Hasn't the match-fixing allegations dampened our cricket watching experience?

When was the last time a nail-biter that went, as Shastri usually says, down to the wire, satisfied you to the core? Didn't the thought that the match could be fixed cross your mind? And if it did, the match still engrossed you as its suppose to?

Match-fixing has been the darkest period for cricket and it continues to haunt us. And to me, the whole experience of watching cricket is somewhat ruined. Not because I believe in those "bookie" messages, but, simply because someone is trying to influence my love for the game.

I got a message during the India-Australia quarter-final. It said that Australia will bat first, score 270+, Ponting will score above 50, India will lose wickets but will win by 5 wickets and Sachin will score a hundred. How much of it is true and how much is close to what actually happened, we all know. Doesn't this doubt your love for the game?

Next match. India-Pakistan. Message says that Pakistan will bat first, score above 300 and India will chase it. Didn't go this way but then, every ball that was bowled, I watched with a sense of cynicism.

The grand-finale, too, had its own hits and misses but by now, I was seriously contemplating to make this "bookie" my astrologer. You know, bribing god to get the odds in my favour. :)

I still don't believe that the matches were fixed but there are a large number of messages that are circulated during the matches that clearly makes an impact.


Every nail biter is looked upon suspiciously as if it was fixed to perfection for the photo-finish. And every loss in such a great game is definitely bribed.

Somewhere, the integrity of the people watching the game is deeply compromised and going by the looks of it, I don't think it will be repaired in a long long time.

Well, unless Pakistan stops dropping 4 catches of a single player in one match alone, that too, a World Cup semi-final.

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3G

Its here.

Is the hoopla justified? I have been drooling over 3G for a long time and that's the reason why all my phones over the past 2 years have been 3G enabled, in anticipation of a data revolution that is supposed to hit us.

And now I have been on the 3G network for the past 12 hours. The excitement though, was short lived and I have been the fool at the end of it.

Since I am a Vodafone India customer, let me share my experience solely with respect to Vodafone. Step 1: the activation. Although its a soft launch and customer can experience 3G at the regular 2G prices till its officially rolled out, I was happy to get it. Vodafone said that 3G will be activated within 24 hours and I was very happy when they did it within 9 hours. Probably, the highest point of the 3F experience and has been a downhill ever since. More so, that I have already moved back to my EDGE network, just 12 hours into 3G eight of which were spent sleeping.

I am a BlackBerry customer with unlimited internet plan but Vodafone asked me to activate its internet service called Vodafone Mobile Connect to use 3G. What it means? I have already paid for internet through by BB plan but for 3G I am supposed to pay more. Mind you it is not unlimited even, download charges are exorbitant. A rental of Rs199 and download charges of 5p/10kb.

So, I have two internet plans on my phone.

Video streaming (Youtube, etc) on my EDGE network has been working fairly well with no buffer time. Full marks to Vodafone.

The main idea for me to get 3G was live TV. Vodafone has a Vodafone 3G service listed under its 3G services and asks customers to sms TV to 111 to get it. Charges are duly specified.

To my surprise, and this is where the problems began, when I tried to download Vodafone TV, it said that I must have Vodafone Live to do so. Vodafone Live is the most basic internet plan which let's you surf only wap sites through your phone. Can you explain this, Voda?

So, to try Vodafone TV, even after getting 3G and paying through the nose I have to get another basic internet service and pay rent for that too. Mind you again, data charges are excluded.

Icing on the cake was when Voda said that activating Vodafone Live will take 24 hours. So I can't download Vodafone TV till then.

3G is being wasted till then and my BB plan is working on 3G, surpassing the unlimited BB plan that I have paid for.

I downloaded SPB TV to experience the live TV!

This is where the biggest disappointment came and you can please check and let me know if you face the same issue or did it work flawlessly on your phone.

SPB TV did not work on my 3G service. When I tried to use it over WiFi at my home, it worked as smoothly as Kim Kardashian's ass. It did. And please don't ask me how I know the smoothness of her ass, really.

I am thoroughly disappointed by Vodafone and its no good 3G service.

As for me, I hope I am able to catch the Cricket World Cup on Vodafone TV if it is downloads and works well. Beyond that, 3G is useless for me.

Back to my unlimited EDGE or 2G BB internet plan.

Thank you.

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Culinary disaster

I am not much of a foodie but when I eat I like to eat good food. Sunday is one such day when I like to be served good food.

Entire week is spent in acts paramount for survival and I get just this day to eat to me heart's content.

Unfortunately, I don't remember the last time I ate good food on this weekly holiday.

Can't express by displeasure as I don't cook myself. Wanting to be served and that too with the preferences that I have, I will surely be kicked out of the home.

But, is this good enough for me to start cooking my own food?

I don't think so. Laziness surrounds me and also, restaurants in Mumbai do serve some good scrumptious meals.

Waiting for the day when I would be able to afford them :)

Adios!

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Is it possible to bell the CAT online?

This is a first person account of what happened with me on the first day of the much hyped and hysterical CAT exam. I had decided that since there is a 10 day window for the exam and the excessive media attention towards the exam, its better for me to pay off the liability on the very first day. That's exactly what I did.

My exam was scheduled on Nov 28. 3.30 pm, Bandra, Mumbai. Before leaving home, at around 12.30 pm I chanced upon to see a couple of news channels who were beaming flashes that the CAT exam servers have crashed at certain locations. The most starking city of the lot was Bangalore. Isn't Bangalore the IT hub of India? Isn't that the city where the IT revolution in this country started? Isn't the prized city of Karnataka the Silicon Valley of India? Then why did the servers crashed in Bangalore? And we say that our infrastructure is blah blah blah.

I left home thinking that Mumbai wont suffer such issues as this is THE city in India. Even at its worse this city is one of the best in the country. I was be be proved wrong shortly.

I reached my exam centre, Fr Agnel's Engineering college at 1.15 pm. Waited for 15 minutes as the instructions clearly said that reach two hours before the exam and "NO ONE WOULD BE ALLOWED TO ENTER AFTER 2 pm."

All the aspiring MBAs were standing outside the college till two as the first batch hadn't finished their exam yet. For the record, the first batch was supposed to sit for the exam at 10.30 and finish at 12.30 pm. They started late as the servers in Mumbai crashed, too.

After 2 pm, we started to enter the college premises and went to our designated floors. My exam was scheduled at the 9th floor computer lab. Once at the 9the floor, the security incharge asked us to line up at the 8th floor, get ourselves checked- and return to the 9th floor. What other option did we have? After standing in the que
for 20 minutes, the security incharge tells us to go back on the 9th floor and get the required process started there. We go back. After the check, and zipping our phones, wallets, watches, pens, etc, we were asked to settle ourselves in a small room called auditorium. I clearly remember my space starved KC College in Mumbai had 5 times bigger class rooms than this "auditorium" at an engineering college.

Anyway, now totally cut-off from the world and no idea about the time (as our watches too, were taken away) we waited. Patiently, we waited, some slept, some made new friends, some glanced away from the window to the under construction Bandra-Worli sea link and some, to the swimming pool of Taj, Land's End. I repented not getting my spectacle made and couldn't see whats happening at a distance :(


The imaginary clock was ticking lazily in the hot and humid Mumbai afternoon. Tick. Tick. Tick. The Prometric is a tick actually.

I cant believe that the prestigious IIMs, who teach Indians how to "manage" couldn't manage a simple exam online? How difficult it could be if you have one year to prepare the infrastructure and an organisation like Prometric, a biggie who knows how to manage these online exams?

Somewhere post 4.30 pm the issues were sorted out and we slowed inched closer to our designated spaces. A finger-print scan and a picture later, I sat and waited yet again.

Ah yes, one more thing: Dear IIMs, please don't think that we Indians are drop dead lame and stupid and still think that computers are some creepy machines which requires years and years of practice to master. The so called 15-minute tutorial was actually, technically a 30 second 9 steps interactive pictures. I can take on anyone in the world who defends that it was a video. It wasn't.

After spending 30 seconds on the lame 9-step instruction screen, i waited yet again as the college didn't let us start the exam before 5.30 pm. You read it correct, no typo there, 5.30 pm. An exam that was supposed to begin at 3.30 was a good 2 hours late. And mind you, were were asked to report 2 hours before the exam.

What followed wasn't a smooth ride either. My computer crashed twice as the previous test taken was closed properly and a screen warning the same appeared every two minutes. I couldn't begin the test for a good 5 minutes and was given technical assistance which somehow brought things under control.

I read in newspapers today morning that the CAT convenor has said that problems are bound to happen as this is the first time CAT is online. What? Really? Did he say that? hm.. This means, that when the American credit market crashed last year and the whole world collapsed afterwards, we should have said, "This is the first time this is happening so please bear with us."

Shouldn't the convenor be saying what steps they are taking to minimize the glitches?

Prometric, which boasts of being a Mr know-it-all in the online test space has failed miserably. How can so many servers crash at the same time? They knew that over 2 lakh aspirants will be sitting for the exam in these 10 days right?

Moreover, only 10,000 aspirants typed the exam on the first day. Prometric couldn't manage 10,000 people, that too, in two slots.

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