When I was at school, I favoured English Literature over Language. I had reasonable writing skills which enabled me to blag things if I didn't know the answer or pad something out around an argument but hitting the required word count. When I was at University, that did not work. Studying English Lit meant a lot of reading, no blagging, no padding. I was exposed. So I went down the Language route, and my analytical skills developed.
I chose English because I was reasonably good at writing in particular, but also because I didn't really know what I wanted to do and it was a solid route to keep my options open along with my languages. I also harboured vague desires to become a teacher and subsequently a journalist, but that didn't last too long. It did however give me solid foundations for my professional career, which I think was the right call. It also gave me a decent understanding of grammar - needless to say I'll be proofreading this blog several times.
I saw one of these humorous posts on Facebook a couple of days ago which highlighted the importance of grammar to our everyday lives. It read:
Knowing your shit and Knowing you're shit.....the difference grammar can make!
There's a pretty fundamental difference between the two, but an easy mistake to make. I am actually typing this blog on my blackberry....and I am avoiding the sms language. Unfortunately, as useful as texting, bbm, What's App, and MSN are, they do butcher the English language and we probably do make more grammatical mistakes for that reason. I never thought I would see the day when my mum would LOL at me!
As useful and as efficient as they are, it is so easy to create misunderstandings. How often have you questioned the tone of such a message which would be far clearer if somebody had told you on the phone? It happens all the time. And different people use grammar in different ways. If my girl messages me with a full stop (a ‘period’ to my North American friends) rather than an exclamation mark, I can tell the tone is perhaps a little downbeat or more serious. If a Rob Lockhart uses an exclamation mark, then either the world is about to end, or the Toronto Maple Leafs have just won a Stanley Cup. Needless to say that neither are likely.
Emails. Are you the kind of person who starts an email with Hello/Hi or Dear or do you just go straight in with the name? Personally, I find it a little impersonal at times without receiving the greeting, but you can meet that person and they can be as pleasant as anything. I had several emails with our company accountant last week and she started every email with ‘Hi Rob’ – even though we were speaking all day long via phone and email…..never once did she leave out the greeting which impressed me.
Understanding the small and subtle differences that your punctuation and grammar can have on the tone of what you and other people scribble is key to avoiding misunderstandings. Remember that next time you receive a message saying ‘U no u r shit’….that extra space between the u and the r is likely to be a heavy-thumbed mistake.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Neck on the Line
It is that time of year when I am prepared to put my neck on the line and make some outrageous sporting predictions for 2012. I think I did it a month earlier last year – but it has been a hectic start to the year with the launch of a new project that I am working on. And that new project is related to the subject of this blog and making predictions, and collecting and analysing data and events in sport (largely football). The company is called Onside Analysis (www.onsideanalysis.com) and I am working with a former Smartodds colleague, Dave Hastie…..exciting times but plenty of hard work ahead. A small part of the website and work is blogging, so I will be splitting my time between blogging for the Onside Analysis website, and Random Writing, but fear not, I shall continue to blog on here for all two of my loyal readers.
So without further ado, here goes with my thoughts and predictions for the year ahead.
Euro 2012 – I am not particularly throwing a huge outsider into the mix with this one, but I strongly like Germany to win the Euro this time round. At 100% fitness and form, I would go with Spain every time, but that is not going to happen. I cannot help but feel that Barca’s success in recent seasons is taking its toll on them and in turn on the national team. David Villa is already ruled out, and there are serious concerns over Xavi. He will be used sparingly between now and then with Guardiola preserving him for Champions League games now that the league race is pretty much over. Form is another issue – Fernando Torres. Don’t think I need to say much more. I could throw discipline and Gerard Pique out there right now, but that will resolve itself. The number of Clasicos could also bite them in the butt. On the flipside, the Germans are a hungry young team with plenty to prove, and for the first time in a long time, possessing some serious flair in the side.
Boxing – The world awaits for Floyd and Manny to get it on. I thought we were close for this May, but dreams were dashed once again. Well, Floyd is going to prison that is one thing that is certain. Beforehand, he faces Miguel Cotto in May and I think he will outclass him easily enough. Manny is up against Timothy Bradley and I have a feeling that Bradley is going to surprise him and dash any hopes of the dream fight somewhere down the line. Mayweather will continue to fight, continue to get $20m+ per fight even when he gets out of the nick, and will eventually retire unbeaten.
Stanley Cup – I would love nothing more than to see a NY Rangers or a San Jose get to the Stanley Cup Finals but I am going with the tried and trusted. This is something of a filthy prediction but this is going Boston/Detroit in my mind. I am hoping the Sens or the Leafs can keep hold of their playoff spots – and then I’ll be betting against both of them when they get there!
Premier League – I think this is going to go all the way to the wire, or at least the third to last game of the season when City host United. I think Man Utd have won the league in the last couple of seasons by being the best of the worst – I think this time they fall just short to City. The fixtures possibly just favour Man Utd, but I think it comes down to that one game, and I can see City edging it. I think Utd take the Europa League.
London 2012 – No specific predictions here apart from I recall from Vancouver how much pressure the Canadian athletes felt particularly at the start of the competition. Expectations were high, and media attention was huge – an early medal will calm everybody and the sooner it happens for a British athlete in London, the better it will be for all. I am not confident expectations will be met however.
Champions League – The Special One has imprinted his style on Real Madrid and he has the squad and lead in the league to focus on their bid for their 10th Champions League trophy. This could be quite an open UCL season and it would not surprise me if one of the Italian teams went far this season. I do however just see Barca falling short this time. Bayern may also come close for this one, but I’m edging Real as they are finally playing the way Jose wants them to and they are looking strong.
FA Cup – It pains me to say this and this is filthier than my Stanley Cup prediction but I can see a Cup double for the team that plays in Red on Merseyside. I am super excited about my team’s chances, but losing Landon Donovan and with Steven Pienaar being cup-tied, we lose a huge amount of creativity, and I think we will find it tough against Sunderland. I hope and pray that I am wrong, but I can see ‘them’ winning it this year.
UFC – Not easy making predictions too far in advance for the UFC such is the nature of the sport, but the fight I am most looking forward to is Anderson Silva v Chael Sonnen which is scheduled for June 16th in Brazil. I think Anderson finishes him early this time round. UFC 146 at the end of May also has a peach of a fight – Alistair Overeem v Junior dos Santos…..it will be immense. I give Junior the edge here as I question Overeem’s character in and outside the Octagon.
I think I need a shower after some of those picks.
So without further ado, here goes with my thoughts and predictions for the year ahead.
Euro 2012 – I am not particularly throwing a huge outsider into the mix with this one, but I strongly like Germany to win the Euro this time round. At 100% fitness and form, I would go with Spain every time, but that is not going to happen. I cannot help but feel that Barca’s success in recent seasons is taking its toll on them and in turn on the national team. David Villa is already ruled out, and there are serious concerns over Xavi. He will be used sparingly between now and then with Guardiola preserving him for Champions League games now that the league race is pretty much over. Form is another issue – Fernando Torres. Don’t think I need to say much more. I could throw discipline and Gerard Pique out there right now, but that will resolve itself. The number of Clasicos could also bite them in the butt. On the flipside, the Germans are a hungry young team with plenty to prove, and for the first time in a long time, possessing some serious flair in the side.
Boxing – The world awaits for Floyd and Manny to get it on. I thought we were close for this May, but dreams were dashed once again. Well, Floyd is going to prison that is one thing that is certain. Beforehand, he faces Miguel Cotto in May and I think he will outclass him easily enough. Manny is up against Timothy Bradley and I have a feeling that Bradley is going to surprise him and dash any hopes of the dream fight somewhere down the line. Mayweather will continue to fight, continue to get $20m+ per fight even when he gets out of the nick, and will eventually retire unbeaten.
Stanley Cup – I would love nothing more than to see a NY Rangers or a San Jose get to the Stanley Cup Finals but I am going with the tried and trusted. This is something of a filthy prediction but this is going Boston/Detroit in my mind. I am hoping the Sens or the Leafs can keep hold of their playoff spots – and then I’ll be betting against both of them when they get there!
Premier League – I think this is going to go all the way to the wire, or at least the third to last game of the season when City host United. I think Man Utd have won the league in the last couple of seasons by being the best of the worst – I think this time they fall just short to City. The fixtures possibly just favour Man Utd, but I think it comes down to that one game, and I can see City edging it. I think Utd take the Europa League.
London 2012 – No specific predictions here apart from I recall from Vancouver how much pressure the Canadian athletes felt particularly at the start of the competition. Expectations were high, and media attention was huge – an early medal will calm everybody and the sooner it happens for a British athlete in London, the better it will be for all. I am not confident expectations will be met however.
Champions League – The Special One has imprinted his style on Real Madrid and he has the squad and lead in the league to focus on their bid for their 10th Champions League trophy. This could be quite an open UCL season and it would not surprise me if one of the Italian teams went far this season. I do however just see Barca falling short this time. Bayern may also come close for this one, but I’m edging Real as they are finally playing the way Jose wants them to and they are looking strong.
FA Cup – It pains me to say this and this is filthier than my Stanley Cup prediction but I can see a Cup double for the team that plays in Red on Merseyside. I am super excited about my team’s chances, but losing Landon Donovan and with Steven Pienaar being cup-tied, we lose a huge amount of creativity, and I think we will find it tough against Sunderland. I hope and pray that I am wrong, but I can see ‘them’ winning it this year.
UFC – Not easy making predictions too far in advance for the UFC such is the nature of the sport, but the fight I am most looking forward to is Anderson Silva v Chael Sonnen which is scheduled for June 16th in Brazil. I think Anderson finishes him early this time round. UFC 146 at the end of May also has a peach of a fight – Alistair Overeem v Junior dos Santos…..it will be immense. I give Junior the edge here as I question Overeem’s character in and outside the Octagon.
I think I need a shower after some of those picks.
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