Question: What is the only job on this planet that you can be wrong 99.9% of the time and not get fired?
Answer: A Weatherman
It amazes me on a daily basis. How can you be so wrong and get paid so well of it? Rewind to 1993. The northern half of the state of Georgia is enjoying a regular week in March. Like most winter/spring transitions in the southeast United States, there is NO SNOW. We are lucky to get even enough to dust the ground during the winter…much less anything that actually sticks. The weatherman on March 12th forecasts light rain as we head into the night. What do we wake up to the next morning? One of the largest blizzards in the countries history! Not even close man! Seriously?
We see it on a daily basis.
- You are leaving the house in the morning with the expectation of a nice day because you watched the weather channel that morning and about noon…the sky falls and you have no umbrella.
- Better cancel the weekend plans at the lake! Joe Schmoe the weatherman says its going to be raining all day. Half way through a beautiful Saturday afternoon you realize that you could have gone to the lake and today is a waste!
I know of no other job on this planet (maybe a DMV worker) where you can be wrong this much and keep your job. On top of that, you are paid well above the median wage to complete your task! Can you imagine going to a restaurant expecting your food to be wrong most of the time and being ok with that? How about only getting a car that actually runs 7 out of 10 times you purchase an automobile? What if you could to to work everyday and not worry about being wrong? Then…when you were wrong…you got a raise! The madness has to stop!
You would think…if we can put a man on the moon in 1969, we would be able to figure out the weather in 2009! You can have better results by standing next to a window and taking a look for yourself…
I found my calling – I’m going to become a weatherman!
Yeah, it’s an old joke. It’s so true.
I will say this though: Watching storms on Channel 2′s 3D HD application is fascinating.
There’s an interesting flip side to this. How come the other news folk can rag on the weatherman for his reporting: “Aw, Bill, rain again? Thanks, a lot pal, you just ruined my weekend. When are you going to give us a break from all of this rain?” But the weather guy can’t rag on them for their bad news: “Oh Christ Liz another child-murder? Thanks a lot. You’re always bumming us out w/ these murders and rapes and kidnappings. I think we’re all ready for some happy stories.” The weather guy might be making educated guesses, but he definitely takes the heat fro something out of his control.
Worst weathermen:
Today Show’s weatherman: Chris something, don’t remember his name.
Morning Joe’s weatherman, Bill something.. don’t remember his name.
These guys love to hear themselves talk. Do they ever say anything useful, or for that matter, correct? I made the mistake of trusting the Morning Joe show, and now I am stuck at work without an umbrella or a raincoat. Thanks a lot, Bill, you — son of a —!!!
yeah well… that’s the problem in systems with a chaotic behavior. Don’t blame the weathermen.
We didn’t put a man on the moon in 1969. You were lied to by the government, but that is nothing new either.