just ankesh

Umpire Decision Review System

2011-12-31T13:49:00.000-08:00

We haven’t taken much time to get accustomed to cricket. The recently concluded England series is a testimony to that. We literally mastered our masters (Given the fact that it was not too long ago when the English taught us how to hold the bat.)
The team always had a huge fan following, but its performance in the last few years has grown it manifold. The more the followers, the more are the advertisers and more the money pumped into the game. This has transformed BCCI into one of the richest and most powerful sporting bodies in the world and the one which commands a monopoly in the cricketing fraternity.
The implementation of Umpire Decision Review System(UDRS) has more or less been halted by the same. ICC is up against BCCI but the latter has ensured that the ball is in its own court.
Whenever BCCI has argued, it has disapproved of the technology in use- ‘Hotspot’, which by the means of infra-red imaging techniques finds whether the ball has struck anything along its path. It uses two infra-red cameras placed on opposite sides of the ground. They continuously keep recording the images of the on-going match. In case the ball doesn’t touch anything the output image they give is formed of different shades of black. Now when the ball touches any other object the contact friction elevates the local temperature which is indicated in the infrared image as a spot. Hence a snick is detected.
The news doing rounds is that BCCI doesn’t find this technology foolproof. More so the cost of operating the system, a whopping 60000 dollars per day, is enormous, it argues and therefore has always been opposing it.

Other than this what’s making news these days is Tendulkar’s hundredth hundred. Such is its want that we are ready to bargain it for test victory. It has been a year since we had the 99th. The nation is tired of waiting now.

Now, God forbids but imagine if Sachin misses this hundred due to a wrong on-field decision and becomes the victim of UDRS or rather the lack of it.
Will BCCI take a U-turn on UDRS?
Will it succumb to national pressure?
Will UDRS be deployed from the very next series?
The answer to all the questions is YES. But why?
I once came across an article by a lady on RCB’s facebook page and she had the answer. “We are a nation of cricket crazy people but we don’t actually play the it, THE GAME PLAYS US”, she had added.

When Offline.

2010-02-23T07:21:00.001-08:00

There is not much to do with the laptop when you are not connected to the net. And probably this is the reason you are reading this.

I initially thought of keeping it in a switch off mode unless and until I am anywhere beside a modem. But then the thought of investing something above 30,000 rupees came to mind and I am here to extract the maximum benefit from the most talked about member of the computer's lineage fondly called –THE LAPPY. Well this may not be the most appropriate way to spell it but as long as this 'fond' name does not get a mention in the oxford dictionary, you can't really question my dictation talent.

However I have managed to save some part of my dad's pocket thanks to the pirated versions of operating system available so easily on the internet. This may not be the most secret disclosure -the fact that I am using a pirated version of windows-because the only ones using the original product have got it as a free gift when they bought their systems.

Talking about the original thing, once I went to very happening computer shop in Varanasi, inquired with the owner about the number of original OSs he sells in a year. "I got 5 copies of the Windows98 back in 2000 and those are still lying there (pointing towards the shelf),"he replied.

I have few more of somewhat similar incidents stuck in my memory but before Bill Gates reads this and says 'Shut up, Shut up, Shut up' (yes, mind you three times) we should migrate to some other topic.

Now you must be thinking that what the hell am I extracting from the crap writing. And noooo… it's not a typing drill else you would have got bored reading the quick brown fox jumps over a lazy dog over and over again.

So to make it clear I thought of ensuring whether my writing engages. And if you read the last line I guess I should start planning a book.

Please wish me luck.

The Game Plays Us.

2010-02-21T01:07:00.000-08:00

".....I still wonder if cricket was really British find. No it couldn't have been..."

Think over this mesmerising read from facebook's RCB page.
copy and paste this link.
http://www.facebook.com/notes/royal-challengers-bangalore/the-game-plays-us/315163088716

On My Birthday.

2010-02-20T05:55:00.000-08:00

It's always special to be born on a big day, but days like this one makes it even more special. The fact that few more people get to know about your birthday-probably because of it being coinciding with the valentine's day-gives the added advantage.
I am not actually sure of what has to be done to make ones' b'day memeorable-I have not been able to figure out in my last 20 outings-and still have dearth of these ideas. Please, if you read this text me few, c'mn sending sms is almost free these days.
As for today, I woke up earlier than usual carried out the same procedures as on any other day, then didn't really interact with anyone and started settling the heaves of newspapers lying here and there-please note that we,at our room, prefer at least two different editions for the day and believe that newspapers are meant to be scattered post reading-.
The last activity surprised me itself, as normally, I am into this job when I am feeling a bit low. But today was not the case, I'm with few of my ultra humorous friends who all since the last evening have been showering me with unnecessary compliments which i rarely get even twice a year,few outstation ones calling or texting in the middle of the night as if they were in the army or something and it was mandatory for them to report to their high command and so on.
Okay I understand that those compliments were partly or maybe solely because I was going to pay their resturant bills for the day and those phone calls and text messages were because I had performed these rituals when their shoes. But these are not the ideal conditions to get low. In fact I am on a high.
So why was I getting recluse..?? What about the settling stuff..??Why was I eyeing for completeness?
I have no answers.
Or maybe I didn't know and Asperger Syndrome was contagious. And yes, the fact that I was among the front row seats-therefore too close to SRK-and also that he overdid it sometimes, supports my thesis.
Nothing more my lord!

ankesh mishra
14th feb 2010.

2008-12-31T05:31:00.000-08:00

today is the last day of this year and i am busy counting what all good and bad happened to me.
unfortunately more 'recalls' happened on the -ve side but still i am not looking back and repenting because when all is lost the future still remains.