Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

Lasith Malinga takes a hat-trick, then Ntini for a 'Golden Duck' to make it four wickets in four balls vs South Africa in the Super 8's.

THE GADGET YOU MUST KNOW OF The web cam has emerged as a key peripheral in the age of the Internet, helping people see each others’ image as they chat or make calls. Logitech’s QuickCam gives better image quality When you think Switzerland, what comes to mind? Chocolates, watches, secretive banks, right? Also, buxom Hindi film heroines prancing around with their toupee- wearing leading men, wearing white outfits. But high, cut- ting-edge technology? Now, that is not an area that readily comes to mind when you think of a country that hasn’t gone to war in over 500 years, is it? Logitech would beg to differ. The $2 billion Swiss company is one of the largest manufacturers of web cams, wireless keyboards and mouses. And recently, it launched the L o g i t e c h QuickCam Ultra Vision . In plain English, a Web camera. The web cam has emerged as a key peripheral in the age of the Internet, helping people see each others’ image as they chat or make phone calls online. In earlier years, PC ma...

China will build the world’s highest airport in Tibet as part of a 13-billion-dollar investment splurge in the Himalayan region, state media reported on Tuesday. China will spend more than $12.9 billion over the next three years on 180 projects in Tibet, including the airport in northern Ngari prefecture, Xinhua news agency said, citing the regional government. The airport will be the fourth in Tibet and another important plank in China’s plan to link the remote Himalayan region with the rest of China. A third airport began operating in Nyingchi, southeast Tibet, in September 2006, two months after China launched a railway line from Beijing to the regional capital of Lhasa . The Ngari airport will be located at about 4,300 metres above sea level, making it the highest airport in the world, according to reports in the state press. The first reports of plans for an airport at Ngari emerged in 2005. Xinhua said the 180 projects by 2010 would focus on other forms of infrastructure such as...

IN A bid to curb young women married against their wn from being brought into the country, Britain intends to raise the minimum age at which foreign nationals can receive marriage visas from 18 to 21, The Times of London reported on Sunday The government had earlier raised the minimum age from 16 years to 18, but now intends to go further: It is estimated that once the law is passed, around 3,000 people a year - mostly women from the Indian subcontinent - will be prevented from entering. Their husbands will also have to be at least 21 for them to be allowed in. British Prime Minister Tony Blair is expected to announce this step as part of a 10-year plan on crime, security and justice which will be unveiled later this week. The government will also introduce confidential interviews - before the visa is granted - of those it suspects might have been forced into marriage. The step follows a prolonged campaign by Ann Cryer, Labour MP from Keighley A Downing Street source said the new propo...

Colombian singer Shakira Mebarek performs during her concert at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai on Sunday. The Latina sensation is on her global Oral Fixation tour, and recently performed in Dubai. This was her first performance in India.

The German carmaker BMW has unveiled a “talking car” to help the driver communicate more effectively with his vehicle so as to avoid traffic jams. The carmaker displayed at the German computer fair Cebit in Hanover recently a BMW 3-Series convertible fitted with the auto dialogue system TALK. The onboard computer system is fed with traffic information selected from 10,000 detectors monitoring around the clock the traffic situation along German motorways. TALK picks the information required for a specific route from a central computer, offering the driver an alternative route if necessary. According to BMW, German motorists spend on average 70 hours per year in traffic jams, with a rising tendency because of growing traffic density. Radio traffic information is only of limited help because it often reaches the motorist too late. The TALK system, which is also a Europe-wide research project, is much faster as it can also be transmitted over the car cellphone, according to BMW. Since Marc...

Questions, Replied with witty answers! Customer : Waiter, there's a dead beetle in my soup. Waiter : Yes sir, they are not very good swimmers. Customer : Waiter, there's a fly in my soup. Waiter : That's all right sir, he won't drink much. Customer : Waiter, there's a fly swimming in my soup. Waiter : So what do you expect me to do, call a lifeguard? Customer : Waiter, what's the meaning of this fly in my tea up? Waiter : I wouldn't know sir, I'm a waiter, not a fortune teller. Customer : Waiter, this soup tastes funny. Waiter : Funny? But then why aren't you laughing?

NEW DELHI: Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woolmer, found dead a day after Pakistan’s shock defeat at the hands of Ireland, was murdered, police have confirmed. Although the Pakistan Cricket Board has been claiming that the autopsy conducted on Woolmer was inconclusive, sources, according to Times Now, have confirmed that investigators have indeed said the coach was murdered. In fact, the Jamaican Police is said to be already ascertaining the whereabouts of some of the Pakistan players at the time the murder could have taken place. Sources confirmed to Times Now that further questioning of Pakistan players is on the cards as well. The confirmation comes soon after allegations by former Pakistan pacer Sarfaraz Nawaz that Woolmer was murdered by the betting syndicate. The outspoken Nawaz has said that almost everybody in control of the game is involved in betting and Woolmer was perhaps about to reveal all in a book. Source: INDIATIMES NEWS NETWORK

Pakistan coach was found unconscious in hotel room; shocked Chappell says he knows how tough the job is CASTING a shadow on the World Cup, Pakistan cricket coach Bob Woo lmer died in hospital today, less than 24 hours after Inzamam’s side crashed out of the World Cup after a stunning three-wicket loss to Ireland, their second successive defeat. Woolmer, 58, was found unconscious in his hotel room by cleaners at 10.45 am and was rushed to hospital and admitted in intensive care where he later passed away, Pakistan team media manger Pervez Mir told reporters. According to another version, Woolmer was brought dead to hospital. The cause of death was not immediately released. Woolmer’s wife has been informed and she’s expected here from South Africa. At the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, where Team India’s based, news of Woolmer’s hospitalisation came in just as Greg Chappell was settling down for a press conference the day after his team’s shock defeat against Bangladesh. But minutes...

On a detailed analysis of planetary positions, practical possibilities, the likely performances of players and, more importantly, the fortunes of captains the following possible outcome can be expected in the cricket World Cup . If the time of commencement of the World Cup matches is any indication, the defending champions, Australia , are staring at dethronement. The semi finalists would be the West Indies , Australia, South Africa and India. Australia and India may play the final on April 28. But there is always an element of uncertainty in astrology. The above predictions would be true if the squad remains constant. The West Indies, one of the dark horses, have a good chance based on forces that cannot be gauged by astrological parameters alone. Apart from the pointers horoscopes provide us at the time of the final and the prize distribution ceremony, the strength of the captains’ chart gives Rahul Dravid’s men an edge over the others in the Cup. On the flip side, it is clear that ...

The mobile TV broadcast market is expanding as services were commercially launched in more countries in 2006. A few more launches are expected in 2007, but unavailability of spectrum is the largest barrier to more mobile TV services, according to In-Stat, a high-tech market research firm. Over the next few years, the situation will change. The standards for mobile TV broadcasting continue to expand. There are commercial services that use DVB-H, DAB-IP, ISDB-T, TDMB, S-DMB, and MediaFLO operating today. Other possible standards for the future include DVBSH, an improved version of ATSC, and DMB-T/H in China. With so many standards and no clear leader it is difficult for equipment vendors to achieve economies of scale as they currently offer multiple versions of products to serve the market. Most of the mobile TV broadcast services offer only linear TV content. Future plans from service providers include datacasting weather and traffic information, broadcasting to storage on the phone for...

Beijing: A leading Chinese match making portal will check the age, marital status and other personal details of prospective cyber daters against an official database to prevent deception. The portal, Baihe.Com will screen its eight million online daters from Monday against an “ID authentication system”. The new system was jointly developed by the website and the ministry of public security. “In the long run, we’ll arrange dates only for those who are proven to be telling the truth,” company Ceo Jason Tian said. Tian said the move would enhance trust among online daters, improve credibility and prevent deception, and employees of the website would keep the daters’ personal information strictly confidential. Most Chinese rely on friends and relatives to find a partner, and lack of trust is often cited as a major reason for spurning Internet services. “People tend to misrepresent themselves online and you never know if you are being told the truth,” said schoolteacher Sun Wei. A surve...

British actress Elizabeth Hurley and her husband, Arun Nayar, arrived in Mumbai on Monday for the next leg of their nuptial celebrations — six days of traditional Indian festivities that will culminate in a ceremony at a maharaja’s lavish palace. Photographers snapped shots of Hurley, wearing a short white dress, and Nayar, in a jacket, blue shirt and jeans, arriving at Mumbai’s airport from London early on Monday. The celebrations are to continue from Wednesday to Saturday in the city of Jodhpur at Umaid Bhavan Palace, the Maharaja of Jodphur’s palace-turnedluxury resort. The couple were married on Friday in a private civil ceremony at Sudeley Castle in Winch combe, London. The organisers have hired a local pandit for the rituals. The Umaid Bhavan has 40 suites and 24 rooms. The couple will stay in the Maharaja suite, the most luxurious one. Staff and crew of the hotel are tightlipped about the function. The Mehrangarh Fort is expected to host the reception ceremony. Some functions wi...