EURO Stars!!

It was a joy to watch El Nino (Torres) scoring the winner for Spain which put an end to the itchy 44 year wait for Glory...first of all he's one of my favorite players & moreover he's from Liverpool...that made it even more special...

This shud give u the comprehensive analysis of the final...
http://riteshp.blogspot.com/2008/06/ebullient-energetic-espana.html

Fernando's my player of the tournament...many would disagree with this as he hasn't really scored the number of goals one wud want him to...but his tireless work rate......Constantly being marked by a minimum of 2 defenders all the time...Taking away the defenders with him, his deep runs & selflessness that gave David villa enough space to exploit & villa didnt disappoint.

Marcus senna has been a revelation...who always had that calming influence in midfield and ably partnered Xavi...The Brazilian born Spanish playmaker truly deserves a pat on his back...

Xavi...as usual simply consistent...maintained the spanish Tempo...

Next up is David Villa...scored a hatrick against Russia...had a real good understanding with torres on the pitch...Scored that inspirational winner against sweden...shud i say more?

Arshavin...its a sad situation really..he will have to live with the fact that Russia were beaten by a better team..nevertheless he's been the find of the tournament...May be the Barcelona transfer speculation got onto him and was not at the top of his game in SF against Spain.

Yuri Zhirkov...Another Russian...a Left Back...has got that delicate touch and capable of those mazy runs...am sure the clubs in top leagues are lookin out for him....

Fabulous Fabregas again...who didnt dissappoint when called upon...he was the SUPER SUB.

Andrea Iniesta...didnt have the best of starts but it was his nimble footwork that setup a few vital goals for spain...he is every striker's Dream.

Michael Ballack...Simply Inspirational...again...
Its the final jinx that still haunts him...remember 2002 world cup final in which Ballack missed out due to suspension & germany lost? and wat about the champions league last season with chelsea & EPL as well...He will surely want to go a step ahead of runners-up tag.

Dutch Played some brilliant Football & they convincingly beat Italy & France but it was sad to see the way they bowed out against a relentless Russian attack...The DARK HORSE failed again...but senijder has been immense...playing in the hole behind the striker...involved with some superb link up play...& a few classy goals as well...he will want to do better in South Africa.


The gigantic Palyuchenko from Russia...3 goals to his name...has a superb shot & nice first touch...he needs a few chances infront of goal to score one but when he does get it right...its marvellous!

Goal Keeper is the last resort for any defense & cassilas stepped up & lived upto the expectations...made some vital saves...pipped Buffon (Italian Goalie) in penalty shootout & catapulted spain into SF...& ably captained Spain to Euro Glory.

The last but not the least...Sergio Ramos...the flying right back has been immense...not only good offensively but defensively as well...cutting the wing supplies...& majorly responsible for keeping Arshavin quiet during the SF.

Euro 2008 has showcased football particularly well with all the teams adopting an open style of play...not a single boring match i must say...

& Spain's the worthy winner!!

The story of Gobi so far!!

Yes its the story of very famous delicacy served in Mess of NITK's 5th block...The proper name being Gobi Manchurian...

The name 'gobi' reminisces glimpses from my school days...the story goes like this...

We had our lunch in the school dining hall (yes, its a residential school) and went to our class room after a break...One fellow started hiccuping...and then sir asked 'what did u have for lunch?'...Gobi was the special dish served on that day and he told 'its the Gobi effect sir'...and hence the dude was christened with a brand new name...'Gobi'

This is just the beginning...

I cant really find words to describe Gobi...i am referring only to the 5th block gobi...It proved to be so good that, in final year a bunch of us had this policy to eat out if gobi was being served...at least we had an excuse to eat out!

We used to refer to them as Gobi Bombs...

Well...i dont really know how i have to put this but...its kind of a cliche...Kind of sarcastic as well...its restricted to a bunch of gults who can comprehend this...rest..pls dont bother...

If someone annoyed you or irritated you..the reply wud be 'if u act more..i ll make u eat 2 cups of gobi' or say 'i ll drop a gobi bomb on u'...

i knw its silly but never mind!

As ansvad likes to put it...the 'mess'age is over...its a releif to be out of mess but it will always remind me of the innumerable cross table conferences and chit chats & the funny moments shared :(

I wud like to dedicate this post to Galagala, Pyscho & Venkat...who are into BPCL, IOCL & HPCL...let their companies keep fuelling my truck company for ever n ever...God bless them wherever they are and wherever they go...

The Emergence of Russia!

Football is not really the term that comes to our mind while discussing russia...probably nuclear weapons, may be the US cold war, or the communism..but not football...surely...here's how i will prove you wrong...

Let me start off with the so called 'group of death' i.e. Group C which had holland, italy, france & romania...Itlay and france being the winners and runnersup of last edition of world cup...obviously one would have expected them to go through to the knockout stages with considerable ease...but it had to happen otherwise...

The situation with the dutch team has always been ironical...they are coined as 'Dark Horse'...for they have it in them to knock off any team on their day...The so talented members of the dutch team owe a lot to their domestic league coz it's been the best breeding ground for european talent...Dutch's famous for its football exports..

Okay now...inspite of having such a strong domestic setup...they have failed to deliver on the big stage for quite a while...So now they had that ample opportunity to prove the doubters wrong with the Grp of Death...

Dutch started off with a bang and oh yes! they played the beautiful game beautifully with the counter attacking style...they murdered italy with a 3-0 victory and decimated france with a 4-1 win...the second string dutch side managed a 2-1 win over romania to complete the clean sweep...and dutch looked dangerous!!

But alongside the dutch team...another team gradually made its way into the quarters...yes its russia...They took it in the first match with a 4-1 heavy defeat to spain...and every1 said that this wud be the end of journey...but they fought hard against greece to make it 1-0...

And then they managed 2-0 win over sweden...that too..they did it in style...aresnal style i shud say...link up and counter attacking play...This was bcoz an unknown european entity brought the pace and the cutting edge the russian team lacked...

Yes thats none other than Arshavin...when i heard the name for first time...i thought arshavin who? whos this guy? he was the one who turned the game around against sweden...amazing player...a total footballer i must say...

skill, pace, control, vision, passing what not...u name it..he has it...who can simply ghost past defenders...not the Ronaldo type of player and never does those whicky whacky stepovers and silly tricks...Totally neat stuff...

Well...Now russia were pitted against dutch in the quarters...and the dutch totally lost the plot right from the beginning...probably overconfidence did cost them dear...after lots of pressing russia sqeezed out a goal...they kept creating opportunities one after another but they paid for poor finishing...Ruud van equaliesed with 4 minutes to go...and the game was dragged into extra time...

Arshavin kept those feeds comin onto the striker's feet and finally after some brilliant wingplay they took the lead...2-1...Dutch gave it up and arshavin capped off his brilliant performance with a sumptuous finish...thru the legs of vander saar...

Most of the football pundits predicted that russia would be a cakewalk for Holland...how ironical? Russia not only managed to get out of jaws of defeat but they managed to beat the winner of Group of Death...oh yes! in style of course...

Russia now, is surely a force to reckon with in World football...Manager Mastermind Guus Hiddnink deserves all the praise that has come his way...

And hence the emergence of russia!!

PS : I hope Liverpool sign Arshavin :)

To hell with these suck all reality shows!!

Now a days we get to see these sucked up reality shows where people pretend to be something that they arent and they call it a bloody reality show...The list is endless if i get started with...But i thought may be MTV Roadies was good but that too comes under 'suck all' shows...why cant these TV people come up with something creative...

All they do is simply copy cat a popular show from West (basically US) and present a Desi Version...Looking at the trend...

KBC, Big boss or watever, Indian Idol, Laughter challenge....

I must say all of the above shows did well in intially...KBC for example was a huge success and second season not bad either...But then people were sick of the overdose and owing to amitabh's deteriorating health it was scrapped...TRP ratings were pretty good then...but then after a few years shahrukh tried to step into big B's shoes, the craze escalated all of the sudden and in no time it simply had to hit the nadir...

Though Indian Idol is a concept borrowed from 'American Idol'...it did well initially nevertheless...but 'Indian Idol' is a thing of past now...at least from what i have seen...the craze's no longer there...Indian Idol's impact eventually led to a barrage of singing reality shows...which failed to sustain...

Oh yes! and Big Boss with Rakhi Sawant being the star attraction!!...i doubt it, but do we still have it?

May be its good for the public that these reality shows are short lived and new ones keep replacing them...

And the latest Panchvi pass is again a western concept...i havent followed it closely though...so no right to comment! But it seems so that 10ka DUM is doin better than both panchvi pass and Hrithik's new 'jashn manaale' shown on NDTV Imagine...

IPL extravaganza has been a whiff of fresh air in the midst of these reality shows and saas bahu serials...It so happens that these elderly people are glued to these serials and childern inevitably watch them coz not every house can afford multiple TVs u know...and the effects can be disastrous!!

Gone are the days when we had shows like 'Meri Awaz Suno'!

I am eagerly waiting for good old English Premier League and Champions League for they never dampen ur excitement...and a zillion times better than any reality show we have...all i want to say is 'sports' are a safe bet anyday...which will never bore us...! I will be grateful for the fact that we had Roland Garros, IPL and now Euro 2008, Formula-1 and Wimbeldon...they rescued me from the predicament of a boring vacation !!

Broadband Agony!

With the broadband wave sweeping across India...My town had its turn and and i got a connection for my home...For i had suffered enough with the antiquated 52kbps dial up connection...

I applied for it on a Monday and got it on Wednesday...well...such swift service...i have heard about people in cities waiting for months together to get this one...so staying in suburban area does help sometimes :)

My plan was 500c+ (2Mbps)...i had to shell out 600 per month for this one...it included 2.5 GB normal download limit and unlimited download from 2 to 8 AM...

An outdoor BSNL engineer had setup the connection and he gave me a link where i could check the download limit and all...though the site sucked...i managed get a glimpse of usage once in a while..things were looking good and i did something that i shud have done long before buying the connection...

I checked out a few reviews...most of them had a pejorative verdict...Few people even claimed that their bill ran into thousands per month...They even went on to mention that they were charged for the free time as well...absolutely ridiculous!!

I stretched the offer to its limit and raked up 2504 MB (out 0f 2.5 GB) to be precise...and when i got the bill...it was a pleasant surprise...the exact thing was mentioned in the bill and i didnt pay a penny more...

BSNL has its plus points...its the cheapest broadband in India till date (as far as i know)...Speeds are awesome...consistent download speed of 150-200kbps...wat more can we ask for? The only demerit can be the customer service...

So one needs to carefully check out the terms and conditions before buying the product...maybe sounds cliched but as they say patience pays and hurry makes worry!!

I pity u Mr.FedEx....

I guess this might be end of French dream for Federer...It ll surely take a miracle to beat the current king of clay...

Since i was totally jobless sitting at home...i followed Rolland Garros (french open) a bit closely this time around..

Federer is still the world number 1 but in today's final he didnt really show what he's made of...consistency...There were a few sparks here and there with the drop shots and all that but the number of unforced errors summed up his game...Nadal's cross court shots were out of this world...haven't seen someone hit em like that...To be beaten in 3 straight sets is a shame...6-0 in the third set said it all

Nadal's clay domination is here to stay and more French titles are awaiting him...

I am no tennis expert but from what i have seen, Nadal tries to dictate the pace of the game...and his movement across the baseline is terrific...its like he was born on clay...I saw Federer slipping away a few times in the semifinal game...clay is simply not his terrain...

Talking about the other gender...Lucky ivanovic...She must totally thank Justine Henin for the early retirement...I wanted Safina to win after watching her comeback games against Elena & Maria...But ivanovic prevailed...

Well...with Djokovic having the recent aus open, nadal with the french...the race for wimbeldon is wide open...i dont see any particular favourite...

Totally looking forward to wimbeldon....

The BAJA Xperience...

I have always wanted to share my BAJA Experience...and the time has come...
It was one hell of a roller coaster ride...

Hatsoff to Susheel chand and Sarogi Bhai for their perseverance...much of the credit should go to them as they gave it all...They were at IITM participating in an RC car event and susheel's friend informed him about an event called SAE BAJA...its popularly known as mini BAJA across Europe and America...its a multi national event where nearly 100 to 150 teams participate....

SAE BAJA is an event where College students have to design and fabricate an all terrain vehicle all by themselves...the design and manufacturing should conform to the rules provided by the organizers...we were given a hundred pages pdf!!

SAE India wanted to bring this concept here and so it conducted the first ever SAE INDIA BAJA event...The deadline was over when susheel came to know abt this event...Each team had to pay up 10k for registration and susheel shrewdly convinced the director and managed to get the fund...we pushed the deal through and registered for the event...50 teams had registered and 25 wud qualify for the main event...And yes we did qualify....

Now Anant and susheel went about building the team...Anant came to my room and explained it to me and i just readily agreed without slightest hesitation...Finally the team was ready...we were a team of 14 (8 final yrs, 4 3rd years and 2 second yrs)...Now the harder part was about to begin..the actual work!!

Amit and Aiyaz agreed to do the finance management...And from day one they had their hands full...stacks of bills being couriered to their rooms everyday!!

We went about with designing first...At first we decided to assign a particular sector of design to a team of 2 or 3...like CAD, transmission, Chassis (rollcage) etc...that didnt work and it was decided to give the design burden to sudheel, rupak and mallya with kushal(2) asisting mallya in CAD...Rupak is another main player i wud like to mention...Kind of person who gets work done no mater what...

Another aspect of this event is u have to look for sponsors...Amit was entrusted with this and he went across Mangalore looking for a local sponsor but in vain...every1 was willing to sponsor to a tune of few thousands...the project involves lakhs of rupees!! we are not building a toy car here :D

After a month or so the design was done...The basic objective was to not to try any new stuff and keep it as simple as we can...We still didnt have a sponsor...We were pooling up money from our pockets...And finally The breakthrough...Bosch agreed to sponsor our college and RV college as well...2 months for the kickoff now...We started off with fabricating straightaway...

Lombardini and Mahindra provided the teams with Engine and Gear box respectively...We had to fix a few bugs in the gearbox...Then engine became a major headache and time killer, in spite of trying every method in the book, we missed the basic thing, the small spark plug...we had to get a new one and Lombardini had its only plant in aurangabad...Anant agreed to go and he was back with proper instructions and a new spark plug....the engine came to life!

After fabrication we started the assembly...we encountered some problems with brakes...the caliper holder was brushing against the rim and we fixed it with the crudest of methods :P Aggu and Aiyaz bhai did it...A great man told us that the suspensions wud never work and better late than never..we realized and modified the suspensions...After the whole assembly was done...we crosschecked the rule book and i was entrusted with the electrical part and i did my job somehow...the car was decorated with side panels where the logos wud sit...After sorting out a few teething problems we were all set for a test run...the kill switches that we used cost us merely 50 bucks...but the ones as mentioned in the rule book are worth nearly 2k...!!! Every team member had a ride and showed off the car in the campus..it was fun!

We had a vote out for driver's slot...not the MTV roadies way...
to qualify one needs to have a license...half job done their..we came down to 3...pratik, amit and susheel...pratik being a 2nd year wud get opportunities in the coming year (a great driver he is)...so Amit and susheel got the green signal...susheel didnt have a license yet...but he convinced us that he wud get one bfr the event...we had a test run in the dried up lake near NITK (KREC) school...and it was a perfect spot...All the 3 drivers tried and we were convinced that we had built an all terrain vehicle :D

Alas..the brakes started fading away and the reason was a leak...we fixed it temporarily with mseal...we used so much mseal that even the gear changing knob was made of mseal :P and yes i aint kidding here...another crude method...the team was aptly titled 'JUNKYARD MANIACS'!!

Adi and Jha got a new set of tools..The team was split into 2 batches..one wud take care of vehicle and another wud take care of spares...all was set...