tonygoodson

"All People are Idiots" - Proof!

To quote Scott Adams, and the byline for my weblog, "All People are Idiots."
Now I have the proof (via Johnnie Moore).
Cognitive Biases!
We as humans have varying degrees of cognitive bias, which explains a lot, when dealing with fellow humans and my own cognitive biases.

- We base our views on limited proof
- We justify our biases with limited proof
- We act like sheep
- We predict based on over focus of one event
- We want short term gain and satisfaction
- We tend to disregard probability
- We bias towards what is memorable rather than what is best (and make the memorable the best!)
etc etc.

We've come a long way, just a few more thousand years of evolution my sort it out.
But if we took our cognitive biases away, then we wouldn't have humour would we, and we'd by like Spock (well half of Spock anyway).

Australia 0 Italy 1

Fucking Referees and FIFA.  The game is being ruined.  I didn't want to see the Italian defender Marco Materazzi sent off, and then the penalty.  How can this go on, the game is being ruined by bloody Sepp Blatter and FIFA, shitty refereeing decisions, and not good football.
It seems to be all about how impressive a referee can be with the whistle, and not credit for letting things go, and letting the game flow.
It's encouraging players to dive.
And bad language by me, I should be sent off!!

Credit to Italy.  They played well with 11 men and 10 men.
Australia also played well, but missed the zip of Harry Kewell to take it to the Italians.
If the Aussies were trying to cross the ball so much then surely they needed the tall Kennedy.
It's tragic to see Australia go out that way, but the Italians deserve some luck after the weird refereeing in their game against South Korea 4 years ago.

Sporting Souls Saved

They say follow your passion.  My passion is sport, so I'll continue to write until someone reads!
Two great interviews online in The Observer today.
Both figures of hate whose image has been created by the media and it would seem by two of my favourite dickheads.
Firstly Linford Christie, who we sometimes forget what a great athlete and competitor he was.
I remember Christie as a gangly 200m runner well before he got his act together at 100m.
A cloud of drug taking hangs over him, which when you read his side of the story, seem plausible.  And yes the hand of one of my favourite dickheads, Sebastian Coe, is involved yet again.  Let's put it this way, if I had to choose between that middle class toff Coe, and his gritty rival Steve Ovett, I know who is the more honest athlete.

And then the Robbie Fowler interview. Even reading about this Scouse, Citeh and Leeds scum makes my blood boil, but reading his side of the story shows how much I've been manipulated by the press, and of course the hand of that other dickhead, Gerrard Houlier.
What I most remember about Robbie Fowler is George Best naming him in his all time Great Britain side, well before Fowler had done anything.  Think about that.  Of all the players George Best played with and against, he chose Robbie Fowler as the all time Great Britain forward.

Blatter Blather

One of the reasons I'll never be a Top 500 blogger is exactly because I'm "random and quirky".
I mean who really cares about Sepp Blatter other than me.
Oh well, let's plough on.
Today's latest is Blatter encouraging England to bid for the 2018 World Cup.
This is the same bastard who double crossed England over the 2006 World Cup bid, and several other countries (including Australia), in order to secure votes for his presidency at FIFA.
So gaining his support is a bit like getting a fox, a chicken, and a bag of grain, across a river!

It's probably Europe's turn in 2018, and there are 4 big European footballing countries.  Germany 2006, Italy '90, Spain '82, England '66 (plus France '98) so it would make sense for it to be England's turn, but when did common sense enter Blatter's brain?

I loved Euro '96 in England, so I can live in hope of repeating the 1966 World Cup.
Football's Coming Home!

Fedex Furniture

This made me laugh.  FedEx Furniture (via Seth Godin).
Amazing that FedEx would attempt to stop a celebration of their brand.
They just don't get it.
I guess if you allow this one you open up the floodgates.

I'm not sure FedEx are on firm legal ground here.  Can't you satirise something legally.
It wasn't satire to start with, but FedEx have made it satire now!!
And here's the storm that follows this stupidity by FedEx, You've been Slashdotted.

FedEx were one of the pioneers of the web, by turning over their systems to the public to view, I think they've lost their sense of humour and are getting behind the times.
FedexFurniture makes me more want to use FedEx.  Cool.
FedEx's response makes me not want to use FedEx.  Sour.

I think I need a new category for my weblog....American Companies Suing Themselves Down the Plughole.

The End of the World

Well it will be the end of the world if this is allowed to happen.
Russian sues NASA for comet upset
Yes, that's right, an astrologer is suing NASA for sending the probe into Comet Tempel 1, claiming the impact could alter the orbit of the comet, and better still,

So Ms Marina's claims to be experiencing "a moral trauma" - which only a payment of $300m (252m euros; £170m) can put right.

I can feel $100m worth of trauma coming on just from reading the article!

Sepp Blatter

And another one to add my Dickhead collection.  Not many will disagree with this one.
Sepp Blatter the head of FIFA, world football.
Blatter sets sights on third term at FIFA.
This corrupt weasel will promise anything to stay in power, beyond what he can deliver.
He gives away more than 100%, a bit like watching The Producers, where they sell more shares than are available.
Havelange to Blatter - the dynasty based on corruption.
Blatter makes more promises than he can keep.  To England, to Australia, to Africa, to South America.
He is not held accountable for what happens to the money at FIFA, because FIFA's accounts aren't made public.
And added to this some of his suggestions and thoughts are beyond stupid.
Straight in there at No1, this vile creature who heads up the beautiful game.

Could Labour lose?

Continuing my occasional series on Dickheads.......
Someone asked me yesterday (I think it was Daryl), if Labour in the UK could lose the General Election.
This conjured up an image of one of my top Dickheads.
Enter stage right, Michael Howard, the leader of The Opposition.
Prime Dickhead.
Why?
Well firstly, having just listened to Malcolm Gladwell do another talk on his book Blink, first impressions are very important and usually right.  The term "Slimy" comes to mind when you lay eyes upon Michael Howard and that smile.  The second word that comes to mind is Toad.

Secondly, if a fellow colleague who worked with him, and I wouldn't say Anne Widdecombe was exactly "normal", described Michael Howard as "there is something of the night about him" you know that something is wrong.

Of course there's the infamous interview with Jeremy Paxman, where Howard refused to give a yes or no answer which was asked 12 times.  You have to see it to believe it.

But what gets me most about this Slimy Toad, is that he would do anything for power by using political expediency.  Shame on you Michael Howard, the son of a Jewish father escaping Nazi persecution, for picking on those less fortunate than you, believing this will win you votes, because it's politically acceptable to pick on gypsies and travellers, asylum seekers, and immigrants.
Fortunately, it looks like your grab for power is failing. Immigration strategy backfiring on Tories.

How stupid would the British public be to vote for someone worse than Blair?

No1 Dickhead

I've decided to start a new category in my weblog.
Dickheads!
Let's see who I manage to collect in this category.

So first off, and what prompted the new category, is Freddie Shepherd.
Who?  The chairman of Newcastle United who I was sounding off about a week ago.
This article by Ian Ridley in the Guardian, sums it up perfectly.
Shame of unsheepish Shepherd.

It is worth recalling here a few of the lowlights from Mr Shepherd's own career. Let's go back eight years, when his company, Shepherd Offshore plc, sold a warehouse, quite legally it should be said, to his brother, Bruce, for £175,000. Newcastle then did a 17-year deal with Bruce Shepherd to store their merchandise in the warehouse at an annual rent of £150,000. That is £2.5 million.

etc etc!