TG’s WEBlog (Known as a BLOG or Blogging)
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January Blogs:
Actions Speak Louder than Words, Wordy Bullshit, Branding, Links Today, TV
Heaven, Enemies Bring Gifts, Debate on Dave Weinberger’s New Book, Change Now,
Rant, What I did on my Holidays, Fame and Immortality (Me and Bill
Gates),e-business failures, Parallels with my Father, Micropayments-The Future
of the Internet, My First Day at School, Football Memories and a Chance in
Life, Rivers Link People, Links, Design and Creativity, The Other Faces, 7UP,
What is Voice?-Vision and Action, Writing in Progress, Latest Virus Alerts,
When is a Weblog a Weblog, Hello 2002, Happy New Year, 2002 New Year’s
Resolutions.
February Blogs: Spike Milligan
Dies, Camp It Up!, Cluetrain Savaged (and the Nevilles), Goods Luck Elliot!,
Monkey Brains, Busy and Thanks, MindMaps and Walter Winterbottom, Radio 8 Blog
and Micropayments, Morning Pages, Women!, Jackson Browne Lyrics – Lives in the Balance, Let the
Consumer and Employee Revolution Begin, Life and Death, Corporate Rant, Wilful
Georgia!, Celebrity Blogs, United Internet, Friends Reunited at Work,
Immunisation?, Good Business Leadership, No Logo, Definitely No Logo, Missing
in Action, Paolo Di Canio.
March
Blogs: Words Fail Me, Losing My Religion, Bush Fire?, Fucking Telstra,
Redflagsweekly, The Best Companies to Work For?, Good to Be Back, Write On –
Cling Sheets, Georgia, Redundancy, Am I a Loser?, Google Image Searches,
Sporting DNA, Corporate DNA, My World has Changed, Internet Laugh, No Logo, Political Compass,
Fark, Sex Sells, Tourette Syndrome
Barbie, Trailer Park (Trash?), Gauss Rifle, Bruce Sterling, Deep Links and
Google Scientology, Jimmy Hill I love you because…,
April
Blogs : Doctors-My Arse, My Website Stats, FriendsReunited and Demography
of Networks, Other People, Today, Missing Days, Nothing Today, Aussie Humour,
Come on England, Ethics, Quality of Life, United Reject, I’m Tired, Israel,
Vaccines, Computer Addiction, Self Adjusting Networks, Website Redesign, My
Website is Back, Apologies for Telstra, Andrew Sullivan, Zipf’s Law, Fucking
Telstra yet again, Still a Snowboard Addict, and Logos, Redflagsweekly Again
and The Queen Mum’s Funeral, Game Addiction, Gravity and Science, Maglev and
Political Power, Fark Links, Lost Keys and High Hopes, Scientific Research
Stinks, Big Companies, Dangers of DHMO.
May Blogs:
Georgia not sleeping, Georgia not well, Sydney, QANTAS, Dave Portnoy –
Friendsreunited, PC Cleanup, Cooking Food is Killing Us, Printers and
Designers, Telstra Update, Stupid White Men, Fixit and Hoaxes, Website
Nightmare, Blogging Time, ICL and British Invention, Wedding Photos, Stressful
Day, Good
to be Back, Crawling Daughter, Blue Peter, Anti-Gravity,
Mothers Day, Sven’s England Team, Man Yoo Mourning, Nothing and Tom Peters!,
Telstra yet Again and Broadband, Crawling!, Perth, Barbara Castle and Sliding
Doors, Enzymes.
June Blogs: Brazil, Tim Henman’s Serve, David O’Leary sacking, Wheels come off WorldCom, Brazil beat Turkey, A Deeply Frustrating Day, Sick,
England Keep Falling Over, Oh No, England 1 Brazil 2, America and Anthrax, Korea!,
More USA and Football, Brazil here we come!, 3-0 to The Inger-land, England v Denmark, Dell, C’mon Inger-land, And just to prove
what crap Americans write, Isolation
of the USA, Limitations
of the Internet, England, More Canberra Rex, Defer to your
experts on the frontline, IBM
PC Visionary, Canberra Rex
Hotel, Canberra, More Dyslexia, Dyslexia.
Sunday 30th June
2002
So Brazil do it again, beating Germany 2-0.
I almost felt a bit sorry for the Germans, who played very well in the
final and had the Brazilians pegged back a bit.
A bit similar to England, until Brazil found their confidence.
Also, I don’t think Brazil overdid it at first and saved their energy.
Amazing that the two most successful teams in World Cup history meet in
the final, even though they both nearly didn’t qualify.
Fate and Ronaldo scoring twice after the problems four years ago.
Amazing.
Saturday 29th June
2002
I can’t seem to get off the sporting theme.
But I have to have this on record before Wimbledon goes any further.
I now how to coach Tim Henman to win a Grand Slam!
Yes me, medium level club player that I was.
I’ve known it for years. 5 words.
Stefan Edberg and Pat Rafter.
It’s simple really. Tim Henman
tries to hit his first serve too hard when he’s in a pressure situation.
Consequently he hits his first serve too flat and it goes in the net.
It also puts pressure on him with his second serve and he’s never sure
whether to place it or hit it.
Somewhere along the line, Tim seems to have got it into his head that he
needs to have a fast first serve, instead of an accurate high percentage first
serve.
Henman is one of the best volleyers in the world. That’s the strength he should play to.
That’s the difference between Pat Rafter and Tim Henman.
Pat Rafter plays to his strengths.
His strength is his volley. He
places and loops his serve to give him a good chance of volleying.
He plays the percentages.
Consequently knowing that he can fall back on that strategy he has more
confidence to hit bigger serves.
Henman’s first serve is too flat, especially when the pressure is really
on.
Henman needs to model his game on Rafter and Edberg. Check how much more they loop their
serve. High kick.
It’s not beyond Henman to do that.
The rest of his game is good enough.
He need to do a Nick Faldo and go back to the drawing board if he wants
to win a Grand Slam.
Of course, I could be wrong, given that Wimbledon has opened up, and Henman
has his best chance of winning.
I doubt he will win it though, because he’s a choker on his serve when
it really counts, and he needs to do something about that, not by hitting
faster but with more loop, accuracy and percentage, just like Rafter and
Edberg.
Think he’ll listen to me? I did just try to email him, but there’s a
problem with the website!! A bit like
his serve!!
Friday 28th June
2002
Might not mean much to you, but as a Man Yoo (Manchester United) fan it
sure means a lot to me.
Leeds United have sacked their manager.
How short sighted. They claim
it’s for failure to qualify for Europe. So
why do it now?
Don’t you hate it when they don’t reveal all the facts.
At least with David O’Leary they stood a good chance of qualifying for
the European Champions League next year.
But now, a new manager will have to come in and start again from scratch.
It looks like good news for Man United as well. Leeds in turmoil again and the chances are
that it’s because Man United are about to sign Rio Ferdinand.
How many of the Leeds players have their loyalty to David O’Leary and
not Leeds, so further turmoil is created.
O’Leary is so far a good a manager and remains to prove it as a great
manager, but when will teams learn that the secret of success is sticking with
good managers through thick and thin and not waiting for the great manager to
come along.
It’s great to see Leeds go the same way as Blackburn, then Newcastle,
then Chelsea.
The pretenders who hype themselves up, getting over excited about a bit
of limited success and thinking the next step is easy.
They’ve all gone backwards after having some initial success.
Meanwhile the same old teams keep on winning consistently. Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool.
You’d think the challengers to these 3 would get it, but they never
learn, sacking manager after manager after manager.
Good, let them rot, because most of their supporters don’t know what it
takes to win big things consistently.
Man United and Arsenal do.
Even if Leeds or Chelsea or Newcastle were to win The Premiership,
chances are they’d self destruct the following season.
You won’t see that with Arsenal, and Man United will be right back up
there.
It’s the same with the World Cup.
Giant killers come and go every four years, but generally it’s still the
same old teams that win in the end.
Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Italy, and then the challengers who don’t
quite make it, Holland, England, France, and Spain.
Leeds fans can analyse as much as they like how good or bad David
O’Leary was, but they’d better come up with a better manager, and I can’t see
one on the horizon.
Mick McCarthy is definitely not better than David O’Leary. Terry Venables is a risk. A foreign manager is a risk and would want to
rebuild the side so it would take a few years.
Who else is there? Martin
O’Neill. Sure if you can prise him away
from Celtic, but he won’t do it straight away and may be marginally better than
O’Leary but is it worth the risk.
And the best one to speculate about is Mick McCarthy going to Leeds,
David O’Leary taking over Ireland, and hence Roy Keane playing for Ireland
again, though I’m not sure the other players will want him back or he’d want to
go back.
That’s enough football for today.
Thursday 27th June
2002
So the wheels have come off WorldCom.
A fraud at least five times bigger than Enron.
It makes me sick.
And as I’ve said before it’s down to Stocks and Shares.
I still don’t understand what Stocks and Shares are about, and I keep
thinking I’m missing something, but every time I look into it, the whole thing
looks like one big speculative scam that neither reflect the current wealth of
a company nor its future wealth.
Having said that, I have endowment policies and a pension which partly
depend on the rise of share prices.
Everything is a commodity with a price set by its perceived value to
someone. Property, especially London
property.
I own two lots of shares, bought with the flotation of the companies who
I have insurance with.
But I know not much about them nor really understand the whole thing.
I remember my Dad losing some money in shares in the 70s, and whenever I
hear about Shares and how well people are doing, I hear distant alarm bells
ringing in my head.
I think the thing that gets me is that the shares have nothing to do
with the company.
I still can’t see the connection between a company and it’s shares,
other than the senior executives have to perform like dogs (and of course they
get rewarded) for making the share price look good. But this often has nothing to do with the
company being good.
If there was one market sector I’d say had huge potential and growth, it
would be the telcos.
We all use telecommunications more and more, and yet look at the debt and
slow down in that sector.
I just don’t get it.
If you bid for a 3G licence then surely you have a business plan for how
you’re going to recover the money and a cash flow plan to live with and pay off
the debt.
“Corporate USA needs to look at itself and ask: have
we become a society of cheats?
Has the culture of greed become so widespread that
ordinary people can no longer trust what giant corporations are saying?”
I guess it’s no more corrupt
than it ever was.
Wednesday 26th June
2002
Just watching the Brazil v
Turkey game. I’m so impressed with the
Brazilians.
It’s not their skill, it’s
their stamina and athleticism.
The full-backs are amazing,
Cafu and Roberto Carlos, up and down the field.
They defend so well and
cover, and most of all sprint back, you don’t see that with any other side, let
alone their skill.
All credit to Turkey, who are
doing so much better than England.
I wish England could find
athletic full-backs.
Actually, Cole and Mills were
the best we’ve had for a while, but you wouldn’t see them sprinting back after
a forage forward.
I don’t want to be premature
with Brazil 1-0 up and 20 mins to go, but that Michael Cockerill writing in The Age a few days ago, knows sod all about
football, given that the Old World are in the final. Not that Germany deserve it, but many people
need to learn that it’s one thing knocking a few teams out, it’s another having
the bottle and psychology to go all the way.
I still think that the New World teams have a few World Cups to go,
because the ones that perform in one World Cup, rarely perform for the next
World Cup. It’s called strength in depth
Michael Cockerill. I wish I’d had a bet
with him, me taking the Old World teams and giving him odds on the New World
teams.
Turkey are going for it,
especially compared with England. Why?
I can’t work it out.
Of course, they’re passing
along the ground and mixing it occasionally instead of hoofing it forward. Will we ever learn?
Both goalies have played well
tonight, and I think Man Utd were interested in the Turkish goalie. I’ve never rated or liked Roberto Carlos that
much but, this World Cup and this game, he’s been magnificent. And also Hasan Sas.
Brazil Win! I want to see them stuff German 4-0. And justice will have been done (except for
Rivaldo’s play-acting).
Tuesday 25th June
2002
Some days it just seems one thing after another goes wrong.
I had a change of dates for 2 courses I’m running.
No problem, except I’ve already booked the flights with Qantas, and I
think the terms of the ticket are no refund, no changes!
And then in the afternoon I get exactly the same from another client.
Dates I thought we’d confirmed, so I booked the flight, on Saturday.
This is the first time I’m learning about work and cancellations, and
I’m not sure what to do or how to play it, because potentially it will cost me
money.
Let’s hope and pray Qantas play ball!!!
I’ve lost interest a bit in the World Cup, now that England are out.
I don’t really want either Germany or South Korea to make it to the
final because I don’t think either of them deserve it, and if either of them
won it, it would be a disservice to football.
I’m looking forward to the Brazil v Turkey game tomorrow. Both good teams, both going for it.
Probably best if Brazil win so that they can stop Germany or South
Korea.
I fear a dull game tonight with Germany heading one or two goals.
If I were Germany, I’d close Korea down and go for the set pieces. And give Klose a free reign up front.
Monday 24th June
2002
I was really ill yesterday.
Annie, had been ill the day before and 18 hours of vomiting had left her
dehydrated, so we called the doctor out.
And yesterday was my turn. I
don’t know if it was a virus or food poisoning.
I’ve never had food poisoning, and I haven’t had a cold or virus for at
least 4 years.
I can’t believe how bad I felt, and yet today I’m much better, except
not eating much, which is a blessing, given I’m half a stone overweight.
Talking of sick, I haven’t had the chance to write about the Spain v
Korea game or Turkey v Senegal.
What is happening with Korea? Are
the games being fixed, or are the officials being intimidated by the crowd,
because some of the decisions against Spain and Italy were diabolical,
especially the disallowed goal because the linesman (assistant referee) flagged
the ball as out.
Now I can understand getting a foul wrong, with intent, or contact, or offside, but a ball crossing a line is very easy to
see.
Remember, the ball has to be fully across the line and not touching the
line at all.
The ball was almost inside the line, so what the hell was the linesman
calling if for. Very dodgy.
Line calls (except England v West Germany 1966) are fairly easy to see,
especially when the ball has to be fully over the line.
What the hell is going on.
Having said that, Korea, Turkey and Senegal all looked really good. The Turkey v Senegal game was great to watch.
I still think Brazil will go on to win it, but it wouldn’t surprise me
if Turkey beat them, especially if they go for them, unlike England.
Germany v Korea is a more difficult one to call. I can’t believe such a mediocre team as
Germany have gone so far.
It doesn’t surprise me that a host nation playing as well as Korea are,
have gone so far, but let’s face it, some of the refereeing decisions in their
favour have been disgraceful.
It’s a shame, because most of the games in the early stages were really
well refereed.
The refs weren’t interfering too much, letting the games flow, and
suddenly, all change.
I wonder if they were given new directives in the latter rounds.
Saturday 22nd June
2002
I mean this both symbolically and literally.
I’m sick of footballers falling over.
Many of them are Man Utd players, Beckham, Scholes, Butt, Gary Neville
and Emile Heskey, and Rivaldo.
Footballers didn’t use to fall over when you watch old games.
Rugby Players and Aussie Rule Footballers, are either down injured or
they get up.
I’m sick of this faking foolery.
Is it the only way to get a goal?
It is for teams like England up against Brazil. And it’s cheating.
Same with shirt pulling which should be a straight yellow card. At least with a foul tackle you can never be
sure of intent, or contact, but with a shirt pull you can’t exactly claim your
hand involuntarily grasped his shirt ref.
Managers like Ferguson should stamp it out within his own team instead
of turning a blind eye, and in effect encouraging it.
Ok, in the past, attacking players weren’t protected enough by referees,
but it’s gone too far the other way now.
Rivaldo writhing around because Campbell’s hand brushed his face.
Players that go down should be ridiculed, players that stay on their
feet praised.
Friday 21st June
2002
I’m getting really depressed as each minute ticks by after the game.
Why did I raise my hopes with such a mediocre team.
Falling over near or in the penalty area is not a football skill I want
so see.
That seemed to be England’s best and only hope.
The didn’t have a clue.
And I fear neither has Sven. Tony
Adams warned us before the World Cup the Sven is a kick and run long ball,
route one kinda guy.
And guess what, when the chips were down that’s exactly what happened.
I feared them not knowing what to do if they went a goal down, and it
was proved.
Beckham, Scholes, Butt, Heskey don’t have enough skill to dominate a
game.
A midfield of Scholes and Butt is not world class.
England didn’t have a strategy or the skill to play 11 men, which showed
up playing against only 10 men.
There must have been some space somewhere to create.
And as for Heskey. I can’t see
Sven’s obsession with him. He was static
after we went a goal down.
Taking Owen off? For what?
I feel sorry for David Seaman.
These things happen. But where
was the fightback, the desire to win the World Cup?
The defence for this game and before was magnificent, though I’d like to
see how Rivaldo got through for the goal.
Scholes is not a midfielder. He’s
an attacker who like, Sheringham sits behind the front player(s).
If he can’t be played in that position then don’t play him for most of
the game.
Scholes has scored some great goals and makes great telling passes when
he’s further up the field, but he gets driven back doing his defensive duties.
Brazil were clearly the better side and England didn’t deserve to get
any further.
They rode their luck, they’ve been mediocre for several years and
they’re improving psychologically under Sven.
But tactically and skilfully. No
way.
At least we now have a great defence to build the rest of the team
around.
Now all we need is one great midfielder, a Gascoigne or Bryan Robson.
Beckham is good, but not great, I admire his concentration and attitude,
but that isn’t enough.
The forwards are good enough, if a little flat and sporadic, but what we
need is a great midfielder.
Maybe Gerrard!
On the other hand, the Irish and Scandinavian teams achieve much more
with much less.
So what’s it to be In-ger-land?
Thursday 20th June
2002
Yet more on USA and “Soccer” with a BBC piss take
It had me laughing out loud.
And what’s really funny is the yanks who’ve written in just don’t get
it.
It’s not meant for them but for us.
It has the essence of the bullshit that comes out of a non football
country.
And I should know, listening to some of the anchor people here in
Australia.
They also don’t quite have the lingo or knowledge and it really shows
up.
And check out these two piles of shit that Michael Cockerill has
written. I’m fuming.
Giants of Europe no longer in league of their own
Salute changing face of soccer
Does this guy follow football.
For how long? How many games has
he watched?
I want to track this guy down and have a bet with him. I’ll take the Old World order of Brazil,
Germany, England and Spain, and he can have the other four.
“How can it be, for instance, that a South Korean side
that included only two European-based players could eliminate an Italian team
made up of several of the richest and most famous players in the world? How
could a Japanese midfielder who did not get one start last season with English
champion Arsenal score two goals and send a side drawn almost entirely from the
local J-League through to the second round? Or was Junichi Inamoto signed by
Arsene Wenger just to sell Arsenal shirts in Japan?”
Does this dickhead know
nothing? It’s a tradition for the host
to do well in the World Cup, let me think errr, England, France, West Germany,
Uruguay, Argentina.
The travesty is USA and
Mexico not doing that well when hosting the World Cup, and further compounded
by USA, Mexico, China and Indonesia having more people playing than most of the
rest of the world put together. The
Europeans and South Americans have the power because they have the money
because fans and sponsors put the money in.
Simple really. It’s hardly surprising that one of Japan and South Korea
have done so well.
Also, you can sign a great
player from a foreign country but if they don’t settle culturally they don’t
tend to play well. Most South Americans
in England, and most English players abroad, don’t cut it.
World Cups have always had
shocks and unexpected teams going through.
North Korea putting out Italy in 1966.
USA beating England in 1950, Cameroon in 1990. It doesn’t mean that power or good play is
shifting. Did Michael Cockerill watch
any of the Italy games and the disgraceful decisions against them. Not just one or two but several. “Good players are good players regardless of
their nationality” Er not quite
Michael. Good players are good players
when their mental frame of mind is right, either by playing in front of their
home crowd or settling in somewhere.
Many sportspeople have equal skill but do they have the mental capacity.
“In the US, the major league
seems to be over its teething problems” !!
What, after 30 years and hosting one World Cup, and 18 million players
(according to FIFA), you don’t say.
And what’s this crap about Christian Vieri not practising with his right
foot in Australia. What shit.
It’s not as though the Americans who’ve played for English clubs have
set the world on fire.
The Senegal players are following the pattern of French football. Crap domestic teams and great International
teams.
And finally on a different subject, this one raised my eyebrows. This article claims to know who sent the Anthrax but the FBI
aren’t acting on it.
Yet another conspiracy theory, but this one makes sense if you follow
the first three points. If it’s true
that the Anthrax has been identified as coming from an American establishment,
then there can only be 100 suspects of which 90 can be accounted for, one
person stands out as having been suspected by several colleagues.
Wednesday 19th June
2002
I didn’t watch the Italy v Korea game last night, but I checked the
score at 60 mins and thought that’s it 1-0 Italy.
Just switching the lights off and I thought I’d check the score, 1-1 and
going into extra time.
Sat down on the sofa, and holy shit, Korea score.
It doesn’t surprise me that Korea won, though a bit lucky to equalise in
the 88th minute, they have looked very good compared to the over
fancy theatrical Japan.
Of course Turkey beat Japan, as predicted.
It’s getting so exciting now, especially with England v Brazil coming
up.
Tuesday 18th June
2002
Two more links about USA and Football (Soccer!)
The first one is another analysis of the American attitude to football,
TIME.com: The Rest-of-the-World Cup -- June 17, 2002
It’s a very good analysis.
The second one is more ho ho very satirical, and not quite so good, but
makes the point.
SatireWire | SOCCER-MAD AMERICA CRAZED OVER WORLD CUP
Got it right on Turkey beating Japan, but wrong on Mexico beating USA.
I fancied Mexico to beat Germany, but I’ll have to now go for Germany to
beat USA.
Monday 17th June
2002
Brazil just beat Belgium, so Brazil here we come.
I can’t wait.
One prediction wrong. USA beat
Mexico.
Now 2 teams I hate are playing each other, Germany and USA, so one of
them will be knocked out.
I’m optimistic about England beating Brazil.
I don’t know why or how, but something’s going to happen.
Maybe another 5-1 win to England to lay another ghost to rest.
Sunday 16th June
2002
Yes, Yes, Yes. 3-0, and England go through.
I thought the Danes looked very good, but luck was on England’s side.
Heskey looked shit, and yet started to suddenly play well.
Yet again, England did what they had to do.
Just watched Ireland lose on penalties.
Spain look very good. Mind you,
so did the Irish, making best of their limited resources.
I thought the Swedish referee was excellent. The best refereeing I’ve ever seen. He made all the right decisions, let the game
flow, and I like his attitude.
I’ve called all 4 second round games correctly so far.
So I’d better make the rest of my World Cup predictions now. I’m not usually one for subjective
predictions, but here goes.
Brazil to beat Belgium
Turkey to beat Japan. I think
Japan are brittle show-offs and Turkey will show them up. Japan do look a bit like Argentina in ’78
though!
Mexico to beat USA
Italy to beat Korea
I’ll go further.
England to beat Brazil. Yes, I
think finally England with Sven will lay the final ghost to rest. Brazil were not that good in qualifying for
the World Cup.
Mexico to beat Germany. Mexico
look very good, and it’s time for the Germans to be shown up for the mediocre
side they really are.
Senegal to beat Turkey
Spain to beat Italy
England to beat Senegal
Spain to beat Mexico
England v Spain final. And I
think England have had a long lucky run, and their luck finally runs out, and
they lose narrowly to Spain, 1-0.
Saturday 15th June
2002
Can’t think of anything to write about today, except I’m excited about
the England v Denmark game tonight.
I don’t know that much about the Danes except they hammered France, and finished top.
Reading the Football 365 link, it looks like it’s going to be easy, but
it never is against Scandinavian teams (do Denmark count as a Scandinavian
team?)
Denmark have a better record than England in recent tournaments, given
that they won the European Championship in ’92.
I think it will be very close, maybe even 0-0 and down to penalties.
My heart says England, my head says Denmark.
In reality, England have played well in defence, but have no creativity
or zip in midfield, and therefore no supply up front, other than long pumps to
Owen.
It would all be different if Scholes was further forward (but not a
forward) and Sheringham played for longer, and Vassell or Fowler hit form.
It’s simple though. Get rid of
Heskey.
I’m guessing that Sven has got England mentally prepared for both the
game and penalties.
Neither being over confident nor fearing The Danes.
But let’s face it, England and Germany have been very poor for a few
years, but are both coming good again.
Has this game come too soon?
These next two games have a Cameroon/Belgium ‘90, Spain ‘96 feel about
them, where the other team plays better and England fluke their way through,
deserving a bit of luck. We’ve laid the
Germany and Argentina ghost to rest, now it’s time for a Nordic country to get
stuffed, and then the big one.
Beat Brazil!
Friday 14th June
2002
Great piece in Wired Magazine on the Dell business
model and Michael Dell.
One bit caught my eye so far,
“Let others dream up products never before imagined
and risk their futures on that vision. Dell is content to ask consumers what
they want and then sell it to them.”
Blimey. Asking consumers what they want and then
delivering it to them!
“For companies more dependent on channels
than on customers, Wal-Mart's future is the
future. For those that care more about customers, Dell looks like destiny. For would-be
Dells, giving customers easy tools for collaborative design, configuration, and
simulation is the most obvious first step. Treating suppliers like full and
equal partners is an even more culturally demanding next step.”
Thursday 13th June
2002
So England drew with Nigeria and are now meeting Denmark in the last 16
of the World Cup.
How exciting.
I think some people are being a bit over critical about their play
against Nigeria.
They did what they had to do. It
was a risky strategy, which could have gone disastrously wrong.
But it didn’t, and most of us didn’t expect them to get this far.
I called two of the games correctly and thought Argentina would beat
England, and they might have.
England have played very well.
The defence has been excellent.
The midfield has been industrious if lacking a bit of pep.
The attack hasn’t been needed yet.
Just two things.
Finally, I hope under Sven, they’ve been practising their penalty taking
this time!
Given the way England have been playing, penalties seem very likely.
Denmark is as good as you’re going to get for choice of team to play.
We must be cautious but not fearful.
Unfortunately, I’m sure Denmark given the choice of who to play would
quite fancy beating England.
Let’s hope we score first.
Tuesday 11th June
2002
I can’t put my finger on it.
Is it his writing style? I thought
he’s American but actually he’s a Brit writing like an American.
Is it that he knows nothing about Football (soccer) but pretends he
does?
I’ve noticed this with Aussie soccer commentators as well, they seem to
get their language just slightly wrong so you know they’re talking bullshit.
I can’t remember examples, but it’s like calling Tottenham Hotspur, The
Spurs, instead of Spurs.
Or referring to Arsenal in the singular because you think you know
they’re called The Arsenal, but that’s an in-joke.
There’s some good Fast Show sketches on the middle-classes pretending to
follow football.
(I’m middle class but at least I’ve been following the game for 35 years
since 1967)
I really don’t think the Americans get it. I don’t think they understand what it takes
physically, mentally and technically to win the World Cup.
They seem to think that a couple of Americans playing at lower level
football in Europe will cut it.
If the Americans (or Australians for that matter) really put their minds
to it, they might, just might win the World Cup in 20 years time.
They did meet each other a few years ago, in a semi or final of the
World Under-21 championship, but there’s a big difference between that and the
World Cup.
Only a few teams have won the World Cup and USA aren’t about to spoil
the party. You can be lucky once or
twice, but not for the whole tournament.
It’s the same with the F.A Cup.
No second division team or below has ever made it to the final (I think
I’m right on that one. Certainly never
won the F.A Cup).
Check these bets out on Wired.
It’s such shit “while players like Claudio
Reyna and Kasey Keller have become acknowledged international stars”.
They’re
mediocre Premiership players.
They’d
have to get near a World Cup final, choke, start again a few years later and
then do it.
But
by then they’d have to have a new set of players and an infrastructure to feed
a squad.
The
numbers of players playing in each country is no reflection of the quality of a
World Cup team, otherwise China, USA, and Mexico would be right up there.
China
are crap and USA and Mexico have done nothing despite having World Cups on home
soil, which is usually a guarantee with a half decent team, of at least making
the final! In fact, I just found this in
the FIFA
site “without counting children and
the occasional player, the records reveal that the following countries have the
highest proportion of participants in the game: USA (well nigh 18 million),
Indonesia (10 million), PR China (7.2 million), Mexico (7.4 million), Brazil (7
million) and Germany (6.3 million)”
Ooo,
and look where Boston
are. It just goes to show that most
Americans talk shit, especially about Football.
I
hope Ted Danson wins his $1000 this year.
Monday 10th June
2002
A great article written by Andrew Sullivan, about the cultural isolation of the USA in footballing (soccer)
terms.
On one level it’s a light hearted dig, but on a deeper level it’s about
everything that’s wrong with the USA.
They just don’t get it, and soccer is a metaphor for their lack of
soccer interest.
How may other countries have “World Series” that only involves
themselves.
Delusional.
And worrying.
And another great article by Andrew Sullivan on The Overclass – What do we do with the mega-rich?.
Sunday 9th June
2002
I was just searching for the words to “Georgie Porgy pudding and pie”
for my daughter Georgia.
Do you know that on a Google search of “Georgie Porgy” and “Nursery
Rhymes” 9 pages come back, and not one link, I could find, came back with the
correct rhyme!
They all came back with this
type of stuff;
I had to search on “nursery rhymes” and then find the rhyme.
I don’t mind the play on words, I don’t think the web is a threat to
children or that kind of thing, it just worries me that 9 pages of people seem
to have the same humour, and word play humour just doesn’t do it for me. And these type of people have websites that
come up high on a Google search. It’s
not really a reflection on what most people are like except the type who write
websites!
Early search engines were good at first, but then became crap when
people started to influence where they came in order. And then Google came along which seemed to
stop all that stuff by using criteria such as most links to a page, to show its
importance and higher ranking. Clearly
people with gay Georgie Porgys rank higher than nursery rhyme Georgie Porgys.
Am I becoming a boring conservative father?
Saturday 8th June
2002
England beat Argentina 1-0 last night in the World Cup.
Fantastic. A bit lucky, but we
also had some good chances, in fact better than the Argies, even though they
knocked the ball around better.
So what! They have to do
something with the ball.
England defence was great. Butt,
Scholes, and Beckham played well, especially Nicky Butt. Sinclair played well, and Owen did his bit.
Heskey disappointing as always and Sheringham a great option to bring
on.
Yippee. About time a few old
scores were settled.
Now please England, don’t screw up against Nigeria.
Friday 7th June 2002
No wonder I feel like Bill
Bryson writing about Canberra in his book “Down Under”.
I just found out that Bill Bryson stayed at
the Canberra Rex for one night and based his experience of Canberra upon
staying there.
So when I on Monday and Tuesday described
Canberra, it was based upon a similar experience of having stayed at the
Canberra Rex.
That explains a lot. You must come when you visit Canberra, stay
at The Rex for at least one night. It’s
a memorable experience!!
Thursday 6th June
2002
Article in Fast Company
magazine May 2002 on Karl Weick who talks about the 5 Habits of Highly Reliable
Organisations.
I like “Defer to your experts on the
frontline” and quote;
“There are so many deviations out there, so
much dissonance.
How do we know that’s really worth paying
attention to?
The answer: Listen to your experts-the people
on the front line.
People at the top may think that they have the
big picture.
More accurately, they have a picture,
certainly not the picture, and certainly not bigger in the sense that it
includes more date.
The picture that frontline workers see is
different. It is drawn from their firsthand knowledge of the company’s
operations, strengths, and weaknesses.
What is important about the frontline workers’
view is that these people capture a fuller picture of what the organisation
faces and what it can actually do.
In most cases, they see more chances for bold
action than the executives at the top.
So it’s better for HRO’s to allow decisions to migrate to frontline
expertise rather than to the top of pre-established hierarchies, where
positions are often filled for reasons other than experience.”
I’ve often wondered when I’m on the frontline
if I know more than the political idiots at the top running most companies. But when you realise that most of these
idiots at the top are paid on things like “shareholder value” rather than their
ability to listen to their frontline employees or their customers, it make me
wonder if things will ever change. Mind
you all it takes is a few listening organisations to really give the banks,
airlines, and telcos, a good hammering.
They deserve it especially their senior executives who are complacent
and don’t listen to their customers.
I have a ticket with Qantas booked online
which is not transferable. It’s for
19-50 out of Canberra tomorrow night.
I’d like to leave on an earlier flight.
What’s the problem if they have room on earlier flights to let me
fly? I just don’t get it. Does it really cost them anything to change
it? Last week they let my Mum who was on
a later flight, fly with us. Qantas
recovered some of the ill will I feel towards them, and yet today it’s back to
square one. They really don’t care. They really shouldn’t be in business. What do these businesses think differentiates
them? The colour of their airline? The food?
The Air Stewards? No. it’s
customer service and flexibility and the wisdom to allow concessions which
don’t cost them money. They want to
charge me a full single fair without cancellation of my other ticket. One-way $260.
They can get stuffed. Fortunately
I thought the England v Argentina game was tonight, but it’s on Friday.
Wednesday 5th June
2002
I love collecting stories
and mythology about the history of computing.
Travelling around gathering the stories and
checking with other people if they are true.
I just heard a great one about the development
of the IBM PC which I’d never heard before.
Of course the IBM PC changed the history of
computing and contributed to the massive growth of Microsoft and Intel.
It might have been different.
The guy in charge of the IBM PC project was
given 18 months to come up with a product.
In order to achieve this he realised that IBM
couldn’t build an operating system and processor themselves and they’d have to
outsource the components and build in-house.
Hence Microsoft for the operating system and
Intel for the processor.
He never intended to licence the software from
Microsoft, this was not part of his long-term plan.
But he was killed in a plane crash and the IBM
people who took over didn’t fully understand the implications of what they were
doing and hence the licensing agreement with Microsoft, instead of buying the
software.
The guy who was killed in essence must have
been incredibly forward thinking because he came up with the an early idea of
outsourcing when it wasn’t so much in vogue, and apparently had the idea of
selling PCs to IBM employees at cost and over 3 year payment agreements so that
they could use them at home. The idea is
that IBM technical people in their own time at home would take their work with
them and start to convert the systems they were working on to the IBM PC as a
hobby, and provide IBM with a source of income on the PC hardware and free
software conversion to the PC. If this
is true, this guy was a great visionary, because not only was using
OEM/outsourcing to build the PC, but he foresaw an early version of open source
software by getting IBM employees to hobby programme at home and pay for the
privilege of it to generate income amongst the employees!
I must find out more about the IBM guy who ran
the PC project and was killed in a plane crash.
Tuesday 4th June
2002
It just gets better and
better.
This hotel is so much stuck in a 1970s time
warp, that it is hugely entertaining.
Every new corner turned is a surprise in 70s
original design.
The Presidential Suite even had a President.
Lyndon B Johnston stayed in the suite in 1966,
and bed was specially designed for him.
He returned in 1967 for the memorial service
of the Australian Premier Harold Holt who “disappeared” whilst walking on a
beach.
If Lyndon B returned again, he’d feel at home
since nothing has changed.
It’s just so funny staying here.
The sandwiches curl up, there aren’t enough
cheese crackers for the group I’m training to have cheese – cracker ration.
You’ve got to visit The Rex Hotel in Canberra.
Someone else said the same thing, it’s like a
mid western America hotel that’s seen better days.
It has the space and room, and in a brochure
you could claim it has the facilities and show pictures of the facilities, but
in the flesh, seeing is believing.
There is more room in this hotel than people
in Canberra to fill it, so there’s lots of space, and lots of clashing colours.
Oh, and I’ve found more celebrities who stayed
here in 1970; Tony Jacklin and Bill Cosby, Patrick MacNee and Mrs (not Mr)
Spiro Agnew.
What happened in 1971 that stopped the flow of
celebrities though the Canberra Rex?
Monday 3rd June
2002
Weird place!
It’s like Milton Keynes but without the buzz.
Purpose built capital city of Australia.
They couldn’t decide between NSW or Victoria, Sydney
or Melbourne, so they built it in the middle of nowhere.
All Australian cities are by the sea, but not
this one.
You have to be really keen to work in
Canberra, really want to work for the government or supply it, or supply the
suppliers.
It’s a one-industry city and that industry is
government.
There’s something not quite right here. I can’t put my finger on it and say what it
is.
I asked the taxi driver, about who moves to
Canberra, and why he moved here.
“A woman.
I was dropping a friend off in Canberra and I went to a nightclub and
met a woman!
My life changed. She’s now my wife.”
We carried on talking. He said he had to pick his kids up from
school after this fare.
“Oh I replied, what ages are the they?”
“Eleven, nine, seven, six, five, and the twins
are three!!” Seven kids and I’d guess
he’s only in his mid thirties at the most.
Maybe that’s all there is to do in Canberra.
It’s like time is standing still here, and
you’re in a time warp.
It’s like this is what they’d build after a
nuclear holocaust.
Why would you live or move to Canberra? It’s a nice enough city, green, planned, laid
out, but somehow it’s like Milton Keynes but without spirit.
And as for the hotel I’m in. It’s like they haven’t done anything to it
since its last refurbishment in 1970.
I swear.
The bedroom is such a bright shade of peach it looks like pink primer
paint, and the bathroom is chipped enamel circa early 1970s.
The muzak was playing a version of “If” by Bread, and as I was getting into the
lift, I noticed a trophy cabinet with famous guests who’ve visited or stayed
here.
I didn’t recognise any of them except, Rolf
Harris who must have been passing through, and Bob Hawke in 1989, who I’ll bet
wandered into a Christmas lunch.
The one function here is to service government. That’s it simple and obvious.
And you notice strange offices like the
headquarters for Vietnam War Veteran Counselling.
And when I got off the plane there was a fully
dressed (war gear uniforms) reception party to meet someone from some South East
Asian country, all standing in the small domestic departure lounge.
Bill Bryson expresses Canberra in his book
“Down Under” much better than me. I must
go back and read his chapter, now that I’ve visited the place.
I’m here for 3 more days, so maybe first
impressions are misleading.
I don’t think so.
Sunday 2nd June
2002
Following on from
yesterday's Blog about Dyslexia, I love some of the quotes in the article and
how they follow some of the themes and passions I believe in.
Charles Schwab couldn’t write quickly enough,
take legible notes or remember four words in a row.
I now educate and train partly because of my
own educational experiences.
Seeing a solution quicker than others and
having to wait for them to catch up.
My lack of rigorous step-by-step process.
Which way to turn when getting out of an
elevator or again, telephone numbers.
I have to remember telephone numbers as a
pattern where the numbers relate to each other.
Not following convention. I feel so strongly about this right now,
especially with regarding science, which has largely been corrupted.
Drugs, food supplements, diet and nutrition,
calling vitamins “vitamins” when they’re synthesised fakes, BSE and CJD,
X-Rays.
My gut feel and lack of convention tell me that
these are mostly all fakes and need exposing.
Branson’s interest in creating things, rather
than business plans and making money.
A desire to put right what is wrong.
A gut feel for a business rather than raw
figures.
Challenging the way an airline is run, going
against 50 years of perceived wisdom.
Why do things have to be the way they are?
Why do I feel I have to change them?
I never show my handwriting, I’m ashamed of
it. (Funny though that as a trainer, I write (badly) on wipeboards and
flipcharts.
Talking to people instead of writing.
My love of newspapers and magazines.
Short reading and short proposals. Back of a cigarette packet.
I hate process and risk assessments and
proposal that are long pages of drivel, which no one reads and digests.
The maximum amount of meaning in the minimal
amount of context.
Seeing the big picture early on. Cutting straight to what’s important. To hell with the process.
The Vision and The Action and to hell with the
bit in the middle.
Rechecking calculations and writing, five
times.
Making pronouncements with no facts to back
them up. Those used to be called
“Motherhood Statements”
“Tony, you make to many motherhood
statements.”
I call it Vision nowadays.
And finally this idea that the D graders dedicate
the buildings. The dropouts become the
very wealthy.
They think beyond current convention. They have to, because current convention and
education is so narrow.
Saturday 1st June
2002
Just reading an article in
Fortune Magazine May 2002 Edition on “The Dyslexic CEO”.
About how many CEOs or great leaders are
dyslexic.
The first thing I want to say is that the word
dyslexic for a dyslexic is one of the most terrifying words to write or spell.
I really struggle with the spelling and
writing of the word, is it some kind of cruel joke?
Being dyslexic myself, I identify with so much
of what’s written in the article.
The struggle at school, being good at some
subjects but appalling at others. The
embarrassment.
Especially my handwriting and spelling. The shame of it.
Many people think that dyslexia is just work
blindness, but I have no trouble reading.
I have trouble retaining what I’ve read and
remembering things and telephone numbers which one of the people interviewed
talks about.
I can’t handwrite, I sometimes can’t spell, I
mix letters round when I’m typing, and I’m not good at proof reading and
spotting errors in my writing, even though I read through things several times.
I have strange ones like when I write the
words on a cheque, I struggle to write “four” always wanting to write “4our” or
sometimes “8ight”.
It sometimes feels like I have a stammer in my
brain. I hesitate so that I can overcome
it.
The upside as described in the article is that
dyslexics tend to have strong skills in certain areas, they tend to see things
quickly, hence a high number of successful CEO who jump straight to point but
without the detail. I guess this only
works if you have people around who can fill in and execute the detail.
What I realise in writing about this, is that
it’s not that there’s a high proportion of dyslexics it’s just that education
is delivered in such a narrow way.
If you can’t write properly you’re no
one. So even if you’re good at maths and
science and have strong spatial skills, you still have to express that in a
written form.
And I really recognise the struggle to write fast
enough in class to stay up with the teacher, and no more so than in science
lessons.
So, not only did I struggle with the art
subjects, but I couldn’t write my science notes fast enough.
If I’m struggling to write then when do I have
time to spatially organise what they’re saying into a form I can remember.
It was such a relief to realise I was
dyslexic, not to blame for any of my struggles or to use it as an excuse, but
to learn to lean my work to my strengths, to understand that I’m not very good
at writing proposals, I’m not good at proofing things, and it takes me a long
time to write certain documents. I can
think out of the box, spatialise, move my thought very quickly, see the future
trends, challenge the norm.
And strangely enough by recognising all these
things, and using the magic of the word processor, nearly 40 years of stored up
memories, knowledge and wisdom are flowing every day on to these pages.
A couple of quotes from the article, which hit
the mark for me, and most of which describe my own struggle;
“Charles Schwab was very strong in math, science, and sports (especially
golf), which helped him get into Stanford. But anything involving English
"was a disconnect." He couldn't write quickly enough to capture his
thoughts. He couldn't listen to a lecture and take legible notes. He couldn't
memorize four words in a row.”
“It's probably no accident that Kinko's, Cisco, and Schwab have all been
on Fortune's list of the best places to work. "I never put people down,
because I know what that feels like," says Branson, who seldom asks for a
resume either, "because I haven't got one myself."”
“Like
Chambers, Schwab fast-forwards past the smaller, logical steps of sequential
thinkers. "Many times I can see a solution to something and synthesize
things differently and quicker than other people," he says. In meetings,
"I would see the end zone and say, 'This is where we need to go.' "
This annoys sequential thinkers, he says, because it shortcuts their "rigorous
step-by-step process."”
“Diane Swonk's former boss and mentor at Bank One always thought Swonk
had a "third eye." Swonk, an economist, says it's dyslexia. Although
she has worked in the same building for 16 years, she still has a hard time
figuring out which track her commuter train is on and which way to turn when
she leaves the office elevator. She can't dial telephone numbers. She has a
hard time with arithmetic, reversing and transposing numbers.”
"I'm not in the consensus a lot," says Swonk. "In fact,
being in the consensus makes me really uncomfortable."
“Branson
approaches business completely differently from most. "I never, ever
thought of myself as a businessman," he tells the Boston CEOs. "I was
interested in creating things I would be proud of." He started Virgin
Atlantic because flying other airlines was so dreadful. He knew he could
provide better service. There's an irony here, says Branson: "Look, if I'd
been good at maths, I probably never would have started an airline."
“Branson is not the only dyslexic CEO who has tried to bluff his way
through problems. For years, Orfalea says, "I was a closet bad reader ...
I never showed anybody my handwriting until I was in my 40s." He
cultivated a casual, can't-be-bothered-with-it management style that allowed
him to avoid the written word. If he received a long letter, for instance,
"I'd just hand it to somebody else and say, 'Here, read it.' " He
mostly avoided the corporate office and instead went from Kinko's to Kinko's,
observing, talking to customers, making changes. He wasn't goofing off; he was
vacuuming up information in his own.”
“For
most dyslexic business leaders, reading is still not easy. They tend to like
newspapers, short magazine articles, summaries. Says Chambers: "Short
reading is fine. But long reading I just really labor over." His staff
knows to deliver summaries in three pages or less, the major points highlighted
in yellow. McCaw says he can read and write. "But to do either requires a
lot of energy and concentration." He and the others are information
grazers. "You learn for self-preservation to grasp the maximum amount of
meaning out of the minimal amount of context," says McCaw, describing his
reading like this: "You don't really view the piece of paper. You scan.
You may pull something out of it," all the while alternating between
"apparent disinterest and maniacal focus." Once McCaw makes short
work of the short stack of papers in his in-box, they disappear. When
government investigators asked to see his files during a routine antitrust inquiry
in 1985, there were none. "Craig and a piece of paper do not remain
together for very long," his COO told the investigators.”
. "You are always trying to figure out where something's going--to
put it in context," he says. "It's harder to just read it
straight." Seeing the big picture early on may be the dyslexic's best
shortcut: If you know where you're going, you can figure out how to get there.
"One of the things dyslexics do is learn to get the big picture, to grasp
things very quickly rather than seeing the itty-bitty part," says
Shaywitz. "They have no choice. It's a survival skill. But I've been
struck by the perceptions and relationships they're able to see."
Managing
dyslexia is a lifelong effort. Winkler, who now teaches a leadership course at
the University of Michigan Business School, starts his day with brain exercises
he calls Wink's Warm-Ups. Sometimes he uses multiplication and division flash
cards. Other mornings he practices "trigger" words, like
"won't" or "didn't," that confuse him. The College Board's
Caperton says he almost always has to redial phone numbers, often more than
once. Swonk rechecks her calculations five times.
The Cisco CEO does something else every successful business leader
should do, but often doesn't: He builds a team to shore up his weaknesses.
"I will not spend as much time on individual details," Chambers says,
so he hires detail people "who are able to go A to B, B to C, and to take
the components apart." McCaw says dyslexics need a translator "who
can take that conceptual or intuitive idea and get it into a form that's
usable." Because he's more conceptual than analytical, he needs someone
who can communicate with people who are the opposite. "One on one, you
just drive them crazy," he says. "You come up with a pronouncement,
and you have no facts to back it up. It just irritates the daylights out of
them. You really need a translator with a foot in both camps."
At
Maker's Mark, Samuels surrounds himself with "very verbal people who like
to communicate what they're doing." Even his production vice president and
his CFO--positions that don't normally attract chatty types--are that way
because, he says, "I knew I'd have to find people who would tolerate my
need to be talked to a lot." Orfalea recalls that his mother used to
console him by saying that when everybody grows up, "the A students work
for the B students. The C students run the businesses. And the D students
dedicate the buildings."