The Sixth Sense

 
No I'm not referring to the movie.

This of THE COOLEST piece of technology I have ever seen. Introduced at TED2009, The Sixth Sense is: "...a wearable device with a projector that paves the way for profound interaction with our environment. Imagine "Minority Report" and then some."

Truly astonishing.


 

Not there yet

 
A delightfully cynical view of Dublin's public transport system - but alas there is truth in every second of it :-( Anybody from or living in London or Sydney should be able to relate to some of it too!


 

An economic stimulus story

 
An interesting but cynical view of the Australian Government's proposed economic stimulus package. If you're not aware, in February 2009 Kevin Rudd's government announced plans to begin handing out cash payments totalling AU$42 billion (approx. €22 billion at the time) to Australian workers and families with the first payments due in March.


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It is the month of June - a resort town sits next to the shores of a large lake. It is raining, and the little town looks totally deserted. It is tough times, everybody is in debt, and everybody lives on credit.

Suddenly, a rich, fat-cat tourist comes to town. He enters the only hotel, lays a $100 bill on the reception counter, and goes to inspect the rooms upstairs in order to pick one.

The hotel proprietor takes the $100 bill and runs to pay his debt to the butcher.

The butcher takes the $100 bill, and runs to pay his debt to the pig raiser.

The pig raiser takes the $100 bill, and runs to pay his debt to the supplier of his feed and fuel.

The supplier of feed and fuel takes the $100 bill and runs to pay his debt to the town's prostitute who, in these hard times, provided her "services" on credit.

The hooker runs to the hotel, and pays off her debt with the $100 bill to the hotel proprietor to pay for the rooms that she rented when she brought her clients there.

The hotel proprietor then lays the $100 bill back on the counter so that the rich tourist will not suspect anything. At that moment the rich tourist comes down after inspecting the rooms, takes his $100 bill saying that he did not like any of the rooms and leaves town.

No one earned anything. However, the whole town is now without debt and looks to the future with optimism.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how the Australian Government is doing business today also.
 

When a soldier comes home

 
This is an excerpt of something that arrived in my email this morning - and I will admit that it would ordinarily be trashed as spam without a thought - but for some reason today I am moved by its words.

Lately I've been reflecting on life, particularly my own and it's recent dramas, trying to put some perspective on things. This was a timely reminder that just made me stop and think - not about soldiers per se or trying to draw direct comparisons with them - but more generally about how in western society most of us are preoccupied with acquiring wealth, living comfortably and "problems" that if we really think about them are rather trivial in the greater scheme of what's happening in the world.


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When a soldier comes home, he finds it hard...









...to listen to his son whine about being bored.









...to keep a straight face when people complain about potholes.









...to be tolerant of people who complain about the hassle of getting ready for work.









...to be understanding when a co-worker complains about a bad night's sleep.









...to be silent when people pray to God for a new car.









...to control his panic when his wife tells him he needs to drive slower.









...to be compassionate when a businessman expresses a fear of flying.








...to keep from laughing when anxious parents say they're afraid to send their kids off to summer camp.









...to keep from ridiculing someone who complains about hot weather.









...to control his frustration when a colleague gripes about his coffee being cold.









...to remain calm when his daughter complains about having to walk the dog.









...to be civil to people who complain about their jobs.









...to just walk away when someone says they only get two weeks of vacation a year.










...to be forgiving when someone says how hard it is to have a new baby in the house.









The only thing harder than being a soldier... is loving one.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Adventures in Aussie Touch Footie Part 11 - Referee Recruitment & Retention Program

 
A couple of weekends ago I participated in the Referee Recruitment & Retention course. It does pretty much as it says in the tin - is designed to equip people to present the entry level referee course (recruit) and provide basic coaching to new referees as well as discuss support structures and the like in order to keep new recruits motivated and developing (retain).

One of the best modules was the DVD/video session where we had to watch a game and come up with coaching assessments of the referees. In a serendipidous little twist, the game NSW are currently using is one from Euros 2007 featuring yours truly! I remember at the State Cup one of the Panel telling me that I "starred" in a coaching video they're currently using and thinking that's probably not a good thing...

... and OH MY GOD wasn't it just PAINFUL to watch! Fcuk me that's really how I used to go? After much ribbing from the other aspiring coaches - I knew what they were going to say before they even opened their mouths - we just got on with it and picked each referee's game apart. It was a really good exercise.

There really is nothing like seeing yourself on video - it makes verbal feedback so much more obvious and amazingly (if you're tuned in to yourself) gives you a heightened sense of awareness of your body the next time you perform the activity you've watched. I've since found myself noticing and changing things in my game as I've noticed them on-field during a game.

Most participants are awarded a Level 1 Coach and Level 1 Course Presenter accreditation upon successful completion of the weekend. My certificates arrived in the post from TFA yesterday - Level 1 Coach and Level *2* Course Presenter.

On the fast track... how pleased am I :-)