Enough Already

Everytime Britain get's hopes of an individual sports star, there is such a racket that is made. Remember Tim Henman? Jenson Button?

Now, there is a lot of noise being made about Lewis Hamilton, McLaren's prodigy who has become the first rookie in Formula 1 to get on all three podiums in the first race. Now don't get me wrong. I am really impressed with the poise and composure of this young man in his first season in F1. He has handled the pressure and deserves to be at the top of the table for his consistent performances.

But would he be the wonder boy had he made his debut in a Renault? Last year's world champions are struggling to get into the points, forget asserting their leadership. And poor Heikki Kovalainen is having a stumble of a debut in a rotten car. Last year's lame horse McLaren has got it's act together after struggling for a few years. And Lewis is riding on the wave of a good McLaren car helping him to the front of the grid.

What he has not done, though, is to talk to someone like Eddie Jordon saying you have raced around this particular track, manouver yourself into a position where you are allowed a race and then qualify a rickety Jordon on to 8th place on the grid.

That's right. I'm furious about this young fella being compared with Michael Schumaker. Schumi retired last year as the most successful F1 driver in the history of the sport and we have here a two bit debutant who has raced in only three races being compared with and being talked about as the next Schumaker.

Brits, please give me a break!

I know you are not particularly fond of Schumi, as you guys go out of the way to blast every single thing that he does. Then why compare this rookie to a person who you loathe? That isn't exactly a compliment, is it? But you do it because you know what Schumi has achieved is unique and that his records will probably stand for all time.

I would love to see what Hamilton can do in a car which is not running as well as it's front runners (remember F1 seasons '96 through '99, when Ferrari was clearly not the strongest car on the grid and yet Schumi was in Championship contention every single year - except when he broke his leg). The test of a good driver is when he does not drive the best car and still performs.

Look at the seasons from 1995:

1996 : Damon Hill (won and was still chucked out of Williams while still champion)
1997: Jacque Villnueve (had the best car on the grid, got lost in a BAR, big mouth, unknown since)
1998 - 99: Mika Hakinnen (the fastest and most reliable car on the grid)

When all these guys won, it was because they were great drivers (not because of the car). But when Ferrari started to dominate, it was because they had the best car, not because they had the greatest driver in the world who resurrected a team that had not won a single race since 1972 into a team which won six constructor titles on the trot.

No one looks at Schumi's ability to win with a four pit stop strategy, his ability to put in a really hot lap as soon as he is out of the pits, his ability to manage the car and his ability to come from behind (as he so amply showed in his final sign-off GP last year).

So I only have this to say. Lewis, you have a long way to go. If you have to even deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Schumi, here is what you need to do in your career:

• Start more than 200 races (Schumi 250)
• Start from pole in a lot of them (Schumi 68)
• Win at least 30% of races started (Schumi 37%)
• Finish on the podium in a lot of the rest (more than 60)

Do that and I myself will hail you. Until I see something like that, forgive me if I don't compose songs on your skill and provess. I love what you're doing on the track and the promise that you have shown, but I would like to ignore most of what is being written about you.

I wish you all the best in the coming races and for your entire future and hope you are the kind of driver who will excite me enough to want to watch F1 again, something that I have founf lacking since Schumi's retirement last year.

Give me hope, Lewis. Not hype.

Modest increases

I was looking at the logs for this blog and was suprised to note that:

1. Hits to the blog in these last three and a half months has been more than 50% of total hits for last year and more than 70% of total hits for year before last.
2. In the last three and a half month, the blog has been visited by the same number of unique visitors as the whole of the year 2005 and around 70% of last year.

While I am surprised that so many of you actually care to read the stuff that I dish out, I thank you for participating in this little web adventure of mine.

That's definately not entertainment

I usually have Google News as one of my tabs open in my web browser. It is my only gateway to the happenings in the world at large and is where I catch up on the news, sometimes as it happens.

Today, I was a bit disappointed with Google News, not because of the content, but because of the classification.

After the devastating event at the Virginia Tech campus where a 23 year old South Korean killed 32 innocent people before commiting suicide, there has been a lot of news about the event and the uproar that it has caused. There was even an article which asked "Should colleges ban guns?". To me, this is a stupid question with a rather simple answer. "NO!". That is the only answer comprehensible. But that does not stop the situation from manifesting. It's this whole problem of gun control and how guns are so much more accessible in the US than any other place in the world.

But coming back to Google News and my problem with it.

Here is how Google News classified the report on the South Korean sending a package to NBC News.



How can this piece of news be classified under "Entertainment"? It's not entertaining at all. It's one of the most depressing thing that you can hear or read about.

I think it's just insensitive of Google News. Agreed that they don't put it there on purpose, but I think their software should be aware of shuch things and put them in appropriate places. Insensitive handling of such issues is not a good thing.

All systems go!

A couple of days back, I was told that the result of one of the tests that my mom had to get done had not come back favourable. This could mean that we would have to possibly change her medication and postpone the operation.

I'm glad to say that the doctor who has been advising her medication confirmed last evening that there is nothing to worry about with these new test results and that everything is fine. The operation will proceed as planned next week!

So I am on track to reach Mumbai on Sunday night...just in time to see my old pal leave the country on the way to a new job in a new country.

Obviously, there will be no posts for the whole of the next week.

Unless, of course, if I shatter some course record! HA HA HA!

What's balls got to do with it?

I'm not trying to make a cover version of Tina Turner's Grammy winning song, but am actually trying to make a golf (what else?) point here.

Last year, my golf buddy suggested that I try using the Titliest ProV1x balls instead of the regular any-ball-will-do situation. He was quite emphatic about the fact that the ball is far superior and that it has helped his game quite a bit.

So I switched to the ProV1x balls and found that my game improved as well. I was able to control the spin I was putting on the ball and found that the ball was far easier to shape my shot around. It also helped that the ball went longer off the tee.

How does this change in equipment make such a difference?

If you looked at the Titliest site recently, you would notice that they have launched the new ProV1 and ProV1x series balls. And in the description, I found the answer. See the pictures below (all taken from the Titliest web site, they own the pictures - I'm just showing them to make a point)...



<- ProV1

ProV1x ->

Look at the layout of the dimples. The ProV1 has 392 dimples while the ProV1x has 332. We all know (?) that the dimples are there on a golf ball to reduce drag as the ball flies through the air. The layout will determine how the ball flight is, how much spin is put on the ball and how much drag is reduced to give a more penetrating ball flight.

And that is what it all comes down to.

Unfortunately, the new series of balls is not yet available with the guy who I usually buy them from. And as you know (?), the ProV1 and ProV1x series are a fairly expensive set to buy. A box of 12 balls used to cost me $80 (which is the best rate I have found in Singapore...other retailers charging upwards of $110). Not sure what the price is now.

Waiting for the new ProV1 series to arrive so that I can test drive them. Hopefully I will get my hands on them before my next round.

Too young to marry?

All this news about Prince William and his girlfriend Kate has generated a lot of stuff in print. But I found this article by The Times on "When is a man too young to marry?"

According to the doctor's view, (as quoted in this article),

"It has been thought for at least 50 years, probably longer, that there are three stages of lasting love, all of which are true love and all equally desirable.

In the first year or two of an intimate relationship lust is the overwhelming emotion. It is undeniably fun but it fades into the equally important and enjoyable stage of acceptance — now sometimes called nesting — in which sex and jolly parties are of secondary importance and shared interests and the setting and attaining of goals becomes the cement that holds the structure of the relationship together.

After eight or nine years, the nature of the relationship changes again and it becomes based on firm friendship. This psychologist’s theory is now given credence by the changes in the functional MRI brain scans that can be seen to
accompany each stage of marital love. If a marriage is to have a chance of
surviving, there must be an opportunity for the stage of lust to move to the
stage of acceptance."

Hmmm....

A stroke of luck

As I had posted some time back, my Mumma needs to be operated on to replace her right side hip joint. I will be flying in to India on Sunday as the operation is scheduled for the 25th. I was originally scheduled to leave on Monday morning, but my reservations gave me an idea.

When I looked at the possible options for flights, I had Indian Airlines flying via Bangalore to Mumbai for a fare that was cheaper than a direct flight. In the same price that I would otherwise go straight to Mumbai, I can now stop over at Bangalore and have a round of golf with my dear friend there!

So that's how it will be. I will leave on Sunday morning, land in Bangalore at around 9:30am, leave straight for the Bangalore Golf Club with my buddy (who will be picking me up) and have the first serious game of golf with him in a long time.

Then I leave for the airport and take a flight to Mumbai which lands at 9:30pm, around the same time another pal of mine will be checking in for his flight to Durban (he's moving there). So I will be able to catch up with him and actually see him off as he leaves for a new job in a new country. And interestingly, this guy was supposed to leave on the 17th (today), but his plans kept getting postponed. I was sure I would not be able to see him off as he would leave before I got back to India. But as luck would have it, I am going to get to see him off.

This is just wonderful. Now I only hope that the operation goes smoothly and my mom is fine and healthy again.

Fingers Crossed!

"You are not the boss of this house!"

Me to my daughter: "Please put on your night dress and get ready to go to bed."

Daughter: "You're always telling me to do that. You're not the boss of this house!"

"Really? Then who is?"

" We all are. You, Mumma and me."

"OK. Then who makes the decisions?"

Thinks for a while and then says "Whoever the decision affects."

"Good. That's great. But what if it affects all of us?"

"Then we all decide."

"What if one of us disagrees? What if two disagree? Then what do we do?"

Thinks for a while again and says "We go by majority."

"Fantastic idea. So if two people say something, the third has to agree whether the third person likes it or not, right?"

"Yes."

"Great! Are we all agreed on this?"

"YES!"

"Good. Mumma, do you think daughter should change into her night dress and get ready for bed?"

Mumma: "Yes."

Me: "I think so too. That's two out of three!"

Daughter: "You tricked me!"

:-)

What about us?

Annika Sorenstam, the greatest woman golfer ever, on Monday opened the Annika Sorenstam Golf Academy in Reunion, Florida. The most important thing about this academy is "for anyone".

Great job, Annika. We need more people like you and bring the lovely game of golf to everyone who would like to play the game. But here's the problem I have with this academy.

It's in Florida! How many golf courses and academies are in Florida again? A few hundreds if not thousands. So if your intentions are so noble, why not open a golf academy "for anyone" in a place like India, for example. Every year there is evidence that Indian golfers are doing well (notably, Jeev Milkha Singh made the cut at his first appearance at the Augusta Masters tournament, finishing tied for 37th...Arjun Atwal being the first Indian to play on the US PGA tour). Why not invest in a golf academy in India?

For one, it would definately be a lot cheaper than in Florida. And it would have a huge turnout which would make the academy a success, both financial as well as based on satisfaction.

So I'm glad you've created an academy which has opened it's arms in welcome to people like me who find it difficult to afford this game, but continue to play it cause we love it. But please, I'm not impressed with the move.

After all, almost everyone has a golf academy in Florida. Its almost like these people think no one outside of Florida plays golf.

Alarms don't mean anything these days

Last night, between 1:30 am and 3:00am, there was a loud alarm ringing through my neighbourhood. It was the kind which make the sound that used to signal the end of school in my days. It's also the kind of ringing sound used in movies to depict - guess what - alarms!

So for more than an hour and half, the alarm kept howling away in the night. I would have thought that the point of having an alarm is to alert whoever is in charge that there is a problem. An alarm ringing for an hour and a half does not help in any shape or form.

So I was stuck with the alarm for most of the night and could not sleep. Thank God I have the sixth season of Seinfeld to keep me company.

Roma get's SMASHED!

Did I pick a match to not watch!?!

Last night, while I was sleeping instead of staying up and watchin, Manchester United decimated AS Roma by - get this - 7:1 !!! That's right. Seven goals were scored against AS Roma at Old Trafford, the venue of the second leg of the Champions League quarter finals.

In the first leg, as you might remember, we lost 2:1 when we went to Rome. The second game at home would have to be a must win for us if we had to go to the quarter finals. Immediately after this game, we lost a premier league match to cap a disappointing week.

And then yesterday, we demolished AS Roma to breeze through into the semi finals, staying on track for the title. This was the highest margin of victory in the knock-out stages of the Champions League EVER and also Roma's biggets drubbing. If there was a way to demolish a side's confidence, this would be it!

Watch and enjoy!!! (It's great even if the commentary is in Spanish)



See all these great goals being ranked! Yeah, usually people rank goals for a season or a championship, but so many goals were scored, they had to do this...



The Red Devils are at it again!

PR it is

This morning, I went over the the Immigrations and Customs Authority (ICA) to apply for being a Permanent Resident (PR) of Singapore.

The rationale for doing is straightforward enough for you to wonder why I did not apply sooner. The only thing I can say to that is: I was testing the waters.

Currently I am here on an Employment Pass (EP) which is tied to my employer. If my employer decides to let me go (as it happens so often these days) or if I choose to leave for another opportunity, my EP stands cancelled and I have to leave the country, even if it is to come back in to get another EP stamped on my passport. Also, I don't get the Central Provident Fund (CPF) benefits that are enjoyed by Singapore citizens and PRs.

Now, as a PR, I am no longer dependant on my employment and can stay in Singapore even if I get fired or if I leave. I get CPF benefits and a few more privileges that I am yet to figure out. I know for a fact that part of my CPF contribution goes towards medical benefits.

A big advantage is that, as a PR, I can play at the local Marina Bay course for less than $100. As someone on an EP (and therefore a foriegner), I would have to pay $197 to play a round there. Since that would be way higher than if I play in Batam or in Malaysia, I continue to do so. But if and when I become a PR (subject to my application being accepted), I don't have to waste an entire day going out of the country to play golf. I can now get done in less than half a day and still be back at home to spend the rest of the time doing what should be done on weekends. Chill out.

We were sent on a wild goose chase by a friend who mentioned that we had to get birth certificates made from the Indian High Commission in order to submit the application. Rubbish. There is no such requirement. I used my original birth certificate and there's no problem with it.

When I landed up on the 5th floor of the ICA building (right outside the Laveder MRT) where the PR Services division is, the number of people waiting in the queue to collect the token number was more than the number of people who were waiting for an ICA agent to attend to them. After around 10 minutes of standing next to an extremely annoying Chinese lady (who for some reason could not stand still and kept bumping into me), I got my token number and was told that someone from counters 14 to 28 would help me. So many counters for this is a good sign...I won't have to wait long.

And I didn't have to wait long at all. A few minutes later, I was sitting at counter 20 showing my application form. I had carried multiple copies of all my certs and had the entire system quite well organized. So after a few checks, a few signatures and a few questions later, I had the acknowledgement from ICA and the assurance that my PR application would be processed in latest 3 months. That's fabulous.

So that's that. Now all I have to do is wait for the PR application to be accepted, processed and for me to get the letter asking me to get my passport stamped.

Then I am a permanent resident of Singapore.

Best 9 hole score ever

I had gone, alone this time, to the Palm Springs Golf Course in Batam to play. It was my first round in a few weeks, after the last time I played to 84. As the time between my rounds gets bigger and bigger, I think I have started to value each round and therefore each shot, knowing that another round is not coming around the corner very soon.

I was planning to play alone, but bumped into the guys who I played with the last time. And since they were only two, they asked me if I would like to join them. I was of course delighted.

We started on the 4th hole on the Island course. 4th and 5th are fairly easy par-4s. Despite putting my tee shots with the driver in the right side rough (I usually fade with the driver, was not sure what I was doing this time, but blamed it squarely on my not playing for a while), I hit decent approaches to the greens (missing both of them) and then a couple of chips to within a foot of the pin and then single putts for two consecutive pars.

On the 6th, which is a difficult tee shot if you have a problem with hooking your driver, I did just that. I hooked my drive into water and then hit my 4 iron to the far left of the green. My putt lipped out and I made a double bogey.

From then on, I parred 7th, 8th and 9th. I was next to the green in two on the par 5 8th, but messed up my putt for birdie and so just made par.

On to the Resort course, and I bogeyed the first four holes. A couple of them because of bad breaks and bad bounces, the others with miserable putting. I made all three of my 3-putts on these nine holes. I signed off on these 9 holes with a 7-over 43. Not bad considering the fact that I could have been three strokes better had my putts not lipped out. Imagine, I had 21 putts for these 9 holes alone!

So back to the Island course to finish the last three holes and I was determined to make the most of the remaining holes.

The 1st is a par 5 which has the fairway going around a small water body. There is a way to get to the green across this, but that needs a decent tee shot to the edge of the right fairway and then a tight approach to a green which you cannot see from there. So instead of teeing up with my driver, I hit a 3 iron to that exact edge of the fairway, had a great lie to hit my second, hit a clean 4 iron (which turned out to be one club too many because of the wind choosing to pick up around that time) to the right rough over the green.

Then came a marvelous chip, something I will remember for a long time. It landed exactly where I wanted it to and then took the slope of the green to turn right and tracked it's way toward the flag, stopping two feet from the pin. A single putt later, I had my birdie!

I parred the next couple of holes to make it a 1-over 37 for nine holes, my lowest ever 9 hole score! And with that, I shot 8 over for the round, my third lowest score ever! All this after playing irregular golf for the last couple of months!

The last three rounds have been a revelation to me. I have shot an 82, an 84 and not an 80. Not bad for someone who has not had too many rounds in the last couple of months.

The one story common across all the rounds is this: I have got a lot more consistent with my iron play. I am very rarely hitting a bad shot with the irons. The driver has been tricky, fading during some rounds and then hooking during the next. I think I have solved the problem with the driver during the last few holes of the last round, but that I will only be sure when I play next. Chipping has improved dramatically. My decision to try and see, in my mind's eye, the ball running before each chip shot has paid huge dividents since I have made better chips and saved a lot more pars in the last couple of round. The sore point that remains is my putting.

I have made 34, 33 and 36 putts in the last three rounds. I am having at least three holes per round where I end up three putting, for a lot of reasons. And most of the time I am doing it because I have no feel for the distance of the putt.

So I have decided to focus a lot more on my putting. I want to get it down to around 30 putts per round. I also want to work on my chipping to be able to get closer to the pin. These two places alone will work towards saving at least four to five shots a round. And if I do that a lot better, who's to say? I could even play under par in a few rounds.

I know I am getting ahead of myself, but I am just so kicked at playing so well despite the long breaks in between rounds. If I can play this well despite not playing often, imagine how well I can play if I was playing with a lot more focus, practice and regularity.

Just imagine!

Thank you, IRAS, for a wonderful job

You might remember that I came in to Singapore in August of 2005. When I came in, I realized that the taxation cycle in Singapore is as per the calendar year. And as per the rules, I did not complete the required more-than-6-months to get the regular taxation slabs applicable to me.

So I got taxed at non-resident rates with a flat 15% income tax charged to me.

This year, when I filed my income tax returns, I sent out an e-mail to taxqueries@iras.gov.sg appraising them of my situation (that I had paid higher tax because of lesser days in Singapore) and requesting them if it was possible, as I was filing my second tax returns - this time as a resident - here in Singapore, to get a refund of the additional tax paid during the last IT cycle.

What I was expecting as a response from IRAS was either them saying that it was not possible OR them telling me that I had to follow a certain procedure to claim the refund.

Imagine my surprise when I got a mail back from IRAS telling me that my case is noted and that the additional tax amount will be refunded to me! Just like that!

I was obviously thrilled that this was happening. Here again, I thought that IRAS would offset this amount with my tax this year and go about it's business. IRAS surprised me yet again!

They credited the additional amount in my bank account last week! Just like that!

No procedure, no forms, no nothing. Just a simple e-mail request and I got my tax refunded to my bank account! If that's not efficiency and non-red-tape behaviour, I don't know what is.

I am really impressed with you, IRAS. That was a great job done and you have given me another reason to like being in Singapore. You just made me like Singapore that much more. You just made me happy!

I never thought I would say this, but Cheers to you, IRAS!

French train goes really fast

TGV hitting 574.8 kmph setting the highest speed achieved by a rail based train.



You can see the sparks fly on top of the train where the contacts happen with the electricity cable powering the train. Pretty impressive!

Six books in two weeks

I just finished Ashok Banker's six part series on the 21st century's retelling of Ramayana, the great epic composition of India.

The story of Rama is split into six parts which detail his life from when he is sixteen to when he becomes thirty. It encompasses his triumphs at a lot of places, most notedly against Ravana, the evil lord of Lanka. The story starts with "Prince of Ayodhya", moves to "Siege of Mithila" where he finds his lady love, Sita, then to "Demons of Chitrakut" which has Rama going into exile with his wife and brother, on to "Armies of Hanuman" which is the movement towards Lanka, "Bridge of Rama" which talks about the building of the bride to cross to Lanka and then finally "King of Ayodhya" telling about his exploits and his victorious return to Ayodhaya.

It is an interesting series of books in the fact that they actually make Rama out to be a human with extraordinary discipline rather than a god reincarnate. That makes him a lot more endearing and his achievements more staggering.

It is a good series to read.

PS: Personally I was pleasantly surprised to note that I had read six books in two weeks, that too without devoting a lot of time to them. All the reading happened either on the bus or in the loo or late in the evening for a short while. And I was amazed that I read so fast.

A Pro, a Major and a Quadruple Bogey

I watched with shock as Lorena Ochoa quadruple bogeyed a regulation par 3 while she was three under par and only one stroke off the lead in the Kraft Nabisco, the LPGA's first major of the year.

Ochoa hit a 6 iron off the tee, which puts the hole roughly a hundred and seventy to hundred and eighty yards away, as she pulled her tee shot to the right. Though not the most benevalent of lies, but not the most horiffic, she hit an attrocious pitch which overshot the green and landed in what looked like really deep rough and an unplayable lie.

Then she did something not expected of a tour player, much less the LPGA player of the year last year. She whiffed her third shot!!! Whiffed it! The club slig neatly under the ball and the ball was still there!

Her next shot got the ball out of the rough, but rolled more than 30 feet from the pin leaving a really tricky putt for double bogey. And from there, she three putted!

So right then and there, on that one hole, she went from being one shot from the lead with a fighting chance to win her first major to being five shots behind going into the final round. And with the course playing to more than 74 for a regulation par 72, it would be really tough for Ochoa to get her first major title in this event.

Interesting thing was in the way she made tha game played by these high profile tour players look very much like the game some of us mere mortals play. I don't even remember the last time I whiffed my chip shot. Sure I three putt a lot, but that's because I play once in a few weeks. Not like these people who practice the whole day and then some. But mostly, I was amazed at the errant tee shot she hit which got her into all this trouble.

We've all hit that dasterdly shot at least once in a round. In my last round, I hooked two consecutive tee shots out of bounds and that was the only sore quadruple of my round. But for heavens sake, this is the Kraft Nabisco on the LPGA tour!

But then again, I guess it just goes to show that these people are still human.