I'm not so disappointed that the 3rd ODI has been lost. Rather, I'm more disappointed with the lack of gumption shown. The moment Sehwag got out, the rest of the team collapsed. Sheesh.
That's not what most Indian Cricket fans want. No collapses!
Myopic view of cricket
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Silly season gets hotter
All the big teams seem to be on the move as far as drivers are concerned.
Even though Schumi has said that he will decide about his future at the end of the season, Jean Todt says that Ferrari's decision will be made at Monza. link.
At the same time, it looks likely Raikkonen is going to move to Ferrari, and so, McLaren have a bit of problem. Who will partner Alonso? Ron Dennis has come out and declared that the decision will be in three weeks time. link.
The leaves Renault. What's going to happen at Renault? The only news out of Renault is that they are willing to pay top dollar. BMW and JV are not the best of friends and he may be moving to Renault. link.
Not just team No 1s are under speculation, there is huge pressure on the No 2 drivers in each team as well. In the last 2 seasons, Fisi and JPM have vastly underperformed compared to their co-drivers. This is a worry for both Renault and McLaren. That's why there are rumors about Fisi and JPM moving out as well and fresh talent from GP2 coming in.
What about Massa then? Ferrari have invested a huge amount on Massa, but bankrolling a year in Sauber and making him test like crazy. So far this season, he hasn't performed badly either.
The team with the biggest problem in all this is Renault. They are losing FA and Fisi does not look upto the mark. McLaren are going to be sitting pretty with FA but are they going to lose Kimi and make do with JPM or will they go in for fresh new talent? Ferrari will most probably have Schumi and will let go of Massa for Kimi, but at the same time, its equally possible that Kimi and Massa are paired together or for Schumi and Massa to remain together.
And finally, what then about Rossi. Its still possible that he may have a hand in all this, but it looks unlikely. All in all, this is the hottest silly season for a very long time and things have just got interesting.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, ferrari, mclaren, renault, news
Even though Schumi has said that he will decide about his future at the end of the season, Jean Todt says that Ferrari's decision will be made at Monza. link.
At the same time, it looks likely Raikkonen is going to move to Ferrari, and so, McLaren have a bit of problem. Who will partner Alonso? Ron Dennis has come out and declared that the decision will be in three weeks time. link.
The leaves Renault. What's going to happen at Renault? The only news out of Renault is that they are willing to pay top dollar. BMW and JV are not the best of friends and he may be moving to Renault. link.
Not just team No 1s are under speculation, there is huge pressure on the No 2 drivers in each team as well. In the last 2 seasons, Fisi and JPM have vastly underperformed compared to their co-drivers. This is a worry for both Renault and McLaren. That's why there are rumors about Fisi and JPM moving out as well and fresh talent from GP2 coming in.
What about Massa then? Ferrari have invested a huge amount on Massa, but bankrolling a year in Sauber and making him test like crazy. So far this season, he hasn't performed badly either.
The team with the biggest problem in all this is Renault. They are losing FA and Fisi does not look upto the mark. McLaren are going to be sitting pretty with FA but are they going to lose Kimi and make do with JPM or will they go in for fresh new talent? Ferrari will most probably have Schumi and will let go of Massa for Kimi, but at the same time, its equally possible that Kimi and Massa are paired together or for Schumi and Massa to remain together.
And finally, what then about Rossi. Its still possible that he may have a hand in all this, but it looks unlikely. All in all, this is the hottest silly season for a very long time and things have just got interesting.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, ferrari, mclaren, renault, news
Monday, May 15, 2006
Spain 2006 GP Winners Losers
Winners
Myopic view of f1, formula1, spain, gp, 2006, winners, losers
- Alonso. Blew away Ferrari with stunning laps in the beginning. Fastest lap followed fastest laps. Controlled the race beautifully till the end
- MS. 2 points down on Alonso isn't too bad. Good drive
- Massa. Good drive to the end and workman like finish
- Heidfeld. Got the last point - though I'm not sure how he did it. After the Toyotas fell over each other, it was a matter of seeing off the pesky Williamses
- JPM. WTF? That's all I can say. His lack of finishes last season cost McLaren the constructors championship last year and this year it isn't looking good either.
- Toyotas. Weird!! That's all I can say. Good pace to qualify as high as they did, but the real result is on Sunday. Not only did they trip over each other, they didn't score a single point.
- Fisi. I doubt whether he could have challenged MS after he lost out after the first pitstop. However, blaming the radio for losing it is rubbish.
- McLaren and Honda. Though Rubens' qualifying has improved, the results haven't. JPM can't seem to finish a race properly (and when he does finish, its a very quiet sort of race these days). Both Button and KR are going backwards with respect to Ferrari. Not a good sign.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, spain, gp, 2006, winners, losers
Sunday, May 14, 2006
Brazilian Stonehenge?
According to the BBC, a Brazilian version of Stonehenge has been discovered. link
I wonder what next we will find. There was that story sometime back about some hill in the middle eastern desert actually being Noah's Ark. Even more recently was the story about a hill in Serbia or Bosnia or somewhere nearby, actually being a pyramid.
There could be some truth in these discoveries. After all, Troy was discovered in the same way and not just one city but seven of them.
Perhaps a carnaval can be arranged to commerate this discovery.
Myopic view of cool, history
I wonder what next we will find. There was that story sometime back about some hill in the middle eastern desert actually being Noah's Ark. Even more recently was the story about a hill in Serbia or Bosnia or somewhere nearby, actually being a pyramid.
There could be some truth in these discoveries. After all, Troy was discovered in the same way and not just one city but seven of them.
Perhaps a carnaval can be arranged to commerate this discovery.
Myopic view of cool, history
Saturday, May 13, 2006
10 interesting watches
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Niranjan Shah should shut up
Rebuking Sehwag, he says -
Rather, he should be saying that Sehwag has no right to interfere in board "politics". All that Sehwag has said is that he wishes Ganguly well and that he had supported him when he was coming up. The fact of the matter is that Sehwag is on a sticky wicket on the Ganguly issue. However, I'm surprised that Shah reacted to the comments on Player Burnout.
Sunil Gavaskar has said that players should be proud to represent India and must be ready to sweat it out all 365 days. I wonder why he stopped there. He should have insisted on players playing more than 7 hours a day to all 24 hours. After all, its a matter of honour. The BCCI is a slave merchant. If it was possible for them to get the Indian Cricket team to play 24 hours a day, they would. Player Burnout be damned.
Take the Armed forces as an example of folks who have in their hands a far greater responsibility that sportsmen or power-mad sports administrators. It is a given fact that they can take leave. Its a given fact that a army on red alert for too long starts to loose moral. It is a fact that the army does not post soldiers to the front for too long. It is a fact that soldiers are provided accomodation for themselves and their families. If people like Shah was in charge, then he would not only stop granting leaves, he would also get other ex-servicemen to speak about how much of an honour it is to "defend the country"
Myopic view of cricket
"Sehwag has been warned verbally from speaking to the media on burnout and the Ganguly issue. Players cannot speak on board policies and selection matters,"
Rather, he should be saying that Sehwag has no right to interfere in board "politics". All that Sehwag has said is that he wishes Ganguly well and that he had supported him when he was coming up. The fact of the matter is that Sehwag is on a sticky wicket on the Ganguly issue. However, I'm surprised that Shah reacted to the comments on Player Burnout.
Sunil Gavaskar has said that players should be proud to represent India and must be ready to sweat it out all 365 days. I wonder why he stopped there. He should have insisted on players playing more than 7 hours a day to all 24 hours. After all, its a matter of honour. The BCCI is a slave merchant. If it was possible for them to get the Indian Cricket team to play 24 hours a day, they would. Player Burnout be damned.
Take the Armed forces as an example of folks who have in their hands a far greater responsibility that sportsmen or power-mad sports administrators. It is a given fact that they can take leave. Its a given fact that a army on red alert for too long starts to loose moral. It is a fact that the army does not post soldiers to the front for too long. It is a fact that soldiers are provided accomodation for themselves and their families. If people like Shah was in charge, then he would not only stop granting leaves, he would also get other ex-servicemen to speak about how much of an honour it is to "defend the country"
Myopic view of cricket
Ladies and Gentlemen. We are ready for boarding
The last time I travelled on Air India, I got to see boarding chaos at close quarters. This was at Newark Liberty and the moment the agents at the gate announced that the gate was open, there was a mad rush. A huge percentage of people who travel on Air India are older folks. Most likely they are making their way back to India after visiting their sons and daughters.
No doubt the son or son-in-law would have warned the older generation that if they don't get on to the plane as soon as the gate is open, they would be left behind. As a result, every Tom, Dick and Harry's Father, Uncle and Grand-Aunt rush to board the aircraft as soon as the announcement is heard.
The result was chaotic to say the least and the ground staff just could not get things going. Boarding must have taken atleast 20 minutes.
Studies are underway by different airlines to reduce boarding time. link.
Myopic view of airlines, research
No doubt the son or son-in-law would have warned the older generation that if they don't get on to the plane as soon as the gate is open, they would be left behind. As a result, every Tom, Dick and Harry's Father, Uncle and Grand-Aunt rush to board the aircraft as soon as the announcement is heard.
The result was chaotic to say the least and the ground staff just could not get things going. Boarding must have taken atleast 20 minutes.
Studies are underway by different airlines to reduce boarding time. link.
Myopic view of airlines, research
Smug in the rain
A-ha! Rain! A wonderous thunderstorm! The best part about the rain? I just got the wipers changed in my car.
Myopic view of bangalore
Myopic view of bangalore
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Ferrari Factory
Driving tips to improve mileage
According to this study, the world's oil production has peaked. That's bad news for you and me, because we are addicted to oil.
This website has some tips on how to improve your car mileage by upto 37%. The problem with such tips is how do you quantify it? What if you were already following some of the tips? Where has this study been conducted? Some of them will definitely not work in Bangalore.
Take the tip to avoid speeding. In bangalore traffic, its impossible to even reach 40 Kmph, let alone drive like a maniac.
For that matter even the tip about using the cruise control, cannot be done in the stop-start traffic in Bangalore. However, this is possible on the highway. There was this one time on a trip to Mysore, we got 25 Kmpl in a Maruti 800! That's pretty awesome, but the credit goes to my Bro who was behind the wheel.
However, some of the other tips do make sense. Keeping tire pressures correct by checking them every 2-3 trips to the petrol bunk does have an positive impact. Avoiding execessive idling also makes sense. This is particularly easy in bangalore, because of a big fat countdown timer that's displayed at major traffic lights. Anytime that a car has to idle for more than 25 seconds, switching the engine off, helps conserve a few drops of black gold.
Myopic view of driving, tips
This website has some tips on how to improve your car mileage by upto 37%. The problem with such tips is how do you quantify it? What if you were already following some of the tips? Where has this study been conducted? Some of them will definitely not work in Bangalore.
Take the tip to avoid speeding. In bangalore traffic, its impossible to even reach 40 Kmph, let alone drive like a maniac.
For that matter even the tip about using the cruise control, cannot be done in the stop-start traffic in Bangalore. However, this is possible on the highway. There was this one time on a trip to Mysore, we got 25 Kmpl in a Maruti 800! That's pretty awesome, but the credit goes to my Bro who was behind the wheel.
However, some of the other tips do make sense. Keeping tire pressures correct by checking them every 2-3 trips to the petrol bunk does have an positive impact. Avoiding execessive idling also makes sense. This is particularly easy in bangalore, because of a big fat countdown timer that's displayed at major traffic lights. Anytime that a car has to idle for more than 25 seconds, switching the engine off, helps conserve a few drops of black gold.
Myopic view of driving, tips
Monday, May 08, 2006
I love you, ya, ya, ya
The beatles have lost their case. That's what the news headlines have to say. link and link.
What does it mean to me? Nothing much probably. I can't download any songs from iTunes anyhow as its not available here in India. Not just itunes, but most apple products are hideously overpriced in India, even after considering the "apple tax". Most of the ipods and laptops are imported from Singapore and as a result there is a huge cost added. Surely, there is a better way to get more Apple stuff here.
Myopic view of apple, news
What does it mean to me? Nothing much probably. I can't download any songs from iTunes anyhow as its not available here in India. Not just itunes, but most apple products are hideously overpriced in India, even after considering the "apple tax". Most of the ipods and laptops are imported from Singapore and as a result there is a huge cost added. Surely, there is a better way to get more Apple stuff here.
Myopic view of apple, news
Sand Castles
European 2006 GP Winners Losers
Winners
- MS - Held his nerve and had a fantastic pitstop to get by Alonso. Good drive
- Alonso - Not sure whether it was Alonso Magic or Renault pace. Fisi seems to finish quite a bit back both in qualifying and in the race. More likely a case of the "No 1 driver gets everything in the Renault team".
- Ferrari - Both cars in the podium after a disasterous 2005 and a poor beginning to 2006. Things are hotting up.
- Massa - First Podium and hopefully there are many more to come. Was expecting him to lose under the pressure from KR, but held on magnificantly
- Barrichello - Finally got some points. Qualified higher up than Button too.
- Rosberg - Good finish and a good job done. One more in Williams kitty against BMW, though JV finished only 1 point ahead
- Honda, McLaren - Joint losers for not being able to get their second cars to finish. McLaren seem to have a tradition of losing at the European GP.
- Heidfeld - JV was faster all weekend and this was a home GP for Quick Nick. Not so quick in this weekend though
Sunday, May 07, 2006
A mouse and keyboard story - combimouse
This is an interesting invention - a combination of a mouse and keyboard i.e a combimouse. link.
The idea is to avoid moving your hand from the keyboard to a mouse over and over again. At first sight this looks a bit weird, but according to engadget, it really works.
However, this is not going to work unless one knows touch typing. There are number of programs that do teach touch typing. link.
Myopic view of technology, computer
Update - November 2013.
Looks like there has been some traction. The team behind combimouse also have been looking at crowdsourcing - http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/combimouse-combination-keyboard-and-mouse--43 and as per their project plan intend to complete the full mechanical design and finalize the prototype by December 2013.
The idea is to avoid moving your hand from the keyboard to a mouse over and over again. At first sight this looks a bit weird, but according to engadget, it really works.
However, this is not going to work unless one knows touch typing. There are number of programs that do teach touch typing. link.
Myopic view of technology, computer
Update - November 2013.
Looks like there has been some traction. The team behind combimouse also have been looking at crowdsourcing - http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/combimouse-combination-keyboard-and-mouse--43 and as per their project plan intend to complete the full mechanical design and finalize the prototype by December 2013.
Monday, April 24, 2006
San Marino 2006 GP Winners/Losers
Winners
1. MS. A great race to hold back Alonso. Similar to what Alonso did last year. However, Alonso only held MS back after the final pitstop last year whereas this year it was for almost half the race. It would have been interesting to see if MS could hold Alonso back in some other circuit. He has held other drivers before, notably Ralf in Brazil a few years ago and Hakkinen in Sepang. My money would still be on MS holding Alonso back in most other circuits.
2. Alonso. 36 out of the maximum 40 in the first 4 races is pretty awesome. He leads MS by 15 points and there are 14 races to go. There is no doubt that Alonso will win a few more races this season, and the lead will increase. A repeat of 2005 perhaps
3. JPM. A quiet race. Bit lucky that Honda screwed up badly with Button's car, otherwise, it might have gotten interesting
4. Webber. Good job to get into the points. Score 1 more for Williams over BMW. Plus a huge gap between him and Rosberg on a circuit that Rosberg has driven before.
5. Bridgestone. Stronger result with 4 drivers in the top 10. All those test miles in Europe will definitely help.
Losers
1. KR. Looked off-colour all weekend. Was stuck behind Webber for 1 half of the race and then behind Massa towards the end. Overall, 5th is not too good. It looks likely that this is beginning of the end for Raikkonen's term at McLaren.
2. Honda. Really screwed up pitstops. The problem with RB was bad enough but the screwup on Button cost them quite a few points. This is especially irritating, given that JB pulled out the road and DNF'd in Aus. The hope was that he would challenge for a podium (win looked unlikely to me) and make up for that loss. They seem to qualify well and fall back in the race.
3. BMW. Was nowhere in the picture. With Heidfeld indisposed, it didn't look too good for them
4. Ide. First mistake - tipping over Albers. Innumerable others - holding back front runners
5. Overtaking. RIP in this race.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, sanmarino, 2006, winners, losers
1. MS. A great race to hold back Alonso. Similar to what Alonso did last year. However, Alonso only held MS back after the final pitstop last year whereas this year it was for almost half the race. It would have been interesting to see if MS could hold Alonso back in some other circuit. He has held other drivers before, notably Ralf in Brazil a few years ago and Hakkinen in Sepang. My money would still be on MS holding Alonso back in most other circuits.
2. Alonso. 36 out of the maximum 40 in the first 4 races is pretty awesome. He leads MS by 15 points and there are 14 races to go. There is no doubt that Alonso will win a few more races this season, and the lead will increase. A repeat of 2005 perhaps
3. JPM. A quiet race. Bit lucky that Honda screwed up badly with Button's car, otherwise, it might have gotten interesting
4. Webber. Good job to get into the points. Score 1 more for Williams over BMW. Plus a huge gap between him and Rosberg on a circuit that Rosberg has driven before.
5. Bridgestone. Stronger result with 4 drivers in the top 10. All those test miles in Europe will definitely help.
Losers
1. KR. Looked off-colour all weekend. Was stuck behind Webber for 1 half of the race and then behind Massa towards the end. Overall, 5th is not too good. It looks likely that this is beginning of the end for Raikkonen's term at McLaren.
2. Honda. Really screwed up pitstops. The problem with RB was bad enough but the screwup on Button cost them quite a few points. This is especially irritating, given that JB pulled out the road and DNF'd in Aus. The hope was that he would challenge for a podium (win looked unlikely to me) and make up for that loss. They seem to qualify well and fall back in the race.
3. BMW. Was nowhere in the picture. With Heidfeld indisposed, it didn't look too good for them
4. Ide. First mistake - tipping over Albers. Innumerable others - holding back front runners
5. Overtaking. RIP in this race.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, sanmarino, 2006, winners, losers
Friday, April 21, 2006
Injudicious colonial hangover
The Times of India reports that the High Court and Supreme Court judges no longer have to be addresses as "My Lord" or "Your Lordship". Instead they will now be addressed as "Your Honour". In the lower courts, just a succient "Sir" would do. link.
Couple of other silly things from the past are still prevalent.
Couple of other silly things from the past are still prevalent.
- The whole concept of a summer vacation is rubbish. Why on earth should the highest court in the land go on holiday? Does that mean that justice is ignored for that time? I would think that the system came into place during the British Raj, when most judges were British. Given the difference in climate between the UK and India, it made sense to have a summer holiday to escape the heat, esp. if you weren't used to it. In modern times, this makes no sense. The summer holidays can be seen here.
- Blacks Robes are next on the list. Why do we need them? I agree that there is no way that you would trust a lawyer or a doctor who is not dress formally. So, let the lawyers be allowed to just dress in formal clothes. A Coat and Tie should suffice. link.
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Baseball Explained
Cricinfo has an article that explains cricket from a baseball point of view. link. The article suggests that it is from an "American" point of view, but the correct terminology would be from a Baseball point of view.
Ian Chappell used to play both cricket and baseball, though he's more famous for playing cricket. Apparently, cricket was the summer sport and baseball the winter sport down under.
Let's see if I can explain baseball from a cricket point of view.
Myopic view of cricket, baseball
Ian Chappell used to play both cricket and baseball, though he's more famous for playing cricket. Apparently, cricket was the summer sport and baseball the winter sport down under.
Let's see if I can explain baseball from a cricket point of view.
- Every game has nine innings. Unlike test cricket where there are 2 innings per side, each cricket innings is called a half-innings in Baseball.
- Like cricket there is pitcher who "pitches" the ball and a batter who tries to score a run.
- There are 4 bases - 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base and home base. If the batter hits the ball, he has to run. In case he doesn't make it to any of the bases in time, he's run out in the same fashion as cricket. Once the batter reaches a base, he can choose to stay there and the next batter comes in. This continues until the first batter goes through all the bases to reach home base. At this time a run is scored
- If 3 batters are out then the half innings closes and the other team comes on field to bat. This continues for 9 innings and the team with the higher score wins.
- There are no wickets in baseball, only strikes. A strike occurs when a batter swings and misses the ball. 3 strikes and the batter is out.
- Unlike cricket, there are only some areas that a batter can hit the ball. In case, he hits it to an area out of bounds then the ball is called foul. 3 fouls and the batter is out
- If the batter hits the ball outside the ground, similar to a sixer, then he gets to go around all the bases for free. This is called a home run and it earns 1 run. If there are already batters in other bases, all of them get to complete their home run and each one earns a run. If there are batters at the 1st, 2nd and 3rd bases, and the current batter hits a home run, 4 runs are scored.
- Also unlike cricket, multiple batters can be run out at the same time. This is called double or triple play.
Myopic view of cricket, baseball
Sunday, April 16, 2006
F1 on google calendar
One of the best ways to keep track of the F1 Season is to add the F1 Calendar to google. Google has come out with their own web based calendar and it rocks! One of the nicest feature (IMHO) is the ability to add different calendars from the net and track them side by side to your own. One of these is a nice F1 Calendar that is available here. (via)
Myopic view of f1, formula1, google, calendar
- Click on Manage Calendars
- Choose Import Calendars
- Cut and Paste this link and Voila! the 2006 calendar is added.
Myopic view of f1, formula1, google, calendar
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
RIP Dr. Rajkumar
Kannada Cinema's most cherished thespian Dr. Rajkumar, fondly called "annavaru" passed away today - April 12, 2006.
May his soul rest in peace.
Myopic view of rajkumar, karnataka
May his soul rest in peace.
Myopic view of rajkumar, karnataka
Monday, April 03, 2006
Australia 2006 GP Winners/Losers
Winners
- Alonso. Had the speed all the time and even though KR finished less than 2 secs behind, I think that's more due to Alonso slowing down rather than KR catching up. If he really wanted to he could have finished 10-15 secs ahead
- Ralf. A great result and that too only Bridgestone tyres. Was consistently fast throughout the weekend. 3rd place is good given the disasters in the first two races. Was the only Bridgestone runner in the top 10.
- BMW. Double points finish. Though Williams have a faster car, its more fragile.
- Fisi. Managed to get past Button in the most dramatic way.
- RB. Finally got some points for Honda, but still has to get used to the Non-Ferrari way of doing things. Hope he can score more as the season progresses.
- JPM. Spin king; not just once. The car finally decided that enough is enough!
- Ferrari. Both drivers out during the race and it wasn't as if they were setting the track on fire at any time during the weekend.
- Speed. Just a bit too anxious to get past DC and ended up being classified behind.
- Williams. Lots of promise, but rotten reliability. I accept that they are a privateer team now and with customer engines, one doesn't expect them to dominate, but they did show some good speed
- Definitely Button. 4 points would have kept him in 2nd place in the championship and one never knows how close he will be at the end of the season to Alonso :-). Nevertheless, he gets a brand new engine at San Marino and if the race has fewer safety cars, he might be able to finish on the top step.
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