15 seconds of fame

Recently whilst I was writing some essays which required me to do some deep introspection I remembered a really funny incident that happened during my school years.This happened in the 8th standard. My class had earned the tag of being the naughtiest in the school that year. One of the teachers - the history teacher -was particularly very angry with us because of our repeated misdeameanors and inattentiveness.  Therefore one day she declared that she's going to take a oral test of all the completed chapters in the next lecture and anybody who could not answer any question would be taken to the Principal's office. I was spooked. The head master was a scary man with a reputation for getting violent with disobedient students. So immediately after the class I started mugging up the answers which the teacher herself had dictated and which I had obediently copied down in my notebook.

I kept memorising and revising the answers throughout the week and next week as expected she walked in to the class her face like thunder. Then, she started calling out students asking them, even challenging them to answer one random question. 4 students had been called up and nobody could answer a particular question. Next she asked me to answer. I stood up and sincerely repeated the answer which was by then I think imprinted on my brain word for word.  The class was shocked. I was shocked. She was flabbergasted.

The reason behind this was my reputation for being shy and reticent in the class and not taking part in any class discussions. Finally, after few moments of pin-drop silence she commended me thinking - Oh this guy can talk! She however pardoned the others who could not answer with only a warning which made me feel really stupid. Apparently most of the others had not even taken the effort to read any of the answers as they knew she would not go through with her threat. But however I did get my 15 seconds of fame.

FC Barcelona = Arsenal FC + Trophies

Incredible! I exclaimed as I watched Barcelona trash Shakhtar Donetsk 5—1 at the Nou Camp in the Champions League Quarter Final match on April 6th. All due respect to Shakhtar, but they were no match for Barcelona and were, like the rest of us, left mesmerised by the scintillating football that their talented opponents dished out.

Five fantastic goals. Each of them can be described as exquisite masterpieces of a brilliant artist. I am a fan of Barcelona’s football. I am also a supporter of Arsenal, their English counterparts. But Arsenal have not been able to achieve what Barcelona has. They have not won as many trophies. Their problem is that they just don't have the final product. They play well. They threaten. They deceive. But they don't finish their opponents off even after having them at their mercy.

Image Courtesy: www.atacmag.com

Let us consider the principal reason why Arsenal have won many fans all over the world in the last few years. The answer is obvious; it is due to their brand of exciting and attacking football. Even the recently axed Chelsea manager, Carlo Ancelloti, has said that he admires the way Arsenal play, but with no trophies (in the last six years!) to show for their efforts they have let their fans down time and again.

Barcelona also play in a similar way or to quote Real Madrid legend Alfred Di Stefano, “Barcelona treat the ball with respect, adoration; they almost pamper it."And they have won nine trophies (including the 2011 Spanish league) in the last three years itself to boot. Thus, if Arsenal are credited for  promoting this enthralling brand of football, Barcelona must be praised for mastering it and showing the world how to win using it. It would not be unfair to say that Barca epitomise all that fans could have ever hoped Arsenal to be.

What's the difference between the two sides you ask? Well to tell you the truth, buddy, there are numerous differences. First of all, most of the players in Barcelona’s team have already proven themselves at the international level, whereas Arsenal rely more on talented but inexperienced players, who are young and still finding their way.

Second of all, Barcelona have Lionel Messi.

Third of all, Barcelona’s management have taken much better decisions compared to those of Arsenal’s. To play the beautiful game in the beautiful way, a team needs the right kind of players. And Barca have an almost invincible side, apart from Messi, they boast of many Spanish world champions in their ranks including Andres Iniesta and David Villa. They also do not shy away from loosening their purse strings, as and when required, to buy special players, unlike Arsenal who are thrifty, and at times, downright parsimonious. I also feel Arsenal should make it a priority to have a significant number of native, i.e. in their case british, players in their side.

As both clubs are proponents of attractive football, I wish both Arsenal and Barcelona the best for the future. But the present, of course, belongs to the latter. El fantastico Barca!

New style of writing

 

The above image taken from a popular youtube video shows a very peculiar style of writing. Probably unnoticed by all, but not me \m/ and Woah! I tried to write like that but found it very very difficult! This is how I write :

But of course, most of us right-handed writers rightly write the right way, right?

One in 7 billion; More than 1 person is born every second.

STATEMENT:
More than 1 person is born every second.

PROOF:
Do you know what the population of the world is today ie 2nd April 2011(this is concerning humans only btw)?
6,909,654,140 ie 6.9 billion ie 690 crores

What is the projected population at 2050?
Between 8 -10 billion ie 800 - 1000 crores!

Now let us assume that the world population of the world is 9 billion in 2050.
Net addition between 2011 and 2050: 9 -6.9 = 2.1 billion
Average addition every year: 2,100,000,000/ 39 =  53,846,000 ie 53.85 million
Number of seconds in a year: 365*24*60*60 =  31,53,6000 ie 31.54 million
Therefore, Average addition of humans per second = 53.85/31.54 = 1.7
But,
Net addition of humans per sec = Number of births per sec(b) - Number of deaths per sec(d)
                            1.7   = b - d
                            b      = 1.7 + d
                            b   >  1.7 ( we know that d > 0 )

Thus, we can conclude more than 1 person is born every second on an average.

FUN FACTS: 
1. If you had to shake hands with every person in the world and assuming you would take only take 1 second to shake hands with each person, you would have to be immortal and live for another 6.9 billion seconds ie 219 years!
2.Bill Gates who has a total net worth of $56 billion(2011) can afford to give every person on the earth $7 and still be left with a fortune of around $7 billion.
3.Our very own Mukesh Ambani is not doing too bad either. He has a net worth of  $27 billion(2011) and can be generous enough to give each person $3 and still be left with a princely sum which would be greater than $6 billion
4.To convert from million/billion US $ to crore Indian Rupee the formula is 
            1 million US $ = 4.4 crores INR (as of April 2011)
            1 billion US $  = 4400 crores INR
5. Per the recent census in 2011 India's population has increased to 1.2 billion per the latest census conducted in 2011 which means that 17% of the world is Indian.
6. This post has been structured in the same way that my mathematics teacher Mrs.Lata taught me to write proofs.

REFERENCES:
1.Forbes billionaires list 2011: http://www.forbes.com/2011/03/09/billionaires-20-richest_slide.html
2.US and World Population Clock:http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html
3.Yahoo currency converter: http://in.finance.yahoo.com/currencies/converter/#from=USD;to=INR;amt=1
4.NDTV: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNKy85-yypA&feature=player_embedded

Fernando Torres worth more than Blackburn Rovers FC

Top Recent Football Transfers [1] [2] :

Cristiano Ronaldo - £80 milllion (From Manchester United FC to Real Madrid FC)
Zaltan Ibrahimovic - £60.1 million (From Inter Milan FC to Barcelona FC)
Kaka -  £56 million (From AC Milan FC to Real Madrid FC)
Fernando Torres -  £50 million (From Liverpool FC to Chelsea FC)
Andy Carroll   -  £35 million (From Newcastle United FC to Liverpool FC)
Blackburn Rovers FC  - £23 million (From Jack Walker Trust to Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group)

Thats right, Blackburn Rovers club was sold to Venky's for only £23 million. Which means Andy Carroll alone is worth more than the entire Blackburn Rovers team and stadium and facilities! Torres alone is worth more than two BRFCs!! And Cristiano is worth more than three!!!

Blackburn Rover FC's stadium - Ewood Park

Torres with his new club's jersey

REFERENCES:
[1] Telegraph : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/blackburn-rovers/8146709/Venkys-complete-takeover-of-Blackburn-Rovers.html
[2] Soccerlens : http://soccerlens.com/top-10-most-expensive-transfers-in-football/5244/

Man v. Woman : The battle continues

View: Woman is equal to man
We all know how women have been discriminated against for years in India. Although times have changed,the skewed sex ratio of India in favour of men still stands as an unfortunate and unpleasant reminder. Infact with women so less in number, alarm bells were ringing that many prospective grooms out there will have to remain without a bride. Things are improving. For one, Sati has been abolished. Dowries after marriage are dwindling as a standard practice. Sex determination before birth has been made illegal. Reservation for women in colleges and government jobs have been put in place. Emergence of women success stories like Indra Nooyi, Kiran Bedi, Sania Mirza ,more recently Saina Nehwal and not to mention innumerable bollywood stars will provide additional succour.Urbanisation has opened up people minds. Literacy rate has also been increasing which will only help drive away this stupid superstition that men are boon and women are bane. With India's GDP growing at a superfast 8% per annum, it bodes well for the fight against all the factors mentioned above and hence for women in general.

Counterview:Man is equal to woman
Believe me, the above line is correct. Arre sachi yaar. Men can do what women can!(professionally ie). Not only are women the fairer sex, they are also the further sex! Its men who need some help now! Ok let me elaborate a bit. You see after my 12th i got admission into a decent government college in Mumbai. When I saw the allocation list, I found that quite a few seats were reserved for women. I hear jobs in government offices are reserved for women. Well atleast that is mentioned on paper. I tell you that many jobs in the (completely unreserved) private sector are also reserved for women. I got first hand knowledge of this when I got a job in a reputed MNC after my graduation. There were many girls there who were hired just becoz they were well...girls and if they were pretty it works even more in their favour. Oh dont believe me? There is a all-girl college in Rajasthan where a significant number of girls themselves will vouch for this.The company was also hell bent on increasing the proportion of women in the workplace. Apart from this there are many males out there who automatically give girls preferential treatment for reasons they themselves know best. Yeh sab toh chod,one fine day while going to college I had missed my daily train and so jumped blindly into the next one that came. I got kicked out (ouch) because it was a ladies local!Well girls I am sure you deserve all these things! But please keep the injustice that is meted out to men in mind. Equality is what you wanted isn't it?