By gregor on Sun, 26 Oct 2008 13:35:58 GMT

Here's a short video demoing a Japanese robot playing volleyball. Quite amazing !

 

By gregor on Mon, 20 Oct 2008 08:25:54 GMT

If you are not a US citizen, you can disregard this post as you can't vote for Obama or McCain anyway. But if you ARE a US citizen, please do us all a favor; DON'T VOTE !

 

By gregor on Wed, 01 Oct 2008 11:50:40 GMT

Megan Casey over at SquidBlog gives us a nice reminder of how to behave online.

If you send a nasty email, there’s a real human being on the other end who gets it.
If you flame in a forum, you’re wasting real people’s time.
If you spam someone, you’re really only making yourself look bad.
If you write IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS it sounds like shouting.
If you want something to happen your way, try asking instead of demanding.
If you give, you’ll probably wind up getting, too.
If you blog just to pick fights, don’t be surprised when people don’t trust you.
If you collaborate, say thanks.
If you’re independent, say no thanks.
If you like someone, tell them.
If you don’t, walk away from the computer.
If you’re giving feedback, lead with just one good thing.
If you’re getting feedback, realize that the person must care a lot to have sent it.
If you goof, apologize.
If you apologize, mean it.
If you smile, mean that too.
If you don’t like something, don’t do it.
If you do like something, spread it.

But far far more important:

Give people a break.
The break you probably deserve yourself.
People are out to do good, 99% of the time.
You probably are too.
Say thanks out loud and a lot.
Try making someone’s day.
Chances are they’ll make yours in return.

Visit Megan's blog.

By gregor on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:46:59 GMT

If you haven't heard already, Google has released their own browser, dubbed Chrome. It is very slick, and very fast, and I recommend you to give it a try. It is a great alternative to Internet Explorer, and to a lesser extent, to Firefox. It is of course FREE but only available for windows so far.

Also take a look at this cartoon. It is a fun way to learn more about Google's browser. Here's the first slide (1/38):

By gregor on Thu, 04 Sep 2008 11:09:07 GMT

By gregor on Sat, 02 Aug 2008 13:29:53 GMT

Following my latest post, I have found this great interview of Andre Patin, the mythical coach of  Asnieres Volley 92 (Paris, France). The video (below) is in french but here's a translation:

"What makes the difference, right at the top [of the pyramid], is the emotional stability. It's all there, that's what makes the difference. Mental skill is central. Physical skills, technical skills etc... are only accessory. Physical skills without technical skills are only the ruin of efficiency. Technical skills without mental skills are only the ruin of performance. Quote from Claude Sarrazin, former prof. University of Montreal: "Excellence comes with time, effort, discernment, and tenacity. So is the excellence of the authentic champion".

 

Now I assume that what Andre Patin means when he says "Mental skill is central" could be tied to Andrea Zorzi's concept of chunks, the cognitive ability to use memory structures as units of perception and meaning, and the learning mechanisms leading to the acquisition of these memory structures(chuncks).

Mental skills allow the player to process a huge amount of data: statistical knowledge of the opponent's team combined with information gathered "onsite" (e.g. The pass being off the net usually means no threat from the quick attack but stats from this particular setter show that he/she likes to set in the middle when far from the net). This leads to the creation of information used by the player to make a decision. Mental skills are central.

Where the two experts seem to differ, however, is on what is most important.

Zorzi seems to consider the mental ability as predominant important (see update below) :

[Having a bigger Chunk means to deal with a lot of information as a single unit of perception. Obviously, the victories depend on many other factors, as technical skills, physical conditions, right emotional approach an so on.]

UPDATE: Andrea told me by email he disagreed with the following statement:

"Zorzi seems to consider the mental ability as predominant". He added :"A champion has to be a mix of different ability and you cannot win relying only on the mental ability without physical and technical skills.Then I saw many potentially good athletes wasting their talent due to a small mental ability."

Patin seems to consider emotional stability as predominant. A note next to "emotional stability" on the top right corner of his pyramid's diagram...

Read More »