Paraguay-Brazil World Cup Qualifier

We spent the afternoon last Sunday watching the World Cup Qualifying soccer match between Paraguay and Brazil.  Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find a seat, and I held my son on my shoulders for 35 minutes through the first Paraguay goal and most of the first half until we decided the discomfort of being jostled around in the packed stadium wasn’t worth it (I had visions of stampeding, panicked soccer fans milling around in my head).  Instead, we went home and watched the rest of the game in front of the television.  It was cool seeing the game both live and on television.
 
Paraguay beat the Brazilians 2-0.  They were feisty and simply outplayed the Brazilians.  Actually, the Paraguayans frequently beat the Brazilians whenever they meet in head-to-head matches other than World Cup matches.  It’s a shame the Paraguayans can’t seem to beat Brazil in the World Cup, or Paraguay might have a few World Cup championships until its belt.  Bar none, they are one of the best soccer teams from a small country in the world.  It’s a shame they lost 4-2 just three days later to the cellar-dwelling Bolivians in La Paz, Bolivia.  Whether it was because of the high altitude or exhaustion from expending so much adrenaline against Brazil, it’s hard to say.  Paraguay is still number one in the Latin American rankings to qualify for the World Cup, and they will no doubt be present in the 2010 World Cup along with Argentina, Brazil, and perhaps Uruguay.  Next up:  The Argentines.  Bring them on!
 
For the Shutterbugs:  I posted some photos from the game, some of the first photos I’ve posted from Paraguay.  Enjoy!

Getting sucked into Facebook

I have resisted until now setting up a Facebook account; that is, until a good friend and colleague invited me to join.  I finally took the plunge and set up an account.  I had been resisting because I didn’t want to set up yet another account that I would briefly use and forget.  How many are out there that have remnants of my online presence?  MySpace, Second Life, ClassmatesCyworld, Friendster, you name it.  I’ve tried them all and never really went back.  This is about the only online presence I still maintain (well, sort of).  How many of these social networking sites have you joined?  Do you still maintain them?  I have to admit, Facebook seems to make it easier to network than other sites, but at what point will Facebook also face declining popularity?  At this point I feel like the last person in the world to join Facebook.  But will it last, or will it go the way of Tribe.net?  Today’s Facebook may be tomorrow’s MySpace.  Or even worse, tomorrow’s America Online!