In four simple words: something to work on. Actually, I guess 'something' might not be that simple a word. Sorry. Anyway, for well over two years now this site has been on- and offline, with and without design, always with the intent of one day turning it into the site to end all other sites. Unfortunately, the evils of time and a low attention span have so far managed to defeat this ambitious plan. But it's not like the creative minds behind FM have been sitting around gathering brain wrinkle fluff all this time. On this site you can find some of the work they've done and what they're working on now. Whether games, movies, other sites or different, you can bet it's going to kick your fucking ass and then roost on your neck while it pecks at your eyeballs. So glance around and see what makes you tingle inside.
Back After a Hiatus
Well!!! Well!!! It's almost a month since my last(lost!!!) post. was quite busy with office work?!?!?! Now it feels nice to be back :-).. So It would be appropriate to discuss about the hot happenings over the past weeks..
Indian Premier League - Will it sustain the hype??
And this is a million dollar question. Will IPL generate the same interest that it has managed to get in the previous editions. And I have to say that I am skeptical about it. Not because the puppy love with T20 cricket has ended, but the tournament format has a lot to do with it. As per the current format, every franchisee team has to play 14 games before qualifiying for the semifinal berth. And this i feel is too boring when, in most cases, the semifinalists are known for sure even long before the league matches are over. The present format also runs for 45 days or so, quite lengthy, which can easily tire even a die-hard cricket enthusiast. So It is high time the IPL Commissioner does something about it. Tweaking the format here and there.
Setting aside these things, let us focus on the game itself. Who do u think will win this year's edition?? Who will be the top four teams?? Well!!! I have done some analysis on my part and expect Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, & Delhi Daredevils to capture the semifinal berth without much fuzz. There might be a tough battle between Chennai and Bangalore to reach the semifinals. Post your opinions as to this in the comments area.
I am an avid supporter of Chennai Super Kings not because of its talent pool ( One has to see if there is any such thing in this team!!), but because I am a Chennaite. To extend my support to the team further, I along with my friends went to M.A.Chidambaram Stadium for their inaugural match against the Deccan Chargers. And it turned out to be a nightmare to me and my guys. Not only we were outplayed but it was disheartening not to see any special performances from our side. The bowling was mediocre which allowed the Deccan Chargers to take the initiative and charge ahead. Muralidharan is only a ghost of his own self. The batting succumbed under pressure. Hayden didn't use the Mongoose bat which in fact may have the affected the outcome of the match. Everyone in the team played as if they were out in the stadium after having a heavy lunch. If this performance reflects the true state of the Super Kings, then they are into great trouble. They can't even think about giving a shot at the semifinals. :-(
Read more
Indian Premier League - Will it sustain the hype??
And this is a million dollar question. Will IPL generate the same interest that it has managed to get in the previous editions. And I have to say that I am skeptical about it. Not because the puppy love with T20 cricket has ended, but the tournament format has a lot to do with it. As per the current format, every franchisee team has to play 14 games before qualifiying for the semifinal berth. And this i feel is too boring when, in most cases, the semifinalists are known for sure even long before the league matches are over. The present format also runs for 45 days or so, quite lengthy, which can easily tire even a die-hard cricket enthusiast. So It is high time the IPL Commissioner does something about it. Tweaking the format here and there.
Setting aside these things, let us focus on the game itself. Who do u think will win this year's edition?? Who will be the top four teams?? Well!!! I have done some analysis on my part and expect Kolkata Knight Riders, Mumbai Indians, & Delhi Daredevils to capture the semifinal berth without much fuzz. There might be a tough battle between Chennai and Bangalore to reach the semifinals. Post your opinions as to this in the comments area.
I am an avid supporter of Chennai Super Kings not because of its talent pool ( One has to see if there is any such thing in this team!!), but because I am a Chennaite. To extend my support to the team further, I along with my friends went to M.A.Chidambaram Stadium for their inaugural match against the Deccan Chargers. And it turned out to be a nightmare to me and my guys. Not only we were outplayed but it was disheartening not to see any special performances from our side. The bowling was mediocre which allowed the Deccan Chargers to take the initiative and charge ahead. Muralidharan is only a ghost of his own self. The batting succumbed under pressure. Hayden didn't use the Mongoose bat which in fact may have the affected the outcome of the match. Everyone in the team played as if they were out in the stadium after having a heavy lunch. If this performance reflects the true state of the Super Kings, then they are into great trouble. They can't even think about giving a shot at the semifinals. :-(
Fun with Maths - Infinity Series
Is it possible to compare two different infinities and say which one is larger?? Or else infinities as a whole are uncountable??
To state the point, one has to say it is not possible to count the number of numbers in the infinite series. but it is possible to compare two infinities and figure out which one is larger.
To stress the point, if we can pair the objects of two infinite groups so that each object of one infinite collection pairs with each object of another infinite collection, and no objects in either group are left alone, the two infinities are equal. If, however, such arrangement is impossible and in one of the collections some unpaired objects are left, we say that the infinity of objects in this collection is larger, or we can say stronger, than the infinity of objects in the other collection.
To understand this better, we can take the example of the infinity of all even numbers and the infinity of all odd numbers and try to figure out which one is larger??
That is,
1+3+5+7+9+11+....+∞
and
2+4+6+8+10+....+∞
You feel, of course, intuitively that there are as many even numbers as there are odd, and this is in complete agreement with the above rule, since a one-to-one correspondence of these numbers can be arranged:
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
There is an even number to correspond with each odd number in this table, and vice versa; hence the infinity of even numbers is equal to the infinity of odd numbers. Seems quite simple and natural indeed!
But wait a moment. Which do you think is larger: the number of all numbers, both even and odd, or the number of even numbers only? Of course you would say the number of all numbers is larger because it contains in itself all even numbers and in addition to all odd ones. But that is just your impression, and in order to get the exact answer you must use the above rule for comparing two infinities. And if you use it you will find to your surprise that your impression was wrong. In fact here is the table of one-to-one correspondence of all numbers on one side, and even numbers only on the other:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 etc..
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 etc..
Here again, writing it in the form of the series,
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8....+∞ - a series of natural numbers
2+4+6+8+10+12+14+...+∞ - a series of even numbers alone
But again the series of even numbers can be re-written in the following manner by taking the common factor, 2 , out of the series.
which re-arranges to,
2(1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+...+∞)
and this implies that the infinite even number series is twice as large the infinite natural numbers series. Mind-boggling. What seemed so clear on the outset has taken a complete turn-over.
Now, it becomes even easier to find out which is larger - an infinite even number series or an infinite odd number series. Since odd numbers are only a subset of the natural number series, it becomes crystal clear that the infinite even number series are a way larger than the odd series.
1+3+5+7+9+11+...+∞ is a subset of
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+...+∞ which in turn is a subset of
2+4+6+8+10+...+∞.
QED.
N.B: QED stands for Quod Erat Demonstratum in Latin, it is nothing but when we say as "Hence Proved" in English.
Read more
To state the point, one has to say it is not possible to count the number of numbers in the infinite series. but it is possible to compare two infinities and figure out which one is larger.
To stress the point, if we can pair the objects of two infinite groups so that each object of one infinite collection pairs with each object of another infinite collection, and no objects in either group are left alone, the two infinities are equal. If, however, such arrangement is impossible and in one of the collections some unpaired objects are left, we say that the infinity of objects in this collection is larger, or we can say stronger, than the infinity of objects in the other collection.
To understand this better, we can take the example of the infinity of all even numbers and the infinity of all odd numbers and try to figure out which one is larger??
That is,
1+3+5+7+9+11+....+∞
and
2+4+6+8+10+....+∞
You feel, of course, intuitively that there are as many even numbers as there are odd, and this is in complete agreement with the above rule, since a one-to-one correspondence of these numbers can be arranged:
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
There is an even number to correspond with each odd number in this table, and vice versa; hence the infinity of even numbers is equal to the infinity of odd numbers. Seems quite simple and natural indeed!
But wait a moment. Which do you think is larger: the number of all numbers, both even and odd, or the number of even numbers only? Of course you would say the number of all numbers is larger because it contains in itself all even numbers and in addition to all odd ones. But that is just your impression, and in order to get the exact answer you must use the above rule for comparing two infinities. And if you use it you will find to your surprise that your impression was wrong. In fact here is the table of one-to-one correspondence of all numbers on one side, and even numbers only on the other:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 etc..
^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^^
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 etc..
Here again, writing it in the form of the series,
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8....+∞ - a series of natural numbers
2+4+6+8+10+12+14+...+∞ - a series of even numbers alone
But again the series of even numbers can be re-written in the following manner by taking the common factor, 2 , out of the series.
which re-arranges to,
2(1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8+...+∞)
and this implies that the infinite even number series is twice as large the infinite natural numbers series. Mind-boggling. What seemed so clear on the outset has taken a complete turn-over.
Now, it becomes even easier to find out which is larger - an infinite even number series or an infinite odd number series. Since odd numbers are only a subset of the natural number series, it becomes crystal clear that the infinite even number series are a way larger than the odd series.
1+3+5+7+9+11+...+∞ is a subset of
1+2+3+4+5+6+7+...+∞ which in turn is a subset of
2+4+6+8+10+...+∞.
QED.
N.B: QED stands for Quod Erat Demonstratum in Latin, it is nothing but when we say as "Hence Proved" in English.