tuufáan

great ones look alike!

2009-04-12T08:05:00.001-07:00

They tell me I look like Pete Sampras. If only my on-court skills matched the physical likeness. Oh well. Can't have everything!

sms to god

2005-08-16T18:30:00.001-07:00

" Religion is making its presence felt even in the mobile space around the world in the form of devotional ring tones, ring back tones, wall papers of Gods and Goddesses, picture messages, sms requests for prayers and even sms texts from major religious scriptures.

Jews in Israel send their prayers by SMS to rabbis, while the Vatican hands out Pope's "Thought of the Day" through SMS, and a desi mobile company in Mumbai has started a service through which people can send prayers by sms to a Lord Ganesha Temple.

Even the new age gurus are not far behind in using the mobile platform to spread their message. Deepak Chopra is offering his "The Seven Spiritual Laws" in the United States in the form of quotes, inspirational messages, images and tips for a healthy living.

It is not just the content and service providers that are catering to the religious tastes of the customers but also the mobile set manufacturers. In Gulf countries, some companies make phones that indicate the direction of Mecca for praying.

The phones even come with pre-recorded prayers. "The affinity for religious ring tones and ring back tones is growing in India. Traditionally this was on physical formats like cassettes and CDs but with mobile subscribers growing fast, the existing market base is also expanding,"

according to Mandar Thakur, general manager of Soundbuzz India - a company that is involved in the digital distribution of ring tones and ring back tones to various operators.

"For people who hear devotional music - the mobile phone has today become a direct way of carrying their beliefs and faiths with them," he says.

According to Thakur, "The devotional category is currently small in the range of 1.5 per cent to 2 per cent of the total ring tones market, but it is the ring back tones category that is witnessing the most action."

The ring back tones total for about 10 per cent of the total sale of ring back tones by Soundbuzz and this introduced only 3 months back! "We expect the devotional ringback tones to grow to about 20 per cent by first quarter next year," Thakur says.

Although the trend towards religious quest on mobile phones was not started in India, all indications point to the fact that the Indian mobile user is fast lapping up this concept of taking God along with him wherever he goes.

While major mobile content providers are offering religious wallpapers and devotional ring tones, others are providing services like Gurbani and other prayers that subscribers can listen to by dialling to their service.

According to an Indiatimes sms official, the leading mobile content provider in India, there has been an exponential growth in the demand for religious wallpapers and ring tones. Devotional tones are especially popular.

'Gayatri Mantra' is the highest and hottest seller in both the ring tones and ring back tone category followed by 'Hanuman Chalisa'. Some of the other tones that are very popular are 'Jai Ganesh', 'Shiv Stuti' and 'Gurbani'.

The demand for religious wallpapers is next only to Bollywood and it is growing. Lord Ganesha being the most popular deity. Even religious television channels in India are not far behind in bringing the godly advise on the humble handset.

Some of them are providing SMS service by which viewers can ask their gurus for some advice on spiritual or personal aspect of their lives. These channels have an impressive line up of Godmen who will answer your queries. Just send an sms!

Religious chain messages in India are a rage too. Earlier, people used to send postcards with religious messages, asking recipients to forward them to other people for luck. Now SMS is fulfilling that need.

Vaishali Dar who is a great devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba tends to receive at least one SMS every fortnight from one of her many friends who asks to forward the same to other people ranging from 5 to 21, to bring her luck, and she does it religiously.

"You see, I know that Sai Baba or Lord Ganesha may not get angry or curse me if I do not forward the message, but I still do it because I see no harm and I don't mind spending a few rupees on it" she says.

While the mobile user in India is happy with what he is getting and craving for more, it is the mobile content and service providers that are praying all the way to the bank. "

click here for the original article

mars rocks

2005-08-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

" American space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration on Monday announced the naming of three rocks found on Mars after an ancient Indian seat of learning, a priceless Indian diamond and a south Indian festival. "

" Nalanda, Kohinoor and Pongal are the three names chosen for certain types of rocks on Mars, NASA officials on a tour to India said in Kolkata."

" Appearing on a private television channel, the team said the names had been approved by NASA after much research."

the day is not far when man will finally land on Mars, and stake his claim to the red planet. but have no doubts, the little green martians will defend their homeland with great tenacity, as they hide behind nalanda, and hurl kohinoor spears and pongal brickbats at us.

click here for the original article

aki's wedding toast

2005-08-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

Good evening, everyone. I'm Apurva Kumar - most of you know me as Apu. On behalf of the groom’s family, our parents Kamita and Vasantha Kumar, as well as the bride’s family, and her parents, Cheri and Ben Burnsed, we want to welcome each of you to the reception today. It is a true tribute to Aki and Rachel that you have traveled to Reno to celebrate this joyous occasion with us.

I am sure you will agree that this has turned out to be a fabulous event. Aki, I would like to extend my thanks to you for giving me the chance to fulfill one of my childhood dreams of becoming Mr. Frodo, the ring bearer. I would like to also thank you for finally admitting, after all these years, that I indeed am the best man!

When Aki first asked me to be the best man, I wasn't really sure what my responsibilities were supposed to be. So I asked around, & was told that my main duties for today were:
1. To ensure that the groom arrives on time
2. To make sure he is sober, &
3. Make sure he is looking good
Well 2 out of 3 isn’t bad, after all I’m the best man, not a plastic surgeon!

I’m standing here tonight, pretty boastful I have to admit, of my brother, Aki, and his lovely bride, Rachel. I am here to sing their praises, and share with you some of my most endearing moments with them, and the many values that I've learnt from them.

Aki, I begin with you. And no, I do not intend to share "the" incident from stag night. On second thought, maybe I should. So here goes.... Tim, the oversee-er, Chris, the generous tipper, Alex, the silent Frenchman, and yours truly, the Best Man - 4 men with unscrupulous values, took the young bachelor out for his last night on the town. Relax guys (looking at tim, chris, alex), I am not about to violate our non-disclosure agreement. Lets just suffice it to say that we tempted Aki with a wide variety of delicious entrées, and sumptuous delights. Aki was totally impressed, but absolutely uninterested, and so not in the mood, for food. In fact, Aki was busy clicking away on his phone. So I snatched the phone away from him, only to find that he was sending the sweetest text message to Rachel - it read "i love you my hindi bunni". That night, while the rest of us foolhardy bachelors were indulging in sensory overload, Aki and Rachel were busy exchanging lovey-dovey messages.

Aki, you are our lighthouse, our beacon, our lone star, you are the solitary oak in a meadow of wavering reeds, you are the Shepard leading us hapless bachelors from the valley of darkness into the glory of marital salvation. And most importantly, you have taught me that it does not matter where you get your appetite, as long as you eat at home!

Rachel, you look stunning as always. I have not seen a more beautiful bride. I've had the honor of knowing you for many years. You are a terrific person. You are beautiful, smart, funny, loving, and caring. Your qualities read like a list of “who’s who?”.

Most of us know that Aki is short for Akarsha. Translated from Sanskrit, it means "man with a magnetic personality" - magnetic as in attractive, not bipolar. Most of us have come to realize over the years that Rachel is at the core of Aki's magnetism. She stood by him through his highs and lows, his victories and his struggles, and most importantly, she has endured the cacophony of his blues harmonica, and she has promised today to do so for the rest of their lives.

Aki and Rachel, I am filled with great pride and admiration as I watch you take on the role of husband and wife. Both of you are wonderful individuals, and together you make the perfect couple!

Ladies and gentlemen, please raise your glasses and join me in a toast to the groom with a bride so fair, and the bride with a groom so rare!

To Rachel and Aki, the Bride and Groom!!
Cheers!

s h i f t

2005-05-03T17:08:00.000-07:00

A new bicycle design created at Purdue University could erase the need for parents to hold on to the back of a two-wheel bicycle as their child learns how to ride.

The bike, called SHIFT, was created by an industrial design professor and two students. Their designed topped 853 entrants from 56 countries to win the $15,000 first prize in the 9th International Bicycle Design Competition in Taiwan.

"Most children learn how to ride a bike on training wheels, but these simply keep the bike from tipping," said Scott S. Shim, an assistant professor in the College of Liberal Arts. "Our bike allows children to learn how to balance themselves as they ride instead of looking back to see if their parent is still holding the bike.

"This bicycle, which is for toddlers, was designed with my 4-year-old son, Kevin, in mind." The 16-inch-wheel bicycle looks like a tricycle, but as the child gains momentum and learns to balance, the two rear wheels shift inward to merge into one wheel. This causes the balance to gradually shift from the bicycle to the child.

"SHIFT provides more balance at lower speeds when stability is most critical, especially when starting and stopping, by providing a larger stance," Shim said.

black friday

2005-05-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

Black Friday
Language: HINDI
Director:Anurag Kashyap
Producer:Jhamu Sughand, JSPL
Cast: Kay Kay Menon, Aditya Srivastava, Pawan Malhotra
Music: Indian Ocean
Lyrics: Piyush Mishra
Cinematography: N. Nataraja Subramanian
Editing: Aarti Bajaj

Black Friday is the story of the 1993 bomb blasts that took place in Mumbai. Based on a book by S. Hussain Zaidi, this docu-drama tries to recreate those events and the intense feelings that followed them. The documentary was screened in the US at the Indian Film Festival - Los Angeles on April 22. It was adjudged the Jury Grand Prize winner for "original storytelling, innovative cinematic technique and boldness of vision in tackling a complicated social issue."

We attending the screening of the movie at the Pacific Film Archive (Berkeley) as part of the San Francisco International Film Festival this past Sunday. The movie brought back sad memories and raw emotions that most Bombayites have struggled with for the past decade. I was in the middle of my 11th grade final examination at Ruparel College when I heard and felt the bombs explode all over the city. Mom and brother were at home - it was my brother's 12th birthday. Dad was at this office in South Bombay. The family was safe and unhurt, but the ghastly incident left scars that went much deeper.

Overall, the story stayed true to the events and presented multiple and conflicting points of view without ever being judgmental. The movie is currently banned in India and can only be viewed at international screenings.

the CF years

2005-05-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

The "Carly Fiorina Years" Memorabilia Shop

Those who outlasted Carly Fiorina, Hewlett-Packard's ousted chief executive, now can trumpet that fact on a T-shirt or coffee mug. The Carly Fiorina Years Memorabilia Shop sells various items emblazoned with logos such as "I survived the Carly Fiorina Years, 1999-2005."

The site has been expanding its offerings of late. It now offers products for non-survivors who lost their jobs during restructuring initiatives and for those who survived Bob Palmer's tenure as Digital Equipment Corp. CEO. (Compaq acquired DEC in 1998 before HP acquired Compaq in 2002.)

Another logo reads, "Putting the 'i' in 'performance' since 2002," a likely reference to the lowest rating awarded through the HP performance review. Employees rated "i" are typically placed on "corrective action" and more often than not end up leaving the company.

my democratic nation

2005-04-20T14:59:00.000-07:00

"The relentless sun has set on the scorched land. A new day begins with azure skies celebrating an all-encompassing democratic nation."

Finally, I get to win my first board on warfish ! I've played 3 games so far. I fared miserably at my first game and was first to get booted off the board. I took a conservative stance with my second game, but that did not help much beyond delaying my inevitable exit from the board. I then realized that the trick to surviving is to play by numbers, stick with your game plan, and avoid rash reactions to your opponents moves.

The result - total world domination!

the shaadi bazaar

2005-03-30T14:05:00.000-08:00

Is Arranged Marriage Really Any Worse Than Craigslist?

This desultory casting around to see what was out there has become much more urgent now that I’m in my thirties, and in their quest, my parents have discovered a dizzying array of Websites: shaadi.com, indiamatrimony.com, etc. Within these sites are sub-sites for Indian regions, like punjabimatrimony.com. You might be surprised at who you’d find on them: the guy in the next cubicle, your freshman-year roommate at NYU, maybe even the cute girl you tried to pick up at a Lower East Side bar last night.

Far from being a novel approach to matrimony, these sites are a natural extension of how things have been done in India for decades. Even since well before the explosion of the country’s famously vibrant press in the fifties, Indians were coupling up via matrimonial ads in national papers (“Match sought for Bengali Brahmin, wheatish complexion,” etc.) ......

.... Like most Indians of their generation, my parents believe there are only two legitimate professions: doctor and engineer (not medicine and engineering, but doctor and engineer). Yes, they’ve heard of such newfangled professions as investment banking and law, but, oh, no, they won’t be fooled. Across India can be heard the refrain, “It is good match: They found doctor,” and my father expects nothing less for his little girl.

Click here to read the original article

the pachydermal connection

2005-03-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

Your body could soon be the backbone of a broadband personal data network linking your mobile phone or MP3 player to a cordless headset, your digital camera to a PC or printer, and all the gadgets you carry around to each other.

These personal area networks are already possible using radio-based technologies, such as Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, or just plain old cables to connect devices. But NTT, the Japanese communications company, has developed a technology called RedTacton, which it claims can send data over the surface of the skin at speeds of up to 2Mbps - equivalent to a fast broadband data connection.

Using RedTacton-enabled devices, music from an MP3 player in your pocket would pass through your clothing and shoot over your body to headphones in your ears. Instead of fiddling around with a cable to connect your digital camera to your computer, you could transfer pictures just by touching the PC while the camera is around your neck. And since data can pass from one body to another, you could also exchange electronic business cards by shaking hands, trade music files by dancing cheek to cheek, or swap phone numbers just by kissing.

Need more bandwidth? Grow more skin!

Click here for the complete article

my elevated revelation

2005-03-29T20:45:00.000-08:00

i am a nascar
on rookie skis
i can turn left
then i freeze,
right-turn begs
a superhuman effort
invariably bringing me
down to my knees.

i am a downhill
champ on flats
slope it gently
and i go splat,
add to it a
turn or two
and watch me zoom
like a blind dingbat.

a freefall artiste
down the chutes
taming steep trails
shaking in my boots,
and as the blues
turn to double-black
my jewels shrink into
their teeny-weeny sack.

it then hit me, i'm brown
in an endless field of white
i'd better play it safe
hang on to dear life,
this desi in denial
needs to focus on survival
and try his very best to
not be dead on arrival.

nauseating protein

2005-03-14T12:15:00.000-08:00

My roommate new post-workout high protein diet puts all previously known stomach-churning odd-food-combinations to shame. I wouldn't fault you for adjusting your iris and dilating your pupils, you truly are staring at a bowl with cereal and boiled shrimp in it. Be thankful that i did not post pictures of him adding milk to this grotesquely inedible concoction.

the helipad open

2005-02-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

The Federer vs Safin semifinal match from the Australian Open has gone down in history as one of the greatest ever. The epic battle extended over 4 hours and 28 minutes with Safin prevailing with a backhand winner to convert his 8th match point in the fifth and final set. While Roger's aura of invincibility did suffer a minor blow, he has bounced right back to take the Rotterdam Open and the Dubai Open.

Below are pictures from Roger's practice session at the Dubai open, with none other than the great Andre Agassi. Roger and Andre couldn’t resist the temptation to have a friendly knock about on the world’s highest tennis court, the helipad of the Burj Al Arab, at a staggering elevation of 1053 feet.

click here for more pictures

pakistan's new cricket outfit

2005-02-22T15:05:00.000-08:00

Inzamam-ul-Haq, captain of the Pakistan national cricket team, posed as a Moghul warrior for a publicity stunt ahead of the much awaited Indo-Pak series. It comes as no surprise that Inzamam was the focus of this week's BBC Caption Contest.....

Caption 1: What? I'm out?? The ball hit me here Mr Bucknor, right here on this sticky note

Caption 2: Off with Shoaib's head for recommending Lamb Vindaloo

Caption 3: I'm all set for our "Day-Knight" games!

Caption 4: What ? No prep-H ?! Go raid Gangulee's locker...

Caption 5: Inzaman's jaw drops as he sees Pathan roll in with a magnet ball

fat reduction myths

2005-02-16T20:27:00.000-08:00

We'd all like to lose our love handles overnight. Most of us have endured hundreds of crunches in our vain attempts to reduce those calcitrant deposits around the waist. But contrary to what the infomercials suggest, there is no such thing as spot reduction. Fat is lost throughout the body in a pattern dependent upon genetics, sex (hormones), and age. Overall body fat must be reduced to lose fat in any particular area. Although fat is lost or gained throughout the body, it seems the last area to become lean or the first area to get fat is the midsection (in men and some women) and hips and thighs (in women and few men). Sit-ups, crunches, leg-hip raises, leg raises, hip adduction, hip abduction, etc. will only exercise the muscles under the fat. At the end of the day, it is the elegantly simple equation of calories-in versus calories-out that does the trick.

Performing lighter weight with more repetitions (15-50 reps) does not burn more fat or tone (simultaneous decrease of fat and increase muscle) better than a heaver weight with moderate repetitions (8-12 reps). Weight training utilizes carbohydrates after the initial ATP and CP stores have been exhausted after the first few seconds of intense muscular contraction. Typically a set's duration is 20 to 30 seconds. For the average fit person, it requires 20 to 30 minutes of continuous aerobic activity with large muscle groups to burn even 50% fat. Performing a few extra repetitions on a weight training exercise is not significant enough to burn extra fat and may in effect burn less fat. If intensity is compromised, less fat may be burned when light weight is used with high repetitions.

the quest for fitness

2005-02-16T19:26:00.000-08:00

my love of tennis, and my desire to stay athletic have driven me to get serious about exercising. for the past 2 months, i've been averaging 3 workouts and 1 intense session of tennis, totalling 7 hours of physical activity each week. my standard workout routine consists of the following:

20 min run, starting at 6.2 mph and ending with 7.0 mph (300 calories)
15 min eliptical step (125 calories)
15 min abs
10 min lower back
10 min stretching
45 min circuit weight training (300 calories)
OR
60 min tennis singles (500 calories)

my diet for the past 2 months has comprised of the following:

9AM kashi cereal (300 calories)
noon tuna sandwich (400 calories)
3PM salad/soup (350 calories)
6PM protein bar (300 calories)
8PM protein shake (650 calories)
10PM light dinner (600 calories)

sheik recently introduced me to exrx - an excellent repository of health and fitness information combined with some useful calculators. so i ran the numbers, and here's what we have so far:

basics:
male, 29, 172 lbs, 72 inches

body mass index:
23.4 (population average is 25.9)

waist to hip ratio:
0.8 (population average is 0.88)

estimated calorie requirements:
normal days = 9 resting hours, 12 very light hours, 2 light hours, 1 moderate hour, 0 heavy hours = 2858 calories
workout days = 8 resting hours, 12 very light hours, 2 light hours, 1 moderate hour, 1 heavy hour = 3322 calories

estimated calorie intake:
2600 calories

my "calories-in" versus "calories-out" equation seems alright. now i need to compute my target heart rate which means i need to purchase the long overdue polar hrm. i also need to take the 12-min run test. my hunch is that i will end up with an "average" rating, or "good" if i push my limits.

this is work in progress. stay tuned for more data and results as i continue to study and improve my overall fitness level.

master's degree holders to get green cards

2005-02-15T11:42:00.000-08:00

Humbling losses by the U.S. men's basketball team at the Olympics last year could hint at what lies ahead for the nation when it comes to economic and technological leadership, according to a new report from a tech industry trade group. The study, to be released Tuesday by the American Electronics Association, argues that the next wave of breakthrough technologies could be created abroad if the United States does not act now to maintain its competitive edge.

"U.S. policy-makers and industry leaders need to recognize that as we neglect our technology infrastructure--skilled labor, (research and development), and a business-friendly environment--many countries are adopting economic reforms and are directly competing with the United States for foreign talent, innovation, and technology products and services," the report states. "Unless this realization hits home, American losses will not be confined to the basketball court."

The study comes on top of other calls for the United States to take steps to improve its technological competitiveness vis-a-vis other parts of the world. Technology prowess is seen as critical to a nation's overall economic health, given the way advances can create new industries, high-paying jobs and a higher standard of living.

To be sure, the U.S. system of technological innovation isn't in tatters. Many United States-based computer and Internet companies are doing well, venture capital investment in tech mecca Silicon Valley is rising again, and the country boasts top research universities. But other nations have been building up their technology industries. India and China, for example, have attracted research operations from technology companies such as Microsoft, IBM and Intel. And critics have called attention to potential problems in the United States, including relatively safe research projects and a declining presence of women in the computer field.

The new report from AEA calls for more funding for the National Science Foundation, specifically for research in the physical sciences, engineering, math and computer science. U.S. federal funding of research and development (R&D) has declined over the past two decades, the report states: "It peaked in 1987 at $75 billion and still was below this peak by 2002 at $71 billion, adjusted for inflation to 1996 dollars."

The report also recommends immigration changes. Individuals born in other countries represent one of every five scientists and engineers in the United States, accounting for more than a million workers, according to the study. Among other things, AEA calls for all foreign master's and Ph.D. students in the United States to receive "green cards," or permanent residency status.

AEA also argues for improving the U.S. education system, making the R&D tax credit permanent, and creating a tax credit for training workers. "Companies often lack incentives to invest in educating and retraining workers, as they risk losing that return on investment if the worker subsequently leaves the firm," the report says. "By providing human capital investment tax credits, the U.S. government can encourage companies to retrain workers by reducing or eliminating out-of-pocket costs."

Besides drawing an analogy between the U.S. economy and the U.S. men's Olympic basketball team, AEA suggests that the country is like the "proverbial frog in the pot of water" when it comes to technological leadership, oblivious to a slowly building catastrophe. "In our report, we analyze a number of competitiveness factors that, when taken in isolation, as they so often are, would not necessarily constitute a crisis," AEA President William Archey said in a statement. "But the interrelationship--the cumulative effect of these trends--makes the more compelling argument that the status quo is unsustainable."

click here to read the original article

buoyant determination

2005-02-12T01:56:00.000-08:00

Bob Martin's photograph of the 200m freestyle at the Paralympic heats won him the World Press Photo Award for 2004

ain't no cosmic lottery

2005-02-08T17:52:00.000-08:00

My country-woman gets some well deserved converage on the BBC. Her success ain't no cosmic lottery.

The girl who is breaking barriers

Sania Mirza, the first Indian woman to get to the third round of a tennis grand slam, has a long way to go but her confidence may get her there, says leading Indian sportswriter Rohit Brijnath.

Sania Mirza's serve won't win any awards for design and her toss is so high you can have a cigarette waiting for it to come down. She is a few biryanis (flavoured rice) heavier that an elite athlete can afford to be and her acceleration on court is more Ford than Ferrari.

But no big deal; this you can teach an 18-year-old. What you can't is chutzpah, and toughness, and Sania Mirza has both. Though when I first saw her, it was hard to believe. For a while at the Australian Open, and only that, Sania Mirza froze. You could see it in her awkwardness when matches began, as if the enormity of the moment had short-circuited her brain, as if nerves had locked her elbow and anxiety shackled her feet. So everyone feels suffocated under pressure, everyone chokes. Even Australian Open champion Marat Safin, he said so himself.

Bolder generation

Mirza, who was turned away by her first coach when six, was now playing in the main draw of a grand slam singles for the first time; a teenager out of Hyderabad was rubbing shoulders with a muscular, glittering Serena Williams. Hell, a choke made sense. Indian athletes anyway, at least in the past, were known to go a little weak-kneed when confronted by an alien environment. Raised amid inadequate facilities, poorly travelled, physically out-matched, assisted by inferior coaches, awe followed them on a leash. But this is a bolder generation, more likely to shrug off the cloak of intimidation, and it is somewhat apparent in Virender Sehwag's audacity, in Irfan Pathan's cool debut in Australia, in Anju George's resolve in the long jump arena. These athletes, and they are a growing tribe, believe they belong. It's not something learnt from a coach or found in a textbook, but a self-belief that swirls in an individual athletes' mind. And it is what Mirza has. Quite simply, Mirza thawed at the Australian Open after the odd hesitant set, she folded her nerves as she does her spectacles, put them aside and embraced the moment. She let her forehand sing, and her small fist pump, and her mouth grimace; there was a sense she enjoyed this metallic taste of battle and could do with some more.

Click here to read the complete article

serving up the news

2005-01-29T13:50:00.000-08:00

This young woman has it all. Rocking the world of tennis wasn't impressive enough, she's now a front page columnist for the Sunday Times. I'm speechless !

The Times of India, Saturday, January 29, 2005
Sania Mirza

I've been invited to guest edit this week's Sunday Times front page. My mass communication professors in Hyderabad must be fainting at the thought, but let's just call it one more wild card entry. Instead of tackling Serena Williams I was faced with long lists of news stories and asked to choose what I thought should go on today's front page.

As a reader, the front page is not my Priority No. 1. I always read a paper back to front — it's the sports pages first, then the front page headlines and of course the supplements are a must to catch up on the latest gossip, including about me (mostly wrong). What kind of news catches my attention? Certainly not politics, although I would like to know the real reason for Sonia Gandhi turning down the prime ministership. Politics is a very dirty game and most of us don't even believe what politicians say.

For me, sports coverage is a no-brainer and Serena's big win is the obvious big story of the day. Her winning makes my losing to her in the third round so much easier to swallow. I also like to read stories about calamities and crime.

Iraq is something I follow closely, especially stories about the torture of Iraqi soldiers exposing America's hypocrisy. Today's front page reflects these interests — Serena's comeback, elections in Iraq and the rape charge against a Pakistani cricketer. I was asked today if I thought cricket was given too much coverage, at the cost of other games. Would I take revenge on cricket by knocking it off today's pages? No, I wouldn't, because I am a big cricket fan and if I had been a boy, I would probably have played cricket. But I'm a girl and tennis suits me fine. Also, Test cricket has produced winners, so the build-up it gets is natural.

The front page of a newspaper should be colourful and have pictures but not at the cost of news. Reports should go beyond the obvious. When I read a story on tennis, say Serena's victory, what I really want to know is how she got her motivation back and shut up the critics instead of the usual questions on how she felt after winning, which is what everybody asks. Nor do I want to read silly details about why she wore a lemon-coloured outfit and boots instead of shoes.

Yes, newspapers should entertain — nothing wrong with that — but frankly who cares about endless stories on two people kissing? It may be big news for some but not for me. The formula for a winning newspaper is the same as that for winning on court—you must focus and have fun.

Jenna J, the iPod killer ?

2005-01-25T15:42:00.000-08:00

Have you looked at iRiver lately? If not, it's time you check out their latest MP3 and portable media players. The iRiver is a superior product compared to the iPod, and always has been. Their h10 MP3 player boasts an amazing 12-hour batter life with a removable, rechargeable battery, vivid color display, picture viewer, multi-format support including MP3, WMA, ASF, built-in voice recorder and FM radio. For all you die-hard iPod fans out there, if the iRiver does not grab your attention, I'm sure the face on the poster ad will. Seoul, Korea-based ReignCom, the maker of the device, recently hired adult film star Jenna Jameson to appear in print advertisements for the pocket-size music and video players. The ads feature the buxom starlet gazing longingly at a man's PMP device, with the tagline, "Your refined movie collection just paid off."

Not everyone will fess up to recognizing the latest face of the iRiver. While the move may raise some eyebrows, Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo says iRiver's just going with the market. "One cannot ignore people using the PMP to watch adult material," said an unnamed iRiver executive. The Apple iPod has a commanding presence in the MP3 market, with Creative a distant second, and iRiver not even on the board. For most American consumers, their iPod is the apple of their eye, no pun intended. The million $ question is - can a scantily dressed mega pornstar topple the mightly iPod ?

This latest marketing gimmick might be just what the company needed to show on the consumer radar. But before bringing the device with you on your morning commute, iRiver owners would do well to remember the trouble that arose from similar situations last year. Since DVD players have become more commonplace in SUVs and minivans, several drivers have been arrested for being, err, distracted by adult videos.

click here for the original article and a related article

the original hPod

2005-01-25T15:21:00.000-08:00

The first ever flash-based MP3 player
Saehan/Eiger Labs F10/F20

The first ever hard-drive-based MP3 player
Compaq-Hango/Remote Solutions Portable Jukebox PJB-100

The world's first hard drive mp3 player was invented in 1998 by the Compaq Systems Research Center - essentially a bunch of engineers from Compaq's notebook PC division who realized that hard drives could replace flash memory in MP3 players and enable them to hold far more music. The Compaq device boasted a then-unheard-of 6GB capacity, crystal-clear sound, and ample display as compared to the prevailing 32MB flash-based devices.

Here comes the irony: Compaq licensed the player to a Korean company (Hango) that didn't do much with it. In 2001, the first iPod was released. In 2002, HP acquired Compaq. In 2004, HP made a deal with Apple to distribute HP-branded iPods. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to assert that the entity now known as HP beat Apple in the race to make a high-capacity portable music player by three years - an eternity in the world of MP3 players.

click here to read the original article

and the winner is ...

2005-01-25T01:24:00.000-08:00

Sania Mirza, without a doubt!

The 18-year old from hyderabad did not progress to the fourth round at the Australian Open, but she sure did win the hearts and minds of a billion people. This tennis prodigy has the grace of a ballerina, the tenacity of a boxer, the agility of a sprinter, and the courage of a soldier. It took her a while to settle down and calm her nerves against Serena Williams, but once she did, she gave a stunning display of power tennis. It is true that Sania has modeled her game after Steffi Graf. Sania's whiplash forehand is reminiscent of the Graf sledgehammer, and Sania's serve has the signature Steffi high-toss. She has a steady backhand and a decent slice. But sania's game is not perfect by any measure. Serena aced her on 6 occasions. Sania needs to work on the return of serve. She needs to anticipate better and stay on her toes, especially against amazons like Serena who can dish out 130mph thunderbolts at will. Sania needs to master the 1-2 punch.; her potent forehand begs to be followed up with a net approach and a killer volley. Sania also needs to learn to be patient, work her opponent around the court, and build each point to its climax. She went for the premature kill on crucial points against Serena, and invariable ended up sailing over the baseline or crashing into the net. The basics are in place, all she needs to do now is start playing smart tennis and curb the low percentage flamboyance.

Sania's crowning moment at the Australian Open came when Agassi's former coach, Brad Gilbert complimented Sania's game and recognized her potential by acknowledging that she is sure to break into the top 50 sometime this year if she continues to play with the same level of intensity. Sania, we salute you! You made us all very proud. you've single-handedly reshaped the future of Indian tennis. You may not know it yet, but you've evolved us beyond our male-dominated cricketing roots. The world of individual sports in India is about to undergo a sea change. Things will never be the same again.

origins of the swastika

2005-01-20T01:45:00.000-08:00

The EU has been urged to ban the swastika because of its Nazi associations with hate and racism. But the symbol was around long before Adolf Hitler.
the hindu swastika

The swastika is a cross with its arms bent at right angles to either the right or left. In geometric terms, it is known as an irregular icosagon or 20-sided polygon. The word is derived from the Sanskrit "svastika" and means "good to be". In Indo-European culture it was a mark made on people or objects to give them good luck. It has been around for thousands of years, particularly as a Hindu symbol in the holy texts, to mean luck, Brahma or samsara (rebirth). It can be clockwise or anti-clockwise and the way it points in all four directions suggests stability. Sometimes it features a dot between each arm.

It is commonly seen in current and ancient Hindu architecture and Indian artwork, including the ruins of the ancient city of Troy. It has also been used in Buddhism and Jainism, plus other Asian, European and Native American cultures. The British author Rudyard Kipling, who was strongly influenced by Indian culture, had a swastika on the dust jackets of all his books until the rise of Nazism made this inappropriate. It was also a symbol used by the scouts in Britain, although it was taken off Robert Baden-Powell's 1922 Medal of Merit after complaints in the 1930s. It is rarely seen on its own in Western architecture, but a design of interlocking swastikas is part of the design of the floor of the cathedral of Amiens, France.

Swastika is also a small mining town in northern Ontario, Canada, about 580 kilometres north of Toronto. Attempts by the government of Ontario to change the town's name during World War II were rejected by residents.
the nazi swastika

Its Nazi use was linked to the belief in the Aryan cultural descent of the German people. There are many theories about the origins of the Aryan race; one of the theories links the Aryan people to the Indian subcontinent. The Nazi party formally adopted the swastika - what they called the Hakenkreuz, the hooked cross - in 1920. This was used on the party's flag (above), badge, and armband. In Mein Kampf, Adolf Hitler wrote: "I myself, meanwhile, after innumerable attempts, had laid down a final form; a flag with a red background, a white disk, and a black swastika in the middle. After long trials I also found a definite proportion between the size of the flag and the size of the white disk, as well as the shape and thickness of the swastika." Thus began the ignominious journey of a symbol of goodwill, a symbol that had lasted for over a thousand years, a symbol of health, happiness and prosperity that was soon to be desecrated by the most inhuman people to ever walk the planet.

click here for the original bbc article

jury pool from hell

2005-01-18T17:06:00.000-08:00

A group of prospective jurors was summoned to listen to a case of Tennessee trailer park violence. Right after jury selection began last week, one man got up and left, announcing, "I'm on morphine and I'm higher than a kite." When the prosecutor asked if anyone had been convicted of a crime, a prospective juror said that he had been arrested and taken to a mental hospital after he almost shot his nephew. He said he was provoked because his nephew just would not come out from under the bed. Another would-be juror said he had had alcohol problems and was arrested for soliciting sex from an undercover officer. "I should have known something was up," he said. "She had all her teeth."

Another prospect, looking directly at the defense attorney Leslie Ballin, volunteered that he probably should not be on the jury: "In my neighborhood, everyone knows that if you get Mr. Ballin (as your lawyer), you're probably guilty." He was not chosen. The case involved a woman accused of hitting her brother's girlfriend in the face with a brick. Ballin's client was found not guilty.

click here for the original article

the federer express

2005-01-17T11:58:00.000-08:00

"I was nervous going into today's match but I won the first 12 points, so it was a perfect start. I'm sorry for Fabrice." Roger Federer does the decent thing and starts to take pity on his opponents. Federer started his quest for the Australian Open with an ominous 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 win over Fabrice Santoro. Last week, Federer defeated Gaston Gaudio, Tim Henman and Andy Roddick at the Kooyong Classic, a warm-up tournament to the Australian Open. Federer claimed his 23rd career title at the Qatar Open earlier this year. He is on a 21-win streak and is unbeaten in his last 14 finals including 4 Grand Slams. He's 23. He does not have a full-time coach. He recently inaugurated his new brand of mens cosmetics. I can only hope that he does not get distracted and stays his course cuz the world of tennis over the next decade is his for the taking. For now, to the delight of all his fans, the Federer Express rolls on....

"He's the best. He's much better than anyone on the tour."
Fabrice Santoro pays homage after taking just four games off Federer at the Australian Open.

"I don't think I've ever seen a guy play that well in my life."
World #2 Lleyton Hewitt on Roger Federer

"I threw the kitchen sink at him but he went to the bathroom and threw back the tub!"
World #3 Andy Roddick on Roger Federer

"There is no shame in losing to Roger."
World #4 Marat Safin on Roger Federer

india vs oklahoma

2005-01-14T17:09:00.000-08:00

I admire the initiative taken by companies like Ciber and DecisionDesign to homeshore the work that has been offshored to Asia over the past two years. However, it is going to take more than a grassroots movement to make this happen. A top-down effort is required starting with legislative changes to make America more competitive by increasing subsidization and lowering taxation for companies that homeshore, and the slimming of the middle-management layer across corporate America to allow for the nurturing of productive talent at an affordable cost.

In another example of U.S. tech companies seeking to offer low-cost alternatives to offshoring, systems integrator Ciber has opened a facility in Oklahoma City. Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Ciber said the Oklahoma City site is the first of several low-cost, "made in America" application development centers it plans to open in 2005 and 2006. The company said it aims to create roughly 200 new jobs in Oklahoma City and upwards of 1,000 new jobs around the country, as additional "Cibersites" open. The Oklahoma City Cibersite opened Thursday. "The creation of low-cost, domestic development centers provides Ciber's clients with new opportunities to leverage today's complex global sourcing options," Ciber's Chief Executive said in a statement. "There are many American labor markets outside the traditional technology centers that have skilled but underutilized IT (information technology) workers who can get IT projects done faster and cheaper."

original article and another related story

yahoo! it's a boy

2005-01-13T11:11:00.000-08:00

A Romanian couple named their son Yahoo as a sign of gratitude for meeting over the Internet. The Daily Libertatea, a Bucharest newspaper said Thursday that Cornelia and Nonu Dragoman, both from Transylvania, met and decided that they were meant for each other following a three-month relationship via Yahoo personals. They married and had a baby this Christmas, whom they decided to name after Yahoo, one of the Web's most popular portals. "We named him Lucian Yahoo after my father and the Net, the main beacon of my life," Cornelia Dragoman was quoted as saying. original story

What should we expect next? Lita Match? Dez Harmony? Terri Shaadi? Mary Shaadi?

twilight

2005-01-06T10:50:00.000-08:00

she's a pocket-full of kryptonite
she's a superwoman starlight
she can spin the world
on her fingertips
and gently ease it back right

she's a fistful of nitrite
she's myopic with her foresight
why can't she just be forthright
and not feel contrite, when she
can't make everything alright

she's an imploding dynamite
she's forgotten how to ignite
self-destructing without respite
with foes embraced and
friends rejected in total spite

i've tried to hold her upright
been her self-immolating torchlight
from the cradle to the streetfight
she's out to bloody the moonlight
and i just can't help her tonight

to blog or not to blog

2005-01-03T21:54:00.000-08:00

Increasingly, people are landing in hot water with employers over blogs about their work. A new term has emerged as a result. According to UrbanDictionary.com, to be "dooced" means "losing your job for something you wrote in your online blog, journal, website, etc."

Below are the common legal pitfalls to look out for:

Data Protection: Company information used or employees mentioned in identifiable terms
Trademarks: Incidental use only permitted

Terms in employment: Conditions may preclude blogs (although not usually expressly)

Terms in employment: Conditions may preclude speaking about company matters which a blog will capture

Libel and defamation: Derogatory or unfavourable disclosures may expose liability

Confidentiality: Leakage of sensitive information

Copyright: If content is done at work, all that the blogger produces or contributes to belongs to the company

Read article

ode to the caterpillar

2004-12-22T02:02:00.000-08:00

Oh, beautiful butterfly!
Would you help me release you
From your caterpillar heart
Into an angel of the flowers
Fluttering carefree
With mysterious powers
O'er lush fields and bowers
Into my skies so very blue...

gin-soaked boy

2004-12-22T01:49:00.000-08:00

i'm the nippy in the warm
i'm the calm before the storm
i'm the maverick in the norm
i'm the anarchist in the swarm
i'm the info in misinform
i'm the geometry in free form
i'm the rigid in transform
i'm the outlier in conform

inspired by the gin-soaked boy

run asimo, run

2004-12-16T13:32:00.000-08:00

Honda Motor's humanoid robot has been around: He's rung the famed bell at the New York Stock Exchange, met Spain's king and even traveled with Japan's prime minister to Prague as a goodwill ambassador. Now, the Japanese automaker wants to prepare the 4-year-old Asimo for some real work. Office work.

Asimo, they're gonna make you work your plastic butt off.

Run Asimo, Run!

watch video , read article

corporate communism

2004-12-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

Communism is a form of Socialism that abolishes private ownership and favors collectivism in a classless society. The scheme equalizes the social conditions of life and specifically abolishes the inequalities in the possession of property, by distributing all wealth equally to all, or by holding all wealth in common for the equal use and advantage of all.

Modern Communism, in the conventional sense, refers to a political movement based on the theories of Karl Marx and Frederich Engels in the 19th century. Marx envisioned the inevitable fall of industrial capitalism through the force of a powerful proletariat.

The basic tenets of communism are:
* Complete and lasting negation of the exploitation of the human being by the human being
* Collective ownership of property to the advantage of all society
* Equitable distribution of wealth irrespective of roles and responsibilities

For almost forty-five years, the communist system dominated Eastern European politics, but every known experiment in communism has failed. It is an accepted fact that communism could not be successfully implemented because of a basic conflict with the human need for individual gain and glory. The longest experiment lasted 80 years in Soviet Russia before the walls crumbled. Researchers have spent years studying and analyzing the demise of this utopian system. Here are some of the universally acknowledged reasons attributed to the demise of communism:

1. Communism abolished free markets so that officials had no market prices to guide them in planning production.

2. Communism failed in respecting its citizens as individuals, and by not satisfying their very basic and diverse individual needs on a political or economic level. By not ensuring the happiness of the common man, all other communist achievements were already being constructed on a rotten base.

3. Communism died from within as the hearts of its people gave out, love struck by the apparent superiority of Capitalist living. People living in Eastern block countries could see from time to time how much farther the standard of living had advanced in the Western Democracies as opposed to their own nations. They could see the superiority of Western products, the bounty of Western goods, the apparent ease and happiness of Western lifestyle. Over time the Communist system simply could not match this sort of advancement, and attempted to cover up this fact through propaganda, repression, and terror tactics against its citizens.

4. The dissolution of the USSR shortly after the abortive coup of August, 1991, was a kind of consensual state suicide in which the various republics agreed to sever the ties which had bound them for so long. This moment might not have come with such swiftness and finality if not for the Chernobyl disaster's political repercussions in Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Russia, and other republics. All complex, high-energy systems fail eventually; the failures are embedded in social structures, which also fail in the wake of disaster. It was the arrogance of the operators of Chernobyl on the night of the explosion that led to the failure of four levels of safety systems. It was the centralization of the political power to make decisions about dangerous technologies that Soviet citizens attacked after Chernobyl.

5. Last but not the least, if there is one reason that greatly accelerated the fall of this system of government, the answer would be simply because Communism became something Marx would never want it to become. Communism became a religion. It had its own Dogma, its own Creed, its own pantheon of Gods, Saints and its own devils and heretics. Is it any accident that after his death Lenin was encased in a glass tomb? People lined up to see him as they would a holy sight. A visit to the Kremlin was like a visit to Lourdes. Communists read Marx like the Bible. They refuted arguments with chapter and verse. Marx was a scientist. He loved science and hated dogma. He would have hated Soviet Communism.

Corporate America is a classic example of a system that conveniently and selectively adopts Communism to meet it's Capitalistic objectives. At the highest levels are the executives who make out like bandits in an gold mine. The mid levels and the lower levels are saturated with the drudgery of white collars laboring through a system that is designed to sap the very life of its workers, and yet leave them right where they began.

The basic tenets of corporate (America) are:
* Individual glory is taboo, it is all about the corporation
* Tow the company line, do not question, never ever complain
* Maintain absolute secrecy about compensation and promotions
* Work more, expect less
* Integrity, honesty and loyalty stabilize the foundations at the lowest level, while widespread abuse at the upper levels maintains the overall equilibrium

And the outcome is:
* Executives have turned into bling-flashing demigods
* People get promoted to the highest levels of their inefficiency
* Creativity and initiative are seldom rewarded
* Insubordination is absolutely punished
* Layoffs are rampant and seldom justifiable

This system will crumble. It is just a matter of time.....

the second coming ?

2004-12-09T11:42:00.000-08:00

Sixteen years after Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli were involved in a world-record unbroken partnership of 664 runs, a Mumbai (formerly Bombay) school team has revived fond memories.

On Wednesday, Anjuman-I-Islam Fort English School ran up a massive total of 989-6 declared in the Harris Shield Under-17 competition. With the addition of 132 penalty runs as their opponents, Baptist School (Thane), bowled 11 overs short, the total reached an astronomical 1,121. Top scorer, with 318, was Shishir Tiwari, who was born on 8 November 1989, exactly a week before Tendulkar's Test bow. He added 531 for the fifth wicket with Sufian Shaikh, who hit 202 not out. In all, Tiwari hit 40 fours and four sixes. The partnership came in just 270 minutes. The other substantial score came from opener Salim Ansari with 287. Tendulkar scored 329 and Kambli 349 (both not out) in the same tournament back in February 1988

complete article

the softest pillow

2004-12-08T16:07:00.000-08:00

Asked what he thinks is the key to sound sleep, Nandan Nilekani, president and CEO of Indian IT services behemoth Infosys Technologies, has a ready answer. "The softest pillow is a clear conscience," he says..... complete article

one day at a time

2004-12-05T22:15:00.000-08:00

i dreamt a dream with youthful zest
fresh grad from the mecca of the west
i drew my plans, set high goals
hit the gas and savored the steamroll
i aced 'em all, missed but a few
yet enjoyed the pursuit all through
i am 29 now, doing just fine
and intend to take it one day at a time

the circle of bangla-life

2004-11-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

Bangladesh can now boast the largest super-mall in South Asia complete with a 200 ft glass dome. Combined with it's reputation for attracting the largest cyclones and hurricanes in South Asia, we can soon expect to witness the largest structural collapse in South Asia, the largest insurance fiasco in South Asia, the largest bankruptcy filing in South Asia, the largest protest march in South Asia, unearth the largest kickback and corruption scandal in South Asia, followed by the largest political change in South Asia, funded by the largest businesses in South Asia, and resulting yet again in the construction of the largest super-mall in South Asia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3759396.stm

eternal sunshine

2004-10-23T01:04:00.000-07:00

a tale of two doves from worlds apart
beautiful minds united in a paradisiacal start
a bold experiment in colorful taste
in an alien land; alas, the hyena lay in wait

she traced, she tracked, she lured her bait
cast an ancient curse to rewrite my fate
she stalked and swooped on my blissful state
then connived to prey upon my innocent mate

lorn of heart and lost of hope, i let her go
was i brutally harsh and unkind, i do not know
with a limp wing, she stumbled from a broken bough
queasy flight into the parlous dusk, i lost my love

new feathers ruffled, rich friends of a kind
my pleas unheard, her heart turned blind
eternal sunshine of my spotless mind
each prayer rejected, each wish resigned

i live with memories that will not erase
writhe with raw emotions, i cannot partake
an ethereal connection i refuse to forsake
the utopian dream that no one can relate

time revolves around my intransient world
eager lassies imploring me to fall back in love
i'm stuck in a moment, try hard as i may
my inexorable saga repeats, i've lost my way

[acknowledgements : pope and bono ]

hp are tennis champs

2004-10-22T20:07:00.000-07:00

HP are the BAITL champions for 2004. BAITL stands for the Bay Area Industrial Tennis League. The league includes Intel, IBM, Sun, Applied Materials, Adobe, Veritas, Applied Signal, Apple and Agilent. League matches were played from March through August, and the playoffs were held in September. HP (ranked 4) was the last team to earn a playoff berth. We beat Agilent (ranked 1) at the playoffs to make it to the finals, and then eclipsed Sun (ranked 2) to win the championship.

Go HP !

project management 101

2004-09-23T19:45:00.000-07:00

foresight ensures that you don't end up in a 20-20 hindsight situation, but when you do, use your foresight to put your hindsight on a roadmap and pretend like that was always the plan!

tha XP shizzolator

2004-08-23T15:47:00.000-07:00

Windows XP Spanish users, registering their copies of XP were asked to click on which sex they were. Normally a fairly standard and pretty innocuous question, the choices left a little to be desired. Spanish users were asked to select from "male", "bitch" and "not specified" - that'll teach the Redmond based foot-in-mouth specialists to let Snoop Dogg handle their translations.

Click here for more blunders from the multiculture saavy behemoth...

elbow throes, cricket woes

2004-08-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

cricket maestro's
tennis elbow
won't let him wield
his english willow
won't let him tame
the paki fellows
or thrash the aussies
in green-n-yellow

why putz around
with a tennis racquet
and end up with
an elbow bracket?
why waste a great
opportunity
to win the ICC
champions trophy?

take the time
to study tennis
show some respect
you're but a novice
its top spin that
clears the net
not a straight drive
lest your forget
don't glance it fine
or cut it square
that sweep and hook
won't get nowhere

to all you
tennis travesties
aspiring federer
wannabes
it's alright
don't despair
don't envy my
tennis flair
my killer serve
i'll help you mimic
come, join the
tuufaan tennic clinic

dammit! aki beat me to this post

flying burkha

2004-08-20T15:16:00.001-07:00

olym-pict of the day

bahrain's Rakia al-Gassra competes in heat 2 of the women's 100m. she placed fifth in the heat.

major silver

2004-08-17T14:28:00.000-07:00

a billion people with one silver medal
a great civilization in an olympic muddle
eons of sporting history
perplexing gold-draught mystery
yet...
to athens we sent
an unprepared contingent
but rathore gave his best
trapped a silver to his chest
will it be enough
to reinvigorate the rest?
well...
lets wait for paes and bhupati next...

click here for the BBC report

gayngulee

2004-08-16T17:23:00.000-07:00

estrogen overdose?

saurav ganguly, the pretty prince of calcutta is all set to blind the opposition with his undeniably feminine charms augmented by his dainty footwork, kinky strokeplay, seductive catwalk between wickets, steamy captaincy and queer overall field presence. have no doubt my fellow indians, we will undoubtedly crown the ICC champions trophy in england this summer.

thank you Aki, for helping us unravel the great indian cricketing strategy...

1904: the american fiasco

2004-08-16T14:26:00.000-07:00

1904 Olympics, St. Louis, Missouri

The 1904 St. Louis Games were arguably the most disastrous Olympics ever. The entire event lasted for only five days from Monday, August 29 to Saturday, September 3, 1904 with no events scheduled for Friday.

The St. Louis Games could hardly be called international games. Since traveling overseas from Europe was extremely expensive at the time, the competition consisted mostly of Americans and Canadians (of the 681 athletes, 525 were from the United States.). It should be pointed out, however, that the Olympics were not intended to be a competition among nations at the time - it was a competition among amateur athletes from around the world. It was the job of the amateur athlete to find his way to the games at his own expense. No one cared if you couldn't get there.

Needless to say, the 1904 Olympics were of relatively minor importance. They were originally scheduled to take place in Chicago, but President Roosevelt urged for the games to be held in St. Louis because the Louisiana Purchase (World) Exposition was being held there at the same time to showcase the world's newest technologies (electricity, automobiles, airplanes, etc.).

A separate category called 'Anthropology Days' was introduced. Minority communities and tribals had to compete in this separate category and were pitted against one another. These games came under the high-sounding name of "Anthropology Days" which were held on August 12 and 13, 1904. These games were designed to face "costumed members of the uncivilized tribes" against one another. Never-to-be classic Olympic games were included - mud fighting, rock throwing, pole climbing and spear throwing

In swimming, Hungary's Zoltan Halmay won the 100m and 50m freestyle. Originally, Halmay beat American J. Scott Leary by just one foot in the 50m event. However, the American judge ruled that Leary had won. This ruling resulted in a brawl between the two, so the judges ordered a rematch. Halmay won on the second attempt.

An American gymnast named George Eyser won two gold, two silver, and one bronze medal at the games. Quite a remarkable feat when you consider the fact that he only had one real leg - the other leg was solid wood.

Now for the competition that they would really like to strike from the record books - the Marathon. The race was run on a very humid, 90+ degree day. The 40 kilometer course started with five laps around the stadium track. The runners then left the stadium and embarked on a dusty, unpaved course that took them up-and-down over seven different hills. The path was marked by red flags that designated the way. A vanguard of horsemen cleared the trail along the way. They were followed by doctors, judges, and reporters in the newly invented automobiles. The net result was a constant cloud of dust kicked up into the runners' faces. They were literally forced to eat dust.

The first man to cross the finish line was Fred Lorz from New York City. Lorz had completed the race in just over three hours time. When he entered the stadium, the crowd roared with excitement. Photographs were taken of President Roosevelt's daughter Alice placing a laurel wreath over Lorz's head.

Lorz's moment in the limelight did not last very long. Just as Lorz was about to accept his medal, officials learned that Lorz had been spotted passing the halfway mark in an automobile. It seems that Lorz had been suffering from cramps, so he hitched a ride at the 9 mile point. He then rode in the vehicle for another eleven miles, at which point the car overheated and broke down. He waived at the spectators and fellow runners along the way. Lorz, now rejuvenated from his ride, chose to run the rest of the race.

Lorz claimed that he never meant to fool anyone - he just couldn't resist the praise and adulation of the roaring crowd. Lorz was immediately banned for life from any future amateur competition. This ban was lifted a year later allowing him to win the Boston Marathon (we'll assume that he was closely watched).

The race was won by a British-born man named Thomas Hicks who ran for the American team. Hicks ran the race in 3:28:53. When he ran into the stadium the crowd was less than enthusiastic. After all, they had already cheered for a winner, even if he had been disqualified.

Of course, good little Alice Roosevelt was again ready to pose with the winner. But she couldn't. Hicks had to be carried off of the track. It seems that Hicks had begged to lie down about ten miles from the finish line. Instead, his trainers gave him an oral dose of strychnine sulfate mixed into raw egg white to keep him going. This was not enough - they had to give him several more doses, as well as brandy, along the way. By the end of the race, Hicks had to actually be supported by two of his trainers so that he could cross the finish line (essentially, he was carried over the line with his feet moving back-and-forth). Hicks was very close to death's door. It took four doctor's to get him in good enough shape just to leave the grounds, eventually falling asleep on a trolley.

The confusion of the Paris Games seriously damaged the Olympic movement, and the 1904 games almost killed it. In the end, the St. Louis Olympics (along with the previous Paris games) proved to be such a disaster that the Olympic Committee was forced to hold interim Olympic games in 1906 at Athens, in an attempt to revive the flagging Olympic movement. These games were not numbered, but were attended by twenty countries and put the Olympics back on a steady course to success.

1900: the french fiasco

2004-08-16T13:20:00.000-07:00

The 1900 Olympics: Paris, France

Though the Greeks wanted to host every Olympics after 1896 and fought hard to claim that right, Baron Pierre de Coubertin disagreed. In his ambition to make the Games truly universal, he wanted every nation to get a chance to host the grand event. Thus, Paris was chosen as the venue for the second edition of the Modern Olympics.

At this time Paris was hosting the Great International Exhibition, for which the Eiffel Tower was built. On the assumption that the Olympics would draw crowds that were in France to attend the Exhibition, the IOC decided to extend the dates of the meet, making it six months long. This, plus the fact that it was the turn of the century meant that all the ingredients that would make the Games in Paris a success as well as immortalize Baron de Coubertin were there.

Unfortunately, things didn't quite go according to the script. His own country failed to recognize the Baron's efforts and none of the newspapers mentioned his role in reviving the Olympic Games. Furthermore, the decision to extend the dates turned out to be a poor one. So little publicity did the Games get that although over 1200 athletes took part from over 22 countries, several of them weren't even aware that they were at the Olympics. The Games were also poorly attended with only about 3000 people attending the Games from the Exhibition.

Hosting the games during the Exhibition led to some absurdities, such as the fencing competition being held as a sort of sideshow in the exhibition's cutlery area. Because there were other sporting events held in connection with the exposition, there was a great deal of confusion about which were Olympic contests and which weren't. Some athletes didn't even know they were taking part in the Olympics, while others thought they were in the Olympics when they really weren't. As an example of the confusion, Margaret Abbott of the United States won a nine-hole golf tournament, which she entered as a lark. She is now on record as the first woman ever to win a gold medal but she died in 1955 without knowing it.

Another problem was that the French staged some events on Sunday, when a number of American athletes refused to compete because they believed in honoring the Lord's Day. Myer Prinstein, the world record holder in the long jump, entered into a gentleman's agreement with other U. S. athletes not to compete on Sunday even though he was Jewish and it was not his Sabbath. However, Alvin Kraenzlein of the U. S. entered the long jump finals on Sunday, July 14, and won the gold medal. That led to a fist fight between the two athletes on Monday, when Prinstein discovered the deception.

Cricket was part of the 1900 Olympics. Great Britain took the gold and the British Embassy in France took the silver medal. Only 2 teams competed.

The 1900 games were the only Olympics to include Cricket. Soon after, Cricket was stricken off the Olympic roster.

viva chipotle !

2004-08-01T18:53:00.000-07:00

sheik and i ambled into Chipotle in Foster City at 4:00pm. sheik ordered the standard chicken burrito. i decided to experiment with the "burrito bol".

by the time i was done selecting the barbacoa spicy shredded beef on cilantro-lemon rice with sauteed onion and pepper, tomatillo red chili salsa, guacamole, lettuce, black beans and sour cream, sheik has already gotten his drink and found us a table. i walked towards the cashier with my capital one visa in hand. he looked at the card and asked if i had cash. i said i did not. he swiped my card, waited a while, then swore at the strangely inanimate cash register, looked up at me apologetically and said "don't worry about it sir, this one's on us". needless to say, i was delighted that Chipotle had brightened up my otherwise uneventful sunday. yet, i managed to conceal my glee, thanked the cashier with a straight face, and offered to pay later when the cash register was functional again. shiek was not surprised when he heard of what had just happened, turns out this is a common occurrence at Chipotle - my new favorite lunch place.

plain uttapam vs croc dundee

2004-08-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

laxmipathy balaji vs andy bichel

this dundee's got more muscle than the entire indian team combined. ganguly and the boys better up their cardio weight training program from 1 stump to all 3 stumps if they are to get anywhere hunting this croc.

gullee-dandaa gangulee

2004-08-01T02:14:00.000-07:00

"mein stumps ukhadake bhaag-neki practice kar chukaa thaa. lekin murali ne muzhe asia cup jeet-neka chance hi nahin diya"

We play kabaddi and kho-kho during net practice to improve our agility and fine tune our reflexes. We rehearse uprooting stumps and making victory laps. Does it come as any surprise that the great Indian batting maestros tumbled like a pack of worthless cards? The Lankans posted a score so meager that even Bhutan's burgeoning cricketers would have managed to surpass it, but Ganguly and his superheroes tucked in their capes and kept the wickets ticking with clockwise precision.

Memorable quotes from the post-match interview with Ganguly:
"We need to pick up in all areas" [pick up your game dammit, and leave those stumps alone!]
"We need to get our heads right" [no kidding G!]
"We did not bat well, did not bowl well and did not field well" [he forgot to add that he also does not - speak well, run-between-wickets well, analyze well, motivate well, or just bloody well get the job done!]

bluesman turned guitar-boy

2004-08-01T01:47:00.000-07:00

between songs at the concert
[Aki] Look, someone just brought Clapton his acoustic guitar. These guys have assistants to bring them instruments, sort of like bat boys
[Apu] Dude, is that what you fantasize about? Assistants who bring you harmonicas when you perform?
[Aki] Nope, my fantasy is bringing Clapton his guitars!

claptonesque incandescence

2004-08-01T01:40:00.000-07:00

i witnessed clapton's rendition of the bob marley classic - i shot the sheriff. i can die a happy man.

i am not a expert by any stretch of imagination, i cannot fathom the intricacies of scintillating guitar-work, or the jazz-like abstractness of the blues. i am a stranger to the organ, i am way off-scale on I, flat III, IV, flat V, V, flat VII. but i do recognize a great performance when i see one. all i had was a piss-poor MGD through 2 hours of claptonesque incandescence, and i walked out more intoxicated than i've ever been.

thank you aki, for getting us those amazing seats!

punch-drunk teachers

2004-07-27T13:26:00.000-07:00

A state-run primary school in the sleepy district of Mahasamund, 100 km (60 miles) from the state capital Raipur, is not the place most people would associate with a drink and drugs scandal.

But that is exactly what is alleged to have happened in the village of Chandimona. Two of the school's three teachers have been suspended after 91 pupils aged between five to 11 years old were introduced to the perils of cannabis and liquor. According to the investigating officials, both the accused teachers were addicted to alcohol, and decided to mix liquor in the food to make it more tasty. The cannabis, officials say, was used to expedite the cooking of pulses. They say that the drug no doubt raised a few pulses too. So outrageous were the extras to school lunch, they would have been enough to make a rock star blush. Officials say that one of the accused is the school's alcoholic principal, who wanted to liven up mealtimes.

The cafeteria at my workplace could definitely use a few tips from this school's principal and liven up our lunch time. Click here for the complete news report.

the bundle-block martyr

2004-07-20T16:10:00.000-07:00

she glides through the aisle
with a stern look
and a wry smile
she glances around to check
"are you done with my
bundles and blocks
yet?"

mercy, oh great one
i think mine are
almost done
i've looked through
wiz01
trust me, this ain't
no fun

i reused your blocks
created many a bundle
installed new tools
that never fail to befuddle
"but did you add comments
and the correct cycle id?"
oops, i did that, but i
forgot to email IT !
"your bundles still on staging?
they should be on production!"
sorry again, i am suffering from
severe cranial malfunction

oh bundle-block-master
help me create my blocks faster
rescue me from the html
i'm losing it, can't you tell?
so repetitive, so mundane
and so totally utterly inane
this is my bundle-block encore
i just can't go on no more

i've used up all life-lines
i am sick of my own whines
i cannot trade my blues away
with soldiers who've spiraled
into an exponential decay
there's nothing left to barter
i am your unknown bundle-block martyr!

toe-stand or bust !

2004-07-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

"Lie down on your mat if you feel nauseated, but please don't leave the room". And lie down I did. It was my first Bikram Yoga class. The room was heated to a searing 110 degrees. I could hardly breathe. I could barely keep up with the rest. I was drenched, the room was spinning around me, and I had run out of water. Lovely yoginis in skimpy attires stared at me wondering "dude, aren't you from India?" I lay low, very very low.

Bikram Yoga is a form of the Hatha discipline and comprises of 26 postures performed over a period of 90 minutes in a room heated to match the temperature of the human body. Heating the room is a controversial practice. Traditional "Asthanga" Yoga is practiced at room temperature and the body is trained to generate enough heat to loosen the muscles. The Bikram school argues that heating the room loosens muscles, prevents injuries, and helps get into postures that traditional yoga would take months to achieve.

The class came to a conclusion. I had lay on the mat for a good 30 minutes. The contortionists around me had put me to shame. I hurriedly gathered my kit and vowed to master the "toe stand" even if it meant defocusing from tennis for a few weeks.

ode to chumma's amma

2004-07-08T14:13:00.000-07:00

chumma ki buddhi amma
deti hai advice
pei kay budwise
bolati hai chod de
nata tod de
kar matru-pooja
aur nahi dooja
reh jaa dukhi
koi nahi sukhi
bhagwan mein trust
life-long ah-just

hai total dumma
chumma teri amma
din raat ramble
reno mein gamble
degi tuzhe dagaa
phir aayega mazaa
woh nahi teri phriend
ho jaa independent
ab bhi hai wakt
kar ke mann sakt
chod de teri naatak amma

backhanded english

2004-07-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

The backhand topspin is inarguably the most elegant and effective shot in tennis, mastered by the likes of Federer, Henin, Mauresmo, Kuerten and the legendary Pete Sampras. Artistry and grace aside, it is a potent weapon enabling it's wielder with the widest range of spin and depth. Ask Federer, and he'll show you how to flick your wrist at an acute cross-court angle and send your opponent scrambling into the stands, or slam your shoulder down the line and watch the ball scream through the chalk.

comical futility, tragic stupidity

2004-07-04T01:20:00.000-07:00

she likes me
can't resist it
she chases me
won't admit it
comical futility
tragic stupidity

i beg her
to back out
she cries
she'll hang on
i forebode
our fall out
she tells me
she'll move on
speedily she says
her new world
will emerge
angrily she
her petty goals
does divulge

where's the simplicity
sense of honor
where's the compassion
shame upon her
alas her past
has caught up
with her
imminent
her karma
besieges her
comical futility
tragic stupidity

pre-somnolence positivity

2004-07-02T00:30:00.000-07:00

I had a plan,
Was 23, fresh out of school,
I aced most and missed a few,
But enjoyed the pursuit all through,
I am 29 now, doing just fine,
And intend to take it one day at a time

so jaa bachche...

2004-07-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

tuufaan aa raha hai.......