Missed it by that much

On friday I received an e-mail which really made my day. Someone has published a paper which contains the same work that I have been doing for my thesis. That hurts. I feel like this happens to me too often. I think of an idea, tell a few people about these ideas, and then I end up reading about them in the paper or some other publications. I am not saying that my ideas are being stolen, just that others come up with the same idea, but I don't publish first.
Many years ago I used to go to to gym where the conversation focused mainly on footy. I used to discuss what I would do if I was a coach or recruiting manager of an AFL club. My plans included using technology to help with decision making. For example, setting up computer programs to test player reactions and which options they would choose. The programs would also teach in this capacity. I would recruit players who may not be "athletes" but have a football brain. You can make someone fitter but you can't transplant a footy brain. Imaging my surprise when I read an article last weekend about Neil Craig, the Crows coach, and these are the things that he is actually doing at the Crows! No wonder they finished on top. (They didn't quite win the premiership, but they were right up there.)
I've had enough. From now on any stupid thought that comes into my head is going to be written down. This may just be the forum for those ramblings.