Professional sport is one of those (last few) things left, which is like a guy thing . Watching a good game with the right company, critiquing the commentary and game strategy, debating hazaar statistics and of course, consuming beer, adds up to make it that kind of an event.
What the IPL has done (though good for its coffers) is to make cricket a complete entertainment package with no respect for any of the nuances . So, you have people who have never seen cricket before decide to support the Rajasthan Royals- Why? Coz Shilpa Shetty owns the team and a smoking tubby Shane Warne is charismatic. All the right reasons, as you can see. Plus of course, Mandira Bedi for commentary. This year, the ads suggest there is something special being planned for kids during the coverage. Oh my God!!
I am not v sure, but I think the EPL isnt some kind of a family mela. That may be because soccer is a contact sport..who knows ! Also, it hasnt been marketed in this kind of a manner with movie stars & the type being team owners etc etc. Tragedy is that every year, the IPL only gets more and more away from the clutches and understanding of a hardcore cricket or sports geek.
All the above are part of the reason why you wouldnt know who has been the top scorer in the 2 IPL editions, which batter has been the game changer, which bowler has best eco rates, whats the key strategy element in a T20 and so on.....
I may still watch it coz it is telecast at a time when I may otherwise be watching some meaningless news program on CNN or CNBC..But surely not enjoying it too much ...
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Facebook cant survive for too long, can it?
Facebook has evolved a fair bit
It initially started off as a photo sharing/commenting tool started by Zuckerberg (another Harvad Univ grad). Story goes he was dumped by some girl & created this coz he wanted to get her off his mind. It became like an online student directory for Harvard with photos etc. It gradually spread and went on to add more colleges , schools and then went on to become the soc networking tool that it is today.
In India, orkut had a headstart-it largely helped people get in touch with long lost friends, school mates etc. But as orkut stagnated, facebook became all of this plus an exciting front-end allowing various things like status updates & several custom apps. The viral nature of social netowrking caught on much more with facebook and it kept adding users. Today, I guess college kids types use it for the apps etc whilst the older bunch use it to keep others informed on what they r upto (a bit of a show-off site from time to time !!"Awesome view frm the top of the Himalayas types!":))
What next? I get the feeling that they are looking to:
1. Charge for membership and/or
2. Create a forum where transactions happen on facebook (friends getting togethter and doing stuff etc etc)
Am not sure either of the above will ever become very huge or popular. Creating a network and then milking it for transactions seems intiutive. The issue is that most people in this kind of a network are in the 3rd or 4th degree!! Your 1st or 2nd degree network are the ones with whom you will make plans, transactions etc and for that you wont need facebook.com.
My take is:
1. It will remain an average networking site
2. People will get fed up of putting up global, glowing status updates & pics and move on or reduce their usage
3. Transactions etc will not really take off
4. The site will stagnate by 2015
Lets see...Could be proven wrong but unlikely !:)
It initially started off as a photo sharing/commenting tool started by Zuckerberg (another Harvad Univ grad). Story goes he was dumped by some girl & created this coz he wanted to get her off his mind. It became like an online student directory for Harvard with photos etc. It gradually spread and went on to add more colleges , schools and then went on to become the soc networking tool that it is today.
In India, orkut had a headstart-it largely helped people get in touch with long lost friends, school mates etc. But as orkut stagnated, facebook became all of this plus an exciting front-end allowing various things like status updates & several custom apps. The viral nature of social netowrking caught on much more with facebook and it kept adding users. Today, I guess college kids types use it for the apps etc whilst the older bunch use it to keep others informed on what they r upto (a bit of a show-off site from time to time !!"Awesome view frm the top of the Himalayas types!":))
What next? I get the feeling that they are looking to:
1. Charge for membership and/or
2. Create a forum where transactions happen on facebook (friends getting togethter and doing stuff etc etc)
Am not sure either of the above will ever become very huge or popular. Creating a network and then milking it for transactions seems intiutive. The issue is that most people in this kind of a network are in the 3rd or 4th degree!! Your 1st or 2nd degree network are the ones with whom you will make plans, transactions etc and for that you wont need facebook.com.
My take is:
1. It will remain an average networking site
2. People will get fed up of putting up global, glowing status updates & pics and move on or reduce their usage
3. Transactions etc will not really take off
4. The site will stagnate by 2015
Lets see...Could be proven wrong but unlikely !:)
Sunday, January 24, 2010
The insignificant No.11 or wat?
10 players of the Indian test squad more or less pick themselves . These 10 players are the Top 5 batsmen+Yuvraj (:) ) + MSD+ Zak+ Ishant + Bhajji. (just for the moment, leave the fact that Ishant was dropped for Sreesanth in the home series v SL)
That leaves us with 1 slot. This goes to a seamer in overseas games and typically a 2nd spinner in sub-continental conditions. And this is the slot we ping-pong with. Sreesanth's ok-ok form off late means he is probably the 3rd seamer (to be used overseas). But in the subcontinent games, its (as of now) between Mishra & Ojha (&how). Check the below trail of our last few series:
Ind v Aus (in India in Oct08)- Mishra made debut & was awesome
Ind v Eng (in India in late08)- Mishra continued & was good , if not spectacular
Ind v NZ (in NZ in early 09)- No spinner needed
Ind v SL (in Ind in late 09)- Suddenly, Mishra is dropped after an ordinary 1st test on a batting beauty & Ojha is in. Ojha does a good job
Ind v Bangla (in Bangla in 2010)-
1st test- Mishra is in & Ojha is out. Mishra doesnt bowl too well, but takes a 7-for in the match & we win the match (apparently, captain Sehwag's call)
2nd test- Ojha is in & Mishra is out !!! (back to captain MSD & his call)
I cant fathom why we play around with that marginal 4th bowler instead of giving 1 person a good run and loads of confidence. It usually shows also when we struggle to pick up the last 3-4 wickets.
That leaves us with 1 slot. This goes to a seamer in overseas games and typically a 2nd spinner in sub-continental conditions. And this is the slot we ping-pong with. Sreesanth's ok-ok form off late means he is probably the 3rd seamer (to be used overseas). But in the subcontinent games, its (as of now) between Mishra & Ojha (&how). Check the below trail of our last few series:
Ind v Aus (in India in Oct08)- Mishra made debut & was awesome
Ind v Eng (in India in late08)- Mishra continued & was good , if not spectacular
Ind v NZ (in NZ in early 09)- No spinner needed
Ind v SL (in Ind in late 09)- Suddenly, Mishra is dropped after an ordinary 1st test on a batting beauty & Ojha is in. Ojha does a good job
Ind v Bangla (in Bangla in 2010)-
1st test- Mishra is in & Ojha is out. Mishra doesnt bowl too well, but takes a 7-for in the match & we win the match (apparently, captain Sehwag's call)
2nd test- Ojha is in & Mishra is out !!! (back to captain MSD & his call)
I cant fathom why we play around with that marginal 4th bowler instead of giving 1 person a good run and loads of confidence. It usually shows also when we struggle to pick up the last 3-4 wickets.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Wierdos in the gym
All of us who go to these gyms (regularly or irregularly) wouldnt have missed several strange categories of people in there:
1. The struggling amateur- This is the guy who has just joined the gym but is clearly not cut out for it. He spends more time drinking water and walking around the gym than working out. When he works out , he typically gets the angles and body postures wrong.
2. The irritating floor trainer/s- The personal trainers are typically good but the floor trainers are a massive pain. The funniest thing I find about them is that Trainer No.1 may come and say that "Adjust your seat to position.4" . You would do so and continue exercising and then suddenly, Trainer No.2 will come & say "Too high- reduce to positon.3" . Damn bugging , especially for the struggling amateur.
3. The noisy muscleman- These are those Salman Khan varieties. Every gym needs them to be authentic. But , the loud grunt while lifting some 150 kilos is just unbearable and not done.
4. The treadmill hunters- 70% of the people come to the gym to just run up and down on the treadmill (i have never understood why). Typically, in a city like Mumbai, the treadmillls are always occupied. So- you have these guys who come up to you and ask you - "Aur kitna time??"
5. The pushy Mumbai local train types- These are two types of these:
i. Chappies who do an exercise and then leave their towel on the equipment. The towel indicates that they are gonna come back soon and that the equipment is "reserved" for them
ii. Folks who wanna finish off their routines first and so, will literally stand on your head whilst you are exercising to ensure that they can go next.
6. The sleeper abs- These guys get onto the abs trainer at the end of their routine. They are typically very tired, but to reduce that fat paunch, tend to (try &) do a lot of crunches. And invariably they lie down on the equipment and take "v long" breaks with their eyes closed between their sets.
Are they more? Maybe, the dainty lady , the elderly gentleman and so on...But the above were the top 6 that came to my mind. Happy gymming.
1. The struggling amateur- This is the guy who has just joined the gym but is clearly not cut out for it. He spends more time drinking water and walking around the gym than working out. When he works out , he typically gets the angles and body postures wrong.
2. The irritating floor trainer/s- The personal trainers are typically good but the floor trainers are a massive pain. The funniest thing I find about them is that Trainer No.1 may come and say that "Adjust your seat to position.4" . You would do so and continue exercising and then suddenly, Trainer No.2 will come & say "Too high- reduce to positon.3" . Damn bugging , especially for the struggling amateur.
3. The noisy muscleman- These are those Salman Khan varieties. Every gym needs them to be authentic. But , the loud grunt while lifting some 150 kilos is just unbearable and not done.
4. The treadmill hunters- 70% of the people come to the gym to just run up and down on the treadmill (i have never understood why). Typically, in a city like Mumbai, the treadmillls are always occupied. So- you have these guys who come up to you and ask you - "Aur kitna time??"
5. The pushy Mumbai local train types- These are two types of these:
i. Chappies who do an exercise and then leave their towel on the equipment. The towel indicates that they are gonna come back soon and that the equipment is "reserved" for them
ii. Folks who wanna finish off their routines first and so, will literally stand on your head whilst you are exercising to ensure that they can go next.
6. The sleeper abs- These guys get onto the abs trainer at the end of their routine. They are typically very tired, but to reduce that fat paunch, tend to (try &) do a lot of crunches. And invariably they lie down on the equipment and take "v long" breaks with their eyes closed between their sets.
Are they more? Maybe, the dainty lady , the elderly gentleman and so on...But the above were the top 6 that came to my mind. Happy gymming.
Sunny Gavaskar
Taking off from one of the comments on the blog on Sunny Gavaskar, thought i will put down my thoughts on the man.
Lemme start off by saying that he is an absolute icon- be it the 774 runs in a debut series vs. WI or staging a walkout on a wrong umpiring decision in Australia- he has in many ways been a pioneer. Awesome batting technique against spin and pace, I dont think concerns around his selfishness, conservative captaincy, blah blah are too much to bother about.
On his commentary though, there are 2 standard features, which are well, worth laughing about as well as things he should maybe avoid:
1. Tendulkar Worship - He can say no wrong about Sachin. Forget wrong, he can only praise him. In one of the recent ODIs vs. Sri Lanka , Sachin took a dolly of a catch in the final overs of a close chase. Gavaskar went on & on praising Sachin whereas the position of the game at the time may have merited a tad more mention ! :) Again- this is not blame but just an observation. I am no one to criticize Sachin worshippers- being the biggest one myself.
2. Aussie/Eng/SA bashing- We all love a bit of bashing of the firang cricketers and administrators. But Sunny does it almost blindly each and every time. I think I agree with the points he makes , but putting it more mildly and discreetly may drive home the point better. e.g. the Ponting fracas ! But then he is Sunny Gavaskar & probably is right :)
As Lord Relator said in the great calypso:
"It was Gavaskar
The real master
Just like a wall
We couldn't out Gavaskar at all
Not at all
You know the West Indies couldn't out Gavaskar at all."
Lemme start off by saying that he is an absolute icon- be it the 774 runs in a debut series vs. WI or staging a walkout on a wrong umpiring decision in Australia- he has in many ways been a pioneer. Awesome batting technique against spin and pace, I dont think concerns around his selfishness, conservative captaincy, blah blah are too much to bother about.
On his commentary though, there are 2 standard features, which are well, worth laughing about as well as things he should maybe avoid:
1. Tendulkar Worship - He can say no wrong about Sachin. Forget wrong, he can only praise him. In one of the recent ODIs vs. Sri Lanka , Sachin took a dolly of a catch in the final overs of a close chase. Gavaskar went on & on praising Sachin whereas the position of the game at the time may have merited a tad more mention ! :) Again- this is not blame but just an observation. I am no one to criticize Sachin worshippers- being the biggest one myself.
2. Aussie/Eng/SA bashing- We all love a bit of bashing of the firang cricketers and administrators. But Sunny does it almost blindly each and every time. I think I agree with the points he makes , but putting it more mildly and discreetly may drive home the point better. e.g. the Ponting fracas ! But then he is Sunny Gavaskar & probably is right :)
As Lord Relator said in the great calypso:
"It was Gavaskar
The real master
Just like a wall
We couldn't out Gavaskar at all
Not at all
You know the West Indies couldn't out Gavaskar at all."
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Kam aur galat Insurance lene ki bimaari !
I aint no expert on personal investing. But I have always been amazed at the manner in which insurance policies are sold (& more importantly, bought!!) in India.
Quick step back to basics- Objective of insurance is to provide dependants with savings in the event of any untoward happening. THAT's IT.
This is achieved by the classic Term insurance policy- In such a policy, you pay a premium which covers you for anything untoward. If nothing like that happens, you dont get money back.
Then, there is the range of policies from endowment to money back to spurious unit-linked stuff in which you get various sums of money back in case the untoward event doesnt hapen.
Let me look at some premiums for these various kind of policies.
Assumptions: Age: 30
Sum insured: 1 cr
Tenor: 15 years
Premiums p.a.
Term - 30k
Endowment - 6.5 lac
Money Back- 10 lac
Unit Linked- Something devilish like 20 lac
I hope the numbers speak for themselves. In the effort of getting money back, you end up paying disproportionately large sums of money for the same sum insured.
Net-net, you end up under-insuring substantially. For a premium like 6.5 lac you could get much much much more sum insured cover in a term policy . This is a big worry in case something untoward happens (which is why you buy insurance). To achieve investment gains, there are many other products from equities to MFs to real estate to what not- get investing gains from those, not from insurance.
Of course, the agent will sell the costlier ones since his / her commission is linked to the premiums. Please do not wrongly under-insure. If insurance, then go for the simple term insurance.
Quick step back to basics- Objective of insurance is to provide dependants with savings in the event of any untoward happening. THAT's IT.
This is achieved by the classic Term insurance policy- In such a policy, you pay a premium which covers you for anything untoward. If nothing like that happens, you dont get money back.
Then, there is the range of policies from endowment to money back to spurious unit-linked stuff in which you get various sums of money back in case the untoward event doesnt hapen.
Let me look at some premiums for these various kind of policies.
Assumptions: Age: 30
Sum insured: 1 cr
Tenor: 15 years
Premiums p.a.
Term - 30k
Endowment - 6.5 lac
Money Back- 10 lac
Unit Linked- Something devilish like 20 lac
I hope the numbers speak for themselves. In the effort of getting money back, you end up paying disproportionately large sums of money for the same sum insured.
Net-net, you end up under-insuring substantially. For a premium like 6.5 lac you could get much much much more sum insured cover in a term policy . This is a big worry in case something untoward happens (which is why you buy insurance). To achieve investment gains, there are many other products from equities to MFs to real estate to what not- get investing gains from those, not from insurance.
Of course, the agent will sell the costlier ones since his / her commission is linked to the premiums. Please do not wrongly under-insure. If insurance, then go for the simple term insurance.
Aromas, Powai- review
Decided to check out a restaurant at Powai.
Got into this coffee shop-Aromas (no need for a map, its bang in the middle of the Hiranandani area)..Its the first outlet in India of an Aussie chain.
Great ambience (by which I mean, nice & lazy). The ACs werent working. The crowd included the normal Powai type mix of expats.
The menu is much more than a normal coffee shop - includes a range of pizzas & pastas besides various coffees, sandwiches & desserts.
I tried a pizza & some pasta- they were good without being spectatcular or v authentic. Service was prompt & good, prices generally in the 120-125 buck range per dish. Tried out a "pepper" cheesecake which again was nice.
All-in-all, good place to catch up with friends on an afternoon !Food alone is not worth going for but the ambience & service makes up for that !
Got into this coffee shop-Aromas (no need for a map, its bang in the middle of the Hiranandani area)..Its the first outlet in India of an Aussie chain.
Great ambience (by which I mean, nice & lazy). The ACs werent working. The crowd included the normal Powai type mix of expats.
The menu is much more than a normal coffee shop - includes a range of pizzas & pastas besides various coffees, sandwiches & desserts.
I tried a pizza & some pasta- they were good without being spectatcular or v authentic. Service was prompt & good, prices generally in the 120-125 buck range per dish. Tried out a "pepper" cheesecake which again was nice.
All-in-all, good place to catch up with friends on an afternoon !Food alone is not worth going for but the ambience & service makes up for that !
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