Cricket is not a matter of life and death, its just a silly old game for christ's sake!!!
The Killing of Bob Woolmer does'nt say so.
Our own coach, Greg Chappel's motivation talk to the boys would be something along this line "Please win today guys..You ain't want me dead right? "
OK..Lets head straight to SWOT Analysis for THE big match.
Srilanka:
Strength: Many! 2 perfect wins, a team with some great hitters in Jayasuriya and Sangakkara, awesome bowling options in Vaas and Murali and everyone brimming with belief.
You cant ask for more!
Weakness: Experience. This is pressure situation at its very best! Even though Srilanka are through to their next round, they would be at a great psychological advantage at the super 8 if they lose this. They have not been challenged in the World cup yet so this will set up the stage for them.
Threats: Indian batting will hit them hard. IF and i stress IF the Indian batters can recreate the magic of taunton or the Bermuda bash, Srilanka will be swept away.
Opportunities: Plenty! And i say this because, the Indian bowling has looked very meek this series and Kumble's record against Srilanka doesnt look great(Not sure if he will play though). Srilanka can easily steal 20+ runs if they target some old legs and weak hands. Murali's terrific record against the Indian top order can be handy too.
India:
Strength: Batting, Batting and Batting. Anyone who knows remotely about cricket can vouch for that. A team fully loaded with batsmen who can on thier day can tear any bowling apart. Yes that includes Vaas and Murali.
Weaknesses: Top 3 would be Fielding, Bowling and Consistency! I was watching the SA vs Netherlands match the other day and the south African's fielding was in a different league altogether. Compare this to our team, well, we better be good enough to hit 20-30 more runs to factor this in. Also don't think our bowling has enough teeth to take 11 wickets unless the Srilankans think otherwise.
Threats: Jayasuriya's hitting at the top, Sangakarra and Jayawardene's stability in the middle, Vaas and Murali's tricks with the ball.
Opportunity: If India chases and chases well,there is no question our batters can see us through big totals. I am counting on a Indian chase!
Karth Inc predicts: All reasoning and logic says Srilanka have a definite edge...hey but so did we did have an upper hand against bangladeshis..So did pak against Ireland.
I so hate this cliche, can't help but say it...Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainity...my heart says..Jeethega bhai Jeethega...Hindustan Jeethega!!
By the way, TOI has its own SWOT analysis for today's clash(can't find the link). Check it out in the epaper version
p.s Tommorow is a cracker of a match! Dress rehearsal of the finals perhaps?
Friday, March 23, 2007
ICC world cup SWOT analysis:India Vs Srilanka
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Gibbs does a Sobers!!
It had to happen! The minnows are minnows after all :-(
Van Bunge will never want to bowl again.
Check out this Gibbs 6 in 6!
Ohh btw did I say English are gonna make it? Well the Kiwis turned the tables over!!
Friday, March 16, 2007
ICC WCC 07:SWOT Analysis Eng Vs NZ!
Wow! Yet another big match today. Kiwis taking on the English!! Expect it to be nothing short of a blinder!
Sample this: Eng V Kiwi Matches played 58. England won 27, NZ..well 27 too! Hmm that doesn't help does it?
Lets get straight to business. SWOT time!
New Zealand
Strengths: Kiwis can bat and bat deep. Also going by their recent form(link to the Hadlee series) , looks like they can chase anything under the sun!
Jacob Oram is definitely the key player here. Vettori and Bond will play a key role as well. With the old ball, this spin-fast duo could prove lethal, more so if Bond is able to reverse it.
Weakness: Inconsistent!. Fleming needs to score if NZ want to go deep into the tournament. Kiwis are just not the same side while playing outside NZ.
Opportunities: Not so great English bowling attack if James Anderson misses play today. Collingwood might be the best In-form batsman for Eng but against the Kiwis he averages a dismal 20.8(His career average is 34 odd).
Threat:Craig McMillan might not play due to his toe injury. Andy Flintoff loves to take the wicket of Fleming which he has been doing pretty consistently.(Link here for stats)
England won the CB series playing against Aus and NZ..that will be a physcological boost.
ENGLAND
Strengths: Impact players-Flintoff, Collingwood and Pieterson. Can tear apart any attack on thier day. A very balanced side as well.
Weaknesses: hmm..Couldn't think of many. if James Anderson doesn't play and the pitch turns out conducive to seam, he will be a great miss. Also compared to Kiwis, the English doesnt seem to be very experienced lot. This could matter if the match goes down till the end of the wire.
Opportunities: Going by the Ken Vs Canada match conditions, Not to forget, Monty panesar who has a great chance of showing his skills on the big stage.
Threat: Well, Not sure if Michael Vaughan can hold up the full match due to his hamstring. Vettori will be a big pain if the condition is anywhere close to his likeness.
My prediction...Its going to be England all the way! Mind you..its not gonna be a easy one tho!
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
ICC WCC 07:SWOT Analysis Match#1 WI vs Pak
We are couple of hours away from the most awaited event of the year for all the cricket crazy Indians- The Ninth Edition of the ICC world Cup Cricket 2007.
Here in Japan, not surprisingly there is not even a whishper about it :-(
Being an avid follower(and of course played) of this game for the last 15 odd years, i try to present here a SWOT(Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat) analysis for all crucial World cup matches.
I hope you enjoy it!
Match 1: West Indies Vs Pakistan
West Indies
Strengths: Batting Department-Gayle, Chanderpaul and Lara of course!
Young legs on the field. Should able to save few runs.
Weakness: Bowling line up not upto the mark. Heavy reliance on Gayle, chanderpaul and Lara. Ability to collapse like 9 pins-remember the 93 all out against the Kenyans and the more recent 85 all out?
Opportunities:Home ground advantage. Crowd behind them. Weak Pakistani bowling attack.
Threats:Mohammed Yousuf - One of his best batting forms and Inzy can belt the WI's rather weak bowling attack.
PAKISTAN
Strengths: Batting definitely. Yousuf, Inzaman and Imran Nazir can belt the leather on his day.
Weakness: No Akthar, No Sami, No Razzaq. Do i need to say more?
Not that great fielding side as well. If Danish Kaneria plays, dont think he will trouble the heavily Left handed loaded WI team.
Opportunities: Capitalize on good starts. Getting a big total helps nonetheless. Not so great WI bowling attack too.
Threats: Extremely weak bowling attack. Slow legs on the field.
Karth Inc Predicts: This is a toughie. Both teams which have a equally good strengths and bad weaknesses. I am going to stick my head out and say, WI should be able to win this!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Leadership lessons from The Wall
9, 17, 65, 0, 18, 11, DNB, 19, 12, 46
(Source: www.cricinfo.com)
Well, this has been the performance of Sehwag in the last 10 matches he played. An average of 21.88. Not impressive by any standards, let alone International cricket.
However put this question to Dravid, and this is what he shoots back
"It's not like I'm supporting Joe Blogs or some Ramdin or something. This is a kid who's got 300 runs, someone who has done some things in international cricket. I get asked this question, 'Okay, you are supporting Sehwag.' I wonder if it's Joe Blogs or something I'm supporting?"
Strong words from the Wall.
A very subtle but strong hint for Sehwag to pull up his socks.
We all know Dravid’s great technical ability but here he shows his leadership skills is something every aspiring leader should learn a thing or two.
I always believe as a leader, you should have immense faith in your team. Dravid, by sticking out his head and supporting him here, would have imbibed a great sense of confident in Sehwag.
With the selectors and Indians all over vouching for Sehwag’s exit, I bet it would have been tough for Dravid to shout back his support for him, but as a leader Dravid has played his cards well.
This not only gives Sehwag the much needed support, but the other team members will be queuing up to win Dravid’s confidence. This also doubles the team's unity and improves the camaraderie in the team.
But from Sehwag’s perspective, his captain by sticking his head out and backing him up will be ten times better than a backroom one to one talk.
Hmm.I wouldn’t be surprised if Sehwag comes out with blazing performance in the World cup.
So, next time one of your team members is not performing up to the mark and if you have the confidence him/her, then shout out your confidence to the stakeholders! It really is a win-win coz if the poor guy manages to perform, your respect among everyone will soar and if he doesnt, you will still not lose the support of your teammates.
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Learn Hiragana while you travel!
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Customer care ain't fun:-)
Hilarious!!
Check out this video on Youtube customer care...well..Let me tell you, you can work for the best companies in the world, but if you are in customer care..Man you had it!!
Customers are always right..and they always complain:-))
Sunday, February 25, 2007
The Journey....
You know, i am amazed when i see the Japanese railway system. A train arriving at 8.49 will come at 8.49 not 8.48 not 8.50. I am also awestruck when i think about what might have gone in scheduling, planning and executing this amazing system.
But hey, wait a minute! Our Indian railways is supposed to be the biggest network in the world right? But if you wonder why isnt it on par with the japanese or the english rail system-
This eye-opening documentary from NGC brings out the realism in our railway system
Some notable points from this documentary
- Each train is designed to carry 1700 passengers, but swells to 7000!! WOW!!
- You dont have to wait till the train stops to get in or get out. If you do, you are a loser!
-About 2000 people are killed in a year in Bombay attempting to get in and get out of the trains!!
End of the day, i dont care if the train is late, crowded or dirty, i only hope there is no repeat of a samjhauta express blast or the 7/11 blasts.......
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Hard work pays!
In Japan, this is what you will see!
The train station gets more and more crowded as the evening wears off. you will not be incorrect if you think most of these people are just leaving from work and of course, most of them would have started their day at 8.00 AM.
In fact, i wasn't the last guy out of office as well. I could see a few buried heads into their laptops.
Of course, it is a well documented fact that the Japanese are one of the most hard working lot in the world. Yes, the mandated working hours is still 40 hrs/week, but i am sure most of them would hit that figure by mid week.
On the surface though it is quite admirable that people here are committed and dedicated about their work.
But scratch the surface a little, you will surely notice, hard work is not directly proportional to productivity here.
Mind you,i am not in any way undermining their zeal for perfection and their commitment, but, come on, things can be done faster!
So if you ask an Indian worker to jump of a cliff and find out whats at the bottom, he will do it, break his nose and figure out he has hit a rock. Job done in 5 mins minus a nose.
Now if you have a japanese do it, he would come equipped with all sorts of equipments to figure out all details required to jump of a cliff, do some crazy impact analysis and figure out there is a rock, which weighs x grams, has been there for y years and has the capacity to break a nose.
Well you would be awed at the level of detail and the accuracy but of course you would have to wait for some time!
Get my point?
So how do you meet schedules, especially in IT where time is a luxury? Slog! Slog till the last train leaves!
So its not SMART WORK, but HARD WORK is what the Japanese office goer believes!
and looking at Japan, you can say "hard work pays!"
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Proud to be an Indian!
The program talks about the Indian education system showing snippets from primary classroom about students learning maths, the role of IITs, and more importantly the growth of IT sector in the last few years.
It shows teachers in a primary classroom teaching multiplication tables of 17, it also shows students at IITs discussing a solution to a real life problem, and of course the Infosys campus budding with its young engineers.
These programs are building the brand of NEW INDIA. Gone are the days where India bought pictures of the snake rope trick and elephants crossing roads. India now for a foreigner means IT, IIT and growth.
Well, The economist might say India is Overheating but at this moment i am just proud to be an Indian!
Thursday, February 08, 2007
The "Other" Reason.
I read Rajesh Shetty's Life Beyond Code a month back. I must say it has influenced me in more than one way. The book explains in a very fluid manner, 9 different ways to distinguish oneself and how!
Hats of to you Rajesh, you can't get it more simple and effective than that!
One of the thing Rajesh explains in his book and also in his blog is the "Second reason". He says, for any activity(apart from building relationships) to do he needs a second reason, however significant or insignificant it is.
Since reading the book, i have rather unconsiously started thinking about the second reason for most of my decisions i make!
One of those decision was coming back to Tokyo. Apart from the learning you gain at work, i think 2 reasons have prompted me to come back to Square one!
One of them is to learn Japanese!. As soon as i arrived in tokyo, i signed up for the classes and have been slogging out the past 3 weeks! Must say its fun tho' tough!
So far this "other" reason has also been a catalyst for my primary reason and the effect has been great! One keeps pushing the other.
As far as the other "other" reason goes, well, thats for another day's discussion!
Well, there are some books that you read and move on and there are some books which stay with you for life..Life beyond code will stay!
Thanks Raj!
-Karth
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Sorry!(Gomenasai!)
SORRY!! Yeah for all the 6 of you(or maybe 3 of you now..) who have been checking out this blog..a BIG SORRY!
Thanks to my relocation to Tokyo(yeah!) and no internet connection at home, i have not been able to write as much as i would want. But i do have a lot to say !!
Hang on people and Karth inc will be back!
Meanwhile check out this post from one of favourite blogger's- Digital Inspiration.
Must accept, This is also ONE of the reason why i want to keep this going..even though there are just 3 of you!!
Saturday, December 30, 2006
The Sultan of Spin
Being an Indian and that too an ardent Cricket fan, its very hard not to have a post on the "gentleman's game".
One of the game's greatest showman, the sultan of spin Shane Warne has decided to hang his boots after the sydney ashes test. The english must have been a releived lot. With another of the game's greatest also deciding to quit, the english cricket team must have been a relived lot.
Must have been a difficult decision, considering the fact that he was on top of his game. With a mind boggling 999 international wickets and all set to race to 1000+ wickets,this genius has left an indelible mark on the millions following this game.
The memories of Gatting getting a ripper of a delivery is still fresh in mind.
Check out this amazing video of the magician weaving his magic.
We miss you warney!!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
The Japanese Connection!
On my recent trip to Chennai and Coimbatore, i was amazed to find a lot of Japanese language and cultural schools. In Tokyo too, i could find a fair share of Japanese speaking tamilians(folks from Tamilnadu).
Probably, since the IT industry is big in Japan(2nd biggest IT market for India), cities like Chennai being host to a lot of IT companies , the demand-supply effect should have come into picture. Obviously right? But wait a minute, Bangalore(ok,bengalooru) is a bigger IT market, so going by that line of thought, there should be a lot more Japanese language schools as well.
However that does not seem to be the case. Just spending couple of days in Chennai, i stumbled upon lot more japanese language schools than what i have seen in Bangalore in the last 6 months. Also a quick search on this site reveals that there are more japanese language teachers in Chennai than Bangalore.
Interesting.
Why are the tamil people folk more attracted to the japanese language? Are they genetically attracted to the language?
Thats what it seems, if you go by Susumu Ohno-san's "THE GENEOLOGY OF THE JAPANESE LANGUGAGE'Ohno san's extensive research on this area has established the connection between Nihongo and Tamil.
But why Tamil? Why not other Dravidan languages? say Telugu or Kannada
Ohno-san reasons out like this-
First, it is a language spoken by a large group of over 48 million. Second, it is a very old language; 2,500 Cañkam verses, written in ancient Tam ii between 200 B.C. and 200 A.D., are preserved. Third, a detailed grammar of ancient Tamil survives, the Tolkãppiyam, written around the third century B.C. (Among other Dravidian languages, literature in the Kannada language can be traced back only as far as 1100 A.D., and that of Telugu, to 1200 A.D.,)
Makes sense. He also lists some words which have same meanings and similiar sounds.
Table 1. Word Correspondence (Jap. F: Tam. p., pp)
J. Far-u (to swell, expand)
T. Par-u (to swell {DEDR 3972])
J. Far-uka (to be far off)
T. par-a (to be far, wide [DEDR 3949])
J. Fat-u (to end, perish, die)
T. pat-u (to perish, die {DEDR 3852])
J. Fir-o (wide, great)
T. per-u (great, large [DEDR 4411])
J. Fo:k-u (to eulogize, praise)
T. puk-aJ (eulogy [DEDR 4235])
J. Fot-o (time)
T. pot-u (time [DEDR 4559])
J. Far-u (to become bulky)
T. par-u (to be bulky [DEDR 3972])
J. Far-a (field of sky)
T. par-am (heaven {T.L.2499])
J. Fat-u (first, new of the season)
T. pat-u (to appear for the first time (DEDR 3852])
J. Fuk-asu (to smoke, steam)
T. pok-ai (to smoke, vapor [DEDR 4240])
J. För-ö (cloth cover)
T. por-vai (covering [DEDR 4590])
J. Fut-a (cover, lid)
T. put-ai (to bury, hide, cover [DEDR 4509])
J. Fur-c (village)
T. pul-am (village, place [DEDR 4303])
J. Fun-c (ship)
T. puri-ai (raft, boat [DEDR 4321])
J. FOr-ö (tumor, abscess)
T. purr-u (scrofulous, scurby one [DEDR 4336]
J. taF-uru (to die)
T. tap-u (to perish, die (DEDR 3068])
J. öF-ö (big, to flourish)
T. upp-u (to become big, bloat [DEDR 666])
J. aF-u (to meet, be fit)
T. opp-u (to agree, be fit [DEDR 924])
J. köF-u (to beg)
T. kupp-u (to join hand as in worship [DEDR 1894])
J. tuF-a (spittle)
T. tupp-al (saliva [DEDR 3323])
J. suF-u (to suck)
T. cüpp-u (to suck, sip [DEDR 2621])
I am not sure of the Japanese words, but most of the tamil words in the list seem to be colloqial, but yeah the connection cannot be dismissed.
No wonder, tamil actor "superstar" Rajanikanth is pretty well known among Japanese film aficionados!
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Convert your PC game to a PS2(or PS3)!!
For all you hardcore gaming fans who are in dire need of a PS3 or even a PS2, but do not want to dig deep into your pockets, here is a tried and tested way of simulating the fun!
Minimum requirements:
A decent laptop with a s-video output
A S-video dongle-Either S-video to S-video, if your TV has a S-video port or a S-video to RCA cable.
A logitech dual action gamepad
A TV(HD TV?,even better!!)
and of course a PC game.
Now for the conversion...
Step 1: Take a deep breath..(yeah right!)
Step 2: Use your S-Video dongle to hook up your TV and Laptop.
Step 3: Connect the game pad to your laptop.
Step 4: Change your laptop display settings to either clone your laptop or dual view.(Right click desktop-->properties-->display settings-->advanced)
Step 5: Rev up your game and there you go! the display is on your TV and you can get going with your gamepad!!
Step 6: Get some beer and get your game going!
Easy isnt it? If you really want to enhance this setup..Get yourself a good sound sytem(preferably a creative sound blaster) and a gamepad with the shocker and rock on!
The best part-All this at 15% the cost of your PS2 and less than 5% the cost of your PS3!!
Let me know if you need any more info.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Monday, November 20, 2006
Oz gotta wait!
“Here I am,This is me, There's nowhere else on earth I'd rather be
Here I am,It's just me and you; Tonight we make our dreams come true
It's a new world,It's a new start; It's alive with the beating of young hearts
It's a new day,It's a new plan; I've been waiting for you
Here I am”….
H-Hullo? Karth here…
The sinister voice on the other side growls…”What took you so long to answer your phone? Master has given the orders…its time now, Make sure the task is completed”
Click
Shaken more by the tone rather than the order, I manage to mumble…”y-yes” and hang up the phone.
The Master has given the orders finally, the task has to be done, no matter how difficult the path leading up to it..i am the ONE, the
The End does justify the means finally…
I step into the swanky new Airbus A380 plane that will take me to “THE” destination, the “FATEFUL” destination.
The plane and the plan is about to take off….Suddenly,
“Here I am, This is me, There's nowhere else on earth I'd rather be
Here I am, It’s just me and you; Tonight we make our dreams come true
It's a ...Hello?!..Karth-on-the-plane here….
The same “Sinister-voice-on-the-other-side-of-the-phone” growls….”ABORT MISSION”
Click
Trrrrrrrrring..Trrrrrrrrring..Trrrrrrrrrring.. I see the casio next to my bed..8.45 AM..Just when i was sitting on my bed and thinking whether it was a dream or a nightmare..the phone rings.........
"Karthik, this is your manager calling from Sydney, Dude your trip to Oz Gotta wait!"
Click!
Friday, November 03, 2006
Loose Control!
Just when i was on a "auto-pilot' cruise mode, certain developments have ensured that i stop slacking and get back to business.
Interesting things have happened in the last few days...
Bangalore is out and BENGALOORU is in---I dont think it is a great idea to rechristen it, more than the name Bangalore is a brand and changing the brand name is akin to destroying all the hard work that went into building brand bangalore.
One thing the change of name shows is our way of going back in time instead of going forward. The city is deteriorating day by day and all it takes for the entire city to come to a standstill is a single drop of rain! So out goes bangalore the city dressed up like a village and in comes bengalooru the village trying to transform to a city.
One other exciting stuff and the one that is keeping me away from Blog is my travel to Sydney!!
Co-incidentally the English cricket team will also be travelling over for the ashes and i have a feeling its going to be one hell of a season!!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Indians Game enough?
K has a very interesting post on Gaming, Xbox and India. Incidentally, today i was at E-zone(the consumer appliances store by Pantaloons) and there was this demo of X-box out there. Having been a proud owner of the console whilst i was in Tokyo, i went ahead to check out if there were any differences in the "desi" version. So while i was checking out the NFS Most Wanted, i observed a bemused 30 something couple staring at me probably thinking "bacche ke park ka jhoola mein yeh kyon baita hai??!!" and had that "Kids-these-days-look-overgrown" look. Also sadly in the store apart from a few curious kids the demo setup hardly generated any interest. In contrast a Phillips home theater system had a more audience :-(
I wanted to know how much it had sold and Ezone, but couldnt get hold of the sales guy there(there was no one!)
In stark contrast, when the Xbox was released in Japan, it did generate tremendous interest and of course the console sales were disappointing but i remember seeing long queues in front of Game parlours and stores. When i did buy one, my Indian colleagues were offering ideas on what better products could one buy for 35,000 JPY and few japanese friends were like "Sugoi desu ne"!!!(Is it cool or what!!!).
Gaming in India, especially of the console type is still in a very nascent stage compared to US and Japan where it is a much more evolved and mature industry(around $35-50 billion dollars). We are still in the PC games era, even though console gaming is getting a good exposure thanks to places like Reliance Web world, it still is a question of affordability and more importantly acceptance!
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Orkuttin' can get you a job!
Orkut is BIG and is a fast catching trend out here in India(and i suppose in Brazil too). More and more users are signing in to orkut every day, to network,connect with lost links, dating and also building communities.
However one interesting set of people are viewing this avenue as a tool to recruit people in thier organization-the talent scourers and the recruiters.
Off late, i seem to be getting more and more "scraps" from such recruiting firms and also direct companies.
Interesting, apart from being a free and huge database of prospective employees, it also gives a good insight into the person's interests, likes, attitude and yeah, links to other prospective employees.
So if you are looking for a job and have an Orkut account, you might want to refine your "about me" section and refrain from having stuff like "Corporate whore at day..." , "Insanity is my girl friend..." :-)
Web 2.o is ON and i need to scrap!