The sudden passing of Michael Jackson this week has stirred up emotions and retrospectives around the world. There is no question that the impact of his music has been profound on young and old, of all races, globally. Arguably, that impact can’t be matched by any other entertainer during the last 40 years. A truly global icon has left us—Princess Diana, John Lennon, Elvis Presley would be the other individuals with similar impact in my life-time. A clear demonstration on the type of legacy great music can leave and how music gets permanently embedded in our minds. While life seems to move by so quickly these days, the remembrance of Thriller, Beat It and Bad makes it feel like yesterday. While the coverage has been widespread in the media and focuses on both the good and the bad associated with Michael Jackson, I’m struck by some specific aspects of Michael’s passing—the involvement of social media in the remembrance of Michael Jackson and his global appeal. Continue Reading »
After Roger Federer won the 2009 French Open, I laid out the case in this posting why he should definitively be declared the greatest player of all time (GOAT). I also stated that I felt that Rafael Nadal would eventually end up being the GOAT after his career was all said and done. That naturally led to a healthy debate and of course there is no way to know—we all just need to wait and be patient. Since then, Nadal has pulled out of the 2009 Wimbledon due to injury and if his all out style is already leading to an injury riddled future, then the likelihood of him reaching GOAT status is unlikely. However, for now, I will be assuming that this injury will be a one off situation and he’ll be back at the US Open competing for his first US open title and a career grand slam.
In trying to foresee what Nadal’s career records could end up as, my curiosity led me to look at his performance at his current age (23) and compare it to the other top players’ at the same age and then look at their performance from ages 24-27, 28-31, and 32+. I looked at the number of grand slams won, number of weeks at # 1, and % of career ranked # 1 in the specific age bracket. After performing this analysis, Federer’s achievements become even more magnified and it’s clear that Nadal will be fighting difficult odds to become GOAT. Continue Reading »
Posted in Sports, Tennis | Tagged Best of all time, GOAT, Pete Sampras, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Tennis Record by Age Group, Wimbledon 2009 | 8 Comments »
Roger Federer won his first French Open yesterday, dispatching of Robin Soderling in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 6-4. With his now 14th Grand Slam title, Federer has tied Pete Sampras’ record for the number of all time grand slam victories and the clamor anointing Federer as the best tennis player ever is growing louder and louder. The clamor was pretty loud already, but by getting the proverbial monkey off his back by capturing the elusive French Open, the clamor is at a fever pitch.
In trying to assess Federer’s candidacy for greatest of all time, my primary criteria would include the following factors:
- Performance in Grand Slams
- Level of Dominance during his era
- All around performance (Grass, Hard-court, Clay)
- Longevity Continue Reading »
Posted in Sports, Tennis | Tagged Best of all time, Borg, Federer, French Open, GOAT, Lendl, Nadal, Roger Federer, Sampras, Tennis | 26 Comments »
I recently came across a list of 17 product design trends of the future (and today) from the design firm IDEO that I found interesting. These concepts are already here today in some form or other, but not necessarily mainstream nor emphasized by the majority of product designers of the world today. Here is the list:
- Ever-increasing Simplexity
- Diagnostic Everything
- Mobile and Wireless Everything Continue Reading »
Posted in Internet, Technology | Tagged Crowdsourcing, IDEO, Internet, Mobile and Wireless everything, Product Design, Product Design Trends 2009, Simplexity, Technology | 1 Comment »
These days, you often hear people lament how today’s society has become afflicted with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). A lifestyle characterized by constant multi-tasking, an inability to focus on one item to completion, and often neglecting to enjoy the rewards of one accomplishment before moving to the next activity or task. Frequently, this observation is made about the entire Internet (see here and here). Continue Reading »
Posted in Internet, Technology | Tagged Evolution of Internet ADD, History of Internet, Internet, Internet A.D.D, Internet ADD, Internet Usage Patterns, Technology, Web 2.0 | 6 Comments »
I recently read the excellent study by Freedom House which measured Internet Freedom in 2007 and 2008 across a sample of 15 countries in 6 regions. The study is available here–(March 2009- Freedom on the Net, A Global Assessment of Internet and Digitial Media)– would highly recommend reading this free report. The methodology they used includes factors such as the country’s telecommunications infrastructure, government policy towards access to technology, regulatory policy for service providers, censorship and content control, legal structure and surveillance practices along with the independence and dynamism of new media in the country. Here’s a graphical depiction of the results (Green implies free, Blue is partly free, and Red is not free) Continue Reading »
Posted in India, Internet, Public Policy, Technology | Tagged Corruption, Corruption Index, Estonia, Freedom House, India, Internet Freedom, Internet Freedom correlation to Corruption, Internet Freedom Index, Transparency International | 2 Comments »
One side effect of the success of Slumdog Millionaire has been the new interest around the world in traditional Bollywood films. While Slumdog Millionaire was produced by a British team and it is debatable if it should be called a Bollywood movie, most movie watchers are unaware of that nuance and some have started to inquire about other Bollywood movies. I had a conversation with a colleague of mine at work who had never seen a Bollywood movie and was now expressing interest. I suggested that he watch one of my favorite movies Lagaan as his introduction to Bollywood and brought him the DVD to watch. Knowing that he’s a movie buff and very aware of most mainstream American movies, I used a comparison to the international mega-hit Lord of the Rings- The Fellowship of the Ring to describe the movie. Continue Reading »
Posted in Entertainment, India | Tagged Bollywood, Lagaan, Lord of the Rings | Leave a Comment »
Roger Federer just defeated Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4, to win the Madrid Open. Perhaps, even more noteworthy was that the victory was on clay where Nadal has historically been at his best. After the instant classic finals at Wimbledon in 2008 and the Australian Open in 2009 where Nadal pulled out dramatic 5 set victories, this should be a real confidence boost to Federer for the upcoming French Open. Who knows- maybe this will propel Federer to new heights in his rivalry against Nadal, which has most recently been a one sided affair. To date, their matchups have had the following head to head results:
Posted in Sports, Tennis | Tagged Borg vs McEnroe, Federer, Federer vs Nadal, French Open, McEnroe, Nadal, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Sports Rivalries, Tennis | 5 Comments »
Recently, I’ve visited with family and friends who’ve had to take their children for routine vaccinations, tests for allergies, and other medical procedures. In most cases, these tests or vaccinations are applied with hypodermic needles and syringes. It’s still heart breaking to hear that even infants have to deal with needles for shots, in one instance, I was told of a 4 month old baby that had to have 36 routine shots.
I’ve always wondered, shouldn’t there have been real advances to hypodermic needle technology just like in so many other medical fields? To understand this question better, I looked at the history of the hypodermic needle, comparisons to other medical advances, and recent advances in needle technologies.
Posted in Technology | Tagged Hypodermic Needles, Medical innovation, Microneedle, Syringe, Top Medical Advances, Vaccinations | 1 Comment »
Over the last couple of years, I’ve become a regular user of Facebook and have connected and reconnected with friends and current and former colleagues and classmates. However, just in the past 3-4 months, I’ve seen high school classmate activity increase, receiving requests from high school classmates that I haven’t been in touch with since the day I left high school years ago. I’ve also noticed actual high school alumni groups formed in Facebook for many high school classes ranging from the 1970’s to recent graduating classes in 2008.
This made me think that naturally, high school reunion attendance would likely be at possibly all time highs across the US. Recent Facebook demographic data from Ignite Social Media suggests:
Posted in Internet, Technology | Tagged Facebook, Facebook Demographics, High School Reunions | 6 Comments »
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