Upload Done

It took me a good week or so, but finally the photos from the recent Penang MSH meeting were up. It was just that I had a couple of calls right after the meeting last week, and finding time to sit down and go through the photos was a bit difficult. After the photos were done, then there was a small matter of uploading the the photos onto my server. And that would take bandwidth as each photos was about 1Mb in size. It didn't take that long with the fibre connection at the apartment, but finding time to do so at the apartment was another story.

Once the photos were ported up, then I had to embed than onto the website. And that took me another couple of hours. It wasn't long but finding the time to sit down and do them was the problem.

Anyhow, it was all done. I decided to capture the photos in RAW on the 7D, making colour management through Aperture, less tricky. I was actually pretty happy with the results.

Moysey!

It looked like the transition plan was already in motion. Last night, before I went to bed, this was the headline - I was too busy to blog earlier in the day. David Moyes. I thought that one day he would come over to United, but not straight away to manage. Maybe to be an assistant to Sir Alex before taking over. And would have joined up many years back. And since that didn't happen, I thought he would have missed the boat.

I was no secret that Sir Alex was a fan of Moyes. And me too, even when he was managing Preston, there was something about him which marked him for greatness. Not as a flair superstar manager in the Mourinho mould, but more of a grafter. The question moving forward now would be, does Manchester United want somebody with flair, or a working man. The fax that Motes was offered a bumper six year contract indicated that United was committed with a long term project. Mourinho would not have agreed to be tied down that long.

Listening to his interview on the BBC, it was very c,ear that Moyes was shell shocked with the whole development. But the fact that it came before the end of the season would help both Everton and United to start building for the future.

As a United fan, I have to admit that there is some apprehension to the appointment, mainly to the lack of European experience on Moyes' part. There is no doubting his temperament. What would be interesting would be how things would pan out if the results did not go his way in the first few months - Everton was a notorious slow started under Moyes. Will the fans started going on his back? No doubt about it. But his reaction then would be important. Otherwise, the job might just be too big for him. I would be more than happy to give him the benefit of the doubt though.

And on the same token, I would also like to welcome a certain Marouone Fellaini .....

Kyoto Conference Centre

They signed the Kyoto Convention there. The Kyoto International Conference Centre was certainly a building for for the occasion. But it wasn't a conventional one by any means.

It was inspired of the days I the shoguns and warriors ruling the old Japan. It had been renovated over the years and certainly felt modern in the inside, but you couldn't help but felt that it was built in the 70s. Tall ceilings, and broad walkways. And the gardens and water features surrounding it was a sight to behold. And I was lucky that I was there during the time of Sakura bloom. It was not just gorgeous, it was amazing!

The Convention Centre was located on the north part of town, at the beginning of one of the two subway line crossing the city. This made the travel from the centre to downtown easy. But getting from the hotel was a bit more tricky. I took a cab on the first day and it took me 20 minutes of journey time.

The best part about the place was having lunch in the open by the lake. In the breeze and bright sunshine with the Sakura blooming, it was an amazing feeling.

More about my Kyoto trip here.

Ferguson Retires

So, the end of an era. The era of the great Alex Ferguson. He is leaving my beloved team, Manchester United, after 26 successful years. And the transition will be painful. Who ever would be lucky enough to try and fill his huge shoes would be tested, both in and outside the club. Similar things happened when Sir Matt Busby left, and it took United a whole generation to find his replacement.

Sir Alex would be greatly missed. The rumour mills had been spinning in full speed since the announcement was made, and the hot favourite to fill the void would be Jose Mourinho and David Moyes. It was an open secret that Moyes had been highly rated by Sir Alex, but he lacked the experience at the highest level. Mourinho on the other hand would be carrying with him a lot of ego, and not to mention the question concerning his loyalty. He was not known to build up a team from scratch, and did not hang around too long at one place. This would be contrary to the very core of what made United tick. Longevity.

Either way, we would be watching the development in the coming weeks, and I am sure that whether you are a fan or otherwise, it would be an interesting one ……

Golden Pavilion Slideshow

The slideshow of the photographs I took during my recent trip to the Golden Pavilion in Kyoto. Perfect timing as it was during the sakura bloom. The blog of the visit can be read here.