Nature Surfing!

On the top of the world!

Thriving innocence.

Season of the berries.

Bloom!

Pleasure meeting u.

You describe me!!

The lady with the star.

The light of hope.

Tour time!

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Application of Statistics in Baseball (Moneyball)

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game is a book authored by Michael Lewis about how Billy Beane the general manager of the baseball team Oakland Athletics applied statistics to improve the quality of his baseball team and revised his team of baseball players using drafted players. Although the panel of experts of Oakland Athletics intensively criticized Beane’s method, application of statistics to the performance of his team ultimately helped the team win 20 games in a row from August 13 to September 4, 2002. Although initially ignored as a medium to predict performances of players and wins, statistics today has become an important part of the baseball world.

Although I knew nothing about baseball in the beginning of the semester, watching a preview of the movie with Brad Pitt as Billy Beane sparked interest in me to learn more about the application of statistics in baseball. Even though I was aware that statistics could be applied in just about everything we deal in our daily lives, I was unaware that it could make such a difference even in the world of sports like baseball. As the career, success, and utility of a baseball player is measured in terms of how much money he makes, the rejected and rookie players are not considered valuable in big teams like Yankees, Boston Red Sox, etc. Therefore, the amount a player is paid becomes the most important determinant in whether the player will perform well or not. Oakland Athletics being a team with small budget of $40 million and players rejected by other teams, had basically nil to little chances of winning the series. Lewis’s question and answer about whether the continuous record-breaking wins was whether pure luck or truly the magic of application of statistics compelled me to think about just how much such an important measure is ignored in our everyday activities.

(Image via Google Images)

Billy Beane rejected the methods used by scouts and challenged their method by using statistics where he shortlists his players and values them at fair price in comparison to their baseball skills. He further selects his overvalued players and replaces them with undervalued players who actually had the skills he wanted in his players. Furthermore, he trades the average players from his team with those from other team who had higher chances of winning according to his calculations. His predictions and calculations work correctly, thus taking the Oakland Athletics to their first 20 wins in a row.

Although the scouts who followed their intuition about players in the name of expertise did not appreciate Beane’s method with application of Sabermetrics, application of statistics became a very important part of the baseball world shortly. As the methodology was revealed, every baseball team started hiring statisticians to revaluate their players and their performances, therefore, following the logical method of paying their players. Nonetheless, what surprised me was that the financially big teams like Yankees did not consider the use of statistics as a useful measure to improve the performance of their team. Wouldn’t a team that pays $125 millions to its players to assure its victory in every baseball series consider every single helpful method? They probably never considered that statistics could be that useful in sports.

 Billy Beane had a really good idea of using statistics to measure wins and trade players accordingly; however, even after initiating such an advantageous method, the Oakland Athletics could not make it to the World Series. I did not understand why even after using the method that helped them win 20 games in a row the Oakland Athletics could not continue to their big win. Nonetheless, what I did not realize was that even though the team’s win was experimental and rather astounding to bigger teams, every team followed different measures of statistics to evaluate their players and their chances of winning. Therefore, when every baseball team found that statistics was useful in baseball via Moneyball, they imitated the method and quickly corrected the subjective method of valuing players.

As every team began using statistics, the advantage that Oakland Athletics had in the 2002 series did not last for long. Billy Beane was later offered the position of the general manager of Red Sox with a much higher paycheck, which he declined. However, the dramatic continuous win halted for the Oakland Athletics since 2002, as they are currently not doing well. In fact, the Oakland Athletics have only been averaging 76 wins per season in the last few seasons. What I do not understand is, why did Billy Beane reveal his entire method and application for everyone to imitate? Had he not pondered upon the exclusive possibility that whenever a certain method proves to be successful, every other team would imitate his method and take the path to have better players leaving Oakland Athletics at the same point where they started?

However, what I understand is that the title Moneyball is not used in vain; the world of baseball is more about the power, big paychecks, and having the strongest players with better chances of winning in one’s team. A team is simply not a good team because of intense training or skills its players have—the major factor is money, where players are paid in millions so that they are seen as assets that could lead the team to victory. It is called moneyball because the game is not fair, and it is not played fair- a potential winner keeps changing baseball teams according to whichever team can better pay him. This leaves the young talents, players that suffered injuries, and those who are rejected by the bigger teams as valueless for wins predicted; moreover, they are taken by teams like Oakland Athletics as they can only afford such players.

The whole chain of moneymakers for their owners dressed as baseball players are swapped from team to team, whoever pays them the highest- thus proving that wherever these guys go, the team is certain to win. Thus, the concept of baseball being moneyball and the game as unfair game is justified. Nevertheless, the importance of statistics in the game is valued and applied by teams in order to enhance their chances of winning the unfair game. 

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Winter Wagon?

Well, been a long long time since I updated my blog. I apologize to those who wait for new materials on my blog. I want to thank you for your support and encouragement that keeps me going, be it one post a month (wink!) Here are some snaps I took during my winter vacation in Florida. I promise I will update more snaps from my memory card soon. Enjoy these pictures till then! 

[Yup, they claim to be the world's most famous beach! Well, they let us drive by the beach- so I wasn't complaining ;) ]

[People did anything and everything to make sure they captured their vacation moments. I enjoyed taking their pictures ;)]  

[Well, all I can say is- he was too excited to be in the water! And, that's our brother :D ]

[I have done this once, and absolutely loved it. This time, I wished it was me in that picture. ]


Well, I hope you enjoyed going through the pictures. Some more coming up, I promise! 

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2012: From My Eye

Now that 2012 is here

Of human existence is that I fear

Will we live? How can I trust?

Console a moment, by next a volcano burst.

For few second the nature howls

Takes with no mercy, millions of souls

20-12 "the end", that all say

Alike Tsunami will hit the coast and bay

Ambiguous question that has all make us think

It might not be a lie, but do we really live or die?

Orbit will collapse, meteorite will hit

In black hole or galactic center is where the earth will fit

(Image via Google Images)

Of all our rudeness that nature tolerates

One gloomy morning, earthquake perforates

Screams of Katrina still unforgotten, Haiti wakes on cry

Even in the monsoon of east, the land stays dry

Is 2012 just a date?

Is it a fear or human fate?

Whatever is predicted or have been told

Hope, prayer and togetherness is to hold.

BY: Aava Sharma

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A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift

We all know that Jonathan Swift is one of the legendary authors who is capable of making his stories stick in his reader's head. Swift not only masters the skill of story-telling, but he also uses his literary power to evoke the political, social and economic situation of the society. “A Modest Proposal” is one of the most famous satires in the English literature that speaks the voice of the poor parents and street children of Ireland. He evokes the perception of the rich towards the poor and begging children of the street. Swift indirectly extends his satires towards colonization and demoralization of Irish by the English Men. Rich people always want the poor to remain under their shoes and never want the poor to rise above their poverty.

Swift uses his statistical information to support his modest proposal to improve the economy and social life style of the nation of Ireland. His proposal is to decrease the number of the poor population and use those poor and begging children of the street to build the economy of nation. He wants to implement his proposal of buying and selling of the meat of one year children to the market. His statistical support beyond the point that one baby could be sold for eight shillings in the market is astounding. To feed the same children for the whole year will cost two shillings where a mother could save six shillings from one child.

(Image via Google Images)

He enhances his proposal by indicating that the meat of one year child is nutritious, delicious, and tasty where the wealthy can refine their dish with new recipe. He includes that the flesh of young boy is very tasty than that of beef. It not only creates new recipe for the wealthy people’s dish, it will decrease the population of the poor and street beggars; mainly, it will enhance the economy of the community. The number of the thieves and drugs involvement will be decreased as well.

Swift imposes his idea not to support his proposal, but to provoke the irresponsibility of the nation towards its people to save the identity of various religious and economically impaired groups. He provokes the idea with disagreement towards the nation’s rules and policy to create several eyes to look after the single nation’s people living together. Although the whole proposal sounds disgusting and unusual, it protests the suppression and aristocracy of ruler of the nation. Swift clearly indicates that poor and economically impaired people are also human beings and they should not be treated different from wealthy people.       

Click here to read "A Modest Proposal" by Jonathan Swift.

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Death of Love (Sonnet 61, Michael Drayton)

Humans are emotional beings; they need their supporters during good times and bad times while they shed tears when they are not able to cope with the pain caused by a circumstance. Similarly, when it comes to love, there is no exception; they need their beloved to be with them in ups and downs of their lives. Similarly, Michael Drayton in his “Sonnet 61” unveils the emotions of a distraught lover whose dreams of being with his lover forever have shattered. He talks about his painful emotions after parting with his loved one, as the parting caused turbulence in his sentiments. Drayton successfully depicts the rambling sentiments of a lover who seeks to rationalize his decision of departing with the love of his life. 

Here, the lover exhibits a tendency of justifying his decisions and acts, where he seeks approval of their decisions within himself by explaining that he didn’t have a choice. Subsequently, Drayton opens his sonnet with the lover’s first step towards justifying his departure with his lover. He has decided to end his relationship with his lover, and he is asking his lover to help him end it amiably with a kiss as they have no other choice when he says, “Since there’s no help…part” (Drayton, line1). 

Subsequently, he tells himself that he made the right decision, since he was bounded by the relationship and he was the only one giving in the relationship. He feels that his relationship drained him, instead of making him happy; thus, getting rid of this binding thread was the right act as they both can pick their ways and seek their happiness somewhere else. He further elaborates that he is pleased with this parting, and he couldn’t have been happier since he is finally free when he quotes, “That thus so cleanly…free” (Drayton, line4).

However, no matter how much he tries, the lover knows that it is not possible to completely forget his beloved, whom he once loved with all his heart. Although the lover talks about their friendly break-up, he knows that his heart will not give up loving her. He talks about not acting surprised or guilty when they meet as strangers in future; however, his actual emotions for his lover is revealed in line 9 where he says, “Now, at the last gasp…breath.” He discloses that he still loves her, and this breakup would only kill their innocent love giving the readers a hint that their separation is not voluntary. He reminds himself of the passion they shared and the trust they held for each other, the eagerness and yearning for each other that held them together. He knows that they will no longer exist as he decides to end their zealous relationship when he quotes, “When, his pulse failing…lies” (Drayton, line10). He grieves for the death of his affection; he feels bad for his love— that they are giving up on the love they shared and nurtured together. Nonetheless, even though he faintly hopes that they could somehow get back together, he does not want to fool his heart by giving it false hope. His dying thread of hope for his love is elaborated in his quote “From death to life thou…recover” (Drayton, line14).

Drayton unequivocally exhibits the lover’s emotion in his tragic words where he knows is giving up on his love he hoped would remain with him till death. He tries to vindicate his decision at the beginning of the poem and slowly realizes that he still loves his beloved and would hope to get back together someday. Drayton brilliantly pictures emotions of a wrecked man and his progressing thoughts in an undesirable situation where the lover seeks to reason his decision and not feel guilty about it. Nonetheless, he has to face his inevitable sentiments wandering everywhere, while he is confused whether or not he should have broken up with his lover despite being in a relationship full of love and passion. He realizes that no matter how much attempts to tell himself that he did the right thing, he knows that it is not easy to let go of the love of his life. 

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Start...Scratch?

Hmm, what a day- WHAT A DAY! I yelled from the top of my lungs kicking my car door. Well, I did curse everyone a bit in my head for being opportunists, for using me for their advantage, and not letting me live my life. I wish I’d said “You all suck!” while leaving my office gate. Oops, ex-office! Can I call it an ex? For now, let me call whatever names I want to. Yep, I’m fuming inside out, carrying my family pictures, stationery, and a few report files I was support to present on.  I was one of those who were let go from our jobs while I had my hopes up of getting promoted.

Just three weeks ago, my boss called me inside his office and asked me how I liked working for him. He stated that he was impressed with my work, and thus would like to see me growing in the company. I loved my work as a junior financial analyst; good salary, good benefits, compensation and health insurance- what more could I have asked for? Had been working there since last five years; well, sometimes, times were rough and me and my team had to work countless nights to keep our company going even in a rough economy. I had my job, that’s all I was thankful for- increasing stress, declining family time, and decreasing social life were all part of the job, and yet I didn't complain. I knew I was working my way to the top, and without hard-work, it would not be possible.

(Image via Google Images)

I had earned the recognition twice as the employee of the month; I even heard it from the CEO “Employees like you are the pillars of our company!” What an achievement! Well, I was doing my part, and they were doing theirs. I had to make sure the company improves on my part, while they had to assure that they make their part of shares continually. While we worked endlessly to keep our jobs, they were working continuously to make sure they keep theirs- thus, the merger with an emerging company with completely different fundamentals. None of the frontline employees knew-not even those who were told that they will be promoted soon.

Three weeks later, I was told to collect all my belongings and exit the company’s gate. They said they regretted the decision and that they were bounded by the rough times. I was thanked for my performance and contribution with best wishes. Ha! I wish I could have said, “Thank you for rewarding me with betrayal!” Well, I couldn’t- I was still trying to register the news in my head. I wished it was easier to shed tears, but no- I was a freaking man! I was not supposed to exhibit my disappointment or sorrow, and my job had taught me to master that pretense.

I come home distressed and disappointed- Why me? Why? What had I done wrong? I asked all the questions on my mind. No answer. Aggravation! My fury rises when I see my messy house, unwashed dishes in the sink, scattered papers, highlighters, and pencils I used to prepare for my presentation, laundry waiting to be done, and most of all, hunger- I hadn’t eaten anything since morning. I dropped the box from my hand, and slid down to sit on the floor- the mess added to my disappointment in my ruined life. 35, single, and jobless- messed up with nothing to look forward to. What a life! I realized that I lost my youth trying to reach the top—left the girl that loved me, moved to a big city to seek better opportunities, and hadn’t seen my family in years. I worked days and nights, even holidays to keep myself on the top of the charts. What for? Everything was ruined, everything!

I sat there hopelessly for hours staring at my parents’ picture. Suddenly, something struck me- a divine feeling that asked me to get my a** off the floor and start straightening the mess I had around me. I had everything scattered on the floor, with a broken frame of my certificate of appreciation from my work. I realized that nothing is over-it’s just a break, a bump that I am meant to pass. I had all my resources--it was all there surrounding me- pencil, highlighter, eraser and a paper. All these years I worked was not for them; it was for me, my growth and knowledge, and I was the one that learned the most from those experiences. All I had to do was put them to use with a new beginning. I rose up, cleared all the junks, organized my files and started staring at the clear paper. I had the best opportunity of my life- to begin something of my own. 

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Donate A Caption...

This picture was taken about a month ago. I watched the seagull fly towards its home after the day's work, and envied it throughout the evening. During the mesmerizing process, I lost my ability to justify an appropriate caption. Please donate your ideas to fill the caption below. 

(?)

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