Confused Views

The rise of Zaheer Khan, the greatness of Kapil Dev

2009-04-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

Zaheer Khan had a great tour of NZ and raised his credentials not only as India's best current pace bowler in test matches, but also one of the three best. The other two being Kapil Dev and Javagal Srinath. The comparative figures of these three at the end of their 65th test are given below.

Bowler	T	I	O	M	R	W	BBI	BBT	Avg	ER	SR	5WI	10WT
Kapil Dev	65	105	2301.2	462	7048	251	9/83	11/146	28.07	3.06	55.0	18	2
Javagal Srinath	65	118	2479.2	587	7104	233	8/86	13/132	30.48	2.86	63.8	10	1
Zaheer Khan	65	119	2160.2	440	7107	210	5/29	9/134	33.84	3.28	61.7	7	0

It is obvious from above that overall Zaheer Khan is now India's 3rd best pace bowler and his record is improving in the last 2-3 years.

Even now, Kapil Dev stands supreme above all others. His record deteriorated in the later stages of his career with the strike rate dropping by over 9 balls per wicket and average bloating up by 1.6 runs per wicket. This was countered somewhat by significant improvement in the economy rate.

Neither Srinath nor Zaheer ever got close to Kapil's peak strike rate of 51.1 in his 24th test, Srinath's best was 60.8 in his 55th while Zaheer peaked at 60.3 in his 49th. At the same point in all their careers, the gap is still significant.

Between Srinath and Zaheer the numbers are favourable enough for Srinath to take the 2nd position. But Zaheer's record is improving from an intermediate decline and he could close the gap to match Srinath. Catching Kapil is another matter altogether.

This just goes to show how significant Kapil Dev was to Indian cricket if one adds his superior fielding and great batting skills. Inspite of Sachin Tendulkar, Kapil is by far India's greatest cricketer. In tests he has 40% of Sachin's runs and a World Cup. Sachin would need @174 wickets to be in the same league and win a World Cup as well. And if one goes by a per match contribution, the gap is larger esp. in Tests. In Limited Overs it is probably slightly tilted towards Sachin, but the World Cup deficit could dent that.

Guns and Bloody Roses

2009-04-04T06:40:00.000-07:00

Yet another tragedy waiting to happen. A man of Vietnamese origin killing himself after shooting 13 people dead in Binghamton, NY, continues America's sorry story on gun violence. Then we have the usual scenario of reactive law enforcement doing its thing after the fact. Too little and definitely too late. I am more surprised by the surprise expressed in media over these incidents, when the chances are so much higher in the gun possession prolific US than elsewhere.

Some pundits have proclaimed through studies that there is definitely a connection between economic downturns and increase in violent incidents. Even a quick look at history will show that. Wasn't it poverty that lead to the violent takeover of the American continent by Europeans at the expense of indigenous cultures? They are reluctant to connect the difference in potential for violence with and without a gun.

A person with a knife or club or stick can rarely coerce 4-5 or more persons to bid his will unless he is a Bruce Lee/Rambo type of a fighting superstar. A person with a gun definitely can, even if he is the ridiculed 5 foot 80 pound local wimp. He could coerce 5 NFL footballers if he wanted, so long as they were unarmed and he was.

The promoters of gun culture in the US portray it as their right to defend themselves from attack in a violence prone society. The proliferation of guns actually makes the US a far more violence prone society in the first place. And in the majority of cases, the gun is used as a weapon of offence or coercion far more often than for any self defence. In a number of serial killing cases, the gun plays a very important role, though victims may be killed in some other way. One has to just go through the entire list of prolific serial killers in the US (which somehow seems to have a higher number here as well) to see how effective a gun made them.

So, inspite of having the world's best means, resources and technology to deal with crime, the free gun culture is a massive achilles heel to the entire US security infrastructure. They have the cure and no clue about prevention. This leaves it seriously vulnerable to terrorism in the future (Update below) . A patient enemy just needs its combatants to have a clean record, migrate to the US, get citizenship in the 6-10 year period and arm themselves and carry out coordinated massacres across the country. If they are open to suicide, this leaves a reactive law enforcement, however quick, too late to help counter such a strike and hence ineffective.

Till the US gets the balance between the freedom to carry a gun and the ease of using a gun for violence against fellow citizens, similar incidents will continue to be common place. The US will continue on all fronts including having the most people in prison, having the most in solitary confinement and having a massive drug control problem.

Update. The Pakistani Taliban is claiming credit for the massacre, though it is more likely a bluff, but this is sure to give them and the US security structure something to think about.

Cricket - 2nd Test, Efficient Kiwis, Overconfident Indians

2009-03-28T05:55:00.000-07:00

As the 2nd test unfolds, it looks more and more true that Yuvraj Singh is not a test match batsman. It also shows that Virender Sehwag is a predictable one. He will take risks no matter what the situation.

The Kiwis have always played international cricket based on a limited pool of talent. Their main weakness is the lack of depth in their teams. Due to this, they rely on their strengths which are

Efficienctly using their limited resources
Being tactically smarter than their opponents
Avoiding obvious mistakes

If one stays with them on these three fronts, their lack of depth gets exposed. Just watch them play Australia or South Africa. They more or less get muscled out.

The current Indian team has the depth but tends to loose ground on the above points. When they don't, they also dominate New Zealand like they did in the first test. This test, they have lost on all three counts with dropped catches, and rash shots.

The situation has been made worse with Dhoni missing. It costs India their best keeper by far, a strong lower middle order batsman and an inspirational captain. Kartik has already contributed a dropped catch. The gap between him and the next best options for captainship also seem collosal now.

As for Yuvraj Singh, there is no way to hide him after this test. He will have to play the innings of his life to make up for his lapses in this test to save his test career.

Nano - a better review

2009-03-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

I found R Jagannathan's review of the Nano in the context of India's urban traffic issues in DNA's Opinion section interesting.

I agree with his view that the 2-wheelers occupy significant space if braking distance is considered in traffic. But this applies to traffic in Mumbai where some form of lane discipline still exists. Not so valid in others where 2-wheelers usually slot into any gap available and hence occupy less space, not that it makes for a pleasant traffic situation.

Jagannathan says that cars should be cheap but roads should be costly, charged for usage just like any other utility. So, the more one uses it by private transport, the more one pays. So, only the rich will use the road more often even if more people have cars. This point though is a valid one to control traffic congestion.

The other issue is the age old one of improving public transport, nice in theory, not so in practical implementation. It will need political will, a most risky option for any politician. This 'will' can only come to the fore if it will cost an election not to use it.

Tennis - Nadal pulls ahead

2009-03-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

Nadal pulls ahead

By adding the first major grand prix tournament at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells right after his Australian Open win, Rafael Nadal has pulled further away from Roger Federer. This time there was no Federer in the final but Andy Murray. The final though, showed that if Murray is finally almost at par with the top two, Nadal is by far the more adaptable, tactically sound player.

This tournament exposes a growing chink in Federer's earlier impregnable armoury of tennis skills. The backhand unravels under stress. Relentless pressure on Federer's backhand coupled with disciplined shot making helped Murray win 6-1 in the 3rd with Federer as good as giving up. Troubled times indeed for Roger but more mental than physical.

Under normal conditions, the final would have been a tough to predict match. In fact, given Murray's recent wins over both Federer and Nadal, he would have had a slight edge. But he showed an inability to adjust to unfavourable, windy conditions and succumbed easily 6-2, 6-1. This tournament gives the winner 1000 points and Nadal extends his lead further from Federer even as Murray closes in on world number three Novak Djokovic.

7 Reasons not to disable Right Click on Browsers

2009-03-24T05:51:00.000-07:00

Sites disabling normal functions within the browser such as right click, copy, paste, selection etc. have the following faulty thinking.

Most of their visitors are there to copy their content.

This is more likely to turn visitors away as it interferes with their normal use of a common application.
It creates a negative image of the company (suspicious and non trusting).
It inconveniences the majority for a potential transgression by a small percentage of visitors.

Those who want to copy their content now cannot.

Most scrapers can easily bypass the above restrictions.
Users intent on copying can easily get the source code and extract what they want.
Covering for all browser types and their versions is not worth the effort.
Since most methods involve javascript, disabling scripts usually bypasses this or breaks the site.

It is like a shopkeeper asking each shopper to go through a security check before entering their shop. All it does is turn away visitors and can lead to potential losses rather than any of the perceived gains.

The blocking process creates a very negative image of the site and company and causes loss of brand value. After all the site is there for a purpose, not exactly to post one's trade secrets but to promote the business.

P.S. Came across a more detailed view from 2002 at Sitepoint by Rosemary Wise. Amazing that the problem still exists seven years later.

The larger Nano issues

2009-03-24T00:58:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in my earlier post, if it succeeds, Nano will be a major business triumph making them Tata the dominant car manufacturer replacing Maruti.

Tata has officially launched the Nano as the world's cheapest commercial car. This is expected to lead to a rise in car ownership in India. It is considered beneficial if one is to believe the media hype surrounding it.

As with all issues, the Nano launch will have its pros and cons, its supporters and critics.

The pros

An affordable car to a larger population base in a country where transport facilities overall are very poor.
Greater mobility as a car can carry more people over longer distances, also it is less tiring as it is compared to riding a bike.
All households having an income enought to afford two bikes will now afford a car.
It helps leverage the advantage of the improving inter city transport infrastructure (albeit slowly)
With a larger car owning population, the government will be under more pressure to ensure good infrastructure (hopefully)

The cons

The demand for fuel will go up significantly if the car is a major hit across the country.
The number of road fatalities will go up what with an already poor record at current traffic volumes.
The poor won't have much benefit except maybe a little less strain on public transport.
The generally poor infrastructure and endemic corruption in corporations will mean that urban India will have more traffic stress.
Cities will suffer additional traffic congestion.
Traffic pooling, though nice in theory, is unlikely as people who buy a Nano won't keep it at home.

I might have missed a few obvious ones in both of the above. For me, as of now the cons outnumber the pros.

Nano - Tata bid to capture Indian Car Market

2009-03-24T00:50:00.000-07:00

Though one does not know the actual cost breakup of the Nano, it is likely that Ratan Tata won't mind selling it at a slight loss. In spite of all the hype about nation building, this is a purely business decision.

Manufacture low end product and deliver to capture market even if at an initial loss.
Move up the value chain using the leverage as the dominant car manufacturer.

Tata already has some penetration on the car segment through its Indica series. The Nano will strongly challenge Maruti's long hold as the numero uno car manufacturer. If it succeeds, Ratan Tata deserves full credit from a business perspective as he was willing to take that risk.

In the next post, I will look at some of the pros and cons of the Nano for India as a whole

Extending Google search with Webmynd

2009-03-06T05:04:00.000-08:00

Makeuseof.com has suggested a few tools for extending Google search results. Webmynd seems the most interesting of the lot. Its integration with other search tools including Twitter, Flickr, Youtube, wikipedia and others makes it hard to ignore. Add the ability to tweet directly to Twitter and that just makes my day.

I am one going on two

2009-03-06T04:55:00.000-08:00

This Sunday will be a special occasion as it is my son Ishaan's 2nd birthday. As a thumb rule, my doctor told me, it is 'walking by one' and 'talking by two' give or take a month or two.

So, finally I am, since the last month or so, having a legible conversation with my son. It is restricted to 3-4 word sentences and slowly building up a sequence of these to get across a point. It can all of a sudden revert to baby jargon at any point if something catches his interest enough to distract him.

It makes one think, language is such an amazing gift in human society and so taken for granted.

Rank checking tool

2009-03-06T04:44:00.001-08:00

SEOBook has come up with another useful SEO tool. The new Rank checking tool for Firefox helps checking rankings for Google, Yahoo and Live search engines. It allows searching for multiple keywords. Also group keywords using the Presets feature. All in all looks like a very useful tool for a quick ranking lookup or an indepth one as desired.

You only live twice

2009-03-02T06:21:00.000-08:00

Chemical Ali gets 3rd death sentence. Again proves the law is an ass. The judge could just have confirmed an earlier death sentence. Or are they planning to kill him 3 times?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090302/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_iraq

Slumdog does a Michael Phelps, bags eight

2009-02-23T01:43:00.000-08:00

Slumdog Millionaire has swept the Oscars winning 8.

The movie is a major hit in the west. In India it has been average and opinions vary. For some it is the arrival of the Bollywood brand of Indian cinema onto the world's stage. For others, it is the repackaging and selling of Indian poverty to an expectant western audience.

I was underwhelmed by the movie somewhat, but then I have experienced Bollywood. Let us look at some points of debate.

Does Slumdog repackage and sell Indian poverty?
Off course it does. So, have all the masala Bollywood movies from long past. They packaged it as it suited them and sold locally. Danny Boyle packaged it more bluntly and sold it internationally.

Does Slumdog have a good story - Bollywood ishtyle?
At various levels yes. Here are some threads that run through it.

Underdog winning against The Big Dog. The David versus Goliath thing.
People have loved that kind of thing for ages. Why, they even like it outside movies as in sports and wars sometimes.

Good versus Evil / Poor versus Rich
Then there is the good versus evil thing that gets people. Slumdog has that too.

The Love Angle
There is the love thing, the overcoming of hurdles to finally culminate in the happy ending.

Bada Bhai - Chota Bhai
This movie has it and with scenes from childhood, teenage and adulthood. Almost reminds me of Amar Akbar Anthony, Deewar, etc.

The song and dance
There is only one at the end. Could have done with a few in between as well.

Rags to riches
It is all there at the core of the movie. The west loves to ogle at our rags. We like their riches. It is a beneficial exchange. What's not to love?

Bachpan ka Pyaar
Childhood sweethearts. Hmm...

Many a Bollywood star and superstar have thrived on one or the other of the above concepts. Unfortunately for them, there was no Danny Boyle to package and give it an international exposure.

Let us keep in mind, the Chinese food we eat is not exactly as made in China. But in India people are crazy about the Indian version. This must definitely surprise the Chinese.

And so the West has loved this Hollywood version of Bollywood. They are even giving it their highest awards.

And contrary to opinions, Amitabh Bachchan has magnamously praised Rahman and others on their Oscar wins at the end of this post

Is Swat the new Rhineland

2009-02-19T01:25:00.000-08:00

The Taliban takeover of Swat, a slice of Pakistani territory, is a historic first. A sovereign nation has succumbed to a hardline Islamic outfit and handed over its territory. Through effective use of bluff, bluster and deception against a weak democratic government, the Taliban has officially entered Pakistan.

Before WWII Nazi troops took over Rhineland, through bluff, bluster and deception against a weak democratic French government. Will Kashmir by the new Austria with Punjab-Sindh playing Czecho-Slovakia to the Taliban's war dance?

Nazi Germany never became a nuclear power. Pakistan is one with the least deterrence or control. The probablity of a first nuclear terror attack just went up. Will India will be the first target for such an attack? Israel and the US are more distant and harder to target.

India has historically been the primary target for the Jihadist version of Islam. Fighters were easier to get in poverty deserts of Persia, Arabia and Turkey with dreams of a rich region, fragmented and easy to raid and loot. Converting or destroying a rich, prosperous, predominantly non Islamic region was always on the agenda.

India, in the middle ages, was never united in fighting Islam. Has that changed now? A higher percentage of Muslims exist now than in the middle ages. Most are peaceful, moderate, nationalist. But even a tiny percentage would be enough. Just 1% of 1% of 134 million, still creates a significant pool of 13,400 the size of a pretty large enterprise.

Throw in Bangladesh, the Maoists - the Nepali and the Naxalite variety and it gets even better. Add their growing Hindu counterparts to the mix. A modern, liberal, democratic India looks to be under serious threat.

Is this the beginning of an inevitable regional skirmish leading to bigger things?

Tennis - Why Nadal troubles Federer

2009-02-17T03:56:00.000-08:00

For Roger Federer fans it has become more and more common to see their star falter against the irrepressible Spaniard, Rafael Nadal.

This though is not a sudden occurrance. Various factors have led to this situation.

Before Nadal, Federer had no serious competition

Not taking anything away from Federer's obviously great tennis skills, truth is, he was never tested by a quality opponent once he got onto his golden run of Slams. When he won the 2003 Wimbledon Championships, there was no Sampras, Agassi was aging fast, Safin as history will show, was too inconsistent and overrated.

Contrast this with Pete Sampras. He started his run of dominance with the 1993 Wimbledon Championships. Lendl, Becker, Edberg were still around. Jim Courier and Michael Chang were tough too. And then there was a resurgent Andre Agassi. Of these, Becker, Agassi, Courier and Chang stayed on the circuit overlapping Sampras career for significant periods. Then there were the dark horses Goran Ivanisevic, Carlos Moya and Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

Nadal was not awed Federer

Nadal has approached each Federer match with the intent of beating him. He is a modern day Jimmy Conners, never cowed down by superior opponents. Unlike other players, he is not psychologically beaten in advance by Federer. Federer has to actually defeat him on the tennis court.

Nadal has skills to hurt Federer

Nadal has his own special skills. These are unique to him as a group though other players may possess one or the other. What are these?

Heavy topspin left handed forehand

Nadal hits probably the heaviest topspin in tennis. Heavy topspin causes a tennis ball to dip just before its natural trajectory. So, it drops a few feet before it would without topspin. This change in depth causes three problems. One is it makes judging depth very difficult for the opponent. Second, it opens more acute angles. Third it pushes the opponent deeper from the baseline.

Add to this the fact that a left handed Nadal can relentlessly attack Federer on the backhand. This opens up a weakness as errors pile up on this side for Federer.

Federer has a great forehand himself, but while Nadal has developed a consistent backhand to counter it, Federer has struggled on this front.

Superior mobility on the court

Federer is great at setting up a points in rallies and finish them. Nadal is the quickest mover on a tennis court. So Federer needs a couple of shots more to finish a point compared to his other opponents. This adds a slight frustration to his game which builds up in pressure situations. The probablity of errors goes up.

High percentage tennis

Nadal is one of the greatest defensive players around. He is a bigger, faster Michael Chang with a better backhand and a vastly superior forehand. His first serve percentage is usually good @70% and his unforced error rates are quite low. So, usually though Federer has more winners especially with his superior serve, he loses those gains as his errors (some due to reasons mentioned above) exceed Nadal's.

Continuous improvement

Nadal has constantly improved and added to his game. Federer has stagnated albeit at his very high level. This is more due to lack of opponents who were is true equal than anything else. So after a peak run, that level has dropped slightly. This has not affected him against all his other opponents. But, with Nadal, this slight drop is not so small. This along with an improving Nadal has led to a turnaround in the rivalry.

Federer's psychological makeup

As defeats have piled up against Nadal first on the clay courts, then on grass and now finally on courts, Federer is getting seriously affected by his nemesis. Add to that the fact that Federer is on the brink of statistical greatness to join Sampras and Nadal has already started reaching a good number, there is more pressure. When Sampras went for his 13th Slam, the next highest was Agassi on 7 and already close to retirement. Nadal is on 6 and just 22 yrs. So, here is someone who could just take Federer's greatness (atleast by numbers) away within a short period.

Conclusion

This is probably the most intriguing rivalry in men's tennis. Never before in modern tennis has the world's current dominant tennis player been so dominated by his rival, in his period of domination (2003 to 2008). Federer will not only have to regain his old level, but have a few additional tricks to derail his great rival when they meet to battle it out the next time.

India's Valentine Day Brouhaha

2009-02-17T03:48:00.000-08:00

The Saint Valentine's Day brouhaha has become a yearly phenomenon. Lovers in India's various urban/semi-urban pockets, usually left alone on most other days, suddenly become targets.

In rural India on the other hand, falling in love is looked down upon. Love affairs across class/caste/religion boundaries, are considered a crime of the highest order, sometimes an excuse for murder. Despite all the hype of a new India arriving onto the modern world, even deemed a new superpower, the real India is anything but.

Vast swathes of rural India and significant sections of urban India are still very much a feudal society. Caste distinctions run deep, deeper than those of class or religion. From the blatantly open casteism in states like Bihar to the very subtle inferences in highly educated, upper middle class, upper castes, it exists everywhere. The newly assertive lower castes have their own versions. This phenomenon transcents all religions in India.

Valentine's day appeals to a very particular section of Indian society, the rising middle class and existing upper classes. These are the elite of Indian society brought up on the fodder of western norms and education.

For them Valentine's day represents,

Freedom from restrictive social norms of the past.
A fullfillment of the aspiration to be like the west.
The growing liberalism in society.
The growing independance of women.
India moving to be a developed country.

But it offends many at various levels from mild to extreme.

As a corrupting influence of westernization.
As a creeping influence of Christianity.
For frustrated males who lack female companionship.
For frustrated males who are unlikely to form healthy relationships with females.
As a threat to the world view that existed before Valentine's day became popular.
As a cynical excuse to gain political mileage as an end in itself.

In conclusion, neither views are right or wrong. All it shows is

India is not a westernized, highly developed, liberal country. It has some pockets which appear to be so.
All sections of society are not ready for such rapid change in their existing world views.
A feudal-democracy mixed political power structure will use such conflicts for their political goals.

Affilliate Marketing vs Google Adsense

2009-02-11T02:48:00.000-08:00

Affiliate Marketing is usually based on a CPA (cost per action) model.

A company (a.k.a. advertiser or merchant) runs an affiliate program either by itself or through an Affiliate network such as Linkshare or Commission Junction.
The publisher promotes the advertiser's services or products through a website, email campaign, ppc campaign or a combination thereof.
A visitor coming through a publisher is tracked. If the visit converts to a sale, the publisher earns a commission paid by the advertiser. The network tracks, authenticates and confirms payments for every successful transaction.
Publisher has control on what product/service they want to promote.
Publisher does not earn any revenue for clicks.

Adsense is a CPC (cost per click) program from Google.

The publishers in this case signs for the program and places the Adsense advertisement panel at various strategic locations on their site.
The adverts are auto generated by Google.
The publisher can tweak but does not have control to what gets displayed.
The publisher is paid for each authentic click on the advert from their site.

Google added a CPA model into Adsense in 2006 to compete directly with the affiliate networks.

Amongst the major Affilliate Networks, Linkshare offers a CPC program for specific merchants (e.g. Kayak) Commission Junction had a CPC program. They closed this and have stuck to the CPA model.

Slumdog Millionaire - Hollywood movie Bollywood views

2009-02-04T00:19:00.001-08:00

Slumdog Millionaire (english) as seen by an Indian spectator. Remember, the movie is targeted at a western audience, so its appeal to that audience is decidedly different.

What I liked ...

The story moves at 3 levels - at the police station, at the TV studio and as the main protagonist's unfolding life story. It requires very good direction and editing for a smooth flow. This is where Boyle stands out.

The performances of the 3 kids and the 3 teens are excellent.
Frieda (Latika) looks good, she is shown as soft at all ages so the adult part fits in.
Anil Kapoor was ok, Irfan and Saurabh Shukhla as good as they always are.

Overall the kids were the best actors, the small and teenage Salim and the smaller Jamal esp. stood out for me.

I liked Rahman's music. I am not too deep into understanding the tiny nuances of music. So will not judge it. I liked the instrumentals a bit more.

What I did'nt like...

For an Indian, the dialogues in English make the movie less authentic.

Hollywood comedies have scenes related to puking and worse. It probably appeals to a western sense of humour. Also they have not experienced true poverty for quite some time now. I did not find the autograph scene funny.

Dev Patel (adult Jamal Malik) is a complete miscast. Not his fault. He looks completely middle class throughout and too soft. Other points

The call center being so dark .. looks odd.
Policeman chasing the kids deep into the slums. When did they get so motivated?
Missing to capture positive aspects of Mumbai. Having lived there, I should know.
The kid dressed as Ram, looks contrived to fit in with the answer.
The gangster's house with just one chowkidar.
Mahesh Manjrekar does a poor job as one.

All in all it was a bit underwhelming, but ok to see once.

Dasvidaniyan - the best good bye ever

2009-02-01T06:20:00.001-08:00

I saw 'Dasvidaniyan' recently, recommend it strongly. Vinay Pathak was outstanding, same with other players in small roles esp. Saurabh Shukla, Ranvir Shorey and Neha Dhupia. I have yet to see 'Mithya' from this team.

Rajat Kapoor's movies remind me of the Hrishikesh Mukherjee movies of yore. Neat stories, small budgets, middle class focussed, smooth flowing presentation and usually careful with their songs. The actors in these are usually the ones who mix their theatre backgrounds with niche movie careers, so performance is usually not an issue.

Look forward to more such productions, I like them. Not that other kind of movies are exempt, right from moronic action/comedies to pure bollywood masala, all have their place :-). But these are the ones to go see with the family

Rafa wins Aussie Open

2009-02-01T05:56:00.000-08:00

Rafael Nadal has won the 2009 Australian Open. This puts him in a elite list of players who have 6 or more slams. Unless he breaks down due to his extremely physical game, he is good to reach the legendary level of 10 or more grand slam winners.

Only 3 players who played their entire career in the open era have reached there - Sampras, Federer and Borg. Only 3 others from earlier eras are in that list Emerson, Laver and Tilden.

At this point he is already level with Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg, 1 short of McEnroe and Wilander and 2 short of Lendl, Conners and Agassi.

The next 2 years should see the fading off of Federer and the rise of newer stars, with Nadal at the center stage or just starting to falter. Flux always makes a sport interesting especially when 2-3 great sportsmen are around. (e.g. Ali, Frazier, Foreman or McEnroe, Borg, Conners)

Greatest Pace Bowler since 1970

2009-01-12T23:44:00.001-08:00

Below is a personal view of the greatest pace bowlers since 1970

Top Level (Bowlers who were the strike bowler in an already great bowling lineup)

Malcolm Marshall - WI
Dennis Lillee - Aus
Waqar Younis - Pak

Second Level (Bowlers who were the 2nd choice in a great lineup or strike bowlers in a good one)

Joel Garner - WI
Curtly Ambrose - WI
Glen McGrath - Aus
Alan Donald - SA
Wasim Akram - Pak
Imran Khan - Pak
Michael Holding - WI
Richard Hadlee - NZ

As a crude ranking for me this would be

Malcolm Marshall
Dennis Lillee (looses for not playing in India)
Waqar Younis
Curtly Ambrose
Imran Khan
Michael Holding
Richard Hadlee
Glen McGrath
Wasim Akram
Joel Garner
Alan Donald

Below this rung I would place a lot of good bowlers, some of these would be

Kapil Dev
Ian Botham
Courtney Walsh
Bob Willis
Jeff Thompson
Andy Roberts
Craig McDermott
Sean Pollock

On a side note, during Australia's phase of domination 1994 to 2008, their opponents had

Curtly Ambrose (4 years)
Alan Donald (8 years though the last phase he was a shadow of himself)
Wasim Akram (5 years, 10 tests with last test 1999 against them, again a shadow of himself after 1996)
Waqar Younis (8 years, 8 tests with the last 3 when he was almost finished)

With the exception of Ambrose (3 years at his peak) and to an extend Donald (about 4 years at his peak), there was no quality pace bowler at the peak of his prowess in any opposing team.

Now with the emergence of new quality pacers like Steyn, Ishant etc. the contest is getting more even.

Competitive tennis, cricket in 2009

2009-01-12T23:38:00.000-08:00

This looks likely to be a more competitive year in tennis. The days of Roger Federer being invincible seem to be over. Now Andy Murray has caught up, Nadal and Djokovic did last year and with 4 contenders for the slams with a few dark horses lurking as well in Safin, Roddick, Hewitt this year has a high chance of unpredictable results.

Cricket seems to be along something similar with other teams catching up with Australia as it comes down a level.

Young people die for old men

2008-12-04T04:14:00.000-08:00

The Mumbai terror attacks brought to mind this quote from the movie Lawrence of Arabia as said by the Feisal

'Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men – courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace, and the vices of peace are the vices of old men – mistrust and caution. It must be so.'

There is no Jannat for the young. Just a wasted young life for the ambitions, prejudices and fantasies of old men.

Wimbledon

2008-07-12T01:13:00.000-07:00

I have been a hard core tennis fan since watching 'Boom Boom' Becker break through in 1985 and have seen some intense matches including finals. A few that come to mind

1988 US Open final - Wilander vs Lendl
1989 Wimbledon semifinal - Becker vs Lendl
1990 Wimbledon final - Becker vs Edberg
2007 Wimbledon final - Nadal vs Federer

I missed it this year, so unfortunate! But it was looking ominous for Federer with him slipping and Nadal improving year on year, the levels had to intersect.

Leander Paes has said it is slower at Wimbledon and in an earlier era Nadal would have been taken apart by Federer. I disagree as the gap between Nadal and Federer now is not so great on non-clay courts and it keeps increasing on clay and reducing on other surfaces.

The key this year was Federer not being able to break the Nadal serve so a quicker surface does'nt change that! What about Nadal breaking the Federer serve?

That was when Federer dropped his serve level briefly so again nothing to do with the surface. As always at Wimbledon the winner took his opportunities and the loser did not. No other slam turns around so quickly which is what makes Wimbledon the most attractive.

The thing is that Nadal has never been in awe of Federer. He goes at him like some great fighters of the past which include Jimmy Connors, Michael Chang who were never awed by their more fancied oponents, respectful yes, awed never.

This final is a closer match to Connors vs McEnroe 1982 than the more oft mentioned Borg vs McEnroe.

Reading in Pune

2008-05-17T03:49:00.000-07:00

Pune has a decent number of options for books. I am a fan of the 'International Book House' at Garware corner near Deccan Gymkhana. Much better and personal than Crosswords which is just a mall of books, so only titles that bring in money there.

Piracy for software and books is very much the norm here. Western prices converted to INR make them too costly. If anti-piracy was strictly enforced, Microsoft would die in the user market and Linux will be king. So, it is kind of tolerated as even if 5% take in an original one, it is still decent revenues.

Another way is the pavement stalls which come up at different spots as well.

There must be a few more good sources but have no idea where in Pune (camp most likely)

What next

2008-05-12T08:41:00.000-07:00

Cyclones, Hurricanes, Earthquakes .. what next? and I thought Obama vs Clinton and Iraq was important!

Everybody's Jammin

2008-05-10T00:36:00.001-07:00

Caught in a traffic jam yesterday. In Pune they are common place. Some God/Leader/Saint/Prophet is dead/dying/getting born. The believers take out a loud, noisy, dusty road blocking processions with the local vagabands drinking and dancing. It is just one more way Indians show their lack of civic sense.

India has historically been a country callous towards life including human. It has been raped, plundered, looted and ruled over the centuries. This brings me to how ambitious plunderers from the past are portrayed.

Alexander came to India with the intent of loot, plunder and conquest. Hitler and Chengiz Khan has similar objectives. One is 'the Great', the others are not exactly identified as such. Purely in square miles, Chengiz Khan outdid both combined. Should'nt he be the greatest?

Hitler is bad because he killed a lot of white, christian populations along with others. So the allies have painted him as worse of the three.

Indians & Chinese eat more - Rice

2008-05-02T07:25:00.000-07:00

Condoleeza Rice says food costs spiral as Indians and Chinese eat more. Last I read, the US has the highest %age of obese (fatsoes if you are close to Condoleeza)

Great bookmark tool - Diigo

2008-05-01T10:25:00.000-07:00

I am using Diigo more frequently now to save my bookmarks. The more I use it the better it feels. Most liked features

The ability to tag bookmarks
The ability to form groups
To share bookmarks at individual, group and public levels
To find community bookmarks by tag, category, etc.
To annotate a particular bookmarked page and share it as well.
The integration with Facebook and Twitter
The toolbar greatly enhances the experience

This can be a great tool for a quick internet research based collaboration project

2008-04-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

It is late and the kid is asleep, so no time to post anything significant. All trying to jump into the sack before he wakes up and keeps all away from their dreamlands.

Introduction

2008-04-30T10:01:00.000-07:00

This blog is a collection of views, opinions and ramblings on topics from a non expert just for the heck of it.