Thursday, May 31, 2007

Wink

It's getting really scary now... I don't even have to say anything, just a wink and a nod, and I'm in.

It would be really useful if it was for a club, or a fancy restaurant, or a championship game final, or even a bloody plane ride. But NOOO... just your regular neighbourhood hospital...

Sunday, May 27, 2007

The Heart, the Head, the Gut: NHL Stanley Cup Finals 2007

The Stanley Cup final is coming Monday, and this time it sees the Anaheim Ducks face the Ottawa Senators. Either one could win their first Stanley Cup. Supposedly its going to be an exciting series. And like the last couple of finals, it pits a Canadian team against a southern US, non-traditional-hockey territory team.

The Head says: on the one side you've got a Ducks team, that - while powerful - is not very effective in front of goal. Teemu Selanne has always been a feared scorer, and in fact many different Ducks managed to score, but it's not exactly a tale of riches to say the least. On the other side you've got the Senators, who've got Jason Spezza, Dan Alfredsson, Dany Heatley who pretty much make up half Ottawa's entire goals production these playoffs on their own. If the Ducks defense, Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, can stop this line, and the Ducks can get production from all of their offensive lines, they will win. It would suit the last two finals as well, when the Southern U.S. team (Carolina, Tampa Bay) would beat the Canadian team (Edmonton, Calgary). Purely from an observer point of view, the Ducks have the better and more experienced goalie (Giguere over Ottawa's Emery), although the difference isn't all that great. Even so... Ducks win.

The Heart says: I've been playing EA Sports NHL for a while now, and two players that always got roster spots in my teams, were Mike Fisher and Mike Comrie. Lo and behold, both play for Ottawa this season.
In addition I found it a travesty to see the Stanley Cup in the hands of regions where hockey is not really appreciated. After all these years it's about time that a Canadian team brought the Cup back north of the border. Senators win.

The Gut says: Difficult, difficult... which one has the better story? Either one would win their first Cup, so that can't be it. Media has been calling attention to Daniel Alfredsson being the first European-born captain in the Stanley Cup finals, so maybe I'll swing that way. Ducks have home-ice advantage though, and there's still that losing streak that Canadian teams have at the moment... it would be nice if the Senators would bring back the Cup to Canada, after two previous failed attempts.
Senators in seven.

Friday, May 25, 2007

Relationship momentum

After you've been around for a while all the people you've met, - worked with, had fun with, played sports with, drank with, ate with, slept with, went on vacation with, - are going to be running around the world and sometimes you won't speak to each other in years. And then all of a sudden you get into contact again, either through pure coincidence, similar interests, MySpace, class reunions and... you always get the same couple of questions:
  • what are you doing now, where do you work
  • have you seen or do you still speak some mutual random person tm
  • ... and that's basically it...

When people enter into any kind of relationship, be it friendly, business, sports, romantic, or adversarial, the roles, personalities and events that play around them decide how things go. Sometimes a relationship is established quickly, others take years or even generations to develop. All that is a matter of momentum. Some people have a lot of it with some, and nearly nothing with others.

Now when erstwhile friends meet up who haven't spoken to each other for quite a while, the relationship has to be rekindled. The longer you haven't spoken to each other, and the farther the distance, the more a previous relationship's momentum (if any) has died down. In this context people must regain momentum to move the relationship again to any significant level.

Of course some people gain momentum extremely quickly, no matter if it has been fifty years since they last met, or if they've never met before. There are also other factors that influence the speed that people can re-establish relationships with: similar interests or shared experiences, family bonds, institutions (marriage, birthdays, funerals, graduations, traditions) a degree of personal friendliness and being accepting to others, willingness to reset the relationship at all. A relationship with high momentum is more likely to get sustained and is more likely to get revived after an idle period, than one that has none.

So when it comes to relationships, momentum is key. If you are inclined to keep as many relationships alive as possible, then keep triggering those positive momentum changers.

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Silver Linings

Busy is in the eye of the beholder. It can't really be called busy if the majority of your activities are self-inflicted, self-served or self-chosen. Nonetheless everybody can fill up all hours of his or her day extremely quickly with all kinds of tasks. It could be a sport, a job, even a person.

You can complain all you want about not having enough time, but it's all a choice. You can be as busy or not as you want... as long as you realize that there are consequences and if you want to carry them.

Sometimes you get less busy involuntarily... you might get a signal from your body (getting sick or getting stressed), or something else happens: You get locked in your elevator, or you crash your car, or you get stopped by police. Anyways, when that happens it's best to look at the silver linings: at least you got to fill up your time with something new and exciting. And that is the source of great stories...

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

The Head, the Heart, the Gut: Champions League 2007

The rematch is here: tonight Liverpool will take on AC Milan in the final of the UEFA Champions League. Two years ago (that long already) Liverpool shocked the world by coming back from 3-0 down to beat the heavily favoured Italians after a penalty shoot-out. Of course this time, Milan won't be so blase. They will be cautious and careful to hopefully not trip over themselves. The teams playing will be roughly the same, even though Milan has seen some turnover opposed to 2005 (no more Shevchenko, Crespo, Stam), and the Reds added Kuyt, and Crouch.

The Heart says: Liverpool wins, because you cannot hear You'll Never Walk Alone too many times.

The Head says: Milan wins; Liverpool simply hasn't been consistent enough this past season, which is why they had little to play for in the Premiership. Milan has been impressive against Man United, and I do see them attain the same level of play. Milan in Kaka and Seedorf have more elite players than Liverpool (Gerrard).

The Gut says: Milan wins; I'm going out on a limb here, but the Italians will be more careful this time around. Despite the true cupfighter mentality of the Reds, I don't see them upsetting Milan twice in the same decade.

I do hope for a penalty shootout though. In which case, I think Milan should not put all their eggs in Dida's basket...

Saturday, May 19, 2007

It's just a game

I know it's just a game, and I know Korea is a bit weird (especially about this particular game)... But just look at this video (which is actually pretty good), and listen to the crowd, when the title comes on.



Truly I haven't heard a whole crowd go nuts like this for a video game ever.

Thursday, May 17, 2007

My Company's Favorite Jokes

For some reason people who've been with the company for longer than two years generate a form of humour that's kind of subtle, and oh so very typical. It is also very shallow, and is repeated far too often the higher you get up the pyramid.
Jokes include:
  • if you happen to leave at about 17:00, people will quip "you got the afternoon off boy?" or "working half days now are we?"
  • when you've been around, you're bound to have left behind a lot of projects, teams and old friends. If you did good, you probably meet up again at a banquet, company drink, or dinner. Managers always like to joke about "hey, did you hear already? you're coming back to the team next week!"
  • somebody in another team messes up, that person becomes a running joke throughout the week. If someone in your own team messes up, you ignore it.
Somehow this has to be a sign that the company culture is not heading in the right direction. I just can't tell which sign.

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

When the stars are aligned

...you could break your locks, have water leak through the ceiling, get rubbish smeared all over your walls, get chewn out, receive speeding tickets, get picked up, get shot down, laugh your ass off, cry like a baby, forget where you are, find your way, meet old friends, lose new friends, get promoted, get booted...

...and at the end it just feels like you didn't spend a worthwhile weekend, and you just feel tired. You didn't do anything physical, but it feels like you ran a marathon three times over.

When the world seems to throw you sliders, do you duck or back away? No, you face everything head on... and it's this mentality that tires us out. Sometimes it may be better to get struck out, and try again later.

Friday, May 11, 2007

More work observations

  • I know I've been talking about the differences between consultants and programmers a while back, but maybe the differences between managers and the rest are more funny. For example managers are good at patting their people on the backs. In fact they're so good at it, they they pride themselves on it, even to the point where they get competitive with other managers who can get the best compliments down, who can do it the fastest, who can do it with the most fervour, etc...
  • Consultants and managers look down on their computers. That's why they never (take the time to) use a separate screen for their laptops. A computer is a tool, something to be used as a means to an end. This also means they look down as a natural posture. If they're tall from the outset, that's fine, but it looks rather funny if they are smallish.
  • Programmers look up to their computers. Programmers take the time to put laptops on a pedestal (or in this case, a desk riser), or to use a proper, bigger separate screen. They always look up or straight. Of course, seeing they spend a huge amount of time behind their computers, they have to do all this, lest they get all kinds of physical complaints. To them the computer is their friend, a pal. Some even give computers first names.

This is why consultants look down on programmers.

Sunday, May 06, 2007

All Alone

In NFL you win together, and you lose together. Every pass, every run, every block, everything is a joint effort.

In baseball a pitcher is completely on his own on the mound, but he's never alone on defense and he has fielders around him to get his ass out of the fire.

I guess in basketball you could conceivably get the last shot of the game (the infamous buzzer beater), but while definitely dramatic, it has to be a team-on-team exercise.

But the penalty shootout in soccer is where you can truly be alone. Nothing is more dramatic than failing to convert a penalty. Much like Ryan Donk did today against Ajax in the final of the Dutch Cup. All the weight of the team, the club, the fans, maybe even the nation, rests on the shooter's shoulders. And if you miss, it is you that has missed. It's just you against the keeper. No one else. No team mates to blame. No one there to pass back on.

Ironically in the shootout the shooter is in the firing line, not the other way around.

N.B.: showing just what a class roster AZ has, at the end of the game the entire group gathered round Donk, who was crying his eyes out. In a great show of support, they shared his grief with him.

Saturday, May 05, 2007

Wet

It's been bone dry for quite a while now, over forty days I believe. Ironically my downstairs neighbours have been in trouble dealing with a leak coming from upstairs... which is where I live. Their wallpaper is coming off and parts of the wall look really black, so yeah it is a big problem...

However for the life of me I cannot think what could be there that should be leaking. There's my bathroom, but that thing hasn't been changed since I moved in. The leak also is in a corner where I don't have anything there; no sink, no shower, no nothing. I also never had any flooding or something like that.

The only thing I can think of is that the mains are starting to deteriorate in between our floors... that would be nasty...

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Halfway Brilliant

That was a brilliant idea to play tennis on clay AND on grass at the same time! Bring together the best tennis player on gravel (Rafael Nadal) and the best tennis player period (Roger Federer), and let them slug it out!

How would other sports handle this... Formula One races that are held on asphalt for the first bit, then move into the dirt for the last... an American Football field that is on one side normal grass, and astroturf on another... a bout between wrestlers and boxers, where one round they both must box, and the next they both must wrestle... (oh wait, that's been done to death already)

As a novelty it was halfway brilliant. Unfortunately also a bit half-assed... but good on them for trying.