Entries from November 2009 ↓

If you’re looking for a highly intelligent and sensible discussion about the existence and implications of God in the world from an elite mathematician, then you MUST listen to this.

John Lennox is Professor of Mathematics at Oxford University. I would LOVE to see him in debate and dialogue with Richard Dawkins, whose writings to me are flawed with terrible logic and an incorrect understanding of science and the scientific method. Lennox slices through the smoke and mirrors to address the real issues.

As an aside, I totally agree with Lennox’s view on creationism and some of the creation science stuff out there… “confusing the big thing with small things”… he’s a smart, articulate guy… worth the 30 minutes investment.

And, yes, I am a little biased towards Mathematicians… :-)

It’s amazing what a difference confidence makes.

As the Dow tips into the highest territory it’s been in well over a year, there’s a general feeling of confidence slipping back into economies all around the world, including the Australian one. Anyone who has traded shares knows all too well that there is very little that is rational about the stockmarket. More than anything, it’s an emotional game, far more than many would want to admit. Perfectly solid and excellent companies will find their share prices falling for all kinds of irrational reasons, while others see enormous leaps based on nothing more than rumour and a hunch.

In sport, confidence is huge. Anyone who has played on a winning team knows the feeling that even when things look bad and the chips are down, you just know that you can do it. It’s rather different when you play for a losing franchise, and even when you’re winning, you’re just waiting to lose it through some catastrophe… snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Watch the walk of the confident, and you know there’s a difference.

Interestingly, confidence leaks and overflows into others… and so does a lack of confidence.

Watch someone get up on stage to speak or sing, and you immediately get a sense of their confidence and it impacts even the audience. When someone is confident, you relax and enjoy. There’s nothing more excruciating than watching a nervous and terrified person fumble their way forward… you feel yourself on edge with them… your heart rate goes up and you feel yourself cringe.

Confidence is more important than we sometimes realise. It’s hard to manufacture. You can only bluff so long before you’re out of the poker game. But true confidence is a game changer. You just know it’ll work out because… well, you just know…

Not sure I have all the answers, but I’m more convinced than ever that confidence is key in more ways than we understand.

I’m about to start getting some calls from Telstra/Bigpond.

I’ve been a Bigpond customer for almost 8 or 9 years now. I’ve been pretty loyal as a customer and have stuck with them in spite of issues and poor service at times. But, I won’t be getting a customer service call because I’ve been a loyal customer.

Nope, I’ll be getting a call because I’m leaving Bigpond, and based on past experience, I’ll be getting a call from some guy tasked with such things to offer me a better deal, a discount here and there, an incentive to stay. It’s almost predictable. And it’s too little, too late.

If I had a call from Bigpond every 6 or 12 months to let me know that they had new deals and could save me money and help me more, etc., I would be an even more loyal and long-term customer, but instead they seem to wait until you leave to suddenly come up with deals and discounts. I understand why they do that, but it’s a stupid way to do business. Why wait until you lose a customer in order to try and keep them?! It’s a knee-jerk, reactionary way to do customer service, and it’s just dumb.

I’m trying out iiNet for a season, and I have to say that so far I’m pretty impressed with their customer service. That just may be because I was signing up, but their communication on every level has been sharper and friendlier than any of my recent connections with the great behemoth of Telstra. I guess we’ll see…

This guy is not a bigot… he’s just stupid. There is a difference, ya know…