The fall of the Australian empire ?

Australia has dominated world cricket since the mid to late 90s. They have captured consecutive world cups in 1999 and 2003 and until recently, seemed to be on the verge of capturing the next one (March-April 2007) as well. They have been able to crush all opposition, home, or away. With one of the most feared batting lineups led by Ricky Ponting - a skipper who leads from the front, and an accurate and hungry bowling attack to back them up, they seemed indomitable. Until now, that is...

They have fallen from the top spot - the number one ranking in one-day international cricket  now belongs to South Africa. This is the first time in five years that the top spot is held by a team other than Australia! Australia have lost the last four games they have played and have lost a total of five of the last six games they have played - both unimaginable until a year ago or so ago.

So why is it a big deal that just slipping from the number one spot portends doom for the Australians ? If there exist competing teams, then one would expect this sort of situation to arise time and again, right ?

Well, for one, they have held the top spot since the rankings were introduced five years ago. Second, the current Australian team seems far less confident than the one that won the world cup four years ago. They are able to post large totals but their bowling department has become very weak and other teams are able to score and make up the runs required to achieve a victory. A case in point being the massive 437 that South Africa chased down last year and the 336 that New Zealand just chased successfully. Also, this is the second consecutive loss to New Zealand - the previous match they lost in the current series was a loss by 10 wickets! This was the first time that Australia lost a match by 10 wickets!

They also lost to the minnows of international cricket, Bangladesh, a while ago, and this was a full-strength Australian team!

There is, of course, the argument being proffered that they are not playing their complete team with Ricky Ponting and Shane Warne missing. But time and again, Australia have shown that they have depth in batting and it was not uncommon to hear the following sentiment...

"if Australia were to field two teams in the world cup, they would both meet in the finals!"

This much-vaunted depth seems to be lacking these days and even when the team plays with full strength, they are being overtaken by others.

In my opinion, it was the bowling that used to set them apart - while the batsmen were more than capable of posting large totals or even chasing them down with ease, the bowling attack would render opposition attempts useless. And the person most responsible was Glenn McGrath.

McGrath in top form would tie down and ultimately decimate some of the best batting attacks from around the world. His tactic of bowling a niggling line outside the off-stump would frustrate most players and then his beautiful outswingers used to hypnotize them into fishing outside the off-stump, leading to their downfall.

He was well supported by Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee, who though wayward, could tear apart the lower order of a batting line up with ease. Led by McGrath, this trio of bowlers could strike fear into the heart of opponents. Now consider the added pressure when their batsmen have posted huge totals which an opposing team must chase...

There is of course, Shane Warne - many consider him to be the best spinner of his generation! He has been effective against teams that are not from the subcontinent, but as I wrote earlier, he does not really deserve the title of the best. But he is a force to contend with, at least for some of the test-playing nations.

Glenn McGrath is still playing, but has announced his retirement, post World Cup. Shane Warne has already retired. Also, their much-vaunted batting lineup seems to be dissolving as well. Justin Langer and Damien Martyn have retired. With age creeping up on Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, it is only a matter of time before they put up their pads, which would leave the top order, barring Ricky Ponting, completely devoid of experience.

I predict that the Australian team will not be the dominant force that they once were by the end of this year. In fact, I have predicted for a while now that it was an in-form Glenn McGrath who has been the difference between a good team and a great one. With McGrath's prowess waning and with his announcement of retirement will make the Australians easier to beat and level the playing field for the rest of the world.

Well, knowing their fighting spirit, one has to wait and see if they are able to kick into gear and do well in the world cup, but somehow (I'm sticking my neck out a bit here) I don't see them qualifying for the finals...and this is great news for teams like India, who are finding a bit of good form. We shall have to wait and watch though, for when on a song, the Australians are a treat to watch.

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Technorati tags: Australia, cricket, one-day international, ranking, new zealand, glenn mcgrath, dominance, waning influence, world cup

Rahul Dravid : "The Wall" passes a milestone...

 I'm watching the 3rd ODI between India and Sri Lanka, and noticed that Rahul Dravid went past 10,000 runs in ODI cricket! He celebrated in classic style by scoring three consecutive boundaries - all in his impeccable, technically correct fashion! (He also scored the only six of the Indian innings - a massive shot down the ground which went high up into the stands!) He is the sixth person to score over 10,000 runs in one-day cricket, after Sachin Tendulkar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sanath Jayasuriya, Sourav Ganguly and Brian Lara.

While watching him steer the match India's way, I couldn't help but sit back and smile (and applaud of course) on him crossing the 10,000 run mark in one-day cricket! Oh, the innumerable arguments and "discussions" I have been involved in while trying to defend Dravid's abilities over the years!

I remember watching his test debut at Lords and was impressed with his class and attention to technique. While Sourav Ganguly was making splashes for his gifted offside play, everyone who watched Dravid would come away remembering his technique. Of course, invariably, the same people would also comment that he was just a "test match player" and that he was too slow and the fact that only "technique" gets you nowhere in the fast-paced world which is one-day cricket. Look at Sanjay Manjrekar, they say - a batsman gifted with "technique" but not really cut out to be in the Indian team's long-term plan.

What most people fail to realise is that the very technique that they used to deride Dravid for is what keeps him going - and of course the fact that he is a fantastic student of the game...always looking to improve his batting and eliminating any minor niggle or flaw that might remain while not allowing any more to creep in. When he was criticised for being too slow in one-day matches, he became the ultimate finisher - honing an exquisite ability to accurately plan out a run-chase (such as today's game). When he was criticised for not being able to take singles and rotate the strike, he went back and practiced dropping the ball short and playing with soft hands to sneak in quick singles. When there was a problem with him being only a specialist batsman in a world of all-rounders, he took on the role of wicket-keeper, where he did very well and carved out a place as a wicket-keeping all-rounder! (How many teams in world cricket could claim to have a wicket-keeper with a test average of over 57 and 23 centuries?)

His discipline and search for perfection led him to take over the reigns of captaincy from Sourav Ganguly; a role in which he has flourished! Considering his career, he seems to be performing better as captain than otherwise. Here are his stats from before the current match:

                       Mat      Runs           HS          atAv       100     50   
total                308       9978          153         39.91       12       76  

as Captain        60       2102          105         42.04         2       20   

Very few players in the history of cricket (especially Indian cricket) have been able to soak in the pressures of captaincy and not let it affect their personal form - it even affected the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly! Captaincy was probably the best thing that happened to Dravid.

While his wicket, along with Ricky Ponting's, has become one of the most prized wickets in Test cricket he has carved out a niche in one-day cricket as well. Dravid is now able to adapt his batting style to any position in the order - depending on the situation and team requirements. The very fact that people (cricketers, journalists and even the general public) find it odd when Dravid fails to make an impact in even a single game just goes to show the fact that we have gotten used to consistent, match-winning performances on his part.

Dravid also has a completely selfless streak about himself - while he is capable of steering an innings, he is only too happy to revert to encouraging batsmen at the other end, no matter how young/junior they are. If they are performing well, he can stay back and play the supporting role to perfection. This just goes to his convictions of putting the team ahead of himself.

With a few years of international left in him, it is only a matter of time before we see him breaking more records - both in test as well as one-day cricket. The "wall" has learnt not just to defend well, but also to strike back and take the the battle to the opposition. We should see some more magical innings from him in the not too distant future.

[As an important side note about today's match - Dhoni was fantastic! He showed that he has a mature cricketing brain and is not just a club-weaving Neanderthal who only hits the big shots...he played for a long time scoring only singles and rotating the strike with Dravid and then cut loose when the time was just right.]

With the world cup almost on us, may we dare ask - is it time for the second coming for India, with Dravid leading the way?

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Technorati tags: Rahul Dravid, Cricket, 10, 000, Cricket World Cup, one-day cricket, technique, Dhoni, India, Sri Lanka

Are we (bloggers) giving ourselves an unnecessary air of importance ?

Bloggers are everywhere - they seem to be coming out of the woodwork, literally! With millions of blogs out there, and with the mainstream media playing catch up, bloggers at times are at the forefront of information dispersal. A blogger was the first to break the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, another was the first to find evidence of air-brushing in Reuters photos, and so on. Some even credit themselves with being instrumental in Joe Lieberman's loss to Ned Lamont in the Democratic primaries.

It looks like the politicians are also taking note. John Edwards and family have been actively blogging and trying to cultivate bloggers for their cause; McCain and Hillary have bloggers on their payroll, and each activity, speech and personal history of the candidates is a serious topic of discussion on the blogosphere.

And this is an international phenomenon - we see Chinese bloggers writing under the guise of anonymity, Indian bloggers writing about everything the failures of the cricket team to raising funds for tsunami victims and British bloggers criticizing the Blair administration for the mess that is the Iraq War.

Over a period of time, we (bloggers, i.e.) have come to believe that our opinions really count and that we are making a difference, especially when it comes to politics - I mean, isn't that the best way to ensure that we're making the world a better place? We can make sure that "good" candidates win and hence solve the world's problems.

I sometimes wonder...are we giving ourselves too much importance as bloggers ? Do our opinions matter as much as we'd like them to, especially in the real world ?

A classic case in point, is that of the Lieberman-Lamont Senate race. "Liberal bloggers" (as they were termed by the media) were influential in ensuring that Lieberman lost the democratic primary. This was hailed as a great success; it is as though the following message was sent out to the world - "Beware : we're bloggers and we have arrived!" But then, what happened in the actual election ? Lamont loses to Lieberman, and now the Democrats are short of an experienced senator!

I have a feeling that while many people out there read a large variety of blogs and form opinions or gain knowledge from them, come election day, the main stream media (msm) will still rule the roost. Honestly, the reach of television, radio or newspapers is far greater than that of the blogosphere - admittedly many urban households have computers and internet access, but how many people really log on and gain political know-how from the internet ? Most people would stick to email, music, videos, chatting and of course, searching for porn.

Television and radio, on the other hand, are far more pervasive - some of the poorest people have access to televisions and radios and often gain information about their elected representatives from these traditional media. The msm may pick up occasional stories from the blogosphere, thus giving that particular blog/writer his/her 15 minutes of fame, but present their own views and opinions about candidates that the nation generally listens to.

They choose which facts to present and which ones to leave out. While tech-savvy people will go online and look around for the remaining details, chances are that they are an insignificant minority.

Not that the politicians will acknowledge this of course - if there exists any possibility of damage to their image, then they will work on appeasing bloggers, just as much as they work on forming good "relationships" with the msm. So we see John Edwards and co. scrambling to fix problems with bloggers on their payroll.

But in the larger scheme of things, will blogs and bloggers be influential in the '08 presidential race ? Can we make/break candidates based on what we write ? We would like to think so, but I believe that the blogosphere is far from being that influential...unless we are able to reach a large majority of the citizens that matters - i.e. the ones that vote on election day, we will lag considerably behind traditional media...

Meanwhile, one is left to ask about the fact that conservative bloggers do not like John McCain - who cares ?

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Technorati tags: blogs, blogosphere, Lieberman, lamont, McCain, Edwards, 08, influence, opinions, mainstream media, msm, television, radio, newspapers

Science Trek | Feb 10, 2007

[I am planning on changing the formatting of this "column" so that I can publish it more often...instead of elaborating on each story, I shall post short one to two line entries with links to the actual story. This way I get more stories in as well...Also, since I haven't published one in close to two months, this first story will be a roundup of interesting stories in the last month or so...]

We lead off with an MSNBC article which details China's planned space programme, which eventually will have humans landing on the moon. This apparently is not just about national pride - it involves the utilization of a limitless supply of a clean, safe, energy source, Helium 3 (3He), which is available in abundant quantities on the Moon's surface. To put it in perspective, a mere 40 tonnes of this material can handle the energy needs of the United States for a year!

The next big thing in physics, according to the New York Times, is a machine 20 miles long which will be used to recreate conditions when the universe was only a trillionth of a second old! The "International Linear Collider", as it will be known, will cost $6.7 billion and will slam together electrons and positrons. It will be later extended to a length of 31 miles!

In the semiconductor/microprocessor industries, Intel led with the announcement of the 45 nm processor technology. This would ensure that the self-fulfilling prophecy that is Moore's Law will still be true. IBM was not far behind with their own 45 nm announcement.

Climate was in the news, what with Richard Branson announcing a $25 million prize for the technology that removes the most Carbon from the atmosphere. But on a more ominous note, experts who regularly assess dangers to human civilization have added climate change as one of the greatest threats to mankind! As a result, the group moved the famous "doomsday clock" two minutes closer to midnight! Here are the changes the doomsday clock has undergone in the past:

British scientists have created genetically modified chickens, which can lay eggs which can be used to create cancer-fighting drugs! The eggs will have useful proteins which can be used to produce cheap drugs to fight cancer ! Incidentally, this was the same group that cloned the sheep, Dolly.

While the world was going ga-ga about Apple's iPhone, the OQO UMPC (ultra-mobile PC) model 02 launch flew under the radar. The OQO mode 02 claims to be the smallest Vista-capable PC. Take a look at the images to see for yourself!

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Technorati tags: Science Trek, China, space, Helium 3, 3He, International Linear Collider, electron, proton, 45nm, Intel, IBM, transistor, Climate, Richard Branson, Al Gore, 25 million, Doomsday clock, chicken, egg, cancer, protein, OQO, model 02, UMPC, iPhone.

Peyton Manning gets the monkey off his back...

Peyton Manning has often been compared to Dan Marino - they were both considered to be the best players in their position (as quarterbacks), to have never won the Superbowl. To hear the Chicago Bears fans and sports commentators go on about it for the last week or so, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that the comparisons would continue...

Tom Brady was considered as being an insurmountable hurdle for Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, having always lost to Brady's Patriots in post-season playoff games.

Manning was known as the choker who could not handle big games...he would do exceptionally well during the regular season, often throwing as many as a record 49 touchdowns but was then considered to be unable to go the final mile - winning the AFC championship and the NFL Superbowl title...

All that changed, today, in what can be considered to be a historic Superbowl XLI! Manning and colts razed the Chicago Bears team in the first rainy Superbowl ever...a Superbowl that gave a deserving coach the honour of being the first African-American to coach a Superbowl-winning team!

It was, at times, hard to back a quarterback who has been regularly breaking all NFL records in his nine year career as a pro, while not being able to win the big one. Most people who follow football agree, without a doubt, that Manning is a contender for the the football Hall of Fame. He would be the next Dan Marino and the best quarterback till date, but...

Some detractors would claim that the rain, or Rex Grossman, or the failure of the vaunted Chicago defense were the reasons why the Colts won the championship. While some of these factors might have contributed, there are a few points worth considering...

The rain was falling equally on the Colts as it did on the Bears. Rex Grossman did make many costly mistakes, but that was after the Colts came back from a 14-6 deficit to take the lead at 16-14, all based on the brilliance and planning of Manning. The Chicago defense did not get a chance to crush their opponents as easily as they have done over the course of the season because Manning, with his ability to decipher defensive strategies, was able to take advantage of holes in their defense. Those meager holes grew in size as the game progressed, and were letting in water at an alarming rate.

Football is a team game, and both Manning and the Colts' head coach, Tony Dungee, paid homage to the idea.

Each time the question was repeated, Manning's answer was the same: team.

"It was a wonderful team game," he said. "Everyone did their job."

[...]

But then, like Manning, he slipped into the Colts' mantra.

"This may not have been our best team in five years," Dungy said, "but it was the closest and the most connected -- and it showed in the way we played.

The game has its stars, but a large number of factors must fall into place to be able to win the Superbowl. While Manning led from the front, the Colts' coaching strategies and the way the defense pulled up their collars were important factors in the win. Not to mention the rest of their tremendous offense. The Colts are a fantastic example of how a team can come together, in every aspect, to crush even the most favoured opponents.

But Manning's contributions in passing and leading the team got him the well deserved MVP award for the game, and it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy!

On a personal note, this was a great week for sports, what with India beating the West Indies, NC State trouncing the favourites UNC, and Manning & co. winning the Superbowl...

Now, I only wish that another gentleman would be able to shut his critics up by performing well in the cricket world cup.

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Technorati tags: Peyton Manning, Colts, Indianapolis, Superbowl, Tom Brady, Football, NFL, records, XLI, MVP, India, West Indies, NC State, UNC, Cricket World Cup, Sachin Tendulkar.

Microsoft constantly under a microscope...

I found the recent controversy about Microsoft paying Rick Jeliffe, an independent writer, to correct some Wikipedia entries to be much ado about nothing.

So they paid someone to take a look at the entries and see if they're correct...that person was given complete freedom to make whatever choices he felt right in the process, and not necessarily toe the Microsoft line...so what...is it such a serious problem that everyone has to constantly criticise them ?

In Rick Jeliffe's own words...

I think I’ll accept it: FUD enrages me and MS certainly are not hiring me to add any pro-MS FUD, just to correct any errors I see. If anyone sees any examples of incorrect statements on Wikipedia or other similar forums in the next few weeks, please let me know: whether anti-OOXML or anti-ODF. In fact, I already had added some material to Wikipedia several months ago, so it is not something new, so I’ll spend a couple of days mythbusting and adding more information.

Just scanning quickly the Wikipedia entry for OOXML, I see one example straight away: The OOXML specification requires conforming implementations to accept and understand various legacy office applications .

...

So that entry is simply wrong. The same myth comes up in the form “You have to implement all 6000 pages or Microsoft will sue you.” Are we idiots?

I don't understand why everyone, the Wikipedia folks included, is making such a big fuss about this topic. I mean, in Microsoft's defense, here's what their rep had to say...

Microsoft acknowledged it had approached the writer and offered to pay him for the time it would take to correct what the company was sure were inaccuracies in Wikipedia articles on an open-source document standard and a rival format put forward by Microsoft.

Catherine Brooker, a spokeswoman for Microsoft, said she believed the articles were heavily written by people at IBM Corp., which is a big supporter of the open-source standard. IBM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Now I'm don't care anything about who created what entry and who's updating what, but I can completely agree with the following sentiment...

Brooker said Microsoft had gotten nowhere in trying to flag the purported mistakes to Wikipedia's volunteer editors, so it sought an independent expert

...

Microsoft believed that having an independent source would be key in getting the changes to stick - that is, to not have them just overruled by other Wikipedia writers.

I personally have tried to add some articles to Wikipedia (no, they're not about me or stating that I'm god's gift to mankind...although that would be a good addition) and they have been turned down by the editors...I mean, these guys are just volunteers who deem to judge everyone ! They summarily reject most articles and then flag those topics to avoid them from being updated in the future, even if it is in the public domain. I tried to update an article about science blogs to include some more collections of science blogs that were around, they were turned down by the Wikipedia editors...something that I found odd as it wasn't about anything related to me personally, or something that had an opinion - its was supposed to be just a list.

So I can understand Microsoft's frustration at not being able to fix any inaccuracies that might exist. Sometimes Wikipedia does not check to verify the credentials of the people editing their content, but when someone has been misrepresented, they cannot change the entry as they are a "concerned party".  The odd part is that the OO XML format is Microsoft's baby, and I think they should be concerned when anyone tries to put up information which is inaccurate.

A side issue is that of the problems that Microsoft faces when they try to do anything...and I mean anything - whether right or wrong...or even just doing that they do regularly, like say, releasing software. I mean, some of the biggest names in the software world were running scared to the European Union to complain about the then impending release of Vista ! Now the press is hounding them for something that shouldn't even be an issue in the first case...someone needs to let up and relax on this taking on the big corporation bit...I mean, they have shown some remarkable insights while creating interesting products from time to time - products which have made life a lot easier for users, from programmers to bloggers (by the way, they even have a Linux lab...yes, hell hasn't frozen over, it's true.) And from what I hear, post-release, Vista is looking pretty good too, but I guess it will take some time to get to know of its real capabilities and problems.

Previous related articles : 1.

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Technorati tags: Microsoft, Wikipedia, OOXML, Open document format, IBM, controversy, Vista, European Union

The Gods of Chance in Bangalore ?

Bangalore is known for its urbane, hip, technologically literate crowds, for its stability, for a flourishing economy, beer, real-estate booms and inflation...not much fazes Bangaloreans even when things are going out of control elsewhere in the state, country or even the world. I mean, this is the city which barely noticed the problems associated with the Babri masjid fiasco, the Cauvery water dispute and even the fiasco that was the kidnapping of Rajkumar - the iconic hero of Kannada movies.

I remember all these events, because while they were blasted across the media 24x7, Bangalore went about its business...ok, there were a few skirmishes here and there, but on the whole, life got back to normal real quick...

Not that people from Bangalore are cold-hearted or don't care...it's just that most of us who grew up there got used to the lovely, laidback approach of the city...where people always thought before jumping the gun, especially on matters like religion. People were cultured, well-read, educated and simply put - sensible.

Unfortunately, it isn't true anymore...the Bangalore that I remember is no more...too much has changed in the recent years, the least of which is a large influx of people, almost on a daily basis, with just one thought in mind - money ! People are now getting involved in riots on trivial matters. Gone are the days when we would all wonder as to why anyone would put their loved ones in danger and run amok among the streets...we only hoped that we would never face such a problem - Bangalore was always the steadiest city that I've seen in India...now that seems to have undergone a cataclysmic shift...alas, that Bangalore is no more. Even the name doesn't exist...officially that is.

I read about the recent riots in Bangalore, and thought - well, it will probably subside very quickly, and no one will be hurt...and with the typical Indian thick skin, and lack of sensitivity, I believed "well, at least no one I know!"

When my parents called me the same day - I asked them how matters were, and they said, well...it has improved a bit, but problems might reoccur, and then my mother went on to other mundane matters of how the car has some battery problems and it ran out when they were driving back from a wedding and they had to walk and find a garage, etc. I tuned out for a while, just making the required "ahem", "uh-huh" and "ok" noises from time to time, before I said I had other things to do, promised I would call back and hung up...

Today it hit me...the car broke down, and they had to find a garage to get it fixed...they were on foot trying to find a mechanic, whom they did find and then decided to leave the car in the workshop...hence, they got home much later than they would otherwise have...all the while the riots had started and were going on, on the very route they had taken if not for the fact that their car broke down ! By the way, the autorikshaw they called to get home, took them along a different route altogether...

So, if all was fine with the car, and they had proceeded on the normal route, they would have gone in to the area where the riots were at their peak and possibly run into the thick of it all! Who knows what could have happened ?

So was it intervention by a divine entity, random chance, preordained fate ? Who knows ? This is not a post about any of these topics...it is about realising that innocence and strongly held beliefs are lost...forever...the belief that Bangalore is a safe city capable of taking on all adversities; the Bangalore that I grew up in, the Bangalore that I left behind four years ago...has vanished...it is but a ghost of itself; in the mad scramble for technological superiority and heartless economics and wily politicians...

Also lost is that sense of security when one hears of bad events and people getting hurt - the cold, selfish security that nothing can happen to oneself or the people that you are close to...the bullets are hitting closer to home now and there isn't much that I or anyone else I know can do about it...now a constant niggle has crept in to my thoughts...and it seems bent on growing into an all out sense of dread and fear...

Alas, my simple beliefs in my favourite city and in many of the important matters in life, is no more...I shall mourn this loss for a long time to come...

Previous posts related to Bangalore : 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

[Note : I do not wish to propagate the myth that the entire city was up in riots...it wasn't...it was apparently restricted to certain areas...but those were the exact areas through which my parents would have taken had their car not broken down.]

Cross posted on Desicritics.

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Technorati tags: Personal, beliefs, loss off innocence, Bangalore, riots, laidback, random chance, fate

Indyscienceblogs.org launch...

Announcing the launch of IndyScienceBlogs.org - a grassroots set up launched by people with diverse backgrounds and interests - with the only common threads being an interest in science and in blogging.

But do not be alarmed...we will not stick only to science...we will present thoughts, facts and opinions about any and all topics under the sun.

Here is the press release of the launch...

INDEPENDENT BLOGGERS AIM TO UNVEIL THE SECRETS OF SCIENCE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Scientific research is the latest area of public life to draw the interest of bloggers hoping to shed light on under-reported stories.

IndyScienceBlogs.org, a grassroots coalition of academics, scientists and science nuts, is the latest, officially launching Jan. 22. It joins Seed Media's Scienceblogs.com, ScienceBlog.com and ScienceNewsBlog in this burgeoning category.

Some science bloggers, whether professional or amateur scientists, are driven by intense interest in topics that may be too niche for major magazines. Others have a point of view that's at odds with the mainstream scientific media. Like all bloggers, they enjoy the freedom to express their opinions that blogging allows.

The IndyScienceblogs crew is indicative. They include:

• Emily DeVoto, a healthcare consultant who covers policy and news
  
• Aleksandr Kavokin, a Russian M.D. with a special interest in unusual medical conditions
  
• Susan Kuchinskas, who tracks research on the hormone oxytocin
  
• Barry Leiba, an IBM researcher who cherry-picks ideas from many disciplines
  
• Ed Minchau, an engineer with a fascination for robots
  
• Sibin Mohan, a computer science doctoral student who blogs about everything from movies to philosophy to gadgets
  
• Mike White, who brings his expertise in genomics and molecular biology to his posts about cutting-edge research
  
• Trisha, who writes about the research involved in women's health issues.
  
• And The Beauty Brains, two anonymous cosmetic chemists who decode the mysteries of beauty products

The science blogs trend is good news for the general reader: Bloggers pore through journals, translate arcane scientific data and explain what it means for the rest of us. Full contact information and background for a story on this trend are available, and interviews can be facilitated at your convenience.

You can either visit the webpage regularly or subscribe to the RSS feed. Along the way we hope to amaze you, to make you question, confuse you, simplify matters, have discussions with you or just disseminate some tidbits of knowledge...stay with us on this journey...

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Technorati tags: indyscienceblogs, independent, science, blogs, press release, launch

John McCain can do no wrong.

 US Senator John McCain (Wikipedia entry) has been a darling of the media for a while now. He has been touted as the next President of the United States, savvy, witty, smart, charming yet with a volatile temper - a classic touch that makes him "human". The media loves him...he can get along with all media personnel, trade jokes with them, take shots at Dick Cheney and seem like a rebel fighting alone to reel in the right-wing, conservative Republic Party to the center...

Some of the biggest names in the journalistic profession seem to back him up and extol his virtues, as seen in this Joe Klein article in Time where a comparison is made between McCain and Obama's handling of their "Face the Nation" appearance. Excerpts...

From where I was sitting, McCain got the better of it--not because he had the better argument (he didn't), but because he was clear, concise and confident.

...

He also threw down the gauntlet to the Democrats--if you're really against the war, don't mess around with non-binding resolutions, cut off the funding.

And about Obama, he had this to say in conclusion...

but he sure seemed less assured, less presidential, than McCain

Well, that settles it doesn't it ? Obama is definitely less presidential that McCain! Note that he doesn't "disapprove" of Obama's message, just that he didn't say it right...that must mean that McCain is more "presidential"! Now this article is a classic example of how the media has propped up John McCain to this saintly status and the next presidential candidate. Not that I am supporting Obama here -- I do not know much about him (his background, policies, etc.) to be able to form an honest opinion, yet. Its just that no matter what his opponents have to say, whether right or wrong, and no matter what he himself has to say, John McCain can do no wrong...if he makes a statement that agrees with their ideas, the media will extol him as if he were the next messiah; if not, well, he said it better than the other guy and he's more dignified and "presidential".

Seems like the jury has cast its votes on him becoming the next President!

For everyone who believes that that John McCain is a moderate in the Republican party and someone who steers to the center, here is a piece of information for you -- you're wrong! Here is an analysis of his voting record among the  senators of the Republican party:

109th Senate : Second most conservative!

108th Senate : Fourth most conservative!

107th Senate : Sixth more liberal !

The above numbers show a disturbing trend - his voting records are becoming more and more conservative as the years go by ! Anyone with half an ounce for a brain can see that if he has the second most conservative voting record in the Republican party, then he definitely cannot be a "moderate" !

In fact, the American Conservative Union gives him an 83% lifelong rating. In their rating of presidential hopefuls, his rating is far above that of the Democrat with the highest rating on the list - Senator Evan Bayh, with a rating of 21. How can McCain be considered, even remotely, as a moderate ?

What people forget, in the media blitz, is that McCain has toed quite a bit of the Bush administration line, especially regarding the War in Iraq. He has always voted in favour of the war and for troop increases, including the latest one. Even when the war is being acknowledged as a mistake by the very folks who initially wanted it, McCain refuses to backtrack on this issue - this can only bring him unpopularity, unless of course, the media finds a way to gloss over it.

And McCain is yet to seriously announce his Presidential ambitions for 2008(yes, yes, he has announced the creations of campaign and finance exploratory committees, but that is still not official). If and when he does do so, then the smear campaigns will probably start. When the dirt starts to fly, we shall see the skeletons in McCain's closet and see if he can handle that kind of intense media pressure. He lost the 2000 Presidential nomination, largely due to a smear campaign, in South Carolina, led by his opposition. Of course his famous temper might be more of a liability than an asset and rumours and news articles abound with stories of his extra-marital affairs and his racist slurs against Asians (he reportedly used the phrase "gook" to refer to South Asians, even during recent times. He defends himself saying that it was refers only to his Vietnamese captors during the Vietnam war, where he was a POW).

He was also a serious player in the Keating Five scandal.

It's still early days yet for the key players in the 2008 race to be finalised, but we shall have to see how the media scrutiny of John McCain changes, if at all, when he becomes "official". Don't get me wrong - I am not really against John McCain as such (he is probably just as good/bad as the next person) for being who he is. I'm placing a large part of the blame on the mainstream media for extolling his virtues while neglecting his faults. Whatever happened to the idea of an objective viewpoint ? This next election will decide whether a media-propped favourite will win become the President even if he is against the popular ideas on important issues.

As an interesting footnote, an article by David Leonhart in the New York Times, once talked about how Internet searches might predicted the future, which I had written about previously. Google Trends is a good tool to use for this purpose. you can compare the interest in two people side by side, simply by observing the amount of searches against their name and the amount of media coverage they receive. 

[ Key : Blue = McCain, Red = Other person ]

Here is a comparison of McCain vs Obama:

Interestingly they're neck and neck as far as Google searches go, but McCain leads, most of the time in news coverage. Of course, certain announcements by Obama makes his popularity spike.

Here's another comparison - McCain vs Hillary Clinton:

Well, seems like the Arizona senator has a clear lead in this race. But I guess a few of her results are lost here due to the last name being the same as her husband's.

But here's when it gets really interesting - McCain vs Gore:

Interesting don't you think ? This seems to indicate that Al Gore is more popular in Internet searches, and is slightly more popular in news coverage. Does this mean that Al Gore might just about win this time round if he is the Democratic nominee ? I have a gut feeling that he might, but that is a post for another day.

Cross posted on Desicritics.

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Technorati tags: Opinion, John McCain, media hype, voting record, conservative, moderate, Presidential hopeful, Republican party, Iraq war, Dick Cheney, George Bush, Barrack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Google, trends, Time, politics, Keating five, South Carolina, Evan Bayh, American Conservative Union, Joe Klein

Tesla back in popular imagination...

Nikola Tesla is everywhere...and no, this does not refer to the late 1800's/early 1900's, but right now! He is appearing in movies, books, blogs...you name it. Eccentric, inventor, genius, far ahead of his time, scientist, mystic...all of these attributes and qualities make him interesting even in the modern era, 60 odd years after his death.

Consider Thomas Pynchon's "Against the Day". Here is a brief extract from the synopsis...

"The sizable cast of characters includes anarchists, balloonists, gamblers, corporate tycoons, drug enthusiasts, innocents and decadents, mathematicians, mad scientists, shamans, psychics, and stage magicians, spies, detectives, adventuresses, and hired guns. There are cameo appearances by Nikola Tesla, Bela Lugosi, and Groucho Marx."

Many events in the book happen during or around Tesla's experiments in Colorado Springs. Tesla himself does appear. although in a brief cameo. Pynchon is smart in the way he weaves a web of mystery around the famed inventor.

The second popular appearance is in the movie, "The Prestige". Tesla is played by none other than David Bowie. Here there is more of the mysticism as well as the mention of the financial troubles Tesla faced during his experiments. Also present are references to his feud with Edison, dubbed as the War of Currents. In the movie he works on creating a device capable of teleportation, but has unintended consequences.

Nicola Tesla has also appeared in a graphic novel named the "Five Fists in Science", where he teams up with Mark Twain to bring about peace by fighting off the dastardly forces ruled by Thomas Edison!

Some of his ideas were right off the chart, and we are just coming to terms with them, for eg., wireless electricity, directed energy/particle weapons, a flying machine that could run without use of an engine, wings, ailerons, propellers or onboard fuel source.

Rumour has it that the Tunguska event was caused by a directed particle beam from Tesla's experiments!

Of course we know that his ideas on AC current were right in spite of being maligned by Edison and his cohorts...and it is no surprise that he has often been dubbed as "the man who invented the twentieth century" and the "patron saint of electricity".

Cross-posted on Desicritics.

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Technorati tags: Nicola Tesla, Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, The Prestige, Edison, Mark Twain, War of Currents, Five Fists in Science, wireless electricity, directed particle weapons, AC Current, Tunguska event, Teleportation

Grad Students, world over, grieve...

...at the recent death of Momofuku Ando. He was the inventor of instant noodles and cup noodles, known popularly as Ramen noodles (for which he founded the Nissin Foods company).

PhD comics pays tribute to him...

Call it coincidence, irony, a sad example of typical grad student life, or what you will...I was eating a cup of noodles when I read the news and the cartoon and I am eating one now when I write this post...

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Technorati tags: Momofuku Ando, instant noodles, cup noodles, Ramen, Nissin Foods, grad students, phd comics, Jorge Cham, procrastinator

Stem Cell cartoon.

An interesting series of cartoons on Slate regarding Stem Cell research and the Bush veto. Although they tend to lean more in the direction for stem-cell research. I found the the following cartoon the most interesting one, showing the dichotomy of thought prevalent in the world about stem-cell research...and also the ethical problems...one that might really hard to resolve...

These are both valid concerns, mind you...but don't ask me to take sides...you may not like what I have to say ! Although if you push me to take a stance, I would say that Stem cell research should be allowed, as long as we do not have to sacrifice embryos for the cause. There is research on using stem cells from placentas that do not harm embryos which apparently obtain similar results. Now, that might be an acceptable compromise...

All this of course, while the House votes for increasing the scope of stem-cell research.

Previous posts on Stem Cell research : 1, 2.

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Technorati tags: Stem Cells, Slate, cartoon, research, Bush, veto, controversy, ethics, placenta, congress

Apple's iPhone is here...

...announced by Steve Jobs in his keynote address at Macworld.

Here are some pictures of Jobs showing off the iPhone:

 

 

 

Wow ! I must say...wow ! This seems like the next must-have gadget ! Well, it's priced at $499 for the basic (4GB version) and $599 for the upper end one(8GB). Here's Jobs' reasoning:

"Our most popular iPod is $199 -- what's a smartphone cost? Somewhere around $299 with a two year contract."

"What should we charge for the iPhone? We should charge more for this stuff!... "

"So how much more than $499 should we price it? We thought long and hard about it... it does so much stuff..."

"What should we price it at? For a 4GB model we're pricing it at $499 -- no premium whatsoever.
"We're going to have an 8GB model for just $599."

It's going to the available on the Cingular network (or AT&T as its known now) in the United States.

Well, here's an early commercial that was released in March 2006...that gives us some ideas on this phone...

 

Original link via PajamasMedia. 

Update: ArsTechnica article on why the iPhone won't be the next "killer app" for Apple.

Update 2 : Cisco sues Apple for trademark infringement...they have a trademark on the iPhone name. I was wondering what happened to the Cisco trademark, after Apple announced their product. They had released a web-phone/skype phone late in December.

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Technorati tags: iPhone, Apple, Steve Jobs, Macworld, Cingular, AT&T, smartphone, iPod, Cisco, trademark infrngement

Hype.

Shane Warne is retiring. Well, considering his record, he's getting a lot of accolades, after taking more than 700 wickets in test cricket - more than any other person on the planet, to date. Many consider him to be the best spin bowler of all time...perhaps a reason why the Australians have dominated cricket over the last decade or so. I personally think its all hype.

For one, to be the best spinner in the world, you have to have been successful, consistently, against what is arguably the best spin playing nation on the planet - India. He hasn't performed against the Indian team...in fact, every time he has come down to India, his bowling figures have been set back considerably what with the thrashing he has received from the likes of Sidhu, Kambli, Sachin, Laxman and Dravid. So much so, that he has often refused to come down to play in India in the last 6-7 years, until he came by for the 2004 series. And considering that the Indian subcontinent pitches are a paradise for spinners, it seems a bit suspicious. He also had excuses like the baked beans fiasco in 1998.

Here is Shane Warne's overall record in test cricket:

Matches   Wickets   Best    Average   5Wkt Hauls

    145           708        8/71     25.41            37

Now here is his record against India:

Matches   Wickets   Best    Average   5Wkt Hauls

    14              43       6/125      47.18             1

The numbers speak for themselves...his bowling average is twice against India, as compared to the numbers for this overall career. I mean, considering that Australia and England play each other so often and that Warne has racked up most of his wickets against teams that traditionally do not play spin.

Then there's talk about the magic ball/ball of the century where Shane Warne gets Mike Gatting out by bowling him between his legs. Now, consider this, Indian bowlers like BS Chandrasekhar, L Sivaramakrishnan and Venkataraghavan have bowled myriad such "balls of the century" in their day. Here is a video of their first test win in England, with these two spinners weaving magic against the confused English batsmen: 

I think Anil Kumble deserves a lot more respect, simply because he has taken wickets in all test-playing countries, under all sorts of conditions. For that fact, I believe that Saqlain Mushtaq deserves great respect because he would consistently take wickets against the India team. In fact, he has a better average against India than that for his entire career ! That speaks volumes about his talent.

While Shane Warne is a good cricketer, one must be careful before dubbing him the best spinner in the world. He has won multiple matches for Australia, but then again, they were opponents who were clueless against spin bowling. Also, anyone can be deadly when one has Glenn McGrath tying things down from the other end. In my opinion, McGrath will be the difference between a great Australian team and an ordinary one (well, that is a post for another time).

And before you ask, no Muralitharan doesn't quite qualify as well...while his record is better than Warne's (well, maybe not in number of wickets, but I doubt if that will last) overall as well as against India, we have all seen him being soundly thrashed by Indian batsmen over the years...and for some reason, they used protect him against Sachin Tendulkar...but I guess he does deserve far more respect than Warne, but then there's always going to be a footnote about this "chucking" and other related controversies.

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Technorati tags: Cricket, Spin Bowling, Shane Warne, Magic Ball, Ball of the Century, best spinner in the world, India

Happy New Year !

2007!

"The Year" *

What can be said in New Year rhymes,
That's not been said a thousand times?
The new years come, the old years go,
We know we dream, we dream we know.
We rise up laughing with the light,
We lie down weeping with the night.
We hug the world until it stings,
We curse it then and sigh for wings.
We live, we love, we woo, we wed,
We wreathe our prides, we sheet our dead.
We laugh, we weep, we hope, we fear,
And that's the burden of a year.

by Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Well, another year gone down...2006 was a very interesting year, but eventful nonetheless...

A list of scheduled events for the current year.

* Poem received via The Wondering Minstrels mailing list.

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Technorati tags: 2007, New Year, Happy New Year, 2006