I Have Moved!

I have finally moved out of the free WordPress.com site, thank you, to my own domain at http://atouchofmelancholy.com

This blog will not be updated anymore, all new entries will be in the new site. Thanks!

Nadal outlasts Federer in Wimbledon Final

It is being touted as the greatest Final ever in Wimbledon history.  When all the dust had settled after 4 hours and 48 minutes, not withstanding 2 rain delays sandwiched in the middle, the rivalry of ages between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had again ended with Nadal holding up the trophy.  The final stat line for the match, 6-4, 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-7 (8-10), 9-7, in favor of the Spaniard, who played an unbelievable 5 sets to trounce the King of Grass.

When the first two sets went by to Nadal, Federer seemed tired and weary, and ready to give it up again in 3 sets.  But when the 1st rain delay came, it was a blessing for Federer as he came roaring back with a renewed vigor about him and took the set on a tie-breaker. The 4th set, was no different, as it went to another tie-breaker, packed with one of the best array of ice-cold pressure-packed winners I have seen.

Federer had taken the set and pushed the Final to a 5th set.  The match was of such superior quality from start to finish, with every single person watching in awe as to how great these two athletes were. At times, Nadal and Federer could only shake their heads marveling at each other’s shots.  But in the end, it was Nadal who closed out the 5th set to the tune of 9-7, beating the World’s Number One, yet again.

Roger Federer is going to be the greatest tennis player ever to walk on this planet.  The only problem he has, given the fact that no one in the world can beat him, except ONE man, who has almost permamently solidified his stature as Federer’s kryptonite.  That one man, irregardless of what surface, Roger Federer would almost never be able to beat.

The last time Federer won against Nadal was back in 2007 in the semifinals in Shanghai on a hardcourt, andhe has only beaten Nadal one time on his favorite surface.  As it stands right now, Nadal is 12-6 lifetime against Federer, with the last 4 matches being all Final wins in 2008 (Monte Carlo, Hamburg, the French, and now Wimbledon).  When will Federer win against Nadal again?  That is going to be a big question mark.  And when they do meet again, no matter what surface it is going to be played on, Rafa will always be the favorite after this classic Wimbledon Final, as he stamped his dominance against Federer without any shred of doubt.

A Brief History of Time

This masterpiece was written way back in 1988, by Stephen Hawking, who is widely regarded as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein, and holds Newton’s chair as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge.  For a book like this to be written way back in ‘88, is indeed astounding as the “theoretical” concepts Hawking talks about here seem way further than what was fairly known at that time.

This is known to be the best single book on astrophysics for the common reader, as Hawking tries (rather successfully) to explain to audiences the possible answers to the most curious questions we all have about the universe.  Questions like how the universe began and what made its start possible; whether the universe is unending; how space and time work in parallel or otherwise; and what will happen when it all ends.

This is Hawking’s first book for the non-specialist, and holds many rewards for the lay audience, which practically refers to us all.  The book provides a glimpse into the workings of his mind and delves into rather lucid revelations on the frontiers of physics, astronomy and cosmology.  This is also a book about God, or perhaps the absence of a God.  As Hawking embarks on a quest to answer Einstein’s famous question on whether God had any choice in creating the universe, he is attempting, as he explicitly states, to understand the mind of God.  And this makes all the more unexpected the conclusion of the effort, at least so far: a universe with no edge in space, no beginning or end in time, and nothing for a Creator to do.

Read More…

Riddle Me This

I was at an event with 4 of my buddies and we were quite bored with the topic at hand.  So since we had a rather good amount of paper in front of us, I decided to throw them some riddles I remember from a game I had played before.  It’s always nice to have friends who like puzzles that challenge the mind.  They didn’t fare quite well, but it was a blast to see their reactions when they finally knew the answers to the riddles.

So just to share, here are a few of them above.  It’s actually from an RPG game I played before, where the only way I could unlock the chest and find out what was inside, was for me to be able to solve the riddle and get the lock to open.  That was a great game.  In any case, let’s see how well you guys do

Bill Gates Signs Off at Microsoft

I know, I know, it’s a bit of old news from the past week, but I wanted to be sure that this wasn’t some hoax so I waited until I knew for sure that it was real.  For a 52-year old, I was still skeptical about him retiring, but I guess with all the success and money he had, what reason would he have to still be working right?  So what’s next?  Gates says that his core competencies are in software and technology, particularly in biotech, as a hobbyist, and he goes on saying that he could never go and make a world-class contribution in another field besides the aforementioned.  Also, his passion in philanthropy by running the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, aimed at fighting poverty all around the world, will also be where most of his time will go to.  So let’s see which one it’s really going to be…

Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was set Friday for his last day of full-time work at Microsoft - the company he founded 33 years ago on a hunch that personal computers would become an integral part of everyday life. The world’s largest software company said that it was not planning any public events to observe the transition, though the change would be marked by internal events. Gates, 52, will continue to hold the title of non-executive chairman and work about one day a week at Microsoft. He intends to devote the rest of his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the wealthiest charity in the world, which is aimed at improving health care around the world and reducing extreme poverty.

Gates handed over his role as Microsoft chief executive to his long-time partner Steve Ballmer in 2000, when Gates became the company’s chief software architect. Under a carefully planned succession programme, Gate’s duties will be taken over by two top Microsoft executives. Ray Ozzie will be in charge of day-to-day management issues, while Craig Mundie will be in charge of long-term planning. The company, whose Windows operating system powers some 90 per cent of the world’s personal computers, has a market capitalization of about 260 billion dollars and employs more than 78,000 people in 103 countries.

Links: “Doomsday Seed Vault” in the Arctic Built by Gates