7 days after injury. Its almost ok. My only problem now is a bit of pain over the eye and orbit. There is only a little bit of swelling over my upper eyelid and the colour is nice. I like the little bit of colour under my eye. A dash of flair ...ehh!!!

Thats a close up of day4 post-injury eye. Lokks much better.

This is my gory eye, now much easier to view. This is day 4 post-injury. Eye is less swollen, and the now noticeable feature is the lovely colouring of the eye. Purple with just the beginning of a hint of black. Many questions were asked. People's impressions of me are much varied. It ranges from "fighting is not good for you" to "I can't ever imagine you getting a black eye"!

Dennis Bergkamp retires

Its the end of an era! Dennis Bergkamp retires from Arsenal. He has had such an amazing record its amazing. I remember Bergkamp as this master of the football. He was so much like Henry is now for Arsenal,a talisman, a one-touch wonder with speed and vision.

The reason why he stands out in my memory is thanks to Rupert Murdoch. He began broadcasting Premiership football in India and I remember following names like Bergkamp, Beckham, Davids, Overmars. The great players of my generation. When I was growing up these were the players we emulated in our football matches!!

Anyway, Bergkamp always captured my imagination. Just his passing, his channels, he could cut a defence in two in a second. I loved Arsenal only because of him. Anyway, I cant feel the same of the club without Bergkamp.

The end of an era!! Goodbye and Goodluck.

HATE!

This is why the government tried blocking these websites.
Click on this to read about the Hindutva hate brigade.

Knee-jerk reaction by bloggers

The Little One and I discussed the blogblock at length. BBC has now covered the story about Govt banning certain blogs in India.

I think we were both in agreement that surely the bloggers' reaction was irrational and unjust. If you read through some of these posts from different blogs, it almost seems like the Govt brought all the bloggers into jail. Some of these blogs, Ultrabrown , Sepia Mutiny,Desi Pundit
and the new forum against the bloggers on Wikipedia try to act as information points but also rage at the GoI for taking this step.

I sympathise with their rant against the incompetency of the ISP's and the general ineptitude of our cyber police. Outlook ran this article and Indian Express this one detailing the websites banned and the disorder and confusion in trying to do this. It rightly identifies that the Govt had planned only to ban certain websites and blogs which they believed either incited communal hatred or were used by terrorists to communicate. The article then records the miscommunication within the government and its bodies in detailing and carrying out this order. To most rational, level-minded people this is a clear case of beureaucratic mismanagment not a case of dictatorial repression as everyone seems to suggest.

I feel aggrieved that a community as educated and important cant see the logic in the governments action. Here we have a community of bloggers moaning about the lack of government response to the attack, and when the government decides to do something sensible to prevent the possible communal repercussions of this attack, they criticise and file petitions to demand their freedom of speech.

Guys, lets have perspective. I really wish the terrorists did communicate by blogs and orchestrate their next attack through a website just to shut up this stupid response by bloggers.
The worse problem is that there is such righteous outrage at the incident that not too many people are willing to stand up and criticise the blogging community for their over-reaction.

To end, if the GoI is so incompetent then surely the bloggers are bright enough to find a way to blog and get around the problem. Email people, phone calls...The WORLD did turn without the Internet!!!

I look like Rajnikanth!! God..what have I done!!! Why didn't I get anything more trendy? I didn;t see these glasses properly until I took these photos. Now I cringe, at my own black eye and the montrosity trying to hide it.

Stevie Wonder incarnation. I do look blind dont I? I have never bought sun glasses before in my life. Walked into boots and didn't know what to do. So, started looking at whatever would cover my eye. Also, please remember my choice was made with only one good eye!! So, all criticisms must be made keeping this in mind

thats how I look to most people. Taken in Rhodes House loo. Am also wearing a new T shirt which is the only one I have left that is clean. It was a gift from D's Welsh Aunty.

48h. The black eye is just beginning to show especially along the lower lid.Its only the fifth time I have seen peri-orbital haemorrhage. I remember "panda eye" photo in Love and Bailey textbook of Surgery. I look so much like that.

Thats my horribly swollen face at 30h post incident. I look happier because I can see with the injured eye.

30h. The colour is just beginning to develop. The eye can now be opened but the subconjuctival haemorrhage is still present especially in the inner side of the eye.

I am depressed by the Middle East

I am not a political guy. Dont really have very rigid political views and usually very consciously try to form opinions based on facts rather than any particular political predisposition.
However, the news from Lebanon is just making me more and more depressed. When the Prime Minister is powerless to do anything to stop this carnage then what are citizens expected to do?

I am reading the Independent covering this issue and every time I read an article, a growing sense of helplessness and frustration suffuses me. How can the World sit back and allow this blatant extermination of a people? This is not a simple retaliation to the capture of three soldiers, this is cold,calculated WAR. Our world leaders sitting in St.Petersburg are unmoved by the pictures and scenes broadcast everyday, they do not feel the pain of broken country, they cant even hear the pleas and cries of citizens bombed everyday or even the country's leader beseeching countries to stop this heartless massacre.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Hizbollah must be stopped and punished. Mumbai blasts only seek to reinforce the terrible havoc such organisations can cause, but are the Israelis any worse? To kill 100 civilians ruthlessly without any remorse stinks of hatred and pure vengenance not justice. This is a show of power and might. Would the Israelis dare attack Iran or Syria? This is the rape of a nation and we are sitting back and allowing it to happen. Its disgusting. I am sick to the core. How I wish I could go up and slap the Israeli PM in the face and scream at him to stop it.

How does anyone stop this? What does it require to stop this mayhem? Why isn't the UN(our peacekeeper) stop it? George Bush, who was so outraged the the condition of people in Iraq that he thought it needed to stop has so far not even said a word to bring an end to this inhuman situation in lebanon. Can you imagine India being plundered like this? How would we feel? Is it all right for Israel to play the bully?

Its not right... and thats what needs to be corrected. If we allow this then the world is run by the strong and the weaker countries will never have a chance to survive. N. Korea - I agree with what you are doing. Iran- keep it up. For if they didn't by now, they would be suffering Lebanon's fate. This is the message being sent out by the G8 leaders today.

Shame on everyone who sits by and lets this happen. For years from now, we will look back on this WAR and remember it as the day humanity lost its soul.

18 hours post incident. I can barely open my eye. The laceration at the top of my brow is covered with gooey Chloramphenicol ointment to keep the edges non-sticky.

Rhodes XI vs Commonwealth XI - the result

I am well. I took a ball in my face yesterday while captaining the Rhodes XI against the Commonwealth Scholars. Coming in 3 down my first two balls against a quick leggie where played away. Next over I faced him, my third ball, his first of the over. Slightly overpitched and it was dispatched over midwicket for a huge six. Right from the meat of the bat.
Next ball, I knew he was going to pitch it short and I had pre-meditated a pull. There were only three overs left, so it was all or nothing. Ball bounced much higher than expected, it was a topspinner. I was into my shot, got the top edge and bang into my right eye. I knew it was bad.

There was this throbbing pain and I started walking off with my hand over my eye and both eyes closed.
All I heard were people's voices.

Cathering King," Don't worry. He's a doctor".
Karlee (canadian Rhodies),"And how does that help him?".

Fortunately, there were two more medics there. Both Rhodies who washed the wound and temporarily staunched the bleeding.

Catherine took me to the Hospital, where being a doctor provided me with some advantage in getting to the top of the queue. I had to persuade the doctor that to allow me to go quickly as I had to organise a BBQ later at Linacre.

I can see except for the swelling in my eye and some pain. Shall blog daily photos of the eye even if you dont want to see it!!

Marathon Update - 106 DAYS TO GO!!

My Dublin Marathon is on the 29th of October and I have 106 days to go. I am following a training regime for 15 weeks advanced by Runners World to run a sub 4:30 marathon.
Today I have finished week 1 of the regime and had to run for 60 mins. I was barely able to run 50 minutes and that was using a run/walk method of running. I have no idea how I am going to run for 4 and a half hours. It was so hot that my feet were burning up. It reminds me of playing tennis in Delhi on the clay courts of MSVV, with temperatures close to 40 degrees.

When I start running my calf muslces hurt and so do my knees (thats because its the only time in their life they have had to carry a 68 kg weight) but slowly I no longer feel any pain. The real problem today was my stitch. I cant remember the last time I ran long enough to get a stitch, so in some ways I was pleased. I deal with a stitch by walking, having small sips of water and then running very slowly.

The only thing I can say is that my stamina has definitely improved. I can run for half an hour without any pain or trouble. What I do need is a watch, one of those cheap ones you get on the streets in India. The digital ones with a plastic black strap, casio make and having two buttons on the side. One to change the display to the stopwatch and the other to the date.

I shall hopefully blog everyday that I do run and keep you informed of my training progress.

Don't watch Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest even if someone paid you to watch it. Its crap. Just spent the last few hours watching a movie without any plot, story line or memorable dialogue. THE WORST PART of the movie is that its a BLOODY Prequel to the next one. The movie ends with the start of the next one.....I mean there is no end in the movie, no climax, no finale after the two hour special effect extravaganza.

The hint of a plot disappears when Jack Sparrow disappears into this huge squid's digestive tract and while we all await his return at the climax, all we get is the beginning of the next movie. It really annoys me when producers do that.... Hmmppffff...miffed,drinking coffee and watching Thai kickboxing....how do I vent my frustration at Jerry Bruckheimer??

Italian clubs are relegated - thank god!

I am really glad that the Italian teams that indulged in match fixing have been relegated. Juventus have always been accussed of match-fixing although no one has been able to prove it. Just being such a huge presence in Italy allows them to manipulate referees and schedulers. AC Milan backed by owner Silvio Berlusconi also use similar pressure tactics.

My only fear is that the severity of the punishments meted out to the clubs are so severe that the two biggest clubs in Italy will no longer play in Europe, reducing the glamour and popularity of Italian football. Can you imagine Champions league without AC Milan and Juve, without Kaka, Adriano, Del Piero, Cannavaro? All these stars who made their name in the World Cup will not be seen in the champions league.

What a loss! What a Champions League this will be with Inter, Roma, Chievo and Palermo representing the Italian League.When was the last time we heard of Chievo? Anyone outside Italy know any player from the club?

All I can say is how sad for a club of Juventus' history and stature have to face the shame of being relegated to Serie B for two years. Just like cricket, I think Italian football will take some time to recover from this blow. The only saving grace being them having won the World Cup and also football's popularity world-wide (unlike cricket's) will help football recover from this incident.

CONNOTEA

I have just discovered Connotea. The Nature Publishing group free online reference manager. Its much like using endnote or some other refernce manager except that it is open to all. So, when I reference an article, I can tag it and then anyone accessing articles with this particular tag shall find all articles referenced with those tags including mine. Its mainly meant for researchers who can reference articles published in most journals but you can also reference news articles.

Its quite useful for me as it means that instead of sending myself emails of abstracts, I can place them on this library which I can access from anywhere. Its great also because I can find similar articles referenced by others.

Also, most importantly..... I am getting cooler!!!! Techno ..Cool..!!!!

Send all the terrorists to Vanuatu!!

Pack them all off to the Happiest Place in the World. Some random study conducted by an economic study group identified Vanuatu in the South APcific as the Happiest Place in the World based on consumption levels, happiness and life expectancy.

Why oh Why

Its a sad sad day when bombs are planted on mumbai trains! Why oh Why? Of all the places to hurt, not the trains.
Not the lifeline of the city. Its said people spend a third of their life sleeping. In Mumbai, we spend a third of our life on the train.
That place where nothing can go wrong, where as children I was safe to travel. Its a place where mumbai is united in the single aim to reach on time. Like Suketu Mehta wrote, hands stream out of the train in an attempt to catch others and bring them into the fold. Everyone helps everyone on the train. Lifelong friendships are made, crossword clubs, bhajan socities are formed.
You cant hurt us there. Its not right!!

In all this, I thank all the blogs that have covered mumbai at this time. Its the only time I have spent my evening reading people's blogs. A big thank you to blogs Dilip D'souza's factual acount of what is happening on the streets, Ultrabrown and others I have read to get an idea about what is happening. Its really so difficult for me to feel anything especially when no one I know is hurt.

Mumbai help are doing a great job by contacting people and getting them in touch with survivors and family members. Thanks and please send out the link to others.

God, I am depressed now. Why am I not there, helping people out. Why oh Why?
Other blogs I am reading:
http://www.desipundit.com/
http://www.sepiamutiny.com/sepia/
http://pajamasmedia.com/2006/07/mumbai_blasts.php - reported on all the news stories

I am on the other side of the world, readin about CAR receptors, adenoviruses and Integrins -- what the $%&% am I wasting my time here??

Bluetooth - techno junkie

I used Bluetooth today from my phone. Its quite cool technology. I then visited their website
which explained the entire technology to me. The fact that we can have a completely wireless home NOW rather than the future (as I keep thinking) makes it even more exciting. I must thank GM for showing me how to use it. I took a photo from my phone and sent it to his computer. Its quite a cool photo as well. Shall blog it later.
Unfortunately for me my computer, R32 does not have the technology. Its really cool. I am slowly beginning to understand what is actually happening around me. I need to wake up from the Middle ages and learn more about the connected world I live in. My next computer is going to have bluetooth.

You can actually have a whole house that is cable free and wireless, now only if someone figured out how to send power through ether. Where is Edison when you need him!!

Science blogs

Nature has just published the 50 most popular science blogs. I never knew that so many academics actually blogged. Its quite interesting that they decided to rate blogs maintained by academics separately from other writers. The way they measured and rated these blogs is obviously questionable and open to interpretation.

They looked at how many at the technorati ratings of the blog. Technorati rates a blog depending on how many times the blog is linked by other sites in the last six months. Obviously, if your blog is around or longer then it is linked more. also, it does mean that if your blog isn't linked but is read avidly by non-techno-savvy- bloggers (like me) then it doesn't get ranked.

Its quite interesting to see how many people blog and it seems to become an important part of your CV especially if you apply for publishing jobs. Hublog, written by Alf Eaton, now a nature publishing group employee has a science blog which might have won first prize but is no longer a scientist and therefore doesn't qualify in this rating.

Anyway, I am amazed at the number of people blogging. I somehow always saw a blog as space to put your thoughts down and let friends know about interesting things and your activites, but its only now struck me how people are using it to dissipate information. Amazing!! I dont think I would read a lot of blogs like Hublog because of how technical it is but some of the other blogs on the list are easy reading.

I also noticed that the top blogs all have short posts usually linking up to something. Its not like the author has given his or her opinion or even commented on the article they are linking to, which in my opinion is as good as just posting a list of interesting articles numbered 1 - 10 without anything else.

My interest in a blog is always more when I get some idea of what the person is thinking about. Is it a good article or bad, why? Anyway, today I have also discovered technorati!!!

My first phone download

I undertook my first ever purcahse through my mobile. I downloaded Street Soccer 2 onto my phone for GBP2.99!! Wow!! I am now slowly becoming a techno junkie...(facebook, mobile phone downloads, what next?)

irony

Its sadly ironical that while my mother is lying exhausted and sick on a hospital bed in Bombay with severe falciparum malaria, here I am 8000 miles away trying to find a vaccine for it. What a waste of time!!!

I am horribly frustrated at my abject helplessness in the situation. Its the only time in three years that I despair at not being a doctor anymore. I cant do anything, I barely know what treatment should be given, I have to read a textbook to remember the side-effects of drugs and the best treatment regime...whats the point of this PhD???

I live in the Ivory-towers of academic science shamefully elevated and distanced from reality, powerless to remedy or assist my own family; worse to be brought down from these lofted heights by the bite of the very parasite that I seek to eradicate!