tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66368087979272341832024-03-19T01:46:26.422-07:00Shoot the BreezeI Left My Heart in San FranciscoSGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.comBlogger615125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-17563841693457866002024-03-15T13:13:00.000-07:002024-03-15T13:13:07.741-07:00Juicy Court Case<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Donald Trump is facing many court cases as a result of his disagreement with the 2020 Presidential election results. They are: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Classified Document Case – Trump is charged with taking secret classified documents with him when he left office in 2021. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Election Interference – Trump is charged with instigating his supporters to protest at the Capitol building (Parliament) challenging the election results. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">On the above 2 cases, Trump is pleading Presidential Immunity. That is, he is absolutely immune from any law suit while in office. The prosecutors rejected this argument. They asked the supreme court to rule. The SC refused and asked them to go thru court of appeals. The court of appeals rejected Trump’s claim.
Now Trump has appealed this to the Supreme Court and they said they will hear his case. (Remember Supreme Court has 6 to 3 judges in favor of Trump.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now for the juicy court case. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">State of Georgia – Trump and 18 others have charged with violating the state’s anti-racketeering law by scheming to illegally overturn his 2020 election loss. Miss Fani Willis is the District Attorney (Public Prosecutor) handling the case. She appointed in 2022 a special prosecutor named Nathan Wade to be the lead prosecutor to handle this case. Mr. Wade was paid $650,000 for this. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One of the defendants’ lawyers filed a motion with the judge that Willis had an improper and clandestine relationship with Wade and demanded all charges against her client be dropped.
That lawyer argued that Willis should be disqualified from the case because “the district attorney chose to appoint her romantic partner.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Willis admitted her romantic relationship with Wade but said it happened after she appointed Wade in 2022. But the opposition lawyer filed that the romance began in 2019 and she knowingly appointed her romantic partner in 2022 and paid him $650,000. The lawyer claimed they took trips out of the country and cruise. Willis testified that she reimbursed Wade for her portion of the expenses thru cash and other means. (I wonder what other means mean) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The judge gave his ruling today. Either Willis or Wade withdraw from the case. This will help Trump because when his trial begins along with 18 others, their lawyers will bring up this case again and again in front of a jury. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Latest news. Special Prosecutor and boyfriend Wade resigned.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-76119932733047688232024-03-02T20:43:00.000-08:002024-03-02T20:43:52.948-08:00Strange but True<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A friend of mine used to go to his uncle’s home in a village to spend his summer vacation. There were about 15 of his cousins spending the summer vacation there. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They had a huge backyard with lots of trees. Mainly coconut trees. Plus a few others like many vegetables, curry leaves tree, banana trees, orange trees, and a lone tall jackfruit tree (in Tamil Palaappazha maram). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Even though everything was producing results, the jackfruit tree was not producing any result. It has been there for more than 10 years. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One day, the aunt called my friend and asked him to do a favor. She asked him to get naked and go to the backyard and hug the jackfruit tree and come back. My friend said what the heck are you talking about. I will not do that. But the aunt begged him and since he loved his aunt, he said I will do this on 2 conditions. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I will do this when no one is home. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You should never ever tell anyone I did this. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Auntie agreed. One day auntie sent all the other cousins to a movie in a nearby town. My friend undressed, got naked, went to the backyard, hugged the jackfruit tree for just a second, came back home and got dressed. The whole episode took less than 30 seconds.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> Auntie never talked about this incident to anyone. No one else knew. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bingo, from next year onwards, that jackfruit tree gave at least 10 to 15 fruits every year for the next several years. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Is this a coincidence or is this a strange phenomenon!</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-30779878756689245752024-02-24T17:11:00.000-08:002024-02-24T17:25:48.438-08:00Republican Primary Update<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So far, there have been primary election in 3 States. Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. Donald Trump trounced his opponents in all 3 states. There were only 3 people contesting against Trump. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vivek Ramaswamy – withdrew from the contest after the Iowa primary and gave full support to Trump. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ron DeSantis – withdrew from the contest after the New Hampshire primary. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nikki Haley – South Carolina is her home state. She was a popular Governor of that state. But Donald Trump trounced her today by a margin of 60% to 40%. Nikki does not want to quit. She wants to fight Trump in the coming primaries. Next primary is on March 5. It is called Super Tuesday. 15 States and one union territory will be voting. It looks like Trump will be the victor on Super Tuesday also. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mr. Trump says he is considering 6 people for the Vice President slot. Two of them are Vivek Ramaswamy and Tulsi Gabbard. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tulsi was a Democrat and resigned from that party in 2022. With the name “Tulsi”, lot of people think she is of Indian origin. She is not. She is an American Samoan born and brought up in Hawaii. Tulsi is a vegetarian and a practicing Hindu. She is a combat veteran holding the rank of Lt.Col. Well liked by people in both parties. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stay tuned for Super Tuesday.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-85855179748783747972024-02-14T13:44:00.000-08:002024-02-14T13:44:22.675-08:00Yogi's Quotes<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I was reading a news item that said: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“This application is déjà vu all over again”. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is one of the famous quotes by Yogi Berra. He was the Manager for the New York Yankees, a professional baseball team. But Yogi Berra was more famous for his quotes, ala, Rajni Kanth quotes. I don’t know if I wrote a blog post about Yogi’s quotes or not. Anyhow, here are some of his famous quotes. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It ain’t over till it’s over. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You can observe a lot just by watching. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He must have made that movie before he died (referring to an actor). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I knew I was going to take the wrong train, so I left early. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Baseball is 90% mental – other half is physical. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I take a 2-hour nap – from 1 o’clock to 4 o’clock. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You should always go to the other people’s funerals, otherwise, they won’t come to yours. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If the fans don’t come out to the ball park, you can’t stop them. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And finally, my favorite: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yogi goes to a pizza corner and ordered a pizza. The waiter asked if Yogi wants him to make 6 slices or 8 slices of the pizza. Yogi said: I am very hungry and so make it 8 slices.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-15301230790552840912024-01-24T15:08:00.000-08:002024-01-24T15:09:45.394-08:00War Over Tea<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It is after all just tea. Can a war break out between 2 countries? That too between USA and England? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was already a problem with USA and England. On December 16, 1773, Boston citizens, angry over imposing taxation without representation, dumped several bags of tea imported by British East India Company into the harbor. That was called “The Boston Tea Party”. This was the first major act of defiance to the British rule by the Americans. This rallied the Americans to fight for independence from the British. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Americans did not get independence from the British. They kicked the British out of their country and declared independence. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now another brouhaha is happening over tea between USA and England. A Chemistry Professor in USA advised adding a pinch of salt to cups of tea. She also encouraged drinkers to steep their tea quickly by dunking and squeezing the bags. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Her name is Michelle Francl. She said “But even after all these years of drinking tea and researching chemistry, I learned new things about what is in my cup and how to make the very best cup of tea.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">She writes that sodium helps to block a chemical reaction that makes tea taste bitter, and claims squeezing teabags reduces “sour-tasting tannins.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Her ideas have sparked uproar in England. The US Embassy in London has to distance itself from this research. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">UK Government responded: “We appreciate our Special Relationship, however, we must disagree wholeheartedly... Tea can only be made using a kettle.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The US Embassy made a statement: “The US Embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way — by microwaving it.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And for now, World War 3 between these two friendly countries was avoided.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-65515270350485980482023-12-24T11:54:00.000-08:002023-12-24T11:54:27.299-08:00Falimy<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Last night I saw a Malayalam movie, Falimy, released in OTT recently (HULU). I did not make a spelling mistake. Yes, it is named Falimy (instead of Family). The movie comes with English close caption. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is not a review about the direction, cinematography, songs, etc. This is what my opinion of the movie. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This movie was directed by Nithish Sahadev, a debutant director. The hero is Basil Joseph.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is a family living in Trivandrum. Chandran, his wife Rema, their two sons Anoop and Abhi and Chandran’s dad Janardanan. They are kind of dysfunctional family. Anoop who is working as dubbing artist does not have good relationship with his dad Chandran. The second son Abhi who is a student wants to immigrate to London, UK. (I don’t know why he is wearing T-shirt with the name showing Los Angeles.) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The grandpa Janardanan wants to go to Kaashi (Benares) and no one is helping him. He decides to go by himself without telling anyone in the house. He was caught in the railway station by Abhi and he brings the grandpa home. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Anoop decides to take the grandpa to Kaashi. And finally, the whole family decided to go. Their travel from Trivandrum to Kaashi is the most hilarious comedy. I loved every minute of it. I will see the movie 2 more times just for their travel experience.
They reach Kaashi and stay in a hotel. Next morning grandpa is missing. The other 4 get in the business of trying to find the grandpa. Some people are advising them that old people come to Kaashi to die.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Did they find their grandpa? That is the rest of the story. It is worth watching the movie. Please don’t read Wikipedia. It tells the whole story and will spoil your interest. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">During the movie I thought I could guess the ending because I have seen lot of Tamil and Malayalam movies. But the Director of the movie (who is also the writer) gave an unexpected twist at the end. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Many dialogues are hilarious. One of them I liked very much. Here is the situation.
While searching for grandpa, the 4 family members end up in a police station. There is a lady police inspector. These 4 are not able to answer her simple questions. She says: I know the people in the Kerala State are 98% educated and intelligent. Are you four from the other 2% category?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The End.</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-42564999679674497822023-12-08T12:27:00.000-08:002023-12-08T12:27:47.358-08:00(American) Football vs Cricket<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Since I follow both sports religiously, I thought of writing about the differences in these two sports. I’m not going to explain how these two sports are played but instead just some basic differences. (Wait until the last paragraph. I found out an important rule only last Sunday night.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Game vs Match </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The competitive event in Football is called a game.
The competitive event in Cricket is called a match. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Officials </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Football, they are generally referred to as referees (which is technically incorrect).
The people in the officiating crew actually have different titles.
In Cricket, they are referred to as umpires. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Number of Officials </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Football, there are seven officials on the field. Referee, Umpire, Head Linesman, Line
Judge, Back Judge, Field Judge, and Side Judge. The lead official is the Referee (who
wears a white cap). The other six officials wear black caps.
In Cricket there are two officials on the field. Both are called Umpires </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Duration of a Game/Match </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Football, the game is split into four quarters, 15 “game minutes” of playing time for
each quarter. The total game time is usually around 3 hours. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Cricket, the match is dependent upon the type of game that is played, i.e. Test, ODI,
or T20.
Test is five days with time off for lunch, tea, drinks, etc.
ODI is 50 overs bowled from each team which usually lasts 7 hours.
T20 is 20 overs bowled from each team which usually lasts around 3 hours. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Captain </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Football, a captain is only an honorary title. The captain comes in only for the coin
toss before the game begins.
In Cricket, a captain has many more responsibilities. He decides whether to bat or field
(if he wins the coin toss), the batting order, adjusting the field placements, which player should bowl, and declaring
the innings among many others. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Weather </b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Football, the game will proceed regardless of what type weather is present. The
game will continue even through heavy rain or heavy snowfall.
In Cricket, the match will be stopped if there is rain. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Penalties (just a sample)</b></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Football, there is a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Unsportsmanlike conduct
includes, among others, excessive celebration and/or excessive taunting of the opponent.
I’m not aware of any penalties in cricket for unsportsmanlike conduct. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>And finally</b>, I learned this last Sunday night. I was watching a Football game between San Francisco 49ers vs the Philadelphia Eagles. There was an alteration on the sideline between 2 opposing team players. The Chief of Security who was standing there went over and put his hands on the San Francisco 49er player (presumably trying to difuse the situation). The 49er player then gave the Chief of Security a boxing style left hook on his face. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Referee ejected both the 49er player and the Chief of Security from the stadium. 49er player was ejected for making a contact with a non-player. The Chief of Security was ejected because if there is an altercation between players on the ground, it is the sole responsibility of the referee to intervene. Per referee, the Chief of Security's responsibility is crowd control and not interfere in players disputes.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Looks like in Football, referees have the right to eject anyone from the stadium. I never knew this until last Sunday.</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-40696525293384841642023-12-01T17:38:00.000-08:002023-12-01T17:39:58.953-08:00Justice Sandra Day O’Conner<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Retired U.S Supreme Court Judge Sandra Day O’Conner passed away today at the age of 93. She was the first woman judge in the US Supreme Court. She was appointed by President Ronald Regan. Justice O’Conner was an independent defender of rule of law. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesIP4MNjSKRoj1H8RMmYBJHpaDShErY7NWHilOGvagdVcwmfRYp9KoOLwifOXQNoq4QpAbdEVLMc1NPrdBk-tgxlYqQGtwq1GtohfrsVvRJsq6DOcKqFTrri6dAVXW2SpxMvNkmUjW66WOmY-qAYMES5BZKysVufY2Gex-fjmI41XEjed1mm3Lr4icJ05/s768/sandy.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="768" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhesIP4MNjSKRoj1H8RMmYBJHpaDShErY7NWHilOGvagdVcwmfRYp9KoOLwifOXQNoq4QpAbdEVLMc1NPrdBk-tgxlYqQGtwq1GtohfrsVvRJsq6DOcKqFTrri6dAVXW2SpxMvNkmUjW66WOmY-qAYMES5BZKysVufY2Gex-fjmI41XEjed1mm3Lr4icJ05/s320/sandy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span><div style="font-size: x-large; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">I want to write this blog about a funny incident. </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In 1985, there was a “Salute to Congress” event. Many VIPs were invited for dinner. Justice Sandra Day O’Conner happened to sit next to the famous (American) Football Player John Riggins. O’Conner did not know who Riggins was. And, Riggins did not know who O’Conner was. Just their names only from the name tag. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">John Riggins had too much alcohol to drink. He was drunk. They both did not engage in any conversation. At one time during dinner, Riggins told the quiet O’Conner – Hey Sandy Baby, Loosen up. You are too tight”. Justice O’Conner just smiled and did not say anything. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Next day it was all over the news and much talked about in sports and legal circle. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was reported that Justice O’Conner got a kick out of that meeting with John Riggins. After a few weeks, when she was giving a speech at Pepperdine University Law School, she mentioned this incident and got a big ovation. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">After John Riggins retired from football, he took up acting. When he made a debut in a play, Justice O’Conner showed up and presented him with a dozen roses. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">May she Rest in Peace.</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-56801070269038320752023-11-19T15:32:00.000-08:002023-11-19T15:45:46.366-08:00Cricket 2023 ODI World Cup<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Finally, the cricket ODI world cup 2023 is over. And, Australia beat India and won the World Cup. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here are my impressions: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">India was superb with unbeaten performance (9 to zero) at the Group Stage. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They are all professional players. On a given day any team can beat any other team. For example: Australia became the world champion. But at the Group Stage South Africa beat Australia. And, the lowly Netherlands beat South Africa. What can we say! My suggestion is there should be "best of 3" for the final instead of just one match.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I cannot imagine such a poor performance by India at the finals. Only 2 boundaries and no sixers in 20 overs? India’s total of 240 had only 13 boundaries and 3 sixers. Only 35 runs from the 11th to 20th over. Only 37 runs from the 21st over to 30th over. (That too with Kohli and Rahul at the crease) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Australians effectively shut the Narendra Modi stadium crowd. May be the Indian team thought the crowd is on our side and that will make the Australians nervous. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Australian team had 7 players who participated in the 2015 World Cup. Therefore, they have plenty of prior experience. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I don’t even want to talk about the coin toss controversy and pitch controversy because they are rumors and not confirmed. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And then, it is after all a game and no need to take them personally by the spectators. We should support the team we like. But we should not over do it. I have heard news about people doing archana in temples and priests doing homam for India to win. A friend of mine told me about a running commentary in Tamil and the commentator was saying (when Australia was batting) “sivaram sivaram sivaram wicket vizhanum. Namma India jaikanum” (Oh God another wicket should fall now. Our India should win). I thought the job of a commentator is to tell the listeners what is happening on the field. I wonder if this was a legitimate ICC approved commentary.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One sad note. Per reports in the newspapers, India’s first World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev was not invited to watch the finals. Very sad. How many Indians would have celebrated in 1983. Where are they now and what are they saying?</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Want to end this post with a lighter note. I am glad it is over. I am relieved in a sense that I don’t have to keep awake and watch the matches from 12:30 am (California time) to 9 am.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-1377623794402722222023-11-14T09:47:00.000-08:002023-11-14T10:07:16.725-08:00Free Speech<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The 3rd Republican Party nomination debate was held in Miami last week. It was all hot air and waste of time. Trump is way ahead in polls to get the nomination. He is around 50% and the next candidate (DeSantis at 14%) and the rest of them in single digits. I think the other candidates are for running for the Vice President job. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Just FYI. According to poll, Trump is ahead of Biden in the general election next year for President. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">One important point I noticed in the debate was Vivek Ramaswamy called his own (Republican) Party as a party of losers. He said; </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">“We have become a party of losers. Since Ronna McDaniel took over as chairwoman of the RNC (Republican National Committee) in 2017, we have lost 2018, 2020, 2022. And, that there is a “cancer” in the Republican establishment.” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">His open and frank statement is welcomed by many in the Republican Party. Of course, there are people who criticize him for making that statement during debate on live TV watched by millions of people. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I see this as free speech and this is a free country. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Imagine any Conservative Party member in England speaks against their leader. What will happen to that person!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Imagine the fate of any BJP member who says this about Mr. J. P. Nadda or Mr. Modi. What will happen to that person!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We all know what will happen if a person in Russia speaks like this about Mr. Putin.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ronna McDaniel (RNC Chairwoman) responded: He is at 4%, he needs a headline. Our headlines should be about Joe Biden. I will also stand by my record as RNC Chair.</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-81323801264459252302023-11-06T11:12:00.002-08:002023-11-06T11:16:06.053-08:00Timed Out<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">An unusual "out" happened in today’s World Cup cricket match – Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan player Angelo Mathews comes to bat. When he was tightening the strap of his helmet, it broke. He asked for a new helmet. A substitute player from Sri Lanka brought the new helmet. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There is an obscure rule in cricket. The new batter has to be ready to face the ball within 3 minutes. During World Cup, it is 2 minutes. Apparently, Mathews’ helmet problem took a little more than 2 minutes. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Bangladesh bowler and his team appealed to the umpire. And, he declared Mathews is out. In the history of cricket, Mathews was the first player to be declared out in this manner. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I think this is very cheap on the part of Bangladesh Team. Their captain has the right to over rule the umpire and ask Mathews to play. But Shakib Al Hasan was not magnanimous. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">People say “mankading” is cheating and unethical even though it is legal. But I would say Timed Out is more outrageous. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the American Football, there is a severe penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Maybe it is time to introduce unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in cricket also and punish Bangladesh Team. Or is this type of penalty rule already in cricket? I don't know.</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-44391677861848367602023-10-16T19:07:00.001-07:002023-10-16T19:09:31.675-07:00New Prefix<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I just noted a new prefix is making the rounds. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">For anything used before, we called it second-hand. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">People started to improvise that to pre-owned. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Now there is an improvement to pre-owned. It is called pre-loved. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A used second-hand book is now pre-loved book. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A used car is now pre-loved car. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A used clothing which we donate to Goodwill is now pre-loved clothes. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A used furniture is now pre-loved furniture. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is a good prefix. But I have a doubt. Before we use a hot oven, we pre-heat the oven. Other “pre-loved” items are after they are used. But we “pre-heat” the oven before we use. Different meanings for the same “pre”? I am confused. But again I did not go to Harvard. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I was talking about this to a friend of mine. His girlfriend recently dumped him. He is looking for a new girlfriend. He wants to call himself pre-loved single guy, </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you know any “pre” please let me know. Thanks.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-18105410220105077372023-10-03T17:37:00.000-07:002023-10-03T17:37:42.903-07:00Speaker Kevin McCarthy<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was a huge circus today at the US House of Representatives. They ousted the Speaker Kevin McCarthy. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqm4H1v6iqeDF0S0qenog5GlAivqHO4jKboZ6n3M_e-2m8hl-6dHP4i-zNl_YjsxdWISSi2qVZ9z6lnw_jySTLp62zxKJbZQXXRIeIdda9yFQ6oi9GUJJJUyBQa9OjV_BQZ1wGT_yFUBQZtOViuxn6yJdF2lLJySiZo4W1YJy8CJQc2IaLqoN6V5-O2LD/s5119/kevin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3413" data-original-width="5119" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlqm4H1v6iqeDF0S0qenog5GlAivqHO4jKboZ6n3M_e-2m8hl-6dHP4i-zNl_YjsxdWISSi2qVZ9z6lnw_jySTLp62zxKJbZQXXRIeIdda9yFQ6oi9GUJJJUyBQa9OjV_BQZ1wGT_yFUBQZtOViuxn6yJdF2lLJySiZo4W1YJy8CJQc2IaLqoN6V5-O2LD/s320/kevin.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Little background. US Speaker is not like a Speaker in the British or Indian Parliament. US Speaker is the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives. Equivalent to Prime Minister. The Speaker is second in line to become President of USA after the President and Vice President. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In a 435-member assembly, Republicans have 221, Democrats 212, Vacant 2. Need 218 to be majority party. Therefore, Republicans have thin majority. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A small number of Republicans (8) were dissatisfied with Speaker McCarthy. Reason. You will laugh at it. Speaker McCarthy sought and got the help of Democrats to pass a bill. (My personal opinion is what is wrong with that?) No Confidence Motion against your own party leader can happen only in USA.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The leader of this (8) renegade group, filed a motion of no confidence against Speaker McCarthy yesterday, October 2. McCarthy did not delay. He immediately brought the No Confidence Motion against him this morning, October 3, for a vote. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Final Vote: Remove McCarthy 216 votes. Do not remove McCarthy 210 votes. 7 did not vote due to absence from the House for various reasons. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My question is why Democrats sided with this small group of 8 Republicans and ousted the Speaker. But again, I don’t know the inside politics.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-81246840323930478182023-10-01T13:09:00.001-07:002023-10-01T13:10:57.299-07:00Second Republican Debate<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My opinion of the second debate by the Republican candidates. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was like Family Gatherings where the all the young children are sitting at a table in another room yelling at each other. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I think Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was the clear winner. (He was the loser in the first debate.) He took an aggressive tone and started attacking Trump for not participating in the debate. He also skillfully dodged the question whether he would support nationwide abortion restrictions. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Stupid idea from Mike Pence. Expedited death penalty for perpetrators of mass shootings. The problem is almost all mass shooters are killed by the police on the spot or commit suicide.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nikki Haley, as in the first debate, ripped apart Vivek Ramaswamy for him joining TikTok to reach out younger voters. She said TikTok is doing espionage work for the Chinese Communist Party. She also said TikTok is one of the most dangerous social media assets that we could have. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tim Scott took aim at Vivek for his past business dealings with China. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vivek tried to be calmer than the first debate. During the first debate he said all other candidates are bought and paid for. In this debate he said all the other candidates are qualified and good people. He also invoked the famous 11th commandment by Ronald Reagan. “Thou shall not speak ill of any fellow Republican”. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Here is the verdict by the media pundits after the debate. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trump, DeSantis, and Ramaswamy remained in their 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pence moved to 4th place. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Haley dropped from 4th to 5th place. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">DeSantis, Ramaswamy, Haley, and Scott were judged as “above average performers”.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Christie, Pence and Burgam were judged as “average performers”. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Will wait for the next debate scheduled on November 3 in Miami.</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-43548011707642862702023-09-25T21:16:00.001-07:002023-09-25T21:21:03.116-07:00ZBB (Zero Based Budgeting)<blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">ZBB (Zero Based Budgeting) means, per Investopedia, is a method of budgeting in which all expenses must be justified for each new period. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The process of zero-based budgeting starts from a "zero base," and every function within an organization is analyzed for its needs and costs. The budgets are then built around what is needed for the upcoming period, regardless of whether each budget is higher or lower than the previous one. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I will tell you at the end as to why I am writing this subject. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I was an EA (Executive Assistant) to my Western Region President. We had strong recommendations (from HQ) to cut our expenses, especially travel costs. In our company, anybody and everybody will book a ticket and travel to any destination without prior approval by the managers. That is why our company was known as All Talk and Travel. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In order to cut the expenses related to travel, I suggested to my boss to issue an order that all travel itinerary should be personally approved by him (President of the Western Region). We did not give any pre-allotted budget to each department for travel. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You know what happened. All requests for travel were approved by the President of the Western Region. Not a single request was denied. But the travel related expenses came down to 35 percent compared to previous year. Just for the reason they have to get prior approval from the President of Western Region, most employees decided not to request for travel.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Why I am writing this! I just read the Republican Party Presidential contender Vivek Ramaswamy said that if elected he would require the executive branch to adopt zero-base budgeting. “Start from zero for every department and ask what (if any) spending is required instead of just taking last year’s budget as the default,” </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;">Will wait and see.</span></div></blockquote>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-70496452777632582932023-09-16T20:27:00.000-07:002023-09-16T20:27:27.592-07:00Vivek's Boo-Boos<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I have received calls from some of my readers that I am not pointing out the blunders committed by Vivek Ramaswamy in his Presidential primary campaign. Please don’t be disappointed. Here are a few. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vivek wants US to abandon Ukraine and let Russia keep whatever they have occupied so far in exchange for (Russia) exiting its military alliance with China.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He wants to support Taiwan against China only until 2028. He says by 2028, USA would have achieved “semi-conductor independence”. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vivek says climate change is a "hoax". (Just read a report he insists the temperature should be below 64 degrees F (that is 17.778 C) wherever he stays - be it his home or his office or his hotel room.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vivek wants US voting age to be raised from 18 to 25. According to him if someone who is below 25 years of age wants to vote, he/she should serve in the military for at least 6 months or pass a test similar to a written test given to aspiring naturalized citizens. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This one is cute. Vivek recommends Universities should screen the college applicants on their physical fitness, such as their one-mile run time, sit-ups, and pull-ups. (My brother who is handicapped cannot be admitted for higher studies. No college education for my nephew who has asthma.) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vivek wants to deport children born in the USA for illegal immigrants. (Cannot do that unless there is a constitutional amendment. Any one born in the USA is an American citizen irrespective of the child’s parents’ legal status.)
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Indians and Chinese will love this. Vivek wants to end the H1B Visa program.</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-46720875040713572082023-09-11T14:17:00.000-07:002023-09-11T14:17:10.618-07:00Strange Interview Techniques<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We have read or heard about strange questions/tests during job interviews. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">An interviewer giving a pen to a candidate and asking him/her to sell that pen to him (interviewer). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How many basketballs can fit on a bus? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What would you do if your boss asks you to lie? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The CEO of a company invites the job candidate to breakfast — but arrives at the restaurant early, pulls the manager aside, and says, "I want you to mess up the order of the person who's going to be joining me. It'll be OK, and I'll give a good tip, but mess up their order."</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He wanted to see how they deal adversity. Are they timid and do not say anything. Or, are they rude to the waiter or politely and respectfully point out the mistake to the waiter. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">And now, I just read about another strange interview technique. A boss uses a coffee cup test to filter candidates. He would ask the candidate to walk along with him to the office kitchen. Offer him coffee or tea or water or soft drink. Then they would walk back to the interview room. At the end of the interview, the boss would watch if the candidate takes the empty cup back to the office kitchen. If the candidate does not take the cup back to the kitchen, he will not be hired. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In an interview that boss said: "What I was trying to find was what was the lowest level task I could find that regardless of what you do inside the organization was still super important." </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Personally, to me, if an employer plays a mind game like that, it’s an immediate red flag for me. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My question is what if the candidate refuses any drink! How he would have judged the candidate? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In my culture, if I am the host, I will not allow the guest to take the empty cup to the kitchen and wash it. I will do that myself. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In my opinion, that hiring manager is a below average manager and is building a toxic work environment. Looks like he lacks the skill to do a proper interview, he tries to compensate with a power play. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Psychological games do not get the best employees.
</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What do you think?</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-54189106206093994102023-09-04T10:46:00.000-07:002023-09-04T10:46:24.616-07:00Betting Lines<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In USA, you can bet on almost anything. The betting odds will go up or down depending on the situation. Once you bet for a certain odds, that is yours and the up/down change will not affect your bet. Here are some interesting bets on American Presidential election as of right now. (Low number is favorite)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Republican Party Nomination: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Trump -330 (if you bet $100, you win $30) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Ramaswamy +500 (if you bet $100, you win $500) * </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">DeSantis +800 (if you bet $100, you win $800) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Haley +3300 (if you bet $100, you win $3300) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Democratic Party Nomination:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Biden -275 (if you bet $100, you win $36) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Newsom +600 (if you bet $100, you win $600) ** </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mrs. Obama +900 (if you bet $100, you win $900) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Kamala Harris +1800 (if you bet $100, you win $1800)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> • A month ago, Ramaswamy was +2000. At that time, I bet $10. Now his odds have improved to +500 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">** A month ago, Newsom was $500. At that time, I bet $10. Now his odds have slightly downgraded to +600 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">My opinion is neither Trump nor Biden will win their party's nomination.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Even though USA is not a cricket playing nation, there is active betting going on for ODI world cup. Here are the odds, India being favorite.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">India +225 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">England +300 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Australia +400 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pakistan +700 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">New Zealand +750 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">South Africa +1000 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Sri Lanka +2500 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Afghanistan +4000 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Bangladesh +5000 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Netherlands +75000 </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I bet a very small amount on 2 teams to win.</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-76141335051253250532023-09-01T14:57:00.002-07:002023-09-01T15:12:01.481-07:00Adults Only<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Corendon Airlines, a Turkish-Dutch carrier, has introduced adults only section in all their flights. This is to save adult passengers from crying babies and uncontrollable children. Now adult passengers can sit in an area where children are not allowed. That airlines says that this is to facilitate travelers without children and business travelers who want to work quietly. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Good idea. But where will this end! It used to be smoking and non-smoking area. Now adults only section. Since I have nothing else to do, I came with a few suggestions for the airline industry. Here are some examples: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How about separate drinking and non-drinking area. (Some passengers may not want to sit with people who drink alcohol.) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How about separate vegetarian and non-vegetarian area. (Some passengers may not want to be near those who eat non-vegetarian.) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How about separate male and female area. (Orthodox male passengers belonging to some religion may not want to sit with female passengers. Their religion forbade even inadvertent physical contact with a woman.) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How about separate Heterosexual and LGBTQ area. (There are some people with homophobia)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span>How about separate area for passengers with different political affiliation. (It can be done in USA and UK where there are only 2 or 3 main political parties. No need for this in countries with military rule or dictatorship. But problem with countries with </span><span>many political parties. For example, India has </span><span>37 different political parties in India’s parliament). </span></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you can come up with an idea for any other separate area in a plane, please let me know. Thanks.</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-21372227732699544922023-08-24T09:49:00.000-07:002023-08-24T09:49:14.119-07:00First GOP Primary Debate<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Yesterday night was the first GOP Presidential candidates’ debate. There were 8 candidates. 1 former Vice President, 5 present/former Governors, 1 Senator, and 1 Rich Businessman. Of course, the leading candidate Donald Trump decided not to participate. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKHUA6DtrYyNSU2ktux_nMIAGEEL18eTI3V5x_axINv14xAz-zavVOA4xapPc4qO7h5NPERRnUNaLDHFr9K_CsM583Y5T88WxpZrdagBBYElvLdPxADCUy2bYlM755nthPWUHeT7J9UXPWsR_y_zs8-UhkjjAB5ETbwlQ3ZeDZERBfhezUbFBPmGc7Fhv/s640/GettyImages-1619654202.webp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="640" height="160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIKHUA6DtrYyNSU2ktux_nMIAGEEL18eTI3V5x_axINv14xAz-zavVOA4xapPc4qO7h5NPERRnUNaLDHFr9K_CsM583Y5T88WxpZrdagBBYElvLdPxADCUy2bYlM755nthPWUHeT7J9UXPWsR_y_zs8-UhkjjAB5ETbwlQ3ZeDZERBfhezUbFBPmGc7Fhv/s320/GettyImages-1619654202.webp" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-size: large; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">Before the debate, I was thinking that everyone is going to pound on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. But Surprise Surprise Surprise. Everyone started to blast Vivek Ramaswamy. Looked like they did not like this unknown and inexperienced rich businessman from nowhere is tied to the second place. Here are some examples: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chris Christie - I’ve had enough already tonight of a guy who sounds like ChatGPT. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Mike Pence – You are a rookie with no government experience. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Vivek Ramaswamy handled all of them well except Nikki Haley.
Nikki Haley gave Vivek a left-hook on foreign policy. She ripped him about his stand on Russia’s war with Ukraine and China-Taiwan conflict. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was no good debate on economic issues. People care about rising prices and not about UFO. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Chris Christie alone criticized Donald Trump. All other seven were either supporting Trump or keeping quiet</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Every newspaper and television network, after the debate, started to grade these 8 candidates in 3 categories. Winner. Middle of the Ground. Loser. The only person who was consistent in all the rankings is Vivek Ramaswamy. He came as a winner. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Political commentator Carol Swain said: Vivek Ramaswamy was the clear winner of the debate. He would make a great vice-presidential choice for DonaldJTrump or RonDeSantis. None of the other candidates did themselves any good. I recommend they pack up and go home." </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Next debate will be on September 27 in California. Let us see how many people qualifies to be here.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-32601723820400751092023-08-14T14:52:00.000-07:002023-08-14T14:52:51.466-07:00Strange Airport Codes<div><span style="font-size: medium;">WOW – Willow, Alaska</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">FUN – Funafuti, Tuvalu </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">BUM – Butler Airport, Missouri </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">BOM – Mumbai Airport </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">MAA - Chennai</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">DAD – Da Nang, Vietnam </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">COW – Coquimbo, Chile </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">SAD – Safford, Arizona </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">BOO – Bodø, Norway </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">ODD – Oodnadatta, Australia </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">FAT – Fresno, California </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">and finally </span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">FUK – Fukuoka, Japan
</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">If you know of any strange airport code, please let me know in the comment section. Thanks.</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-49071928363780473782023-08-09T19:40:00.000-07:002023-08-09T19:40:08.548-07:00Pongal and Sambar Vadai combo<div style="text-align: justify;"><div><span style="font-size: medium;">(The following was sent to me by my dear friend, the world famous, Cuddalore Chandrasekhar. I translated it in English.)</span></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Pongal and Sambar Vadai combination must be handled very carefully. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I would order Pongal and Sambar Vadai together. Still, some idiot (server) will bring the Pongal only and say “sambar vadai varudhu sir (sambar vadai is coming sir)”. It is as cruel as separating couples in the month of Aadi. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Let the Pongal become cold. Like, until the village festival will not start until the big honcho comes to inaugurate it, until the sambar vadai comes I cannot eat even a small portion of Pongal. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Cut the sambar vadai with spoon and a small portion of Pongal simultaneously should be enjoyed like tabla by Zakir Hussain and Thavil by A. K. Pazhanivel (jugal bandhi). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Some restaurants will not give a spoon for Pongal. It is not etiquette to use the same spoon for Pongal that was used for sambar vadai. That is disrespecting the Pongal. Therefore, we should take a small portion of Pongal with hand, touch it with sambar or chutney, put it in the mouth and then use the spoon to cut a portion of sambar vadai to eat. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">If we eat the Pongal with hand, then the moistness of the sambar makes the fingers sticky. If we touch the sambar vadai spoon with the same sticky fingers, it is disrespecting the sambar vadai. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Therefore, even if I lose my self-respect, I should clean the sambar/chutney stickiness of my fingers by licking them good and then touch the spoon meant for sambar vadai. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In spite of these complicated rules, it will take less than 5 minutes to finish the Pongal and sambar vadai combination. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">An ideal leader in emergency is Pongal and his lovely partner is sambar vadai.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-19715308963803818622023-07-21T11:18:00.000-07:002023-07-21T11:18:13.293-07:00Cricket in USA<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I always thought if only Americans play cricket they can beat the heck out of Indians and Australians. Now I am glad to say cricket has come to America in the form of MLC (Major League Cricket). </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">To paraphrase Neil Armstrong “This is one small step for USA, one giant leap for the game of Cricket”. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Major League Cricket in USA, similar to IPL, has 6 teams this year. These are the teams and their current standing as of July 21. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Los Angeles Knight Riders (NO win and 4 loss) (Owned by KKR) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">MI New York (1 win and 2 loss) (owned by Mumbai Indians) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">San Francisco Unicorn (2 wins and 1 loss) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Seattle Orcas (2 wins and NO loss) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Texas Super Kings (2 wins and 1 loss) (Owned by CSK) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Washington Freedom (2 wins and 1 loss) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These matches started on July 13. The final will be played on July 30. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">These six teams have recruited, in addition to local Americans, players from all over the world. Some of the famous names are: </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Devon Conway, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Rashid Khan, Nicholas Pooran, Unmukt Chand, Martin Guptill, Corey Anderson, Lungi Ngidi, Sunil Narine, and many others. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I am confused. I read somewhere that Indians who want to play in MLC has to sever all connections with BCCI and IPL. I don’t know how far this is true. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Tickets to all matches are sold out. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Eagerly waiting for the final on July 30.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-39132600282848243912023-07-09T14:30:00.001-07:002023-07-09T14:32:07.530-07:00Video Game Love Affair<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A 27-year-old married Pakistani woman used to play the popular game PUBG with a 22 year old Indian guy. After playing this game together for many hours each for many days, they both fell for each other. The woman, along with her 4 children, entered India illegally via Nepal. They both lived happily near New Delhi. Their lawyer came to know about this and alerted the police. They were arrested. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This news was reported prominently in the American newspapers. What I found interesting was how the readers reacted through their comments. Most of the times, reader comments are more interesting than the story itself. Want to share some of their comments. They are:</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In America, the lawyer would have been in trouble for revealing privileged information.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Common on, they have to let her stay there and let them get married. She cannot go back anyway; she will be either killed either by her husband or the government. Sweet story, wish them well.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">People in Pakistan both men and women would do anything to leave their country, they would even risk drowning </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm amazed that a 22-year-old man would want to marry a woman who has four kids! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Nice starter family. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">You mean they actually ENFORCE their laws against illegal entry. What a novel concept. Maybe Brandon* could contemplate doing that. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I think this country should adopt India's immigration laws. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">India Government should give her an Indian equivalent of H1B visa. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The lawyer proved they are not to be trusted. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Love is strong but beware of rats. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Hindus can call this reverse love jihad. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">How does she have so much time playing a game with 4 children, all under the age of seven? </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This is such a crazy story. He is suddenly the dad of four little kids and she’s with a guy who’s basically unemployed. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I’ll wait for the Disney movie to explain it all. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">They should have met in America, would received a home, transportation, food, clothing, child care, health care, and anything else their hearts desire at a cost of NOTHING. Good old USA, we’ll care for anyone except our own citizens and we’ll use their money to do it. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">I kept waiting to read they had a go fund me** open. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">This story is better than mine and I am jealous. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So that’s the secret. Let’s get Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelenskyy to play PUBG: Battlegrounds. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What does a woman want? We finally have an answer.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">*Brandon is a nick name for President Biden. How he got that name? I will let you know in my next blog post.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: medium;">
**GoFundMe is a personal crowdfunding site designed to help ease the financial stresses of life for families and businesses.</span>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6636808797927234183.post-39359999462761538602023-07-02T08:03:00.000-07:002023-07-02T08:03:03.540-07:00World Cup Cricket Experience<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In the past, we bought tickets to see the World Cup Cricket matches in 3 different countries. I want to share my experience. I learned a lesson also that will be provided at the end of this post. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">We bought 3 tickets to watch a double header at the Oval in England, 8 tickets to watch a match in Chennai, India, and 3 tickets to watch a match in Colombo, Sri Lanka. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because of a scheduling problem, we were unable to attend the Colombo match. I wrote to the organization from where I bought the tickets and explained my problem. They immediately refunded my money. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Oval Match in England. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was a T20 double header. First match was South Africa vs West Indies. Second match was Pakistan vs New Zealand. We had reserved seats with row and seat numbers. We were a little bit late. By the time we reached our reserved seats, national anthems of both South Africa and West Indies had already sang. (or is it sung? Since I did not go to Harvard, I do not know which one is correct.) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The whole stadium was jam packed. Our seats were not occupied by anyone else. It was in a very comfortable place. It was next to where Pakistani players sat. One usher came and said that this place is for Pakistani supporters and, if we want, he could give us an alternative better seat to watch. We thanked him and said “no thanks” and remained in our seats for the entire double header. We even shook hands with Shahid Afridi </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Both matches were very enjoyable. The more beer consumed the more enjoyable the matches were. HeHeHe.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Match in Chennai. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It was an ODI. India vs West Indies. We bought 8 tickets, each at a very high price. We got the reserved tickets with row and seat numbers. We went to the stadium one hour before the start of the match. Surprise. Surprise. The whole stadium was jam packed. Our 8 reserved seats were occupied by unknown people. We told them these are our seats and they just ignored us. We called this to the attention of the ushers and the police security. They both said: Koottam jasthiya irukku sir. Konjam adjust pannikinga sir. Enga kaaliya seat irukko anga utkarunga sir. (Today too much crowd sir. Please have some adjustment sir. Please sit where you can find an empty seat sir.) </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">There was nothing we could do. Finally, we sat in the Bob Uecker seat*. There was no organized place to sell soft drinks and water. They were at random places and spectators were mobbing those sellers. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So the lesson is never ever watch a world cup cricket match in person in India. Better to watch them in TV. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: medium;">* Bob Uecker was a professional baseball player in USA. He acted in a Miller Lite Bob Uecker commercial. In that commercial he boasted he got a special ticket to watch a baseball game and finally ended up sitting in the last seat at the top most upper deck. The ad has become so famous that if people get a “not so good” seat at sporting events, they call it a Bob Uecker seat.
</span></div>SGhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05790347071764332430noreply@blogger.com15