Category: General

The match between Manchester Utd and Tottenham Hotspur will be remembered, not for the dismal 0-0 score-line, but because of a goalkeeping error, which lead to an unawarded goal scored by Pedro Mendes whose goal clearly crossed the line.

This incident has re-ignited the desire to install video technology for referees. Whilst it probably wouldnt be sanctioned by FIFA, and perhaps some of the premier league clubs would argue for its use, but I for one would support their introduction and use. Although Im neither a Man Utd or Spurs fan I think it would stop the endless arguments, unless of course one of the clubs starts suing the Video Panel for the loss of a game.

But how should video refereeing be used, benchmarked and improved? I propose a trial period of one season and the combined use of Video, Radio and Bluetooth technology. I also propose a panel of independent referees that are not in earshot of the TV and Radio Pundits to oversee the video footage, which must be 360°, finally all the Premier League bosses agree to its use.

Then, at the end of the season simply call a meeting between the Premier League club bosses and some FA, and FIFA officials and simply review the overall results of video refereeing. Was it a success? Or was it a failure? I think by letting the club bosses benchmark it, it would resolve any controversy or issues.

This needed be a job for a UN diplomat or ambassadors, but a simple solution could be within touching distance.

All there needs to be is open discussion, listening and practical application and benchmarking. This is all that is needed for the success/failure of video referring.

On December 26 2004, Boxing Day, a huge underwater earthquake struck Southern Asia, leaving hundreds of thousands dead, and massive damage in its wake.

Perhaps some of the most vivid descriptions of the devastation in Southern Asia are on the internet – in the form of web logs. Bloggers have been posting information from around the affected region and are also providing information for those who wish to help.

Of the blogs around, I think these offer the most poignant stories;

• The South-East Asia Earthquake (http://tsunamihelp.blogspot.com/)
• CyberJournalist.net (http://www.cyberjournalist.net/the_weblog_blog/)
• Technorati (http://www.technorati.com/)
• ChiensSansFrontiers (http://desimediabitch.blogspot.com/)

To all those who’ve read my column or visited my website, to all those who are visiting my website – have a fantastic Christmas and a prosperous New Year!

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was a statesman of Florence who advocated a strong central government and was generally considered to be one of the first, great political philosophers of the Renaissance period. He famously wrote The Prince, in which he focuses on the practical problems a politician faces whilst in power.

In Michael Sheas Influence, How to make the system work for you, Shea describes Machiavelli to be widely considered to be the archetypal devious diplomat who argued that the ends justified the means for some [Machiavelli] is the teacher of evil; for others he is a first-class technician, the supreme realist.

Machiavelli still holds sway today, his book The Prince is used and read by modern businessmen, politicians and world leaders in order to get ahead. He lays out pragmatic ideals on how to lead, and how to influence people and is a good read for those wishing to encourage entrepreneurial thinking.

Machiavelli on Wikipedia | More on Machiavelli >

The monologue at the start of the A-Team went like this:

“In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit. These men promptly escaped from a maximum security stockade to the Los Angeles underground. Today, still wanted by the government, they survive as soldiers of fortune. If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can find them, maybe you can hire the A-Team.”

But what exactly was the “crime they didn’t commit”?

After some searching and watching of several episodes, I found out that in 1972, in an effort to bring the Vietnam war to an end, the A-Team, under orders from a Colonel Morrison, robbed the Bank of Hanoi. However, due to a double cross, Colonel Morrison was murdered and his headquarters burnt to the ground, and so no proof existed that the A-team were acting under orders. Because of this the A-Team were sent to prison by a military court.

So there you go.

This multi-layered question has plauged me and my friends for years.

Why do all the pretty girls smoke? For example, you have Liz Hurley, Nicole Kidman – all beautiful ladies, yet they all smoke. And it’s not just restricted to the celebrity class.

We spent ages around the pub table trying to work out why this paradox occurs. On the one hand they are really pretty, but on the other hand they smoke. It’s got nothing to do with actually smoking or they’re lifestyle.

We don’t really care why they smoke and we certainly never, ever look down at a person because they smoke, it’s your right – so enjoy it.

This question is more of a mult-layered one. It can’t be about looks, it can’t be about weight loss.

But then again, it could just be that they smoked when they were younger and they are addicted to it. I think that’s the most likely reason.

We was watching TV the other day and I saw an advert for Car Insurance.

My friends joked away at the lame actor selling the insurance, whereas I interrupted with an even better observation:

“What the hell has 5 time olympic gold medalist Sir Steve Redgrave gotta do with Car Insurance? I’ll tell ya shall I? Jack all.”

As soon as Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq, stepped into the Iraqi court with his colbalt blue suit and died black hair nearly all of the 24-hour television news shows went ballistic trying to get a ‘piece’ of the action.

I began thinking. What is this? The next reality TV show? The 24-hour news television shows such as BBC 24, ITV24 and Fox News tried to analyse everything and anything regardless of how pointless it was.

What happens if the Judge hands down a death penalty, which according to the media – is simply a formality; will the TV news show the actual hanging or whatever form of death penalty they inflict? If they do, doesn’t that make us worse than Saddam himself?

I am not indicating that Saddam is guilty nor innocent [edit], that is for the Judge to decide[/edit]. But I am feeling quite uneasy about the way this trial is being put onto our screens. I think that the TV shows try too hard to make us think a certain way. How do they do this? By repeating certain stories every 20 minutes.

I stopped reading newspapers a long time ago because they put on a certain level of ‘this is the way you think’, and I’m moving away from the whole ’24’ hour news culture and I’ve learnt to read various stories from various sources to form my own mind.

Of course, there’s always the ‘off’ button.

“You’re fired”, the famous catchphrase of Donald Trump is coming to the BBC with Sir Alan Sugar in place of Mr Trump in a new show that will showcase Britain’s entrepreneurial spirit.

With the prospect of earning a six-figure salary and working for Sir Sugar, the opportunity is certainly an exciting one. Although I personally didn’t see the original NBC version of this show, it is something I would watch.

The 12-week long show will show case the toughest interview process with the prospect of 14 final contestant’s being divided into two teams, competing to excel at the business challenges set by Sir Sugar and his team.

It certainly sounds like an interesting TV show.

More info: BBC Two’s The Apprentice Website

I found dithered.com’s Job Title Generator quite amusing.

It allows you to generate your own e-job title. I always seem to end up being the Chief Architect of Scalable E-Business Deployment.

Here’s another Job Title Generator, but focusing on the Web Economy.