Monday, December 13, 2010

Katya, Appa's Defence Attorney - Tales of Katya

One night, as I was putting Baab and Katya to bed. [<em>Truthmeter interjects</em>: only Katya because Baab can sleep all by himself now!]

As I was reading her a story, I remembered something I wanted to tell Mrs. Porcupyn and yelled out to her. After no response, I heard kids muttering "Lazy amma!" under their breath.

Immediately, I corrected their perception "Lazy Appa not lazy Amma!" adding that, after all, Amma does most of the work in the house and Appa just sits and does nothing.

<em>Defence Attorney</em> Katya rose up to Appa's defence: "Well, Appa <em>dooz</em> a lot of work too! He reads to me every night when I go to bed!" [Strictly speaking, not true, says the <em>Truthmeter </em>because sometimes Appa watches <a href="http://www.nbc.com/outsourced/">Outsourced</a> or <a href="http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/26393211/">Sunday Night Football</a> and neglects Katya at bedtime]

Porcupyn: "Well, that's not a lot! Besides, Amma does so much other work!"

Katya (<em>continues in her role as Defence Attorney</em>): "... AND you give me bath!" [Truthmeter agrees, but ...]

Porcupyn: "That's not a big deal and besides, Amma does that too!"

Katya (<em>presents an irrefutable argument</em>): "Well, you bring me home from daycare too!" [<em>Truthmeter</em> goes ding ding ding as Katya delivers a TKO ;-)]

PS: Appa is acquitted (<em>for the time-being, at least</em>) of the crime of being lazy.

Friday, December 3, 2010

On Accents

What is an accent? I assume that the best definition from <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/accent">dictionary.com</a> are the ones numbered 8 and 9:

<blockquote>a mode of pronunciation, as pitch or tone, emphasis pattern,or intonation, characteristic of or peculiar to the speech of aparticular person, group, or locality: French accent; Southernaccent. Compare tone ( def. 5 ) .

such a mode of pronunciation recognized as being of foreign origin: He still speaks with an accent.
</blockquote>

Just like the popular idiom about one man’s meat (food) being another man’s poison, how I speak a language would sound perfectly normal to me, but could sound heavily accented to you. In my book, there is no <em>right</em> or <em>wrong</em> accent; at best, you could be termed as <em>having an accent</em> if yours was different from the role you were applying for. For instance, if a speaker who speaks English <em>without an accent</em> in the USA were to try for the role of a BBC newscaster, he or she would definitely be termed as possessing an accent.

That said, if you live in a certain area and are used to listening to people talking a particular language – say English, because it is quite prevalent in the world – you will probably have a good idea of what the <em>average</em> accent is. And that is what you would use as a benchmark to tell whether a specific speaker does or does not possess an accent. In other words, whether or not a person possesses an accent is determined by two factors – the person and the ambience.

Now why am I bringing all of this up? Well, a few months ago, some friends showed me <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgeiIG7P0-c">this clip</a> of Sofia Vergara (who I had never heard of before) talking about her<em> aaaksent</em> (3:00 minute mark onwards). Well, she would not have one, as long as she stays in Colombia or visits, for instance, Spain ;-)

I had a similar personal experience. But before I describe that, I need to refer to an <a href="http://porcupyn.wordpress.com/2009/11/16/switching-tracks-arbitrarily-or-at-random">old post</a> I had written to show that since when I could differentiate between accents, it has been a hobby of mine to see if I could place a speaker (as in, where he or she is from) based solely on his or her accent. In other words, which part of the world would that person have to be placed in such that he or she would appear to have no accent!

So here it was, a month or so ago, that I was at a local school carnival talking with another parent volunteer. Something was different with her English accent. I could not put my finger on it, but it definitely did not sound accent-free. In fact, it sounded out-of-USAish. Coupled with the fact that she definitely looked Oriental, I asked her where she was from. Upon hearing that she was born and brought up in CA by her parents in Southeast Asia, I unwittingly exclaimed: “Oh, so that is where you got your accent from!”

The next few minutes were spent by the two of us discussing whether she had an accent (my point of view) or not (her point of view). Ultimately, we had to agree to disagree … and I conceded that she might just have a CA accent, which was different from the <em>local</em> (Floridian) accent.

This morning, I got to thinking about the incident. The more I thought about it, the more I felt that I have a personal benchmark of an <em>average USA accent.</em> Most of the USA born folks that I meet will likely fall close to this average or a standard deviation off it (if you know what I mean). It is when folks start deviating further than that, that my ears perk up and I try to figure out where the speaker is from!

Similarly, I bet that each locality has its own average accent and a point past which you would be labelled as <em>having an accent</em>, and this would be true about not just English, but most languages. But one thing I am pretty sure, if your parents (and other folks you closely associate with in your childhood) are not native English speakers – or are not close enough in accent to the locality or country you are born and brought up in – you will inadvertently pick up an accent that ties you to where they are from (or where their accents are from).

Thursday, December 2, 2010

On cherry-picking - A Katya Tale

I don't know how the term cherry-picking originated, but it does refer to selecting something that you like.

Last month, Katya's class had a <em>Thanksgiving Feast</em>, for which the school had catered food in for Feast participants. In the menu were two choices for dessert - Apple Pie or Cherry Pie.

Once most kids at the table had finished their food, they were asked for their choice of dessert. One of the kids had picked Cherry Pie. A slice was brought to his table, and he eagerly scooped up his first spoonful.

The next moment, his face performed a series of contortions culminating in a violently obstreperous expulsion of the contents of his mouth onto his plate. After gulping some water, he was ready for (drumrolls) Apple Pie.

Cherry-picking was definitely an oxymoron in this context!! ;-)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Tales of Katya - New Dress?

Mrs. Porcupyn had got a new outfit for Katya that I had not focused in on before. Well, today Katya is wearing it, and this dialog ensued:

Me: Katya, is that a new dress you are wearing?

Katya: This is not a dress; it is a shirt!!! ;-)

Thursday, October 28, 2010

How many apples - A Katya Tale

Scene (and heard) the other day at home

[begin loop]
Mrs. Porcupyn: Katya, if you have three apples and you ask me for two more apples, how many apples do you have?
Katya: Three.
[end loop]

Once the above loop played over twice and tinges of exasperation started creeping into Mrs. Porcupyn's voice, I had to swing into action.

Porcupyn: Katya, if you have three apples and you ask Amma for two more apples <em>and she gives them to you</em>, how many apples do you have?

Katya [After pondering over the matter at hand for the appropriate amount of time a kid her age would/should]: Five.

;-)

Sunday, October 24, 2010

O or U?

It is poor form to make fun of a typo, but then my correspondent does not read my blog, and even if (s)he did, (s)he is still anonymous, so I might as well go ahead and share this one!

spending my Saturday evening watching MLB, biting my nail and routing for <a>
If the person's wishes do come true, does that mean that <a> wins or loses? ;-)

Thursday, September 30, 2010

Tales of Baab - Reading comprehension, or lack thereof

Baab has gotten to that level in school where he is supposed to read passages and make an intelligent guess pick the correct answer. Here is a sample passage and a sample question - please note that all names and references in the passage have been changed from the original to keep the identity of the school a secret. The passage itself has also been modified, to ensure that it has no reference to reality either.
<blockquote>There was an Island in the Ocean - Isla Republica - ruled by King Oosh. All the inhabitants of the island were very happy and enjoyed life and their island. One day, out of nowhere, the island was taken over by a large population of mosquitoes. When the sun set, they came out, buzzed around, bit people and even sucked blood. The people of island referred to them as Golden Bloodsuckers.

No longer were the people happy. They appealed to King Oosh to rid them of the Golden 'suckers. King Oosh had an idea. He invited the king of the neighbouring island nation, King Arach of Isla Democratica, to come over for lunch, stay overnight in his palace, and listen to the lovely music of the little people in his nation. After a grand feast, King Oosh gave King Arach a blanket to sleep under. He also told King Arach that the little people were very sensitive; if King Arach removed the blanket or peered out from under it, the little people would immediately go away.

King Arach followed King Oosh's advice. As he lay in bed, he heard the wonderful music of buzzing generated by the Golden 'suckers. Next morning, he asked King Oosh for some of the little people so he could take them back to his island. By then, King Oosh had very kindly collected all of the mosquitoes in a bag which he handed to King Arach, and told him, "Please keep this bag sealed until you reach Isla Democratica, otherwise the little people will fly away!"

Once more, King Arach followed King Oosh's advice. From that day onwards, Isla Republica was rid of the Golden 'suckers who now harrass Isla Democratica.

Question: Suggest a different method that King Oosh could have used to get rid of the pests - he could have instead ...
1) ... summoned a magician to cast a spell on them so they would bite people no more.
2) ... put all the Golden 'suckers in a bag and dumped them in the ocean.
3) ... taken all the people in Isla Republica and moved them to Isla Democratica.</blockquote>

Baab selected option 1. My reasoning is that option 1 is wrong because there is nothing in the passage that says that Oosh has any magical powers or has access to a magician. Option 3 is obviously not a good option because of the logistics - Baab got that part right.

However, Baab's reasoning is that the passage already discusses Oosh having rounded up all the pests in a bag. Picking option 2 would be almost the same and not really a different method.

What do you think? Would you agree with me? Don't you agree that Oosh cheated/tricked Arach (this is not part of the question that was part of the passage)?

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

New word alert - A Baab Tale

Baab is discussing his schoolwork with his mother. The discussion moves on to class exams.
Mrs. Porcupyn: "You need to be prepared for your next Science test. How often are you tested? Are you tested monthly?"

Baab: "No."

Mrs. Porcupyn: "Quarterly?"

Baab: "No."

At this point, Porcupyn is all set to endure the latest round of mother-son 20 questions, but Mrs. Porcupyn cuts to the chase.

Mrs. Porcupyn: "OK, how often then?"

Baab: "Chapterly!"

Porcupyn --&gt; ROTFL! ;-)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Lessons Learned

A couple of things I've learned in the USA ... :-)
1. The customer is always right, until proven wrong.
2. In an exam, you always start off with a 100/100, until you lose points for errors.

Dashed Expectations

As an NRI, I have gotten used to the general mindset of the average American towards my motherland, India. Each passing year, we keep hearing news of progress in India in many (though maybe not all) fields, and each trip to India provides visual confirmation of this progress. With that in mind, it is not too much to hope that the average American is more India aware, is it? Also, it is not too over-the-top wild to assume that the average Jeopardy contestant is more World aware than the average American, is it?
WRONG, as evident from this Jeopardy answer and question.

Category: Welcome to India

Jeopardy Answer (Alex Trebek): "This mode of transportation is used for the Deccan Odyssey in the state of Maharashtra."

Hopeful contestant: What is "Elephant?"

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

WONDERful Alphabet Soup

Some photos from the WONDERland (at sea)!

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2224.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2224.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="A" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1432" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2223.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2223.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="B" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1433" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.files.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2222.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2222.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="C" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1434" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2221.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2221.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="D" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1435" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2220.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2220.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="E" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1436" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2219.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2219.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="F" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1437" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2218.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2218.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="G" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1438" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2217.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2217.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="H" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1439" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2216.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2216.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="I" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1440" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2215.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2215.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="J" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1441" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2130.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2130.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="K" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1444" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2129.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2129.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="L" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1445" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2128.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2128.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="M" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1446" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2127.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2127.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="N" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1447" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2126.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2126.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="O" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1448" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2125.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2125.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="P" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1449" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2124.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2124.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="Q" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1450" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2123.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2123.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="R" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1451" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2122.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2122.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="S" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1452" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2121.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2121.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="T" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1453" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2120.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2120.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="U" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1454" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2119.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2119.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="V" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1455" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2118.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2118.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="W" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1456" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2117.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2117.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="X" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1457" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2116.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2116.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="Y" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1458" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2115.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/09/img_2115.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="Z" width="225" height="300" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1459" /></a>

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Tennis lesson 001

Baab and I went to the Tennis courts the other day. I am trying to get him started in the game. As I started thinking of the basic basics of the game, some thoughts crystallized. Let's see if I can get these basic ducks - or basics ducks - in a row!

- when you are in a rally, the easiest opportunity you get to hit the ball is when it is at its highest point after bouncing, because at this point, it is stationary, if only for a fraction of a second. That makes it easiest to hit, assuming that you have already run to where the ball is and positioned yourself such that the ball is at a 'sweet spot' distance from you.

- conversely, when in a rally, the toughest opportunity you get to hit the ball is either before it has bounced or immediately after it has bounced. Though these are tough shots to complete/master, if you get the ability to hit these shots, you have the chance of hitting outright winners because a) the opponent is not expecting the ball to come back so fast and b) even if he/she is expecting it to come back fast, he/she has not got the time to race around to defend the entire court.

- finally, if you are really caught out of position, don't ever forget that you still have a chance to make that return until the ball hits the ground for the second time. What this means is that if you have not yet given up on the rally, and have the legs to get you to the ball, you can still scoop it over the net as long as it is still a couple of inches off the ground.

- after each shot, make sure you come back to the centre of the court (at wherever depth of position you are comfortable with, i.e., either near the net, or deep in the court, or behind the baseline). If you do this, you save yourself the trouble of running more than half the width of the court (because you have already covered part of this distance).

On frustrated Men's Champions at the US Open ...

... and here you were (I was), thinking that <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/blog/busted_racquet/post/ESPN-cuts-off-Rafa-s-trophy-ceremony-for-Monday-?urn=ten-269538">ESPN</a> would be better than <a href="http://porcupyn.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/god-is-human-but/">CBS</a>!

Fortunately for me, this year I was not watching the men's final - because of the rain, the schedule had been disrupted and I did not know when the match was going to be played - else I might have blown a gasket.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Yahoo and ... cricket?

Two decades or so years ago, when I first came to the USA, not too many people here would have said that cricket was anything but an insect. I bet the situation has not changed much since then. What has changed, though, is that there is something called the internet, the great leveller, something that has <a href="http://www.thomaslfriedman.com/bookshelf/the-world-is-flat">flattened the world</a> even.

So, here we are, in the 21st century, and now Cricket owns the pride of place on Yahoo's website. Not only is there a site devoted to it, but it is also uber prominent in that it has found itself a niche <em>outside </em>of <em>Sports</em>.

<a href="http://porcupyn.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/yahoocricket.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1417" title="yahoocricket" src="http://porcupyn.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/yahoocricket.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="175" /></a>

I had observed it before, but today is the first time that I actually clicked on the link. It ain't bad! Check it out.

Managing the Afghan Conflict

Here is a <a href="http://www.netmba.com/operations/project/pert/">manager's perspective</a> of <a href="http://www.theafghanconflict.de/">the conflict</a>.

via <a href="http://twitter.com/prempanicker">Prem Panicker</a> (again)

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Home-grown version of Jaywalking - A Baab and Katya tale

Ever since Shakira lit up the stage at the World Cup opening ceremonies recently, strains of her songs have been wafting around this home (yours truly being the culprit, for the most part). Katya has inherited the genes of observation from her mother, while Baab has inherited the genes of (non) observation from me, as was dramatized by this episode of what I call a local version of <a href="http://www.nbc.com/the-tonight-show/video/categories/jaywalking/1204884/">Jaywalking</a>!

Porcupyn (hums): Oh Baby when you dance like that ...

Katya: ... you make a woman go mad.

Porcupyn and Mrs. Porcupyn laugh out loudly.

Baab (out of earshot until that point): What was funny? What was SO funny?

Porcupyn: I was humming something and Katya completed it for me.

Baab: What was it?

Porcupyn: Oh Baby when you dance like that ...

Baab: You make your mother go mad!!!

;-) ;-)

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Tourist(s who are) attractions ...

On a recent journey into blogs, I came across a reference to this article written by expat Americans living in Delhi (that is Delhi, India, not Delhi, NY or Delhi, LA) about how they became <a href="http://ourdelhistruggle.com/2009/12/01/tourists-are-attractions/">tourist attractions for middle class Indians</a>. Having been one of those middle class Indians who had barely seen a handful of foreigners throughout my entire life in India, I could understand exactly what the blogger was talking about.

That said, I wanted to share what I saw on our recent trip to India (Red Fort, to be specific). There was this oriental lady who wanted to get a picture with a local lady, who was absolutely photo-shy. While the coaxing was going on, I managed to unobtrusively take a picture of my own  (though, like the blogger did, I should have taken the time to go and ask them for permission!).

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/05/img_0182.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/05/img_0182.jpg?w=300" alt="" title="Tourist Attraction" width="300" height="225" class="size-medium wp-image-1402" /></a>

Then there was the time when we were in Fatehpur Sikri. We were just following our guide around when I came about this dude who was sitting still like the Buddha. I took a picture immediately (of course). Immediately, his two companions approached me and said "50 Rupees please!" For a moment or two, I was speechless and flabbergasted! Then I realized they were joking (I hope!) and we all burst out laughing.

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/05/img_0352.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/05/img_0352.jpg?w=225" alt="" title="The tourist Buddha" width="225" height="300" class="size-medium wp-image-1403" /></a>

Bottom line, the touristy behaviour cuts both ways. Whatever a human does not see often is something that he or she wishes to keep a keepsake of, in one way or the other. Sometimes the souvenirs come in the form of a picture postcard and sometimes it is in the form of photos with the kind of people you don't normally see in your daily life.

Master and domain!

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/05/img_0158.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/05/img_0158.jpg?w=300" alt="" title="Master and domain" width="300" height="225" class="size-medium wp-image-1410" /></a>

No comments!

Monday, June 28, 2010

Tales of Katya - Ajji's brother?

Traditionally, in our family, the eldest son is referred to as 'Anna'  (big brother) and the eldest daughter is referred to as 'Akka' (big sister). Once in a while, we also refer to Baab as Anna and Katya as Akka. But Katya obviously forgot about this fact once ...

We were on the computer, talking with my parents. While the conversation is going on, Katya asks me: "Appa (father), are you Ajji's brother?" We were all flabbergasted by the question, until I played back the last few minutes (in my mind) and realized where the question was coming from!!

Tales of Katya (and Baab) - what is faster?

Compared to their parents, both of whom took their first flight only after they were old enough to vote, both Bob and Katya are veterans of air travel in USA, in India and, of course, international flights. What that also means is that they both have had that first experience of a LONG international flight. Here is how it played out:

Baab: By the time he was on the first international flight that he was old enough to understand the experience, he had travelled by air within India (but not within the USA). So, on that flight, which happened to be an India to USA flight (with stops in Europe), he commented: "Amma, we should have taken Jet Airways instead." When asked why, he said: "It would be much faster to get to our destination!"

Katya: Having spent one year in India, she is more used to Indian Railways (though she has been on flights within the USA and within India). So, on Delta Airlines from Dubai to Atlanta, she goes: "Amma, this flight is taking too long. I am bored. We should have travelled by train instead."

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Longest Tennis Match Ever

The on-court scoreboard has apparently conked out, as has this online one. Each player has 50 games already in the fifth set, PLUS the number shown on the screenshot!!

<a href="http://porcupyn.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/isner-mahut_at_wimbledon2010.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/isner-mahut_at_wimbledon2010.jpg?w=300" alt="" title="isner-mahut_at_wimbledon2010" width="300" height="216" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-1387" /></a>

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Visit to Four of Southwest USA's National Parks (Part Eight of Many!)

<strong>[On June 21, 2008]</strong>: At the North Rim, we had learned from the folks at the Visitors' Center that the South Rim was scheduled to have an astronomers meet. Specifically what it was I forget, but it is effectively an annual stargazing party [<strong>Update</strong>: Here is a YT Q&amp;A for <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMqFcbI36JI">this year's</a>Â - sorry, it is already over - event]. I thought what the heck, we could spend some time and see if we can get to see a few stars.

We were not supposed to drive our vehicles to the location where the telescopes were setup; instead, we were supposed to use those buses provided for the purpose. So, we parked at a shopping center close to the Visitors' Center (which had closed before we got there), and had dinner because the shuttle was not expected for some time - it was once in half an hour or so. At that point, it was starting to get late and we decided that I would be taking Baab to go for the stargazing. Katya was sleepy anyway, and also my parents and Mrs. Porcupyn decided to stay put.

Baab and I left on the shuttle as scheduled, telling the rest of the party that we would be returning in about an hour. Big mistake! Once we got on the shuttle bus, I realized that the place we were going to - Yavapai point - would be pitch dark. Somehow I had forgotten that real astronomers absolutely abhor light and prefer to observe the heavens in utter darkness - and though it was not new moon or anywhere close to it (I believe it was full moon a couple of days ago), the moon was yet to rise in the night sky.

Anyway, we get off the bus when it stopped and realized immediately that we were in a sea of humanity, all of whom were as lost as we were. After bumping into random people of all sizes, we realized that a number of telescopes - also of all sizes - had been set up along an observation path in the location, and these were manned by amateur astronomers and their amateur kids! Each telescope had a line in front of it. We got in line at a couple of those telescopes, but unfortunately, even a slight bump of the instrument would throw the painstakingly set up view of the star/galaxy/planet completely out of whack. We ended up seeing not much of the astronomy spectacle, but we did see the human spectacle on our way back.

Because we were expected back in about an hour, we did not have much time to lose. We got in line for the next bus which came after a few minutes, though not quickly enough for us. The queueing system was all messed up, but we managed to make it to the first bus that came after we had queued up. Once the bus filled up, it started to move - these buses were the most crammed buses I have ever been on in over two decades in the USA. Believe it or not, scarcely had the bus gone ahead 20 feet or so, we see this lady stand in front of the bus with her stand outstretched - it felt as though the lady had been transported from India (though she did not really look Indian) and was used to stopping buses by waving in front of them. Needless to say, the crammed bus did not stop for her and she was left there, looking forlorn and tearful.

It would have been very nice one the part of the organizers if they had increased the frequency of the buses and provided a good outline of what folks could expect (not much if you wanted to see 'easy to see' heavenly bodies such as planets because most of the astronomers had set up their instruments aimed at really far off stars and a slight shake of the instrument would require much adjustment), how crowded it would be (even I did not bet that it would be as crowded as it turned out to be), how long it would take (too long if you were not planning to spend a good two-three hours), and what facilities were available at the observation point (not much).

When the shuttle bus dropped us off, it was not at our starting point. It being dark and there being not much light, we were hopelessly disoriented. Fortunately for us, there were a few other people headed towards the general area where the rest of our party was waiting. Because they were staying in the lodge right there in the South Rim, they had a better sense of direction than us. Thanks to them, within the allotted time plus some added on, we got back to the restaurant where everyone was waiting for us.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

World Cup Converts - A Katya Tale

The World Cup has converted kids to Football spectators. How good are they at watching the game? Well, they now want the volume increased for the Spanish commentary on Univision and, if Baab is not watching, Katya screams "Annaaaa ... Yellow card" as soon as a dude gets one!

And, of course, Baab tries to outscream the commentator each time a goal happens ("<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrkT7zWfeT0">GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL</a>") and Katya covers her ears with her hands and runs out of the room screaming for deliverance!!

PS (OT): Will we hear the IPL commentators replacing "DLF Maximum" with "Seeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeks"??? ;-)

Sunday, June 13, 2010

The Yamuna at the Taj - A Panoramic View

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/05/yamuna_at_taj_mahal.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2010/05/yamuna_at_taj_mahal.jpg?w=300" alt="" title="yamuna_at_taj_mahal" width="300" height="58" class="size-medium wp-image-1354" /></a>

Thursday, June 3, 2010

The United Nations at the French Open!

I wish there were a statistics engine for Tennis as there is one for <a href="http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/current/stats/index.html">Cricket</a>. It would help answer my questions:

a) Is this the first time that a Grand Slam tournament has had <a href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/french-open/men/p1/">eight nations represented</a> in the quarter-finals of either the men's or women's draw?

b) If it were not for those pesky Russians, there might've been more than the 13 nations represented in the combined men's and <a href="http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/tennis/french-open/women/p1/">women's</a> quarter-finals this year! I find it hard to believe that more than 13 countries were ever represented at a Grand Slam quarter finals (men and women combined), don't you?

Men from <del datetime="2009-06-03T16:42:11+00:00">Mars</del> Sweden, Russia, Great Britain, Chile, Argentina, Spain, France and Switzerland, and women from <del datetime="2009-06-03T16:42:11+00:00">Venus</del> Russia, Belarus, Slovakia, Romania, Australia and the USA.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

IPL - Boon or bane?

Unlike <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/samanth-subramanian/why-the-indian-premier-le_b_527594.html">this severely prejudiced article</a>, I would vote <em>boon</em>, and here is why:

<blockquote><em>The IPL, however, has compressed each game into three-and-a-half hours, and it has stuffed 60 of these capsules into 45 days. The tournament, played between eight Indian city clubs, features cheerleaders and perpetually hysterical commentators and torrential hitting.</em></blockquote>

The above reeks of an unhealthy dose of bias. Granted, even I was biased against T20 in general and the IPL in particular during IPL's First Edition (2008), but I have now come around to it as necessary (and it is definitely not all evil either) - so I ain't no saint either, but ...

First, let me pick on the point of hysterical commentators. Just over two decades ago, I landed in the USA. Yes, I knew that basketball was a game; I knew how it was played; I knew I was no good at it; I also knew that the Indian team was no good (at the highest level). But what I did not know was that one could slice and dice the game to smithereens [Ask Indians (who has not left India) who are older than, say, 50 and I bet you that concepts such as assists, blocked shots and steals have no meaning to the majority of them]. Immediately, a simple game of shooting a ball into the net, for me morphed into a very lovable sport and I was transformed into a captive spectator until Michael Jordan retired ... the second time (granted, he was partly instrumental in galvanizing my love for the game in the first place).

That said, the smorgasbord of statistics - and the very enthusiastic commentators such as Dick Vitale ("Yeah Baby"), Perv (pardon me, I really meant Merv) Albert ("Yes ... and it counts") egged my interest in the game when it flagged during Scottie Pippen's migraines or Michael Jordan's retirement (Episode 1). Against that backdrop, I see no reason to dislike the fact that cricket is being commercialized to a level never seen before.

Yes, I didn't like the concept of cheerleaders for cricket (in IPL 2008) ... but reading the blog of the fellow Floridian RCB cheerleader (sorry, I forget her name and face!) from South Africa gave me a wholly new perspective, from someone who previously had no clue of the game!

What is wrong with torrential hitting? All that has happened with T20 is that your proverbial cheese has been moved. Where once an economy rate of under 2 runs per over (Bapu Nadkarni, Bishen Singh Bedi, Derek Underwood at their wiliest primes in Test matches) was considered the pinnacle of economy and buying wickets was key to prising out your opposing batsmen, now a bowler's skills are based on whether or not he went for under or over 6 runs per over OR took a key wicket or two while going for more than 10 runs an over. The point being that while the bowling skills are now being quantified differently - that is not to say that a good bowler in Test cricket cannot be a good bowler in T20 - I give you Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Dan Vettori and our own Anil Kumble as examples.

While the batsmen might not be playing the same classical strokes of yore, what is the issue if they hit out with gay abandon instead? Now that the playing field has been moulded to their benefit, it is still incumbent upon them to outbat the opposition while preserving their wickets for the duration of the innings. I leave you with just one example to prove that T20 does NOT have to be all reckless aerial strokemaking: Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

<blockquote><em>This isn't your grandmother's cricket; in truth, this isn't even your elder sister's cricket.</em></blockquote>

This analogy appears to be written solely as a politically correct statement. I doubt very much that grandmothers - on an average - were as interested in cricket (<em>of their generation</em>) as grandfathers were. Ditto for elder sisters. In my opinion, a closer to the ideal - though maybe not politically correct - analogy would be:

Test cricket : Grandpa's cricket
One Day Internationals: Father's cricket
T20s: Today's cricket

<blockquote><em>Last month, one gentleman with an ebbing hairline and bottomless gumption scored a hundred runs off 37 balls; the effect is somewhat like a crate of firecrackers going off right under your nose. Even a relatively run-of-the-mill game is almost cartoonishly crammed with action, sure to contain many instances of the atavistic thrill of watching a man hit a ball really, really hard.</em></blockquote>

A parallel article that is critical of Baseball would probably sully the physical appearance of, say, Sammy Sosa or Mark McGuire. While I might probably still consider that article to be above the belt given that the physiques of these gentlemen were likely the result of steroid overdoses, on the other hand I would definitely consider the quoted portion as stooping low for a below the belt hit on a player's physique in an attempt to drive home a personal bias or two. What's wrong if a dude's hairline is where it is? What is wrong with getting a thrill of watching a man hit a ball really, really hard? What would you rather watch? Paint drying on a cricket bat while a Test match is going on? Personally, I would suggest concentrating on a batsman's mongoose than his porcupiney hair (or lack thereof).

<blockquote><em>But while the IPL is faster and more incendiary than the sport has ever been, it's also more commercial than the sport has ever been. During live telecasts, there is quite literally not a single second where there isn't an advertisement of some sort on the screen. Like a master dowser, the IPL's impresario, Lalit Modi, has found deep wells of revenue where none previously existed.</em></blockquote>

Now... what is wrong with commercialization? Would you rather watch the camera panning at the pretty ladies in the audience (like Channel 9 used to during the 1985 Benson and Hedges World Series) or the advertisement that takes up the same amount of time? OK, I confess, I would probably go with the former too (though my name does not rhyme with "ananda"), but on the other hand, seriously speaking, what cricketing moment would I be missing if we were to cut away for the ad? Tennis, Golf, Cricket, Baseball and American Football are definitely games of the start and stop variety where it definitely is feasible to cut away and still not miss any of the action unlike, say, Hockey (any variety), Football (Soccer for the Americanized folks) - I admit that I would not be a popular head honcho if I were to cut away from a shot of Tiger Woods and his caddy sizing up a putt to a quick commercial break even if we were to return before Woods dropped his ball into the hole (this is a clean blog - any pun is strictly unintentional).

Now we come to the genius that is Modi. I say the man is brilliant, though maybe autocratic and an egomaniac. The first I remember learning about Modi was when I was sick and tired of the nexus between Dalmiya and Ganguly. Modi, if I recall correctly, represented the opposition - my single important recollection is of Modi coming up with some kind of a powerpoint presentation (or some such) about building a stadium in Jaipur and his desire to get cricket out of the major cities and into tier2 and tier 3 cities/towns of India (not that I am implying that Jaipur is a small town). I think he is well on his way to achieving that.

<blockquote><em>The Indian cricket board - the owner of the IPL, and now the richest, most powerful board in the world - has been able to bend the international cricket calendar around its own priorities, like a black hole warping the fabric of space-time.</em></blockquote>

If MCC had paid this dude to write this, he would not have written something different from the above! This shows the typical mentality of a loser (the English cricket board). That the balance of power has shifted from the erstwhile empire where the sun never set to a country of a billion, would obviously not go down well with those who are suddenly not as important as they were a few decades ago. The fact that the Indian board now has the power to wield its influence and go to bat for the team obviously has not sat well.

<del datetime="2010-04-08T04:13:53+00:00">Three</del> Four incidents spring to mind: South Africa when Sehwag was banned for a game for excessive appealing; the Australian tour a couple of seasons ago where it took some major arm twisting (I would say this was justifiable based on the <strong>fact</strong> that the umpiring was biased against India in the previous game) and now contrast that to the poor Bangladeshis who had not saviour to turn to when they were repeatedly let down by biased umpiring in the recent Test against England, and don't forget the treatment meted out to Sunil Gavaskar by Dennis Lillee when he (Gavaskar) expressed his justifiable dissatisfaction at an incorrect lbw decision (Melbourne 1980-81).

The bottom line is a) why is it wrong to have influence and b) to use it for backing the truth? In fact, I would <em>absolutely </em>love it if Stuart Broad were to be banned for excessive appealing by a "neutral" Indian match referee when England plays Australia or South Africa next.

<blockquote><em>A couple of weeks ago, an Indian corporation paid $370 million to buy a newly created franchise - and it has to spend still more to fill its team with cricketers; in 2003, by comparison, the Russian tycoon Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea, a leading, century-old soccer club in the English Premier League, for $233 million. The IPL is brash and young. It is in constant motion. It demands to be watched.</em></blockquote>

I just have <del datetime="2010-04-08T03:01:58+00:00">one </del> two question<em>s</em>: Why the slave mentality? Why should a club in the English Premier League be the benchmark for what an IPL team should be worth? India by itself probably has eyeballs that are an order of magnitude greater than in all of Great Britain. Capitalism is all about supply and demand. The worth of a good is its demand and supply <em>today</em>. Yes, there is always a chance that the $370 million today might drop to $100 million in a couple of years. But that is why investors don't win all the time, and not everyone is an investor (they probably don't have money left anymore!), right? You cannot exclusively blame capitalism for the fact that Florida condos sell today for a third of what they sold for five years ago. Basic human emotions are to blame as well.

<blockquote><em>Not because the IPL is a symbol of capitalism - far be it for me, a willing beneficiary of India's adventures in money-making, to complain about that - but because it's a symbol of capitalism gone horrifically wrong. The IPL purports to be a free market but is in fact controlled by one man: Lalit Modi, whose power and stature have grown so Rabelaisian in merely three years that Bollywood has already asked to mine his life for subject material. (One player, Ravindra Jadeja, dared to try negotiating a new contract for himself this year. He was promptly banned for the remainder of the season.)</em></blockquote>

I still don't see anything majorly wrong with the above scenario, except, well, I do feel sorry for Jadeja. But did he not try to circumvent the rules? Would not a similar - if not exact - fate befall a professional sportsman in the USA? Sure it would. Ask Brett Favre of a couple of seasons ago. Granted, it was not the commish who gave him grief ... but my point is that you gotta follow the rules; else you get censured.

So what if Modi has grown powerful? Being powerful is not the issue here - being powerful and making dumb decisions like pulling up a captain (Gambhir) for a very honest assessment of his opponents is definitely one, but the author of the above piece fails to make that point. But don't grudge the man his power, he deserves it - though I do agree that it would be nice if he were to share it among the team owners. That said, what I really did not appreciate was the IPL's opposition of the ICL. This was/is a big ocean, big enough for big fish, medium fish, small fish etc. I bet IPL and ICL could have co-existed and even fed off of each other. IPL would be the premier league with established stars and the cream of the younger crop, where ICL would be the equivalent of the minor leagues in Baseball (disclaimer: I am not that knowledgeable as to how Major League Baseball and the minor leagues are related).

<blockquote><em>The IPL pursues revenues at the expense of other valuable resources: Test cricket, but also domestic cricket, the inevitable breeding grounds for young talent. In its grubbing for money, in fact, the IPL is dismissive of anything old-fashioned, anything aesthetic; even the four seconds between one ball and the next, held sacrosanct through more than a century of cricket, have been sold for inconsequential advertisements. Meanwhile, owners buy teams for staggering quantities of money and with the fuzziest possibilities of recovering their investment; they desire only to dice up the risk and sell it in parts to sponsors and other companies, a practice that should surely sound familiar to us today.</em></blockquote>

Nothing is horribly wrong with all this, except having an advertisement after <em>every</em> ball, but it has not come to that yet, or has it? In other words, I am OK with having ads within an over, as long as they are not shown literally after every ball - it would be nice to watch replays of and listen to commentators discuss a great shot or a poor one.

Maybe it will not thrive, but Test cricket will still continue to survive and co-exist, if not for another Century, then for the foreseeable future at least. Has the interest in India diminished all that much since 1983, when India won the ODI World Cup, for instance? None of the professional cricketers in India today will begrudge the so-called "money grubbing" - in fact, I say that we need to inculcate a greater love for sports among schoolkids in India along the lines of Michelle Obama's initiative for kids in the USA to be physically fit and active. The money in cricket is a step in the right direction, though I do believe it would be nice if this money were to trickle down at a faster pace (my point in reference to the ICL was along these lines) and also trickle over to other sports such as Hockey and Football, to name a couple!

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Height of Innocence - A Katya Tale

[<em>As related by Mrs. Porcupyn</em>]

Katya (on her return from school one day): Amma! The teacher said that if we don't do well in the exams, she will give us a whack.

Mrs. Porcupyn: [mouth and eyes open wide]

Katya: Amma! What is a whack?

Monday, March 15, 2010

What is wrong with the economy

Scene 1: At the height of the real estate market:

Prospective Buyer: I want to buy this house; it costs $100,000 to build but is on sale for $200,000. But I have only $5,000 down payment and I don't know how stable my job is.

Lender (blessed by Wall Street): Don't you worry. I will put it down that you are making $100,000/year. You don't need to put any money down, and I can make you an interest only ARM loan that can be easily converted into a Fixed loan. Heck, you can sell the house for $300,000 next year and make $100,000 in one year.
=====================================
Scene 2: Current real estate market:

Prospective Buyer in Scene 1 is now Prospective Seller.

New Prospective Buyer: I want to buy this house. It costs $150,000 to build, but it is on sale for $100,000. Prospective Seller bought it for $200,000, and is wanting to sell urgently before his loan resets. His lender has approved a Short Sale. I make $100,000/year and have been making it for the last couple of years. I am prepared to put down 20% as a down payment.

Lender (backed by Wall Street, who have been bailed out by the folks on Main Street): Well, as we all know, the property values have been going down recently. We are not sure if the property is going to hold up its value of $100,000 (regardless of how much it costs to build it). I don't think we can give you a loan unless you come up with $50,000 - banks are refusing to lend in your state.
=====================================
Scene 3: New Prospective Buyer has given up trying to buy real estate. Prospective Seller is homeless; his lender has foreclosed on his home and has put it up for sale at $75,000 for all-cash offers only.
-----------------------------------------------
Guess what is wrong with this picture! First, Wall Street helped the real estate prices spiral out of control, and now, they are helping flush real estate prices down the drain.

Sunday, March 14, 2010

The Big Short

Growing up in India, I remember listening to the commentator(s), towards the end of really close cricket matches, requesting folks with heart conditions to switch off their receivers so they don't get a heart attack. Well, a similar warning is in order now.

Don't be deceived. This "short" is really BIG! It is a book by Michael Lewis that documents how Wall Street fleeced Main Street, is fleecing Main Street (with the help of their insiders in Washington) and will continue fleecing Main Street. CBS's 60 Minutes today featured an interview with Lewis - in keeping with the traditions of those cricket commentators of a generation ago, I feel the need to warn folks with high blood pressure and/or anger management issues to stay away from the program and also from Lewis' book: <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/12/AR2010031202291.html">The Big Short</a>. Just watching the interview makes the blood boil! I end this post with the first comment that I read, in response to a <a href="http://voices.washingtonpost.com/achenblog/2010/03/the_big_short_by_michael_lewis.html">blog post</a> that links to the above review, and got to agree with:

<blockquote>Part of me wants to read this book (or at least pile it up on my already overladen nightstand), and the other part of me (like my spleen) just d@mn doesn't want to. The reason is because no matter how long and how loud and how widespread our ranting may be about this subject matter, it appears that there ain't nuttin' gonna be done about it and nuttin' will change.
Anybody got the cojones to do that "revolution" stuff we've all read about in school (yet, not in Texas)?

*sigh*
</blockquote>

[Updated] For those who want to watch the episode anyway:

<a href="http://www.cbs.com/primetime/60_minutes/video/?pid=tmtM8hJqDNUynIT4vQmNge100YQHC2Hb&amp;play=true&amp;vs=homepage">Part 1</a>

<a href="http://www.cbs.com/primetime/60_minutes/video/?pid=BQuHL8OsUizEBb6rreSNNj_GR1gancYU&amp;play=true&amp;vs=homepage">Part 2</a>

Sunday, March 7, 2010

World Cup Hockey - A couple of points

I was watching the presentation ceremony at the conclusion of the World Cup Hockey match between Argentina and New Zealand.
First up was the winner of the Man of Steel - best defender. After the Argentinian answers typical questions - in English, of course - the presenter specifically requests him to say a few words in Spanish for their fans. Porcupyn's score: Indian award presenter 1, <a href="http://porcupyn.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/god-is-human-but/">Dick Enberg</a> 0. [Another thing I noted, the cheque was presented but the amount was also not loudly announced. My point being that the matter of importance is that the dude won the award, how much he got for it is - for the moment - moot]

Next up was the Argentine goalkeeper for the Man of the Match for a match-saving performance (Argentina won 1-0). He is asked whether the team is ready for their last pool match (vs lowly, in field hockey ;-), Canada) - 'How many goals are you planning to score?' To his great credit, the goalkeeper dodges the question and says 'We are looking to win this game'Â  Porcupyn's score: Argentinian team 1, Pakistan/Indian teams 0 [teams from the subcontinent are, more often than not, guilty of underestimating their opposition; case in point Pakistan's loss to South Africa yesterday!]

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

I Don't Know - A Baab Tale

So, was chatting with Mrs. Porcupyn when Baab came online. We had not spoken for a couple of days, so just to get the ball rolling, I asked, "Baab, what are you doing?"

Baab: I don't know!

[<em>I am glad his mother is around so at least someone knows what Baab is up to!</em>]

Friday, February 12, 2010

The Hawk-Eye

<em>You are watching a World Cup Football match and watch an egregious foul being committed away from the ball. The referee and linesman are too far away to see the action away from the action. Suddenly, the referee gets a call into his earpiece, he stops the action, and red cards the offender.</em>
Don't think it could happen? Think again - <a href="http://www.hawkeyeinnovations.co.uk/">Hawk-Eye</a>, the revolutionary company that has brought current technology into modern sports, is <a href="http://www.hawkeyeinnovations.co.uk/files/FifaOpenLetter.pdf">getting into Football</a>. After addressing obvious issues such as ensuring whether or not the ball crossed the goal-line, players elbowing the ball into the goal etc, I hope the technology goes into the uncharted territory of ensuring that would-be Beckers dive on the Tennis court, not on the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7s19WpllNQ">Football field</a>, and in <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vF4iWIE77Ts">Zidane</a>-type of incidents, both players are cautioned (I guess Zidane would still get the red card).

That said, it is ironic that I still have issues with the hawk-eye technology in Tennis but not in Cricket. Ironic because in Cricket, a good portion of the debatable decisions (the famous LBW) are where technology tracks where the ball might have gone contentious issues occur when the technology tracks where the ball has already been! Here is my major peeve with Tennis calls:

<a href="http://blog.jasontsang.ca/2006/07/technology-in-tennis-hawk-eye.html">This post</a>Â does a very good job of explaining the multiple angles that Hawk-Eye apparently uses to determine where exactly a Tennis ball landed. However, I remain unconvinced. Let me rephrase that - my issue is with the marginal calls that Hawk-Eye judges to be on the line.

When you take a photo of the ball from arguably the best possible angle, i.e. from right above it, what you see is the part of the court that is eclipsed by the ball. Then you get into the science of determining what part of the ball actually touches the ground (only the part of the ball touching the ground technically counts in determining whether the ball is in or out).

There are probably two good ways for Hawk-Eye to be calibrated.

- paint the balls and compare the marks with the camera's ruling as to whether the ball was in or out (precise speed of ball, pressure exerted by it against the ground upon impact etc will need to be measured and considered).

The drawback of this method is that the paint on the balls might dry quickly, comparing the marks against the camera would be time-consuming, will need to ensure that the ball lands cloes to the lines else precise micro-measurements would be difficult etc

- calibrate on (red) clay where impact craters and skid marks are evident. But even there, the degree to which the ball sinks into the clay might not be uniform.

In all this, don't forget that the difference we are talking is a <em>Nadal Unit</em>* or two
For Hawk-eye to be irrefutably correct, I think one of the following needs to happen - and until that point, one of the players would have grounds to feel peeved:

- the player hitting the ball should have killed it with such force that it literally compressed to a hemiphere

- Hawk-Eye has a camera on the ground-level which can see under the ball to determine whether or not there was a gap between the ball and the sideline.

- it is a no-brainer, as in there is plenty of space between ball and sideline (in or out).

Unfortunately, unlike in Cricket, Tennis has no clear-cut definition - that I am aware of - of giving the benefit of the doubt to either player.

<strong>Nadal Unit</strong> (previously incorrectly termed <em>Nadal-width</em>Â by yours truly)Â  = unit of measurement smaller than an Angstrom Unit

<em>[wrote the above when the Australian Open was on; was thinking of modifying something, but now forget what. oh well ... here it goes]</em>

Friday, January 29, 2010

Shopping online hurts your wallet

... especially if you visit <a href="http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Cast-Resin-Outdoor-Wall-Clock-Thermometer/3861713/product.html?cid=123620&amp;fp=F&amp;ci_src=14110944&amp;ci_sku=11912743">Overstock</a> often!

[caption id="attachment_1262" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Looking for wall thermometer ..."]<a href="http://porcupyn.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/overstock1.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/overstock1.jpg?w=300" alt="" title="Looking for wall thermometer ..." width="300" height="159" class="size-medium wp-image-1262" /></a>[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1263" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="... coming away with everything but that!"]<a href="http://porcupyn.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/overstock2.jpg"><img src="http://porcupyn.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/overstock2.jpg?w=300" alt="" title="... coming away with everything but that!" width="300" height="159" class="size-medium wp-image-1263" /></a>[/caption]

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Photo quiz answer

I meant to put these photos up a couple of weeks ago, when "Me" responded with the correct answer. Better late than never ...

P.S.: I don't know what I am doing wrong, but I don't understand why WP fails to align these photos! :-(

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2009/11/img_4795.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1234" title="IMG_4794" src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2009/11/img_4794.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>
<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2009/11/img_4795.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1234" title="IMG_4795" src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2009/11/img_4795.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>
<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2009/11/img_4797.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1234" title="IMG_4797" src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2009/11/img_4797.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a>

<a href="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2009/11/lasvegaspanoramic.jpg"><img class="alignleft size-medium wp-image-1244" title="las vegas panoramic" src="http://porcupyn.org/imgs/2009/11/lasvegaspanoramic.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="300" height="30" /></a>

Tennis Buddies

For the last few months, I have been playing Tennis (doubles) once a week with three buddies. We are most definitely amateurs ;-), but I sometimes like to compare ourselves with professionals (cricketers)!

Dude #1: He is definitely good (compared to our average level), but he definitely has his off-days. On any given day, he can boom in unreturnable serves (wide off the forehand corner or into the body) or serve double faults galore. His ground strokes can be precise, or they can pierce the bottom of the net or fly out of the court onto the road behind! If you play singles against him, all you need to do is keep the ball in play - he will do the rest. Is like Sehwag.

Dude #2: He is good but relatively predictable. His serves lack the punch of 'Sehwag' (above) but are precise. Rarely does he double fault, and rarely are his serves unreturnable either. His groundstrokes are precise and he can rally for quite some time without losing it! You have got to wrong foot him or outrally him to win a point. Is like Dravid.

Dude #3: He is better than me, but definitely unpredictable. He has a wicked backhand slice and no specific faults either on the forehand or the backhand side. 'Dravid' probably is a better groundstroke player, but this dude definitely has more of the unpredictability factor as to where his shots will land. His serves lack the 'Sehwag' punch, but - again because of their unpredictability - can result in more winners than the 'Dravid' serve. Is like Chandrashekhar.

Dude #4: And that leaves me. I am right about average, but steady. My serve is pathetic, but it is my only ploy to get the ball in play - that said, I would never serve underhand (I don't count <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KU2-jsRJRJE">Michael Chang</a> or <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkQRERykq5M">Trevor Chappell</a> among my idols). I can rally with the best of them on forehand groundstrokes, but my backhand I don't want to talk about (I blame it on Racquetball). I love to run around the court, my weight notwithstanding, though I am clearly no Chang or Nadal. Once in a while, I try to vary my shots and - in general - I am working on improving the accuracy of my shots. I try not to beat myself - you gotta do the hard work (or serve an ace) to get a point out of me. I like to think of myself as Kumble ;-).

If I were to play singles, Dravid is the best bet - we could keep rallying, like, forever! I hope I don't get in trouble with 'Sehwag', 'Dravid' and Chandrashekhar' now ;-). As one of them once said (in jest, I should add), maybe I should get into Tennis coaching!

Monday, January 11, 2010

Image ... is nothing

It is what you are inside that matters!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKlDXomMv0U