The Centre Court, Wimbledon !

Recently i discovered a new bit twiddling hack, which proves to be quite useful.

If a number is AND-ed bit-wise with its two's complement, then the resulting number will hold the first bit that is set in the original number(from LSB)


For ex: Consider a number 62hex(11000010).
Its two's complement is 3Ehex(00111110).

AND-ing the two numbers gives us 2hex(00000010) ,
i.e the first digit of 62hex(from LSB) is got.

If you want the next bit that is set, clear the bit of the previous operation and repeat the above steps.

i.e. Clear the processed bit(2hex) from 62hex => 60 hex.

AND the num with its 2's complement => 60hex && 40hex = 40hex(0100 0000)

Thereby the next set bit in the byte is obtained.

This is a very helpful tool when one has to perform certain operation based on the bit set in the byte of an array. One can loop or shift through only the bits that are set in the byte, thereby reducing the execution time by a great extent.

Nange "food-u" Indian bekadru, "dhuddu"(money) American beku! :)

While i was looking for some information in the internet, I landed on a URL which turned out to be an outdated listing. The error message was as follows :)

To err is human.
The page sought could not be found
but, is the fault yours?

As the IPL is approaching its grand finale, everyone is(rather was) curious about who will be the final 4 that will be battling it out. On one such discussion at home, my uncle and dad were arguing about the net run-rate that is the decider when there is a tie in the point-table.The argument being that - Does the number wickets lost by the team have a say in the net run-rate of the team?

As one knows that run-rate is the average runs scored in one over
.i.e. if Team A scores 125 runs in 20 overs, then their run-rate is 125/20 = 6.25 (runs/over)
or
If Team B scores 125 in 15 overs, then their run-rate is 125/15 = 8.33 (runs/over)

Run-rate =
Total runs scored
------------------
Total overs played

Now, the net run-rate of a team is the incremental/decremental rate change with respect to the opponent, i.e. it is the value obtained after subtracting the opponent's run-rate from the team's run-rate.

Thus this can be a positive or a negative value depending on the relative performance of the team against the opponent.

Net run-rate =
Total runs scored by team _ Total runs scored by opponent
-------------------------- --------------------------------
Total overs played by team Total overs played by opponent

While calculating net run-rate for a team's performance for more than one match(mostly a series), the score and the overs should be a cummulative data, and the above equation becomes

Net run-rate =
Cumm runs by team Cumm runs by all opponents
----------------- - -----------------------
Cumm overs by team Cumm overs by all opponents


Hence the number of wickets lost by a team plays no role in the calculation of net run-rate of a team.


Hence if Team A has a target of 200 in 20 overs, with required run-rate = 200/20 = 10 runs/over and they get all out for 150 in 12 overs, then Team A shall lose the match, but have a net run-rate of 150/12 - 200/20 = 12.5 - 10 = +2.5

I feel that this parameter doesnot give a complete picture of the performance of the team. Even though team A has a bunch of irresponsible batsmen who throw their bats at every ball bowled, their team ends up having a higher net run-rate than the rest!

There has to be a different parameter which also brings into account the wickets fallen and/or the rate of fall of wickets and maybe other parameters that provides a balanced picture of the performance of a team.

The international cricket proves yet another time that it is eventually a batsman oriented game rather than an evenly balanced game!

is a semi drama- semi romantic movie that revolves around the life of Ryan Bingham(George Clooney).

The opening credits of the movie has some aerial shots of various places in the world. That's a really nice piece. Some of the shots are so incredible that it makes you wonder if such a landscape actually exists!

What makes one think is how Ryan passionately, without wax; loves his not-so-lovable job. There are broadly two aspects to the story - one is the professional side of his life and the other is his personal story - his way of life, thinking, mind-set, relations,etc.

I, personally did not like the story line of his professional story. It is a loosely-woven story-line there. But the other part is beautifully done. Ryan- his concept of the light back-pack and how he literally practices it, his commitment to his work, nice guy character, the commitment-o-phobic behaviour, the twist all make up a good watch.

The official IMDB review is here