Alternation of Generation - I remember reading about this in 9th grade and not paying much attention to it. But it is very interesting. In simple terms, there are two phases, the haploid when the cells of the plant have one set of chromosomes and then the diploid phase where the cells have two sets of chromosome. The former is also called gametophyte and the latter sporophyte. The diploid form is produced by fusion of two haploid and the haploid form by meiosis of the diploid form. In most higher forms of plants (the word higher is not used in a pejorative sense) the dominant phase is mostly diploid and the haploid form is restricted typically to flowers. But in Bryophytes such as moss the dominant phase is the haploid phase.
Well humans and also most animals are diploid, that is, the majority of the tissue contains two sets of chromosomes. The haploid phase is restricted to the gametes, namely the sperm and the ovum.
What does this all mean?
Think of it this way - the broyophyte is either made of all sperm like tissue or ovum like tissue. I do not mean in physical appearance.
Why is it all important to us?
It is a question of when a human being is a human being. Is there some humanity in the sperm? How about the Ova? People use the 24th week of pregnancy as a magic mark, as the line that differentiates a human from what is euphemistically called a fetus. We use that word fetus so we can be objective when decisions involving termination of pregnancy is being made. But is that obvious? Not to me. In certain creatures the entire life is made up of sperm and ova like entities and the diploid form shows up for only a few days during spore formation!! As I see it, the sperm, the egg, and the fetus have as much humanity as does the individual that reads this post. There can be no individual without the sperm, the egg, or the fetus.
Despite all this I still am Pro-Choice. Why?
I am opposed to the Church, which means Men, controlling the womb.
But I also hope we could have an educated conversation on this topic. Abortion after all should be a means of last resort and not a form of birth control!!
Sunday, February 01, 2009
I actually like Federer now
Before 2008 there was an air of inevitability about men's tennis matches. Unless it was French Open, it was a given that the winner would be Roger Federer. Even at that venue, there were some doubts - what if Rafeal Nadal were to succumb to a hot player in an earlier round and lose. After all Federer had been in 19 consecutive Grand Slam Semi-finals and 18 of the past 23 Grand Slam Finals!! You had the sense you were watching Borg in their relentless mission to assimilate and nothing would get in his way - Resistance is futile and all. If there was a smidgen of suspense left, it was always who was going to be the bridesmaid.
If all this did not give away my opinion, let me state it before it is too late. I do not like Federer, I do not mean as a person, since I do not know him at all. I know, it is sacrilege, as if I said I did not like Michael Jordan. Yes I did not like Michael also; only one who has lived in Detroit or New York and rooted for Pistons or Knicks respectively would understand. Similarly I always rooted for Pete Sampras from the outset. Sampras lost at Wimbledon in a 5 setter to Federer in 2001 in their only head to head meeting in an ATP tournament.
Before 2008, the question was when would Federer win more Grand Slams than Sampras's tally of 14. Then came the year 2008 when Federer won only a single grand slam title and lost in (holy cow) of all places Wimbledon to Rafa. Now people could actually dare to ask - will he ever get more than 14?
In 2009 it gets more interesting. Roger Federer aiming for the 14th grand slam title, loses again to Nadal in a final of 2009 Australian Open in another 5 setter epic considered by many to be one of the best matches. To compound it he breaks down and sobs during the the award ceremony!!
The Borg do not cry!!
I was always afraid that if we we ever peered inside Federer, we would see nuts, bolts and micro chips not blood and guts. I guess, this was the first time I saw the human side of Federer. I could even conceive of the possibility of actually rooting for Federer, since no matter what, he is definitely now the underdog whenever he plays Nadal.
If all this did not give away my opinion, let me state it before it is too late. I do not like Federer, I do not mean as a person, since I do not know him at all. I know, it is sacrilege, as if I said I did not like Michael Jordan. Yes I did not like Michael also; only one who has lived in Detroit or New York and rooted for Pistons or Knicks respectively would understand. Similarly I always rooted for Pete Sampras from the outset. Sampras lost at Wimbledon in a 5 setter to Federer in 2001 in their only head to head meeting in an ATP tournament.
Before 2008, the question was when would Federer win more Grand Slams than Sampras's tally of 14. Then came the year 2008 when Federer won only a single grand slam title and lost in (holy cow) of all places Wimbledon to Rafa. Now people could actually dare to ask - will he ever get more than 14?
In 2009 it gets more interesting. Roger Federer aiming for the 14th grand slam title, loses again to Nadal in a final of 2009 Australian Open in another 5 setter epic considered by many to be one of the best matches. To compound it he breaks down and sobs during the the award ceremony!!
The Borg do not cry!!
I was always afraid that if we we ever peered inside Federer, we would see nuts, bolts and micro chips not blood and guts. I guess, this was the first time I saw the human side of Federer. I could even conceive of the possibility of actually rooting for Federer, since no matter what, he is definitely now the underdog whenever he plays Nadal.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Free At Last
It is one of the best days of my life. I saw Barack Obama being sworn in. I heard his speech. I never thought I would live to see the day when a speech by a politician would move me. We are all jaded. We saw Nixon, Reagan, Clinton, and Oh My God, Dubya and we saw the spiral downward from which we thought politics would never recover.
We are finally free, free of George W Bush. Hooray.
It is too early to say the politics as it was is finally over. I have hope. I have hope that this man would lead us to a better future. I also hope that the weight of our expectation would not crush him.
All in all a great day for United States of America and the world in general.
We are finally free, free of George W Bush. Hooray.
It is too early to say the politics as it was is finally over. I have hope. I have hope that this man would lead us to a better future. I also hope that the weight of our expectation would not crush him.
All in all a great day for United States of America and the world in general.
Monday, January 19, 2009
What is in a name - Take Two
I have written before how my name gets mangled all the time. Recently I received an mail from my bank addressed to
Ramar G Havan
It was pretty decent of the bank to shorten my first name, give me a new last name and finally add a middle initial that I so lacked!!
Ramar G Havan
It was pretty decent of the bank to shorten my first name, give me a new last name and finally add a middle initial that I so lacked!!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Insults and Monkey-Gate
Australians are the past masters in the art of sledging; if you can call it art.
They provoke the opposition player and wait for retaliation and naturally the retaliation results in punitive punishments and the original incident is forgotten. Witness the recent one game ban for in-form Gautham Gambhir for retaliation. The actions of the bowler, Shane Watson, mouthing insults (available I am sure in high definition video) that precipitated this incident were almost completely ignored by the match umpire. Many Indian players have recounted episodes where the Australian fielders in slip cordon would refer to wonderful night spent with the batsman's relative. This is not considered an insult, it is not considered a harassment; it is considered a form of badinage and supposed to be taken in that spirit.
Harbhajan Singh was accused of using a racial epithet against Australian player. He was accused of calling Symonds a monkey.
First, it is normal to be called a monkey or other animals in India. My mom frequently compared me to various four-legged creatures, not necessarily affectionately, so did a majority of my elementary school teachers. Half the boys in my class have been called a monkey one time or other when they were mischievous. Almost all of us have been referred to as either a donkey or son of a donkey when we were slow with our responses in class. I remember a teacher whom we used to harass a lot during class addressing us as "thick skinned buffaloes".
Second, Harbhajan should have defended himself since it was not meant as an insult. Monkeys are revered and have temples built in their honor. In fact he should have pointed out that it was as a compliment to be compared to Hanuman!!
Third, assuming that Harbhajan called him a monkey, why cannot the Australians take it in the right spirit and laugh at at. After all, it is not as if Symonds looks have launched a thousand ships; in fact I have heard from unreliable sources that his looks have caused mirrors to crack when he looks at himself.
Assuming that an Australian player insulted an Indian player's mother, there are no rules of etiquette on how to insult that restrict Indians to talking only about sleeping with the Australian player's female relatives. I am afraid reader will blanch at my using the words insult and etiquette in the same sentence, but the rules are simple; you identify a raw nerve and keep hitting on that nerve. If you find that a player hates being teased about his looks; then talk about it more!!
A player who thrives on being aggressive on the field and loves dishing out to others has no right to expect politeness from his opponents when it is their turn. This is typical Australians being babies when they lose. It seems like when Australians sledge they call it an art whereas when the others pick up that art and apply it so well that it now hurts, it is racial epithet. Talk about double standards!!
Taking a step back; referring to a player's relative being great in bed is an insult if that player perceives it be so. Calling someone a monkey is an insult if that person perceives it be so. Perception is after all reality.
There is a solution for this - do not sledge; play cricket, but if you sledge, do not come complaining to mommy when your opponent does it better!!
PS: When the teacher called us "thick skinned buffaloes" one of my classmates quipped "Madam, but we do not give milk!!". She put her head on the teachers table and cried. No kidding.
They provoke the opposition player and wait for retaliation and naturally the retaliation results in punitive punishments and the original incident is forgotten. Witness the recent one game ban for in-form Gautham Gambhir for retaliation. The actions of the bowler, Shane Watson, mouthing insults (available I am sure in high definition video) that precipitated this incident were almost completely ignored by the match umpire. Many Indian players have recounted episodes where the Australian fielders in slip cordon would refer to wonderful night spent with the batsman's relative. This is not considered an insult, it is not considered a harassment; it is considered a form of badinage and supposed to be taken in that spirit.
Harbhajan Singh was accused of using a racial epithet against Australian player. He was accused of calling Symonds a monkey.
First, it is normal to be called a monkey or other animals in India. My mom frequently compared me to various four-legged creatures, not necessarily affectionately, so did a majority of my elementary school teachers. Half the boys in my class have been called a monkey one time or other when they were mischievous. Almost all of us have been referred to as either a donkey or son of a donkey when we were slow with our responses in class. I remember a teacher whom we used to harass a lot during class addressing us as "thick skinned buffaloes".
Second, Harbhajan should have defended himself since it was not meant as an insult. Monkeys are revered and have temples built in their honor. In fact he should have pointed out that it was as a compliment to be compared to Hanuman!!
Third, assuming that Harbhajan called him a monkey, why cannot the Australians take it in the right spirit and laugh at at. After all, it is not as if Symonds looks have launched a thousand ships; in fact I have heard from unreliable sources that his looks have caused mirrors to crack when he looks at himself.
Assuming that an Australian player insulted an Indian player's mother, there are no rules of etiquette on how to insult that restrict Indians to talking only about sleeping with the Australian player's female relatives. I am afraid reader will blanch at my using the words insult and etiquette in the same sentence, but the rules are simple; you identify a raw nerve and keep hitting on that nerve. If you find that a player hates being teased about his looks; then talk about it more!!
A player who thrives on being aggressive on the field and loves dishing out to others has no right to expect politeness from his opponents when it is their turn. This is typical Australians being babies when they lose. It seems like when Australians sledge they call it an art whereas when the others pick up that art and apply it so well that it now hurts, it is racial epithet. Talk about double standards!!
Taking a step back; referring to a player's relative being great in bed is an insult if that player perceives it be so. Calling someone a monkey is an insult if that person perceives it be so. Perception is after all reality.
There is a solution for this - do not sledge; play cricket, but if you sledge, do not come complaining to mommy when your opponent does it better!!
PS: When the teacher called us "thick skinned buffaloes" one of my classmates quipped "Madam, but we do not give milk!!". She put her head on the teachers table and cried. No kidding.
Saturday, December 06, 2008
How I wish That The Grinch Had Stolen Christmas!!
The title was inspired by this article in CNN and at about the same time my wife's colleague posted this.
Monday, December 01, 2008
Venus Williams - My Hero
I have always been vary of charlatans who claim that they made a certain prediction years ago
Over the past decade, I realize that I personally have failed in this; I knew when I saw Venus Williams in 1995 or so that she would one day be a world champion. I also knew that Serena had a better all round game. How I wish I had stated it publicly!!
That does not prevent me from at least expressing admiration for Venus. Are there many athletes who are personally or professionally as graceful as she is? It seems to me that watching her play is akin to watching a ballet. She makes it seem effortless. She has a monster serve; amazing span; great defense. Along with Navratilova and Graf, she would be considered one of the best grass court player. She has won five Wimbledon titles in all.
Her serve in fact is out of the league. One could write an entire article on just that topic. She frequently averages first serve speeds that are comparable if not higher than similarly ranked men!! No woman comes (except maybe Serena) within 5 miles of her average speeds consistently. In fact Venus holds the record for the fastest serves in all grand slam venues and the fastest serve overall!!
Most people think her father is arrogant, opinionated, and many other unprintable adjectives. No one sees him for what he is; he has raised two world champions in really trying circumstances. He did not have the benefit of a nice suburban setting to raise them. He at least has gone on record to say how his daughters would one day rule women's tennis. This was years before they had even played a single professional game. He along with his wife deserve kudos for raising two really good children. In the age of self-aggrandizement amongst professional players, these two are quiet but self confident without the need to push themselves constantly in the limelight. They have a good balance between tennis and life. Tennis is not for them the be all and end all. They have interest outside tennis that provides them an outlet to express themselves.
What else is there to say?
- Mark my words, this stock will go up 10000% or
- Get out of that stock, it is going to crash.
Over the past decade, I realize that I personally have failed in this; I knew when I saw Venus Williams in 1995 or so that she would one day be a world champion. I also knew that Serena had a better all round game. How I wish I had stated it publicly!!
That does not prevent me from at least expressing admiration for Venus. Are there many athletes who are personally or professionally as graceful as she is? It seems to me that watching her play is akin to watching a ballet. She makes it seem effortless. She has a monster serve; amazing span; great defense. Along with Navratilova and Graf, she would be considered one of the best grass court player. She has won five Wimbledon titles in all.
Her serve in fact is out of the league. One could write an entire article on just that topic. She frequently averages first serve speeds that are comparable if not higher than similarly ranked men!! No woman comes (except maybe Serena) within 5 miles of her average speeds consistently. In fact Venus holds the record for the fastest serves in all grand slam venues and the fastest serve overall!!
Most people think her father is arrogant, opinionated, and many other unprintable adjectives. No one sees him for what he is; he has raised two world champions in really trying circumstances. He did not have the benefit of a nice suburban setting to raise them. He at least has gone on record to say how his daughters would one day rule women's tennis. This was years before they had even played a single professional game. He along with his wife deserve kudos for raising two really good children. In the age of self-aggrandizement amongst professional players, these two are quiet but self confident without the need to push themselves constantly in the limelight. They have a good balance between tennis and life. Tennis is not for them the be all and end all. They have interest outside tennis that provides them an outlet to express themselves.
What else is there to say?
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