Howlers are Fun !

In keeping with the theme that laughter is the best medicine, here are a few howlers:

• In an East African newspaper: A new swimming pool is rapidly taking shape since the contractors have thrown in the bulk of their workers.
• Notice outside an American factory: “CLOSING DOWN, THANKS TO ALL OUR CUSTOMERS.”
• From a Japanese information booklet about using a hotel air conditioner: Cooles and Heates: If you want just condition of warm in your room, please control yourself. From a Japanese information booklet about using a hotel air conditioner: Cooles and Heates: If you want just condition of warm in your room, please control yourself.
• In the lobby of a Moscow hotel across from a Russian Orthodox monastery: You are welcome to visit the cemetery where famous Russian and Soviet composers, artists, and writers are buried daily except Thursday.
• Sign in an Istanbul hotel “TO CALL ROOM SERVICE, PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR AND CALL ROOM SERVICE.”

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83 % of all email is Spam!

Shocking revelation in USA Today. We knew it was bad…but not this bad. According to the report as much as 83 % of all email is Spam.

“Unwanted commercial e-mail is growing by electronic leaps and bounds: An Internet-buckling 60 billion to 150 billion messages per day.”

I don’t know if it helps but I was advised never to unsubscribe to Spam as my email id gets further circulated. Any truth in this?

Women of Steel !

Can you imagine a lady engineer working in shifts in a steel plant in India? Many of my generation would say “No way! Not in our time”.

Suresh Nair, Vice President HR of Tata Steel says : “There was a time when women wouldn’t enter steel plants or were not allowed to. Today almost 10% of our officers are women, of which 1,600 work on the shop floor. Of the new appointees this year, 18% are women. This has increased from about 13% two years ago.”

Wow! Interesting developments for advocates of ladies breaking into new jobs. Apart from the now common bus conductor ( or is she a conductress?), I have seen women driving ambulances and auto-rickshaws in my city of Bangalore, India.

Have you come across women in , for them, unconventional occupations?

Chak De, India- Men’s Style

The Indian men’s hockey team surprised South Korea- and indeed most hockey fans in India if not all over the world- recently.

They drubbed the more fancied South Korea team by 7 goals to 2 in the finals of the Asia Cup in Chennai. Coach Carvalho hailed his players’ fitness and teamwork after the former world power rattled in 57 goals and conceded just five over seven games, beating South Korea twice and edging out surprise Asiad silver medalists China on the way to glory.

India must win one of three qualifying tournaments being staged early next year to advance to the 2008 Olympics at Beijing.

The Hindi movie Chak De, India does seem to have had an effect!

Sportsmanship

Most parents would love to spend time coaching their kids in their favourite game. Apart from the obvious physiological benefits, sports teach us values which inculcated as children last us a life time.

One of the biggest gains for a growing child is about being part of a team and learning the fine art of sportsmanship.

While it is natural for parents to want their kids to succeed at sport, what is equally important is to use the opportunity to teach them these values. They will be great assets as the kids grow into corporate life.

Twenty20 Records

What are the current Twenty20 records? . There are tons of records for the statistically inclined but here are a few of the best:

• Highest Innings Total : Australia’s 221/5 in 20 overs averaging 11.05 per over vs. England
• Lowest Innings Total: Australia 79 in 14.3 overs versus England.
• Most Runs In An Innings: Australia’s Ricky Ponting 98* in 55 balls vs New Zealand
• Best Bowling Figures in an Innings: 4-22 in 4 overs. England’s Paul Collingwood vs Sri Lanka
• Fastest 50: 51 * in 23 balls. Sri Lanka’s Jayasuriya vs. New Zealand

Records are meant to be broken. I am sure many will be in the course of the 1st Twenty20 World Cup being played from today in South Africa.

Twenty20 World Cup

Cricket lovers have a feast ahead of them. I look forward to the 1st Twenty20 World Cup which kicks off today with a game between South Africa ( the hosts) and the West Indies. The setting: the famous Bullring at the Wanderers in Jo’burg.

12 teams vie for the inaugural Cup being played from Sept 11- There are 3 teams in 4 groups.
Group A : South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh
Group B: England, Australia and Zimbabwe
Group C: New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Kenya
Group D: India, Pakistan and Scotland

The fixture promises great entertainment with 27 matches being held from Sept 11 till the finals on Sept 24.

Rules for Twenty20 are very different from One Day Internationals. Each match lasts for only 3 hours. No bowler can bowl more than 4 overs etc.

Let’s settle down to enjoy what has been called the “third generation ” game of cricket.