Customizing RUN command to open any application

We often use the RUN command box to open word using command "winword", excel using "excel" etc. Similarly we can open any application through RUN command box using any of the following methods.

• Method 1:
  Create a shortcut to the program you want to launch in the the same directory as the program. Then copy this shortcut file into the WINDOWSdirectory, i.e C:\WINDOWS and rename this file to anything (any shortcut name) you want. Now just type in the name into Run command box and enjoy .

• Method 2:
  This is a registry hack for doing the same thing. It doesn’t need any shortcut thing. Do this at your own risk..
  1. First open the Registry Editor using type regedit in the Run.
  2. Then Navigate to
     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE –> SOFTWARE –> Microsoft –> Windows –> CurrentVersion –> App Paths
  3. Now create a new key in there as
     [shortcut name].exe (dont forget the .exe extension otherwise it won’t work)
  4. Modify the Default Value to the [path to the program (e.g C:\Program Files\My Program\Me.exe)] of the program.
  5. Alternatively you can add a Path string and also set that up (optional only if you know the values you can see the path name from the properties of the program).

  Now just typing the in the Run command should run the program.

Why Copenhagen Still Matters

We have been hearing a lot about the convention that is going to take place in Denmark in a week or so. Why so much fuss about it? This article helps in understanding it.

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2009/gb20091210_681961.htm

Why Copenhagen Still Matters

The climate talks won't seal a binding global deal, but a lot can still go right in Denmark

By Eileen Claussen

SPECIAL REPORT
Two years ago this week, on the island of Bali, representatives of 180 nations agreed on an ambitious timeline for reaching a global agreement to address climate change. The Bali Road Map, as it was called, identified key issues to be resolved and set a 2009 deadline for completing the negotiations.

That deadline has now arrived. Yet as nations gather for the climate talks in Copenhagen, the real negotiating has barely begun. The draft text is a lengthy, confusing compilation of every single proposal from a wide swath of nations. Many of the ideas are implausible, but all remain in play. President Barack Obama and other world leaders recently confirmed what was widely presumed: Copenhagen won't deliver a final legal agreement. The goal is now an interim political deal setting the stage for a full treaty in 2010.

The delay is disappointing to many but comes as no surprise. Obama is putting a "provisional" target on the table, but until Congress enacts comprehensive climate legislation, the U.S. is in no position to take on a binding international commitment. And there are many other obstacles. Governments still remain far apart on core issues: how to finance stronger efforts in developing countries, whether major emerging economies such as China will take on binding commitments, and how fulfillment will be verified.

ADVANCES NONETHELESS
But important and heartening progress has been made since Bali. In Washington, the House passed a comprehensive bill in June aimed at reducing U.S. emissions and fostering a clean-energy economy. Meantime, the U.S. government has taken positive steps—with stimulus funding and proposed regulatory actions—to support the development of lower-carbon energy sources and to reduce emissions.

In China, which now surpasses the U.S. as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases, the government has set ambitious goals for increasing renewable power and energy efficiency, and it just announced a voluntary goal of reducing by 2020 the carbon intensity of its economy 40% to 45% from 2005 levels. India and other emerging economies are also pledging stronger action, while the European Union already has an emissions- trading system in place that is beginning to deliver actual reductions.

But all of these positive developments fall far short of a viable global solution. With leadership from the world's major economies, we need an international agreement to ensure that all countries are doing their part to reduce emissions and that these combined efforts are getting us to a place where scientists affirm we can avoid the worst effects of climate change.

A LEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK
Copenhagen can propel us toward that goal. Many governments have come prepared to announce political commitments. Wealthy nations also can be expected to pledge up-front money to help poorer countries reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. But it is critical that the talks in Copenhagen make substantial progress in establishing the legal and institutional framework for converting these pledges into a binding treaty with a robust design. There must be legal clarity about countries' commitments and their compliance with them, so that each can be confident that all are delivering their share. And there must be a sensible, accountable system for providing the support developing countries will need to do their part.

Simply building this framework will require the major parties to do something they've so far resisted: compromise. And compromise requires political will. Countries will have to embrace real commitments, and they will have to look beyond short-term political concerns so we can forge a solution that protects all nations and all people for decades, even centuries, to come.

The science on this issue is now absolutely clear: Climate change is largely the result of human activities, it is happening now, and it is happening much faster than predicted. But it is political reality, as much as science, that will drive the global climate talks. And right now the political reality is that key countries have a lot of work to do to resolve core issues before a lasting global agreement can be reached.

No one is expecting miracles out of the Copenhagen meeting this month. But it is imperative that we see genuine gains—with the goal of agreeing to a final climate treaty when the negotiators meet at the end of 2010 in Mexico City. The Bali Road Map misjudged the distance from Bali to a final agreement, but at least we can take heart that the nations of the world are still on this road together. The challenge is to stay on course to a destination that proves itself worth the trip.

Article by
Eileen Claussen is president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.

పురుష ప్రయత్నం

శివుడి ఆజ్ఞ లేనిదే చీమైనా కుట్టదు. మనకి ఏదైనా రాసి పెట్టి వుంటే తప్పక జరుగుతుంది. జరగబోయే దాన్ని ఎవడు ఆపగలడు? .... శ్రీ కృష్ణుడు భగవద్గీతలో అన్ని చేసేది, చేయించేది నేనే, నీవు కేవలం నిమిత్త మాత్రుడవు అని అన్నాడు. పైన అన్నవే నిజమైతే గనుక మన భవితవ్యం అంతా ఎప్పుడో దేవుడు నిర్ధారించేసాడు. మనం కేవలం కీలు బొమ్మలం అని అనిపిస్తుంది. చేసింది, చేస్తోంది మరియు చేయబోయేది అంతా భగవదేచ్చ అయితే మానవుడికి కర్మ ఫలం ఎలా అంటుకుంటుంది? మరి జన్మ జన్మల కర్మ ఫలాలే ఈ సుఖ దుఖాలు ఎలా అవుతాయి? ఈ పుణ్యం చేస్తే స్వర్గం, పాపం చేస్తే నరకం అనే వాటికి అర్ధం ఏమిటి?

దీనికి సమాధానం యోగ వాశిష్ట్యములో మనకు కనిపిస్తుంది. రామ చంద్రుడు చిన్నతనంలో చాలా తీర్ధయాత్రలు చేసాడు, ఆ క్రమంలో ప్రజల కష్టాలను, దుఖాలను చూసి అత్యంత నిరుత్సాహానికి గురి అయ్యాడు. అదే సమయంలో విశ్వామిత్ర మహర్షి, రాముని వెంట పంపమని దశరధుని కోరటం జరుగుతుంది. నిండు సభలో విచారవదనంతో వున్న రాముడిని చూసి విశ్వామిత్రుడు కారణం కోరగా, రాముడు తన బాధకు గల కారణాన్ని వివరిస్తాడు. అప్పుడు వశిష్ట మహర్షి రామునికి బోధించినదే యోగ వాశిష్ట్యము. ఆ బోధలలో నాకు బాగా నచ్చింది "పురుష ప్రయత్నం" గురించి వశిష్టుడు చెప్పిన మాటలు.

మానవుడికి జన్మని ఇచ్చిన భగవంతుడు ఏదైనా ఎలా చేయవచ్చు, ఎలా చేయకూడదో వేదాల ద్వారా తెలియచేసాడు. కాని చేయడమో, చేయకపోవాడమో, ఎలా చెయ్యాలనుకుంటున్నామో నిర్ణయించుకునే స్వేచ్చని (ఫ్రీ విల్) మనకి ఇచ్చాడు. మనం చేసిన పనుల బట్టి, చేసిన విధానం బట్టి మన మంచి చెడ్డలు నిర్ణయిన్చబడుతున్నాయి. కాబట్టి మనం ఏమి చేస్తాం ఎలా చేస్తాం అనేది మన చేతుల్లోనే వుంది.

మానవుడు తన పూర్వ జన్మల ఫలితాన్ని, ఈ జన్మలోకి కూడా మోసుకుని వస్తాడు. మనం ఎంత ప్రయత్నించినా కొన్నిటిని సాధించలేక పోతాం, మన ప్రారబ్ధం ఇంతే అని సరి పెట్టుకుంటాం. దీనికి కారణం మనం ఇంతకుముందు చేసిన కర్మల ఫలం. కాని ఇక్కడ మనం నేర్చుకోవాల్సింది ఏమిటంటే, "మన కర్మల ఫలం మనకి అడ్డంకుల రూపం లో వస్తుంది తప్పితే ఫలితం రూపంలో రాదు". ఫలితం కావాలంటే ఎం చెయ్యాలో అది మన చేతుల్లోనే వుంది, అదే "ప్రయత్నం". వచ్చిన అడ్డంకుల్ని అన్నింటిని అధిగమించిన వాడే విజయం సాధిస్తాడు. మనం సాధారణంగా చేసేది ఏమిటంటే కొంత వరకు ప్రయత్నించి, ఆ పైన మన ప్రారబ్ధం అని వదిలేస్తాం లేదా బాగా కోరిక వుంటే అడ్డ దారులు తొక్కడానికి ప్రయత్నిస్తాం. వదిలేయడం అనేది అలవాటు అయితే మనం ఎప్పుడు ప్రయత్నం చేయం. దాని వల్ల మనం కర్మహీనులుగా మిగిలి ఇంకొంచెం పాపం మూట కట్టుకుంటాం. పైపెచ్చు గత జన్మల పాప ఫలాన్ని పోగొట్టడానికి ఏమీ చేయలేదు కాబట్టి ఎన్ని జన్మలు ఎత్తినా అలానే జీవితంలో వొడి పోతూనే వుంటాం. ఒకవేళ పాప కర్మల ద్వారా ఫలితాన్ని సాధిస్తే ఇంకొంచెం ఫలితాన్ని ఖచ్చితంగా అనుభవించాల్సి వుంటుంది.

మనకు అర్ధం అయ్యే భాషలో చెప్పాలి అంటే, పుట్టుకతోనే మనం కొంత "Opening Balance" తో పుడతాం. అది పాజిటివ్ కావచ్చు లేక నెగటివ్ కావచ్చు. నెగటివ్ బాలన్స్ తో వున్నప్పుడు అది +ve లోకి రావాలంటే ముందు -ve ని సున్నా చెయ్యాలి. ఆ -ve పాయింట్స్ మనకి అవరోధాల రూపంలో వస్తాయి. వాటిని సంకేతాలుగా తీసుకుని ప్రయత్న విరమణ చేస్తే, ఫలితం ఎన్నటికి సిద్ధించదు. వాటిని మనం మన కర్మ ఫలాలుగా స్వీకరించి, అర్ధం చేసుకుని, వాటిని ప్రయత్న పూర్వకంగా అధిగమించాలి. అలా చూస్తే అవరోధాల పట్ల మన దృక్ప్రధం మారుతుంది. నిరుత్సాహం కలుగదు.

HOPE THE ABOVE MAKES SOME SENSE

Corporate Internal Cricket matches

In 2007, when the tournament started for the first time, it was a disaster for our (Technology) team. We entered the tournament with a lot of hype (as we have many corporate players) but were eliminated in the first round. 2008 was not that cruel for us. We won the league match with Data In puts but lost to Financials (eventual winners) in the Semis.

In the league stage we played with Securities which is a good team in their own right. They won the toss decided to bat first. In a 12 overs match you want all your big-hitters to have a go in the middle for the most part of the innings. They made a mistake of saving their hitters for last, and promptly paid for their mistake. We got the 2 of their (supposed to be) best batsmen, one for run-out and another for a dreadful half tracker which was missed completely by the bats man only to get bowled. Final few overs flourish took the score to 60+, which was reasonable but not competitive. We had a good opening stand between Vinay and Raghu Vamshi, followed by Rajesh and Srivatsav. How can there be a Tech team's match without drama, there were few jitters towards the end where we lost couple of wickets in quick succession and the required scoring rate was floating around 7.5. At the end of the day, Vatsav's composure saw us through the final hurdle rather easily. Raghu vamshi was the star with the bat. As we got BYE in the next match we entered into semis.

In Semis, it was a repeat of last year tie(then it was a league match), Data Inputs. We knew batting was not their strength and we wanted to fold them out rather cheaply by bowling first and chase a relatively small total. In this match as well they won the toss and decided to bat first. But we were unable to take early wickets that started proving costly. We have been bowling at least one bad ball per over which they capitalized. Scoring was soaring at 9 per over in the first 6 overs. We slowly clawed back and managed to restrict them for 90+ in 12 overs. We started disastrously with Vinay getting out in the 1st over. Wickets kept on tumbling and the required rate soared to around 10 with 5 overs to spare. Vatsav and my self batted for a while to keep the chase alive. I got out soon. When we were pushed to wall by the Req.rate, DP joined Vatsav and then it was purely magical. Vatsav scored 40+ in 20+ balls and DP scored around 20 in 10 balls and we were in finals. Thats what I call a comeback.

The win in the semis kept the spirits up for us and we are ready for BI-GP team who trounced defending champions - Financials in their semis match. This time as well, I asked Satish (opp captain) to call the toss and he won and they decided to bat first. So that made a 3rd consecutive chase for us. Per me this final match belongs to Santosh, who opened their innings and played beautifully at the top of the order, scoring 20+ in quick time. We leaked runs with few bad balls in the power play but few quick wickets pegged them back. Subbu played sensibly and last overs flourish took the total to a competitive 110 in 15 overs. BI-GP had good bowling unit and we were confident of our batting, which made it anybody's match. We started rather well this time with Both Vinay and Venkat started to look good. Again it was Santosh who bowled well and kept the run rate in check, with sensible support from the other end. We managed stay afloat for a while with runs coming steadily. When Vatsav and I were at the crease, we were confident that we could see it through. But when Vatsav nicked one to the WK for a not so good delivery the hopes were fading fast. I started connecting the ball well and Raja Sekhar and I were doing reasonably OK. We needed 22 from the last 2 overs. We both got out in quick succession which put a lot pressure on the next batsmen to hit boundaries and we eventually fell short by 15 runs. But it was a good match.

We are hoping to continue the trend next year as well, which should make us winners of Internal tournament.

Excel trick - Pasting unique records from a selection

I have some values in the excel sheet in a column. I want to find the distinct values in that column. Most of us (at least until now I was doing this) first sort the values, then delete the rows while retaining the distinct values. Here is a functionality that excel offers us.

Click on the "Advanced" in the "Sort & Filter" functionality group in the Data Menu item.

In the dialog box that follows, select the range of cells (which has duplicate values), select the pasting region and check the check box "Paste Unique records only".

Mixed opening to Corporate Season - 2009

The corporate season has started with 2 back to back matches on Saturday and Sunday.

Vs ***Ridge team - Nizam College grounds - 14th NOV

By the way we have a new captain for this year Vinay. We lost the toss and were asked to field first. Big DP opened the bowling and i shared the new ball with him. DP as usual was very good with the ball with good pace and length. I started my over with a short ball well outside the off stump. Luckily for me the batsman went after it and hit it straight down the throat of Bhaskar (Sweeper cover position) who held on to a good catch. It would have been a definite wide. Though i did not give many runs away that was not the best over with almost all the balls pitching well short of good length. Slowly settled into good rhythm and bowled another 2 overs economically. On other end, DP bowled well and runs have dried up. At the end of 8 overs they scored 28+ runs with the loss of 4 wickets. But they picked up the pace from there with shots all round the ground. It was pretty much one man show for the opponent. I can't recall the name of the guy, but he scored 89 runs out of a total of 141. I gave 14 runs in the 4th over i bowled and ended up with a tally of 4-1-23-1.

The chase began very well for us, with Vinay and Subbu giving us best of the starts. We raced to 30 in 3 overs before hitting a lean patch. Subbu got run out and Bhaskar did not last long. Srivatsav and Vinay settled the nerves for a quite period and then upped the tempo. Requiring 9 per over in the last 8 overs, both cut loose. Srivatsav fell for a well compiled 36 with the team needing 35+ runs in the last 5 overs. Vinay and Satish made a short work of it and we won with around 2 overs to spare. Vinay was unbeaten on 70+ score and Satish on 20. I must say Vinay played a high quality innings to see the side through, keeping cool head in difficult times and making a merry when going got easy. We will definitely remember this match for some time.

Vs GE Money - PG College Grounds, Sec'bad - 15th NOV

We lost the toss again but this time we were asked to bat. Even though we were helped by a wayward bowling, start is not as good as it was in the previous match. Vinay departed early and the we scored @8+ rate in the first 4 overs but we lost 3 wickets. Again it is the time for consolidation for Srivatsav and Subbu. They batted well, finding boundaries every now and then and kept the scoreboard ticking at a good pace. By the end of 14th over the score was around 90, then suddenly we lost wickets in a heap. We lost Srivatsav (hitting a short and wide ball firmly but staright into the hands of point fielder), Subbu and BigDP in no time. I went in at that moment and concentrated mostly on giving strike to Santosh who has been hitting the ball really well. He played a cameo of quick 30+ before getting out. Fireworks did not stop there, Prasad took over from Santosh and continued the hitting. I perished after scoring 10 of 13 balls with 2 overs to spare. Vasanth and Prasad finished the innings at 148.

We were reasonably happy with our performance and went into the field. First 3 overs are like any other match. BigDP bowling well with pace at good length and with me bowling (too)short pitch balls but getting away luckily. Again I got a wicket for a dreadful ball short and wide, this time Prasad took a good running catch. But my luck ran out in my 2nd over. I leaked 21 runs in that over conceding 5 consecutive boundaries. It just happened so that whatever i tried went for the boundary, i was either too full, or too short or on the legs or too wide. The pressure is relieved and batsman got into their groove. Scoring never stopped from that moment. They got stuck into every one and started scoring at a frantic rate. At one point i thought match would be over 13-14 overs. Hitting was clean and precise. When they wanted to hit a six they cleared the boundary fielder easily and when the wanted to hit a four they hit into the gaps. Our pace further eased their cause with ball coming nicely onto the bat. Though they did not hit spinners as badly as the medium pacers, they weren't kind to the spinners either. But spinner definitely slowed the pace of the scoring and brought some respectability for final analysis. Vasanth took the wicket of the big hitter. They finally folded the match in 18th over, leaving us with the hope of reaching next phase subject to NRR. my figures in this match are forgetful numbers 2-0-24-1.

I don't know what could we have done differently, we definitely missed Satish though I cant say the result would different, looking at their clean hitting. Perhaps after seeing their batting style in first few overs, we could have slowed the pace and shortened length a wee bit.

So the weekend which started as good as it can, ended badly. I will remember both the matches for good batting; one on happy note for Vinay's quality innings another on not so happy note but for very good batting by opponents.

Few good words

1. It is not wise to poke our nose into the matters that are not our concern.

2. Change in posture, signs, actions, pace, conversation, looks and expression indicate the working of mind.

3. It is difficult to kill even a weak man who does not easily trust others but easy to kill a strong man who readily trust others.

Change MP3 Title To File Name?

We often burn Audio CDs onto the system and then copy them to MP3 player or Phone. When we do this the file name comes properly as what want but the title doesn't. But Title is what the MP3 player/Phone shows us to identify the track. I ran into this problem and googled a bit to see if there is a solution available on Internet. Then i found this.

http://www.mp3tag.de/en/index.html

This is a sweet little program (free of course) which help you change the fields of Mp3 tracks in a batch in the way you want. In my case i want the File name to be copied as Title and it did exactly the same. Though it took a while to do it, thats way better than manually changing Title for each Mp3 i have.

Hope this is useful for someone.

Memorable match

On the last Sunday (26th), we played against RK Puram team in our home ground and it proved to be the easiest of our wins and its full of fond memories.

After winning the toss we batted first with Ravi and Sreedhar opening the innings. We lost both the openers cheaply; Ravi getting out for a very good catch in the short covers where as Sreedhar holed out when he attempted a rather ambitious loft over mid-on. So the time for repair work again. Chaitanya and Sarma played well and propelled the scoring between 5 and 6 runs per over. They were consistent in punishing the bad balls and offered no chances. The duo just went on and on to agony of both fielders and Vatsav (who is padded up and waiting for his turn). At one stage they both seemed to play full 45 overs themselves. Chaitanya got out after playing superbly for his 70+. What do they say, you take one wicket in the partnership, you get the other one for free. Same thing happened here as well, Sarma got out immediately after a fine score 60+. Vatsav and Susheel continued and in a bid to improve the scoring they both perished after scoring 20's. By that time we reached 200 and wanted to score as many as possible. Shot of the match did not come from either Sarma or Sreedhar, but it came from Mukesh, a very good six right over the bowlers head, off a ball that is right in the slot. But to tell the truth we struggled in the last overs for acceleration and had to settle for 253. By the way, in this match i score my highest score of the season so far, 7 run out of last ball trying to steal a single from keeper gloves.

Moinder started the bowling in his usual aggressive style and Vatsav grassed a sharp chance in the slips in the very first over. My first over is a mix of both good and bad balls. There is this heavy breeze flowing across the pitch taking the ball away from the right handed batsman from my end. Bowled 3 wides (all of them on the offside..with the breeze) and went for 3 boundaries (2 very good shots and 1 very bad ball short and wide outside the off-stump). Moinder on the other hand bowled very well as usual and started looked like picking wickets almost every ball. There was only one batsman on the other side, who offered some resistance with good shots of all the bad balls. There was constant chirping in the ears from slip cordon especially from Sarma, he lost his concentration, misjudged the length and went for a pull of good length ball from Moinder and trapped in front. That's the end of resistance. Later wickets fell almost in every over. There was some swing for me in the air, which helped me beat the bat than to produce a nick. Though i was not consistent, i was happy that i bowled more good balls than i did in all 3 matches. No 10 and 11 frustrated us for more than 30 minutes. We went on and on with the opening spell for 17 overs in which we took 9 wickets, 6 for Moinder from 9 overs and 3 for me. in 8 overs. Finally when gas in the tank is emptied we were rested and 4 balls from Ravi produced the wicket we needed and concluded the comprehensive victory by a margin of around 150 runs. Moinder had spectacular figures of 9-2-35-6.

This is the match where everyone in the team has thoroughly enjoyed, constant noise, having all 9 players in the slips-point positions. This match is even better for i scored my top score with bat (not much though) and took most wickets in a match this season (8-1-42-3).

Now there is a gap and we will play our next match on Aug 23rd...that is also doubtful as Ganesh Chaturdhi is around the corner. Can't wait to play the next match and see what's in store for us.

Won against Agarwal Sr.s team

Yesterday's match was with Agrawal Sr.s team in Acharya NG Ranga University grounds. We reached there in time but umpire did not turn up. We waited for a while and decided to play a 40 over a side match with our team players as umpires. Again they won the toss and elected to bat first. Moinder this time somehow did not find his rhythm and started scratchily. I on the other hand started reasonably well for my standards but did not find any wicket until the 3rd over when batsman played on to the stumps. With their players acting as umpires we did not get any close LBW calls in our favour. Our first change bowlers did well and Moinder's second spell of 2 wickets in the same over kept them under checks as the score card read 65+ for 6. We thought we are in for early finish. Then there was a partnership, those 2 blokes played really well all the shots along the ground and they managed a lot of boundaries, thanks to small boundaries and scratchy outfield. Finally they managed a competitive total of 203 in 40 overs. My figures are 6-0-34-1.

We started off aggressively with Satyoday and Sridhar opening the innings. We breezed of to 50+ for no loss in 6 overs. But then there was a twist, we lost both the openers and Chaitanya in quick succession and scorecard reads 55/3 in around 9 overs. With we desperately needing a partnership, Sarma and Susheel did just what we needed. Their partnership was a mammoth and match winning one . It's like watching two pro's batting together. Susheel wanted to occupy the crease and Sarma playing his natural stroke play. Susheel joined him later matching stroke to stroke and duo just batted on and on. They offered no chances to the opposition with all the shots, except one or two, along the ground, playing the ball on its merit...playing the good balls defensively and not missing out on any of the bad balls. Two of their shots will be remembered for a long time, one very good pull from Sarma for 6 over the deep mid-wicket and one very good sweep all along the ground by Susheel. They brought us with in 12 runs of the victory with 9+overs to spare. Then there was a hiccup, we lost another 3 quick wickets in a heap and suddenly everyone in the camp are nervous. But it is too late for the opposition to stage a comeback as we snatched the victory with good 6 overs to spare. I remained n.o. on 4 with the winning shot to the boundary (which i am not used to).

I remember this match for 2 reasons. One for the outstanding partnership between Sarma and Susheel, secondly this is the match where i bowled most number of overs, 6, in a match.

All that is gold does not glitter

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

Unluckiest dismissal

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/8145070.stm

We won

We all knew that we are too good a team to lose 3 straight matches and we finally broke the jinx and won the match quite comprehensively.

Going into the details, opponents United XI won the toss and elected to bat. This is a 45 over a side match. Only 11 of the our teammates made it to the ground so no selection hassles for our captain. I again shared new ball with Mohinder and this match will be remembered for his efforts. He sacrificed pace for the accuracy and full length and it paid off beautifully. He bagged 6 wickets and literally unplayable throughout the match. I think he has a long way to go as a cricketer, all he need is some nurturing.

Coming back to my efforts with the ball, bowled 4 overs, not much to write/talk about. Normally i don't bowl on the leg side, but this time i did and i must say they did not take full advantage of it. Lack of practice is clearly showing. In this match as well i bowled short but luckily i got a wicket with such ball only. Batsman tried to pull the one which is reasonably short but hit it right into the hands of the only fielder on the leg side. Lucky break i must say...finished with the figures of 4-0-25-1. With the wickets falling regularly, they were on the back foot throughout the match and finished with 143 in 27+ overs.

I personally had no bad experiences in the field and i contributed to a run out indirectly :), but the credit completely go to the Chaitanya. I hit the stumps directly from short square leg, batsmen wanted to steal a single off the rebound. Chaitnya was quick and good underarm throw at the runners end finished the job.

We experimented with Ravi as opener and he did not let the team down. Both the openers Sridhar and Ravi scored 48 and 43 respectively. You can clearly make out the difference between these 2 batsman, Sridhar being regular opener played freely and fearlessly while Ravi took his time to get going. After settling in he also played few good shots. Especially Sridhar was a joy to watch on with good flicks on the leg side.When these two got out eventually with match firmly on our hands, Sarma(captain) and Chaitanya played well and finished it off. I always wondered how good a batsman Sarma really is because Vatsav always rated him very high. Well i got a glimpse of his class in this match, sweep of the left arm spinner of the 2nd ball he faced is the shot of the match for me. We reached the target in 23 overs and headed home early and happily.

Another match another disappointment

We played Tarakarama XI this week and nothing changed with the result from the last week. We lost again. We won the toss and elected to bat and we failed again in posting a good total. If not for Vatsav's (went in at no.8) late good knock of 40+ in quick time our scorecard would have read must worst than final reading: 142 all out in well before the stipulated 40 overs. Well not much changed with my batting fortunes either, i went in at no.10 and scored 4 runs. Though i wanted not to loft the spinner (as i promised myself, i did it again, this time i think i have a reason to do so...) as i am left with no.11, i had to go for slog and i connected it reasonably but it got more altitude than the distance and holed out this time in deep mid wicket. That concludes my batting misery.

We needed early wickets to put them under pressure as the score is not big enough to defend if they play through 40 overs. I shared the new ball with Moinder...boy...he bowls fast and the amount of bounce he get...ball just whistles past not only over the batsman's head but also the keepers'. With my gentle medium pacers, i was just trying to put the ball in the right area and i must say i pitched them short more often but i got away. Thanks to the small total we were defending, the opposition was not in a hurry. In a spell of 3 overs i managed to bag a wicket thanks to Sridhar's very good catch behind the stumps. I ended up with the figures of 3-0-14-1.

One more notable thing about me in this match is my pathetic fielding. I could not reach to a reasonably difficult catch and opened the Howrah bridge to let the ball sneak under my legs through to the boundary.

Lets see how i do next time... i had a feeling this time our team's fortunes definitely change for good.

Time travel??

Ooh where should i start?.. i just wanted to write something so i chose this topic. I dont know anything about the recent experiments that are going on and as a person with no science background i can not boast of some terms related to Astro-physics. This is more about questions rather than answers...so please bear with me...or just close the browser.

Every one know that we can see things because the light falls on the object and reflects on our eye. Brain reads this information and tells us about the object. So the speed of light and speed with which our neurons transfer the information to brain and how fast the brain processes the information will determine how early we see the things and feel the things.

But time travel is more than just feeling the events faster. Lets dwell on what we really want here...what time travel really is? The only way i can tell is from what i want to do if at all time travel is possible....want to go back in time and set few things right and want to go into the future and know in advance about future events.
Lets examine the first statement carefully- "want to go back in time and set few things right.
1) When i travel back into my younger days, will my younger-self be there whom i can see? So there are 2 versions of same me (good to see our doc warehouse jargon helping me here)? If so how do i interact of influence the other guy (myself) from not doing what i have already done? Just like any other person we meet in day to day life? Since i have the information of what the future beholds if i do what i have already done...i share that information with my younger-self and ask him to not to do it/do otherwise? Lets take this proposition a bit further...since time travel is unknown he might see me as a mad man and ignore me. So while all this is happening, where will my current-self be in the current world? Will i be gone like say vanishing from the current world? So does that mean i am not living my life to the full and live in the past only?...hmmmm....crazy thoughts/questions...lets move on. I remember watching a hollywood movie with the same theme...i dont remeber the name but Bruce Willis is the star and there is one fat little kid who played bruce willis' younger-self. Only difference is Bruce willis meet his younger-self more by chance thatn by time travel.
2) Will I become younger and replace my younger-self and be put in the same conditions as i lived? If so the only advantage is the knowledge of future? As all we know we can control few events and we cannot control few events (please start with butterfly effect). Take the events which we can control. I sometimes feel i should have taken Science in 10+2. So if instead of accounts if i choose science and proceed further...will i become completely different person with different friend circle..different job profile etc? does that mean i can live the life on trial and error basis?? In developers typical language ....code >> compile >> publish >> debug >> recode>> compile and so on....? So if i replace my self does that mean i can live on eternally ????

Gowri...i know you want me to stop writing these crazy/stupid sounding thoughts and get back to work.... so .... that's all for the time being folks...... see you later

First Match with Walker Town XI

The match started a bit late and it is decided to be a 40 over a side match. The opposite team (Walker XI) won the toss and elected to bat first. They scored a well made 240 before they get all out in 37.1 overs. I shared the new ball with another bowler, who bowled really fast and hit the bat on the makers name. Sridhar (doing keeping at that time) missed few balls of his bowling and went for few byes. Though my first over was not a great one which went for 9 runs, I took two wickets in the 3rd and 4th overs of my spell and ended up with respectable 4-1-18-2 figures. I messed up a catching chance but did not miss out on dolly later. One guy on the opposite side made a top score of 61 and played well. Sridhar who is supposed to be our top batsman injured his wrist while successfully taking a diving catch to his left in his own bowling. So he could not bat in our innings.

We started reasonably well scoring 50/1 at the end of 10th over. It all started to go awry from then the next 3 overs yielded 4 runs and we lost 3 more wickets. I went into the middle with one thing in my mind to bat through the 30 over mark and re-assess the next steps then and that was the instruction from the captain too. I resisted gentle dollies for a while and scored 5 singles and tried to give strike for the batsman at the other end who is coring fast. One slower ball from the off-spinner spelled the doom and i lofted the ball into the hands of long-on. Damn it, i always do that, with no real power or intention i just gave a catching practice to that fellow. After spending next 10 minutes thinking how awful my batting became, decided not loft/slog the spinners for the rest of the season. So lets see how i succeed in standing up to my own words. Though we batted out full 40 overs, we could score only 160 (something)/8. Ravi top scored for us with good 41. Needless to say i am disappointed, but as always hoping to do well in the next match.

Cricket season 2009

Hyderabad Divison A leagues - Rohit Eleven...

This coming Sunday i am participating in 50 Over match. The max length of the match played by me so far is 25 overs in the inter-corporate tournaments. So it is needless to say that i am excited at this prospect and i think i am ready for the physical challenge it poses. I hope i get a chance in the final eleven.

Lord of the rings

These days i have been listening to the LOR audio book...again. When i first saw "The Fellowship of the Ring" movie, i thought it was just a visual treat and did not pay much attention to the story line. The Tow Towers also failed to ignite interest as i never heard the story before. But "The return of the King" changed it all. It evoked deep interest in me, made me see it time and again, thanks to the free movie downloads we get on the Internet. Then i started searching for the details of the author of the novel and found out that there are few other novels with the same backdrop. I happened to read "The Hobbit" then, which essentially is a prequel to the LOR movies.

One thing that wonders me about the author is the amount of detail with which he explains the story. He created whole new world, he defined the geography, he carried the story through different ages with innumerable characters, he created a fictitious language (elvish tongue), he wrote poems and did every thing humanely possible. I aint a much reader so i dont know where it stands in the literature world. But when it comes to the movie, Peter Jackson did justice for the story with his exquisite takes and it is one of the greatest movie made till date and it will always be one of my favorite movies.