It all started one day when I went out with my office team for a team outing to a farm two years back. Everyone was talking about pumpkin carving, designs and the carving kit etc before the outing. I had no idea what it was. I asked around but still didnot get what it really was, may be I was not very serious about it.
When we reached the farm we split up in different teams and decided on the pattern to carve. We did some carving and the winner was chosen. The farm actually gave away some pumpkins, if anyone wanted it. I brought home two pumpkins to try out carving by myself.
I do not know what got into me but I took it up as a challenge. I immediately went and bought the pattern book along with the carving kit. I do not know when I started carving, probably 10-11 PM, I went on till 2-3 AM. My wife drew the pattern for me on the pumpkin. I didnot know at that point that we can trace the patterns on pumpkins and more over the pumpkin was so small that I anyways could not have traced it. I had selected very intricate patterns.
Next day when I was done carving both the pumpkins I felt really very happy about the result. After that time I have got hooked on to it and I carve pumpkins every year (till now two every year) without even knowing why halloween is celebrated (although I have tried to read about it, but there are different versions of it). In fact this time I got my mother involved in this and she helped me scrape the pumpkin. I feel it is real fun to do pumpkin carving although it could be strenous if the pattern is difficult but fun nevertheless. It gives me a kick when I look at the finished product. I hope to continue this in the coming years with the same enthusiasm. Happy Halloween !!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Friday, April 13, 2007
Abel Mathematician
If we are done criticizing, burning the effigies, feeling low and venting out our anger on the Indian Cricket team after the World Cup debacle. Here is something to cheer about. It may not mean much to very many people but at least we can feel proud that one of the Indians has contributed so much to the ocean of Mathematics. S.R.S. Varadhan has been awarded the Abel Prize for his contributions to probability theory http://www.frontlineonnet.com/stories/20070420001909700.htm. This is the 5th Abel prize awarded since it was instituted in 2002. This prize is in the honor of the great mathematician, who unfortunately died very young at the age of 27, Niels Henrik Abel.
I feel proud to see an Indian getting this prize. It is in some sense equivalent to Nobel Prize. I feel very connected and am very fascinated by mathematics especially pure mathematics at that. I consider myself fortunate enough to get into mathematics, fortunate because I was not thinking mathematics to be the subject to pursue for my bachelor’s degree. I was looking for some science course like any other above average Indian student who had science stream in the 11th and 12th grade. I chose (rather got) mathematics honors for my bachelor’s degree because I was not getting any science courses, but little did I know at that time that I would be mesmerized by its beauty. I always liked mathematics and did pretty well in it but never thought that I would go on to pursue my degree in it. I was very fortunate to get some great teachers who instilled in me the passion for pure mathematics. I studied Abelian groups and functions while pursuing my degree in mathematics (makes me feel even more connected!!).
Even though I branched out of pure mathematics after my bachelor’s degree, but I remained very close to it. I still keep reading about the beauty that is mathematics. Even though I have not contributed anything to the mathematical world but I feel I am a part of that community. I feel bad sometimes that mathematics does not have a Nobel Prize (Field’s Medal is the closest) whereas it is the backbone for any research in any field. But then I console myself by feeling proud that mathematicians are a different breed and they are a cut above the rest and do not need any formal recognition. Pursuing mathematics is a gift in itself.
I feel proud to see an Indian getting this prize. It is in some sense equivalent to Nobel Prize. I feel very connected and am very fascinated by mathematics especially pure mathematics at that. I consider myself fortunate enough to get into mathematics, fortunate because I was not thinking mathematics to be the subject to pursue for my bachelor’s degree. I was looking for some science course like any other above average Indian student who had science stream in the 11th and 12th grade. I chose (rather got) mathematics honors for my bachelor’s degree because I was not getting any science courses, but little did I know at that time that I would be mesmerized by its beauty. I always liked mathematics and did pretty well in it but never thought that I would go on to pursue my degree in it. I was very fortunate to get some great teachers who instilled in me the passion for pure mathematics. I studied Abelian groups and functions while pursuing my degree in mathematics (makes me feel even more connected!!).
Even though I branched out of pure mathematics after my bachelor’s degree, but I remained very close to it. I still keep reading about the beauty that is mathematics. Even though I have not contributed anything to the mathematical world but I feel I am a part of that community. I feel bad sometimes that mathematics does not have a Nobel Prize (Field’s Medal is the closest) whereas it is the backbone for any research in any field. But then I console myself by feeling proud that mathematicians are a different breed and they are a cut above the rest and do not need any formal recognition. Pursuing mathematics is a gift in itself.
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Zee Challenges BCCI
Wow! At last someone is challenging BCCI. I think that’s a great move forward for the future of cricket in the cricket-crazed country, India. According to ICL (Indian Cricket League) there will be 6 teams (which would grow to 16 in 3 years) who would compete against each other initially in a 20/20 format then might go on to include ODIs. Each team would have 2 Indian internationals, 4 overseas players and 8 juniors. BCCI has had the monopoly for too long and has ended up being just a money making machine. Hopefully the new system would put a new life into Indian Cricket. I do not know how this new ICL would finally shape up or whether it would shape up at all (we are all very familiar with the arm-twisting tactics in India). But I think it is a nice initiative.
Just a thought, the time and money we spend on Cricket, if only we spend the same amount of resources on so many other things we would have progressed in so many different fields. I just hope that such initiatives are taken up for other social issues that really need attention.
Just a thought, the time and money we spend on Cricket, if only we spend the same amount of resources on so many other things we would have progressed in so many different fields. I just hope that such initiatives are taken up for other social issues that really need attention.
Friday, March 30, 2007
Mathematical Diversions - 3
There are three glasses on the table - 3, 5, and 8 oz. The first two are empty, the last contains 8 oz of water. By pouring water from one glass to another make at least one of them contain exactly 4 oz of water.
Mathematical Diversions - 2
There are 3 boxes. Each of the three boxes contains 2 balls. In one there are two white balls, in another two black balls, and in the third one ball is black, the other is white. Boxes have been labeled to indicate their contents. However, whoever did the job got all labels wrong. The task is to straighten things out. You may select 1 box and blindly pick up a ball out of it and then have to put the correct label on the boxes.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Who asked Himesh to sing?
I guess the answer is no one. He just sings by himself for himself and of himself (whatever that means). He has a big misconception that he can sing. Why can’t he just stick to composing music (without his voice, which is rare these days), which would be a little excusable? I just fail to understand how the producers put money on him. I am sure it is making business sense for them to do so. So if they are able to make money it means that people are buying his music and appreciating it. So ultimately it boils down to the common man.
Every time I hear him sing I cannot but feel sorry for his ignorance. I just cannot understand how he is surviving in the market. May be market just wants substandard quality of music. He behaves very weirdly whenever he talks to the media too. He talks as if he has done it all. Over and above he compares himself with other great singers. I cannot understand, on one side we have people like Amitabh who after achieving everything in life still remain humble and on the other we have people like Himesh who beat their own drum. It is very apt that empty vessels make lot of noise.
I am sure his music will not live for more than 2 years. Like many other things this is just a phase that will pass very soon but till that time I would just have to bear him or change the channel whenever possible.
Every time I hear him sing I cannot but feel sorry for his ignorance. I just cannot understand how he is surviving in the market. May be market just wants substandard quality of music. He behaves very weirdly whenever he talks to the media too. He talks as if he has done it all. Over and above he compares himself with other great singers. I cannot understand, on one side we have people like Amitabh who after achieving everything in life still remain humble and on the other we have people like Himesh who beat their own drum. It is very apt that empty vessels make lot of noise.
I am sure his music will not live for more than 2 years. Like many other things this is just a phase that will pass very soon but till that time I would just have to bear him or change the channel whenever possible.
India's 2007 Cricket World Cup Debacle
It was really a great “escape” I should say for India from the Cricket World Cup – 2007, because otherwise other teams would have mauled them anyway in the Super8. India was not even fit to go to the world cup in the first place. World Cup is a stage to showcase your talent not your shortcomings. Cricket should have a world cup for the team which exits first like the ignoble prize. India would win it all the time. Indian team’s performance was so pathetic that they deserve to be out of this world cup. It is time for the Indian team to do some reality check. This was the team, which every one said is the best it could get. If the best has performed like this then I think there is no future for Indian cricket. India has never ever been a powerhouse like Australia ever in its cricketing career. It has only gone from bad to worse where all other teams have grown from strength to strength.
India has never had a killer instinct, discipline on the field, or complete fitness. It has always been mired in some controversy or the other. It feels like players go out to play as a formality not because they have passion or the pride of playing for their country. Cricket is not their bread and butter because everything is taken care by their ads/endorsements. Cricket is just an extra income for them.
I understand that winning and losing is part of the game. But losing without a fight is called giving up. I have no hopes from any Indian team in future. 4 top players are going to retire soon and there is no succession plan. Cricket (in spite of not being a national game) gets all the limelight, money, status and facilities but still this bunch of 11 players cannot perform consistently (or rather they under perform consistently).
Australians and South Africans have taken the game to a different level. Indians cannot even conceive of it. It is like a 2-dimensional creature thinking about the 3rd dimension as being absurd or for us to be baffled by higher dimensions. What Indians play is not professional cricket it is leisure time pass. I feel the Indian team should be banned from playing any international matches till all the issues have been sorted out regarding talent search, management and such. The match money should be made performance based.
India has never had a killer instinct, discipline on the field, or complete fitness. It has always been mired in some controversy or the other. It feels like players go out to play as a formality not because they have passion or the pride of playing for their country. Cricket is not their bread and butter because everything is taken care by their ads/endorsements. Cricket is just an extra income for them.
I understand that winning and losing is part of the game. But losing without a fight is called giving up. I have no hopes from any Indian team in future. 4 top players are going to retire soon and there is no succession plan. Cricket (in spite of not being a national game) gets all the limelight, money, status and facilities but still this bunch of 11 players cannot perform consistently (or rather they under perform consistently).
Australians and South Africans have taken the game to a different level. Indians cannot even conceive of it. It is like a 2-dimensional creature thinking about the 3rd dimension as being absurd or for us to be baffled by higher dimensions. What Indians play is not professional cricket it is leisure time pass. I feel the Indian team should be banned from playing any international matches till all the issues have been sorted out regarding talent search, management and such. The match money should be made performance based.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Bangladesh crushed India in the 1st round of Cricket World Cup 2007
India beaten by Bangladesh. First match of world cup 2007 for India. Before I start criticizing India let me first give full credits to the young and energetic team of Bangladesh. They played so very well in all departments of cricket. Lets start from the beginning. India won the toss and elected to bat. It was a 50-50 decision by Dravid (Indian Captain). He said that pitch had something for the bowlers early on in the match but was very confident about his batting line up.
Sehwag (not in form) and Ganguly came out to bat. Before I talk about Sehwag's performance today I would just like to remind that in the Ind-SL series just before the world cup he got run out in such unseen fashion ever. He is so casual on the field that while taking a single he was not even looking in the direction of the ball. Wicket keeper got the ball from the fielder and threw at the non-striker's end where Sehwag was caught short of his crease. So keeping that in the back ground. This morning he was running towards the danger end and again did not ground his bat. He was fortunate enough to survive but was very close. He probably got the benefit of doubt (which always goes to a batsman). Fortune would not favor him again, in the 3rd over he was bowled (dragged the ball onto the stumps). He was neither forward nor fully back to play that shot. Yet again he missed a golden chance to prove himself. I really wonder how he survived for so long in international cricket with zero foot work. He has absolutely no idea where his foot is.
I seriously feel that Sehwag should be dropped from the team and players like Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik should be given more chances who are technically solid players. I am not a kind of person who salutes only the rising sun but Sehwag has no clue about his foot work. He should be asked to improve his foot work until that time he should not be in the team. Full marks to the Bangladesh team who did not give anything away to the Indians. None of the Indian batsmen (except Ganguly & Yuvraj) showed any resistance to the B'desh bowlers India lost 5 wickets in the gap of just 2 runs. Tail enders added 32 runs in the end for the last wicket.
It was the same scene when B'desh started to bat, in the sense that India was again at the receiving end. Tamim started from the word go. He had absolutely no respect for the Indian bowlers and just butchered the bowling all around the ground. B'desh won comfortably at the end. With this loss, India's chances of getting into the Super 8 is hanging on a thin edge. India would have to win the remaining 2 matches for sure to be in any contention for Super 8. Assuming SL beat B'desh and B'desh beat Bermuda then India, SL, B'desh would be tied up with 4 points each and then the net run rate would decide which 2 teams reach the Super 8. India would have to beat bermuda by a huge margin and hope SL beats B'desh convincingly. By losing India has made it tougher on itself to qualify for the Super 8. Many people were of the view before the world cup that minnows bring down the level of the world cup and I always favored that they should be given a chance. India and Pakistan's loss (Pakistan is out of the world cup) has reiterated that one cannot take the minnows (B'desh is not a minnow anymore) lightly and have to take every game seriously. I being an Indian desperately want India to qualify for the Super 8 and better still to win the world cup but at the end of the day I would also like the best team to win.
Sehwag (not in form) and Ganguly came out to bat. Before I talk about Sehwag's performance today I would just like to remind that in the Ind-SL series just before the world cup he got run out in such unseen fashion ever. He is so casual on the field that while taking a single he was not even looking in the direction of the ball. Wicket keeper got the ball from the fielder and threw at the non-striker's end where Sehwag was caught short of his crease. So keeping that in the back ground. This morning he was running towards the danger end and again did not ground his bat. He was fortunate enough to survive but was very close. He probably got the benefit of doubt (which always goes to a batsman). Fortune would not favor him again, in the 3rd over he was bowled (dragged the ball onto the stumps). He was neither forward nor fully back to play that shot. Yet again he missed a golden chance to prove himself. I really wonder how he survived for so long in international cricket with zero foot work. He has absolutely no idea where his foot is.
I seriously feel that Sehwag should be dropped from the team and players like Robin Uthappa and Dinesh Karthik should be given more chances who are technically solid players. I am not a kind of person who salutes only the rising sun but Sehwag has no clue about his foot work. He should be asked to improve his foot work until that time he should not be in the team. Full marks to the Bangladesh team who did not give anything away to the Indians. None of the Indian batsmen (except Ganguly & Yuvraj) showed any resistance to the B'desh bowlers India lost 5 wickets in the gap of just 2 runs. Tail enders added 32 runs in the end for the last wicket.
It was the same scene when B'desh started to bat, in the sense that India was again at the receiving end. Tamim started from the word go. He had absolutely no respect for the Indian bowlers and just butchered the bowling all around the ground. B'desh won comfortably at the end. With this loss, India's chances of getting into the Super 8 is hanging on a thin edge. India would have to win the remaining 2 matches for sure to be in any contention for Super 8. Assuming SL beat B'desh and B'desh beat Bermuda then India, SL, B'desh would be tied up with 4 points each and then the net run rate would decide which 2 teams reach the Super 8. India would have to beat bermuda by a huge margin and hope SL beats B'desh convincingly. By losing India has made it tougher on itself to qualify for the Super 8. Many people were of the view before the world cup that minnows bring down the level of the world cup and I always favored that they should be given a chance. India and Pakistan's loss (Pakistan is out of the world cup) has reiterated that one cannot take the minnows (B'desh is not a minnow anymore) lightly and have to take every game seriously. I being an Indian desperately want India to qualify for the Super 8 and better still to win the world cup but at the end of the day I would also like the best team to win.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Calculating Pressure Index in Cricket
I thought it was interesting and therefore I should share it with you. Some of you might already know about this. A new metric has been introduced in cricket called the pressure index (PI). I came across this index in the rediff.com page while looking at the scores for the first World Cup 2007 match between WI vs Pak.
I was curious to know what it meant. I clicked on it and it opened up the pressure index for the Pakistan team as 134/200. Then it also gave me the link to the article about the index. It seems like a good index to see where the match is tilted at any given moment. Index ranges from 0-200. 0 would mean near absolute victory and 200 near absolute loss. It is calculated only when the second team comes into bat. So if a chasing team’s PI is 125 then conversely the defending team’s PI is 75. Professor Rajeeva L Karandikar, the well-known statistician and psephologist, has developed the mathematical theory of the pressure index. Professor M J Manohar Rao, who also developed the Rediff Test and ODI Rankings and Rediff's Most Valuable ODI Player Index, originally conceived the idea of a pressure index. Take a look at the following articles.
http://www.rediff.com/wc2007/2007/mar/08pressure.htm
http://www.rediff.com/wc2007/2007/mar/13pressure.htm
I was curious to know what it meant. I clicked on it and it opened up the pressure index for the Pakistan team as 134/200. Then it also gave me the link to the article about the index. It seems like a good index to see where the match is tilted at any given moment. Index ranges from 0-200. 0 would mean near absolute victory and 200 near absolute loss. It is calculated only when the second team comes into bat. So if a chasing team’s PI is 125 then conversely the defending team’s PI is 75. Professor Rajeeva L Karandikar, the well-known statistician and psephologist, has developed the mathematical theory of the pressure index. Professor M J Manohar Rao, who also developed the Rediff Test and ODI Rankings and Rediff's Most Valuable ODI Player Index, originally conceived the idea of a pressure index. Take a look at the following articles.
http://www.rediff.com/wc2007/2007/mar/08pressure.htm
http://www.rediff.com/wc2007/2007/mar/13pressure.htm
Poker Play
I have been thinking of writing about poker for quite sometime now. Until 3 months back I did not even know what type of game it was and now I play almost all weekends with my friends (thanks to one of my friends who persevered in convincing us all to play). It is still at a stage where there is no real money involved (it could be a completely different game when the real money is involved, also it varies with stakes). To make it a little more serious and interesting for everyone to play, we have started to have a prize for the winner for each game and also to keep track of the scores for each game and finally decide on the most consistent player with max points at the end of our small little “tournament”.
A very big reason for me to get interested in poker is that I saw a link to poker strategies in a Game Theory (one of my favorite subjects) web page. The basic rules of the game are quite simple. Everyone gets 2 cards dealt face down and then the first round of betting starts. When everyone has matched the highest bet, the dealer turns 3 cards face up (called the flop) and the second round of betting starts. When the betting is over the dealer opens the 4th card face up (called the turn or fourth street). 3rd round of betting starts and so on and the dealer opens the 5th card face up (called the river) and then the final round of betting starts. At the end of this round who ever stays in the game has to show (called showdown) their cards and the best hand wins. If there is only one person left (rest all others folded) in the last round that person takes the whole pot (money that has been bet by everyone) and does not need to show his/her cards. All these 5 face up cards are called the community cards. At any stage of the game a player can do one of the 3 things, Fold (throwing the hand away), Bet or Raise. Objective for a player is to make the best hand possible (as per the hierarchy of hands) by using any 5 cards (2 cards from the hand also called hole cards and 5 community cards). Books talk about top 10 hole cards and some mediocre playable cards.
Poker is quite interesting in the sense that one does not know what the other person is having. This is a perfect game of incomplete information. One has to make an intelligent guess as to what the other person might have by the other person’s gestures and betting behavior. This is where the intricacy comes in, the way someone checks, bets or raises. Bluffing is a major strategy in this game where a player acts as if s/he has a good hand. Dealer button keeps moving on the table. Position of a player matters a lot. Person having the dealer button plays last and has the advantage of observing others in the game before playing himself/herself. If you are the first one to decide whether to bet or not, another strategy that is very handy is to check and see how other people are reacting. If anyone bets after you have checked, then you would have to at least match the bet to stay in that round. This game replicates many real life situations where we are pitted against others and have to make a reasonable guess about others and make the best out of the given situation.
An article from Financial Times
http://www.timharford.com/favourites/pokermachine.htm
A very big reason for me to get interested in poker is that I saw a link to poker strategies in a Game Theory (one of my favorite subjects) web page. The basic rules of the game are quite simple. Everyone gets 2 cards dealt face down and then the first round of betting starts. When everyone has matched the highest bet, the dealer turns 3 cards face up (called the flop) and the second round of betting starts. When the betting is over the dealer opens the 4th card face up (called the turn or fourth street). 3rd round of betting starts and so on and the dealer opens the 5th card face up (called the river) and then the final round of betting starts. At the end of this round who ever stays in the game has to show (called showdown) their cards and the best hand wins. If there is only one person left (rest all others folded) in the last round that person takes the whole pot (money that has been bet by everyone) and does not need to show his/her cards. All these 5 face up cards are called the community cards. At any stage of the game a player can do one of the 3 things, Fold (throwing the hand away), Bet or Raise. Objective for a player is to make the best hand possible (as per the hierarchy of hands) by using any 5 cards (2 cards from the hand also called hole cards and 5 community cards). Books talk about top 10 hole cards and some mediocre playable cards.
Poker is quite interesting in the sense that one does not know what the other person is having. This is a perfect game of incomplete information. One has to make an intelligent guess as to what the other person might have by the other person’s gestures and betting behavior. This is where the intricacy comes in, the way someone checks, bets or raises. Bluffing is a major strategy in this game where a player acts as if s/he has a good hand. Dealer button keeps moving on the table. Position of a player matters a lot. Person having the dealer button plays last and has the advantage of observing others in the game before playing himself/herself. If you are the first one to decide whether to bet or not, another strategy that is very handy is to check and see how other people are reacting. If anyone bets after you have checked, then you would have to at least match the bet to stay in that round. This game replicates many real life situations where we are pitted against others and have to make a reasonable guess about others and make the best out of the given situation.
An article from Financial Times
http://www.timharford.com/favourites/pokermachine.htm
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