Mantra

"I constantly see people rise in life who are not the smartest -- sometimes not even the most diligent. But they are learning machines; they go to bed every night a little wiser than when they got up. And, boy, does that habit help, particularly when you have a long run ahead of you."

- Charlie Munge

Simple Analogy

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before but had once failed an entire class. That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer. The professor then said, "OK, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A. After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B. The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy. As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little. The second test average was a D! No one was happy. When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F. The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else. All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great but when government takes the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed. Could not be any simpler than that. What a profound short little paragraph that says it all "You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for,that my dear friend, is about the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it." ~~~~ Dr. Adrian Rogers, 1931

Soley On Merits !

Taking his seat in his chambers, the judge faced the opposing lawyers. "So," he said, "I have been presented, by both of you, with a bribe." Both lawyers squirmed uncomfortably. "You, attorney Leon, gave me $15,000. And you, attorney Campos, gave me $10,000." The judge reached into his pocket and pulled out a check. He handed it to Leon. "Now then, I'm returning $5,000, and we're going to decide this case solely on its merits!"

CricTrivia

I noticed that in a Test in Sri Lanka in 1994, Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram bowled throughout an all-out innings of 71. How often has this happened, and what's the highest total involved?

The match you're talking about was the third Test, in Kandy, in August 1994: Wasim Akram took 4 for 32 in 14.2 overs, and Waqar Younis 6 for 24 in 14. There has been one similar instance of two bowlers operating unchanged throughout a completed innings since: in Port-of-Spain in 1998-99, Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie bowled throughout West Indies' second innings of 51. In all, it has happened 24 times in Tests, although only six of those instances have come since 1912. The highest total that has featured just two bowlers was also the first such instance - England's 133 in Sydney in 1881-82, when "Joey" Palmer took 7 for 68 in 58 (four-ball) overs, and Edwin Evans 3 for 64 from 57.

Which Test cricketer is nicknamed "Scooter"?

I think the man you're after is the South African opener Herschelle Gibbs, who has now played 90 Tests and almost 250 one-day internationals. Gibbs made his first-class debut (and scored 77) for Western Province B in 1990-91, when he was only 16, still at school, and too young to drive. Some of his team-mates joked that since he didn't have a car they'd have to buy him a scooter to get to matches... and the name stuck.

What is the highest Test partnership that was ended by a run-out?

The biggest one in Tests was the stand of 446 between Conrad Hunte and Garry Sobers for West Indies against Pakistan in Kingston in 1957-58. Hunte had made 260: Sobers went on to break the then-Test record, finishing with 365 not out. Hunte later admitted that he was distracted by the thought of breaking the world-record second-wicket partnership (451 at the time) and tried a quick single, thinking that the fielders would be exhausted - but the man who picked the ball up at mid-on and threw the stumps down was a fresh substitute,Ijaz Butt (now the Pakistan board's president)

Why are You Crying?

When I went to lunch today, I noticed an old lady sitting on a park bench sobbing her eyes out. I stopped and asked her what was wrong. She said,

'I have a 22-year-old husband at home. He makes love to me every morning and then gets up and makes me pancakes, sausage, fresh fruit and freshly ground coffee.'

I said, 'Well, then why are you crying?' She said, 'He makes me homemade soup for lunch and my favourite brownies and then makes love to me for half the afternoon.

I said, 'Well, why are you crying?' She said, 'For dinner he makes me a gourmet meal with wine and my favourite dessert and then makes love to me until 2:00a.m.'

I said, 'Well, why in the world would you be crying?' She said, 'I can't remember where I live!'

Mobile Phone Numbers in India will also start with 8080..

Reliance Communications on Friday said it has been allotted a brand new 8080 series by the Department of Telecommunications for roll-out in Mumbai.

"With the contemporary 9 series being exhausted over the last 14 years, we are now rolling out the 8080 series," Reliance Communications said in a statement.

Reliance Communications is offering the 8080 series on both its pre-paid and post-paid platforms across its GSM network.

How much bad luck can one have?

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