WOW!!!! This is must-see stuff!!!!!!!! I found it thru this herald article.

The birth of a volcanic island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and these guys happened to be passing by as it happened!! How incredible is that.....I only wish there was some video of the volcano as well.

graduation photos have arrived!!! and this time, blogspot let me upload....

more on cricket

In this cricinfo article, Peter English discusses one of the most topical issues in Australian cricket- the retirement of Warne and McGrath (and the imminent retirement of Langer and possibly a few others) and the introduction of young talent into the test arena.

Its a difficult situation for Australia because they have been on top of the cricket world for years- most people would say since the carribean tour of '95 when the West Indies were toppled. The pressure on the selectors and the players is huge- everyone is expecting no less than convincing wins every time they take the field. Thus there has always been a temptation to keep selecting proven performers instead of new talent- "to stick to a winning formula". Whats more, even the new players that have come into the test team have been old, with lots of first class experience- Lehmann, Miller, Hussey, Clark all began their careers at or after the age of 30. Ponting is the only significant exception in the last decade.

So now, with the upcoming retirement of the two men most responsible for Australia's domination of world cricket, there is debate as to what should done in Australia, and muted but excited cries of jubilation from the rest of the cricketing world. India stand to benefit the most as they will be touring down under next season, in what may well be the last tour for some of India's ageing players. Kumble is still the fittest man in the team at 37, so he'll probably continue on. But Tendulkar, Ganguly and possibly Laxman and Dravid are the right age and stage of their careers to consider retirement. What better way than to be part of the first ever Indian team to win a test series in Australia.

India's ageing middle order has given its selectors similar headaches to Australia. However, over the last years there has been a definite attempt to bring in the next generation. Yuvraj Singh, Kaif, Raina, Venugopal Rao, Gambhir and Uthappa have all been given opportunities in tests and ODI's, yet they've all been failures. Yuvraj Singh has been the best of the lot with a long run of ODI successes against Sri Lanka and South Africa last year. Kaif scored two tough fifties against Australia in the home defeat two years ago, but has failed to capitalize against weaker opposition whilst the others have not impressed much at all. So overall, India is desperately short of batting talent- the real reason underlying Ganguly's recall to the test team. In truth, India has been heavily reliant on Pathan's batting in recent times.

The next big hope for Indian cricket is Cheteshwar Pujara, the young opener from Gujarat who won the player of the tournament in the last youth world cup in '05. Unlike the average Indian ODI batsman who flashes at everything and scores the occasional hundred, Pujara batted with a maturity rarely seen at his age. He played the anchor role for India with many long innings with old-fashioned strike rates of around 70. Yet while he did this, flashy batsmen like Gaurav Dhiman did the big hitting around him. Obviously with only half a Ranji season under his belt, it will be a while before he becomes a real contender....

Anyway, I've drifted off the topic. The point is, there should be some interesting changes to both the Australian and Indian test teams before the test series next year. With McGrath retiring next week, India will certainly come here with a quiet confidence; whether it will be justified by their batsmen remains to be seen.

Fitzroy Falls

Next stop from the Bradman Museum was Fitzroy Falls. To be honest I'd never before heard of this place and was a bit skeptical about it, but it turned out my suspicions were unnecessary. The waterfall itself is small and not special in any sense, but the surrounding scenery was quite spectacular. The lookout at the waterfall opens out to a deep valley, with mist shrouding the depths of the valley floor where the water falls and flows eastward to the ocean.

The rainforest scenery was really beautiful on this overcast, somewhat wet day. The cool, still air and the pleasant but sharp smell of the foliage combined with the vibrant, colourful wildflowers to make it a wonderful walk from the carpark to the two lookouts.There was even a termite mound on the way.Here are some wild berries we spotted, which are apparently good "bush tucker".At the second lookout, we noted that something odd was happening on the valley floor. Possibly due to a change in wind direction, the mass of fog started moving up the incline and over the ridge on the opposite side. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, the valley was completely covered in thick fog and the fog began to move towards us. Within seconds, we were enveloped in thick, white, wet fog. The cloud passed through us at amazing speed; it felt like we were in an imax theatre. Unfortunately, my camera batteries went flat at the worst time and I dont have any photo evidence. But, some of the kids did take photos and hopefully they will send them to me as they were instructed.....

After having lunch, we headed off again, this time to Kiama, to see the blowholes (I must say, I've been there so many times its a bit tiresome now, but anyway...). On the way, we went through Jamberoo Road, scenic drive no.9 (or thereabouts). Never has a scenic drive designation been more justified. At first, we drove through thick fog which reduced visibility to about 10 metres, and then we came out onto green meadows, and fields of wildflowers, and pine plantations, and grazing cattle, and quaint farmhouses, and rolls of hay, and little ponds overflowing with the unseasonal rain. Soon, the road meandered into some steep hilly country, and the picturesque farms are replaced by luxuriant rainforest. The canopy is so thick that the sky is often not visible through it. The leaves of the ferns and other rainforest trees are an unbelievably bright green. And the chilled air carries the cloying scent of the wet earth mixed with the pungence of the dense foliage.

So impressed was everyone that we planned to detour to the Minnamurra Rainforest Centre, but we missed the turn and decided not to turn around. At Kiama, because of low tide (there was no shortage of wind), the blowhole was not blowing much to the disappointment of all. So most of us decided to have a coffee and relax. I went out to the rocks and sat for a while watching the grey waves crash upon the grey rocks, against the backdrop of a grey sky.

After much arguing, it was decided that to a beach we must go, even if it was raining and getting late. So we plotted a course for 7 mile beach, a long unbroken unspoilt stretch of grey sand situated in a national park. With the mist shrouding the horizon, we could not see the ends of the beach from where we were. The sand was wet and compact- perfect for a game of cricket. It was decided that the water was too cold for swimming. I think everyone had fun at the beach- whether playing cricket, watching the waves or just chatting. There was a cool seabreeze and the lightest of sprinkles, which could just have been the spray from the ocean, to keep us comfortable. I was very impressed by this beach as it was spotless- not a single piece of rubbish. Compare this to beaches of Sydney, littered with garbage. Even beaches in Wollongong and Kiama have some rubbish, but 7 mile beach was pristine. I wonder if that's because not many people use the beach, or because the people that go there are more thoughtful than the average person, or because the park rangers are clean freaks.

By now, it was nearly 7pm. So we packed up and headed home, through more fog, which became especially thick in the stretch between Wollongong and Helensburgh....

The Bradman Museum

This is the portrait I want in my living room!!


And wouldn't this bust look nice in the foyer.And of course, the immortal cover drive; perfect for the study desk....


After spending the morning at the Bradman museum, we decided that about two-thirds of the stuff on display would look much better in our houses. For any cricket enthusiast, this place is a must-see. Contrary to what the name suggests, the Bradman museum is actually a museum of cricket history that happens to contain lots of Bradman-related items. Apart from exhibits pertaining to Sir Donald, there are also sections devoted to the history of cricket, the origins of the game in Europe, the development of equipment, Australian cricket history and stuff relating to landmark series and events in cricket.

A team portrait of the 1882 test squad, the first to win a series against England. After the loss, some clever Englishmen burnt the bails and put the ashes in a little urn to symbolize the death of English cricket. Hence, the Ashes!!!
Collectibles from the immortals tour of 1948.



Sir Donald in his retirement.

19th century cricket in the meadows of England.
Bats from the 19th century!!

The Seeker

Siddhartha is the son of a brahmin priest- a promising, intelligent young pupil. He excels at the chanting of the mantras, recitation of the scriptures and scholarly debates on religious matters. His proud father believes that Siddhartha is destined to become the greatest amongst the priests.

But Siddhartha is also a spiritual seeker. Despite having 'learned' so much, Siddhartha feels that he has made inadequate progress on the spiritual path. He seeks to understand the highest of mysteries, the nature of the Self. Having realized that such realization he will not arrive at living the life of a brahmin priest, he decides to give up his worldly attachments and joins a group of wandering ascetics to learn about the Self.

Siddhartha is the story of one man's seeking, his teachers, his lessons and his teachings. At every step, Siddhartha learns something new about the world, about himself, about God. Yet at every step, he feels something missing. Until he meets the man who is to be his last, and best teacher, the illiterate ferryman.

Siddhartha is a novel written by the German Nobel-prize winner in literature, Hermann Hesse. Published in 1922, Siddhartha is considered Hesse's finest book, along with Der Steppenwolf.
Hesse had a keen interest in Eastern philosophy, particularly the Bhagavad Gita, Upanishads and the Buddhist canon. The skill with which the often abstract concepts of Hindu/Buddhist spirituality have been woven into a story that is supposed to be somewhat autobiographical, by a German author who hadnt been to India previously, is quite simply amazing. (Hesse had travelled to Sri Lanka, Malaysia and Thailand and so had been exposed directly to Buddhism)

Reindeer Herders of the Kola Peninsula

The Kola Peninsula, in north-west Russia, is a bleak tundra- cold, harsh but loaded with nature's bounties- minerals, fish, and terrain perfect for reindeer herding. It has historically been populated by the nomadic Sami people. As explained here, their plight has been the same as that of many indiginous minorities around the world, particularly but not exclusively in Communist and former Communist countries. Fighting to survive and keep their ancient culture alive, they have been hounded and harried by successive Soviet and Russian governments. The problem is that the ancestral lands of the Sami is full of valuable which the Russian government is keen to exploit maximally. The Sami, who number only a few thousand, are a weak opposition to the forces of economic rationalism, and so many people continue to make their fortunes off the Kola Peninsula whilst the Sami stagnate, as the roubles generated from their land bypasses them completely.

Bobbin Head

Friday 22/12/06

I decided to go to Bobbin Head today to do some bushwalking with a group of friends. Bobbin Head is a little picnic spot-cum-marina situated in valley in the Kuringai National Park, north of Sydney. Its proximity to the city attracts lots of boat owners who flock to the area and sail on the Hawkesbury river and its tributaries. The Kuringai National Park also has lots of bushwalking trails, of all lengths, including a part of the Great North Walk. The terrain varies from pockets of rainforest, stretches of mangrove swamp to the ubiquitous eucalypt forest seen all over Australia.

We decided to start the day on the Sphinx trail, which goes from Bobbin Head to the Sphinx memorial, a replica of the real Sphinx built in honour of the soldiers who perished fighting in Egypt in WWII. Part of this track is pretty heavy going with some tough climbs, but because these are well spaced out and quite short, we made good time walking the 5km in under 2 hours. On the way back, we took the Bobbin Head track which heads back to where we started. Unfortunately, this is a dirt track for offroad vehicles and is situated on top of the ridge. Hence it is exposed and dry making it much less interesting to walk through. The last part however, was lots of fun because we bushbashed down the slope rather than take the winding path down.

It was lunch time, and quite hot by now. Also, one of my friends had bad blisters on both his feet, the worst I've ever seen. So we couldnt do any more walking for the day, which was a shame as I wanted to walk on the other side of the river to the waterholes. Oh well, another time.....

a word on cricket

There's been some very interesting cricket over the last few weeks. Whilst the Pakistan-West Indies series is drawing to a close, the other six major nations are all battling it out in the southern hemisphere. South Africa proved once again that they're a formidable one-day team, crushing India, who've slipped to low after low following the morale-breaking WC final loss in 2003. Australia have regained the Ashes wasting the minimal amount of time, whilst Sri Lanka are locked in a tight battle with the Kiwis.

First to South Africa, where a confident home team went into the test matches after a ruthless display against an Indian team all at sea with the unfamiliar conditions. South Africa played marvellous cricket, dominating with both bat and ball throughout the ODI's. The coach Mickey Arthur publicly asked the curators to prepare bouncy pitches so his pace bowlers could bounce out the Indians. The nation was all abuzz with optimism, but as usual, the South African penchant for going overboard with these things was their undoing. Not only were they under huge pressure from their public to put India to the sword, but their coach piled on the pressure as well, not only to dominate, but to bowl lots of bouncers and have the Indian batsmen ducking and weaving. As Arthur wanted, a bouncy, seaming pitch was delivered at Johannesburgh. To the South Africans' surprise, (though really it shouldnt have been), the Indian pace bowlers utilized the conditions masterfully dismissing the home team for a record-equalling 84 and 278. It shouldnt have surprised them because Indian bowlers have done quite well in South Africa- Srinath, Prasad and Kumble come to mind. This time around, Sreesanth was the hero. I saw this guy make his debut against a lacklustre Sri Lankan team. He conceded 50 runs in 7 overs or so without looking like getting a wicket. But the commentators, Dean Jones, David Hookes and Barry Richards, remarked that Sreesanth was the future of test cricket in India. I was taken aback by this because I didnt see anything remarkable in this slightly built, apparently ordinary medium pacer. A few matches later, he bowled 1/63 from 10 overs, again unflattering figures, but this time he had 4 dropped catches in the slips, gully and outfield. He created these chances through edges, top edges and leading edges, beating the batsmen with cut, swing and pace. But not until now has he truly justified the faith those commentators put in him. His superb performance, along with Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan and VVS Laxman, has really given the Indians a launching pad to win a series in South Africa.

New Zealand have never quite reached the heights they managed to climb back in 01/02 when they matched Australia with the bat, drew 0-0 in the test series and conspired to keep Australia out of the VB series final and forcing the Australian selectors to drop Steve Waugh. Unfortunately things have not worked out for the New Zealanders since then, particularly in the batting department, where they have continually failed to score large totals and even to unearth any decent batting talent. Sri Lanka have also struggled for a while now, with only the brilliance of Murali and Kumar Sangakkara maintaining a modicum of dignity for the Emerald Isle. So this series is an excellent opportunity for both teams to garner much needed momentum leading into the world cup. Remember, last before the WC, India were butchered 3-0 (tests) and 5-2 (odi) by New Zealand but went on to have a splendid tournament with the exception of two humiliating losses to Australia. Two closely contested matches have resulted in a drawn series 1-1. With 2 20-20's and 5 ODI's coming up, it will interesting to see how these teams fare, both considered stronger in the short format of the game. The state of the pitches in NZ will probably mean that the ODI's will be a shoot-out between the bowlers, though one outstanding batting performance could be the difference. But since neither team is a true contender for the WC, I must say I'm not all that interested in this series.

The Ashes have not lived upto their hype, it has to be said. England's woeful selection policies, together with their outdated tactics, and the absence of key players Michael Vaughan and Simon Jones, left them exposed to a rampant Australian team desperate to regain the Ashes. As far as selection goes, England made three mistakes:

1. not selecting Panesar from the outset- this is a no-brainer. This guy is a genuine wicket-taker. In Jones' absence, this is something England were bound to desperately miss.

2. picking five bowlers- this is completely pointless. Flintoff is not a no.6 batsman- he's simply a bowler who bats better than average (a bowling all-rounder if you will). The South Africans never select Pollock as a batsman, same as Pakistan and Wasim Akram. Flintoff should play as a bowler alongside Hoggard, Harmison and Panesar. It should be noted that the fifth bowlers, Anderson and Mahmood have taken 1 wicket in 3 tests. That way, Ed Joyce or Jamie Dalrymple could bat at no.5 and Collingwood at 6. I know he got the double hundred at 4, but Collingwood is at best a no.6 batsman, Pietersen should be at 4.

3. Geraint Jones- I have not seen a more redundant selection than England's persistence with Jones. He's not a good keeper (admittedly, he has dropped way fewer balls this time around, though he missed a crucial stumping off Monty in Perth) and he's a hopeless batsman. Chris Read simply has to come in. When Alec Stewart was keeping, the odd mistake could be accepted because of his consistent contributions with the bat, but Jones is a joke.

Having said all of this, even if England picked their best XI (Cook, Strauss, Bell, Pietersen, Joyce/Dalrymple, Collingwood, Flintoff, Read, Harmison, Panesar, Hoggard) I dont think the result would be any different. Australia are too good at the moment. Mike Hussey is simply unstoppable, as is Ponting. With McGrath and Warne somewhat out of sorts, Stuart Clark has stepped up and delivered with the ball. And once Gilchrist hits form, you know your in trouble. The Aussies are looking pretty good in terms of retaining the WC right now. It's take a huge reversal of fortunes for it to be otherwise, remembering that Australia is far more dominant in ODI's than in test matches.

They'll drink our water, say the people of Tamworth

Pauline Hanson must've woken up this morning a satisfied woman. Despite the fact that her One Nation Party has no political power, it is still strong in spirit, as you can see from this article in todays Sydney Morning Herald. This is quite disgusting actually; some of the Tamworth councillors' comments are sickening, not to mention displaying a breadth of arrogance and ignorance.

--"Earlier this month Tamworth won the Best Western Friendly Town award. It's hypocritical."--

I feel sorry for the few councillors who made an effort to accomodate the Sudanese refugees, and for the church that raised money for them. It is sad that they will all be lumped together and branded racist.

A Chinese friend of mine went on a road trip last year, after which he commented that of all the towns he travelled through, Tamworth was the least friendly and most racist. He felt so unwelcome that he cut short his stay and moved on. At the time I was surprised, mainly because I had never experienced this sort of thing in Australia, but obviously it exists.

-- several residents had said they did "not want the refugees coming and drinking our water supply, or taking our jobs, that sort of thing", Cr Woodley said. "I think you would have to say there was a racist element at play there."--

I've heard the "they'll take our jobs" argument often enough (there's a really cool south park episode on this issue), but "they'll drink our water"???????? Wow, the drought has really taken hold hasnt it?? I bet when they need cheap labour to dig a few more wells, they wont be complaining about bringing in a few refugees, at least temporarily.

Here are all the comments made by the councillors of Tamworth. I think Councillor Warren Woodley sums it up pretty well:

--"The explanations of my fellow councillors who voted against this proposal held no substance. In fact they reminded me of the ultra-conservative, right wing guard of the past that once ruled this region."--

The comments of those who opposed the refugee settlement all revolved around a few key key themes:

1. washing their own hands clean- it wasnt my fault, it was the people of this town that rejected the refugees.
2. taking the moral high ground- personally, i'd like to see the refugees settle in tamworth
3. blame someone else- the government has no plans to assist these people long-term. we dont have enough health-care resources for our people as it is.
4. bring in irrelevant material- we dont want cronulla riots in our backyard (excuse me, exactly how are 10 families going to cause cronulla riots. if i remember correctly, those were caused by a bunch of drunken young men. maybe tamworth should ban alcohol while they're at it)

wooohooooooooooo!!!

finally, its over!!! its really all done.....

had my graduation today....boring as anything, but still, i now have that priceless piece of paper...

will put up a few photos sometime, but for now, watching monty bowl and dominate on a fast bowler's pitch...go monty go

Kashmir

In a very interesting development, Pervez Musharraf, the military dictator of Pakistan, has indicated that he is considering lifting his country's claim to the state of Kashmir, if India is willing to do likewise. This is a highly unexpected twist in the Kashmir saga as both India and Pakistan have avidly maintained that Kashmir is a part of their respective countries (though in recent times, India has been pushing for the Line of Control to be declared an international border effectively splitting Kashmir, a solution vehemently opposed by Kashmiri Muslims but supported by all the other minorities).

There is huge pressure now on Indian PM Manmohan Singh to declare that India has no claim on Kashmir and move forward with the peace process. In a brave but brilliant move, Musharraf has stormed onto the moral high ground in this issue making it very difficult for India to do anything but follow suit.

But politics aside, this is fantastic news for Kashmir; the best since Partition surely. If the resources that have gone into fighting the six-decades long war for Kashmir had been put into its development, then Kashmir would probably be a rich, industrialized country by now. But as such, it is one of the most underdeveloped, underprivileged parts of the Indian sub-continent. Rich in natural resources, and natural beauty, Kashmir is well endowed to be successful. After years of war and poverty, there may finally be light at the end of the tunnel......

Vineyard Creek Reserve 2

Since it was such a lovely day in Sydney today, I decided to go out to Vineyard Creek Reserve (its just a small patch of bush in the Telopea valley 5km north-east of Parramatta, 5mins walk from my house) and a find a way down to Kissing Point Road. I know that such a path exists because I have seen it at the Kissing Point Road end. But the directions once you get into the reserve are not easy to discern. Once before, I ended up at the cave when I was looking for Kissing Point Road. This time, I ended up at the Oatlands golf course, so I was closer than before, but still I couldnt find the path I was looking.

But anyway, I found a few other things today. At the end of a small incline, I came across a vast clearing in the middle of which was a large concrete cylindrical structure. Some of the earth was extremely dry and had huge cracks, whilst there was bright green grass nearby. Beyond the clearing, there was a clump of pipes draining into a black reservoir of water. I wondered whether this was the result of the reflection of the sheer sandstone wall, out of which the reservoir and the clearing appear to have been cut, but on closer inspection, the water was in fact, black, and full of junk.

A path off to one side quickly led to a dead end, so I decided to follow the other direction for a while to see where it led. I was hoping that it would curve to the left and climb, as I felt that this was the direction Kissing Point Road was in. As it happened, the path did climb, and did curve to the left somewhat, and led me to a small sheltered creek bed which must have been a wet pocket as it was full of ferns, moss and cool green shade. Presented with two options, either to follow the creek bed or to cross the bed and follow the path as it curved sharply to the left, I took the leftward option.

But it only led me to the golf course. Now I could've gone out through the golf course and continued by street, but I wanted to explore more of the bush so I went back the way I came to the creek bed. By my reckoning, given that the golf course was where it was, I needed a right turn to get to my objective, so I kept an eye out for right forks, but alas, none materialized. So I ended up back at the creek bed, and so walked along it for a few minutes. There were lots of birds in this part of the reserve, especially kookaburras. But the creek bed became impassable after a short distance so I headed back.

The reserve was full of wild flowers today, though most of them were out of reach of my camera, with its crappy digital zoom. But there was one plant with white flowers that I could get near. These flowers looked vaguely familiar, but I cant recall seeing them in anyone's garden.

On the way out, I followed Vineyard Creek on the other side of Robert Street; this area isnt really part of Vineyard Creek Reserve. But this section is only about 400m long, and ends up in a little park behind my house.