It's my blog - Jason

UbiSlate7 - Cheapest Tablet

2011-12-18T08:14:00.001-08:00

From what I know, the specs I have seen in different sites have been inconsistent, I am a bit skeptical abt the Datawind, (because of the ordinary site they have), but from what I have checked from different sites, however inconsistent they maybe, I am going to point out the highlight differences between the Aakash 1 and Aakash 2 (ie. UbiSlate 7), the Aakash 1 was available for book last week, and it is already 'sold out' as per their official site, while UbiSlate 7 is in pre-booking stage. They have promised to deliver the product by 1 week as far as Aakash 1 is concerned, and UbiSlate7 only tentative date - end of January is given.

The booking process is pretty straight-forward, they have a form for each Aakash n UbiSlate7, fill the details, you get a Code for further reference, and you get a confirmation mail of the same Code too. Since Aakash is sold-out, you will find only the UbiSlate7 pre-booking form.

May I list out the differences as far as I know:

1. Price: First and basic difference, UbiSlate7 is priced at Rs. 2,999/- while the Aakash 1 is Rs. 2,500/-.

2. OS: Aakash will run on Froyo (Android 2.2), and UbiSlate7 will be Gingerbread (Android 2.3). Won't make much of a difference for a layman apart from that the User Interface will look and feel slightly different.

3. Processor: The major difference which I am was impressed was that of the Processor, Aakash is a modest 366MHz speed ARM 11 chip, and UbiSlate7 is a decent Cortex A8 700MHz processor. To be simply put, better performance.

4. Battery: The battery powering the Aakash is 2100 mAh, and UbiSlate7 is 3200 mAh, again without getting technical, it would directly translate to Aakash ~3hrs backup, and UbiSlate7 ~5hrs backup.

5. Network: Both have a Wi-Fi connectivity, Aakash doesn't support GPRS, while the upgrade UbiSlate7 does. Some sites suggest it might support 3G dongles - but no concrete info about that.

Phone Calls: You've guessed it right, since UbiSlate7 supports GPRS, it obviously has the sim card and hence supports both Calls and Messaging Service, the unknown is whether or not 3G sim can be used.

6. Production: This is non-technical and unrelevant, but still its a difference, Aakash 1 is a Made-in-India Product, while the UbiSlate7 is produced from China.

There are a few more differences/enhancements believed on the UbiSlate7, but the data is not so consistent as the ones specified before this,

Inconsistent:

RAM: It's believed to be upgraded to 1GB in the UbiSlate7, but I am not convinced if it is upgraded from 256MB to 1GB.

Camera: The Upgraded is supposed to have a front-facing camera, but again it is not confirmed.

That is all as far as differences major n minor or concerned, let's look at the overall specs and features both the product offers:

Display: 7" Display with a 800x640 Resolution. Follows the same road as most other market Tablets with a screen-size of 7 inches(diagonal)
Input: Resistive Touch-screen, Resistive supports stylus/objects(can be still be used by fingers also) but is the primitive form as far as Touch-Screens are concerned, Capacitive touch-screens are superior featuring in latest Smartphone/Tablets like iPad etc.
Memory: 256MB RAM, this is not ideal for these devices, still it is proven to work just fine.
Storage: 2GB Internal flash memory, 2GB-32GB External Storage - microSD slot provided
Ports: Two USB2.0 ports are provided, USB devices like PenDrives, USB keyboard can be used
Weight/Dimensions: The weight is about 350g. Dimensions are Height-7.5"; Width-4.67"; Depth-0.62"(~16mm)

Looks, if you have seen the prototype of the tablet when the idea was proposed, you will be surprised how much the product has evolved from its prototype, it follows the iPad style with a single home button and not the typical 4/5 buttons a typical Android device will feature. Sleek design and the back has a rubber feel to it.

Apps: May not have the Android Market, it's not end of road, but may support the GetJar as far as Apps are concerned.

Add-ons:

USB Keyboard case is provided by the company itself for a supposed price of Rs. 300/-
Car Charger
External Charger

Federer - what holds for him the next season

2011-12-12T12:43:00.000-08:00

It was unbelievable to see the Federer of the past last week when he mauled everyone to his title defense at O2 claiming his 6th Tour Finals

Personally being a huge fan I could be completely biased about this, but can't stop me from being excited about what is at stack for Roger next season and also the Gotham City with the Nolan's Dark knight Rises release next summer, hehe.. m getting carried away there.

Ofcourse the priority would be the Grandslams.. Would be interesting to see if he can translate his year end form into the next season. It was interesting to notice even through a what might be considered a poor year for him by his standards, have to be fair to him that he lost few close battles and definitely his French open show was the best as far as Grand slams were concerned this season.. Just not meant to was the USOpen match against Djokovic..

But the bigger picture is he would be excited about 2 stuff next year.. Yes I am gonna say it Olympics and the Davis Cup. As we know it won't all a cakewalk for the Swiss team in the Davis Cup.. Realistically he has better chance at winning the olympics gold than making his country lift the Davis cup.

Again once the season is underway there will be lot of guys pushing themselves for the elite once-in-four-year event, but Federer having won almost everything is chasing that one thing that has eluded him, the Olympics singles Gold.. He knows the value of it and I know he is going to push it hard at that event irrespective of the results in the Grand slams.

Still federer is one short of Sampras' record 7 Wimbledon, not sure if Roger can go on to beat that record especially after seeing him to fail racking semis last couple of years. But for sure he will be looking to equal his Idol pistol Pete's 7 at SW19..

As a fan, I wish he wins every tournament he turns up next season, but that would be greedy from my part and to deprive the sport itself the excitement

First Up it's going to be interesting how the beginning of the season is going to be.. All I can say is 'All the best to Roger' and all his dear-most fans ahead of a great new season.

Christmas Greetings!!

Federer claimed his 1st Paris title

2011-12-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

Federer claimed his 1st Paris title with a 6-1,7-6(3) victory over Tsonga. 18 Masters 1000 crowns and 69 Career titles.

King of GrandSlams, from twitter
http://twitter.com/#!/GoRogerFederer

For all Federer fans, this is must check out blog, nice
http://rogerfedererthechamp.blogspot.com/2011/11/federer-clinches-first-paris-title.html

The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough?

2011-10-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

By CBSNews

In the world of energy, the Holy Grail is a power source that's inexpensive and clean, with no emissions. Well over 100 start-ups in Silicon Valley are working on it, and one of them, Bloom Energy, is about to make public its invention: a little power plant-in-a-box they want to put literally in your backyard.

You'll generate your own electricity with the box and it'll be wireless. The idea is to one day replace the big power plants and transmission line grid, the way the laptop moved in on the desktop and cell phones supplanted landlines.

It has a lot of smart people believing and buzzing, even though the company has been unusually secretive - until now.

K.R. Sridhar invited "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl for a first look at the innards of the Bloom box that he has been toiling on for nearly a decade.

Looking at one of the boxes, Sridhar told Stahl it could power an average U.S. home.

"The way we make it is in two blocks. This is a European home. The two put together is a U.S. home," he explained.

"'Cause we use twice as much energy, is that what you're saying?" Stahl asked.

"Yeah, and this'll power four Asian homes," he replied.

"So four homes in India, your native country?" Stahl asked.

"Four to six homes in our country," Sridhar replied.

"It sounds awfully dazzling," Stahl remarked.

"It is real. It works," he replied.

...

For further more, read the actual article:http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/60minutes/main6221135.shtml

RIP Jobs. didn't expect it will all happen so fast!

2011-10-22T01:26:00.000-07:00

From: jason donald
Date: Thu, Oct 6, 2011 at 11:23 AM
Subject: RIP Jobs. didn't expect it will all happen so fast!
To: rememberingsteve@apple.com

Checked the news headlines, what happens to apple after jobs. I thought why are they still crying over his leaving apple (especially after the 4S release). Didn't expect it meant otherwise. Disbelief! for even someone who doesn't call himself big fan of Apple products.

Not to forget he was the founder of Pixar and first studio to make 3d animation feature films, till date the best animation co. and they are the benchmark for every other, and i don't have to say about Apple Co. But beyond loss for Apple the Co. this is a loss for his fans, for so many you are the role model. One of the most influential people in the last decade. Wherever you went, you didn't leave without your footmark.

For the Tech-savvys, this is the bookmark, the Before-Jobs/After-Jobs in their timeline!

You have made us hear music anywhere we want,
you have made us watch everything we would like on the go,
you have made us play with the angry birds,
you have not only made us hear, see, speak but touch everything,
to touch what we hear, to touch what we see, to touch what we speak,
reminds me of good old sci-fi, its like you're the sci-fi on demand,
you make it real what Steven Spielberg or Kubrick show us on screen.
you make it real what we dream of, and give us a reason to dream.

It's just crazy that you have spoiled us for good!

Whatever you have done, you have touched a millions of people, who inturn got to touch their iPods, iPhones, and iPads. A true Visionary, a legend and the trendsetter, you have changed things the way it's done, you have brought every other big corps on their knees, You did fall, you did rise, and you did conquer! Inspiring as your story is, it does baffle us, and there's a big void still, and I hope its not filled, for it is meant to be only missed.

You Came, You Conquered and You Left!

The burning Q will be 'Now What!'

Condolences to friends and family,
All the best to Apple!

Johnny English

2011-10-22T01:09:00.000-07:00

Now that Johnny English Reborn has hit the theatres for sometime now and many don't know it's actually a sequel of Johnny English 2003. The review I had written few years ago and the trailer for the sequel

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Plot:

Johnny English is an MI7 agent who seriously lacks the skill and distinction of a secret agent, England leaves the security arrangements of their best secret to this guy, what do you expect., he makes a mess of the security and all the agents are killed. The Agency is left with only one secret agent , ie. Johnny English. Rest is the chronicles of this agent and his subordinate who are supposed to retrieve the royal jewelry of the Queen. In the due time, Queen is compelled to abduction, while Frenchman Pascal Sauvage is the Mastermind of all the mystery surrounding Queen's abduction.

Meanwhile a mysterious woman distracts Johnny English everytime in his mission. He follows her to find out that she is a specialised agent. Johnny suspects Pascal Sauvage to be the culprit, while his boss doesn't think so. Johnny's boss wants him to stay away from Pascal Sauvage since he is a friend of Queen. But Johnny sets up a secret mission and breaks into Pascal Sauvage's office. While Johnny messes up everytime, his subordinate sets it right, but still Johnny's boss is informed about the small stint in Sauvage's office. Johnny is fired and the Woman secret agent is set to investigate instead of Johnny, She wants to pair up with Johnny to find the mystery behind Sauvage. They head to a place where Sauvage has setup a meeting with the world's greatest criminals and find that Sauvage wants to become the King of United Kingdom and make Britain the largest Prison in the whole world.

Rest is how they retrieve the kingdom back to the Queen and imprison Pascal Sauvage.

Review:
3/4

It is a spoof genre secret agent movie, I had watched it as many times as I could and I love it everytime I watch it. I like Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean, but that doesn't mean he isn't great as Johnny English . He has done it very well and one cannot say the other way.

The story is very simple and said stylishly of a spy agent movie. It is crazy, it is brainless and it is funny, that was the ultimate aim of the film. I think it has justified itself very well, it didn't lack in humor, nor style or the story.

Johnny is splendid as a hopeless, stupid character that suitably is designed to be in contrast with the secret agents we have always known, that is a success of the movie. He is too smart as far as he is concerned, only the one's around him knows the truth, the character Baugh is designed to perfection to help out Johnny's mess every now and then. Lorna Campbell was a justifiable character, more or less the only intelligent person on the screen. Johnny's ignorance to the love of Lorna Campbell is not at the very best.

Johnny English fails everytime and the movie too fails sometimes, but overall it was a decent effort, not much to blame about, as far as this genre is concerned, just forget what it's about, have nice entertainment, I guess it has justified in that aspect very much and atleast they have come up with something as they intended..

Derek Redmond - Won't Give Up!

2011-10-22T01:01:00.000-07:00

When you don't give up..You cannot fail

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

Federer eases past American Wildcard Devin Britton

2009-08-31T12:24:00.000-07:00

Yeah, but what else do you expect in a match between world's 1370th ranked player against the No.1, the scoreboard read 6-1,6-3,7-5 at the end of the match, but it wasn't less of drama, did somebody expect the wildcard breaking Federer twice in a match, but that wasn't good enuff for Britton to create an upset today.

It was looking like Federer was ever so cool throughout the game, everytime Britton was winning a game, Federer wasn't interested to run around the corners and didn't want to rush things, he wud hv been happy winning the match even in three tiebreakers but without losing much energy, was he conserving his energy for touch matches, or was he too relaxed ??, or was he enjoying the presence of his second favourite court next only to Wimbledon center court, but for sure he was damn relaxed even when his game was broken twice, i guess he wud be happy for spending like more than an hour at the court wich was highly unlikely wen he wrapped up the first set in less than 18 mins..

To talk about the game, Federer was playing in his first and second gears and rushed his opponent onl wen he was broken, we know what he can do wen he goes at his fifth gear, not to understate the American's efforts, but he was jus too error-prone to hold his service games, he was broken 6 times in the match, not to forget the way he returned a couple of return aces of Federer's second serves in the 3rd set wen the scores were 3-3 , and Britton successfully broke Federer by doing so, and also the return ace winner to break Federer in the second set was probably the best play of the match..

After being 3-4 down in the third set, Federer brokeback his inconsistent opponent who unfortunately couldn't hold on critical points with some doublefaults and volley errors, but it didn't seem great for Federer since the third set was heading to a tie-breaker, Britton was serving at 5-6 and had game points, wich didn't seem to help, everytime he created an advantage, he cudn't create the opportunity to capitalize those advantages, Finally wen Britton gave a room for a passing shot, Federer didn't fail to take advantage of it and by doing so, Federer got his first match point and he followed it up with a brilliant passing shot to the approaching opponent who couldn't quite reach it.

The match ended on a high with Federer winning in signature style and jus over an hour and 20 mins Federer sealed off a perfect first round match in front of ever-so-enthusiastic US fans and Federer was so pleased with his effort expressing with a wide smile at the end of the match..

That'll bring him a clash with Greul in the second round, and possibly a 3rd round match with Lleyton Hewitt

Note On Federer's Outfit: This time around he doesn't come out with a dull outfit like he did in French Open, but he has come up with a Bright-red(Blood red) colour shirt, but he has been using shirts of similar pattern throughout the year, only that they have been of different colours, right from Madrid to US Open, may be he has pattented it for RF brand or custom fit by Nike to Federer, whatever it is, i expected him with a 'Full Black' attire, still there's not much to complain wen he is playing that good.. but i guess he is superstitious about that style of shirt wich has given him some recent success..lolz, is he superstitious or m i so stupid!!!

Repeat of Roddick-Federer at Wimbledon.

2009-07-03T12:05:00.000-07:00

Maybe we hav had enuff of Federer-Nadal last few years, now the old rivals ll face off each other in another classic finals but one wudn't have dreamt of a week ago.

History in the Making as Andy Roddick will face Roger Federer in the sunday's finals of Wimbledon Title, this is the third time this pair will fight each other at the final showdown at Wimbledon, though Roddick never got the privilege to lift the trophy, since Federer proved to be pain for Roddick everytime, they are clearly hot players at Wimbledon but Roddick's poor run last 1 year or so left the world writing him off in this tournament, who said Murray was placed in a draw where he cud walk straight thro to the finals, Murray was clearly the hot favourite in the tournament next to federer as the number 1 seed bowed out with his knee problems, but that doesn't give Murray the Visa to play at the finals, everyone saw over the two weeks that Murray was proving to improve his odds match after match except the fourth round match against Wawrinka where he had to endure long enuff, but tat din't in anyway dent the hopes of the British, and everyone knew Murray was getting better day after day, he was playing his best tennis under awesome pressure by both his opponents and the Fans, but he cudn't quite extend his great run at the Wimbledon, was he less brilliant against Roddick, i don think so, he was still playing his best tennis, but Roddick's tremendous efforts over the last week shud not be understated, he played some absolute classic tennis aganst Lleyton Hewitt, and not to forget he edged out Murray today, shud i say Roddick's experience over the years has helped him at the big stage, or shud i say too much pressure on Murray did it for Roddick, i guess it was a mixture of both, Murray felt pressure, but that didn't mean he din play his best tennis, he did, but unfortunately though Murray left it wide open too often for the American to take it, the American missed some of those key moments though, and Murray found ways to be back in the match, still he gave a little too many chances for the American, Roddick played it big and won it at the big stage.

I wud really say too many cooks did spoil the brook, but Andy Murray ll be the onl one to know the pressure had over his shoulders to deliver and against such big names across the court, u don't really want extra pressure from ur fans, in that way Murray might not forgive his fans, but still he didn't win it, but that doesn't mean he let his fans down, maybe fans let him down, they have got to be so proud to have being supporting such great talent, he is for the future, such a class he will edge out a lot of big names in a very short time, maybe with time he ll become the one to beat, like maybe Federer or Nadal,

Today's match of Federer vs Tommy Haas didn't give me anytime to breathe, they were both serving brilliantly, again it turned out to be a serve dominated game, but v can't really complain wen they are serving so well, but it was a allround show by Haas and Federer, Federer was all class today, one of his best shots of the tournament came wen he lobbed an halfvolley from Haas, apart from that i had a lot of mixed feeling about federer today, when Federer missed out to place the ball off a dropshot in a completely vacant tennis court where Haas was nowhere in the court, even a kid would have been embarrased there, so did Federer and the whole crowd erupted in laughter and a sportive smiles shared by the players, but Federer can play those shots even the greatest players of all-time would watch in envy, also Federer plays some crazy wild shots even rookies of the sport would be left grinning, i think everytime how come he pulls off stunners from awkward positions, from positions nowhere to return, he returns like the opponent has no tomorrow, thats pure genius, its all encoded in his cells, we can't complain.. but its really hard wen u r that opponent without answers to Federer's awesome stroke-making..

I wudn't say Federer was at his very best, but he was great enuff to see thro Haas in three sets, he had difficulty in breaking Haas, everytime Federer takes the initiation to lead 30-0 or 30-15, but failed too often to convert it to break point to put the pressure on his opponent, or shud i say Haas everytime came back being 30-0 and pulled it of, they cudn't break each other, but had to be contend with the tie-breaker, Federer has had the better of tie-breakers in this tournament, he won it comfortably today as well, the second set was also heading to a tie-breaker, but Federer knew 'all days are not sundays', so he tried hard and broke Haas in the second set wen it was 5-5 to take the lead and serve for the set, he completed it 7-5, the third set was also looking to head to tight finish, wen the Swiss pushed the German at 4 games each, Haas saved 4 break points before double-faulting and giving away the fifth break point wich he cudn't really defend, Federer was suddenly all over the court in that game, he was determined to break him there, and all he had to do was serve to win the match, i guess the Swiss Maestro has had great service games throughout this tournament, if i am right he hasn't dropped his service game yet and has onl lost one set in a close tie-breaker in the third round encounter.

With Federer's authority all over the flush green centre court at Wimbledon, he wud want to register his 6th win in 7 years and improve overall record at grandslams to 15, wich wud go past the overall record of Pete sampras, Sampras has been gracious enuff over the years to laud this Swiss Genius as the greatest ever and Federer has tipped that Pete might be at the centre court to watch the History-in-the-Making when the Swiss Maestro will try to write his name in the tennis books for the most number of Grandslams, i know its not gonna be any easier than last year's epic battle, with the Hard-hitting Andy Roddick across the court, even with a record of 14-3, one can't guarantee to win the title hands down, he has nothing to lose, so he ll come hard at Federer, maybe he shud use the tactic from the book of Nadal 'How-to-beat-Federer-at-Wimbledon'-after losing two finals, both off them share the record of losing to Federer in back to back years, while Nadal beat Federer in his third encounter, Roddick will also hope he cud win it, i heard that if Federer wins he ll reclaim his no.1 status after 7months, while if Federer loses at the finals against Murray, he ll lose a spot to push Murray to second and Nadal ll still keep his nose ahead by very close margin, it luks though Murray won't disturb the rankings since losing at semis, Federer still has his chance to move ahead of Nadal , maybe if Federer does it, he certainly deserves to be back at the elite spot.

But on Sunday, i am going to support Andy Roddick, over the years i have believed players like Roddick, Hewitt had been overshadowed by Federer too much, they didn't quite enjoy their share of success as Federer did, while Roddick was at No.2, he cudn't quite beat Federer at big stages wich cost him a whole lot of setback in his career, like Nadal came in and kept Federer off the hooks at the clay tournaments and even stripped off his favourite tournaments, Federer has done the same against Roddick, Roddick sure deserves to be up in the big league and for what he has done today, he certainly deserves his name in that title, i surely want Federer to make history, but i can't see Roddick being the victim everytime... Federer knows how hard it was to earn tat French Open title, so hard its been for lot of guys out their especially Roddick, I wanna see Roddick out there to walk away with the title for this man had the heart to say 'if i cud, i wud hate him, but he is too nice' speaking of Federer some years back wen he lost to Federer.

Federer proves Tennis is more than Serving Contest.

2009-07-01T12:08:00.000-07:00

It was indeed the finals of the serving contest between the hard-hitting Karlovic and the no.2 seed, in the last 3 days federer's had 2 serving contest wich didn't harm the results, but proved to be very much unlikely tennis one wants to watch at the centre court of Wimbledon, atleast Soderling had a game other than his service, Karlovic as everyone's suggests is a one-shot genius and King of Aces, as rightly named, but one has to have a complete all-round game to tame the Maestro at such a big stage, eventhough Karlovic's service has been brilliant, the Maestro proved he is bad at serving as well, or is it tat karlovic was waiting for Tie-breakers??

Ivo has hardly broken a game against a player in this tournament, he broke against the left-handed spaniard Verdasco in the fourth round, otherwise he waited for those tie-breakers and with his hard-serving skills he was finding himself in a career best grandslam run making himself available in the quarter finals, but the Swiss understands the game of the croatian, he just eases through his service games, the Swiss for the first time in the tournament broke karlovic in the 5th game of first set to take the initiative, the idea in the Maestro's mind was a return the service at any cost, 'if i cud return it to the playing area, i hv very gud chance of winning tat point', tat was probably his gameplan n he wasn't gonna miss out the croatian's second serve every chance the Maestro got, and the Maestro's service games were too good, eventhough his service was not as big as the croatian, his second serves were quite gud enuff to tame the 2.08m tall player.

Federer eased through his service games, Karlovic was no match to the maestro in the game, he cudn't rally even 50% of wat Federer was able to, let alone the winners wich he didn't even bother to win, on a day when Federer was at his best as well as relaxed like he was playing his first round, Federer just kept his cool to handle this big man, he didn't bother losing points, but when he knew he had to break, he was just too brilliant for the Croatian, who looks pretty much a school kid against Federer while playing rally, with just the serve, the croatian can't really complain to allround master in the tennis field Roger, the scoreboard might read 7-5, 7-6, but with all the great run he had for two weeks, Ivo was made to look once again a kid before a sell-out crowd, who was no match to the Master other than service, federer's superiority was not jus about the quality of his forehand, backhand, volley, everytime Ivo tried to volley, he ended up being embarrased by brilliant returns the big hands of Croatian cudn't reach, for an instance where Ivo almost thought he won a volley, Roger's reflex with his raquet send the ball across to the court, while the big man only cud watch the brilliance of the Master in despair. Ivo himself would hv been so proud to push the master to the tie-breaker in the 3rd set.

But Ivo didn't give up, he set up the standards with his service in the third set, eventhough the game was almost by then, he kept his hopes alive without letting the Master break him third time in the match, all he wanted was to stay till the tie-breaker and try his luck, he certainly knew his lazy footwork and poor rallies can't save the day for him, while it luked the Croatian will serve great and stay in the tie-breaker expecting Roger to miss out on his service points, u can't really expect that from the master, Roger really pushed the odds by returning the big first serves of the Croatian in the tie-breaker, what a time to return such big serves, Roger knew what exactly he had to do, he milked those points..

Ivo eventually knew Roger was too good for him, even his big serves couldn't tame the Master.

But for all the fans of the Master, they had the privilege to watch superior brand on tennis by Roger, since couple of days back Roger facing Soderling played a defensive style of game wich not everyone wud be satisfied from the master, today Roger's absolute grace, beauty, and quality of his game was highly visible, wich he din display against Soderling (shud have been a different gameplan ), but still u don want to miss out on those booming forehand, stunning backhand winners anyday, today he was too relaxed against the Croatian to make any errors apart from errors in the service returns,

Whether Roger plays aggressive brand of tennis, or defensive brand of tennis, he still finds a way to rule the tennis court, but he still does that beautifully, he proves he is a class act time and again, with 8-1 going into the game, one can't really think the Croatian has it all to upset the Master in his den, but one might have wanted a real contest out there.. he lost the match, but he atleast pushed the master for a tie-breaker in the 3rd set.

Let's move on to the preview of the next match, Roger has qualified himself to his 21st consecutive semifinals in grandslam, he finds it quite an reflection of his consistency over the years and his supremacy at the Majors. It's not over yet, its just the beginning i would say having beaten them all, he has still 2 big tests to regain his coveted trophy, this is so special cos he has got a chance to win back his No.1 tag., its nice to see former winner Hewitt and 2-time finalist Andy Roddick who fight out for a place in the semis against the home-favourite Murray who cruised to semis thrashing former French Open winner and this year Wimbledon's wild card entry Juan Carlos Ferrero, Federer has beaten Soderling in 3 weeks back in French Open, while he also finds himself in a position to play Tommy Haas who proved out to be the biggest hurdle in Roger's post-nadal campaign at the Roland Garros, where Haas pushed the Swiss to the brink of defeat, Roger defied the odds against him that day and has had a great month overall, he won't be satisfied if he misses out his Wimbledon Trophy, Federer has quite had the better off a lot of players, even Tommy Haas, though Tommy has been the resurgence of his career after losing marginally against eventual winner in French Open, he went on to take the Wimbledon practice tournament at Halle, his resurgence has been marked by beating 4th seed serb Djokovic twice in a couple of weeks at Halle and in Qfinals of Wimbledon today, he has quite the game to upset the Master, but the question is whether he can hold his nerves and upset the Master, eventhough the 2nd seed has been on another planet playing against Soderling and Karlovic, he didn't have the scope to display his allround game, all we cud understand is that Federer is far more relaxed at QuarterFinals than he was a couple of rounds ago, maybe because his opponents haven't displayed any resilience to test out the Master, but against Haas he might be tested, but with the odds favouring Federer for over 5 years, Federer can complete a dream run at the All England Club by being there at the 7th straight finals.. With Coupe des Mousquetaires placed at his backyard, and serious chance of winning wimbledon again, he wud want to know how beautiful it wud hv been for Nadal last year to take them both home.

Federer beats Soderling once more

2009-06-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

Federer wins Soderling again, Soderling couldn't quite cope up with the pressure of the match, whenever Federer wanted the breaks, Soderling offered him voluntarily, like he did in the first set when they were tied at 4-4, Soderling eased the pressure off Federer's shoulder's by playing 5 unforced errors in the 9th game of the first set to let Federer lead the set 5-4 with Federer having to serve the next game, Federer raced away with 6-4 in the 1st set, otherwise the match was more or less a 'Serving Contest' as coined by Federer after the match,

The second and third sets were certainly serving contest, the swede and the swiss were serving aces and held most of their serves comfortably, but something one can't fathom with the play of Federer yesterday was that he was not interested in taking the initiative at any part of the match, he was living on Soderling's mistakes, probably that was Federer's game plan against Soderling, he wasn't approaching the net's as much as the 12th seeded swede, Federer was very happy to play from the baseline throughout the game, maybe that was some reason to suggest Federer never could break Soderling in the 2nd and 3rd sets, it's the inability of the Swede to break led to tie-breakers in the 2nd and 3rd sets, maybe Federer was more than happy to take on the Swede in the tie-breaker, although Federer wasn't at his best in both the tie-breakers, he lost his service points to let Soderling overtake, but the Swede's inability to play under the pressure proved too costly, losing both the tie-breakers 5-7.. Federer was under pressure everytime the Swede played at the nets, but Federer pulled off some fine winners from the baseline while the Swede was at the nets, otherwise the match missed the ingeniuty of the maestro's forehand , backhand winners, he was completely defensive till the end of the match, but Soderling was maybe too attacking the Swiss's service game, he returned them too hard the ball couldn't stay in the playing area, he was returning at speeds of 100 mph, had he been a bit more clever to not play the ball too hard, with Federer relying mostly on backhand slices and defensive strokes, Soderling had a good chance of outplaying the no.2 seed, but Soderling was never able to control his strokes, along with costly misses in the two tie-breakers ended up in the favour of the Swiss Maestro,

As Federer said Soderling made a big mistake by serving a double fault in the 3rd set tie-breaker, while Federer couldn't convert his service points very well in the tie-breakers, his service was under the hammer, while Soderling eased off everytime by returning the favour by making unforced errors, Federer was lucky in the end in both the tie-breakers,

The Match could have been easily a four setter or a five setter had the Swede capitalized his chances in the tie-breakers by cutting down the errors.

Sometimes even when your game is quite good as your opponent, a couple of errors might be the deciding factor, yesterday Soderling had a day to forget having done all the hardwork to stay in the match, he couldn't capitalise anywhere, probably that's when experience counts, Federer has played a lot of these matches, he quite understands his position very well, with winning 10 times before, Soderling can't really complain, the maestro is too hot to handle anyday, even on a day he played his defensive brand of tennis, he was maybe clever, and a bit of pressure and luck did the job for the Maestro.

Now that we have had enough of the Soderling-Federer match, the next match is got to be a quite another serving contest, if you consider the 4th round match as serving contest, then wednesday will be the finals of the serving contest, with the 6'10" croatian serving 150 miles per hour, it doesn't matter if you are 2nd seed or the underdog, he will be quite hot to handle on grass, but the likes of Federer knows the game of Karlovic very well with a head-head record of 8-1 against the big-serving croat, Federer has the odds with him, while Karlovic has the ability to defy the odds at this point of his career beating big names of the likes of Tsonga and Fernando Verdasco of the fames of Australian Open 2008 and 2009, Tsonga being the runner up of 2008 Aus Open and Verdasco losing the close-fought semis of this year's Aus Open against Rafa, Karlovic has certainly defied the odds as did Soderling in the French Open, still the odds favour the Swiss comfortably, but one might be in for a surprise if the croatian is at his very best serving around 50 aces, and a record of not losing a game in the tournament so far, Federer has his work cut out, I hope seriously Federer comes out of his nutshell of defensive strokes and displays his varied array of strokes to outplay the one-shot genius or the King of Aces.

With Murray having fought a 4 hour marathon with the another Swiss in the tournament Stanislas Wawrinka, the odds clearly are in favour of Federer, but it's still not going to be any easier having said that Nadal is not in the tournament, just from the heat of the tournament favourites Federer and Murray, one has forgotten that Djokovic is having a very good tournament, and Federer will have to face the 22 year old Serb in the semis if they clear their hurdles in their quarters, while the classics Andy Roddick and Lleyton Hewitt being the sole campaigners for thier nations will fight out in the quarters as well, as i said Federer has some serious work to do this week to make this year a complete year with his Wimbledon Title.

Federer Vs Soderling Rematch at Wimbledon

2009-06-26T10:39:00.000-07:00

Soderling played against Federer last month in the Roland Garros Finals, Federer blew of the challenge in thin air in no time, he displayed some fine character at the end of the day at Paris, something wich he was always this close of experiencing, but something that has eluded the maestro for too long.., it was a big due in his trophies list, he played year after year but Nadal always had the last laugh at Paris, the worst part being Federer's inability to defend his Wimbledon title which he considers the most special of the grand slams.. No one could hold their tear glands if you had to lose to the same opponent in 3 different grand slams in less than year, the fact that Nadal stripped Federer off his World no.1 ranking, Federer struggling to win tournaments throughout the 2008 but still managed to fix a date at 3 of the 4 grand slam finals, atleast Federer cud defend his US Open wich he has been winning 5 years now, so he lost his winning streak at Wimbledon, but at the Flushing Meadows, he is still the king, though he is not had the best run at the Aus Open, but he finds himself at best at US Open, i jus can't find the difference between the turf at US and Aus, but Federer does find the difference, the fact that he defended it against upcoming talent Andy Murray last year, but 8 months later, he looks very much favourite not alone in the eyes of the English Fans, but quite alot of Tennis critics, he has got the big game, but he needed to play big at the big stage wich hasn't been his forte yet, he is still young and at the learning curve, for instance Nadal came in Limelight in no time, he wasted no time to get in business as a 19yr old, he also has learnt a lot over the past 2 years, atleast he holds the key to the mystery of most of the leading tennis players, 'How to beat Roger Federer', Murray is another guy who has had the better off Federer in the last 6-7 months after losing at US Open, though Federer attributes his lose to various reasons, Murray has got absolutely the game to upset big name like ROGER FEDERER, not many of the tennis fans wud be surprised to watch that happen, its a win-win for the tennis fans, but Federer or Murray fans cud be disappointed at the end of the tournament.. At an important time of his career, Nadal has left his fans astray hoping he will come back and compete at US Open, his disability to defend his 5th French open title and inability to play at Wimbledon and the fact World No.1 Ranking hangs at the balance only worsens the cause.. but luckily Nadal is just 23 and has a whole lot of time to get back to were he cud be 'One of the greatest tennis players' wich i guess he already is, I for a moment when Rafa won at Aus Open thought Rafa is certainly going to complete a Career Grand Slam before Federer, i really didn't bet my money on Federer completing career grand slam at all, I thought Federer is gonna stay 'Pete Sampras' in being unable to win even a single Tournament at RG.. Now that RG has been done and dusted by the maestro, the debate arises , 'Is Roger Federer the Greatest Tennis Player Ever', i don really know is the answer wich Federer had to comment about that debate, he was confident though calling himself as the Best in last 5 years or 10 years, he believes he has quite dominated the game too much in the last 2-3 years, he had a quite a few questions like 'Were GrandSlams considered as big tournament as they r considered now' ..

Lets get back to business, it was a big relief the day Nadal left Roland Garros in disbelief and pain in heart twice as much as his knees, probably he wud have known the answer to his own medicine against Federer last year at Wimbledon where Nadal ended Federer's dream run wich lasted over 6years, Nadal's dream run at RG had to come to an end some day, but no ever dreamt it wud be so soon, n no one really thought he won't make it to the QFinals, absolutely shocking, even if Nadal lost at 4th Round of US Open, No one wud hv expected to b against Soderling as well, its a Shock, losing at 4th Round of French Open is really a terrible shock to tennis fans, but not for Federer fans, being runner-up for prev 3 years, Federer was the definite favourite at RG, but Federer fans cudn't take it for granted, the next day Federer knew the trophy that eluded him in the past is slipping of his hands when he was 2 sets down against Tommy Haas, and Federer was facing a break point, had he failed to save that game, Federer wud have sunk in more tears than he shed after winning the tournament, cos he knew it was his best opportunity in years, it wasn't cakewalk since then, he had to face big names like Gael Monfils at the QFinals, resurrgent Del Potro which turned out to be 5 setter as well, then at the Finals Federer played like a champion against Soderling the successor of Nadal, Soderling on the other hand had his best tournament in years after beating big names like Nadal, Gonzalez.. I believed Soderling was destined to make it big at the French Open Finals, but one can't really complain wen the maestro is at his best, he won it like a champion. Even Soderling was gracious to appreciate Federer that 'he was the greatest player ever and that he never thought u can lose 10 times against a same player'

Rematch?? Not really wud b the answer if u ask a million, the finalists of the last month's Roland Garros will meet each other at the fourth round of the Wimbledon, Soderling wud want to break his losing record against Federer who leads 10-0 against the Swede(Soderling). This is quite similar to at French Open, Soderling taking on the top seed at Roland Garros 09 and eventually winning it in a 4 setter, not to forget the Nadal-Soderling duo don't get along each other after a Soderling act of Nadal's wedgie at the Wimbledon couple of years ago, now at Wimbledon 09 he has to play the top seed Federer, at Paris, the Top seed collapsed to this swede, onl a couple of days ll answer the question of 'will it be the repeat of Roland garros, ie Soderling beating the top seed at the Fourth Round',

i believe Federer ll lose at the fourth round , i m not a quite good kind of predictor, but i do like to predict, i predicted Federer ll lose against Tommy Haas, Gael Monfils, Del Potro and even Soderling at French Open finals 2009, lol, he has disappointed me lately, but he shud be quite fulfilled of the fact he has pushed his name in the elite list of names from Rod Laver to Andre Agassi who had completed career grandslam.

Is Federer the greatest ever, the answer i hv to offer is 'i don't really know', but i guess he has quite a work to do, like winning at Olympics, wich he has failed twice, and the fact that he has dominated tennis on all courts at all levels, at if he is gonna finish his Career with tat onl one French Open title, one can't really consider him as the best of all tennis after all, may be years after Federer is no more playing the game n u start watching it alongwith your kids n teach them the abt the game n talk abt the greatest tennis player ever n if ur kid ask ' so he won onl once at French Open', that might not be the best way to consider this evergreen master, it wud be more fulfilling to hv wins at French Open again and a Olympic Championship, also the fact the head-to-head record against the Spain's King of Clay isn't the best to be showcast, now that he is 7-13 against Nadal, losing twice as much as he won, gives one the feeling 'was he the greatest ever', may be he is, but still he cud still cement himself a foot deeper as the greatest ever to hv played the game, but one can't really say with the way these two hv progressed over the year, back to back at French Open Finals n Wimbledon finals, there hasn't been even one player who has played the Finals at Roland Garros n All England Club in the same year, one wud b impressed these two are in different planet, they hv quite performed this feat for 3 consecutive years., thats quite a lot of show, they say Clay and Grass are like East and West, but for these two gentlemen of the sport, its quite a distance, but not too far!!! and they aren't afraid of the hard courts as well, its been 2 men show in tennis for quite sometime, they hv jus dominated the game jus too much i guess, As Federer Suggested one shud judge his career once its over, not while he is still playing, ya it does hav some sense, no one can guarantee Nadal will be in the sidelines of the history of the sport... he cud well contend for being the greatest as well, but one cant really say right now, the fact that Nadal has been Federer at 5 out of 7 grandslam finals meeting and once at semifinals, Nadal has the upperhand against Federer at Grandslams, Nadal has won six so far and everytime he has had to win Federer mostly at finals..

They r not contended with either Clay or Grass, their versatility is their strength, Not to forget, Federer brings grace and elegance to the game, while Nadal brings along with him the athletism and strength, also tat they don play with the same hand, while their game are like opposite poles of a magnet, they bring greatness to the game, Federer raises his game at the grandslams, he has reached 20 consecutive semifinals of the grandslams and still heading to his 21st, tats quite a record one shud be proud even years after retirement, if not for Nadal, Federer shud be 20 Majors by now, but one can't complain for the non-stop entertainment these two hv displayed to the world.. even if they don stay in the books as the greatest players of the game, atleast they ll be the greatest Rivals in the sport, atleast for that v r highly grateful to these masters of the sport.

Atleast for that v hv to be highly thankful for these two gentlemen.. I haven't watched greats like Pete, Agassi, Becker, Laver, Lendl etc play the game, watching Federer and Nadal is enuff for me

Ponting outpoints Waugh in record winning streaks

2008-01-11T08:13:00.000-08:00

Original Context : http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/magazine/content/current/story/330295.html

Never say draw

A comparison of the Test-winning streaks of Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting

Peter English
January 11, 2008

World leaders: Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh have taken Test success to new levels © Getty Images

Meanwhile, back at the cricket. Ricky Ponting won his 16th Test in row on Sunday to level the mark achieved by Steve Waugh's outstanding sides between 1999 and 2001. The Sydney success, which was sealed with three wickets in a stunning Michael Clarke over when a draw seemed the only result, continued the trend of a team that is proud of its ability to win from anywhere.

Forgetting the problems with officials and behaviour, it was an extraordinary result that justified Ponting's leap of faith in leaving the declaration until 15 minutes before lunch on the final day. Even Waugh's team, the first to view a draw like a loss, and one which had a more highly-qualified bowling attack, would not have believed ten wickets would come so quickly.

Arguments have raged over dozens of issues since Clarke's unthinkable strikes in the SCG shadows, but it's time to start another. Is Ponting's streak better than Waugh's? Statistically it looks as though Ponting's outfit will always be numerically greater because India need something even more almighty than Australia's performance in Sydney to survive in Perth.

The record of Ponting's side is more significant as it had to deal with aging warriors, a large transition and five Tests against an England side that had previously beaten them. However, Waugh's men deserve special status as history-ruining trailblazers.

In Waugh, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, the group of 1999-2001 had three greats operating near their peaks, while Ponting, Mark Waugh, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie and Justin Langer added to the class. Brett Lee was at his most enthusiastic during seven games and Matthew Hayden was starting to rumble when the run ended.

Since 2001, Ponting has developed into one of the greatest batsmen of all time while Michael Hussey has sustained an average in the 80s, something only Don Bradman has bettered. Hayden, Gilchrist, Langer and Martyn stepped into mature age during the era from Boxing Day 2005, but their experience was essential in regular situations of domination and occasional ones of extreme stress. After Warne and McGrath retired, the bowling lost star quality but not its effectiveness.

There are many similarities between the streaks, but the modern collection has a stronger batting line-up and its predecessors were superior with the ball.

Each team played 11 Tests at home and five away.

Waugh won six games in three days, three in four and seven in five; Ponting was successful 12 times on the fifth and twice each on the third and fourth.

Each captain had two wins by 250 runs or more, but Waugh had four by an innings and three by ten wickets compared to Ponting's three and one respectively.

Both batting line-ups scored more than 400 in an innings nine times, but Waugh's men passed 500 only twice, while Ponting's order achieved it on six dates.

The opposition was dismissed for less than 200 on 14 occasions between 1999 and 2001; over the last two years it has happened 11 times

Thirty centuries have been scored by Australians since Boxing Day 2005, 11 more bat raises than in the previous squad

Ponting (1709), Hussey (1678) and Hayden (1447) are the top scorers of the current crop; the highest in the earlier run was Langer with 1174

There were 14 five-wicket hauls in Waugh's days and seven in Ponting's

Lee leads the contemporary wicket takers with 75 at 26 ahead of Stuart Clark (62) and Warne (57), while the old school was headmastered by McGrath (76 at 18.46) ahead of Warne (46) and Lee (42), who had significantly better overall averages than their modern counterparts
No situation has proved too hard for Ponting's men over the past two years © Getty Images

Most importantly for Ponting, his team believes no situation is lost. Ponting's first serious trouble occurred in Durban in 2006 when the South Africa tail was proving hard to remove, but even a lack of light could not turn off that success. A week later they edged towards safety through Damien Martyn's hundred before Lee and Michael Kasprowicz eked the winning runs with only a concussed Langer left in the dressing room.

The new-found steel was again on show that April when they hopped to Bangladesh and found themselves behind by 158 on first innings in Fatullah. However, they climbed back for a three-wicket win before the most dramatic of turnarounds in Adelaide later that year. Australia not only needed to dismiss England on the final day - they started at 1 for 59 - but had to chase as well. England toppled for 129 after tea and Australia sprinted to 168 for a victory. That is the only one Ponting puts above the Sydney heist, which came with seven balls remaining.

The highlight of Waugh's streak came in the third match when they were 5 for 126, chasing 369 against Pakistan at Hobart, and Langer (127) and Gilchrist (149 not out) were the heroes. At the time it was a phenomenal crusade, but under Ponting's command it is expected. Attitudes have changed a lot over the past decade.

Waugh's side smashed seemingly out-of-reach boundaries - West Indies had held the record with 11 straight - but Ponting has followed the dictum that defeat is never an option. Australia have had Bradman's Invincibles and Waugh's Untouchables, and all this team needs is a name. Anyone for Ponting's Perfect Prefects?

Peter English is the Australasia editor of Cricinfo

Thada Falls

2007-10-31T03:29:00.000-07:00

Japanese Biker Drives 1.24 Miles Without Severed Right Leg

2007-10-19T03:54:00.000-07:00

August 14, 2007

A Japanese man driving a motorcycle severed his right leg after colliding with a concrete highway divider but did not notice the injury until after driving for a few minutes and two kilometers (1.24 miles) away from accident site, the local media in Japan reported on Wednesday. The accident happened at Nishi Ward in the city of Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture in central Japan.

According to Japan Today, police said Kazuo Nagata, 54, was driving along the Hamana bypass of National Highway Route 1 at about 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday (9:30 p.m., Monday, GMT) when he failed to negotiate a left turn and hit the central divider that severed his right leg about 10 centimeters (3.94 inches) below the knee. Nagata continued driving unaware of the injury and only noticed his missing right leg when he and his friends stopped at an interchange about 1.24 miles from the scene of the accident.

Nagata was traveling on motorbike to Gifu Prefecture with 10 friends. A companion retrieved the severed leg and the others called for an ambulance. Police said Nagata was out of danger.
Police theorized that Nagata failed to notice his missing leg because he struggled to retain his balance after the collision or was focused on the pain he felt after the accident.

An accident waiting to happen, Ian Chappell on Sreesanth

2007-10-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

Sreesanth needs to be disciplined
An accident waiting to happen
Ian Chappell

October 14, 2007

'Suspend Sreesanth for a meaningful period' © Getty Images

Back when I was playing, whenever a fiery red sports car would go whizzing past our team's more sedate mode of transport, the former Australian wrist-spinner Johnny Martin would say, "There goes an accident waiting to happen". Currently Indian fast bowler Sreesanth appears to be driving a bright red V12 with mag wheels, twin carburettors and the latest E gearshift. He's already had a couple of minor scrapes but hasn't backed off the throttle, and if he continues down this bumpy road he's headed for a major catastrophe.

The BCCI should do him a favour and take away his keys; in other words, suspend him for a meaningful period. Then he'll have time to think about his erratic behaviour and will hopefully realise he's wasting his undoubted talent by expending energy on things that won't help his team win.

And if the BCCI does shift into disciplinary gear, they should also severely reprimand the person or persons who dreamed up the flawed tactic of India taking the Australians on at their own game. The first-class game in Australia is highly competitive and players regularly indulge in one-upmanship and the better ones thrive in this atmosphere. If the Australians wanted to do a Brer rabbit on India, they would have said: "Please don't intimidate us verbally."
If the BCCI needs any prompting on why they should discipline Sreesanth before he has a major crash, they only have to look at Pakistan's mishandling of Shoaib Ahktar in his early days. The PCB has finally done what it should have a long time ago: brought the malcontent into line with a suspension and serious fine. If this had happened when Shoaib's erratic behaviour first started to undermine the Pakistan side then he may well have become what he should have been - a match-winning fast bowler - instead of what he has been, a serious disruption to team harmony.
Firm disciplinary measures are not about curtailing character, they're applied to remind the more strong-willed players that they are part of a team and that the idea of the game is to win matches. Former great fast bowlers Fred Trueman of England and Dennis Lillee of Australia were both strong-willed players and great characters. However, their antics never harmed the team's goal of winning.

On the subject of Pakistan and discipline, Darrell Hair's court case against the ICC threw up an interesting sidelight. After Hair dropped the case, the PCB Chairman Nasim Ashraf said, "We do not believe that Hair should be umpiring on the Elite Panel." He made this statement even though both India and Sri Lanka took the more conciliatory line, saying they would abide by the ICC's decision once Hair completed his six-month rehabilitation period.

If the BCCI needs any prompting on why they should discipline Sreesanth before he has a major crash, they only have to look at Pakistan's mishandling of Shoaib Ahktar in his early days
So I wonder what approach the PCB will take concerning current Elite umpire Rudi Koertzen? Hair rather unwisely reported a phone conversation he had with Koertzen during the 2007 World Cup. When the South African umpire was told about Pakistan's early exit from the tournament he apparently responded, "That's great news, those cheats can now go home."
Now that the comment is in the public domain, it severely undermines Koertzen's most important credential - his impartiality. The PCB would have legitimate cause to ask the ICC not to appoint Koertzen for any Pakistan matches, or get them to at least force the South African to make a grovelling apology or deny he ever made the comment.

Taking the ICC to court was a fruitless exercise for Hair but he did succeed in severely embarrassing his employers on a number of occasions. From the president of the West Indies Board not realising umpire Billy Doctrove was from the Caribbean, to the ICC's appointment of an inappropriate three-man panel to look into Hair's future, the administrators' incompetence was laid bare for a worldwide audience.

Hair's choice of action at The Oval in August 2006 may have been questionable but it's hard to fault his appointment of QC Robert Griffiths to defend his honour. The wily Griffiths led the ICC board members into a street filled with potholes and they drove headlong into the trap.
Sreesanth may be travelling down a dangerous path but he's not the only member of the cricket fraternity speeding in a fiery red sports car.

© Cricinfo

An Apologetic Burglar

2007-09-09T03:05:00.000-07:00

A BURGLAR broke into a house in Queenstown, New Zealand, twice in a day - the second time to return his loot and leave a heartfelt letter of apology

The intruder smashed a window to get into Graeme and Shirley Glass' house and took a laptop computer, camera and wallet containing a credit card, the Otago Daily Times reported today.
He came back later to return them as well as a basketball and two pairs of gloves he bought with the card and write a note in Glass's diary apologising for "violating the safety and security of your home".

"I have never written truer words when I say that I wish that I had never done this to you and your family," he wrote.

"From the bottom of my heart I am sorry."
The burglar promised to leave some cash in the Glass's mailbox to pay for the broken window "when I have enough money".
Police have a description of the offender from the shops where he used the credit card, forging Glass's signature.

Indian Guinness Records

2007-09-09T02:38:00.000-07:00

NEW DELHI - How do you stand out in a land with a billion people?

Radhakant Bajpai did it by growing his ear hair more than five inches long.

Vadivelu Karunakaren did it by skipping 10 miles in 58 minutes.

Arvind Morarbhai Pandya did it by running 940 miles backward in 26 days and seven hours.

India is a land obsessed with superlatives, especially the kind that get you into the Guinness World Records book. Here, a Guinness record is the stuff of national headlines.

"Orissa man claims a record for cracking open 72 coconuts by elbow!" the Hindustan Times, a leading newspaper, trumpeted last month. "Uttar Pradesh boy can write on mustard seeds!" said a headline in July. The paper has run over 50 stories this year about bids for Guinness records, and it is by no means ahead of its competition.And this just in from the Times of India, another highly respected daily: "Man looks to set world record pulling vehicles with mustache."Why the fascination? India, after all, is awash in genuine superlatives — world's largest democracy, world's largest youth population.

Why bother with fastest to drink a bottle of ketchup?Guinness Rishi — yes, his name is Guinness; more on that later — submitted the ketchup record after downing a bottle in 39 seconds. The Guinness company has yet to accept his bid.Rishi said he breaks records — his business card lists 19 feats — to distinguish himself in one of the world's biggest crowds."People consider me an extraordinary person, not an ordinary person," he said.India, holding 219 Guinness World Records, is only 10th on the list. The U.S. has the most, followed by Britain, Australia and Germany. But for sheer obsessive enthusiasm, and ingenuity in dreaming up new superlatives, India seems unbeatable.The explanations are various.In the new India, more people than ever are earning prestigious degrees and staggering salaries.

But for millions who don't have access to such routes for success, aiming for world records, no matter how ridiculous, provides a much-needed outlet in a society as rigid and hierarchical as India's, say Rishi and other world-beaters.After all, India's widespread poverty and its caste system, though not the all-determining forces they once were, still make social boundaries hard to crack. Harder, perhaps, than breaking a world record."Persons who have no money wish to do something in their lives, so the poor people try to break records by their strength or their will," said Rishi, a 66-year-old partner in an auto parts factory.His crowded bookshelves are filled exclusively with record books from years past. He also hires himself out as a consultant to would-be record breakers.No one captures Guinness mania better. Rishi changed his first name from Har Parkash to Guinness after earning a record for being part of a team that kept a motor scooter in motion for 1,001 hours. He says he's broken more than a dozen records, but the Guinness company has not yet accepted any others.

To claim the record for oldest adoptee, he adopted his 61-year-old brother-in-law. (He's going to beat that one again now that he's "working with a 90-year-old.") He built the world's tallest sugar cube tower at 64 inches.Rishi is so passionate about Guinness that he wrote in his will — the longest will in the world, of course — that he wants his record books used as the kindling at his cremation. (His wife, Bimla, claims to have the record for shortest will in the world: "All to son.")Rishi says his two sons have successful careers abroad, and they don't think much of the Guinness obsession. But their accomplishments make Rishi more determined to prove that he counts, too."My children feel that they are more important in the field of business and moneymaking so I have to show the family and the community that I am a professional person," he said.Some see broader explanations for India's peculiar relationship with Guinness.Santosh Desai, a columnist with the Times of India, another newspaper that covers Guinness bids like political campaigns, says it's an example of India's hunger for Western approval, a defining trait in a country racing to achieve superpower status."We are desperate to be acknowledged by the world as being worthy," Desai said. "We hunt for any signs that the external world recognizes us, and then we celebrate them."Even if it's, well, Bajpai's world-beating ear hair.The Indian Express, a well-respected newspaper, called Bajpai "a proud man who has brought hairy recognition ... not only to his locality and city but to the whole nation."But this theory — that it's all about self-esteem _doesn't explain why neighboring Pakistan doesn't share India's Guinness passion. The two were one country during British colonial times, and have a lot in common, culturally, ethnically and linguistically.In their zeal for posterity, some in India have taken the Guinness obsession to dangerous extremes.In June, a doctor couple in southern India boasted that their 15-year-old son had tried to become the world's youngest surgeon by delivering a baby by Caesarean section — a procedure they proudly filmed.All three are now awaiting trial on charges of endangering human life.Last year, a 4-year-old boy attempted to run 43 miles to earn a spot in a local record book. Doctors stopped the child after 40 miles and found him to be undernourished and anemic.His coach has been arrested and charged with torturing the child.Amarilis Espinoza, a Guinness World Records spokeswoman, said the company doesn't accept entries that encourage dangerous behavior.

People across the world inquire about feats Guinness does not condone, but India's can-do attitude makes it stand out, she said. Rather than just ask about unsafe records, in India "they just go ahead and do it," she said.For world-beaters who fail to reach the peaks of Guinness, there is the local Limca Record Book, published by Coca-Cola, a junior-varsity league for India's unlikely feats. ("Fastest Solving of Rubik's Cube Blindfolded.")Another rung down is the Web site 4to40.com where people pay $50 to have their record posted. ("37 Men on a Bike.")Rishi is considering publishing his own book of records, one that will be more inclusive than the Guinness book.But some in India say that as living standards soar, Guinness mania will peter out."What has replaced it are more legitimate and more conventional areas of competing," said Desai. "I think India will outgrow its desire to grow its nails faster than the rest of the world."

Miracle man Walks Again

2007-09-09T02:35:00.000-07:00

He survived against all the odds; now Peng Shulin has astounded doctors by learning to walk again.
When his body was cut in two by a lorry in 1995, it was little short of a medical miracle that he lived. Peng Shulin, wearing new trainers, works on learning to walk againtook a team of more than 20 doctors to save his life.Skin was grafted from his head to seal his torso – but the legless Mr Peng was left only 78cm (2ft 6in) tall.Bedridden for years, doctors in China had little hope that he would ever be able to live anything like a normal life agan.

The bionic legs mimic the way Peng's limbs would have workedBut recently, he began exercising his arms, building up the strength to carry out everyday chores such as washing his face and brushing his teeth.Doctors at the China Rehabilitation Research Centre in Beijing found out about Mr Peng's plight late last year and devised a plan to get him up walking again. They came up with an ingenious way to allow him to walk on his own, creating a sophisticated egg cup-like casing to hold his body with two bionic legs attached to it.He has been taking his first steps around the centre with the aid of his specially adapted legs and a resized walking frame.Mr Peng, who has to learn how to walk again, is said to be delighted with the device.

50 Unbelievable Moments

2007-09-09T02:30:00.000-07:00

50 Unbelievable Moments

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Amazing Facts About Your Body

2007-09-08T03:21:00.000-07:00

50,000 of the cells in your body will die and be replaced with new cells, all while you have been reading this sentence!

In one hour, your heart works hard enough to produce the equivalent energy to raise almost 1 ton of weight 1 yard off the ground.

Scientists have counted over 500 different liver functions.

In 1 square inch of skin there lies 4 yards of nerve fibers, 1300 nerve cells, 100 sweat glands, 3 million cells, and 3 yards of blood vessels.

The structural plan of a whale's, a dog's, a bird's and a man's 'arm' are exactly the same.

The world`s first test-tube twins were born in June 1981.

There are 45 miles of nerves in the skin of a human being.

In a year, a person`s heart beats 40,000,000 times.

Most people blink about 25 times a minute.

Each square inch of human skin consists of twenty feet of blood vessels.

Nerve impulses to and from the brain travel as fast as 170 miles per hour.

Your stomach has to produce a new layer of mucus every two weeks otherwise it will digest itself.

Your left lung is smaller than your right lung to make room for your heart.

You use an average of 43 muscles for a frown.

You use an average of 17 muscles for a smile.

Every two thousand frowns creates one wrinkle.

The average human blinks his eyes 6,205,000 times each year.

The average human produces a quart of saliva a day or 10,000 gallons in a lifetime.

Every person has a unique tongue print.

The average human's heart will beat 3000 million times in their lifetime.

The average human will pump 48 million gallons of blood in their lifetime.

You burn 26 calories in a one minute kiss.

The average human body contains enough: Sulphur to kill all fleas on an average dog, Carbon to make 900 pencils, Potassium to fire a toy cannon, Fat to make 7 bars of soap, Phosphorus to make 2,200 match heads, and enough Water to fill a ten gallon tank

Among the first known "dentists" of the world were the Etruscans. In 700 BC they carved false teeth from the teeth of various mammals and produced partial bridgework good enough to eat with.

Ophthalmic surgery was one of the most advanced areas of medicine in the ancient world. Detailed descriptions of delicate cataract surgery with sophisticated needle syringes is contained in the medical writings of Celsus (A.D. 14-37)

A sneeze zooms out of your mouth at over 100 m.p.h.

If you were freeze-dried, 10% of your body weight would be from the microorganisms on your body.

Your ears and nose continue to grow throughout your entire life.

When you eat meat and drink milk in the same meal, your body does not absorb any of the milk's calcium. It is best to have 2 hours between the milk and meat intake.

The tooth is the only part of the human body that can't repair itself.

Every human spent about half an hour as a single cell.

One human brain generates more electrical impulses in a single day than all of the world’s telephones put together.