Future Proofing in the Arctic.

Hidden away on a remote island in the Arctic Ocean is the “Doomsday” Vault.  It has the capacity to store 4.5 million seed samples from all regions of the planet.  Its purpose is to safeguard the world’s agriculture from future catastrophes, such as nuclear war, asteroid impact, climate change, natural disasters, poor agricultural management and disease etc.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is located on the Norwegian Island of Spitsbergen which forms part of the Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic Ocean.  It is approximately 1120km (700 miles) from the North Pole.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault acts as a backup to the worlds seed banks should seed reserves in these locations be lost.

There are five reason why this location was chosen:

1. Built within a region that has relative security, political and social stability.
2. Isolated from the rest of the world in a region where Permafrost will provide stable storage conditions for seeds.  With also little risk of local seed dispersion.
3. The Vault is about built 130 metres above sea level and is high enough to secure the facility against any rise in sea level as a result of global warming.  It has been built 120 metres into the side of a mountain, in a stable sandstone situation.
4. There is very little tectonic activity on the island which ensures long term structural stability of the vault itself and also the mountain in which it is built.
5. Access to the island is fairly easy considering its remoteness as it is built near the town of Longyearbyen and directly opposite Longyear Airport.  The vault can be quickly accessed from the town and ensures security can be maintained.

The seeds are stored at minus 18 degrees Celsius and placed in sealed packages that again will be placed in sealed boxes that will be stored on high shelves inside the vault. The low temperature and the limited access to oxygen will ensure low metabolic activity and cause a delay in the aging of the seeds. The permafrost will still ensure the continued viability of the seeds if the electricity supply should fail.

The facility consists of three separate underground chambers. Each chamber has the capacity to store 1,5 million different seed samples. With the aid of its own electric machinery, powered by electricity from the local power station, it will maintain a constant interior temperature of minus 18 degrees Celsius. The chambers will have storage shelving for prepacked examples of food seeds from the depositors (donor countries).

The storage chambers themselves are reached via an access tunnel about 100 metres long, with an entrance portal on its outside. The entrance portal will be the only visible part of the facility. It is in the form of a long, narrow concrete “fin”, with an entrance of brushed steel. An artistic decoration on the outer roof surface and on the upper part of the front will partly reflect the polar light and partly give off a muted, glowing light. (Source: http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/lmd/campain/svalbard-global-seed-vault.html?id=462220)

I think this project is fantastic and is truly worth while.  If we want to safe guard our existence on this planet and combat poverty in developing nations then continued access to seeds is essential.  There is far too much emphasis placed on access to energy resources such as oil and coal, in my opinion maintaining our ability to access food is far more important.  And the fact that the Vault looks like the Rebel base in Empire Strikes Back makes it all the more worth while.  If your going to build a Seed Vault in the Arctic why not make is look cool as well.

Definition of a Tourist

Tourist:( Pronounciation: Too r-ist)

-noun

1. A person who endeavors with an activity which they have little knowledge of or experience in.

Example: Someone would be considered a “Tourist” if they tried something new and ignorantly made a decision which someone with experience or knowledge wouldn’t dream of making.

Dolphin in the Brisbane River

This afternoon (Sat 06/09/2008) I was lucky enough to see a lone Dolphin in the Brisbane River.

We’d gone for a walk along the river at Orleigh Park Westend when we saw it breaking the surface.

We watched it for about 15 minutes as it swam up down the river occasionally spouting water through its blow hole and diving back under the water.

This is the first time I’d seen a Dolphin this far up the river, I have seen them previously in Moreton Bay and at the Sunshine Coast.

Here are a few pictures I managed to take:

Fate and Family Footsteps on ABC1

Unfortunately, Australian television doesn’t usually throw up many surprises with the many foreign shows and copies of foreign show mainly aired or produced. However, while flicking through the channels last Thursday night looking for something/anything to watch, I stumbled upon Family Footsteps.

The show immediately caught my attention and had me hooked for the rest of the hour. Family Footsteps is a documentary series which follows young Australians as they experience a taste of what their life could have been like had their parents not migrated to Australia. Participants in the show are expected to immerse themselves in the life, work and culture of their parents homeland and try to live as they would have lived had fate not taken them to their current situation.

I find the concept of this show very interesting, as a person who believes that our lives are dictated by the decisions other people have made in the past and that fate has delivered us to become what we have become. The fact that I’m in the situation I find myself in now is a direct consequence of the decisions other people have made in the past, people I haven’t even met. There are an infinite amount of possible ways in which peoples lives could end up and this show gives the participants a chance to experience an alternative reality of how their lives could have turned out.

Currently the show is half way through its second series so I wish I’d discovered it at the start of the first series. However I’m sure I’ll be able to download it or get a copy of it from somewhere.

The current series is viewable as a stream on the ABC website (see link below) or through the ABC iView.

http://www.abc.net.au/tv/documentaries/interactive/familyfootsteps/

Also, it is on ABC 1 on Thursday night at 20:30.

Family Footsteps – Uganda: From IT Executive to Ugandan Cook.

Review of Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 Economy Class

After booking my flight to London LHR from Brisbane BNE via Singapore SIN online I was pleased to see that the flight from Singapore to Heathrow was on the new Airbus A380. I reserved my seats in Economy on the Singapore Airlines website, I used SeatGuru to find the best seat. However, even though I’d gone to do this quite a while before the departure date I found that a lot of seats had already gone. Next time I will reserve my seats as soon as I book the actual flight. Anyway, on the first flight to London I managed to get an aisle seat on the Upper Deck on the way back I got an aisle seat on the Main Deck. When I boarded the A380 the first thing I noticed was the smell, it smells exactly like a new car. The brand new fittings, fixtures and upholstery are a pleasure to see, everything is nice and new, shiny and clean.

The economy class cabin is similar to economy on other Singapore Airlines aircraft except for the following: The actual seats are different they are a little harder than usual but I prefer a harder seat. The leg room has improved, I could pretty much stretch my legs right under the seat in front (I’m 6′2”), if it wasn’t for the seat pocket and the foot rest my legs just touched the seat in front. The personal screen in economy has also improved they are 10 inch and the entertainment system is fully on-demand, I found it a lot easier to watch the movies and TV shows on the bigger screen and there was almost too much to choose from. The entertainment system also had a great selection of music to listen to. The food was pretty much the same as other flights I’d been on, the usual Chicken, Beef or Fish options which tasted OK. At the back of the Upper Deck next to the galley there is a staircase which leads down the the economy cabin on the Main Deck at the back of which are 4 toilets and an area about a metre and a half long and the width of the plane. A good enough space to stretch the legs and have a stand for a while.

I thought the lighting on the A380 was very good, when the cabin crew are getting ready to serve breakfast the cabin lights gradually go from off to fully on over a period of about 10 minutes. You don’t really realised it is happening, this is much more reasonable than suddenly turning the lights on while everyone’s eyes are still used to the dark, it also allows you to wake up gradually as if it were morning.

The flight time from Singapore to London is still roughly the same and it is still a long and boring flight but in situations like this little things seem to make a difference. It was over all a good experience and made my trip back to London easier to handle. The only thing I would grumble about was the fact that when the plane arrived at Heathrow it took us in the Upper Deck economy cabin about 30 minutes to get off the plane into the terminal building. This as we found out was due to the two level air bridge being broken and the ground staff having to get a normal one set up. Therefore everyone in the Upper Deck had to wait for all the passengers on the Main deck to exit before we could. However, it did give me an opportunity to see what the first class suites were like – all I can say is they are very spacious and sleeping wouldn’t have been a problem.

The flight back was much the same except for the fact that my entertainment system froze while I was watching Kung Fu Panda this required the stewardess to reset the whole system which took about 20 minutes to reload. I then had to fast forward back to the point the movie froze. Also, they had run out of the Beef option at dinner.

Video from youtube of Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 Upper and Main Deck

These pictures of the A380 were taken at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 on Saturday 17th August 2008 immediately prior to departure for Singapore.

Returning to Oludeniz

As mentioned in a previous post I have recently returned from Turkey after spending 5 days staying at my Dad’s place in Fethiye. The day I arrived I visited Oludeniz – the only place that really stood out in my mind from my last visit to Turkey when I was a child. I was sort of expecting it to be the same as it was 21 years ago. My Dad confirmed my memory that when we had first visited Oludeniz there were only a few wooden structures on the beach at the lagoon end of the bay and a boat mooring – very untouched. However, this was not what was presented to me upon my arrival this time. On the beach at the lagoon end of the bay is a sea of beach umbrellas, which in fact stretch quite along way along the beach. Also, back from the main beach is basically a town which has developed to cater for all the tourist which visit Oludeniz every summer. Hotels, shops, restaurants etc. (You can see how big the town is in picture_03 below) I was also interested to find out that Oludeniz has become one of the most popular paragliding places in the world, the evidence of this was by the fact that while I was there one landed on the beach every few minutes. Having said that Oludeniz and the surrounding area is still a beautiful place and well worth a visit. Oludeniz is however a victim of its own magnificence, there are still untouched places on this coastline like the Oludeniz of 21 years ago but they are few and usually only accessible by boat.

Gervais, Merchant and Pilkington Back on the Air.

NME Radio is currently broadcasting test transmissions prior to the official launch of the new radio station on Tuesday 24th June. As part of this, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington are doing a one-off two hour show consisting of songs plus the usual hilarious drivel / banter between the trio. The first broadcast went out yesterday (9th June) at 12 noon (GMT) and is being repeated at the following times:

Mondays: Noon and 8pm
Tuesdays: 2pm and 10pm
Wednesdays: 4pm
Thursdays: Midnight and 6pm
Fridays: 2am, 10am and 7pm
Saturdays: 1am, 1pm and 8pm
Sundays: 3pm and 10pm

For those people on the East Coast of Australia these are the time for us:

Mondays: 9pm
Tuesdays: 5am and 11pm
Wednesdays: 7am
Thursdays: 1am and 9am
Fridays: 3am, 11am and 7pm
Saturdays: 4am, 10am and 10pm
Sundays:5am and Midnight and 7am Monday

These test transmissions can be heard at the following url:

http://radio.nme.com/player/

EURO 2008 – Group Tables and Results…

For Results and Tables scroll down the page:

Update: 30th June 2008:

Spain have beaten Germany in the final of Euro 2008 in Vienna.  The only goal of the match came in the 33rd minute from Fernando Torres.  Spain have now won the European Football Championship twice the first came in 1964 and now 44 years later they have done it again.  Spain have had a fantastic Tournament and deserve their victory, they got through the group stage without dropping a single match.  Whereas Germany lost to Croatia.  However, Spain have managed to get passed the cream of European Football to end up on top.  A well deserved victory.

Click here to see highlights of the final between Germany and Spain.

Update: 27th June 2008:

Click here to see highlights of the semi-final between Russia and Spain.

Update: 26th June 2008:

Click here to see highlights of the semi-final between Germany and Turkey.

Update: 23rd June 2008:

Spain have progressed to the Semi-Finals of Euro 2008 after a dramatic penalty shoot out against Italy in Vienna.  No goals were scored during the main period of the match forcing a period of extra time to be played.  Both sides had their chances but neither team could get ahead, a penalty shoot out was inevitable.  The Spanish goal keeper Iker Casillas ensured the win for his country after pulling off a crucial save from Italian Daniele De Rossi.  Spain won the penalty shoot out 4 – 2 meaning that they would be playing fellow Group D members Russia in the Semi-Final.  Spain have already beaten Russia 4 – 1 in this tournament, but can they do it again or will Russia revenge their first match defeat.

Click here to see highlights of the Spain vs Italy match.

Update: 22nd June 2008:

Russia have crushed Dutch hopes of a European Championship crown after their Quarter Final match in Basel.  Russia went ahead after a 56 minute volley from Roman Pavlyuchenko, however the Netherlands managed to equalise with a header from Ruud van Nistelrooy with 4 minutes of time to play.  Extra time would be played to decide the match; after 22 minutes Russia made a break through with a goal from Dmitri Torbinski then soon followed it up with another from Andrei Arshavin putting a Semi-Final place totally out of Netherlands’ reach.  This is stunning result for the Russians as the Netherlands would have been the tournaments favorites after their performances in the Group Stage.  Russia will play either Spain or Italy in the Semi-Final but are Guus Hiddink’s side stoppable?

Click here to see highlights of the Netherlands vs Russia match.

Update: 21st June 2008:

Turkey have progressed to their first European Championship Semi-Final after beating Croatia in the second Quarter Final in Vienna. The whole game passed without a goal from either side forcing an extra time showdown. Croatia managed to get the first goal on 29 minutes with a header from Ivan Klasnić, surely ensuring his teams advance to the Semi-Final. However, that wasn’t the end of it as Turkey miraculously pinched an equaliser after 2 minutes of injury time from a Semih Şentürk shot with deflection. This resulting in the first penalty shoot out of the tournament, which Turkey won 3 – 1. Turkey will play Germany in the Semi-Final, but can their luck hold out long enough to get a spot in the final.

Click here to see highlights of the Croatia vs Turkey match.

Update: 20th June 2008:

Germany have progressed through to the Semi Finals of Euro 2008 after their Quarter Final clash with Portugal in Basel. The first goal was scored by Bastian Schweinsteiger after 22 minutes and was quickly followed up by Miroslav Klose 4 minutes later. Portugal however managed to get one back 5 minutes before the half with a scrambled in goal from Nuno Gomes. Michael Ballack again took the Germans ahead by 2 goals on 60 minutes ensuring the result would go the German’s way. Portugal however managed to get a consolation goal on 87 minutes, with Hélder Postiga as the scorer, but it wasn’t enough to see them through. Portugal have played a great tournament and should be happy with their performances. Germany will play either Croatia or Turkey in the Semi Finals, Croatia have already beaten Germany once in this tournament so it’ll be an interesting match if they can get passed Turkey.

Click here to see highlights of the Portugal vs Germany match.

Update: 19th June 2008:

Guus Hiddink has done it again…

He has taken another international side beyond the group stage of a major tournament, this time with Russia. Russia has defeated Sweden in their last Group D match in Innsbruck to qualify for the quarter finals. The Russians went ahead on 24 minutes with a fine strike from Roman Pavlyuchenko. The second goal came the other side of the half on 50 minutes with a great goal from Andrei Arshavin. Going into the tournament Sweden would have been confident of a quarter final spot, but it wasn’t to be. Russia will play the Netherlands in the quarter final, I suspect they will have a tough time of it.

Click here to see highlights of the Russia vs Sweden match.

Spain have consolidated their dominance of Group D with a win in their clash against Greece in Salzburg. Greece started off well in the match and managed to get the first score. The Greek goal was scored just before the half time break on 42 minutes with a header from Angelos Charisteas. However a second rate Spanish side stepped up the pressure and got an equaliser on 61 minutes with a goal from Rubén de la Red. However, it was until two minutes before full time that Spain took the lead with a goal from Daniel Güiza. Spain will be up against Italy in the quarter finals, who even though they haven’t played very well in this tournament so far, are still the World Champions. Spain watch out.

Click here to see highlights of the Spain vs Greece match.

Update: 18th June 2008:

Italy have qualified for a place in the quarter finals after a dramatic victory against France in Zurich. The first goal was scored from a penalty taken by Andrea Pirlo on 24 minutes, the challenge which resulted in the penalty also resulted in the sending off Frenchman Eric Abidal. France had to struggle on with a man down, Italy however consolidated their lead on 62 minutes with a strike from Daniele De Rossi. France have ended their campaign at the bottom of Group C on 1 point which they got in their 0 – 0 draw against Romania. This couldn’t have been a worst result for the French as they come to terms with their dismal performance at these championships.

Click here to see the full-time analysis of the France vs Italy match from the BBC

Netherlands have beaten Romania to top off Group C with a full 9 points after their match in Bern. The first Dutch goal was scored after 54 minutes by Klaas Jan Huntelaar after a cross from Ibrahim Afellay. The second came just before time from a great left foot strike from Robin van Persie. Romania knew that a victory here would result in a quarter final place ahead of Italy or France, but were unable to make any headway against the Dutch. There was a school of thought that if the Dutch let Romania win it would illuminate both Italy and France from competing in the finals and therefore make the run to the final a little easier. However, the Dutch obviously weren’t thinking this as they went ahead a got the full 3 points.

Click here to see highlights of the Netherlands vs Romania match

Update: 17th June 2008:

Croatia have topped their group with a clean 9 points after their final group match against Poland in Klagenfurt. Croatia had even rested a number of their top players, even so Poland were unable to get ahead and come out of the tournament with their heads held low. The only goal in the match came early in the first half on 53 minutes from Ivan Klasnić. Croatia will meet Turkey in the quarter finals which will prove to be a great match-up, both teams are on form and coming off good performances in their respective Groups.

Click here to see highlights of the Poland vs Croatia match

Germany has ended up as runners-up in Group B as a result of their win in Vienna against tournament co-host Austria. The lone German goal came on 49 minutes from a free-kick taken by Germany’s captain Michael Ballack. Austria put up a good effort against their European neighbours but were unable to make a break through. Germany will play Portugal in the quarter finals and will hope they are able to lift their form against the Group A winners.

Click here to see highlights of the Austria vs Germany match

Update: 16th June 2008:

Switzerland has managed to find their form in their last Group A clash with Portugal in Basel. Both goals came from the boot of Hakan Yakin the first came well into the second half on 71 minutes and the second as the result of a penalty on 83 minutes. Portugal however had fielded a second string side with all but three players being rested for the quarter finals.

Click here to see highlights of the Switzerland vs Portugal match

Turkey have pulled off a stunning victory in their clash against the Czech Rep in Geneva to qualify for the quarter finals. The Czech’s went two nil up with goals from Jan Koller on 34 minutes and another from Jaroslav Plasil on 62 minutes. However, Turkey didn’t let that get to them as Arda Turan pulled one back on 75 minutes. With 5 minutes to go the Czech fans must have been mentally preparing themselves for a longer stay in Austria/Switzerland. Turkey however had other plans as with 3 minutes to go Nihat Kahveci brought the score level with a stunning finish. Then with one minute of official time to play Nihat Kahveci got his second sending the Czech Rep crashing out of the tournament and Turkey into the quarter finals.

Click here to see highlights of the Czech Republic vs Turkey match

Update: 15th June 2008:

Spain have managed to confirm their attendance at the quarter finals by defeating follow group D members Sweden in Innsbruck. Spain went ahead first with David Villa setting up Fernando Torres after 15 minutes. However Sweden didn’t waiver and equalised through a Zlatan Ibrahimovic goal 19 minutes later. Once again in this tournament an injury time goal has concluded proceedings. This time, current Euro 2008 top goal scorer David Villa broke Swedish hearts with a goal on 92 minutes. Sweden should still qualify for the quarter finals but have a difficult clash with Russia coming up.

Click here to see highlights of the Spain vs Sweden Match

Salzburg has witnessed the bowing out of the current European Football Champions Greece at the hands of Russia. The winning and only goal of the match came on 34 minutes after Konstatin Zyryanov scored from close range after Sergei Semak managed to take advantage of a mistake by the Greek keeper Antonis Nikopolidis. Greece would be very disappointed with their performance in Euro 2008 considering their unbelievable performance in the last European Football Championships in Portugal.

Click here to see highlights of the Greece vs Russia Match

Update: 14th June 2008:

Marco van Basten’s side have pulled off another stunning victory in their second Group C match against France in Berne. The Netherlands started the scoring early in the first half with a header from Dirk Kuyt which came from the first corner of the match. France were unable to equalise as the Dutch followed up with a second from substitute Robin van Persie. Thierry Henry managed to pull one back on 71 minutes but Arjen Robben replied one minute later with an angled finish. Wesley Sneijder topped it all off for the Dutch in injury time with a cool blast which was unstoppable. France have a huge fight on their hands now if they want to get through to the next round.

Click here to see highlights of the Netherlands vs France Match

Romania almost managed to do the unthinkable in their clash with Italy in Zürich. Both teams played well and managed to create numerous chances but it was Romania who hit the back of the net first on 55 minutes with Adrian Mutu making the most of a bad back header. However their lead lasted less than a minute as Italy replied with Christian Panucci touching in a headed cross. The drama came when Christian Panucci was judged to have fouled in the area. Italy faced almost certain illumination as the spot kick came from Adrian Mutu, but was miraculously saved by Gianluigi Buffon forcing the draw. Romania have done well in their group C matches considering their opponents. It’ll be interesting to see how this group pans out.

Click here to see highlights of the Italy vs Romania Match

Update: 13th June 2008:

Austria has managed to hold Poland to a draw in their Group B Clash in Vienna. Austria looked the better side and were denied on four occasions but it was Poland who took the lead after 30 minutes with a tap-in from Roger Guerreiro. However, the Euro 2008 co-hosts managed to hold on without conceding another. After 90 minutes Poland were surely going to take the three points but 3 minutes into injury time Marcin Wasilewski conceded a penalty. Ivica Vastic took the penalty and became the oldest player to score in a European Football Championships at age 38.

Click here to see highlights of the Austria vs Poland Match

Croatia has managed to pull off the biggest upset of the tournament so far with a famous win over Germany in Klagenfurt. Croatia managed to score first after 24 minutes with a wonderful cross from Danijel Pranjic setting up Darijo Srna. Then after 62 minutes Croatia backed up their claim on the Group top spot with a second goal, scored by Ivica Olic. Germany managed to get one back on 79 minutes with a goal from Lukas Podolski, his third goal of the tournament. Croatia have ensured their place in the Quarter Finals, but will it be as Group Winners?…. Surely.

Click here to see Highlights of the Germany vs Croatia Match.

Update: 12th June 2008:

Switzerland’s hope of a place in the Quarter Finals have been washed away in a defeat by Turkey in their second Group A match in Basel. The heavens opened as Switzerland managed to get the first goal in after 32 minutes with a tap-in from Hakan Yakin. Turkey however were not perturbed and managed to get an equaliser on 57 minutes with a head in from Semih Senturk. Both teams continued with their attacks but with Turkey eventually scoring the winner in injury time (92 mins) with a strike from Arda Turan. Turkeys campaign is back up and running.

The Czech Republic’s chances of topping Group A have taken a serious setback with a defeat by Portugal in Geneve. Portugal opened the scoring early with an 8 minute goal from Deco. The Czech’s however replied 11 minutes later with a pounding header from Libor Sionko. Cristiano Ronaldo sealed the Czechs fate with 63 minute stunner from the edge of the box and also setting up Portugal’s third with a pass to Ricardo Quaresma. Portugal are now guarantee a place in the Quarter Finals, if the Czech’s want to top Group A they need to beat Turkey convincingly in their next match and hope Portugal lose to Switzerland without scoring – this is however unlikely.

Update: 11th June 2008:

A hat-trick from David Villa has ensured a stunning victory for Spain against Russia in Innsbruck. Russia managed to get one back in the 86th minute with a header from Roman Pavlyuchenko, however Spain sealed their victory with a 91st minute strike from Cesc Fabregas, his first goal for Spain.

The current European Champions Greece have been defeated in their first Group D match against Sweden in Salzburg. Both the Swedish goals came in the second half, the first came from a drive from Zlatan Ibrahimović. Greece soon conceded a second goal to Sweden with a Henrik Larsson rebound setting up his team mate Petter Hansson. Greece now surely have a fight on their hands with an obviously in-form Spain to contend with.

Update: 10th June 2008:

Netherlands got off to the best start possible with a emphatic 3 – 0 win over World Champions Italy in Berne. Goals came from; Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Wesley Sneijder and Giovanni van Bronckhorst. Italy however weren’t without their chances as Edwin van der Sar was forced to make a couple of stunning saves.

Romania managed to force a goalless draw against France in the other Group C match in Zurich. France were left frustration as Nicolas Anelka headed the best chance of the game over the crossbar. France would have been hoping for a win in this match considering the talents of their next two opponents. Italy’s defeat however can only be good for France’s chances of qualifying for the Quarter finals.

Update: 9th June 2008:

Tournament co-hosts Austria failed to win their first round Group B match against Croatia in Vienna. The only goal scored in the match was a forth minute penalty scored by Luka Modric , which was the fastest penalty in the history of the European Football Championships. However, Croatia were forced to hang onto their lead as Austria flung everything they had at the Croatian defense. Austria were unlucky not to get one in on a couple of occasions especially considering they had the majority of the possession at 64% vs 36% for Croatia.

Germany are off to a good start with a 2 – 0 win over Poland in Klagenfurt. Both goals were scored by the Bayern Munich forward Lukas Podolski, the first goal came in the 20th minute and the second came the other side of the half after 72 minutes. This result surely sets Germany up as Group favorites.

Created :8th June 2008:

The 2008 uefa European Football Championships got underway yesterday (7th June) with the first two fixtures taking place in Basel and Geneva in Switzerland featuring teams from Group A. Unfortunately for one of the hosts, Switzerland they didn’t get off to the start they were looking for going down to the Czech Republic. Austria are playing Croatia tonight (8th June) in Vienna in their Group B match and would surely be hoping for a better start than their co-hosts. Croatia however have always played well in major tournaments and were the team responsible for denying England a place in Euro 2008.

I have always enjoyed the European Championships, it is a great spectacle and show-cases the talents of some of the best football players in the world. It also allows lesser known players to show off their skills to the rest of Europe and the world. I am very disappointed that England are not in the tournament but am still looking forward to a great feast of football. I think Group C are the group to watch as three of the big gun teams are in this group – I feel a bit sorry for Romania being stuck between France, Netherlands and Italy. But you never know what can happen, after all Greece are the current European Champions after taking out the hosts Portugal in the final of Euro 2004.

Select this link to see the tournaments top goal scorers.

GROUP A:

Results:

Switzerland 0 – 1 Czech Republic, Portugal 2 – 0 Turkey, Czech Republic 1 – 3 Portugal, Switzerland 1 – 2 Turkey, Switzerland 2 – 0 Portugal, Turkey 3 – 2 Czech Republic,

Table:

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Points
1	Portugal	3	2	0	1	2	6
2	Turkey	3	2	0	1	0	6
3	Czech Rep	3	1	0	2	-2	3
4	Switzerland	3	1	0	2	0	3

GROUP B:

Results:

Austria 0 – 1 Croatia, Germany 2 – 0 Poland, Croatia 2 – 1 Germany, Austria 1 – 1 Poland, Poland 0 -1 Croatia, Austria 0 -1 Germany,

Table:

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Points
1	Croatia	3	3	0	0	3	9
2	Germany	3	2	0	1	2	6
3	Austria	3	0	1	2	-2	1
4	Poland	3	0	1	2	-3	1

GROUP C:

Results:

Netherlands 3 – 0 Italy, Romania 0 – 0 France, Italy 1 – 1 Romania, Netherlands 4 – 1 France, Netherlands 2 – 0 Romania, France 0 -2 Italy,

Table:

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Points
1	Netherlands	3	3	0	0	8	9
2	Italy	3	1	1	1	-1	4
3	Romania	3	0	2	1	-2	2
4	France	3	0	1	2	-5	1

GROUP D:

Results:

Spain 4 – 1 Russia, Greece 0 – 2 Sweden, Sweden 1 – 2 Spain, Greece 0 -1 Russia, Greece 0 -1 Spain, Russia 2 – 0 Sweden,

Table:

Position	Team	P	W	D	L	GD	Points
1	Spain	3	3	0	0	5	9
2	Russia	3	2	0	1	0	6
3	Sweden	3	1	0	2	-1	3
4	Greece	3	0	0	3	-4	0

My finals predictions are in Italics:) (updated on 23/06/08).

Quarter Finals:

1. Portugal 2 – 3 Germany – 19th June 2008: Basel

2. Croatia 1- 1 Turkey ( 1 – 3 Pen) – 20th June 2008: Vienna

3. Netherlands 1 -3 Russia – 21st June 2008: Basel

4. Spain 0 – 0 Italy (4 – 2 Pen) – 22nd June 2008: Vienna

Semi Finals:

1. Germany 3 – 2 Turkey – 25th June 2008: Basel

2. Russia 0 – 3 Spain – 26th June 2008: Vienna

Third place play-off:

Turkey vs Russia – Date and Venue to be advised

Final:

Germany 0 -1 Spain – 29th June 2008: Vienna

UEFA European Football Champions 2008:

SPAIN

Beckham becomes England Captain…again

England manager Fabio Capello has announced that David Beckham will be the England Captain for the match against Trinidad & Tobago in Port of Spain tonight.

Beckham stepped down as England captain in 2006 after the World Cup and was then promptly dropped from the team by the temporary manager Steve McClaren.

In my opinion Beckham should have remained the England Captain after the world cup and definitely shouldn’t have been dropped from the team. This would have maintained some stability within the team, especially considering Eriksson had just left. It might have proven to be more beneficial in the lead up to the Euro 2008 qualifiers and meant that England could have been playing in the Euro 2008 finals in Austria – Switzerland this month.

Capello has stated that the assignment as captain is only for this match and that he will continue to rotate the England captaincy until such time that he makes a final decision on who the permanent captain will be.

David Beckham and Fabio Capello.

1st June 2008 – Update:

Result:

Trinidad & Tabago 0 – 3 England

Full Report from BBC Sport.

Latest Images from Mars.

Nasa’s Mars Lander: Phoenix, which successfully reached its destination on 25th May 2008, has sent back the latest images from Mars.

1. Rocks on the Surface of Mars.

2. The flat Marsian Landscape of the Northern Polar Region.

3. The Probes foot sitting on the planets surface.

The Phoenix will dig for water in the form of ice, which is thought to be just under the surface of the planet. It is intended to establish whether Mars has the basic building blocks of life.

4. The Phoenix is one of a number of Probes which has been sent to Mars. However, the Phoenix has landed much further north than ever before.

5. This image, which was taken from beneath the Phoenix, is believed to show ice on the surface of Mars. It is thought that it was exposed when the probes thrusters displaced soil upon landing.