would have preferred an African singer, but it was a very catchy song. :)

 

Brazil 2014

10,000 days to go. :’(

More about → South Africa 2010 - The Aftermath

Man Utd, EPL runners-up

So here ends the English Premier League season 2009-2010…

What a season this has been! Never before has the EPL experienced such ups & downs as the title swung between United & Chelsea. It was a neck-and-neck race till the end & the better team eventually won it – by beating the (former) Big 4 teams home & away. 

However, United fans should not despair. It has been a truly incredible season. We sold Cristiano Ronaldo (The Best Player In The World™) & Carlos Tevez. We lost 9 defenders to injury & had to play with a make-shift defence of midfielders – Carrick, Fletcher & Park! & most importantly, our top-scorer Rooney was injured at the most crucial phase of the season.
Yet against all odds, we won the Carling Cup. We finished 2nd in the Premier League just 1 point away from the leaders. We reached the Quarter-finals of the Champions League! Unbelievable feats! All United fans should take pride on these achievements!
Not to mention that we’ve beaten Liverpool & Manchester City (thrice in extra Fergie time).

The 2009-2010 season brought the best out of so many players.
Veterans Giggs & Scholes showed us time & again that we can still count on their experience.
Van Der Sar has been sublime in guarding our posts – mind you, if VDS weren’t there, we would have been torn into shreds by even the mid-table teams! That’s the secret of the best defence in the EPL!
What to say of Valencia? Brought in to replace Ronaldo, Antonio Valencia transformed himself into the best right winger of the EPL, terrorising opponents with each run.
Ji Sung Park & Patrice Evra also deserve some praise for the consistent form they’ve shown this season. Darren Fletcher, footballing genius – keeping hold of our midfield.
Nani… at the end of 2009, everyone (me included) was claiming for him to sold or swapped at the winter transfer market. & then when he came back from injury against Arsenal, a miracle happened. A new Ronaldo was born – the latent talent in Nani revealed itself & we now have one of the most exciting players of the EPL. I’m really looking forward to him next season!
Wayne Rooney - 34 goals this season. Largely overshadowed by Ronaldo in the previous years, Rooney finally stepped up to spearhead our attack. 2009-2010 is the season where Rooney transformed into the complete striker – incredible pace, lethal headers, penalties & great vision of the game. Then he was injured & never recovered his goal scoring form again. I sorely regret that he didn’t win the golden boot. But still, EPL's Best Player of the Season. Congrats! :D  
Own Goal – yeah, our 2nd top scorer bagged 12 goals for us! Record. :P

There were also some negative areas that Man Utd should strive to eliminate.
Although the circumstances played against us, at the end of the day, if you don’t keep a consistent form throughout the season, you don’t deserve to win the league. Sure, the “standard” of the Premier League was much lower this time, but United didn’t turn up on so many games, the most crucial one being against Blackburn.
Most of the time, the problem has been a lack of creative midfielders to feed the strikers. With Anderson injured, everything was left to Carrick & Scholes. Compared to last season, Carrick has been a massive disappointment. Easily losing balls, blank passes – he hasn’t played since March & I see him being sold this summer.
Dimitar Berbatov is a player that divides United fans. With Rooney playing as lone striker, he didn’t get many chances to play & when he was asked to step up in Rooney’s place, he didn’t deliver. I mean if you don’t get playing time, how can you perform at your top level? But the opposite is also true – Berbatov missed so many clear chances this season! In my opinion, Berbatov is a great player (outstanding ball control), but he doesn’t fit in the United’s style of play. As such, it would be best for him to leave United…

2010-2011?
We’ve already bought a defender – Chris Smalling & a very talented young forward - Javier Hernández. As Rooney himself pointed out, we’ll need another 2 world-class strikers. Unfortunately, I have no names in mind… :|
Creative midfielders – Luka Modric, Miloš Krasić, David Silva & Angel Di Maria. Two of them please. :)
Add a goalkeeper, & that’s all we need to strengthen our squad. Everything else will be handled by our upcoming young talents. We already have the Brazilian Pokémon twins, plus Evans, as defenders. In the midfield, there’s already Darron Gibson & Gabriel Obertan. As forwards, Macheda & Diouf.

Despite being maimed for half of the season, we achieved so much. Therefore I am confident that next season, we’ll finally bag that 19th title. Having won 3 EPL titles in a row & a Champions League, Man Utd fans are accustomed to winning. But sometimes, you need to fall so you can learn to pick yourself up. & that’s why we’ll come back stronger. Watch out.

WE WILL NEVER DIE.

 

Related Links:
A Restless Mind - Man Utd: Best & Worst of 2009/10

More about → Man Utd, EPL runners-up

MMIX

A review of 2009.

 

Blogging
For the first half of this year, my blogging frequency was pretty constant. But as soon as UOM resumed, the post count started dwindling down & this blog was almost threatened with extinction... I had to make a choice between Twitter studies & blogging. Instead, I came up with a compromise - at least 1 post per month, & I'm barely clinging to that resolution.
This state of blogging lethargy is expected to persist for the next 2 years. :(

Total posts: 313
Total comments: 2207
Most commented – 110 comments: Orange ADSL & My.T prices decrease on 1st March 2009!
Only 1 post did not have a comment – Nokia N86 8MP ;)
According to Google Analytics:
Total visits: 411,300
Total pageviews: 628,800
OS – Windows: 92.45%, Mac: 4.38%, Linux: 1.49%
Browsers – Firefox: 51.99%, IE: 31.87%, Chrome: 7.24%

 

Orange Mauritius

On the 1st of March 2009, Orange doubled the internet connection speed while maintaining the same price… & the same slowness - unusable between 6pm & 11pm. My 512kbps connection drops to 100kbps. It gets worst during holidays when speed drops during the day.
The only positive thing is that existing My.T users were given the choice not to pay for the additional TV channels.

A new fibre cable, LION landed in Mauritius, interconnecting Reunion & Madagascar for the time being, before extending to Mombasa in the future.
The good news is that the network of fibre-connected DSLAMs is already being laid by both Orange & Emtel. But there is no backbone to exploit its full potential - Eassy & SEACOM cables are expected to be connected to Mauritius next year.

28th September 2009 - Disaster. @OrangeMauritius joins Twitter & becomes massively unpopular. Check out some of the kind tweets that mention @OrangeMauritius.
In the wake of @OrangeMauritius's arrival on Twitter, a new Twitter meme was born. Following @OrangeMauritius is like ... manz mine bouille dans dipain. & so on...
& a hashtag as well, which has been used by almost all Mauritian tweeps - #orangemauritiusfail

 

Freebies

In 2009,  I received tons of freebies.
On the 1st of January, I won several Rapidshare accounts & gave away one of them. (No, I won’t be organising any contest next year. Sorry.)

My good fortune vanished on Friday the 13th of March, & I had my PC power supply fried by a lightning bolt.

In April, I received a USB-powered plasma ball from Rapidshare. A really stupid choice because that thing is utterly useless to me. :|

In May, I got the chance to participate to the Microsoft’s Qui Veut Gagner Un PC competition. I managed to clear the first round & was among the 10 finalists. I did pretty well in the semi-final until the last question. A simple binary to decimal conversion stood between me & a laptop. & my brain failed me. :(
All I got was a Microsoft wireless keyboard & mouse. (& Sun got a PC!)

On Twitter, I won a domain from @NameCheap & a T-shirt from @District_Lines.
I thought 2009 would be very lucky for me, but my personal record of loserness remains untarnished - I still haven't won any major contest, competition or giveaway. o_O

 

Movies

My top 10 movies of 2009:
0. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
1. District 9
2. Gran Torino 
3. Star Trek
4. Up
5. 2012
6. Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
7. Public Enemies
8. Fanboys 
9. Watchmen
10. X-men Origins: Wolverine

I had a mind-blowing experience watching Transformers 2 at the cinema - awesome CGI, massive explosions & Megan Fox gargantuan robots. But I have to admit that it had huge plot holes. That's why District 9 is the no. 1 film of 2009 for me. Star Trek fans will obviously disagree but D9 was the better sci-fi movie.

This list is quite constrained because I haven't had time to watch movies such as HP6, GI Joe, The Hangover, etc. & Avatar has neither been released in Mauritius, nor is there any decent rip on the web.

My track record with Hindi films is getting worst each year. I watched only 3 films this year!!

 

Music

The king of Pop, Michael Jackson died from an overdose of prescription drugs. A reminder of how not to live your life.
Linkin Park released a great song, New Divide, as Transformers 2 theme track & Atif Aslam sung his way yet again to the top of the charts with Tu Jaane Na & Tera Hone Laga Hoon from Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.

 

Lance Armstrong & Michael Schumacher

The great Lance Armstrong was back in the Tour de France after a 3-year absence. Nevertheless, he still managed to finish 3rd, which means that next year's Grande Boucle will be a showdown between Armstrong & Alberto Contador.
The big news of 2009 - The Stig will be back in 2010! While he was unsuccessful in making a comeback for Ferrari as a replacement for injure Felipe Massa, Michael Schumacher will be racing under Ross Brawn for Mercedes. I can't wait for the 2010 F1 season to start! :D

 

Manchester United

2009 was definitely not a great year for Man Utd. While the team defended the Champions League title up to the final, the better team, Barcelona won it.

We lost Ronaldo to Real Madrid (bastardos!), Tevez to City (losers!) & bought Antonio Valencia & Gabriel Obertan. & the biggest surprise - of all strikers United could have bought, it was Michael Owen who joined on a free transfer.

The 2009-2010 EPL season hasn't been good so far. Only 1 defender, Patrice Evra (our best player this season), was not injured. With key midfielders turning into central-backs, United's performance has been mediocre. Hopefully, the January transfer window will bring in some much needed reinforcements. But given the inflationary prices, I doubt we'll be able to purchase the crucial creative midfielder.
The only consolation of 2009 - we won an 18th EPL title! (Which means that other club can no longer pretend to have won the most EPL titles, back in 1728.)

My top 3 goals of 2009:

Macheda vs Aston Villa

Ronaldo vs Porto

Michael Owen vs Manchester City

 

 
Climate Change

At the start of 2009, Barack Obama was sworn in as the US president. Big promises were made, some have already been fulfilled. In October, Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize, for reasons that are oblivious to most of us.
& at the Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference, he demonstrated his sheer incompetence at convincing world leaders for a united stand towards tackling global warming with drastic reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. You could say that he had his hands tied by powerful lobbies & senators back in the US. But if Obama cannot lead the world by example, who can? For me, the epic fail of the year is Barack Obama. No, he couldn't.
In Mauritius, we have our PM happily proclaiming how he got more money at COP15 from the rich countries. Will that money save Mauritius from sinking? Fighting global warming seems to be a lost cause...

 

Supercars

There were several supercars announced this year – the Aston Martin One-77, the Ferrari 458 Italia, the McLaren MP4-12C, the Lexus LF-A & the already available Lamborghini Murciélago LP-670-4 SuperVeloce & the Lamborghini Gallardo LP-550-2 Valentino Balboni. Best of the lot? No doubt the Ferrari 458 Italia. :P

 

Top Gear

Series 13 of Top Gear was pretty under-par compared to previous series, despite the unveiling of The Stig, Luckily S14 was much better & it was topped off by the best Top Gear episode ever, better than even Vietnam, Botswana & the Polar special.

The Bolivia Special was truly epic. An incredible journey throughout the Amazon jungle, the Death Road, one of the highest roads in the world at 5000m & one of the driest place on Earth, the Atacama desert (where the smallest living thing was Richard Hammond).

I did not even miss The Stig's South American cousin. Just one word - Wow! 10/10.

 

Windows 7

The best Windows OS of all time launched in 2009. Speed, reliability & usability were the main focus areas, not to mention the little tweaks & add-ons like DirectX 11, Virtual WiFi, XP mode, etc. that paves the way for future improvements.
Although I have yet to install Windows 7 RTM, I've been using many such apps/hacks that make Windows 7 a powerhouse. The best one is Microsoft Security Essentials, a lightweight & free antivirus solution. I'll surely write a post on that next year. For the time being, there’s my review of the Beta 1:
- Windows 7 Beta 1 Review: Part I – The Performance
- Windows 7 Beta 1 Review: Part II – The UI
- Windows 7 Beta 1 Review: Part III – The Bugs

 

H1N1

After the H5N1 bird flu virus, we had the H1N1 swine flu in 2009. Fortunately, the effects of this virus was no worse than seasonal flu. But the most worrying fact is that once a virus reaches pandemic levels, it becomes unstoppable. Even if you’re on an island in the middle of the ocean, you still can be affected. Now imagine if we have a deadly virus spread… :S

 

Mauritius - C'est un plaisir

Hey, Mauritius is the World's Leading Island Destination, & this is what they came up with!? Whether we like it or not, it's done now. We'll have to live with it. :|

 

Twitter

What can I say? 2009 was the year when I transformed from a mild-mannered helpful tweep into a Jeremy Clarkson-inspired noob-&-twoob-bashing vicious Twilight-hating @orangemauritius-thrashing ruthless twat. Wow!

 

The Mauritian Pyramids

Arguably one of the most entertaining posts I’ve ever written. Quoting:

-  This is a freemansory invention to bring mauritian people to a false religion and these pyramid are use for satanic ritual...

- Some spheres in Mauritius is now comparing the Great "Sphinx" of Egypt with the "LION Mountain" of Mauritius.
There is also the Amazing/famous Spiritual Park in Mauritius, which is near Pte Lascar.
The unbeileuvable "Energy Vortex" at Surinam.( which is now internationally recognised.)

- Let me also point out that Mauritius has high energetic spots. It has been clearly pointed out of the Energy Vortex at Riambel, pt lascar spiritual park, we got the grand bassin, pieter both mountain as well as corps de garde, among other points.

- I can't miss to add concerning the 2012 phenomena. Its the date for a global ascension and i could see that Mauritius contains lot of these spots to help us for Ascension.

- we do have a phoenician past. just because we dont have documents does this imply that the phoenicians were never here..

- ..and let me add that the existence of portals/stargates are reported to exist round the planet...so y not one here?? mauritius is a mythical and mystical place, this is what i believe..

Read more on these 2 posts:
- The Mauritian Pyramids
- The Mauritian Pyramids II: More Than Meets The Eye

 

I’ll end this post with this EPIC Xkcd comic & a Happy New Year to all readers, bloggers, twitter followers, well… everyone! xD

 

More about → MMIX

Man Utd are runners-up of 2008-09 Champions League

So finally, the 2008-2009 season is over for Man Utd with a 2-0 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League final. Barcelona managed a historic treble just like Man Utd did 10 years ago.

Man Utd started the match superbly with 5 shots on goal & total domination of the first 8 mins (their best performance throughout the match). Until Barça mounted their first attack & Eto’o scored on his trademark clinical finish.
Whichever team was to score first would gain an enormous advantage over the other to mount up counter-attacks. & that’s exactly what Barcelona did. & much more as the United players were totally shaken up by this first goal & provided a mediocre performance throughout the first half, with half-hearted passing & trying to contain the unstoppable Messi or Xavi.

The second half resumed with the introduction of Carlos Tevez & of Berbatov on the hour mark. Man United did a much better performance but with no playmaker to feed the plethora of attackers (Fletcher?), United were left chasing shadows as Barcelona demonstrated their superior passing. United hopes for a 1999-styled comeback crashed when Lionel Messi headed in from a Xavi cross, a ball gained by Captain Puyol, to make the score 2-0.

The match ended in a 2-0 defeat for Man Utd whose hopes of retaining the title were crushed by a superior Barcelona side. Barcelona totally deserve their trophy as they were a much better team.

But United fans should not despair – Man Utd did try to defend their title in the final & so finished runners-up of the Champions League at the end of an incredible season, despite United not playing at their best. Man Utd have won the Carling Cup, the FIFA World Club Cup, the Premier League for the 18th time & are runners-up of the Champions League. That is a incredible accomplishment! :)
I’m really looking to next season when Man Utd will try to make up for this season’s deficiencies & come far stronger than ever!
On a final note, I’ll just mention that next year’s Champions League final will be played at Bernabeu! Hope it’ll be an all-English final. ;)

Guardian.co.uk – United players reaction
Photos are from Daylife.com

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