Is Google Being Human?

Imagine a world without Google! Hard to imagine... isn’t it? That shows how dependent we are on the Internet that's almost synonymous with Google. The search giant has become a resourceful mining ground that can extract ‘valuable results" for every user. Although the best user experience cannot be guaranteed at all times, it nevertheless satisfies the optimum requirement for most netizens, so to speak.



So, it’s possible to say that Google in a way has been able to channelize the potential resources on the Internet to the end user. Without the concept of a common platform where a user can generate queries about a certain subject, the available information would be of no use. So there we have Google to our rescue. We ask questions and Google has answers.



Without Google, we would be like dry, deserted pebbles strewn near a giant waterfall, helplessly waiting to get soaked in the water... got the drift... huh?



Not only that, Google goes a step ahead and suggests, it even does the thinking for us. It suggests, it reads our minds... to save us from all the wrong keyword queries that may NOT lead us to correct results. It saves our time, it teaches us to search better. Oh there comes the glitch! So, we stop thinking, the only thing we think is keywords... if you miss the right keywords you MAY never get what you want.

IPL Auction 2011

The IPL Auction 2011 date is something that everyone has been waiting for, and keen to follow closely. It will go on for 2 days (Sat & Sun), involve 350 players for bidding, and the 10 franchises will be spending up to 75 million dollars for the players they would like to lay their hands on. IPL 4 will consist of 74 matches being played by 10 teams. Pune and Kochi are the 2 new additions in this year's competition.



This time's auction is even more interesting than last time's, for the simple reason that due to the IPL Auction 2011 rules, almost all players have been released by their respective franchises, and are up for bidding. So all the teams will have a brand new lineup, which should help injecting even more fun in this year's edition. Amongst the early important buys in this Indian Premier League were Rohit Sharma, Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh (Mumbai Indians), Robin Uthappa, Angelo Mathews, Yuvraj Singh and Graeme Smith (Pune Warriors), Parthiv Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Sreesanth and VVS Laxman (Kochi), Rahul Dravid and Johan Botha (Rajasthan Royals), Irfan Pathan and David Warner (Delhi Daredevils), Gautam Gambhir and Brad Haddin (Kolkata Knight Riders), Saurabh Tiwary (Royal Challengers Bangalore), and JP Duminy and Shikhar Dhawan (Deccan Chargers). Well known players that still have not been sold are Saurav Ganguly, Herschelle Gibbs, Brian Lara, and Mark Boucher, to name a few.



The auction still has a couple of hours to go today and then there is the whole of Sunday. That is when we will get the complete lineup of all the 10 teams. So stay tuned to this space for the detailed list of the IPL Auction 2011 which will be effective from IPL 4.

India Wins Cricket World Cup 2011

The 28 year long wait finally ended when on 2nd April, 2011, Saturday, the Indian Tigers defeated the Lankan Lions to lift the 10th edition of the Cricket World Cup, held at the Wankhede Stadium, in Mumbai, India. The final clash between the two cricket crazy Asian nations was destined to witness a nail biting finish, with both Sri Lanka and India dreaming to lift their 2nd World Cup.



The stage was set for the 'God' of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar to win his first World Cup in six attempts, in his hometown and to complete his 100th one day international century. However, not all went fine for the Indians, when they lost the crucial toss amidst thundering noise from the enthusiastic cricket fans present in the stadium.



Batting first, the Sri Lankans piled up a formidable 274 - 6 in their 50 overs with a classic knock of 103 (not out) off 88 balls, from their best batsman, Mahela Jayawardene. In the starting overs, the Indian bowling and fielding was exceptional, however, it was in the last 10 overs that Sri Lankan team capitalized on the remaining batting power plays and was able to set a target of 275 that was certainly a good one in the conditions that prevailed in the Wankhede stadium.



In response to the chase, the 33,000 plus capacity crowd at Wankhede was dead silent when sling-arm fast bowler Lasith Malinga dismissed the Indian opening pair, Virender Sehwag (0) and Sachin Tendulkar (18) with India slumping at just 31 - 2. However, further the partnership of Gautam Gambhir (he was dropped on 30 and escaped a run out chance at 49) and Virat Kohli steered India to a comfortable position. Together, they added 83 runs to the score board which anchored the Indian innings and made way for India's victory.



However, in the end, it was the cameo innings of the Indian Captain M.S. Dhoni (91 off 79 balls) and dogged persistence of Gautam Gambhir (97 off 122 balls) with a useful 21 runs off 24 balls from Yuvraj Singh that led India to a comprehensive victory over the Lankans. India finished at 277 - 4 on the score board in their 48.2 overs.



Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Indian captain, was a relieved man after the glorious victory as he had been struggling with his performance in the entire series. While the Indian captain was awarded the Man of the Match award, Yuvraj Singh won the Man of the Tournament trophy. Yuvi, as he is known among his fans, scored four half centuries and a century piling up 362 runs in this World Cup edition. Even though playing the role of a part-time bowler, Yuvi took 15 wickets!! Yuvraj was awarded the Man of the Tournament award for his brilliant all round performance.



With 10 balls to spare, the 'captain cool', Dhoni rammed Nuwan Kulasekara for the winning six runs making the dreams of billions of Indians come true. The remarkable feature of this run chase was that it was only the third time in the 10 World Cup finals that any team chasing the target was able to register a win! The Cricket World Cup final was also the last ODI of Muttiah Muralitharan, the greatest spinner ever in cricketing history, who ended his career with a record 800 Test and 534 one-day wickets. The Indian star, Sachin Tendulkar was ecstatic after the victory as he had been dreaming to lift a World Cup ever since he became a part of the Indian team.



The magnitude of celebrations in India was bizarre and millions of Indians partied along the streets all over the country. The Indian team members drenched Tendulkar in champagne and carried him on their shoulders along with the cup, as a mark of respect and tribute to the cricketing legend. Previously, Sri Lanka won the World Cup in 1996 while India achieved the feat in 1983, under the captaincy of the legendary, Kapil Dev, defeating the then mighty West Indies.



The current Indian squad has evolved to become the best cricket team in the world in all formats of the game, be it the tests, T20, or the ODIs. Indian victory in Mumbai was also dedicated to the efforts of the South African coach Gary Kirsten and the team support staff. The end of the glorious World Cup for India brings with it some tinge of sadness as the 'father figure' for Indian players, their inspirational coach Gary Kirsten's tenure is over and he is all ready to fly back to his country. However, Indian fans can rejoice from the fact that the World Cup triumph is not going to put a break on Sachin's career and he has announced to play on. Sachin, we welcome your move and we won't mind, if you're there for India, to win the next World Cup! The next edition of World Cup cricket is scheduled to be held in 2015 and will be hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand.

The Great Wall of India - Rahul Dravid

On 30th July 2011, a hot Saturday evening in the mecca of cricket, Lord's, as Rahul Dravid paddle swept Graeme Swan for a four, he entered in the leagues of legends in the cricketing world. 'The wall' as he has been hailed in the international arena of cricket, scored his 34th century, thereby equaling the records of West Indian icon Brian Lara and the Indian batting wizard, Sunil Gavaskar. The 38 year old showed remarkable skill and exceptional courage to take on the English bowlers, surviving blows and injuries, but not succumbing to any pressure. With a flawless technique and a face that reflected an ocean of resoluteness, Rahul Dravid stood facing the wicket, unperturbed. For most of the cricket obsessed individuals like me, Rahul Dravid in the cricket world is not only about statistics or numbers. He has surpassed most of the benchmarks of cricketing excellence and is equaled to the likes of master blaster Sachin Tendulkar or our dear Dada Sourav Ganguly. The making of Rahul Dravid hasn't been an easy one. He has seen it all. Failures and critcism in his initial stages of ODI career were enough to put an average guy on backfoot. But Mr. Dependable never lost his nerves and made sure he is in the Indian squads. Dravid's career is an example of the fact that determination can make the impossible possible. He has been described as 'The nice guy who finished first' by Devendra Prabhudesa in a biographical book titled with the same epithet. Some classics lessons to extract from this legend's life can be the following.



Love What You Do

I remember a video speech I saw on the Internet by a popular cricket commentator and journalist, Harsha Bhogle in the campus of prestigious IIM - A. In the video, Harsha described his interview experience with iconic Allan Border on coaching budding cricketers. As per Harsha, Allan Border said, "If you take care of the runs, the dollars will look after themselves." Rahul Dravid has been a classic example of a youth who wasn't distracted by the lure of dollars, or rather, rupees. His single minded dedication was the love for cricket. Money and fame, as we know, followed and that too in abundance. But Dravid's love for his game never changed.

Badminton Rules

, A player cannot aim to play a sport professionally if he or she is not thorough with the rules. Well, even if you want to bend the rules, you would have an advantage and would not be on a 'deuce' if you know the rules! If the word rules made you shudder, relax, as the rules are nothing to feel dreadful about! They are pretty easy and clear and as you go along, enjoyable too! So, ready for some shuttling around badminton rules?



Game Play

The match begins with a toss and the winner of the toss has the option to pick to either receive or serve. The winner of the toss can also pick the side of the court he wants to play from. After the shuttles come into play, the point will go on with the players hitting the shuttle back and forth across the net. In case, the shuttle hits the floor shot from one player to his opponent's or the opponent fails to return the shuttle and keep it in play, it is a fault. It is declared out of play if it does not cross the net or lands out of the court or in other instances hits the ceiling of the court. Rally is broken if a fault is committed. Faults are considered in the following cases -

• If a player touches the net with either his body or racket.
• A player hits the shuttle prior to it coming across the net.
• If a person is hit by a shuttle.

How to Play Badminton

Well, let's get to the basics first. Badminton is a game played with a racket and a shuttlecock (known as shuttle birdie in some parts of the world), between two or four players. It was introduced into the Olympics in 1992 as men's singles, women's singles, men's doubles, women's doubles, and mixed doubles. Badminton is an indoor game. There are several similarities between badminton and tennis; and also an equal number of differences. However, playing badminton is considered easier than tennis, though many will disagree. If you wish to know how to play badminton, then here are some easy tips that will be helpful for beginners.

Game Play

• Both, the server and the opponent should stand inside their service courts during the serve.
• In singles as well as doubles, the serve is always done diagonally from one's own right corner to the right corner of the opponent.
• Now, unlike tennis, the birdie should not bounce on the opponent's court before he hits it. It is a direct shot between the server and the opponent.
• The serve should always be done underhand. You can either serve forehand or backhand. However, you should make sure that the serve is underhand.
• The opponent should try to hit the birdie back to the server, without touching the net.
• The back and forth hitting continues until the birdie falls on the ground. Also refer to how to grip a badminton racket
• The lift, the push, and the drive are the common shots that are used while hitting the birdie back to the opponent.
• If the birdie is below the height of the net, you need to lift the birdie upwards to send it back to the opponent's court. Secondly, you can push very slowly to the opponent's court too. Thirdly, you can drive it flat to the opponent's court with full strength.
• Lastly, you should note that you can hit the birdie only once in order to defend / attack and send it back. No double shots or hitting the birdie twice (by the same player) is allowed.

List of Best Football Stadiums in America

In America, football is almost like the second religion for many people and the stadiums where the game is played are like the Duomos (The principal Christian church building of a bishop's diocese). The view of the field is 3D as opposed to the view on television. The experience of watching a football match sitting in the stadium is extra-ordinary because of the excited crowd and their exciting support. The enthusiasm among the fans almost touches the sky filling the stadium with a roar. The cheering and booing of the fans keep boosting the spirit of the players as well as make them feel the pressure of the do or die situation on the field.



Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor

It is the largest and one of the best stadiums in America. The opening day of the stadium was 1st of October, 1927 and the opening game was played between UM and Ohio. Nearly, 21 acres of land was donated to the University by the Detroit native Dexter M. Ferry in 1902. After the donation, the land was united comprising an athletics campus of the Michigan University. In return of the donation the entire complex was renamed as Ferry Field. But, still the stadium could accommodate less fans and the need was felt to do something to accommodate more fans. A new complex was built closer to the site where the Michigan outdoor track lies. Though the new complex was constructed under the same name, Ferry Field was much more different from the older field. The older complex allotted the field for baseball, football and athletics whereas the new Ferry Field had the grass that was exclusively used for football. Michigan had constructed separate practice fields so that Ferry Field was used only on game days.



Memorial Stadium, Nebraska

In the year 1922, funds of around $430,000 were collected to build a new football stadium, by the faculty, students, and well wishers of the Nebraska University. The stadium is located on the campus of the university and has around 83,000 seating capacity. Nebraska is so devoted to Husker football that when full, the stadium holds more people than any other Nebraska city (except Omaha and Lincoln). The name Memorial Stadium is given in the honor of all the Nebraskans who fought in the Civil and Spanish-American wars and 751 Nebraskans who died in the first World War. One interesting thing to know about the stadium is that the stadium is referred to as the "Sea of Red" because of the red apparel of the fans.