Sports blog ...

Looking through my previous blog posts, I realized that I have not written a single sports blog in the past. Not sure why. I may not actively watch sports, but I follow them for sure.

Two tournaments that I am following closely now are the NCAA "March Madness" and World Cup Cricket that is being played in the Indian sub-continent.

This year's NCAA tournament has had some Cinderella stories. Kentucky's upset win over Ohio State last night sure threw my bracket for a toss as did Arizona's win over Duke. Just goes to show that nothing can be "predicted" here.

This year's World Cup Cricket has offered its own twists and turns. Unlike the 2007 tournament, at least the top 8 teams moved to the Quarter Finals this year. Yesterday, we had the surprise win for New Zealand over South Africa - setting up a Sri Lanka vs New Zealand semi-final. I predict that Sri Lanka will easily make it to the finals. The other semi-final of India vs Pakistan is an epic one. It is hard not to bring political implications into this game - it is a "game" after all. However, this is the first match between these two countries after the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai. With the Indian Prime Minister inviting the Pakistan President to watch the match being played in India, this match will have the following of over 250 million people around the world. There are others who study the game and players a lot more closely to make a more qualified prediction. Mine is based on gut, instinct and patriotism :) I predict India winning all the way ...

HP's Vision

Leo Apotheker took center stage yesterday for the first time since taking over as CEO of the World's largest technology company (by revenue) last November. Chris O'Brien (the business editor of the Mercury News) was not too impressed.

It seems to me that Leo Apotheker is able to put together a cohesive strategy around HP's vast portfolio. The fact that he dismissed the possible acquisition of SAP saying, "We don't need to own a big transactional application platform," says a lot about his focus.

There is a Software Advice blog post that mentions possible acquisitions by HP - with SAP leading the list. It would be interesting to see the results of their survey on when/who people think will be HP's next acquisition.

HP is poised to lead the technology universe into the world of cloud computing. Sun attempted to do that many years ago and failed. Microsoft, IBM, Oracle and, now, HP are attempting to grab a piece of this pie. Sun's failure was in the execution of its vision. Often times, Sun tended to place the cart before the horse. That is, the execs would go up on stage and articulate a grandiose vision and then attempt to build the technologies towards that vision. HP, on the other hand, has been building up its portfolio of the various pieces in the puzzle. Yesterday, they finally came out and told us how they all fit together.

The next 6-12 months will tell us who comes out ahead in this battle that is being played out in the open. As a follow up to my earlier blog post (on HP vs Oracle), I think we are half time now and HP is leading by a touchdown.

Prayers and Praise for Japan ...

Japan is currently facing its biggest crisis since WW-II per Prime Minister Naoto Kan as it tackles the aftermath of a massive magnitude 9 quake (in Northeast Japan), a ferocious tsunami and the ensuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima power plant. Adding salt to its wounds, the Shinmoedake volcano has erupted in Southern Japan spewing ash and rock in the region.

With all the technology that is available, the world was literally watching Japan as the horror unfolded. The fury of nature belittled engineering achievements in the region as we watched 13-foot waves sweeping houses, boats and trains. Although the final toll of the quake is unknown, there is no doubt that had a quake of this magnitude hit any other part of the world, the destruction would have been far worse. In the words of a friend (who lives in Japan), "Hats off to Japan. They have shown the world an amazing calmness and positive attitude during hard times.".

We have seen the resiliency of Japan in the past and I am confident that Japan will pull out from this crisis and emerge a stronger nation.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you, Japan ...