June 29, 2005

Raised To Raised To Raised To

June 29, 2005 Posted by Vijay , 3 comments
That precisely sums up this problem which was also posted on ascent4cat.

What is unit digit for 7 exp 11 exp 22 exp 33 ?

i.e., 7 raised to 11 raised to 22 raised to 33 .. phew ..!!

And, the answer so simply put by one indra goel as follows :)

The powers of 7 have the following unit places (starting from 7^1) 7,9,3,1,7,9... so at every 5th power there is repetition, therefore we can remove all the 5's from the power terms(power mod 5) and see the remainder to get the units place...In this problem 7 exp 11 exp 22 exp 33..11 mod 5=1..22 mod 5=2..33 mod 5=3..multiplying the power remainders(1*2*3) we get 6 which further gives 6 mod 5=1 thus finally we have the number 7 in the units place as per the pattern we generated

Good one .. :)

I LOVE numbers :)

Cramer's Rule #%!!&*%$@&

June 29, 2005 Posted by Vijay , 3 comments
Happened to come across the Cramer's rule, which used to be a part of the Engineering Syllabus in one of yahoogroup's postings, ascent4cat. It was regarding solving a set of linear equations for unknown variables x,y and z using Cramer's method. Here we go ... as to how to solve %$^$^@#*

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


In Cramer's method we form the main determinant from the coefficients of the variables. We then make a new determinant for each unknown in the system by replacing that variable's column by the system's constants. The value of the specific unknown is determined by dividing the special determinant by the main determinant.

X + Y + Z = 13
X + 2Y + 4Z = 36
X + 3Y + 9Z = 79

From this we will build four determinants:

(Formed with the co-efficients of each of the variables x,y,z as each of the 3 columns
in a matrix form as below)
| 1 1 1|
main = | 1 2 4|
| 1 3 9|

Form det(X) by replacing the X column in the main determinant with the value of each linear
equation above. Similarly form the determinants for Y and Z as well.

| 13 1 1| | 1 13 1| | 1 1 13|
det(X)= | 36 2 4| det(Y) = | 1 36 4| det(Z) = | 1 2 36|
| 79 3 9| | 1 79 9| | 1 3 79|


For arriving at the value of each determinant, follow the following formula considering
a matrix form ,


| x1 y1 z1|
form = | x2 y2 z2|
| x3 y3 z3|

The delta value is calculated using the formula,

x1*((y2*z3) - (y3*z2)) + -1*y1((x2*z3) - (x3*z2)) + z1*((x2*y3) - (x3*y2))

i.e., leave out the rows which have x1/y1/z1 common in them, and then, multiply
the diagonally opposite values remaining, and subtract the products thus arrived at.

So, here, main determinant has a value,

delta = 1(18-12) -1(9-4) +1(3-2) = 6-5+1 = 2
det(X) = 13(18-12) - 1(36*9 - 79*4) +1(36*3 - 79*2) = 20
det(Y) = 1(36*9 - 79*4) - 13(9-4) + 1(79-36) = -4
det(Z) = 1(158-108) -1(79-36) +13(3-2) = 10

Also,

X = det(x)/main => 20/2 = 10
Y = det(Y)/main => -4/2 = -2
Z = det(Z)/main => 10/2 = 5

which are the desired answers

Haan Kar Do Ek Baar ..

June 29, 2005 Posted by Vijay 1 comment
woh aayee ek hawa ke jhonke ke sang

bhar aaye sooni duniya mein rang



rang rang mein woh khilti dikhi

mein bhi khil utha uske sang sang



lekin jab jaane ko hui deri usko

dukhi laga mera man mujhko



socha meine pal do pal

kya woh aayegi phir kal



kaash ek baar aur woh mujhko gayi mil

aur kya chaahe yeh deewana dil

June 27, 2005

Sachin lovers may please avoid reading this

June 27, 2005 Posted by Vijay 6 comments
http://cricket.indiatimes.com/quickies/1152669.cms

The above is the link which has incited me into writing this blog. Whoever has written this audacious piece of article on Indiatimes, can only glorify one single incident of Sachin's so called illustrious career. In 15 years, THERE IS ONLY A SHARJAH CUP WHICH SACHIN HAS WON FOR INDIA ? That speaks loads of why Sachin is just a run getter and not a match winner. 1998 seemed more a lucky year for Sachin with him winning matches for India. Awesome. If the author of this article(I will be calling him stinker) says we are dragging Sachin into too many things, are we also not dragging Ganguly into every possible muck ? Why have double standards. Ganguly too has more than 9000 runs in ODI's and has more than 20 hundreds(22 I think ??). But his century at the Independence Cup in Dhaka 1998 goes unnoticed when India chased a world record(at that time) score of 314 against Pakistan. Why do we not glorify such an achievement ? Ganguly and Dravid led India to a Test Match win in Sri Lanka in their home turf, chasing a second innings total of 260 odd against the bowling of Muralitharan in 2001.Ganguly scored 99 and won the man of the match. India levelled the series, though lost the last test match. Why do we not glorify such an achievement ?That too India chasing in a test match and that too overseas? Did Ganguly not set up the chase for India at Lord's in 2002 for that memorable chase of 326 ?

And stinker has not written about Dravid anywhere in his article. Maybe Dravid is way ahead of Sachin and he wants to compare Sachin only with the non performers. If Sachin had been a performer he would have been compared with Dravid I believe. Dravid won a match SINGLE HANDEDLY IN AUSTRALIA AGAINST THE MIGHTY AUSSIES SCORING A DOUBLE HUNDRED IN THE FIRST INNINGS AND A HALF CENTURY IN THE SECOND. Did I see Sachin in that test ?? Ohh .. I dunno really. Ahh yes, he did bowl his leg spinners and get couple of wickets. I see, so is Sachin a bowler or a batsman ? ohoo .. ALL ROUNDER. So when Sachin fails with the bat his bowling reaches supreme levels comparable to Shane Warne. No, Dravid DID NOT score a double century in Pakistan to help India win a Test Match there. But Dravid committed a SIN. He declared the Indian Innings even though Sachin was on 194. Was Sachin's century not more important than an Indian win. Of Course it was ! I found a mention of Sachin's awesome performance against BANGLADESH, which fired him up. Wow , what an opposition Bangla is.. oh yes yes.. they defeated the AUSSIES just 1 week ago... OBVIOUSLY, Sachin's performance against Bangladesh is amazing.In fact not long ago he averaged more than 100 in ODI's against KENYA. Can you imagine that ? The MIGHTY KENYANS ?? My GODD !!

June 23, 2005

Green is red for some !

June 23, 2005 Posted by Vijay 5 comments
Many a tennis player has hated playing on the Grass Court at Wimbledon. Mainly, the ones who are supreme on clay surfaces struggle to perform on the grass courts at the All England Club.Mainly because, the grass is a much faster surface and it is the serve and volley game which benefits there. On claycourt, there are more of ralleys and more shots are won from the baseline.So a player needs to be physically strong and have great stamina to withstand the Roland Garros kind of tournament in France. Roger Federer found this out against the eventual winner of the French Open this year - the 19 year old Spanish sensation, Rafael Nadal.Unlike the dead slow clay surface, grass favours the big servers and volleyers who attack the net rather than sit back, rooted to the baseline.

But French open champions more often than not have struggled on Grass Courts. So much so that they have said, it is not worth playing on the most prestigious Grandslam Tennis tournaments.Gustavo Kuerten, who has won the French Open three times, graced the All England Club just 5 times and said - "Everybody in Britain keeps going on about how wonderful Wimbledon is, but I simply don't have any desire to play there, and it means nothing to me". Marcelo Rios a former world number 1 from Chile was another such player.The Chilean was world number one for six weeks in 1998, the same year in which he reached his only Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.Rios was the first South American in history to reach the number one spot, and only the third ever player to be ranked top as a junior and as a professional.He won five Masters Series titles, including three in 1998, and was later named Chile's sportsman of the century. But his hatred for the grasscourt couldn't have been more succinct thatn when he commented - "grass is for cows".

Marcelo Rios

Shambles ..

June 23, 2005 Posted by Vijay No comments
Do you know the meaning of the word shambles ? Alright, it does mean , a condition of great disorder. But did you know that the word shambles can either be used in the plural sense OR the singular sense ? Well, apparently yes. Another interesting fact is that this word's usage is quite different. Let's look at how it has to be used in sentences:

My world is a shambles.

There are many other words for which the singular form ends in "s", but their plurals too are identical to their singular form. Shambles is one such.

Note: There does exist a word called shamble too, which has a totally different meaning - "walking with a slow dragging action".And it's plural is NOT shambles.Words, words words, they can be so very tricky eh ?

June 22, 2005

Cross Dimensions

June 22, 2005 Posted by Vijay , 3 comments
Roads in India. Uff. Trafficky, right ? Well, Bangalore ? SURELY !! But, just observed something which I thought I should blog. When we have to cross a junction, which is a 3-way one or a 4 way one, how do we do it ? Some might cross over to the other side, along the middle of the junction, and some others along the side. When you cross through the middle, you have to concentrate on 3 dimesions( for a 3-way junction) and 4 dimensions (for a 4-way junction).Because in the 3 way junction you have to take care of the vehicles coming from behind you, and from the left and right of your side. And in the case of the 4 way junction, you have to concentrate on vehicles coming from behind, in front, left and right of your side.Phew. That essentially means you have to have the capacity of turning your head 360 degrees !! :D Just Kidding. But this is the case when you cross the junction along the middle.

But you can always reduce the concentration, the confusion and the risk of crossing by just restricting your view to 2 dimensions, that is to your left and right side. What you have to do is, move away from the junction, go to the footpath on your left or right(the direction in which you have to proceed) and then just cross over to the footpath on your opposite side .. and move along !! Sounds simple ? For me it makes a lot of sense ! No more confusion and no more neck aches !!!

June 18, 2005

June 17, 2005

Weighty Matter

June 17, 2005 Posted by Vijay , 3 comments
Here is an interesting question I have for all the calorie conscious and the doctors of this world.

I buy precisely 1kg of food. And then I stand on a weighing machine with the 1 kg of food of course ! Assuming my weight is 65 kgs, the weighing machine(a legitimate one) will show the weight as 66kgs.No issues here.

Now, I consume the whole lot of the 1kg of food.And this is an ideal situation, where it is complete 1kg of food and nothing less or more than that. Now I weigh myself on the weighing machine immediately after I have the food. Surely, I will weigh less than 66 kgs.You can try this for yourself too !

Why is this so ? I know it is a biological answer, but it somehow still beats me, as to how this can happen !

Stair(s) Case

June 17, 2005 Posted by Vijay 1 comment
Been wondering about this one for somedays now.While climbing the steps of my office, and especially when I want to take them 2 at a time, I usually take the first step as one, and then 2 at a time thereafter. Is this just a habit or is this how everyone else among us also does it ? Take the first step, and then 2 at a time(if we do plan to that is) ? If so, why ? Is it to get the initial momentum ? Is it because you know that the number of steps is odd ?

June 15, 2005

It's Not Its Fault It's So Confusing !

June 15, 2005 Posted by Vijay 4 comments
Ever realised there are two distinct usages of the now common "its" that we use in our day to day conversations ? You probably do know it. The it's and the its .But we miss out the small details, owing to hurried or colloquial (yes that's the spelling,colloquial) usages. Now let's closely observe wherein lies the difference between it's and its. It's just an apostrophe but wrongly used could spell a catastrophe(kidding !!).

Before going into the details of its and it's lets find out about Possessive Nouns.Let's look at some examples.

One way in which English nouns indicate possession is by means of the ending 's
e.g. The boy's hat
Sally's bicycle

In the above examples, the ending 's indicates that the hat is possessed by the boy and, similarly, the bicycle is possessed by Sally.So, when we need to make a noun possessive, we generally add 's.Let us try to understand more from the following section.

Forming possessives of nouns

To see if you need to make a possessive, turn the phrase around and make it an "of the..." phrase. For example:

the boy's hat = the hat of the boy
three days' journey = journey of three days

If the noun after "of" is a building, an object, or a piece of furniture, then no apostrophe is needed!

room of the hotel = hotel room

door of the car = car door

leg of the table = table leg

Once you've determined whether you need to make a possessive, follow these rules to create one.

• add 's to the singular form of the word (even if it ends in -s):
the owner's car
James's hat

• add 's to the plural forms that do not end in -s:

the children's game
the geese's honking

• add ' to the end of plural nouns that end in -s:

houses' roofs
three friends' letters

• add 's to the end of compound words:

my brother-in-law's money
• add 's to the last noun to show joint possession of an object:

Todd and Anne's apartment

So, we can conclude that, for making a noun possessive we generally employ 's. But our point is to do with it's and its.This is an exception to the possessive apostrophe rule.For, here , its is the possessive form , while, "it's" is a conjunction between the words "it" and "is.".

Thus we might say "It's (it is) a nice day for sailing, but my boat has lost its (the boat's) rudder."

Refer the following links for more info :
http://www.word-detective.com/back-d.html
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/its.html
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/apostrophes1.html

Head Back Home

June 14, 2005

Love to Laughter

June 14, 2005 Posted by Vijay , 4 comments
"You have made many a heart flutter
I am afraid mine is another"

Thus went the opening lines of my letter, yes, my first love letter. Though being tech savvy(for once ?not really!), I had put it through the e-way of communication. I have been in love, I right now am too, coz it is an everyday thing for me. I fall in love once a day , everyday. Jokes apart, I never knew I had ever EVER write a love letter. EVER. And I will never write one ever again, unless I am on the brink of a divorce ! But, they say when you are in love all you see is her, that you look for her presence, you just wait to see her walk by, just to glance at you once, just to speak those words which sound like music to your ears. Thats what it was like. I still can't believe I actually felt that way. Life seemed empty when she wouldn't be around. Hollow would be my mind. Painful moments of wait, which are hard to explain .But then, there is hope. Always there is hope. For if there is one thing which a human being survives on, it is hope.

She would then come back, and then I would again have those feelings float throgh my heart, overpowering the little intellect that I ever had. Thats what happens in love. I would be glad that she is back. Yet again, for those glances , those words, for the sheer presence which she had.

It was so for 2 months, and more. You don't realise it is love until it is late. And then, it starts to play on your mind. You start getting those anxieties, as to what is happening to you. Why do you so deperately seek her presence, hope that she drops by to see you, just talks a few words to you. Why so ? Why do you miss it when she doesn't say a good bye ? Why do you feel sad then ? Why ? Well, thats when you know, your heart has been conquered. And then I tried to wriggle out of it. Trying to avoid contacting her, trying to prove to myself that this just cannot happen to me. But the more you run away from reality the harder it chases you down. You get more anxious, you miss her even more. And yet you dont know whether she has feelings for you at all ?

It went on for another month. I took it along my stride. Still believing, its just another of those everyday activities of me falling in love.But this was different. This just didn't seem to fade away from my heart. Her presence around me didn't help either. Three months is a long time and I somehow felt this girl was special. But does she know at all ? That I secretly admire her ? More than admire her ? How long could I have taken it ? Not any longer. I wrote the mail with those opening lines at 3 in the morning and sent it to her. And kept my fingers crossed.

There were reasons for me to write that mail. I just could not take it any longer. To miss someone so much , to love someone so much, I just am not the kinda guy for all this. I wanted to get a clearcut answer which could dispel my doubts, as to whether she liked me at all ? I needed to get some relief. I wanted to let her know how special she meant for me. Come what may I will let her know. This could only bring me a step closer or a step farther away from the friendship we had then.

I was tensed,anxious about how she would respond. I was hopeful she would reciprocate my feelings for her. That could make me feel so special. But then, I was worried, for if she did reciprocate, how would I move things forward ? This societal stigma was too sticky for me to shake off easily. I was worried. I kept thinking on how her rejection could help me kill 2 birds with one stone. One, no worries about society and its stigma, and two, no need to cultivate more feelings for her which would never have borne fruit for a future relationship. But I would still have wanted her to love me. For, is it not what every guy who secretly loves a girl wishes she would say ? That was my hope too. I was confused. But I had taken a step to resolving the conflicting thoughts I had raised in me. For this was the only option. I could not have lived in peace with the feelings for her buried in my heart. I had to let her know about it. And I had to know how she felt about it. I was happy with the step I had taken.

Next day, she called me. I was , as is my wont, as usual joking around. I asked her "How was the love letter. Was it not gr88 ? Wouldnt it have felled any girl ?"
Then after a momentary pause I asked her, "So what do you think ?" She said "It won't work out.". I started to giggle and smile,yet again , thats my style(?? in love too ??). And she said matter of factly "Don't laugh it off.". Yes, I knew it wasn't to be a laughed off thing. But , I knew it was the relief that got me to smile. But I was sad, because, she did not feel the same for me. Thats the bitter truth I realised. But I was not disappointed. I had expected a solution and I had got one.

Then I asked her why she thought it won't work out. Guess what she said ? This is what she had to say(not exact words) - "This might sound absurd. But I somehow have momish sort of feelings for you".Apparently she felt I was a son to her rather than a ... what .. lover ?? Well, thus ended the whole chapter. I didn't know how to react to it immediately. But later on I had a hearty laugh over the whole thing. MOMISH ?? The person whom I wished to marry thought of me as her son ?? To this day, I roar into laughter thinking about this. It's just so amazing.When you look at the Lighter Side Of Life, how light you feel. Look at the funny side of life, and see how much it helps you to erase any bad or sad memories that you may have had. Live Life through Joyous Moments.Cherish the moments for they are but transient.

Head Back Home

June 13, 2005

F1 First Time

June 13, 2005 Posted by Vijay 3 comments
I have never followed F1 closely. Just about knew that Schumi is like a demi god on the track and there were names like Raikkonen, Montoya and so on. But never really followed it. But yesterday my friend came over to stay at my 1BHK apartment (for all u suspecting morons, it is a guy !). And he is an all out F1 person. I was hesitant initially. But slowly got sucked into the Renaults, the Ferraris, the BMWs and the Mclarens. It was the 70 lap Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal yesterday.

It is real fun , following the F1. Those zooming machines whizzing at 200 miles an hour on the scorching tracks. There are so many parameters which decide the winner in the end. The track temperature, the air temperature, the number of pit stops a car makes, the time for each pitstop, the downforce of each car. It's just amazing the manner in which the cars are prepared for such strenuous races. All of this being monitored by the engineers in the control room(is that what they call it?) via radio to the driver. Its just amazing.

For once, I was totally involved. Though there was a certain Narain Karthikeyan on the Jordan Toyota, I was more keen to know the various factors which decide the winner on the F1 track. While the Renault had Alonso and Fisichella behind the wheels, it was Raikkonnen and Montoya for the Mclaren. Also got to learn the engines being made from which company. McLaren by Benz for instance. The first half of the race was exhilirating, with the 2 Renaults racing between each other leaving behind the McLarens and the Ferraris. Incidentally, Schumi was there, quietly plugging away in a stable Fiat Ferrari, even as Renault sadly fell away from the race towards the second half, the track conditions taking a toll on his engine. Though speed does matter, the engines need solidity and sustainability to survive such a gruelling race.

Part Of Mukhda To Actual Mukhda ?

June 13, 2005 Posted by Vijay No comments
Sorry. Yet again I come up with an observation which is not deserving of someone like Sonu Nigam. His latest album has the , Chanda Ki Doli, has the song, Chanda Ki Doli being shown on Music Channels. Just think of the tune of this song, its beginning .. "Chanda Ki Doli Mein Pariyon Ki Jholi Mein Shehzaadi Aayi Meri .." . Remember the song, Gungunatha hai geeth gata hai yeh sama .. from the movie, Ye Kya Ho Raha Hai (music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy) .. has the line which goes .. jaagi hawaayen hai jaagi fizaayen hai .. aaye yahan hai jo hum tum .. Well, listen closely to Chanda Ki Doli mein Pariyon Ki Jholi Mein .. Lines by Sonu.It has the same tune !! :D

Sorry again :( :D

June 10, 2005

Did You Know ?

June 10, 2005 Posted by Vijay 2 comments
Brian Lara struck the 30th Test century in his career in the 2nd and Final Test against Pakistan in Jamaica. The west indies though lost the match. Pakistan captain Inzamam also struck a century which was the 22nd in his career.

Did you know that out of the 22 occasions Inzi has made a century , Pakistan has gone on to win on 17 occasions .Did you know that out of the 30 centuries Lara has struck, only in 8 of those has West Indies Won ?? Guess Tendlya has Lara for company ... Out of the 34 Test Centuries Tendulkar has made India has gone on to win only on 11 of the occasions.

D'eed

June 10, 2005 Posted by Vijay No comments
Sorry. The title for the posting was just to catch your attention. Now that I have already captured your attention, why not hang on till this post is over ?? :D

Saw D yesterday .. For all those who are new to Indian Movies, its a Bollywood Movie.And there have been controversies surrounding it, as to whether it is a take on the life of Dawood Ibrahim, an Underworld Don, wanted in India, apparently absconding in Pakistan. There were rumours about threat calls to the producer of the movie, Ram Gopal Verma. Its been seen lately that, one way of giving curiosity to the movie going audience and the public alike is by raising controversies about a movie, like what happened with Ek Chhoti Si Love Story starring Manisha Koirala.But such attempts have more often than not failed. This seems no different.

The movie itself runs on a predictable line of the movie Company, directed by Ram Gopal Verma. Very predictable and very much inspired the Company. The new actor(dont mind, i dunno the name) has done a decent job but, the movie fails to appeal to the audience. Only good thing is that its not a long drawn movie like the other Bollywood movies. Less songs and the movie gets over in 2 hrs. But otherwise, the movie is not worth watching

Interestingly, unlike the Ram Gopal Verma productions, Yash Raj Production Movies seem to be clicking.While Yash Raj Movies ar more inclined to romantic tales/masala movies, Ram Gopal Verma produced movies are more into violence and horror. Wonder if the tastes can swap and then it should be fun how each of the production house makes the movies then.

My Rating on D : 2/5
Watchable : Not Really

June 9, 2005

Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak

June 09, 2005 Posted by Vijay , 2 comments
This is the story of a bhajji
Which created trouble in my tummy
And i have written this in hindi
Read along but never get senti

Khaane ke liye jab kya hai poocha
Bola Hotel waale ne hai ek accha
Usse behter koi na dooja
Woh hai Mangalore bajji bola

Ek Bajji nahi khaaya humne
Poore chaar chaar humne khaaya
Dikhe bhi to woh beemar the
Lekin humne bhi thaan lee thi
Dekhte hain kaisi hai yeh bajji

June 8, 2005

Excerpt from history - Choker to Winner

June 08, 2005 Posted by Vijay 1 comment
Jana Novotna

One of the most painful moments I have seen in a sports game was when Jana Novotna had both her hands on the Wimbledon Crown in 1993 but yet let it slip away at the last moment. Born in Brno in the Czech Republic, predominantly a doubles player early on in her career, Novotna began distinguishing herself in singles under the guidance of 4-time Grand Slam champion Hana Mandlikova. In 1991, she broke through by reaching the final of the Australian Open, defeating Steffi Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario before succumbing to no.1 Monica Seles in 3 sets.

Her career-defining moment came two years later, in the 1993 Wimbledon final. Following a note-perfect performance, Novotna led top seeded Graf 6-7, 6-1, 4-1, 40-15. Only moments away from a convincing triumph, she went completely off, missing easy shots, sometimes by phenomenal margins (including an infamous overhead smash that hit the back tarp) to give Graf the final 5 games and the title.

Giving the finger a rest ..

June 08, 2005 Posted by Vijay 1 comment
Now Now, don't be perverted and get unwanted licentious thoughts in your head. This is about the lovable Umpire of Cricket, David Shepherd who officiated in the last test match of his career yesterday at Kingston, Jamaica. The match was the second and the last of the series betweeen home team West Indies and Pakistan. Pakistan won the match.

David Shepherd who has officiated in 92 test matches and has been involved in 167 One Day Internationals will continue to umpire till September in 5 One Dayers and some County Matches in England before finally giving his finger a rest. He however would have wanted to give the right decision as his last one when he gave Darren Powell out off the bowling of Danish Kaneria, when the ball did not seem to hit the bat at all in the 2nd and last Test at Jamaica yesterday. But mistakes do happen and he was one umpire against who fingers were never raised for being biased towards any side.

His career spanned 40 years which included his cricket playing days before he turned an umpire pro in 1985. Incidentally, he hold the World Record for most number of One Day Internationals that an umpire has officiated in. He has also stood in 3 World Cup Finals with his fellow umpire, Steve Bucknor.

A warm personality on and off the field, Shep was a controversy free umpire unlike many others. He was regarded with great respect by cricketers and cricketing officials alike. Shepherd was famous for the nelson hop.Shepherd's habit of hopping from one foot to another when the score rests on 111 brought the English cricket superstition of the `Nelson' to a wider international audience. The game will truly miss one of the warmest figures on the cricket field. Talking to Tony Cozier after the 2nd test match at Kingston he said, it is important that umpires gain the respect of players and also, respect the players in order to be revered and respected. A wonderful human being and a great umpire. Cheers and All the best to Shep !!!

Stats (Courtesy - http://www.icc-cricket.com)
David Shepherd MBE factfile:
Born: 27 December 1940, Bideford, Devon Major Team: Gloucestershire.
First class playing career:1965 - 1979 (282 matches, 10672 runs)
International umpiring career: First Test match: England v Australia at Manchester, 4th Test, 1985
First ODI match: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Swansea, World Cup, 1983
World record holder for One-Day International matches as umpire

As if we didn't have enough remixes !

June 08, 2005 Posted by Vijay 2 comments
The latest remix to hit the Indipop charts is a DESI-LATINO mix !! phew !! As if we did not have enough remixes. I don't get to see any original tunes composed by Indian Musicians for pop music these days. All seem satisfied by remixing old tunes and glamorise and vulgarise by having bikini/skimpily clothes clad women in the videos. This DESI-LATINO mix , which is being beamed, is by Avadhoot Gupte , and the song he has done the remix on is Gulaabi Aankhein Jo Teri Dekhi ..(an old hindi movie song) and the latino touch is the Enrique Iglesias song, Bailamos which has been given some lyrical manipulation. We do know that there was another remix , with Las Ketchup song for the Chadthi Jawaani song by DJ who ?? Lots of them floating around. Don't remember who.

I have a question here folks. If we are remixing songs, why don't we mix up clothes as well ? Let it be a full mix. Those skimpily clad women can as well wear a hlaf saree on top and a mini skirt. Now thats what I call a fashion trend !! What say ??

June 7, 2005

Laces n Paces

June 07, 2005 Posted by Vijay 4 comments
Phew, that shoe that I am wearing has a problem alrite. Its big,heavy and on top of it it has shoelace hole which is metallic. So due to permutation and combination of the shoe being heavy and there being a metallic shoelace hole which finally culminates in the knot which I tie for wearing my shoe, the shoelace string tends to wear away quickly and finally gives way to breaking. The basic funda is .. that due to the heaviness I have to tie the shoelace string strongly lest my shoe keep slipping off my feet. The second most basic funda is, due to the presence of the metallic shoelace hole at the end, most of the pressure occurs at that part of the shoelace string which goes through this.

Conclusion ? :

My shoelace keeps breaking and I keep buying new ones. Now there are two things here.
1. It is a DEFINITE overhead for the shoe I bought
2. You might ask why I haven't bought a new pair ??

Know what ? The second question is the one to which I still do not have an answer.

For the time being though, I keep observing the state of the shoelace... whether it is starting to shred at that spot near the metallic shoelace loophole(aaah .. thats the word I wanted to use all the way through instead of which I was using .. metallic shoelace hole .. never mind, Better Late then NEVER !!) . I observed that the poor shoelace is nearing the end of its journey on my shoe. For all the paces I have taken with the help of the laces I have on my shoe, how can I thank it ever ? I am obliged to it forever !!(hey that was poetic too :D). The point is I would not know when the shoelace will break. So, as a solution to this critical problem(lest I walk on one shoe and the other leg with just socks) I bought a pair of shoelaces from BATA and I carry the same with me all the time, so that I will have a quickfix solution ANYTIME !!!

Will let you know when I buy my new pair of shoes (hope i do not have to wait till eternity :D)

Head Back Home

Ayesha Ayesha Takia Takia ...

June 07, 2005 Posted by Vijay 1 comment
This is the latest film (TELUGU for a change) starring Nagarjuna... and GUESS WHO????????????????????
My very OWN Ayesha Takiaaa!!!!! ;;)



Check out this kool song Mila Mila (just a clip though).. but it’s awesome...
Music is by Sandeep Chowta...
The Film's name is SUPER (???)
Just click on Mila Mila on the website page.. and tune in..
Incidentally, this song has been sung by Anushka, from the VIVA band.

http://www.sandeepchowta.com/inside.html

It’s been played on Music Channels too! Check it out

Antara Se Mukhde Tak ..

June 07, 2005 Posted by Vijay 1 comment
Have you heard the song from the movie K3G - DEEWANA HAI DEKHO , sung by Alka Yagnik and Sonu Nigam, featuring Kareena Kapoor and Hrithik Roshan ?? Yeah Yeah the same movie which flooded the theatres with saline tears of the audiences. But we did not have any major floods then. But yes, I did hear it was a record amount of glycerine which was used for the movie ! :D Cmong back to the song, listen to the antara of the song which goes like, - pehli baar dekha hai aisa .. (when Alka sings for Kareena) and Aankhon Mein Doob jaane ko .. .. (when Sonu sings for Hrithik). Now try to get the tune of it. Incidentally there was another movie RUN , featuring Abhishek Bacchan and Bhoomika Chawla, with music by Himesh Reshammiya. Well, it has a song which goes like .. Dil Mein Jo Baat Hai Keh Doon ..Do you really feel the way I do ..Remember ?? Now, if you observe closely the mukhda of the song from RUN (Dil Mein Jo Baat Hai Keh Doon ..Do you really feel the way I do ..) and the antara of the song from K3G, pehli baar dekha hai aisa have the same TUNE !! Interesting eh ?? This can also be a change of trends what say ? Deriving new songs by copying the tune of the antara of another song and making it the mukhda of another .. PHEW ! But .. I don't think this was a deliberate attempt by Himesh Reshammiya to do so. Just my unfortunate finding :D

June 6, 2005

Justin Hardenne Henin ..

June 06, 2005 Posted by Vijay 3 comments
It seemed it was Always-in Hardened Henin and not Just-in Hardenne Henin at the Roland Garros Centrecourt on Saturday. She did not seem to miss any of her shots and Mary Pierce at the other side seemed clueless to the array of groundstrokes that Henin had at her disposal. Mary Pierce was totally out of sorts. I personally wanted Henin beaten for she defeated my verry own adorable Maria Sharapova :( though I am more keen on Ayesha Takia these days(Sharapova comes in a close second :D). But really, Henin was unstoppable.

Mary Pierce seemed to make a comback in the early stages of the second set.But it seemed more a blemish in Henin's game than a raise in Pierce's game. Henin went on to wrap the match in just over an hour's time, 6-1,6-1. This is her second French Open Crown.

World Environment Day

June 06, 2005 Posted by Vijay 4 comments
June 5th, yesterday, was World Environment Day. Keep the world green like how I have kept my blog green !! Our famed Music Channels, [V] and Mtv have their icons change for movies and Diwali. And for the valentine's day. Sadly, or rather surprisingly(??) I did not find any such special icons for such an important day like the World Environment Day ! Wonder if they forgot that to survive we need the Environment in hale and healthy condition. Let's learn to keep our environment friendly and green and then celebrate Diwali and Valentine's !

--BB-->

June 06, 2005 Posted by Vijay 1 comment
Guess what that symbol implies ? Yes Yes, it is Indeed our Bollywood Movie, Bunty Aur Babli. Now before I give a review of the movie in detail I would like to share some lighter moments. I took my parents to the movie at the PVR Cinema Hall on Friday, June 3rd. We were all expectant and I had booked the tickets for the 7 O'clock show. We took the seats 5,6,7 in the N'th row, with me seated in 5, mom beside me and father , in 7. Well, the seats beside me, 3,4 were vacant and I was hoping a pretty young gal would come a sit beside me. I spoke about my wish to my parents. Well, guess what ?? A pretty young thing did after all sit beside me. Only that she was a bit young, too young should I say ? A FIVE YEAR OLD ??!! My parents couldn't stop laughing !!

Anyways, coming to the movie, with the star cast of the Big B , Abhishek Bacchan and Rani Mukherjea. It showed lot of promise at the beginning stages.But only then did I find out that the movie had more of songs and background score than any discernible content.It was zero percent content in the first half. Rani Mukherjea has tried to overact and she has succeeded where she cries so much that, any parent would have locked her in a room for hours !

Bunty(Abhishek) and Babli(Rani) are actually two young things out to make it big in the cities, because of their discontent with the life in the village called FursathGanj. Their names in the movie is Rakesh and Wimmy.They meet at a station and Rakesh, comes up with an idea of cheating people of money and instead saying that it was Bunty and Babli who does it. I still wonder, how on earth is it that, though it was Bunty and Babli who did it, are the people who cheated in the movie, so dumb as to not be able to identify with the face of the 2 ? Anyways, thats what the story is about. And then steps in the Big B in an attempt to salvage the lost cause of the movie.Sadly even his talent has been wasted. He is the DCP , Dasrath Singh, who wears the same black jacket day in and day out for a period of more than 6 months to unravel the mystery that is Bunty and Babli.

The movie does have good songs, music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy of the Kal Ho Na Hoo, Dil Chaahta Hai fame. There is even Aishwarya Rai who appears in an item number , Kajra Re, sung by the evergreen Alisha Chinai. The song has been picturised beautifully and so has been the song, Nach Baliye, choreographed by Shiamak Dawar. There is also a passing one liner in the movie for the latest offering from the Maruti Suzuki stable, Swift. So Maruti Swift also gets a mention !! Way to go. Sadly, the movie fails to live upto the fans' expectation. Good Idea, badly implemented.

My rating ? : - 2/5
Watchable ? : -Not Really

June 2, 2005

Phoenix from the Ashes

June 02, 2005 Posted by Vijay 2 comments
Aussies beware. Because coming up against them would be a new resurgent English side in the Battle for the Ashes in 2005 in England. The recent performances of England have seemingly gone unnoticed and people are still giving no chance for England to win the Ashes this time around either .However the Aussies could be in a for a real surprise.

For starters England comprehensively beat the Windies 4-0 in their away series, then whitewashed the Kiwis in their home turf and gave a similar treatment to the Windies soon after. Critics may argue, that the Windies team is one of the weakest in the international scene. But what has to be taken note of is the clinical way and the huge margins of victories registered by England against both the Kiwis and Windies.

If there were any doubts whether England indeed were becoming a new force in international cricket, their 2-1 victory in SA is proof enough to discount such thoughts. It has been a new England side, who have been inspired by a bowling sensation called Steven Harmison last year and a new batting sensation called Andrew Strauss who was unstoppable in South Africa. A worrying factor for the Aussies could be that, despite the low key performance of Steve Harmision in the Test Matches in SA, England came out comprehensive winners in the 2 Test Matches. This is more to do with a new found self belief and confidence due to the emergence of Andrew Flintoff, Geraint Jones and the astute captaincy of Michael Vaughan. This belief has spilled over to the one day arena too for England , who were still underperforming in the one dayers , despite their brilliant performances in the Test Matches.