They played a tough game against the rough and tumble Dutch, who broke records in their foul play, but they managed to persevere against their impeccable defences, through a full game and 30min of extra time. They kept ball possession and pushed as hard as they could until Iniesta siezed the chance and scored an amazing winning goal in the final moments.

I have to say though, it was the longest and most boring game of this tournament. The fouls in their brutishness kept us entertained as my friends and I watched while having a late breakfast at my place. Cheering for Spain had its ups and downs, with worried faces looking on, as close calls had Robben masterfully passing the Spanish defences but not following through. Both teams had ample opportunity many a time, but no follow through left us screaming in frustration.

Spain’s game play wasn’t the most stellar through the tournament, and teams with better score such as Germany (4-0 against Argentina and England) were favoured. I think they scored the least goals with the most victories. In the end it was a well deserved effort, that yielded them the championship.  It’s good to see the cup in the hands of a new flag.

A little tid-bit. If Spain had lost, New Zealand would have been the only undefeated team in this World Cup!

My 1st annoyance was the keyboard. Its a great keyboard but I found that if you didn’t have the Apple case/kick-stand, it was really hard to type on it. When  holding it in portrait mode, it was awkward to type long messages with both my thumbs as I held it in my hands, and landscape mode just was a pain as it challenged my thumbs reach.

It was very pleasant to sit on the balcony in the mornings and go through all my news in Google Reader. The touch navigation was a dream and it really made reading the news an immersive experience. Viewing and sharing pictures was also very immersive. Navigating photos and showing them to friends was definitely a more enjoyable experience than showcasing them on a laptop, as I could pass it around and they can interact with it, as if a real set of photos.

Prolonged use of the iPad, though, was a bit of a mixed bag. Trying to hold it for long periods of time, while watching a movie or tv show put a lot of strain on the hands and arms. Laying in bed and kicking back to watch a 1hour TV show proved a lil frustrating as leaning it on my thighs left it at an awkward viewing angle, and holding it was just not fun. Again, this out have been a different experience if I had the $40 Apple iPad case. I think that the case should have come standard with the iPad as it would have solved a lot of physical usability issues, but I guess Apple knew this and decided to sell it separately because of its necessity.

I was quite disappointed that a lot of the apps I used on a regular basis from large companies was not updated for the iPad (Facebook, LinkedIn, Flickr, MobileMe Gallery, Skype) and a few required me to buy a whole new version of the app at full price (Things). I understand that if they did develop an iPad app, it would have an updated UI and a very different experience, but a lot of apps have been ported over very easily and quickly by other developers and they’ve done a great job at iPad specific versions (Evernote, Dropbox,WordPress). I guess the wait is for the iPad version of iOS4.

I had the wifi only version, and only being able to use it at home or the office, I thought that its usefulness is tied to a data connection. Most apps are tied to the net and if you dont have connectivity, the iPad really isn’t much use.

All in all, the iPad is a great device. Its performance was impressive, the UI was solid and the feel and sturdiness of the device was great. At the moment though, until a few of my favourite apps are ported over, and iOS4 comes out giving it multi-tasking and a few other features, it feels more like a fun toy and not something I will use on a regular basis. I found my self reverting to my Macbook Pro to do a lot of tasks, as I am a heaving multi-tasker. iOS4′s new features are going to be a welcome upgrade and I will look in to it as soon as it comes out, probably a 3G version.

Do you have an iPad, and how long did it take you to get used to it? Do you have the Apple Case? How does the keyboard feel for you?

Either way, one hell of a fun way to pass your time at work, instead of surfing Facebook like I did when I found this clip.

FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa

This has been one hell of an intense FIFA World Cup so far, with all the big dogs out, and the scrappy underdogs gnashing out for survival.

My team, the NZ All Whites, though doing an amazing job not loosing any games, it just wasn’t enough to get through without winning. But they did make it on top of the defending champions Italy, and that makes it one hell of a year for NZ, whose football presence is negligible.

The first game in the round of 16, Ghana vs USA, was one hell of an intense match. I was in a Portuguese restaurant watching the game, rooting for Ghana, with everyone else chanting for the USA. The owner had put some money on the US, and lost it as it tied 1-1 going on to extra time. But Ghana came back strong with a stellar goal that destroyed all hopes for the US to get to the next round.

I’m not a big Germany fan, and not a big England fan either. Out of the two though, it was clear that Germany was the better team, which was proven by 4-1 lead. I guess the German psychic octopus is psychic after all. Now the Germans are poised to go against the winner of Mexico vs Argentina.

I’m rooting for Argentina on this game, coz I want to see the Maradona coached Argentina face Germany and redeem themselves from last world cups loss. I was in a pub in downtown Auckland 4 years ago cheering for Argentina in an overwhelmingly German crowd at 4am. Lets just say there was a lot of yelling, and I called in sick the next day, only to be blackmailed by a work mate coz I ended up on the 6 O’Clock news running around wrapped in the Argentinian flag.

Now that my NZ is out, I’m cheering on a case by case basis, with no clear favourite to win the cup. Ghana is Africa’s last hope on pushing through to a historic quarter finals if they beat Uruguay. I would love to see Argentina win, and wondering if Maradona will hold his promise to streak in the nude if they won.

Whose your favourite team, and who do you think will win?

Update: Looks like it is Argentina vs Germany! Go Argentina!

This mornings game was very emotional. I missed the 1st half because I slept in, and seeing us down by 1 to Slovakia was disheartening. But I didn’t feel so bad considering that we usually get beat 2+ to nothing, and Australia got nailed 4-0 by Germany.

I was getting ready for work, and was about to close the lid of my Macbook Pro, when I felt the excitement on the commentators voice, and quickly pulled the lid back to see a beautiful cross connecting with Winston Reid’s head, and BOOOM

GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!!!!!

I found myself screaming in excitement, something I haven’t done yet during this World Cup. I was so happy that, even though I didn’t have an All Whites T-Shirt, wore the NZ All Blacks colours.

I don’t know how well we will do on Sunday against Italy, but I’m happy that we scored a goal and didn’t loose 1st game in.

GO ALL WHITES!!! MAKE US PROUD!!

I saw Graham Hill talk on TED.com about his switch to becoming a “Weekday Vegetarian”, and thought it might be a good idea to eat meat only in the weekends. At least it won’t interfere in my summer weekend bbqs.

You can help me out by sending me some good recipes, suggestions and tips on how to go about this.

I’m one of those people who is pretty much accessible on most of the available channels, to the point where some friends panic when I don’t answer the phone after a few attempts, or get frumpy when I don’t email or instant message back promptly.

I have to say, it’s becoming quite the chore to manage all of these channels, but you find a way to filter the noise, keep things sane with good tools and habits.

What happens though, when you encounter someone who isn’t as connected? Those who find cell phones intrusive and can’t stand text messaging. They don’t get the point of Twitter ( I sometimes don’t really), and Facebook is just too open and scary with too much information for their taste. How do you communicate with those who aren’t connected?

How do you handle people who are hard to reach? I just try and try again!!!

But there is no real security
in what is no longer meaningful.

There is more security
in the adventurous and exciting,
for in movement there is life,
and in change
there is power.

- Alan Cohen

Thanks Louisa

I´m not going to talk much about the Israeli attacks on the Gaza flotilla as there is enough coverage and commentary out there. But as we see the international condemnation by world leaders, and calls for investigations and the media coverage, I feel very jaded as to the final outcome of all it.

I seems like time and time again, the Israelis use disproportionate force claiming their right to defend themselves. Disregarding UN resolutions and being beligerent in their actions to other soveriegn countries and allies.

When will the global community say enough is enough, and that there are consequences to such actions. I hope this is the time!!