I wanted to Blog an email I sent today to give someone some recognition - here is their MVP profile incase you are interested. https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/profile=DA8DDE1A-A670-44F3-BADE-B0A1825BFA84  

Gaidar ,

I want to share my heart warmed thanks and express my sincere gratitude to you for helping Anka through what can only be described as an exceptionally traumatic experience in Moscow.

Having your passport, train tickets and flight tickets stolen 20 minutes before all your 50+ customers get on board a night train can be exceptionally stressful - mix this with the fact you are in a foreign country , don't speak the language and everyone you know in the country is getting on a train - was very traumatic for Anka.

However she was not alone. You selflessly volunteered to help her and stayed behind while the rest of her customers carried on from Moscow to St. Petersburg managed by Alexander and myself.

I spoke to Anka every day, several times a day for the next 4 days whilst you helped her at the Police station, the Croatian Embassy, back to the Police station and then the Embassy and then the Airport and again back to the Police station until eventually she managed to get on a flight to Zagreb direct from Moscow.

Anka told me she will remember Moscow as a “great adventure” and will remember Russia as a country where she “met a friend”. For me, it is not the excellent MVP open day, which brought 50+ people from over 10 countries together nor the fact that Anka's passport was stolen that will embed Moscow in my mind forever - it will be the kind, gracious and humble MVP who for me epitomises the MVP program. You helped a person in need by using your knowledge, time and experience.

For that I will always be truly grateful and I wanted you to be formally recognised by Microsoft and the MVP program for your kind actions.

Karen

Please note:  you can be pick pocketed anywhere and I strongly recommend people go to Russia as it is very beautiful place - it has amazing food, stunning history with awesome buildings and just amazing infrastructure ( imagine a 7 laned road in the centre of town - not a motorway but the centre of town - that is 14 lanes !!! ).

Here it goes Again from OK go

Whilst this is not the best song ever it is an amazing video and is thinking out of a box ... I will never look at a treadmill in the same way ever again!

Go hunt the video down on the web and have a look.

You all know I love Football. You all know I support Liverpool. I also used to live in Reading and could be often seen supporting the Royals aka Reading Football Club. Now I am very excited that Reading finally made it to the Premiership however what a pleasure to see them nearly beat Man Utd. Unbelieveable!!!!

We are in our final  week of the Early Bird offer for TechEd: Developers (7-10 Nov) and TechEd: IT Forum (14-17 Nov ) so if you are going start clicking.

http://www.mseventseurope.com/TechEd/06/pre/defaultdev.aspx

http://www.mseventseurope.com/TechEd/06/pre/defaultitf.aspx

 Also shameless plug a friend of mine is running Speakers Idol. So if you think you are a good speaker and you are attending either of the above events. Go on have a go you could win a fabulous prize !

-         Speakers Idol @ TechEd: Developers

-         Speakers Idol @ TechEd: IT Forum

South Africa will finally have the Microsoft Xbox 360 from this Saturday!

All eight packages (Core, Premium, bronze, copper, silver, gold, platinum, and diamond) are listed below with links to buy now!

Games : http://www.have2have.co.za/index.php?cPath=142_396_398

Consoles : http://www.have2have.co.za/index.php?cPath=142_396_161&osCsid=dacacaaba82a8a5420bd36aad8d84107

Nearly caught up with every thing.

 I am in Russia for the CEE MVP Open Days. Always lovely to visit Russia and always lovely to see the CEE MVPs. Really lovely,smart and man can they drink vodka!

We started off in Moscow in the Microsoft offices for 2 days doing technical sessions and then I had a quick 12 hours in St Petersburg.

We arrived at the Moskovskiy railway station via the night train Moscow to St Petersburg and after a quick walk around we had breakfast in the Okysbrskaya Hotel. We then jumped onto the bus and went to the Petropavlovskaya fortess.http://www.travel.spb.ru/theguide/petropavlovskaya.html we then went to the Hermitage where I saw tons of art http://www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/index.html . I then saw a bear, now I really feel I have been to Russia! I had ben told me that there were bears in Russia but I thought I would never see one!  So I played with the bear a bit. Then we went to Peterhof by boat. My first boat trip in Russia! Peterhof was a place that the Russian Tsars spent their holidays.  http://www.st-petersburg-life.com/culture/culture_details/37-Peterhof .

My favourite restaurant was the Metro Restaurant ( Verhnyaya Radishevskaya St 2/1 Bld5 ) really industrial and designed like a train and train station.

So what is happening in my life … email is now up to an all time high of 2000 – I have every intention of smacking this down this weekend – My friend Candice who I work with in the US showed off with her 3 mails in her in box ( I nearly fainted – not only is she smart but she is organised too ) 

Well I am now officially a state side person although I am never really there as my journeys below will tell you. So I can’t really comment on life in Seattle and whether or not it will be sleepless for me.

My tour started on the 18^th August I was off to New Zealand http://www.microsoft.com/nz/events/teched/default.mspx – Unfortunately I completely missed Nick who was Skiing down South L however I did have a brilliant time with the NZ MVPs and Rose the MVP Lead for NZ and Oz and met a few of the Microsofties Miha, Sean, Peter Scott etc. After a few days of getting up early and standing on my feet, smiling, shaking hands and generally being nice and professional. I decided to let my hair down a bit I had a fantastic dinner with the speakers in Auckland’s Harbour and a few of us ( Brian & David from Bellevue – now I starting to get friends in Seattle ) went to my favourite bar in Auckland the famous Ice Bar - Minus 5.

Then a very early morning trip ( I had to be up at 3am for this one ! ) I landed in Australia. http://www.microsoft.com/australia/teched2006/ Sydney is in my official top 5 cities in the world. I could definitely live in Australia ( at this point my Ozzie friends start groaning and telling there friends to leave ). Darling Harbour was TechEd’s latest port of call and what a beautiful setting. Naturally it was close to a, you guessed it, Starbucks.  Again, after a few days of getting up early and generally being helpful rather than a hindrance to Rose and Lyn on the MVP stand I met a rather nice man at the MS Shop who gave me a World Cup 2006 X-Box ball. So, I spent the entire time playing keepy-upy on the MVP stand which drummed up a few more clientele visits to our stand. ( I mean who can resist a girl dressed in black keeping a green football up off the ground with her knees ). Now the TechEd party was interesting - I spent 10 seconds realising this is a really packed trendy nightclub with thousands of blokes and that I was starving hungry so I climbed every single staircase until I arrived at the top and found a BBQ / Braai on a balcony and then stopped grabbed 2 beers - one for each hand and then joined the long queue for food. As predicted I had finished one beer before I got my hot dog and then used the other still remarkably cold beer to wash down that charcoaled sausage in a dry bun. The plus side about being outside on the balcony was the fresh cool air, the trendy seats and you could have a conversation with someone. I could not resist walking up to a man in a SA rugby top and upon doing so bumped into David Glover and Will ex BMO and table football whizz ( old UK MS chappies ) and their new friends which meant eventually leaving the TechEd party and going to a quieter venue to have a jolly good chat about the old days dragging along of course their friends and the smart and witty Irish speaker, David Lowe, last seen in the Minus 5 bar in Auckland. On Saturday I had lunch with Rose and her hubby David and they took me to a fabulous restaurant the other side of Darling harbour Boat House http://www.boathouse.net.au/   . Boy what a fabulous feast of fish.

Then a quick 11 hour flight to Singapore

Singapore Airlines – Official Karen Plane rating 7.5/10  reason -  business class  has no flat bed and lounge whilst better than most ( huge flat screen TV showing Premiership football ) they did let me nearly miss my plane with no calls for the flight or more to the point they didn’t waking me up !!!

Then back in SA to catch a plane to go on safari. Yes I am addicted to these things. After 3 days of classic animal watching at the Kenyan Mountain Lodge. I am back to South Africa for a well deserved curry in Sandton square with Carlos, Ilze and Natasha and then a bottle of red with dear Tina. (I am now officially up to date with the local gossip ).

Then off to England for less than 24 hours - where I stayed at Hotel de Greg’s mmm Sausage Sandwiches at midnight and comedy TV. Then up early to start driving only to have the clutch on the rental car go ! Disaster - Greg and the RAC to the rescue and yes thanks to Greg and his very swanky new Saab ( limited edition – I might add ) I made it to the airport on time. Although queuing with ( I think ) this years Pop Idol contestants  - which was very alarming, my goodness don’t the youth of today look young – however thumbs up to Mister Branson for getting them to use Virgin!

Then 1 day in Seattle. Which means I hardly saw poor Stephen and Michael ( not for getting the children Willow the cat and Emma and Mr Owen the 2 dogs ) I merely washed clothes catched a few episode of Battlestar Galatica and Star Trek and I was off to Japan via Air Canada. I also had to blow out a lovely Meal and Simon & Andrea’s  L

Air Canada - Official Karen Plane rating : ( note I was in economy )

Well I do get Star Alliance points but quite frankly they are just above Air France and Guruda Indonesia – which means a disastrous 3 out of 10. Reasons - Food was a disaster – tasteless, bland, poorly presented etc need I go on, seats were crappy and uncomfortable and the entertainment was like in the 1980’s.

The reason I was generous and gave them a 3 was the Lounge it was very, very nice although limited in plug sockets.( note: this is a Microsoft attribute - I now walk into a room spy the exit and a plug socket ( plug sockets mean power and power means my laptop will work – yes, I really am getting that sad ! )

Japan is really weird; this is my second time to the Land of the Rising Sun and I feel it is like Istanbul for me somewhere that grows on you rather than you have an instant affinity with. I have to confess I do love Istanbul now and Turkey for that matter however it did take a few visits. I am not sure I will ever love Japan but grow to appreciate it for what it is .

As soon as you get to Narita Airport you know after a huge travel ( and yes this time I did fly economy ) that you will be lugging your suitcase ( big yellow ) to the ticket station grabbing a ticket on the Narita Express to Shinjuku Station ( which is a mission of stairs and escalators ). The train ride is a very nice but 90 minutes long trip. You then have to get out of Shinjuku station which is like running some kind of gauntlet. This station is huge it has multiple levels and multiple exits. Imagine if you will an ants nest with millions of ants running around in what appears to be some kind of organise chaos. Well, I am the ant with a big yellow suitcase and a computer bag! After this ordeal of getting out of the station you have to find your hotel – this again is now always easy however normally after a 15-20 minute session of huffing and puffing ( because it is humid here ) and dodging people you will finally arrive looking bedraggled and sweaty at your hotel. At this point you normally collapse on the bed and then wakeup the next day around 1pm yes you do normally sleep over 12 hours !!

Reasons I dislike Japan are  

• It is the only place I have found so far where you are surrounded by buildings ( and I mean millions of these things ) and people ( and I mean several thousand on every street ) and still feel remarkably lonely.
• Mount Fuji is an amazing land mark of Japan and the world for that matter and mankind has just polluted the atmosphere around it so much you can hardly see it and shame upon shame decided to build right up to it  - very annoying, very frustrating.  ( it kind of reminds me of the Pyramids in Cairo )

Reasons I really do like Japan are

·         Efficient very efficient right up there with Germany and actually possibly beyond it. Everything works and leaves exactly on time. Also nothing is too much trouble if you ask for it.

·         the presentation of everything food especially is very good. there is a way to do things in this country and it is almost like an art form. The array of food is very good ( although the temptation is to go sushi mad ) and yes despite going in to most restaurants and not knowing what you are ordering it ( no menus in English ) normally everything is a fantastic taste sensation and a gourmet of surprises.

·         Channel 3 on the 3^rd October starts playing Doctor Who! ( whilst Scifi is not a truly international language unlike Football ( soccer ) it does bring a big fat smile on my face! )

·         FANTASTIC FOOD – a bit heavy on the carbs but I do love it !

Anyway I have a weekend in Seattle and 2 days to get my Russian Visa and then I am off via London to Russia Moscow and St Petersburg.

You know your life is bad when you have no time to live your life and blog !

So to make up for the lack of blogging I am going to quickly summarise the last few months

I am still alive …. Just in case your wondering.

So let’s reflect the last few months …. ( June to now )

Wisdom Teeth Out – Done ( painfully )

Braces In – Done and suffering

World Cup – Yes, yes, yes and England lost again on Penalties

Packing and Moving stuff to Ruari’s and Alan’s – Completed but what an exhausting last weekend in South Africa. YES I AM MOVING TO THE USA!!!

Panic with Visa from Home Office ( getting extension for SA and a Visa for the US ) – Done but with a few extra grey hairs and frown lines

And then what….

Well I visited the UK for about 24 hours – and of course met my Nan and cooked for Greg… ( we are still playing the game of he shops and picks random things and I hope to make a meal out of them  - you could make a cooking show out of it J it really is that funny ) curry and Dr Who with John and Julia ( I LOVE Dr Who )

Then off to sunny, sticky and Hot Spain & my favourite City Barcelona.

Reason – TEAM EMEA Offsite as you know I manage a team of talented individuals from middle earth and we don’t often get together but we grabbed a 1.5 day in Spain to talk about our new business year, reflect on the old one and just mix with each other ( because they are really funny, lovely people ) . 2 of them left and the rest of us stayed and hit Barcelona touring the city everywhere Gaudi Park, the Nou Camp Stadium, the massive cathedral, the Ramblers etc we went and watch Flamingo dancers and had a fantastic time …. Yes yes yes and of course we shopped  - I may have visited the Puma store !!

Then off to Orlando via New York….. Orlando Disney World …. Very funny, plastic and cheesy, I never saw Mickey the whole time too much work.

I was lucky enough to win a Microsoft Award recently so I had a cool dinner with some MS executives and 27 Alpha, v passionate, v intelligent and v shy ( not ) winners. Interesting evening and now I have to go on Holiday with them to Thailand as the main prize! ( this will be fun …. Or the death of me J )

From Orlando I flew via Houston to Seattle and now I am staying with my friend Stephen Froud ( ex MS UK ).

Seattle is having a heatwave it is officially boiling. Everyone who is normally pale and gaunt ( due to excessive PC viewing ) is now red, golden brown or lightly tanned. It is very funny seeing people in shorts and sandals plodding around campus with a laptop under their arms.

So I now have a bank account, have applied for a social security number and have a new mobile phone which will start today. Need to get my driving license, finish my tour which starts on the 18^th Aug and when I come back I can look for cars – or in my case a 4x4 I want to go skiing in the winter so I need to get up mountains J  

The matches

Argentina 2 v Mexico 1 - Best game of the 16 Mexico played out of their skins. Extra time and a brilliant goal from Maxi. Meant that Argentina are through - but only just!

Germany 2 v Sweden 0 - One way traffic very disappoint effort from Sweden none of the spirit they showed against England. This miss from Larsson was criminal and so was there defence. Germany were lucky not to win by 7 goals. On this form they could go all the way !!

England 1 v Ecaudor 0 - the 2nd most boring game. Upside what an amazing goal from David Beckham. He is a real real captain he covers every blade of grass and is a true inspiration ( even when vomiting on the pitch ). Nice touches from Wayne Rooney but the rest why did you bother.

Portugal 1 v Holland 0 - Oh my life! The night of the cards - Red and Yellow. What an appaulling display of behaviour from both teams. While FIFA's officials blame the ref I blame the players. PLAY FAIR is the motto not head butt, cripple, push, fight, dive and throw trantrums! While Holland should have played Rudd Van the Man Nistlerooy they still should have done better. Portugal were lucky and a bit dirty and Figo you are a captain and role model you don't head butt people.

Brazil 3 v Ghana 0 - No Surprises but I thought Ghana did very well and were very fit running around the whole time. If only they could only shoot they would be dangerous! Brazil good but they didn't like the game up.

Italy 1 v Australia 0 - Harsh Red Card for Italy but never a penatly you don't step towards a person and fall over them. Terrible ref and shame on the player !!! Hard luck Oz better luck next time !

Switzerland 0 v Ukraine 0 ( 0-3 penalites) - Officially the boring game - Shame the Swiss did not win because the Ukraine should not be here and they know that they cheated to get there.Thank goodness for penalities.

France 3 v Spain 1 - A huge fan of both teams for different reasons - However France looked like the old team of 1998 however Henry said he was hit in the face and he never was. This led to a free kick and a goal. However France did look the better side and the score broke many Spanish hearts ( again !!! )

The Top Things that FIFA must sort out ( in my world )

Figo ( Portugal ) must get banned for that head butt … I mean come on ….!!

Shevchenko ( Ukraine ) kicked himself and got a penalty in the group matches; he needs to be heavily fined and banned from matches like the Italian De Rossi .

Heinze ( Argentina ) fouled  Fonseca when he was the last man and had a clear chance on goal …. he needs to have his card upgraded to a red ( the ref got it wrong! )

Henry ( France ) should get fined he never got hit in the face but made it look like he got a free kick which lead to a 2-1 lead. I adore Henry but not like that!

Simunic ( Croatia ) the guy with 3 yellow cards and he didn't walk fine him too ( it will stop players staying on the pitch when they should not ! )

Microsoft announces the Microsoft Robotics Studio, which offers end-to-end robotics development environment customer technical preview for hobbyist, academic, and commercial developers.  http://msdn.microsoft.com/robotics/

Oh deary me! What a game last night !

As many of you know I love a few things in my life and one of them is FOOTIE !

As a huge Liverpool and by default an England fan I am often traumised. A prime example of this was last night. England v Sweden 9pm. England were truly brilliant for 45 minutes against Sweden. Then the next 45 minutes they were terrible, absolutely shocking ! Thank goodness for Steven Gerard - a true leader and an inspiration to watch. We were very lucky not to loose 3-2. Thankfully we drew 2-2 and now play Ecuador.  Full credit to the Sweden team who played out of their skins ( was this the same team that drew with Trindad and Tobago ! ). They now play Germany in their next match and I think that will be too tough for them as the German team are in form.

Today is the thrilling - Argentina v Holland ( prediction Argentina to win and probably get to the Semi's or Finals ) Ivory Coast v the Serbs ( prediction : Ivory Coast to win despite having no Drogba )  Iran v Anglo ( prediction correction I really want  : Anglo to win !!!! ) Portugal v Mexico ( prediction : Portugal to win )

CONGRATULATIONS to Germany, Sweden, Portugal, Holland, Spain and England who have reached the last 16 so far. ( note : I am a European supporter so despite the lovely LATAM ( Brazil ) - I must say GO Europe GO! )

This week a new force hits the Internet:
the Invasion of the Robots

Starting this week Microsoft are challenging developers all over the world to build bots for Windows Live Messenger in a brand-new competition:

robotinvaders.com

Bots or robots are automated contacts which you can add to your contact list. They’re just about the coolest, most innovative and creative experiences that anyone can deliver on the web today.

Microsoft are giving away more than $40,000 in prizes !!!!

Microsoft are providing three SDKs on the contest website to provide contestant with the tools contestants will need to build a cool robot. The rest well it is up to you!

Please check out robotinvaders.com for full information on the contest and rules. You can also check out http://www.msdn.com/live for details on our other Windows Live APIs.

LET THE ROBOT INVASION COMMENCE!

Now available. Tell all your friends and family! And feel free to blog about it.

Produced to celebrate FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany from June 9 to July 9, 2006, the Scoreboard provides:

Download Information: Currently on Download Center.  Access by clicking one of the below:

 As you know I love FOOTBALL.

I am a creature of simply needs .... SLEEP, FOOD, SPORT, DRINK & WORK! Enjoy this app and COOOMMMMEEEE OOONNNN EEEEENNNNGGGGEERRRLLANNDDD!!!!!

My apologises for my lack of Blogging I have been as they say working and not getting my work /life /blogging balance in order.

So prepared for the catch up in the next few days with some cool updates on my life and from the World of my employer.