Banned for slapping? Wusses

April 30th, 2008 Roshan

I just read on the front page of all my newspapers that Harbhajan Singh has been banned because he slapped/punched Sreesanth. Since they think it’s that important, it must be. I’ll tell you why, it’s because it demonstrates the pussification of Indian sport which is why we’re never at the top of any medals list. We’re doing the wrong thing, you know, Sreesanth got off lightly with just some punching. It’s not sport without a little fighting, some brawling, a few headbutts here and there. See, at least with football or basketball you’re going to watch a sport. The IPL is different. How, you ask?

Well, for starters, the most relevant part is that the TV advertisement promise ‘Fights’. See, that’s fairly unambiguous, they promise you fights and when you get them they take them away. That’s simply not fair. Besides, what’s sport but some abstracted fight. Our sporting contests are proxy wars akin to the duels of legend, except with slightly more people fighting, and slightly lower stakes. With that as my basis I propose the following changes to the IPL:

  • No restrictions on verbal abuse. Profanity, curses, insults are all good.
  • No restrictions on gesturing or being otherwise insulting, so long as the grounds are undamaged.
  • Violence is encouraged if a player is provoked by another performing any of the above. Violence without provocation isn’t acceptable. It’s just not cricket, you know.
  • If a player disagrees with the umpire’s decision to mark him out or to mark his target not out, the argument is decided by trial by combat between that player and the other involved. They can use a bat, a ball, or both but no other weapons except what they were born with. Helmets, guards and all that aren’t allowed. One other person can choose to take their place in the duel.
  • When the match is over, the victorious team will stand over the broken remains of shields and torn pieces of banners bearing the other team’s ensign while their own anthem plays loudly. The other team will slink away, suitably chastised, and knowing that they suck.

That I would watch. Ah, sweet. I can feel the love.

Posted in Sport | 18 Comments »

Amie Street - Again

April 22nd, 2008 Roshan

Amie Street Logo I lost my old account details from more than a year and a half ago, so I have a new account there. Since it’s got that new fangled social networking thing going, here’s where you can choose to add me as a ‘friend’.
The way it works is that the most popular songs on the site cost something like 98¢ while songs that have just been added to the site are free. If I’d been in the US, Whitesnake’s latest album Good to be Bad would’ve been free. Ah, well. Here are the albums I got:

  • Crazy World - Joe Savini
  • Gangrene - Gangrene
  • self titled - censored
  • There’s something about Huckleberry’s music in Derail and Tragicomic that makes me miss Trichy loads. Sadly both those albums were only released to the US.
  • I already have Us Against The Crown from State Radio, which is one awesome rock/reggae band.

While I’m talking in disjoint sentences like this I might as well mention the other music that’s caught my attention lately:

  • Din Din Wo - Habib Koité and Bamada
    If anyone sees a place I can buy Muso Ko, let me know. I suddenly have a thing for Malian music. It came with Vista along with a bunch of other songs.
  • Blue Öyster Cult - I’m crazy about this band’s music. Especially Astronomy, Burning for you, Joan Crawford and the old favourite (Don’t Fear) The Reaper.

Posted in internet | No Comments »

I am free

April 21st, 2008 Roshan

Of the exacting norms of society, of repressive regimes, of slave labour and poverty. Well no, not really. I’m just done with my exams, but I feel liberated. Peaceful, almost. Still, I have much to occupy my time with, and places to go and things to see. Thank you everyone for your support. I couldn’t have done it without my mother, who first made me realise that I too could go to college, my father, who first made me realise that if I didn’t I’d be out on my ear, and my brother who made going to college worthwhile because he was at home.

It was nice in college. I had good company, that’s what counts for most of it. I don’t think I’ll miss the place, but it was fun while it lasted. It could be funner if they got rid of attendance regulations, those don’t make sense and insult the abilities of the teachers - who are all extremely talented people. Ah, bye bye. I’ll still be around, call me sometime you need to solve a differential equation.

Posted in College | 13 Comments »

XPS Dellivered

April 18th, 2008 Roshan

A while ago, I was considering buying an HP laptop while grumbling about how hard it would be to carry around. Soon after that, I ordered a Dell XPS M1330 because for the size there just didn’t seem to be anything in the range that would get you discrete graphics at that price. In any case, they delivered it today, some 4 days outside the 8 business day promise they gave and some two weeks after the date originally on their website (8th April).

Roshan George’s XPS M1330 Thumbnail

I’m real happy with what I got. Vista isn’t very good, there are times when even 3GB of RAM and the GeForce 8400M GS make the closing animation sluggish when running only one or two programs. That and I hate the way the screen flickers dark when UAC comes up. That flicker is really annoying. But over all, everything looks great, the screen is bright and clear and Vista’s font smoothing is really nice. The laptop itself is nice and light and has enough ports for me to be happy :)

My changes to the base model:

  • An upgrade to the T8300 2.4Ghz processor. It was cheap.
  • An upgrade (in my view) to a 7200 rpm hard drive that stores 80GB less.
  • Discrete Graphics: 128 MB GeForce 8400M GS. It also does that shared memory thing.
  • The Intel 4965 AGN wireless card.

Maybe I should’ve chosen an extra gigabyte of RAM instead of the processor. Nevermind, it should be easy to do, and I remember I used to get along just fine with just 1GB on my previous laptop. Still, the one thing I really miss getting is the WLED screen that everybody’s just raving about. Maybe in a few years :)

Posted in Gadgets | 9 Comments »

Tibet and The Torch

April 17th, 2008 Roshan

Back in MCC, the Tibetans and their more active sympathisers were handing out pamphlets talking about why China shouldn’t be allowed to host the Olympics. It’s too late for that, and I think the Olympics will give everyone a chance to put some heat on China.

Anyway, the real sport I want to watch over the next few days is NSG + Chinese Commandos vs. Rest of the World. No really, I hope it’s telecast live for the period of the run, a few breaches, it’ll be a good show. All that security, for a flame, in a country where people die of the cold. Absurdity is much.

Do I sound callous? It’s because Tibet is a lost cause without armed revolt, and considering it’s China we’re talking about, I sympathise but I have no hope.

Posted in World | 2 Comments »

Exams

April 17th, 2008 Roshan

They’re nearly done. There comes a time in the history of a course when the brain of George, long suppressed, decides to find out just what it’s about. I had Astronomy today, and that’s when it happened. I felt this inexplicable urge to find out just what that paper was all about. Then I went to sleep.

Not really, that’s out of chronological order. I was sitting there, peacefully poking around the Kumaravelus’ book when it struck me: I had no clue what the whole thing was about. Today, I am free, I still don’t have a clue what the whole thing is about, and I’m unable to wrap my feeble mind around four new co-ordinate systems. But, with a few calls, and some clever rationing of time, I managed to learn exactly what came for the exam. Almost exactly.

Another day, another exam.

Posted in Me | 7 Comments »

I am returned

April 17th, 2008 Roshan

He is returned, quietly, to the land that he ruled. He sneaked right back into his throne. It is the throne that makes the king, not the man. A golden throne, coloured garishly in the style of those trying hard to get attention. Yeah, gold looks ugly. I said it. You all thought it but played along. I said it. You know, like the kid who said the emperor had no clothes. I’m like that kid. He is returned, and no longer a kid.

—

He who was busy is no longer so, or so he thinks, for he is certainly not making an effort to do anything more than convert himself into a bumpy bed cover. Don’t ever ask for poetry when I’m sleepy, it won’t be in English. And it won’t be real. Not tangible atleast.

—

If it hasn’t struck you that the above is absolute gibberish, I’ll follow it up with some brilliance. I have this plan to build a giant city called Psychotropia. Inside will be all sorts of sweat shops of sizes and colours unimaginable. Think of it as that carnival where you send drug abusers to work when they unwittingly walk in. You know, that carnival. Ha ha ha. Ha ha. Yeah.

Posted in Me | 9 Comments »