little known truth about the Duckworth Lewis method

Very few followers of cricket know the truth behind the popular Duckworth Lewis method of determining the target for a chasing team, in a rain-affected match.
It is a widely held misconception that the D/L method is a mathematical formula, which when applied to a particular match situation, decides who the winner is at that point. As a matter of fact, the formula is just mathematical gibberish and is not used to determine anything at all, leave alone the winner of the match.
It was carefully designed in such a way that the only people with the mathematical knowledge to see through the farce, would be the ones too busy to bother about a silly cricket match. And the rest would have no clue as to what the hell it is about, anyway.
The umpires and the match refree are required to decide the winner after taking into account the following factors:
1) What team, if declared winner, will pull larger crowds further in the series.
2) Is the match being played at Eden gardens? If yes, are bottles and plastic containers banned inside?
3) Is South Africa one of the teams? If yes, what would be the most improbable target for them to reach in one over? In one ball?

When none of the above three factors yield a decision, the refree asks the umpires to pick one of two fingers, each representing each of the teams.
Hope this information was of help. Queries are welcome.

the bollywood hero's houdini act

It is widely accepted that the typical bollwood hero possesses 1,20,684 super-human skills, 12 lives and umpteen gallons of luck. But none fascinates me as much as the little noticed 'train-vanish' trick does.
There comes a time during the on-screen life of every lead actor worth his salt (and others' salt in some cases), when he has to get onto a train, heart-broken, leaving for good. But what he does not know (or so we think) is that the lead lady is searching the whole place inside-out for him, so she can meet him and say the three magic words. She is naturally too late. The train leaves and she is left alone, sobbing her weepers off.
But as soon as the train leaves the screen, bang! There's the hero standing on the opposite platform, fresh as ever, to the joy of the girl and millions of viewers. Everyone's happy the two are back together. But spare a thought for what the guy just accomplished. We all saw him leave didnt we? He was sitting in that blessed train, swollen-eyed and he was still there when the train hit full speed. And there he is now, out of the train, standing tall, gloating with pride at what he just pulled off. How can anyone ignore that? Long live the bollywood hero!

PS: I am happy to mention that one of bollywood's recent products KANK has kept up the tradition too. Though I am not as happy to mention that I watched the whole bloody movie alone, at the movie hall!

Pet Peeves

One of my biggest pet peeves is, well, pets. I dont like them. There's the fear of being bitten by the bigger pets, for one thing. But its more than just that. I highly dislike touching them, being licked on the face and other such things that 'pet owners' seem to enjoy like hell. But I do like them and other animals from a distance (just in case i become famous one day and Maneka Gandhi decides to use this post against me).
So everytime I visit a friend who owns a dog, I spend the first few minutes worrying where the thing is lurking at that moment, waiting to pounce on me to do one of the many obscure, hellish things it is capable of doing.
And surprisingly, the owners usually do little to stop it from barking at or pouncing onto me. "Stop it tommy. Come here now", they'd say, as if dogs have been communicating in english since the dinosaur age. Yeah I know a lotta dogs come running up to their masters when called by their names. But I am guessing that's because they recognise the voice and tone. So instead of saying "come here tommy" if you said "get your ass outta my house tommy", it'll still probably come to you yipping and yapping along the way. Just a hunch. I know nothing about dogs.