 quote | ing:: |
|
| |
|
| read | ing:: |
penguins stopped play: eleven village cricketers take on the world by harry thompson | unforgettable places to see before you die by steve davey | a teacup in a storm: an explorer's guide to life by mick conefrey |
| |
|
| mag | ing:: |
daily mail ski & snowboard | grand designs | inc | snowboard uk | transworld snowboarding | wallpaper* |
| |
|
| surf | ing:: |
bbc.co.uk | bigstarcricket.com | cricinfo.com | cricketburble.com | digg.com | lifehacker.com | nytimes.com | tripadvisor.com | worldsbestbars.com |
| |
|
| watch | ing:: |
match point | notes on a scandal | 2 days in paris | hannibal rising | ocean's thirteen | the departed | lucky number slevin | the black dahlia | wah-wah | freedomland | get rich or die tryin' | lake house | the white countess | 16 blocks | empire of the sun | the family stone | domino | the ladykillers | elizabethtown | little miss sunshine | my super ex-girlfriend | the illusionist | revolver | syriana | millions | pride & prejudice | layer cake | saw | lord of war | casino royale | shadowboxer | the butterfly effect | the devil wears prada | twisted | inside man | sideways | hide and seek | cold creek manor | hard eight | criminal | firewall | the terminal | in good company | the interpreter | the clearing | mystic river | vanity fair | being julia | the notebook | flightplan | the constant gardener | in her shoes | le divorce |
| |
|
| watchlist | ing:: |
eastern promises | music and lyrics | big night | spiderman 3 | the good shephard | babel | children of men | night at the museum | two for the money |
| |
|
| sky+ | ing:: |
dragons'den | top gear |
| |
|
| 23 | ing:: |
visit to verona, italy, april 2007:
weekend in lake garda, italy, april 2007:
snowboarding in bansko, march 2007:
weekend in sicily, april 2006:
weekend in venice, april 2005:
|
| |
|
| flickr | ing:: |
snowboarding @ kicking horse, january 2007:
snowboarding @ kicking horse, february 2006:
|
| |
|
| travel | ing:: |
2008 > 1. snowboarding @ kicking horse: golden, canada, jan 19-29 | 2. rich ellery's stag: barcelona, spain, mar 7-9 | 3. snowboarding in engelberg: engelberg, switzerland, mar 27-31 | 4. salix cc overseas tour to lille & ghent, france & belgium, jun 27-30 | 5. business trip to dubai, jun 30-jul 2 | 6. snowboarding in val thorens: france, dec 5-8
2007 > 1. snowboarding @ kicking horse: golden, canada, jan 20-29 | 2. snowboarding in bansko: bulgaria, mar 23-27 | 3. easter break in lake garda and verona: italy, apr 4-8 | 4. snowboarding @ breckenridge: colorado, usa, apr 14-21 | 5. business trip to lisbon: portugal, may 22-24 | 6. salix cc overseas tour: sweden, june 28-july 2 | 7. business trip to lisbon: portugal, oct 9-11 | 8. weekend in brussels: belgium, oct 19-21 | 9. business trip to athens: greece, nov 5-7 | 10. business trip to
new york, san jose and san francisco: united states, nov 9-14 |
11. snowboarding in val thorens: france, november 29-december 3 | 12. snowboarding in lake tahoe: united states, december 26 - january 5
2006 > 1. snowboarding @ kicking horse: golden, canada, jan 21 - feb 4 | 2. business trip to zürich: switzerland, march 1-2 | 3. chelsea arts club ice cricket tour: tallinn, estoni,: 2-5 march | 4. snowboarding in alpe d'huez : vaujany, france, march 10-13 | 5. snowboarding in alpe d'huez : vaujany, france, april 14-18 | 6. business trip: helsinki, finland, april 19-20 | 7. salix cricket club overseas tour to cote d'azur: france, april 21-24 | 8. weekend in sicily: italy, april 28-may 2 | 9. business trip: brussels, belgium, may 9-11 | 10. weekend in pisa and florence: italy, july 27-30 | 11. weekend in split: croatia, september 8-12 | 12. stockhom weekend: sweden, 19-22 october | 13. weekend in pula and opatija: croatia, 18-21 november | 14. snowboarding in val thorens: france, december 1-4
2005 > 1. Snowboarding in Geilo: Norway, January 21-23 | 2. Snowboarding @ Kicking Horse: Canada, February 5-19 | 3. Snowboarding in Les Arcs: France, February 25-27 | 4. Rome on Business: Italy, March 10-19 | 5. Paris Weekend: France, April 7-10 | 6. Snowboarding @ Zermatt: April 22-25 | 7. Vienna Weekend: Italy, 30 April - 2 May | 8. Business Trip to Crete, Greece: 17-21 May | 9. Chelsea Arts Club Cricket Tour: Cornwall, May 28-30 | 10. Chelsea Arts Club Cricket Tour: Wiltshire, June 4-6 | 11. Business Trip to Utrecht, Holland: July 4-5 | 12. Business Trip to Reykjavik, Iceland: July 6-7 | 13. Marstrand Weekend, Sweden: July 22-25 | 14. Tim & Meri's Wedding: USA, August 29 - September 11 | 15. Ljubljana Weekend, Slovenia: October 7-9 | 16. Val Thorens Snowboarding: France, December 2-5 | 17. Vaujany snowboarding: France, December 29 - January 2
2004 > 1. Chelsea Arts Club Cricket Tour: Malta, February 19-23 | 2. Snowboarding @ Kickinghorse: Canada, March 13-27 | 3. Snowboarding @ Zermatt: April 23-25 | 4. Queen's Day Festival: Holland, April 29-May 3 | 5. ECR Conference: Brussels, May 25-26 | 6. Chelsea Arts Club Cricket Tour: Cornwall, May 29-31 | 7. Tricon Company Visit: Traun, Austria, June 22-23 | 8. SAP Confernce: St. Leon Rot, Germany, June 28-29 | 9. Roskilde Festival: Denmark, July 1-4 | 10. Malmo Festival: Sweden, August 13-20 | 11. Budapest Weekend: Hungary, September 23-26 | 12. CIES Conference: Paris, October 6-8 | 13. JTI Company Visit: Luxembourg / Germany, October 14 | 14. IATA Conference: Geneva, November 17-18 | 15. Amsterdam Weekend: Holland, November 19-21 | 16. Val Thorens Snowboarding: France, December 2-5 |
| |
|
| board | ing:: |
banff | bansko | bear mountain | breckenridge | courchevel | courmayeur | engelberg | fernie | geilo | kicking horse | lake tahoe | meribel | powder springs | val thorens | zermatt |
| |
|
| lounge | ing:: |
buddha bar, paris | cafe psycho, paris | light bar, london |
| |
|
| thrill | ing:: |
antigravity hang gliding | dart river jet boat | kawarau bungy |
| |
|
| live | ing:: |
balham, london, united kingdom |
| |
|
| dine | ing:: |
mint leaf, london | the eagle's eye @ kickinghorse resort, golden, british columbia | the keg steakhouse, banff, alberta | thai edge, leeds |
| |
|
| drink | ing:: |
big rock traditional ale @ the eagle's eye, golden, british columbia | champagne @ home | corriander martini @ rockwell bar, london |
| |
|
| indulge | ing:: |
wish list | eden, rome | hilton arc de triomphe, paris | the scotsman, edinburgh | malmaison, edinburgh | design hotel astoria, opatija | kempinski, bansko |
| |
|
| appear | ing:: |
ask.com | chelsea arts club cc | computer weekly | e-life | fuji tv | google | gs-1 uk | intellect | it week | live search | microscope | netimperative | reuters | salix cc | vastra malardalens tv
|
| |
|
| see | ing:: |
2007 > england vs. india 1st test day 2 @ the lord's cricket ground, london: friday, 20 july | england vs. india 3rd test day 3 @ the oval, london: saturday, 11 aug | england vs. india 6th odi @ the oval, london: saturday, 5 sept | underworld @ the roundhouse, camden, london: wednesday, 17 oct
2006 > england vs. sri lanka 1st test day 3 @ the lord's cricket ground, london: saturday, 13 may | natwest series cricket england vs. sri lanka @ the lord's cricket ground, london: saturday, 17 june | pakistan vs. international xi charity twenty20 match @ the brit oval, london: tuesday, 10 july | red hot chili peppers @ earl's court, london: saturday, 15 july | red hot chili peppers @ earl's court, london: tuesday, 18 july | southwest four festival @ clapham common: saturday, 26 august
2005 > alanis morissette @ carling academy brixton, london: thursday, april 21 | chemical brothers @ carling academy brixton, london: thursday, may 26 | tsunami appeal cricket match at lord's cricket ground, london: tuesday 14 june | u2 at twickenham stadium, london: saturday 18 june | middlesex vs. surrey twenty20 cricket match at lord's cricket ground, london: tuesday 23 june | surrey vs. middlesex twenty20 cricket match at the oval cricket ground, london: tuesday 28 june | r.e.m. in hyde park, london: saturday 16 july | south west four festival in clapham common, london: saturday 27 august | get loaded in the park festival in clapham common, london: saturday 27 august | chemical brothers @ carling academy brixton, london: saturday, december 10 | fat boy slim @ carling academy brixton, london: saturday, december 17 |
| |
|
| blogroll | ing:: |
3 leaf | agile management | anil dash | arcinecht | artsjournal | awful plastic surgery | blahblahblog | brad delong | brand mantra | brandautopsy | buch@n | cool tools | cricketnext | cyberjournalist | dan bricklin log | dan gillmor ejournal | don box's sproutlet | drudge report | emedia tidbits | fast company now| flak magazine | fleshbot | geekfishing | going underground | guardian unlimited weblog | i am makiko | i want media | ideaflow | jupiter research analyst weblogs | l.a. observed | lessig blog | lost remote | low culture | magnetbox | michael gartenberg | microsoft bloggers | milkandcookies | mktg@msft | mutual marketing | neave rant | netfuture | nyclondon | om malik | p-i's microsoft blog | pogue's posts | ray ozzie's weblog | rebecca's pocket | sara williams | the big smoker | the daily flight | the mercury.stars | the paul wall | the risks digest | the scobleizer weblog | the spout | thoughtsonbusiness | truthout | user interface is an art | ventureblog | watching microsoft like a hawk | what do i know | when you have a minute | whitespace |
|
|
|
100 things we have learned from the Beijing Olympics
The Olympics have been a revelation in so many ways. This article from the Guardian mentions 100 things we have learned.
China asserted its management and governance skills (and near-unlimited resources and spending power) to put on an impeccable Games, clearly asserting its status to the world.
We also learned that Usain Bolt is a big cricket fan and that his hero is Australia's Matthew Hayden (who has promised send the human speeding bullet an autographed bat). We can only imagine what could have been had Usain taken up cricket and become a fast bowler for the suffering West Indies.
Britain surprised most -- not least the Aussies -- by demonstrating an unexpected level of sporting excellence and making the 4th place on the medals table, behind sporting superpowers China, the United States and Russia.
This bodes well for London 2012, which I am very excited about. It's probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the Olympic spectacle in my city.
Let's hope the Team GB sporting authorities don't fall into the British trap of complacency after such a spectacular performance this time around. Remember what happened to the England cricket team after the 2005 Ashes?Labels: cricket
Posted on: Sunday, August 24, 2008 | permalink
Wireless charging for devices becoming a reality?
I've been dreaming of a day when we could get rid of the wires needed to power laptops and other gadgets. That day is getting closer apparently, according to this article. It describes an experimental technology from Intel that uses a magnetic field and induction to broadcast up to 60 watts of power 2-3 feet.
The technology can be embedded in desks and shelves, and an appropriately-equipped device would charge itself without connecting to a wired power source. Now that our mobiles have Bluetooth and WiFi connectivity and our living rooms can have wireless networks and speakers, the days of the tangled wires seem to be numbered.
This development can bring about a step-change in consumer electronics. It also has eco-friendly ("green") implications, because the number of throw-away chargers heading to landfills could be cut significantly. On the negative side, are we ready to take on another source of potential radiation as well as signal interference?Labels: convergence, management, technology
Posted on: Friday, August 22, 2008 | permalink
Mis-managing Yahoo!
Here's a polar opposite perspective on management, as a follow up to my previous post on Google: The outspoken founder of the popular photo sharing website Flickr, which was bought by Yahoo! in 2005, recently commented that Yahoo is a poorly managed, short-termist company which is more focused on quarterly financial reports rather than on innovation and staff morale.
Google has the luxury of free cash flow to not worry (too much) about quarterly results and focus on (and invest in) strategic plays.
On the other hand, a company focusing so much on financials and traditional management, would at the very least be expected to run its shareholder meetings properly, particularly when the board is under attack. Yahoo's recent "tabulation error" of shifting 200 million votes to the "for" column from the "against" column does not bode well for its financial or process controls.
Counting errors matter in business as well as in politics. Luckily, in business the management, and particularly the board, can be held directly responsible.Labels: management, media, technology
Posted on: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 | permalink
Managing Google
Simon Caulkin, the Management Editor of The Observer, has a piece titled "How to make $4bn without really managing" on Google's management practices. His main take is that Google does not apply traditional management practices, abhors people with "traditional" management experience and places innovation, talent and group-think (my term) as its priorities.
Having a monopoly position in a category that is synonymous with the company, and the associated cash position this brings, certainly allows Google to experiment and indulge as others simply cannot. This not something that can be replicated easily elsewhere. From what I hear from insiders, the troops are yearning for some management, especially in the middle manager and lower ranks. It will be interesting to see how time, market pressures and the ever-increasing numbers of staff affect Google's management ethos.Labels: management, media, technology
Posted on: Monday, July 28, 2008 | permalink
What's next for Wii?
The BBC website has a video interview with Nintendo's president Satoru Iwata, where he reflects on the company's decision to buck the trend of hardware-based, hardcore gamer-focused competition to the mass market, software title-driven strategy which has paid off so successfully. What Nintendo has done is an excellent case study for thinking "outside of the box."
He does acknowledge that the hard core of gamers have been starved of titles on the Wii, but says that these titles have longer development cycles and would be addressed within the next 2-3 years.
Also noteworthy, much of the innovation comes from the company itself -- the new Wii MotionPlus is an example. Nintendo needs to keep up the momentum and innovation, particularly by getting 3rd parties to develop for the Wii platform.Labels: convergence, management, media, technology
Posted on: Friday, July 18, 2008 | permalink
Seven types of brands
A brand consultancy has categorised popular brands into 7 types based on how they will perform in a down market. Typical of a brand consultancy, they have branded the 7 types as 'Modern Classics', 'Dominators', 'New Heroes', 'Wallpaper', 'Icons', 'Nadir' and 'Reinvention'. It's fun to guess which brands fit into which. 'Dominators' include Tesco, Ikea and Starbucks, while 'Wallpapers' include Dixons, KFC and Woolworths. I would have thought these categorisations are relevant even in the context of 'normal' market conditions.Labels: management
Posted on: Thursday, July 17, 2008 | permalink
Internet addiction is an illness?
Netaddiction.com has a psychiatrist-developed internet addiction test made up of 20 multiple-choice questions, including:
- How often do you find yourself anticipating when you will go on-line again?
- How often does your job performance or productivity suffer because of the Internet?
- How often do you block out disturbing thoughts about your life with soothing thoughts of the Internet?
This test would be another funny internet diversion, but for the serious attention internet addiction is now getting. The American Journal of Psychiatry has an editorial in its March 2008 issue recommending that this is a disorder that should be added to the official list of mental illnesses.
As the most wired country on earth, South Korea seems to be by far the leading nation of internet addicts per capita, with most addicted to internet gaming. The country even runs boot camps to cure internet addiction, which is no surprise given online gaming is a professional sport there. Star players are treated like rock stars, with the attendant entourages and groupies.
As gaming is not as big in Europe and the United States (yet), the corresponding addiction is more likely to be on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, gambling, online dating or pornography.
Experts say the first step to shaking the addiction is to join a self-help group. An offline one, I assume.Labels: media, technology
Posted on: Monday, March 24, 2008 | permalink
"Pirate" snowboarders on camera
Burton announced the winners of the "poaching" contest which they sponsored. The videos of "pirate" snowboarders riding three resorts which ban them (Mad River Glen in Vermont, plus Alta and Deer Valley in Utah) are a fun viewing.
In one clip, there's a great sequence of a snowboarder and skier heading down the mountain holding hands, to the soundtrack of "Why Can't Be Friends".
Having recently been to Alpine Meadows in Lake Tahoe, I am glad they opened up the resort to boarders a few years ago. These mountains have plenty of good snow to go around and the commercial drivers are getting more and more difficult ignore. I suspect at least one of the the remaining three will give in soon (probably one of the two in Utah). The others are likely to keep going, catering to the skier-only crowd as their (singular) unique proposition.Labels: snowboarding, travel
Posted on: Saturday, March 22, 2008 | permalink
Moving closer to "equal snow"
I am writing this while sitting in Reno airport (taking advantage of their free wireless network), on my way back to London after a week of awesome boarding in Lake Tahoe. I'll upload some pictures to Kulworld and onto Facebook after I get home.
One of the topics of conversation on the trip was how some resorts are getting on with their ban on snowboarders. While checking my RSS feeds just now, I noticed these two interesting articles:
The Boston Globe covers Jake Burton's offer to pay cash rewards to anyone who uploads video clips of snowboarders riding in banned resorts like Alta or Mad River Glen.
Wall Street Journal does an economic analysis around such bans, especially since Taos in New Mexico has decided to rescind its ban on snowboarders.
How long before the others follow? Or will they? Or will resorts "cordon off" areas by giving easier access to skiiers, for example by putting button lifts and t-bars dreaded by snowboarders?Labels: snowboarding, travel
Posted on: Saturday, January 05, 2008 | permalink
Season's Greetings
Hope everyone is having an enjoyable festive season. As the caption in the photo says: "There is always time to dream and to be happy. This is the time to do it."
For those of you wondering, I took this photo in Val Thorens, France, during the early season snowboarding trip in late November. I gave it a bit of lovin' in my favourite graphics app to get the captions, signature and the look and feel in, although I have not re-touched the scene itself. This ended up being my greeting card to friends and family this year. (Click the picture to open up a larger version.)
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!
Posted on: Monday, December 24, 2007 | permalink
Where to go in 2008
I'm wondering where the PAR...TAY trips should take the crew in the New Year. According to the New York Times, Laos is the no. 1 place to visit. The top 5 is made up of Lisbon, Tunisia, Mauritius, and Mid-Beach, Miami. Have look at the reasoning and the rest of the list in the NYT's The 53 Places to Go In 2008.Labels: travel
Posted on: Sunday, December 23, 2007 | permalink
Sri Lanka's cricketing purple patch
It has been a thrilling cricketing fortnight for Sri Lanka. Beating England in the 1st Test was more or less a given, so the other achievements from this Test are more notable:
- Muttiah Muralitharan became the highest wicket taker in Test cricket history, displacing the retired Aussie great, Shane Warne. Many feel that Murali will go onto take 1000 Test wickets. If achieved, I think it will be difficult to surpass his record in a generation. Unsurprisingly, he continues to be number 1 in the world Test bowling rankings.
- Kumar Sangakkara displaced Australia's Ricky Ponting as No 1 in the world Test batting rankings. Sangakkara's numbers have been truly impressive in 2007. His 921 runs have come at an outstanding average of 184.20, with 2 more Tests against England in Sri Lanka remaining.
- Sanath Jayasuriya, the masterblaster commonly credited for changing the face of the one-day cricket with his World Cup winning top order batting in 1996, called it quits from Tests. He intends to contribute more to the one-day game before retiring altogether.
Two Sri Lankans at the top of the ICC rankings is a very special achievement, which may again be difficult to match in a generation once these three aging stars (plus the current Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene) move on. As former captain Arjuna Ranatunga continues to warn, Sri Lanka needs to urgently develop a new generation of champions, before one day these glories eventually become mere memories of bygone glory days.Labels: cricket
Posted on: Sunday, December 09, 2007 | permalink
Ten habits of incompetent managers
"Legendary ad man David Ogilvy argued that a good decision today is worth far more than a perfect decision next month," writes Margaret Heffernan in Fast Company. So, inaction, or "bias against action" as she puts it, is one of the habits to watch out for. Here's the full list:
- Bias against action
- Secrecy
- Over-sensitivity
- Love of procedure
- Preference for weak candidates
- Focus on small tasks
- Allergy to deadlines
- Inability to hire former employees
- Addiction to consultants
- Long hours
Although I mildly dispute the second to last on the list (sic), the core of her argument is spot on. Well worth reading the article for her explanation of each.Labels: management
Posted on: Wednesday, December 05, 2007 | permalink
HP and Burton hit the "pow" together
I love it when my interests + passions collide. HP has somehow convinced Burton (the snowboarding colossus) to be featured on HP's new "What do you have to say?" marketing campaign. The Burton microsite on HP's website has some great snowboarding videos and lots of insider views of Burton and its history. It tries to demonstrate how HP is supporting Burton with maintaining the visuals-heavy brand.
For example, HP's large format printers are used to quickly generate mock-ups of board graphics, which is cutting concept-to-market process times. Board visuals from the 1977 Fiberglass Prototype to the 2007 Jeremy Jones 59 are not only a visual feast, they also show how board forms have evolved. There is also a slide bar showing Burton stickers from years ago, with the explanation that HP allows Burton's in-house design team develop and produce these stickers themselves.
I think HP has missed a trick by not creating a facility on the microsite for bloggers to embed some of these videos on their blog posts. I would have put some of the snowboarding clips here. A free viral-advertising opportunity lost.Labels: management, snowboarding, technology
Posted on: Wednesday, November 28, 2007 | permalink
Early snow!
I've booked 3 snowboarding trips for the upcoming season so far: Val Thorens, Lake Tahoe and Kicking Horse.
The early reports from the resorts in the Alps and North America are promising, according to the Ski Club of Great Britain. The pic at the left is from Val Thorens from 3 days ago. Apparently, Zermatt has already been open, with 6 working pistes. Let's hope the conditions are an early indicator of a bumper powder season.Labels: snowboarding, travel
Posted on: Saturday, October 06, 2007 | permalink
Quoted in today's IT Week
I am quoted in today's IT Week, in an article about Microsoft's recently announced Startup Accelerator Programme.
I'm disappointed my voice didn't convince the journalist that I'm a male, though! I suspect her original copy said "he added" in this sentence:
"... Vendors are tending to hire individual developers or use small companies to innovate, rather than do it themselves, she added." Some punctilious editor probably changed it to "she" based on my first name. Amusing.Labels: management, technology
Posted on: Friday, October 05, 2007 | permalink
Will the Barmy Army drink Sri Lanka dry again?
The Telegraph has an excellent article titled "Sri Lanka: cricket, Buddhas and beyond" looking at what the country has to offer to the visiting cricket fans from England (and their partners often termed "the cricket widows") beyond the sport itself. It gives good tips on places to stay, eat and drink, covering the 3 Test venues of Kandy, Colombo and Galle. A good source of ideas for my next trip home.
I especially enjoyed this comment from the chairman of the Sri Lanka Tourist Board: "In 2001, when the Barmy Army [as the England cricket fan club is known] first came here, we had two days when we ran out of beer in this country. But this time we will be ready for them."Labels: cricket, travel
Posted on: Saturday, September 29, 2007 | permalink
The fake Steve Jobs blog
The tagline of this humorous site says it all: "Dude, I invented the friggin I Phone. Have you heard of it?" Check it out: The Secret Diary of Steve Jobs. Fake Steve even has a Cafe Press shop.Labels: management, media, technology
Posted on: Saturday, July 21, 2007 | permalink
Irrational exuberence of private equity?
Time magazine believes that the leveraged buyout market is near its top. In an article titled "A Private-Equity Peak?", Janet Morrissey suggests that the move by Blackstone and others to go public and the recent tendency by firms to encroach on each others' deals throwing aside the alleged gentleman's agreement among firms, indicate that the ride is coming to an end. Blackstone wants to cash in at the top, while firms are jumping on other firms' deals because M&A candidates are becoming scarcer and private equity houses are still sitting on piles of cash they want to invest.
Just before the dot-com crash, annual deals in the US alone topped USD 1.5 trillion. As of early July 2007, US M&A volume has already totaled USD 1.17 trillion, presaging a record full year. Not all M&A activity in these figures are driven by PE houses, however they are clearly contributing to the accelerated deal volumes.
Although not mentioned in the article, recent political examination of favourable tax treatment of private equity deal-makers and the public backlash is also likely to contribute to the eventual reversal of the trend.
I was first involved in a private equity deal when I led a technical due diligence on a EUR 12 billion deal in Italy in 2005. The intense deal design and diligence periods of these transactions are thrilling, and I have been involved in several others since then. I better get involved in a few more of them before it is too late.Labels: management
Posted on: Saturday, July 21, 2007 | permalink
The history of Ceylonese cricket
Himal, the learned South Asian magazine, has a cover article this month on the history of Sri Lankan cricket.
Confronted with headlines these days, one might well ask: Is there more to sport in South Asia than cricket? We were sure there must be. After all, hockey is the national game in both India and Pakistan, as volleyball is in Sri Lanka.
Volleyball? I did not know that in 1991 the Sri Lankan government had decreed that volleyball would be the national sport. We all know that in reality, cricket is the reigning sport, surrounded by a near-religious fervor and following.
The history of the sport in the country, as described by Michael Roberts, in "The Ceylonese origins of Lankan cricket" is a good read. It brought back memories of playing cricket on street corners with tennis balls; of the annual "Big Matches" between my school, Ananda College, and our archenemies, Nalanda College; as well as the World Cup victory of 1996.Labels: cricket, travel
Posted on: Saturday, July 07, 2007 | permalink
From dot-com to watt-com
It seems "green envy" is everywhere these days. The International Herald Tribune seems to have coined a term for the green technology hype in a recent article: "Silicon Valley's dot-com era may be giving way to the watt-com era." Like it.Labels: management, technology
Posted on: Monday, June 25, 2007 | permalink
Alternative London 2012 logo
The unveiling of the logo for the London Olympic and Paralympic Games has been met with a lot of ridicule. The BBC website has a collection of user-generated logos that range from good to terrible, and some are humourous. Item 11 was submitted by a friend of mine.Labels: media
Posted on: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 | permalink
Photos from Lake Garda and Verona
I've created two photo albums from the Easter weekend trip to Lake Garda and Verona.
We stayed in the village of Salo on Lake Garda, and made day trips to Sirmionie, Riva and Malcesine, three other villages on the lake. We also went to Verona one day and visited Juliet's balcony and her tomb. The food and wine were impeccable and enjoyed typically warm, sunny days. A good way to spend the 4-day Easter weekend!
I came to the realisation that flying Ryanair and Easyjet just for the sake of cheap seats is no longer for me. The baggage and excess weight charges, transfer costs to non-central airports, passenger demographics, unfathomable inflight announcements, arrival bottlenecks at Luton and Stansted.... Enough said. I have made a pact with myself to avoid these two airlines and airports as much as I can from now on.Labels: photography, travel
Posted on: Monday, April 09, 2007 | permalink
Indian cricket fans "love to love Sri Lanka"
In India's Daily News & Analysis, Suresh Menon writes that Indians are supporiting Sri Lanka to win the World Cup, as they did in 1996 after Sri Lanka's victory against the hosts in the semi-finals. This time around, Sri Lanka knocked India out of the tournament even earlier.
Why do we love to love Sri Lanka? The answer is — like Sri Lanka’s cricket — simplicity itself. A bunch of talented players come together as a team, with a heightened sense of their place in the scheme of things.
There are a couple of superstars, but they are focused on geeing up the team rather than calculating by how much a six or a wicket enhances their value in the endorsement market. As the team went out to field against the West Indies, the most animated pep talk came from Muttiah Muralitharan. He could so easily have cocooned himself, kept aloof. Yet here he was, as excited as a kid making his debut. It is a rare spirit.
The simplicity extends to their game too. There are only two types of batsmen — those who describe lovely arcs, usually over the boundary, and those whose batsmanship is made up of straight lines and high elbows. The bowlers have pace and cunning, or spin and cunning. And the wicket keeper is a weapon of mass destruction as he showed when he stumped Brian Lara off the medium pacer Chaminda Vaas or ran out batsmen by converting good throws into great ones.
As feel-good as this sentiment is, I'm a bit concerned that there are too many expectations on Sri Lanka meeting Australia in the finals. There is still a long way to go. New Zealand, in particular, is a dark horse in my mind. Sri Lanka lost to South Africa a couple of games ago, and it's good to get the blip out of the way early on. I don't think Sri Lanka will lose to South Africa if they met again during the remainder of the tournament.
As West Indies captain Brian Lara said after being thoroughly outplayed by Sri Lanka in the recent Super 8 clash, "They've got to take that form further into the tournament, they've still got to play Australia and New Zealand and these top teams, so then you'll get a measure of exactly where they are."
Of course, my emotional vote (and a bit of a stake) are on Sri Lanka to win th whole thing.Labels: cricket
Posted on: Tuesday, April 03, 2007 | permalink
Photos from Bansko
I've posted a few photos from the excellent trip to the Bansko ski resort in Bulgaria. We stayed at the luxurious Kempinski hotel and spa on the slopes and got the best powder conditions I've ever had on our last day there. I'll definitely go back to the resort and the hotel.Labels: snowboarding, travel
Posted on: Sunday, April 01, 2007 | permalink
Is it OK to go skiing?
For many snow fans, the answer is probably "it depends." Nevertheless, I am excited for this weekend's trip to Bulgaria's Bansko resort for 3 days of snowboarding. We are looking forward to "large-ing" it at a 5-star hotel and spa at the resort. Even if there isn't much snow, it is bound to be a good time.
Back on the green agenda, Eurostar was quick to market its environmentally more friendly train services from the UK to the slopes of France.
"Detailed independent research commissioned by Eurostar has shown that a passenger travelling on a return Eurostar journey from London to the French Alps generates 24 kilograms of CO2. In comparison a passenger on a typical London Heathrow-Geneva return flight generates 191 kilograms of CO2, while a typical round trip between Gatwick and Geneva generates 169 kilograms of CO2 per passenger." [my emphasis]
Regardless of how cynical I am of research sponsored by a company standing to benefit from the results, the quantification is useful. Eurostar is actually quite convenient, assuming you want to go skiing in the French Alps, and your schedule fits with Eurostar's service to the slopes.
In the Guardian, Richard Hammond asked the same question at the start of the season, without a providing definitive answer. I suspect we'll have to enjoy our ski holidays with a certain amount of guilt, and perhaps adjusting in other ways, including picking resorts in the Green Resort Guide.Labels: outdoors, snowboarding, travel
Posted on: Monday, March 19, 2007 | permalink
Cricket correspondents, reviewed
Tim de Lisle from Cricinfo has done an amusing article for The Independent (titled "Laptop Before Wicket"), where he profiles the cricket writers of British newspapers. A fun read.Labels: cricket
Posted on: Monday, March 12, 2007 | permalink
How far will Sri Lanka go in this year's cricket World Cup?
Cricket Web does a good team analysis and decides that Sri Lanka will go out in the semi-finals, as they did in the World Cup held in South Africa three years ago. The Guardian shares this view, hedging: "Sri Lanka will expect to reach the semi-finals, at least."
On the other hand, if the statistics of their last 20 one-day games continue to hold in the World Cup, I won't be surprised if Sri Lanka makes it to the finals. Those stats, compiled by Cricinfo, show that Sri Lanka typically gets off to excellent starts, both in terms of average runs per wicket and scoring rate. So, even if the opposition is equal in scoring in later stages of a game, Sri Lanka tends to win with upper order success.
Even though Sri Lanka lost by 18 runs to New Zealand in yesterday's warm up match, young opener Upul Tharanga got a century. Veteran Sanath Jayasuria was rested for this game. He should be back relaxed and ready take on the World Cup stage, which made him a legend through Sri Lanka's win in 1996, in large part due to his inventive blasting at the top of the order during the tournament.Labels: cricket
Posted on: Saturday, March 10, 2007 | permalink
Apple's Lisa ad from 1983
I came across this great scan of a 9-page Esquire magazine spread from 1983 run by Apple to introduce the Lisa! It proudly announces 1MB of internal memory and a 5MB ProFile hard disk!Labels: media, technology
Posted on: Friday, March 09, 2007 | permalink
A site with good user-generated snowboarding videos
GrindTV has a good collection of videos uploaded by users. In addition to snowboarding, there are also categories including surf, skate, wind, wake and more. Almost a one-stop shop for videos of hip outdoor pursuits (and people, of course).Labels: outdoors, snowboarding
Posted on: Monday, March 05, 2007 | permalink
More social networking for Cisco
After getting its feet wet with the Five Across acquisition, Cisco has now announced that it will be purchasing the technology platform behind one of the early social networking sites, Tribe.net.
Regardless of Cisco's ambition to get into the consumer space, I think this is more a technology play than a direct entry into consumer social networking. They will probably strip out and embed the technology (mostly software) into their solutions (products), starting with enterprise network hardware like firewalls.
Although a lot questions will be asked about what Cisco is doing with social media, I think this fits well into their visions around "intelligence in the network" as well as the "human network". We'll have to wait and see what these acquisitions morph into.Labels: convergence, management, media, technology
Posted on: Sunday, March 04, 2007 | permalink
Anticipating cheaper flights between the UK and the US
The Open Skies Agreement which was finally ironed out by the EU and the US will no doubt mean increased competition for flights across the Pond. "Price war looms over flights to New York," was one of the most popular articles on The Times of London's website over the last 24 hours.
There are two key reasons for the expected increased competition. First is the removal of the monopoly held by a cartel of four airlines (British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines and United) at Heathrow Airport. Given over 40% of flights from Europe to the Americas take off from Heathrow, allowing other airlines to offer transatlantic flights should lead to a price drop. bmi (British Midland) is expected to be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
The second reason is the US will now allow up to 49% foreign ownership of US-based airlines. The Times reports that Virgin, Easyjet and Rya | |
