Rafa Benitez is apparently complaining about the lack of public support from Liverpool leadership. Which I find highly amusing for a couple of reasons.
First, Rafa "guaranteed" that Liverpool would finish fourth. The reality is that Liverpool aren't going to get fourth and may even end up in seventh place. Frankly, for a club of Liverpool's stature, that is execrable. I'm not placing too much blame on Rafa for this as I know Liverpool don't have strength in depth and really suffered with injuries this year. However, he has to know that his head is on the block considering his earlier "guarantee".
Secondly, did he seriously just ask his boss for the dreaded vote of confidence?
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, April 23, 2010
HK school system
The missus and I attended a talk today organised by the Kindergarten that Gerry goes to. The talk was an opportunity for parents to share their experience of the process that they went through in getting a place in a primary school for their kids and how they went about preparing their kids for the interview. In a brilliant example of effective knowledge sharing, I have to admit that I really learned a lot today.
If you know me, then you will know that in the past, I wasn't particularly fond of the school system in Hong Kong. In fact, I used to think that the person who devised the Hong Kong school system deserved to die. However, after attending today's talk, I no longer believe this.
Instead, now that I understand the requirements a bit better, I wish that he is slowly digested over a thousand years as he finds a new definition of pain and suffering.
If you know me, then you will know that in the past, I wasn't particularly fond of the school system in Hong Kong. In fact, I used to think that the person who devised the Hong Kong school system deserved to die. However, after attending today's talk, I no longer believe this.
Instead, now that I understand the requirements a bit better, I wish that he is slowly digested over a thousand years as he finds a new definition of pain and suffering.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Lifehacker plug
One of the links on my blog (on the right hand side of the screen) is a link to Lifehacker. Lifehacker is a blog which focuses on tips, hacks and shortcuts for working and playing smarter and more efficiently.
As you can imagine with such a site, there are loads of tech tips and plenty of tips which I have taken on board and use. Granted, not every tip on the site is good as sometimes recommendations will be based on what is popular. However, there is enough good stuff there that I ensure that I read the titles of all tips just to see if anything useful comes up. Which makes me surprised to find that I haven't actually blogged about lifehacker till now.
Anyway, a post went up on lifehacker talking about ways to access blocked sites. Particularly relevant considering that just last week, I talked about how I don't watch much TV anymore. This is a great post which shows why I read lifehacker on a daily basis. It also illustrates perfectly why so many people are dumping TV.
In a nutshell, as broadband gets more and more pervasive, it will allow people to access content in a manner convenient to the user. The old business models adopted by the old media moguls will no longer work in the new world and it will be a case of adapt or die (or lobby to get a government granted monopoly). Power is shifting to the user and increasingly, it is companies that know how to do business in a world where information is abundant which will thrive.
And yes, I probably have been reading too much techdirt.
As you can imagine with such a site, there are loads of tech tips and plenty of tips which I have taken on board and use. Granted, not every tip on the site is good as sometimes recommendations will be based on what is popular. However, there is enough good stuff there that I ensure that I read the titles of all tips just to see if anything useful comes up. Which makes me surprised to find that I haven't actually blogged about lifehacker till now.
Anyway, a post went up on lifehacker talking about ways to access blocked sites. Particularly relevant considering that just last week, I talked about how I don't watch much TV anymore. This is a great post which shows why I read lifehacker on a daily basis. It also illustrates perfectly why so many people are dumping TV.
In a nutshell, as broadband gets more and more pervasive, it will allow people to access content in a manner convenient to the user. The old business models adopted by the old media moguls will no longer work in the new world and it will be a case of adapt or die (or lobby to get a government granted monopoly). Power is shifting to the user and increasingly, it is companies that know how to do business in a world where information is abundant which will thrive.
And yes, I probably have been reading too much techdirt.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
I'm a cord-cutter
Apparently, along with about 800,000 households in the US, I'm a cord-cutter.
I haven't watched the TV in ages. I don't know exactly how long ago this was but at some point in the past, I decided that TV was not worth watching. Not because there were no shows worth watching (although I will admit that there is a lot of dross) but because trying to watch TV was an exercise in frustration. The main reason I stopped watching TV was that it was just too difficult to keep up.
The problem is that most shows these days tend to have a lot of continuity. If you start watching in the middle of a season, then you generally have no idea what is going on, what the relationships between the characters is or why you should care when someone dies. Unfortunately, with my work and life schedule, there was just no way that I could ensure that I would be able to keep up with the show and it was frustrating to know that I missed an episode.
By the way, I actually think the move towards more serialised shows is a good thing as it can mean a better and more coherent show if done properly. The problem is how to keep following the show when you can't be certain of catching the next episode. In the past, I didn't have a solution and simply ended up not watching any TV at all. It wasn't as if I had no other forms of entertainment.
However, with the rise of broadband and the interwebz, it has become much easier to watch TV shows online. Not only can I ensure that I don't miss an episode, but I can watch the show whenever I want! Now that I'm used to on-demand viewing, I just can't see myself going back.
If anything, I'm surprised that more households haven't cut the cord yet.
I haven't watched the TV in ages. I don't know exactly how long ago this was but at some point in the past, I decided that TV was not worth watching. Not because there were no shows worth watching (although I will admit that there is a lot of dross) but because trying to watch TV was an exercise in frustration. The main reason I stopped watching TV was that it was just too difficult to keep up.
The problem is that most shows these days tend to have a lot of continuity. If you start watching in the middle of a season, then you generally have no idea what is going on, what the relationships between the characters is or why you should care when someone dies. Unfortunately, with my work and life schedule, there was just no way that I could ensure that I would be able to keep up with the show and it was frustrating to know that I missed an episode.
By the way, I actually think the move towards more serialised shows is a good thing as it can mean a better and more coherent show if done properly. The problem is how to keep following the show when you can't be certain of catching the next episode. In the past, I didn't have a solution and simply ended up not watching any TV at all. It wasn't as if I had no other forms of entertainment.
However, with the rise of broadband and the interwebz, it has become much easier to watch TV shows online. Not only can I ensure that I don't miss an episode, but I can watch the show whenever I want! Now that I'm used to on-demand viewing, I just can't see myself going back.
If anything, I'm surprised that more households haven't cut the cord yet.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Lin Yu Chun
As a rule, I don't watch any of the numerous talent shows on TV. Most of the time, its just a parade of talentless plebs debasing themselves for the amusement of others. I guess this also explains their popularity...
Anyway, I have to admit that, once in a while, someone with real talent will show up and blow away the audience and viewers at home. Of course, the cynic in me believes that anything half way decent looks great as its surrounded by a mountain of crap.
:D
The latest sensation to make its way around the interwebz is the Taiwanese kid Lin Yu Chun. You can hear him singing "I will always love you" in the video below and regardless of my comments before, you have to admit that he does have an impressive voice.
PS In the interest of full disclosure, I do have to admit that unlike most reality TV shows, talent shows do at least have some value. At the very least, they give people with talent a chance to show that talent to a worldwide audience that they otherwise would never have gotten. Lets face it, people like Paul Potts and Susan Boyle would never have gotten record deals if it hand't been for talent shows.
Anyway, I have to admit that, once in a while, someone with real talent will show up and blow away the audience and viewers at home. Of course, the cynic in me believes that anything half way decent looks great as its surrounded by a mountain of crap.
:D
The latest sensation to make its way around the interwebz is the Taiwanese kid Lin Yu Chun. You can hear him singing "I will always love you" in the video below and regardless of my comments before, you have to admit that he does have an impressive voice.
PS In the interest of full disclosure, I do have to admit that unlike most reality TV shows, talent shows do at least have some value. At the very least, they give people with talent a chance to show that talent to a worldwide audience that they otherwise would never have gotten. Lets face it, people like Paul Potts and Susan Boyle would never have gotten record deals if it hand't been for talent shows.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Hammers deserve to go down
Several months ago, I posted about how McCarthy and Wolves got the short end of the stick when they were penalised for fielding a "weakened" team against Man Utd. As sure as night follows day, the inevitable consequences of that decision are now being seen.
West Ham United are preparing a complaint against Fulham for fielding a "weakened" team against Hull City. Both HC and WHU are in danger of being relegated from the premiership and WHU are pissed that HC got a relatively easy 3 points by beating a weakened Fulham.
Anyway, before I get into this - the usual caveat. I didn't watch the HC vs Fulham game and nor do I know anything about it. Quite frankly, it wasn't on my radar. The only thing I know about this situation is what is written in the article which I linked to above.
However, the complaint itself seems to stem from the fact that Fulham made 6 changes to the squad including the removal of 3 key players. Seriously? This is the basis for WHU lodging a complaint?
Bear in mind that Fulham have been playing 2 games a week (one at the weekend and one during mid-week) since the first weekend in March and that this looks set to continue for most of April. Is WHU seriously suggesting that the top 11 players at Fulham should be playing every one of those games? What is the fricking point in having a squad of players if you get penalised for using them (and lets face it, if you don't rotate your squad when you are playing 2 games a week for over a month, when are you going to rotate them!)?
To be fair to WHU, the financial consequences to WHU (or any club for that matter) going out of the premiership is pretty dire. Even so, this just reeks of desperation by a club that knows they are in trouble. It is also the inevitable consequence of Wolves getting penalised by the PLB (bunch of plonkers!) last time around. In short, yes - I am blaming the PLB for this whole sorry state of affairs.
Anyway, I seriously hope WHU get relegated from the premiership. If that happens, I'm going to buy a beer and have a real good laugh at their expense.
West Ham United are preparing a complaint against Fulham for fielding a "weakened" team against Hull City. Both HC and WHU are in danger of being relegated from the premiership and WHU are pissed that HC got a relatively easy 3 points by beating a weakened Fulham.
Anyway, before I get into this - the usual caveat. I didn't watch the HC vs Fulham game and nor do I know anything about it. Quite frankly, it wasn't on my radar. The only thing I know about this situation is what is written in the article which I linked to above.
However, the complaint itself seems to stem from the fact that Fulham made 6 changes to the squad including the removal of 3 key players. Seriously? This is the basis for WHU lodging a complaint?
Bear in mind that Fulham have been playing 2 games a week (one at the weekend and one during mid-week) since the first weekend in March and that this looks set to continue for most of April. Is WHU seriously suggesting that the top 11 players at Fulham should be playing every one of those games? What is the fricking point in having a squad of players if you get penalised for using them (and lets face it, if you don't rotate your squad when you are playing 2 games a week for over a month, when are you going to rotate them!)?
To be fair to WHU, the financial consequences to WHU (or any club for that matter) going out of the premiership is pretty dire. Even so, this just reeks of desperation by a club that knows they are in trouble. It is also the inevitable consequence of Wolves getting penalised by the PLB (bunch of plonkers!) last time around. In short, yes - I am blaming the PLB for this whole sorry state of affairs.
Anyway, I seriously hope WHU get relegated from the premiership. If that happens, I'm going to buy a beer and have a real good laugh at their expense.
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