India Refuses to surrender!

Scoreboard at the end of play on the fifth day of the second test between India and New Zealand at McLean Park, Napier on Monday.

 New Zealand first innings (619-9 dec)

 India first innings (305 all out)

 India second innings (overnight 252-2)
G. Gambhir lbw b Patel                      137
V. Sehwag lbw b Patel                        22
R. Dravid c How b Vettori                   62
S. Tendulkar c McCullum b Martin         64
V. Laxman not out                              124
Y. Singh not out                                 54
Extras (b-9 lb-1 nb-3)                          13
Total (for four wickets, 180 overs)       476

 Fall of wicket 1-30 2-163 3-260 4-356

Still to bat: Dinesh Karthik, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan,
Ishant Sharma, Munaf Patel

 Bowling (to date): Martin 30-8-86-1 (nb-1), O'Brien
32-9-94-0 (nb-1), Franklin 21-5-48-0, Patel 45-10-120-2, Ryder
11-5-38-0, Vettori 38-13-76-1 (nb-1) Taylor 2-1-4-0 How 1-1-0-0

 Result: match drawn

 India lead three match series 1-0

 Man of the match: Jesse Ryder

 Next match: 3rd test, Wellington (April 3-7)

PC Games: Q1 2009 Review

Here is the list of PC games that are worth a mention:

1.Empire Total War


Minimum System Requirements:

• CPU: 2.6Ghz single core processor
• RAM: 1GB RAM (2GB for Vista)
• Graphics: a DirectX 9.0c card with 256mb RAM

2.Puzzle Quest: Galactrix

Minimum System Requirements

• Operating System: Windows XP SP3, Windows Vista SP1
• CPU Processor: Intel Pentium 4 1.6 GHz or AMD Athlon 2100+
• Memory: XP – 512 MB RAM, Vista – 1 GB RAM
• Hard Disk Space: 1 GB of free space
• Sound Card: DirectX 9.0c compatible sound card
• Video Card: 3D Hardware Accelerator Card Required – 100% DirectX 9.0c compatible 128 MB Video Memory
• Video Card (ATI): Radeon 9200
• Video Card (Nvidia): Geforce 4 TI
• Media Required: 6X CD-ROM drive
• Windows XP/Vista compatible mouse and keyboard with latest drivers

This product does not support Windows 95/98/ME/2000/NT

3.Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II

Minimum Requirements

Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista SP1
P4 3.2 GHz (single core) or any Dual Core processor
1 GB RAM (XP), 1.5 GB RAM (Vista)
A 128MB Video Card (Shader Model 3) - Nvidia GeForce 6600 GT / ATI X1600, or equivalent
5.5 GB of Hard Drive space

Recommended

Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista SP1
AMD Athlon 64×2 4400+ or any Intel Core 2 Duo
2 GB RAM (XP and Vista)
A 256MB Video Card (Shader Model 3) - Nvidia GeForce 7800 GT / ATI X1900, or equivalent
5.5 GB of Hard Drive space

4.F.E.A.R 2


Minimum System Requirements:

*CPU: P4 2.8GHz (3.2GHz Vista)/Athlon 64 3000+ (3200+ Vista)
*GPU: DX9-capable graphics card with 256MB (SM 2.0b). NVidia 6800 or ATI X700.
*RAM: 1GB (1.5GB Vista)
*Hard Drive: 12GB
*OS: Windows XP SP2/Vista SP1
*DirectX: 9.0c
*Sound: DX9.0c compliant
*Optical drive: DVD (boxed only)
*Internet: Broadband

Recommended System Requirements:

*CPU: Core 2 Duo 2.2GHz processor family/Athlon 64 X2 4400+ (required for MP host)
*GPU: Fully DX9-compliant graphics card with 512MB (SM 3.0). NVidia 8600 GTS or ATI HD 2900 XT.
*Ram: 1.5GB
*Hard Drive: 12GB
*OS: Windows XP SP3/Vista SP1
*DirectX: 9.0c
*Sound: DX9.0c compliant
*Optical drive: DVD (boxed only)
*Internet: Broadband (768kbit/sec upstream required to host 16 players)


5.Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box


6.Mirror's Edge

Logo Design

I've registered in a course called Print and Audio Visual Advertising for the current semester and as a part of that, I was required to make a logo for any imaginary company. So, I've decided to make a logo for a shoe company. I've decided to name my company, "GROOVE". Here is a logo for it:


Next up, I'll be trying to design one for my blog.
:)

Adios!

Sports

"Fluke is a once in a lifetime event. The world No.1 side beating an utterly mediocre Australia isn't a fluke. And doing it twice to win the series 2-0 should shut the fans up."


When Australia lost to South Africa in the first T20, one of my friends, a hardcore Aussie supporter says that it was totally a 'FLUKE'. It was so funny because, the guy who said it was a GRE aspirant who has learned the meaning of 5000+ tough English words within a span of 6 months. Yet he uses the F-word to support his team and back them up.

People get as crazy as they probably get when they talk about sports/ favorite players. I'm writing this because, I do the same thing. The only difference is that I know that I'm acting crazy. When it comes to supporting Dhoni, I never have any backup. I am also not the kind of guy who could sell earphones to a deaf guy. I do not understand why people become so wreck less as soon as Dhoni arrives at the crease. Comments fly in the common room, instantly. I do not understand whether they try to provoke me into an argument or they really hate him. I used to hate Dhoni in the initial part of the career. I thought that the media was giving a lot of hype to him that he doesn't deserve. The guys who now are the 'Dhoni Haters' were once his fans, I guess. They just miss Dhoni being DHONI! They miss his enormous number of sixes and just can't live with the fact that he has turned into a more dependable batsman. He is simply the best keeper that India has ever had. One more thing. When he got injured and missed the second test, people said that the injuries are caused because he stresses out his body with all the awkward looking shots. Are these people dumb? Do they know how tough it is to keep wickets? This is how the people have become, looking for every opportunity to criticize Dhoni when they once loved him like hell!

Who the hell wishes for Dhoni getting out for the sake that Yusuf Pathan comes out to bat?!? Given his day, Yusuf can smash any opposition out of the game. That makes him the most inconsistant batsman in the team not the most dangerous. He only plays well in 1 out 25 games and people are dying to see that innings even though it never actually happens.

The whole thing actually gives an example of how real life works. Once, you are respected and valued but when something changes, the same people try to bring you down.

ING Australian Grand Prix Results

I missed the race, but, it looks like Force India drivers did pretty well to earn their respective positions.


Key: Left most column gives starting grid position and the second one gives the final position.

Rockstar announces MaxPayne3!

Rockstar Vancouver has today announced that it will release the third title in the well-received action franchise, entitled Max Payne 3 later this winter. Set to land on PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Rockstar has stated that the story will see Payne embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence.

IPL (Indian Premier League) Schedule

As you all know, this year's IPL is going to be hosted in South Africa due to security reasons. The schedule is as follows:

In all, the 59 matches will be held in eight cities: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban, Pretoria, East London, Kimberly, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth.

Kingsmead in Durban, which has a large number of South Asians, has been allotted the lion's share of 16 matches while the Centurion Park in Pretoria will host 12 ties.

The Wanderers in Johannesburg and Newlands in Cape Town will hold eight matches each, with the latter playing host to four of these on the first two days of the competition.

Seven matches are to be held in St George's Park in Port Elizabeth while Buffalo Park in East London has been allotted four matches.

Two matches each have been handed over to Outsurance Oval in Bloemfontein and De Beers Oval in Kimberley.

Matches will be held at 4 pm (12.30 pm local time) and 8 pm (4.30pm local time) IST.

There are a total of ten double headers (two matches back to back at the same venue) with Durban hosting half of these.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi revealed that official broadcaster Sony will telecast the matches in three languages - English, Hindi and Bengali.

Schedule: All times IST (GMT + 0530)

April 18: Rajasthan Royals (RR) v Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) (4 pm) at Cape Town; Mumbai Indians (MI) v Chennai Super Kings (CSK) (8 pm) at Cape Town

April 19: Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) v Deccan Chargers (DC) (4 pm) at Cape Town; Delhi Daredevils (DD) v Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) (8 pm) at Cape Town

April 20: RCB V CSK (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

April 21: RR v MI (4 pm) at Durban; KKR v KXIP (8 pm) at Durban

April 22: DD v CSK (4 pm) at Durban; RCB v DC (8 pm) at Cape Town

April 23: KKR v RR (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

April 24: KXIP v RCB (4 pm) at Johannesburg

April 25: KKR v CSK (4 pm) at Cape Town; DC v MI (8 pm) at Durban

April 26: RR v KXIP (4 pm) at Cape Town; RCB v DD (8 pm) Port Elizabeth

April 27: KKR v MI (4 pm) at Cape Town; CSK v DC (8 pm) at Durban

April 28: DD v RR (4 pm) at Pretoria

April 29: MI v KXIP (4 pm) at Durban; KKR v RCB (8 pm) at Durban

April 30: DD v DC (4 pm) at Pretoria; RR v CSK (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 1: RCB v KXIP (4 pm) at East London; MI v KKR (8 pm) at Durban

May 2: RR v DC (4 pm) at Johannesburg; CSK v DD (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 3: MI v RCB (4 pm) at Durban; KXIP v KKR (8 pm) at East London

May 4: DC v CSK (4 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 5: DD v KKR (4 pm) at Durban; KXIP v RR (8 pm) at Durban

May 6: MI v DC (4 pm) at Pretoria

May 7: KXIP v CSK (4 pm) at Pretoria; RCB v RR (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 8: DD v MI (4 pm) at East London

May 9: DC v KXIP (4 pm) at Bloemfontein; CSK v RR (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 10: KKR v DD (4 pm) at East London; RCB v MI (8 pm) at Johannesburg

May 11: DC v RR (4 pm) at Bloemfontein

May 12: RCB v KKR (4 pm) at Pretoria; KXIP v MI (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 13: DC v DD (4 pm) at Durban

May 14: MI v RR (4 pm) at Durban; CSK v RCB (8 pm) at Durban

May 15: KXIP v DD (4 pm) at Kimberley

May 16: CSK v MI (4 pm) at Johannesburg; DC v KKR (8 pm) at Port Elizabeth

May 17: RR v DD (4 pm) at Kimberley; KXIP v DC (8 pm) at Johannesburg

May 18: CSK v KKR (4 pm) at Pretoria

May 19: DD v RCB (4 pm) at Johannesburg

May 20: CSK v KXIP (4 pm) at Durban; RR v KKR (8 pm) at Durban

May 21: DC v RCB (4 pm) at Pretoria; MI v DD (8 pm) at Pretoria

May 22: Semi Final 1 at Pretoria

May 23: Semi Final 2 at Johannesburg

May 24: Final at Johannesburg

ROFL! LMAO! LOL!

Saturday Qualifying: F1 Australian Grand Prix

Brawn became the first Formula One team in 39 years to take the pole position in its debut race when Jenson Button secured front place on the grid for Sunday's season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

1	J. Button	Brawn GP	1:26.202
2	R. Barrichello	Brawn GP	1:26.505
3	S. Vettel	Red Bull	1:26.830
4	R. Kubica	BMW	1:26.914
5	N. Rosberg	Williams	1:26.973
6	T. Glock	Toyota	1:26.975
7	F. Massa	Ferrari	1:27.033
8	J. Trulli	Toyota	1:27.127
9	K. Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:27.163
10	M. Webber	Red Bull	1:27.246
11	N. Heidfeld	BMW	1:25.504
12	F. Alonso	Renault	1:25.605
13	K. Nakajima	Williams	1:25.607
14	H. Kovalainen	McLaren	1:25.726
15	L. Hamilton	McLaren	no time
16	S. Buemi	Scuderia Toro Rosso	1:26.503
17	N. Piquet jr.	Renault	1:26.598
18	G. Fisichella	Force India F1	1:26.677
19	A. Sutil	Force India F1	1:26.742
20	S. Bourdais	Scuderia Toro Rosso	1:26.964

Hard day for Force India drivers. Hoping that they do better on Race day!

Arsenal

BTW, I'm the No.3 Arsenal fan on FanIQ!


Check this out: Click here!

FIFA WORLD CUP 2010: SOUTH AFRICA

Here is the official poster for the event. It's brilliant. The shape of the continent turned like a footballer's head. Wow!

World Cup 2010 Qualifiers: Saturday

There is no good sport on Indian TV this weekend. There aren't many matches from the European leagues. They are busy with the World Cup 2010 qualifiers. I loved football right from my school days but, never this much. I used to be a Manchester United fan. The lack of proper knowledge about other teams might be a reason. For the people outside England, Manchester United is the name associated with English football and also success. That might be a reason why most of the people from Asia are MU fans. But, I used to be a fan of their success, never their football. Now, I've grown older and more mature in my thinking. I know my football and absolutely love the way Arsenal play their football. That's the reason why I'm Arsenal Till I die.


South American Grouping: Top 4/5 go to the world cup i guess.


Asian Group Qualifiers:


Grouping of African teams:


European Grouping:


Here is list of European qualifiers this Saturday. I will mark the teams that I think will win in Green.

Hungary vs. Albania
Malta vs. Denmark
Portugal vs. Sweden (Need to win)
Luxembourg vs. Latvia
Moldova vs. Switzerland
Israel vs. Greece
Northern Ireland vs. Poland
Slovenia vs. Czech Republic
Russia vs. Azerbaijan
Wales vs. Finland
Germany vs. Liechtenstein
Armenia vs. Estonia
Belgium vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina
Spain vs. Turkey (Will make it 10 in a row)
Romania vs. Serbia
Lithuania vs. France (Must win)
Cyprus vs. Georgia
Montenegro vs. Italy
Republic of Ireland vs. Bulgaria
Netherlands vs. Scotland

I couldn't pick a clear winner in the other games. Let's see how many of them that I've predicted right.

Check out this link for detailed information on the World Cup 2010: Click here!

The only people who can legally 'kill' someone should be either a Doctor or a Soldier!

Did you Know?

Portugal won 2 medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics held in China. One of them was a gold and the other a silver. The man who won the gold for his country is Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro. He won it in diving. "He was marvelous on the diving board...we feel that the jury could have given him bonus points. He had flair..", a fan has quoted. Here is the picture of the amazing feat of triumph and pride.

:D

Holi

Today is Holi. The festival of colors, celebrated all over India. Everyone is so exited. Everyone celebrates the festival with good spirits regardless of age, religion, etc. The main reason why the festival is famous is that people ‘play’ and enjoy with colors. It is celebrated quite differently in college. They dig up a pit in the ground; fill it with water and mix up the mud. What they do is, throw a person in the mud, and dip his face in the mud, almost making him unable to breathe. The poor guy struggles to breathe while in the mud hole and when he’s out, he does the same thing to his friends. Seeking Revenge?

Some call it enthusiasm. I do not think so. That I think isn’t fun. It is almost like a WWE ring of mud. It’s like a pig fight. People tear each other’s shirts like hooligans. As if the ‘fun’ they had is not enough, they target their friends who don’t want to get dirty and push them in. So, some people start to comment on the ones who don’t like what these people are doing. They think that they have reached a milestone/ great height by performing these acts of madness. I feel this because I haven’t seen Holi being celebrated in this kind of fashion while I as in Andhra. I don’t think that anyone has. It used to be mostly colors and occasionally eggs. This is totally different. The way in which I celebrate a festival is my will and wish. No one has the right or power to make me do the things that I do not want to. If you are having fun, go on. No one is going to stop you.

Happy Holi. Play Safe!

Men and War

It's been a long time since I've posted. I guess that the wrath of the CDCs has finally been unleashed. I thought that we would find it difficult in the last semester, but things were different. All the assignments, projects and the stupid tests are driving me nuts. I've also been playing FIFA09 in our college tournament. I do not understand how I'm spending my time but, it sure is flying. When we think that we've got a break, someone posts an assignment or puts up a viva schedule. Some of these vivas are too ridiculous. There are people who ask people to sit down in a room for 4 hours straight for a mere 2-3 marks. I've heard many people say that time is valuable. But, no one said 2/3 marks are valuable.


Anyway, I've been watching some game trailers and I'm terrified by the insanely large amount of war games that are coming out in the year. Men like FPS. But, aren't there any other stories to make up a game on? Even worse is the fact that most of the games are either based on WW1 or WW2. Get a Life please!