mere funde

Author: Amit Goyal

  • Google Case Law, and why it doesn’t matter…

    Whenever Google launches a product there is a huge brouhaha over in the blogosphere (There. I used the stupid word.) and people go nuts about how it is going to be the next big thing. I am not the clean one and am as much to blame as any one else for being a fanboy. However, when Google launched the free legal case law I was hardly excited.

    I was transported back to the days when I was so happy at the launch of Google Patents that I almost predicted doom for patent database providers. Heck, I even sent them an email with features I thought would have been easy to implement.

    Little did I know that it would turn out to be some time pass project for some one bored of regular work at Google. Sure the tool is great, but the limited coverage and search make it almost useless, when Google, using its immense technological prowess could have brought patents to everyone with very little incremental work. But then I guess the team that worked on it got shifted to some more important stuff and the project now sits there like a tool which I use only to read patents – and not search them. What a waste I tell you!!

    Sleep in peace Lexis Nexis – there is no battle brewing on your home turf!

  • Coke Studio

    For the past couple of days, I have been totally hooked on to the performances on Coke Studio, and the concept itself. Go check it out.

    One that I really like is Titliyaan by Strings.

    दिल था खिलौना, चलो टूट गया
    क्या कहें
    कोई साथी था, जिसे चाहा था
    वोही लूट गया, क्या कहें

  • We are like that only…

    I sometimes wonder if we will ever be able to get rid of “free riders“. At least on two occasions here at ISB, a team member has shirked responsibility and contributed nothing to an assignment. Nada.

    Then someone in the group suggests reporting the incident to the ASA, and somehow we decide against it. Once I was against it, because the past record of the team member was good. After all we are humans and are allowed to make one mistake.

    This time, I wanted to report the matter and others suggested that we drop the matter. It might cost the person the course grade and eventually might hurt placements. Is it too large a punishment? Should we have behaved differently?

    I guess a part of the problem is that such incidents are not reported too often, and when they are, the culprits are generally made examples of. This prevents others from reporting them any more. Is the solution to deal with the offence differently? Maybe instead of effecting the grades you could have some other punishment. Like wearing a t-shirt saying “I am a douche bag and don’t do my work!” for a day or so. Or some public service like preparing a course summary alone and sending it to everyone – and grade that instead of the said assignment.

  • Failed promises

    Failed promises – that is what the youngsters in the Indian team are. Not one young player, since Dhoni and Gambhir debuted in 2004, has kept the promise shown in the initial few matches.

    Ishant has been but a pale shade of the bowler who bowled that amazing over to Ponting during that awesome Oz trip. Sreesanth was moved more by movies and glam than cricket. About the batsmen, the lesser said the better. The Jadejas, Sharmas, Pathans, and Utthappas have just shown a lot of promise and then quietly faded away after an initial hoopla has subsided.

    Not one player, other than Raina probably, has shown any sort of consistency. Yes they look good on the field on the occasional days that India fields well. Other than that you can’t depend on them for anything. And yes, we have given them enough chances. They just don’t have the balls to grab the opportunity and prove that they are good enough. Heck they even lack basic cricketing knowledge – Jadeja was a classic example today! What on earth was he running for?? As Jrod says,

    Those were the ten dudes. A collection of shit hot batsmen who were made to look like dribbling fools compared to Sachin.

    And I am just talking about the ODI team. I don’t even want to imagine what happens to the Test team when Sachin, Laxman, and Dravid retire, with Sehwag not too far behind.

  • Five years and counting…

    Just realized that it has been more than 5 years since I wrote my first post.

    Here’s to many more to come 🙂