opengoal 2006

I came across a new web browser today which I decided to give a trial run. Flock is based on the Mozilla engine, although has no connection with the group behind Firefox. Perhaps unsurprisingly though, it comes across as rather similar to the aforementioned browser. The aim of the authors is to offer a fully integrated browser - providing tools such as blog posting - without it becoming overly bloated.

Loading pages - in terms of decoding and displaying content - is impressively quick, although the browser is slow to respond to commands. There is a delay every time you enter a URL, click on a link, or similar. It is important to note this is a preview binary, designed to give an idea of what to expect from the full release. Despite this, Flock appears to be remarkably stable.

It remains to be seen whether the features offered by Flock will prove useful enough to differentiate it from Firefox. Looks like a project worth keeping an eye on nonetheless.

I've not posted anything in the past few days, so this is my first update of 2006. I saw the new year in playing in a poker tournament. And yes, this was a home game - I didn't spend New Year's Eve in front of a computer monitor! Despite consuming plenty of lager, we even managed to time a break so that we could listen to the chimes of Big Ben.

No, the title of this entry doesn't reflect the week I've endured - instead it refers to the title of a BBC comedy.

The series ended tonight and it's been a revelation. Great to see the BBC producing brilliant new comedy. Some of the scenes were uncontrollably funny.

To be honest, I've only discovered recently that this is in fact the second series of the show. The first is out on DVD, although I'm going to resist temptation to order it for now. Hopefully this will have the benefit of it going down in price, and I know there's no way I'll get time to watch it in the immediate future anyway. I've still got plenty of catching up with Alias to be getting on with...

A good result for Liverpool in the derby which also means I win the first of my bets placed yesterday. This is the ninth successive premiership win for The Reds, keeping the pressure on Chelsea. We remain second in the table, with games in hand over Manchester United (who drew with Birmingham today).

I've placed a few bets this evening:

Liverpool to beat West Ham - 8/11
Liverpool to beat West Brom - 2/7
Ukraine to win the 2006 World Cup - 50/1 (each way bet)
Milan Baros to be top scorer in WC 2006 - 40/1
Frank Lampard to be top scorer in WC 2006 - 50/1
Greg Rusedski to win Wimbledon - 250/1 (each way bet)

Admittedly the two Liverpool games were due to a free bet offer at a bookmaker I registered with tonight (as a result of the odds offered on Rusedski). I believe the other prices are very good value though. The Ukraine are an excellent outside bet for the World Cup. OK, this might be the first time they've reached the finals, but they did finish top of their qualifying group. And don't forget the goal scoring might of Shevchenko.

There's been some developments at Wisbech Stadium over the past week. Whilst only a couple of months ago the sporting future for the venue was looking good, unfortunately this is no longer the case.

A week ago last Monday the police were called after reports of three men breaking into the site. These men claimed to be the new owners

David Rose, the stadium manger, wasn't informed. Also, Craig Robinson and June Wiseman - who've been working on the return of stock car and greyhound racing respectively - weren't told about the new developments.

Stadium owners Lesley Brothers have said that after failing to make Wisbech economically viable, they're now in discussion with a join venture partner who will be, "looking to future regeneration opportunities for this important gateway site."

Doesn’t sound like good news from a sporting perspective.

I've ordered a few bits and pieces tonight from Sendit, Amazon and BlahDVD. I didn't choose three different retailers to form any kind of a test, but it will be interesting to see who delivers the quickest (all items are in stock). Amazon are one of the only UK targeted internet retailers still to ship from the mainland (in most cases), with many preferring the tax saving benefits of Jersey or Guernsey. Still, having chosen their Free Super Saver Delivery I'm expecting a delay of a few days. This could all prove useful information next time I leave present shopping to the last minute, although judging performance over the holiday season isn't really fair.

I didn't get up until around lunch time. I've spent most of the day playing Football Manager 2006, making progress with King's Lynn. As my first season draws to a close, I've only lost one game and lie second in the Conference South.

Having signed some excellent players, like the Spanish striker Verde, I'm happy with the way the season has gone. Hopefully promotion will come, although obviously the play-offs can be a bit of a lottery.

I watched the second leg of this World Cup qualifying play-off tonight. Spain maintained their record of never losing under Luis Aragones. Good, until you consider this was their sixth draw in the past twelve games - the match ending 1-1.

Hat-trick hero from the first leg Luis Garcia didn't start, due to a minor injury. After putting in an excellent performance following his first start for his country, at the weekend, it's a shame the forward was missing from the line-up.

There was Liverpool interest, however, with Xabi Alonso starting the game. Fernando Morientes came on in the second half, setting up David Villa, who duly secured the equaliser.

Spain had it all their own way in the first half, although Fernando Torres and Raul were unable to convert their chances. Slovakia played with a lot of men behind the ball, but the fact that they didn't press at all, and seemed happy for Spain to retain possession was surprising.

One player who particularly stood out for me was Spain's Antonio Lopez. Playing at left back in Aragones' 4-2-3-1 system, the Sevilla midfielder performed well - tackling hard when necessary and getting forward a lot.

It seemed as if Slovakia had given up on the small chance of qualifying after an uninspiring first half. However, after a half time team talk they came out firing on all cylinders. Substitute Filip Holosko wasted no time in finding the back of the net.

Holosko's goal wasn't to inspire a dramatic comeback, though. Villa's consolation late in the game secured a draw on the night, with Spain having now booked their place in Germany, next year.