A perk of living next to major facilities of non-military nature (datacentres [1, 2] are used for military)

think I neglected to mention a sort of “uptime privilege” this morning. I realised this only later. It’s a kind of an “RK” privilege one can forget about. You take this for granted when you’re next to international games or actions.

My computers have high uptime records owing to good electricity infrastructure (reliability/uptime/availability); we have a sort of fortune or the mere luck of having very reliable electric grid (near a very large and famous stadium) with persistent connections and decent hardware nearby, fallbacks included, with no natural disasters, not even floods (we’re in a slope).

In some parts of the world they have extreme weather this year, including prohibitive costs of living (UK minimum wage a lot higher than the average in Europe), war, conscription, and worse. Here, unlike Ukraine, no shelter time (or risk of being hit by missiles), is expected, so carrying on as usual is almost always possible. Until someone from another continent pays $130,000 to drag you down to London. But even then, your computers remain turned on at home.

Don’t underestimate them

have been goalkeeping since I was a young kid. My body type suited that position and I naturally became good enough to win some medals and be the goalkeeper for Computer Science at the Victoria University of Manchester (before the UMIST merger). I still have the kit. I don’t wear it much; I want to preserve it.

Goalkeeping is not as easy as it seems (despite being idle a lot of the time) and a lot boils down to reflexes as there’s not much time to think or plan. Goalkeepers can be significantly older than the average player on the field because they compensate with experience and seniority for a declining stamina and inability to jump far/high. Many goals are scored because the goalkeeper didn’t do well enough, e.g. stood at the wrong place, spilled the ball, dribbled too much.

Goalkeepers that are good not only stop balls from entering the net; they know when to catch, when to hit the ball down to the ground, then catch (no rival player nearly and fast/strong shot – making a direct catch riskier), when to pinch/parry the ball over the bar, when to deflect the ball back into play (if a defender nearby can take the rebound), when to carry the ball, when to punch/kick the ball (and how far), and so on…

There’s not much time to think about all this. The decision needs to be a reflex, based on who’s near you, how strong the shot is, the position relative to the bar etc.

Spatial awareness is important (distance to bars, which players stand where, and whose team they play for).

It’s a lot to do with gut feeling, it’s like playing an instrument.

There is also a lot to be said about how to handle different ways of taking penalties (e.g. kicker stops near the ball to trick the keeper into jumping prematurely) and one-on-one situations where the keeper can run outwards to face the player or stay close to goal, wherein the position of the feet can help obstruct a kick, but not while “on the move” (must know when to stop moving, prepare to stretch out limbs).

There’s a lot of fine strategy involved in goalkeeping, many different scenarios to learn from (in order to improve). That’s why goalkeepers need their own dedicated coach like Caballero, usually a very experienced but greying (or balding) keeper like aging gymnasts who focus on “theory”, not “practice” (anymore). They “pass the knowledge”…

I like goalkeeping, but when mistakes are made it can be harsh.

Should be straightforward today in good weather

went out last night after 9PM. Rianne and I saw the barriers being set up for today’s home match:

Enzo says they want to compete for trophies and the most prestigious one is the one involving the most matches: PL.

The “cups” typically involve just winning 6 or 7 games in a row, sometimes in penalties. That’s little compared to 38 games against hard rivals (not teams from lower leagues).

So far it’s looking positive for EnzoFC, which brings many new players (many left).

Tomorrow

omorrow afternoon (3PM BST) the 3^rd league match is played by Manchester City, only days ahead of another tournament (Champions League) that ‘gets in the way’ with a difficult away match.

City or EnzoFC should be able to retain the top spot. After the Manchester derby? Who knows! That won’t be an easy battle the following weekend.

We still enjoy walking past the Pep mural. We do this about 8 times a week.

Sounds obscene, it’s about money rather than local talent

he “Premier League sets new transfer market record with more than €4 billion spent” according the French broadcaster. “The 20 Premier League sides spent more than €4 billion this summer in the transfer market, setting a new record.”

Manchester City spent the most and it is already top of the league (table).

Credit where due

eamless winning streaks are very rare for a new coach, but Enzo does this with Manchester City. This Football Club (FC) gave him 2 years to prove himself and after 2 matches he is at the top of the league. Impressive!

Well done, EnzoFC.

Remember “Pep”?

onight at 8PM BST we’ll know if Arsenal “goes top” or lags behind “City”. The “protege” of “Pep” (Arteta) had a strong start this season after winning last season and “Pep” is gone, he’s definitely not coming back.

It feels kind of odd, still, walking past the building with the face of “Pep” knowing he’s just some historical face like a long-gone dictator or dead war hero.

We really hope that Enzo will maintain the momentum and win again this coming weekend. The first season or “Pep” at “City” was a disappointment.

Last night I saw Ferguson in the United game (video of course, not in person). He’s alive in spite of lingering health issues (occasional hospitalisation), he looks a lot older than when I last saw him. Unlike “Pep”, he hasn’t got decades left.

Enzo is even younger, he’s about the same age and Carrick and not much older than myself.