Technology and the Tendulkar Era
With Sachin Tendulkar having turned 40 (the big 4 O) a few days ago and, numerous articles have been written about his remarkable career. I am a fan of this great cricketer but perhaps not a super-fan like many others who know every statistic and nitty gritty detail. Having lived in Bombay, I was able follow his career from early on due his records set in the Harris Sheild and Giles Shield tournaments. He made his debut back in 1989 at the young age of 16 years and 205 days against India's arch-rival Pakistan in Karachi and announced his retirement from ODI at the end of 2012.
As I was reminiscing about his career, I felt the desire to write something but any article on his stats, career, style and achievements had already been written. Perhaps it in the geek in me that felt I should write an article about how technological advancements in the 24 years since his international debut back, helped me follow his career. So here is my geeky look back at technology and the Tendulkar era.
Pet Peeves : Wear Your Seat Belts and Helmets Please
We were not done with our New Year's wishes, when we were confronted with the news that my 14 year old cousin had died from head injuries resulting from a bike accident in India. 14 years old, alive and bubbly one day and gone the next. Could a helmet have saved his life? Probably yes. One of my pet peeves is around the use of seat belts and helmets. There are so many people I come across every day who are so callous about their use (or non-use) of seat belts and helmets, its quite shameful. One of my earliest memories was the death of a friend, who died from head injuries at 18. The image of a dead body covered in a white cloth with blood stains on the head is an image that still gives me the goodbumps.
The bottom line is that seat belts and helmets save lives and I was fortunate enough to have first-hand experience where a seat belt saved my father's life. In 1990, there was a plane crash of an Airbus A320 in Bangalore, when an Indian Airlines flight crashed into a swamp just as it approached the runway. The plane caught fire and roughly 100 of the 130 people on board died. My father was on that flight and survived that crash. Yes, he was able to live only because of this little thing called the Seat Belt. The seat belt saved his life and he only got bruised because he hit hit face and legs with the seat in-front. He went on to live a normal life for another 8 years before he passed away. 8 years that made a huge difference to our family and 8 years that I am very thankful for.
Read more: Pet Peeves : Wear Your Seat Belts and Helmets Please
Best Buy's Black Friday Presale Fiasco
Learning is a Journey, Not a Race
The new school year has just begun in the US and with a few weeks gone by, its time for their first round of evaluations. As a parent of child from the Indian sub-continent, the question that is asked most often by other Desi parents is "How is your kid doing academically?". Its not about how your child is doing overall, its mostly about the academic aspect. I fortunately, have been blessed with a child who demonstrates intelligence at a slightly higher level than most of the students in his school and attends some extra classes called the "Challenge Program". When other parents find that out, their first question is "Will you get him tested and pushed to a higher grade?". My reaction always has been and will continue to be a BIG No!.
Montevideo - Visit to MG Road and Gandhi Statue
Growing up in India, Uruguay was a only country that we would come across during the World Cup and in World Cup related discussions. I never ever imagined that some day I would visit this little country in South America. For those who don't know where Uruguay is, its located on the Eastern coast of South America, just south of Brazil and north east of Argentina.
I had a weekend to spend in Montevideo, the country's capital, and I decided to visit some of the historical landmarks in the city. Montevideo is located on the Rio Del La Plata and has a very long and beautiful coastline. As I was driving through the city, I noticed a stretch of the coast line was named "Rambla Mahatma Gandhi". For a moment, I was in disbelief as to why this place had an "MG Road". It was late in the day and I decided to return to MG Road on the next day, which was a Sunday morning.
I woke up, had my breakfast, wore my Mahatma Gandhi T-shirt (which I happened to take on the trip) and asked the cab driver to drop me off at Rambla Mahatma Gandhi. I decided to take a walk from one end of MG Road to the other which was about 1-2 kilometers long.
Thank you NBC #NBCFail
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The 2012 London Olympics are being watched live by millions of viewers around the world but we in America are in a unique situation where NBC is showing most of the events on tape delay. While most Americans are unhappy with this situation are are tweeting with the hashtag #NBCFail, I would like to send a few Thank you notes to the wonderful staff at NBC.
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- Thank you for teaching my 6-year old new words like neutering - Thanks to the incessant replay of the same commercials, my 6 year old has picked up new words such as 'neutering'. I am sure his teacher would be proud of his improved vocabulary once he returns to school from his summer break.
- Thank you for freeing up my evenings in the Fall - You ran so many ads of your Fall shows during the games that I know NBC will not be on in prime time this Fall. You will continue to be in last place this Fall.
PS: The Thank You notes concept is taken from Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Show, ironically on NBC
Philosopher's Page Article Count: 6
Site News Article Count: 10
My Travel Adventures Article Count: 7
I feel quite blessed to have had the opportunity to travel and live in many countries around the world. Meeting people from other countries is a wonderful experiences as it opens your mind to how different, yet how similar the rest of the world is and I think that has made me a better person. I have traveled alone, with my friends and then with my wife. Now I have a son who also loves to travel and I will cherish those moments with him. In this section of my blog, I write about some of my experiences traveling around the world and things that I liked about visiting those places. I hope my experiences are entertaining as well as englightening.