McGrath the batsman

This article by Tim de Lisle on McGrath the ODI batsman makes for great reading :-)

nanopolitan's analysis: R&D funding

Prof. Abinandanan presents a nice incisive analysis of science R&D funding in India (wrt the present budget) in his blog ...

Holi cows

The Telegraph's report on holi cows of India ...
Isnt it great while all the average Indian will be working his ass off on Monday, the representatives of the average Indian will be enjoying holidays? Now, really this isnt much of an issue though. No work gets done in the Parliamentary sessions anyway with all the uncivilized yellings and quarellings; and when they do manage to stop bickering, all our politicians manage to do is to come up with messages for team India, like this one.

A valuable tip for team India

Lok Sabha speaker, Mr Somnath Chatterjee, has an excellent tip for Rahul Dravid and his men in blue over here :-)

Budget 2007-08

So the budget has finally been presented. The govt tom toms it as a success, and the opposition decries it as a failure - now thats all expected.
According to the govt, budget highlights its focus on education. Sushma Swaraj thinks otherwise and shreds apart the claim;

The TOI quotes her as:
"The Finance Minister says Rs 10,671 crore would be provided for the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan. Well, the two per cent cess on education has fetched the government Rs 10,393 crore. Similarly, they have allocated Rs 6,483 crore for higher education. And the extra one per cent cess will get them about Rs 5,200 crore. If the taxpayer is paying for the education, what is the government giving?" she asks, appalled that the UPA government is saying that education is the highlight of its Budget. "Where is the allocation from the Budget?"

Another quotable quote from her: "The housewife wanted a reduction in her ration bill. But in fact, only those who feed their pets imported dog food will see a cut in their ration bill. It's so strange that man's food has become expensive and dog food cheaper."

And a quotable quip from TOI too :-)
"Trust the seasoned politician to aim where it matters. The middle-class stomach."

Farmland vs Industry

Here is a report in the Telegraph, titled "Seal on CM farm theory". It goes on to state that while the national economy is growing at 9%, industrial growth rate has just reached double digit at 10%. The share of agriculture to GDP has declined to around 18.4% while that of industry and services have increased to 26.5% and 55.1% respectively.

To quote the article "Bhattacharjee has already read the situation and believes that Bengal — which he reckons is in a transition phase — needs to slowly shift from agriculture to industry (see interview in Bengal Unbound)."

I just wonder whether this form of economics considers that food is a primary necessity for human existence. Respected CM, supporting industries in Bengal is a welcome move; stamping out agriculture is not.

To be perfectly honest, the numbers quoted in the article really dont mean anything unless somebody also comes up with stats for the %age of population engaged in agriculture, services and industry, as well as the absolute requirements from agriculture (this is the minimum level one has to ensure; a fall from this level of agricultural production is a potential minefield for a relatively poor country like India).

The best bowler in death

S. Rajesh presents some compelling stats on bowling at the death. As he says, one look at the stats and one knows where Rana Naved ul Hasan should bowl for Pakistan. Worth having in the team even if to bowl only 5 overs out of the last 10 and nothing else.

He also shows up Chaminda Vaas to be an ideal bowler at the start of an innings. Tom Moody, what are you thinking? Amazing things, these stats! :-)

... and Bermuda's captain replies

Here is what a former Bermuda captain thought about Michael Holding's comments.

Free E-Books

Here is a page with a few links to a number of free e-books, largely pertaining to mechanics and materials science.

IUCr teaching pamphlets

A series of pamphlets on x-ray diffraction and crystallography can be found here at the IUCr website over here.